From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
10-16-2020, 01:09 AM (This post was last modified: 10-16-2020, 02:44 PM by Loren.)
Despite his recent encounters with the Voice, Loren hadn't given up worshipping the old gods. Not yet, at least. So he stole away to the Greatwood, intending to make his way towards the shrine by the Crimson Cataract.
Astra was with him, despite Frey's admonishment to leave her at home. As they made their way through the Wildwood, though, he stopped in his tracks as her alarm slammed into him. She bleated and whirled in a circle. He copied her, until the image of flames flashed through his bond.
Sniffing the air, he caught the telltale scent of smoke. Immediately, he ordered her to head back to the Hollowed Ground, hopefully to fetch help. Although she protested, she left. Watching her for a moment, he turned in the direction the smell was coming from.
Slowly, he crouched and made his way through the trees. Stumbling upon a clearing, he blanched as heat and light and fire blasted him. For a moment, he was frozen as the memory of another fire that ended in tragedy washed over him.
Then he shook his head and raised his arms. Water blasted out of them, which he used to beat back the worst of the blaze. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement, a bug of some kind. As it hopped forward, sparks flew out and he grimaced as he realized it was a flinthopper.
This PQ has two open spots, but more can be made available if you'd like, just DM me! In your intro post, please summarize the actions your character takes.
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
Her new position left Juniper without as much time to hunt as she was accustomed to, but she didn't mind -- honestly, exploring Caido and speaking with its people was more interesting than her usual pursuits. That said, sometimes she just needed a break from people and politics -- like today. So she'd grabbed her bow and headed out into the woods ...
She'd intended to spend the day patiently stalking prey in the quiet of the woods, but the smell of smoke caught her attention quickly. Rather than prey on the animals she spotted fleeing the blaze, she flew towards it, carefully. Some fire was natural in the Greatwoods, but it could easily get out of control, especially in LongHeat. Juniper would need to see how bad it was before she decided whether to try to put it out or let it run its course but alert her fellow Fae so that they could monitor it and make sure it stayed away from settlements.
But when she got there, someone had beaten her to it, and apparently this man had made the decision for her: he was trying to put it out. With his water magic, he seemed to have it mostly under control, and Juniper almost turned and left -- until she saw the flinthopper throw out more sparks. Oh, that could be a big problem, one she'd happily nip in the bud. Raising her bow, she took aim and fired an arrow at the bug.
--------
Juniper's firing an arrow at the flinthopper!
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
He really had no business being in the Greatwood – not when he’d relocated to Halo, not when there were a whole other series of circumstances maneuvering around him like pieces and pawns. Another instance of trying to clean out his house, of striving to alleviate some of the pain, agony, and torment now centered around those particular thresholds, had once again failed, and he found himself outside, along the field behind it, plunging into deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling quickly, then slowly, until it all faded away.
Except it didn’t. Probably never would – not when he glanced at Kiada’s nearby, not when these were just foundations torn apart.
Wisps of smoke caught his attention though, highlighted along the tops of trees, canopies with plumes of acrid decree rising and ascending towards the sky. The beast had been caught so many times in the threshold of flames that it hardly paid him any mind; he could recall instance upon instance, in fact, the very same, upcoming scenario, where the scorching layers seethed. Where he was told it was natural.
To let the world be destroyed?
On a whim, he took to the air, golden eagle feathers tawny and content to be utilized again, soaring, sharp eyes picking up bits and pieces of the threshold down below, and then he reached over the sanction of burning copses – and plunged, headlong, shifting back when he could land safely on the ground, gaze sweeping, taking in all of the damage, plight, and precision.
Oh yes, this looked remarkably familiar.
He thought he saw Loren through the smoke and haze, which struck him as peculiar (completely unaware of other events recently taking place), and potentially Juniper, firing arrows. I can help circumvented through Attuned measures, uncertain if the Fae would be able to hear, and intending for the Firebrand to do so. I will try to control the blaze.
So he did just that – wielding the potency of his bloodlines, attempting to snag at the inferno, make it recede, make it smaller, snagging at the enmity, at the conflagration.
--
Deimos tries to use his Mastered Fire manipulation to diminish the fire.
Loren's water did manage to suppress the fire temporarily. However, it couldn't put it out entirely, not with a blaze of this size. The sizzle of steam joined the heat and the smoke. As the Fae and Deimos joined the healer, he glanced at them.
"Thanks." Then he coughed, doubling over a bit. When he recovered, he added, "I'm just trying to make sure the trees don't burn. We should probably let the underbrush get cleared." They seemed to have their tasks in hand, though, so he just went back to his magic. This time, he focused on the trees, trying to put them out and prevent new ones from catching fire.
Juniper's arrow managed to kill the flinthopper. However, a few more sprang out of the underbrush. She could try to get rid of those as well, or help the men with the fire.
Unfortunately for Deimos (and all of them) his attempts to diminish the fire happened to coincide with a brisk wind that sprang up. So as he shifted the direction and the size of the flames, the blaze took the path of least resistance. It spread rapidly, albeit in the opposite direction from the trio.
No post order!
Loren was successful in putting out some of the fire.
Juniper was successful in killing the flinthopper. However, more have appeared.
Deimos critically failed to put out any of the fire, causing it to spread further.
It shouldn’t have been anyone’s surprise that when his powers maneuvered, undulated, and rippled through the cataclysm, the precision and prowess only seemed to make things worse. A thick, rumbling growl manifested through his chest as it spread, and there were a series of memories suddenly choking, cloaking over his mind (the Monster Hunter’s Guild erupting into flames, the demons snarling, snapping inside, his father’s blade, another flinthopper years before, the burns hidden, discovering he couldn’t be healed).
Then a snapping, churning irritation, a vexation, a frustration he permitted for the barest moments to curl and contort through him – before he altered his tactics. Calm compositions, composure, maneuvering outward from his notions, from his speculations. A breath, and the incantations stoked with fathoms and other depths. Water, another hailing of bloodlines and ancestry, pouring, rippling like a tide, seeking to smother where the inferno had suddenly raged.
--
Deimos attempts to use Mastered Water Manipulation to soak the newest flames (oops).
10-16-2020, 11:49 PM (This post was last modified: 10-16-2020, 11:50 PM by Juniper.)
JUNIPER
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
Damn! Juniper's satisfaction at skewering the first flinthopper was short-lived, as she saw the others hop out of the underbrush. How many of them were there? She didn't see too many, so maybe she could still contain the fire by shooting them. Raising her bow, she fired off a shot at each flinthopper.
"Thank you," she replied to Loren, somewhat surprised to find an outsider in the Greatwood -- and protecting it. She hadn't spotted Deimos yet -- or, rather, she hadn't realized the eagle she'd spied on the winds above was Attuned. As far as Juniper knew, the fire simply spontaneously erupted; she grimaced, but focused on the flinthoppers for now. Taking care of them would keep them from having ten fires on their hands instead of one ... she hoped.
--------
Juniper shoots at the other flinthoppers!
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
10-17-2020, 12:09 AM (This post was last modified: 10-17-2020, 12:09 AM by Loren.)
Deimos was far more successful with his water this time. Although Loren helped a bit, he was struck by another coughing fit that hampered his magic. Combined, however, the efforts of the Sword and the Firebrand managed to beat back a large swath of the fire. Unfortunately, they weren't out of the woods yet, metaphorically or literally, as the fire still raged.
The next arrows sadly failed to hit their targets, thudding into the ground right next to them instead. The flinthoppers jumped away unscathed, sparks falling from their legs as they moved further into the clearing. The healer glanced at it briefly before returning his attention to the flames.
Raising his hands again, he continued to pour water onto the trees, hoping to keep them safe from the conflagration. Deimos, can you clear the smoke out at all? The Firebrand's eyes stung and his throat burned a bit.
No post order! Loren continued to put out the fire with water magic and asked if Deimos could thin the smoke at all.
Deimos was very successful at putting out the fire!
Loren was slightly successful at putting out the fire!
Juniper missed the flinthopper! They're still in the clearing.
A moment of satisfaction coursed through him as the water proved successful – far more than the fire contortions had – and small blessings given the unrelenting haze. Not one to howl triumph or gloat, the beast amplified the amount of liquid bursting from his mind, cavalcades and fathoms sweeping in on undulating tides, attempting to stifle, choke, and smother the inferno.
Loren’s request came through, and the Sword corresponded in return. Yes.. Again, another trial, another instance of striving endeavors. He’d managed to manifest multiple mastered magics before; in dire straits, in conniving enterprises, and this opportunity, these motions, were just as good as any. Simultaneous incantations were summoned – the water focused and honed on the fire, while the junctures of Air stretched out through, towards the smoke, fumes, and coils. The intention wasn’t to shift the wind (once more cause another episodic blaze), but to clean and clear the smog and vapor, to replenish some sight and breathing room.
--
Deimos tries to use his Mastered Water on the fire, and Mastered Air to remove the smoke.
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
The others -- Juniper was aware of Deimos now -- seemed to be starting to get the fire under control, at least a little bit ... Juniper wished she could say the same about the fire's source, the flinthoppers. Should she just keep shooting at them until they died, or was there a cleverer way to deal with them? Something a little more out of the box? Well, she did have some new skills she'd been looking to try out ...
Lowering her bow, Juniper flew around the flinthoppers, blocking their path away from the fire, and conjured a series of bangs and bright lights with her recently-learned illusion magic, trying to scare them back towards the fire -- where, she hoped, they would become roasted grasshoppers.
---------
Juniper uses her Glamour / Base Illusion magic to try to herd the flinthoppers back into the fire!
Base Illusion: Can create minor sensory effects within a 5ft radius
Type: Grey | Rank: Basic
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
The water magic from both Loren and Deimos put out a large swath of the fire. It was now almost manageable looking, though it would blaze out of control again if they didn't suppress it further.
Unfortunately, with the General's attention split, his air magic did little more than stir the smoke rather than disperse it. Worse, the wind carried embers on it, causing a few small flames to lick up in new spots.
Juniper's new approach was partially successful. Although the flinthoppers did indeed flee from the sudden lights and sounds, only one was dumb enough to hop into the fire. The other stopped just short, legs quivering. The healer nodded at the Fae, before returning his attention to the fire. More water poured out of him as he tried to dampen the fire.
No post order!
Loren was successful at putting out the fire with his water magic.
Deimos was successful at putting out the fire with his water magic. Unfortunately, he critically failed with his air magic, causing the fire to spread a bit.
Juniper managed to herd one flinthopper into the fire. There is one left.
If he hadn’t been vexed and frustrated with himself before, the monumental pulse of irritation waged and caged itself right along the back of his skull. He hadn’t had such a lapse in concentration or efforts in his potency, prowess, or skills in a long time; and while he could likely blame it on his illness, how the affliction was still rooted, remaining, in his bones, he still held himself accountable. One moment the fire had been smothered, and the next, spreading again – like flares of trials, tribulations, a cyclical torrent of torment.
Enough he added, hissed inwardly.
Was it worth striving for both again?
Mind heeding attention, imploring scrupulous, meticulous, fastidious factions, he attempted again. Ministrations of water, of pouring tides and roaring fathoms, echoed and whipped along his entity, trying to descend where it was necessary, snatching at the newest flames, swallowing and consuming at the others. Thereafter, another pulse, another wave of air incantations shuddered, undulated, pushing outward, to curl and coil the smoke away.
--
Deimos is giving the Mastered Water manipulation and Mastered Air manipulation another go.
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
All right, just one more bug to go and then Juniper could join the men in suppressing the fire -- or fires, she saw with dismay. It looked like they might need the help, though Juniper could see that their water magic was far more effective than anything she could do. If she moved quickly, maybe she could beat out some of the new embers ... But that would leave the flinthopper free to start more. And she didn't want to interfere with Deimos' efforts.
No, better focus on the flinthopper. Juniper drew her bow and shot at the remaining bug, hoping that even if she didn't hit it, it might burn up trying to dodge. A bit of poetic justice, really, for the insects to die in their own blaze.
--------
Juniper shoots an arrow at the remaining flinthopper!
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
Deimos' perseverance would pay off. As Loren was struck by another coughing fit, causing his efforts to falter slightly and his water to only put out a little bit of the fire, the general's magic went to work. His water put out a huge amount of the fire on its own. On top of that, the air magic swirled out of him, blowing away the smoke and putting out some of the flames as well. Overall, the fire was almost entirely under control now.
Unfortunately, Juniper's shot went horribly, horribly wrong. Her arrow was...well to say it was way off the mark would be an understatement.
Worse, a fire blazed up as it sped through the air, and the projectile passed through it. It caught fire itself, before thudding into the trunk of a nearby tree. Fingers of fire started licking up and down the trunk. As if to taunt her, the flinthopper jumped a bit closer to her, throwing off a few sparks as it did.
No post order! The fire is almost entirely under control and there is one flinthopper left. This was the fourth round, so your character gets credit for this PQ.
Loren was only slightly successful at putting out the fire with his water magic.
Deimos was very successful at putting out the fire with his water and air magic, and he cleared the smoke with his air magic.
Juniper critically failed to hit the flinthopper, and her arrow actually caught fire and spread fire around a bit.
Finally; whether it was due to fortitude, perseverance, luck, or a combination of the three, the water diminished, the air billowed smoke away, and there were only residual marks of the flames left. He permitted one long breath to filter out of his lungs, head already pulsing, aching, from the amount of incantations utilized, from the concentration required, from the sickness building behind his eyes. Not much longer he told himself. Not much more. They’d be able to conquer the remaining vestiges, and then he could rest –
A turn of his head, a series of crackling measures, the kindling, stoking requiem of fire taking hold again, this time along the tree, diminished the latter thoughts entirely. The next breath was a heavy sigh, before the water magic once more unleashed, unfurled. Heady and heavy, intending to entirely douse the timber, and perhaps the flinthopper nearby.
--
Deimos attempts to use his Mastered Water on the tree currently on fire, and maybe hit the flinthopper with it too.
