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!
11-08-2020, 08:11 PM (This post was last modified: 11-09-2020, 03:10 AM by Ray.)
Ray returned home after that unexpected encounter with her dead parents on the shoreline. Never would Ray have ever expected to talk with them again, and yet thanks to Ludo's meddling Ray got the chance. She knew it wasn't supposed to have occurred but she was thankful. The encounter had given her some closure. And now, back home in the apartment above her store, Ray was thinking. She hadn't celebrated the Festival of Lights in years. But given the circumstances… Ray made up her mind. She would make a lantern this year for her parents.
Ray got out her sketchbook and started thinking about designs. She wanted the cutouts to be her mother's favorite flowers and medicinal plant, chamomile. But what to include for her father? A coyote. For his first shifted form and for the symbol he often used in his dealings. That sneaky bastard. She thought fondly.
Her design finished, Ray set to work. She quickly made each side of the lantern, meticulously cutting out the shapes she had drawn. Then she attached all of them to the base of the lantern. Holding it up she lit it. Spinning it around, the lights gave the illusion of a coyote running through a field of chamomile. It was perfect. Satisfied, she decided to take it out on the street to see how it looked in the moonlight. Maybe she could see how others were designing their lanterns to see if she needed to add to hers?
11-11-2020, 02:26 PM (This post was last modified: 11-12-2020, 03:32 PM by Neos.)
The worst thing about always being on the move...
Not many people would do this, but Neos was walking through the town, eyes on what looked like a thin wooden board that he was holding with one arm under it while drawing upon it with something akin to a pencil. It looked like a sketch for something, showing a gigantic tree shaded in a way that made it look like it was formed from crystal as well as a medieval town and palace with a floating cat-like creature with an insanely-long tail above the town.
"...can't...settle on a design," he grumbled to himself, running his drawing hand through the blue hair under his wide-brimmed hat. "Already got an idea of the structure of the lantern itself, but---whoa!"
He looked up just in time to stop himself from walking into someone else under the moonlight, pulling the drawing board and image closer to his chest for the time being. "Whoa, sorry about almost crashing into ya. You alright?"
...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.
Ray was watching the street and the people go by absentmindedly, her blue eyes darting randomly. She was already getting new ideas for her lantern just by taking a moment away from working on it. Perhaps she should add some more colors? She hummed to herself as she thought. Suddenly the hair on her arms stood up she jerked her head up just in time to see a stranger nearly crash into her.
Instantly more aware Ray took a step back instinctively to put some distance. She glanced down to make sure her lantern wasn't damaged. Thankfully it was unscathed. "I'm fine. That was a close one. Are you ok?" She asked, her eyes glancing down to see the stranger clutching a board rather tightly. Were they that shocked by almost bumping into someone? Maybe it was just something personal.
r a y
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
11-12-2020, 05:49 PM (This post was last modified: 11-12-2020, 06:07 PM by Neos.)
The worst thing about always being on the move...
"Yeah, I'm fine," Neos said before looking back down at the sketch he had been musing over. "...outside of maybe a derailed train of thought," he said with a small groan before pulling the drawing back close to his chest.
"...dammit, people are already making their lanterns and I still haven't figured out what mine's gonna look like," he said in disappointment at himself upon seeing the other person's lantern. "Though...what's that," he asked in curiosity as he pointed towards the wolf shown upon it. "Doesn't exactly look like anything I'm familiar with, admittedly," he said with a slightly-sheepish tone, realizing people here would know what such a creature was around here.
...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.
"Ah, I'm sorry for interrupting your train of thought." Ray apologized sincerely. She hated when hers was interrupted, it always caused her to lose whatever design she had currently be considering. Ray perked up when he mentioned creating a lantern and asked about hers. Designing was a topic she was always eager to discuss. Ray held her lantern up and spun it slowly, creating the illusion that the canine was running. "It's my first draft for my lantern. It's a coyote running in a field of chamomile. I'm thinking of adding some more color though. It's just all white right now apart from the light inside." She glanced at the board in his hand. "Are you working on your design?" Ray blinked. "Oh! I completely forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ray. Nice to meet you."
r a y
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
"A...kai-o-teh?" Neos knew he just royally botched that species name, but it was the first time he was saying it, so the false human was hoping to get a bit of a pass on it. "I'm guessing the species is carnivorous in nature with that build structure?"
"...oh! The name's Neos," he said in response to the introduction. "Just recently arrived in Torchline, and still getting a hang of things around here."
I still need to find a better look for myself...that I actually like, he thought to himself before his brain jumped back to the thought of color. "I'm admittedly still trying to figure out a proper sketch to place upon such a lantern," the man in yellow and purple said as he pulled the board back to reveal the multi-part sketch he had so far. "I have the structure of the lantern figured out, but not the designs for the sides..."
...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.
Ray nodded. "Yup a carnivore. Sneaky one at that." She ignored his pronunciation, and gave him a smile. "Welcome to Torchline! Where'd you move from if you don't mind me asking?" Neos was definetly not from around here, given his appearance, but she couldn't quite place his origin from sight alone.
Ray studied his sketch when he pulled it out. The structure was sound and was honestly a great start. "For the design maybe go with something important to you? Or think of a specific person you are making it in remembrance for? And then put things that remind you of them? That's what I did at least. But honestly I think it just needs to be from the heart. It's a rather cliché way to put it but it seems like a good basis." Ray honestly couldn't think of another way to describe it. From how she saw it, the lanterns were almost like a floating shrine to a loved one. Deeply personal and unique.
r a y
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
Neos, after recalling the warning he was given about not everyone being welcome to Outlanders, decided to ignore the question about where he was from for the moment, instead choosing to look like he was focusing on the sketch in front of him. "I should probably rephrase," he corrected before continuing. "I have too many ideas, and too many beings I want to represent in a lantern...and I'm not sure I was allowed to make more than one for this 'Festival of Lights' I keep hearing about."
He then pulled the board with the sketch flat against his chest once more before looking towards her, before cryptically saying in regards to where he was from, "And as for where I am from...it honestly doesn't matter for an explorer, especially one that travels a lot. And I haven't really 'moved' here as much as 'arrived while figuring out where to go next'."
He honestly needed to explore some more before deciding where he was going to primarily bunk while in this world, anyway.
...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.
Ray nodded her head in understanding. Ah too many ideas. That was something she was well acquainted with. "That is an issue and I'm honestly not sure if there's a limit. However one is generally considered traditional." She hummed to herself, trying to come up with a viable solution. "Oh! I have an idea! What if you made a single candle sized lantern for each person you wanted to represent and attached them all to a central base? It'd technically be one lantern still." Ray explained her idea with excited gestures, trying to get her point across.
Ray noticed when Neos hid his board again and quite obviously dodged the question of his origins. She sighed. Outlander, that should have been obvious. She quickly checked to make sure no one else was within hearing range before whispering with a grin. "Don't worry. I have no issues with Outlanders. My shop doesn't either if you ever need spices, herbs, or medicine." She explained pointing a bit behind them both to where the entrance to her shop stood. Ray hated how Outlanders were sometimes treated. Some of her closest friends and even some members of her family were Outlanders.
r a y
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
Neos studied the girl for a few seconds longer than would be comfortable with those neon-green eyes of his peeking out from under the vivid-blue hair that covered the top of his eyes for now. "...if you say so," he said with a guarded tone before pulling back the board to reveal the joined image of the gigantic crystalline tree, the medieval town and the floating cat-like creature moving between them.
"After seeing yours, many would likely see mine and probably think such showing cryptic drawings of creatures," he said sadly as he thought back through his travels. "Even though not all that were important in one way or another were all humans...or even humanoid...like you." A second past, before Neos realized what he said, adding a quick "or me" at the end of that statement. He pointed towards the floating creature between the two split images before saying, "This right here was someone those in the Tree of Beginning in my home world knew as 'Mistress Mew'. She basically raised me when I was still really young...and I have other beings important to me from many other worlds and realities."
More like when I was fresh out of my egg, but there's no way in Distortion that's flying here, he thought to himself.
...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.
Ray felt a bit uncomfortable with his staring but figured he was trying to decide if she was being truthful or not. She listened intently as he recalled those whom he wanted to include in his lantern. Ray did notice the slight slip about not including himself as a humanoid but decided not to pry. It was his business. Ray took in his drawings and the explanations behind them with open curiosity. It was incredible to hear about another world. Her eyes widened when Neos off hand mentioned having beings close to him across multiple worlds and realms. A traveler? Incredible.
"You're right that many would think they were bizarre creatures, but you could still put them in your lantern. Mistress Mew and the others sound incredibly important to you. You could claim that your lantern was just depicting a story that someone important to you once told you. That's actually not a completely uncommon practice. We all remember and represent our loved ones differently. I've seen lanterns depicting all kinds of stories about far away lands or alternate realities over the years. Many of their creators claimed that they were about a story. Of course some folks suspected them of being Outlanders, it's not enough proof to act on . And many of the more traditional people consider it taboo to pry or disrespect someone else's lanterns. They'd likely step in if someone gave you trouble about yours." Ray explained. She hoped that Neos would represent who he wanted with his lantern and not let other's judgement stand in his way.
r a y
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
11-17-2020, 02:59 AM (This post was last modified: 11-17-2020, 03:00 AM by Neos.)
The worst thing about always being on the move...
"In her case, I can always say for those that try to say they never seen such a creature before...that of course they wouldn't have, she could turn invisible if she so chose...in addition to Transform into anything she saw," he added in regards to how he could cover himself if asked about this particular image. He tried not to let his expression change upon saying the last part, but a tiny frown appeared on the corners of his mouth. "That and it seems like not all of Caido has been explored...which I find just a little bit odd by now."
He lifted his drawing hand up to his hair to run his hand through it...but it caused him to discover something wrong as soon as he did. "...wait, where's my hat?" He glanced around before seeing it slightly blowing around in the faint wind, causing him to widen eyes and dash after it. "Ack! My hat! Be right back!"
He was not used to having to chase after his favored hat...
...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.
Ray hummed. "You're right. It is odd that there's still so much left undiscovered. Granted it is a rather large area but still. With so many people with abilities you'd think we'd know more about our own home. But you're right that you can definetly use that to your advantage if anyone questions you." This Mew being sounded really interesting and it made Ray wonder if there was a similar creature somewhere in the unexplored depths of Caido. Ray was about to ask more about them when Neos panicked and took off after his had. "Ah! Let me help!" She took off after him. After all they had a better chance of catching it if two people were trying.
r a y
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
Neos had a moment when he thought the winds had developed a mind of its own for a second. It kept blowing his hat just out of reach each time he grabbed it, before a final blast of wind landed it firmly on Ray's head. A sideways frown appeared on his face, looking a tiny-bit weirded out by the sight of someone other than him wearing that hat.
After all, the hat used to literally be a physical part of his body before coming here.
"...can I have my hat back?" He stretched out his hand towards Ray, expecting to get his hat back without having to just take it back. "By the way, what all do you know about the 'Festival of Lights', beyond the creating and releasing of these lanterns?"
...is that no one believes the tales that emerge later on.
