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!
11-13-2020, 07:44 PM (This post was last modified: 11-17-2020, 04:11 AM by Aisha.)
AISHA
i lost the plot, or maybe two
A straw pack attached to her back and her sword at her side, Aisha had made her way into the woodlands to go collecting things. Nuts and berries, sticks and grasses, things they could use in the coming months. Around this time last year she'd never been in these woods, she was likely still in her birth world. Had it been a full year yet? Or was there still some time to go.
So much had changed in the past year, she had an entirely new mindset, a new list of goals and ideas, a new outlook on where she stood in the world. It changed even now as she contemplated leaving the grounds, as she thought about becoming a mentor and offering sword fighting lessons. Even with those tamer notions, her mind would still wander to adventure. There was so much to find, so much to see. Monsters to fight that she had the power to vanquish.
Concerning the more mystical veil of this realm, it was about time Aisha made a trip to a shrine. To speak with a spirit, a god, or simply to try. Her steel was almost enough, but there was more she could ask for, guidance to receive and secrets to unlock. Magic and heavens on her mind, she squatted under an oak and sifted through the leaf litter for acorns. They could grind these to flour, make some bread.
Every day's a challenge But I always seem to get through
The lanky teen had been out that day, a pair of empty buckets in hand that had once contained either water or dirt previously. He had been gathering wild herbs, mushrooms, seeds of various plants that were for either an edible or medicinal plant, even a dozen sturdy sticks for use in future crafting and sturdy vines to eventually turn into strong ropes.
His eyes caught moment some distance to his right, catching someone heading towards one of the trees he normally frequented every few days for acorns to either break up into either large chunks to add to various edibles, ground into flour for a form of sourdough bread when he chooses to make it himself, or keep whole for trade at the settlement. "...is that a...?"
An eyebrow had gone up as he noticed something at the lady's side, scurrying to behind another tree as he tried to get a better look at the unfamiliar figure. He covered his mouth as he ended up whispering to himself, his voice going higher in surprise, "That is a sword."
He looked around, making sure there was no immediate obstacle that would be his path, should he need to run. He knew nothing about this lady, but usually anyone with a weapon would know how to use it...
(This is supposed to be a training thread...but it dawned on me while writing this that skittish boy's gonna end up not making this easy to start. ^^; )
Aisha placed her pack on the ground, the bottom of it laden with the grass and sticks she'd already collected. She had just begun to fill it with fallen acorns when she heard a rustle, footsteps, the sound of an approach. Her whole life she'd been trained to be cautious, retaliation and defense were instinct, especially when not expecting visitors.
Now she wouldn't have been so suspicious if she didn't turn her head just in time to see a figure slip behind a tree. The towering trunk obscured her vision, but she was sure she heard whispering. This was unsettling for sure, so quietly she put her pack on the ground and stood. As soon as she reached full height she shifted, arms becoming leathery wings and body shrinking until it was that of the flying fox. She lifted up into the air quietly, out of her stalker's line of sight. She circled where they hid, then dove behind them, shifting back to her human form and placing her hand on the hilt of her sword.
And that's when she realized it was just a kid. A mop headed boy hiding behind a tree, apparently talking to himself. This was just an over reaction, an instinct after being in danger so many times. He should've just come out, what was he thinking being so suspicious. "What the hell were you sneaking up on me for," she barked, a bit too cruelly. Aisha wasn't great with kids.
11-13-2020, 11:43 PM (This post was last modified: 11-14-2020, 02:35 AM by Belril.)
Belril
Every day's a challenge But I always seem to get through
The teen gave a very-undignified squeak in surprise upon seeing the woman appear behind him before falling back against the tree he had been hiding behind. He was cornered and that wasn't a good place to be. The lady looked only a few inches taller than him, but it was clear she was more fit than he ever was. If he ran, she was going to easily catch him.
"...I...I was g-going to that t-tree anyway," Belril managed to say with some stutter, though while his head was aimed up to face her from his position, his eyes were more on the blade at her side. "I-I wasn't planning on doing anything, I p-promise."
He was just praying in his head this woman would believe him...
Her bristling stopped when the boy shrunk away, and she realized she was being cruel. Not that it didn't feel good to lash out now and then, and hey he'd sort of asked for it. But he probably didn't deserve it, and as she watched his anxious eyes settling on her blade she quickly took her hand away from the pommel. Not inclined to admitting her wrongness she gave a grumble of a response, "Well you shouldn't sneak up on people, you're lucky I'm nice."
She gave a light huff, looking him up and down before placing her hands on her side. He was a scrawny thing, probably shouldn't be out here all alone anyway. "What were you looking for?" she asked, stepping back just slightly and glancing around the tree to make sure her pack was still where she'd left it.
Every day's a challenge But I always seem to get through
"This particular tree drops a lot of acorns, this one and three others," Belril began to say, trying not to focus on the weapon on the lady's side. "Today was the day I checked on this one for acorns that had fallen, but if you were already gathering them..." He was rubbing the back of his neck, looking down as he did. As he did, the sliver of a scar from under the sleeve on his forearm became slightly more noticeable.
Even that sliver looked downright nasty to behold, from how it appeared to stain his pale skin with a black line that had clearly healed back as skin. "...it breaks pattern, but I guess I can check on the next tree in the order instead..."
11-17-2020, 05:57 PM (This post was last modified: 11-18-2020, 12:32 AM by Aisha.)
AISHA
i lost the plot, or maybe two
Well he was right about that, this wasn't her first time foraging for negotiables and food stuffs for the manor to use, and this tree had been a pretty popular spot. She'd already collected quite a few and was rather territorial, but since he was so small she should at least try to play nice. She huffed, "No baby it's alright, we'll share," came her reply as she stepped back moving to circle around and head over to the massive oak.
She noticed the scar on his arm, and being inclined to nosiness she turned her head over her shoulder to call back her inquiry, "Where'd you get that scar from?" Aisha was a warrior, she'd fought battles before, monsters and other dastardly things, and while she had her share of marks she had nothing of that caliber.
Every day's a challenge But I always seem to get through
Belril, as he was rubbing the back of his neck, glanced towards the scar she seemed to be asking about on the back of his forearm, causing him to bring it back down and against his side. "...um..."
He had to think about how to tell this without revealing too much about himself in the process. "...ran across a landshark almost a year ago," he finally revealed. "It popped up and tried to bite my arm off, but only one of its teeth managed to puncture the arm, the others just missed."
I also accelerating the healing of that with what I can do, but I'm not adding that, he said in his head, keeping the thought off his face as best as he could.
Aisha reached the acorn bound oak, bending down to grab her pack then swinging it over one shoulder. She squatted on the balls of her feet once more bouncing there for a second while she started scanning for more of the capped nuts. So many of them were only the hats, without the meat. Disappointing, and frustrating. Maybe she could just get this little runt to pick them up for her. The thought made her smirk, don't be fucking rude.
He'd yet to join her under the tree, obvious a bundle of nerves. He did answer her question though, she turned her head as he finished, blonde curls bouncing over her shoulder. "And you still have the guts to come out here and go foraging by yourself?" It was a bit surprising all things considered, but she admired the boldness of the jumpy youth.
Every day's a challenge But I always seem to get through
"It happened in the fields, but yeah," he said, pulling the arm closer to him. "Even if I'm scared to, I have to come out every so often if I need to get more...I don't have anyone else to do it for me."
He then slowly walked up to the tree, moving to an area that Aisha wasn't. While not being close to the blade was part of the why behind the distance, it was also largely because he would be less likely to find acorns if he looked in the same area as another was already looking.
However...there didn't seem to be as many acorns to be found during this visit. He looked up towards the branches, narrowing his eyes to better see so high up, which allowed him to see the problem almost immediately. There was very-few acorns left to fall on this particular tree, likely being plucked off by the animals that eat them. "...I might have to remove this tree from the pattern, there doesn't look like there's a lot left to fall."
The boy's response brought a hint of a frown to her face, though it was hidden by the glance she cast back to the acorns at her feet. She was curious, concerned perhaps, some compassionate instinct that told her she ought to help him. Advice to 'be careful' had never helped anyone, so she kept that unsaid. But she hoped he would stay safe, there were so many dangers beyond the settlement.
Not that she knew anything more about him, he'd survived this long so he obviously had something going right. She sifted through the patch of leaf litter, filling her woven pack until there were only capless shells on the ground. His voice nearby drew her attention, though he didn't seem to be addressing her directly. A small smile coaxed to her lips, she replied anyway, "Nope, we've gotten a lot of em, or the rats have just beat us to it."
She pushed to her feet, tossing her pack over her shoulders and securing it before peering through her mess of blonde curls back at the boy, "What's your name sugar?" she asked, a friendly smile on her lips.
Every day's a challenge But I always seem to get through
Belril looked up towards Aisha upon being asked his name, which caused him to shift his weight from one foot to the other a few times.
"...my name's Belril," he said while trying not to stutter. "W-what's yours," he asked, still trying to keep eyes off the sword, though they flickered momentarily to it.
"...by the way," he started to say before pointing at the blade by Aisha's side. "Where did you get that? Is that one god-made?" He didn't want to seem rude, but his curiosity was starting to slip past the nervousness a little bit by now. Plus, if it turned out Aisha was indeed Accepted...well, the thought of how he'd potentially hide his magic caused his eyes to flicker to his silver bracelets.
Even as he gave his name, Aisha smiling in a far friendlier manner than the snarl she'd given him earlier, his voice wavered, nerves taking over. She wondered if it was simply his nature or if he had good reason to be so anxious, given past experiences and fears. "I'm Aisha," she gave her name in return.
She'd been waiting for the questions about the sword, some of his nervousness breaking in favor of curiosity. She grinned, pulling it from it's sheath (probably not a great move considering how intimidated he seemed) but then offered it to him hilt first to hold. She was proud of it, as it was technically a design of her own mind, pulled from her memories and melded with magic into existence.
"It's made from magic but not by the gods, the old general of the grounds made it for me," she replied, a quirk of her lips as she wondered how thrilled Deimos would be at being called the old general.
Every day's a challenge But I always seem to get through
Unfortunately for Belril, the moment she let go of the sword after he grabbed the handle with both hands, the blade of it just fell to the ground with a soft 'plop' against the shells, leaves and ground. The sudden weight shift caused him to stumble forward a little, forcing the blade's tip into the ground a little. With a sheepish chuckle and smile, he looked up towards Aisha before saying, "Ehehe...this is pretty heavy..."
He then looked down towards the blade itself, the handle resting against his waist more than being held up in his hands. "How do people even learn to wield such heavy things?"
