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!
she tied you to her kitchen chair she broke your throne and she cut your hair
The storm is gone, but that doesn’t settle the needling little voice in the back her head. The one that tells her to go west, young demigod, go forth and explore.
The sun sinks in front of her, fiery and brilliant in the Leafchange sky, causing her shadow to stretch as far behind her as she is tall. The two of them (no - three. Loki arrives with a quiet scree to rebuke her bonded for leaving without her) stretch their legs against the darkening hills. There are the usual sounds of night - the chirp of insects, the high pitched yelp of foxes and the fluttering of bat’s wings as they emerge from their hollows. Wessex smiles, taking it all in. The air seems fresher, unburdened by the threat of war, lighter with optimism and lack of people (thus far).
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
When the storms had subsided, Amun had wasted little time preparing to venture in to the newly revealed and accessible lands. Gathering rope, a sword, and his shield, he headed out into the much greener land right beside the Hollowed Ground. Zhanshi circled in the ground at the potter's feet as he trailed behind Wessex.
Once he was in range, he sent her a quick message. Hey Princess, mind if I join you? He didn't wait for permission, just picked up the pace until he was walking beside her. You've been out here before, right? Any idea what this place is? It was quite hilly, though there was something a little off, unnatural, about the way the land rose and fell.
she tied you to her kitchen chair she broke your throne and she cut your hair
Her silent acceptance of his presence is an answer in and of itself. Loki is by far the more animated of the two of them, the now full-grown companion swooping down to investigate Zhanshi again. The landshark is unlike any of her other companion-friends, most likely because he is of the earth while the others are of the sky - but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t trill a little in greeting and extend her curious, blunt snout towards him.
“Not this far,” she answers aloud, coming to a stop in between two small crests. “I’d always been stopped by the storm. Or sentient mud creatures.” Turning around to face Amun, Wessex can only shrug. “Who knows? It’s beautiful, seemingly fertile land. I don’t know why there aren’t any people here.” Unless they’d all been trapped in the Grounds? Unless they died, or moved, or the ancients (as she occasionally thinks of them) knew something she didn’t. It’s by far the more likely option, if she’s honest with herself.
“Some days it’s evident just how much we don’t know.” More than a little exasperated, it’s obvious she’s talking about more than her immediate surroundings.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Zhanshi extended his nose right back at Loki. Although the landshark was entirely silent (Amun was pretty sure his companion couldn't actually make noise, since the Ascended had never heard a peep from Zhanshi), he lifted himself up to meet the dragonling. And then further, hoisting himself entirely out of the ground to circle the air around the Wraith's companion.
Leaving the two of them to their antics, the potter just nodded at Wessex's response. "You mean besides the lightning storms?" Shrugging, he glanced around, hand drifting to the hilt of his sword. "Monsters, probably," he responded with a sigh.
Raising an eyebrow at her last comment, Amun reached up and poked her in the arm. "None of that now, Princess. Who else can say they've been Queen twice and were uplifted by the Voice? Sure you keep saying you've got problems, but you've come out on top of every contest so far." He beamed at her. "So let's lift those gloomy spirits. What do you need, to eviscerate something?"
she tied you to her kitchen chair she broke your throne and she cut your hair
With a knowing snort (because it’s always monsters, isn’t it?) Wessex agrees. “Probably.” And as she looks out again, she can picture planted fields and children running and laughing, paddocks of livestock, fat and healthy on all this green, green grass. Her people could flourish here, if only they had the chance. It wouldn’t solve all their problems, but it might be a start, if they could just grow enough food for a couple of years in a row. “Guess there’s another thing on the to-do list. Kill the unknown monster. Move the Grounders out here.” Become Enders. Or whatever the fuck this place would be called.
His poke elicits a reflexive, mostly unwanted grin. Everything he says is correct, of course, but what she dwells on isn’t what affects her, but the rest of them. Herself? She’s safe, unless Osozo or Azrael end up burning her with fire. The others? Not so much. “So what I’m hearing,” the demigod says as she turns towards him, “is that I need to stop feeling sorry for things I have no control over and keep training so I can pummel some Order members when I finally meet them?”
A remarkably self-aware statement, if she does say so herself. And she does.
“Well come on then,” the Wraith gestures to her usual punching bag (an affectionate term, I promise you, dear reader) with a fanged smirk, sinking into a prepared stance. “I’m just gonna imagine an ugly ass Order face on you until you say stop the evisterating.”
Not that either of them know what an Order member looks like.
Well, the Wraith does, but she doesn't know that yet.
12-18-2020, 03:31 PM (This post was last modified: 12-18-2020, 03:31 PM by Amun.)
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Grinning at Wessex's assessment, Amun looked around at their surroundings. Kneeling down, he picked up a clump of dirt, ripping the grass from the ground. He pinched it between his fingers. Rubbing the loam, he let it trickle back down to the ground. "Or we could just take some of the soil from here and use it to restore our fields and land. Avoid the monster killing unless necessary." He stood up, dusting off his hands as he did.
Laughing at her comment, he nodded. "Hey you said it, not me." As she asked to go a few rounds, he groaned, though his lips twiched and eyes crinkled as he did. "Rude. My face is far too pretty to be a member of the Order. Besides, haven't you spilled my guts enough times already? Besides, I can't even damage you without hurting myself," he grumbled.
Still, he unsheathed his sword. Activating his upgrade, it rippled and was joined by the metal bracers he wore, turning into a thick chain. He swung the links at the Wraith, not trying to do damage, but simply trying to tangle her up.
12-18-2020, 05:54 PM (This post was last modified: 12-18-2020, 06:12 PM by Wessex.)
WESSEX
the wraith
she tied you to her kitchen chair she broke your throne and she cut your hair
Unsure of the mechanics of farming, Wessex can only shrug at the suggestion of taking soil from here. How much would they need to take? How much would fix their fields? A wheelbarrow full per farmer, two or three? “Sounds like a question for Nature Frey, if they’ll talk to us… and we survive LongNight.” That’s an important caveat. “Once we’re safer, I do think we should try to improve the fields. For the life of me, I can’t understand why Rex or Evie didn’t try to do that, but…” Another shrug. Another thing she can’t control.
“It’s true, you’re far too pretty.” But as he agrees (albeit with a well-deserved grumble), she stays put and grins. “Just consider it… advisor duties.” Or something like that. Lackey duties, if they want to go back that far. Not that she would every consider Amun a lackey anymore.
Knowing now what those chains can do, Wessex keeps her talons sheathed and instead drops to the ground, avoiding their lengths and resulting entanglement. From there, she tilts her head up and tries to hit him with a little bit of fear.
-------------
Magic: Night Terror | Can create nightmare-like illusions in the mind of one character within 5 ft which have the ability to petrify them in place. Illusions are only visible to that character. (A 30 END difference is an automatic success: characters cannot move or speak for one round during a PQ+/KQ, or 30 seconds) Difference of 20 is accompanied by extreme fear and associated reactions. Difference of 10 or below is accompanied by increased heartrate and anxiety-spikes.)
Type: Dark | Rank: Basic
12-18-2020, 07:04 PM (This post was last modified: 12-18-2020, 07:04 PM by Amun.)
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Raising an eyebrow at Wessex, Amun scuffed at the ground. He used that to cover the small hole he'd made in the earth. "Nature Frey? Really? I know we're trying to show that we're willing to worship and work with all the gods, and I agree that's important, but I seriously doubt they'll deal with us. Why not just ask the Voice if she could...I don't know, give us super fertilizer or something." He shrugged, staying quiet on the subject of the previous queens.
"More like court jester," he quipped. The Wraith evaded his shackles. However, she made no move to attack. He found anxiety roiling in his gut at her lack of reaction. Breathing heavily (and unnecessarily), he retracted his metal. It formed into spiked bracers on his arms, which he brought up in a defensive pose as he stumbled back with a cry.
she tied you to her kitchen chair she broke your throne and she cut your hair
He has a point, and she might be relying on her Natural tendencies, find the earth and fields to be solely in Frey’s domain when really, anything could fall under the Voice’s umbrella. She’s never limited herself before. “See, this is why I keep you around,” she chirps brightly back, even as he cries out and retreats, pulling his arms up into a great defensive stance. “Super fertilizer. Some fancy seeds to heal the fields. Yeah, why not?”
If they survive LongNight. And can see some compass-action.
Staying down, she directs her gaze to Amun’s feet, not wanting to do any real damage with the heat-laser-thing (not to his eyes, not to his hands, not to anything that doesn’t have some kind of protective covering already in place) and tries to give him a mild case of hot feet.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
"And here I was thinking it was my pretty face and witty banter," Amun quipped. Grinning at Wessex, he winked at her. "Worst case, the Voice will tell us it's beyond her purview and give us suggestions on what she could do."
Yelping as the Wraith's weird heat visions blasted at his feet, he did a weird little shuffling step to try and avoid it. Growling at her, he pointed his palms at the ground in front of her. Lightning lashed at it. His goal was not to actually hit her, but to try and shoot a clump of dirt up towards her face. He was well aware it was likely going to miss or fail.
she tied you to her kitchen chair she broke your throne and she cut your hair
Going from flat on the ground to standing up again takes long enough that Amun’s lightning burst does hit the tips of her toes. She can’t feel it, of course, but there’s a bit of an electrical zap that flies up through her legs. “Ahhhh.” Wessex yelps, more in surprise than anything else, as she reflexively jerks her feet back. She doesn’t have anything new left in her arsenal, though Amun might feel the effects of that zap echoed back at him.
So she falls back to relying on physical prowess and because the distance between them is probably more than her body length, the Wraith jumps forward and tucks into a little forward roll meant to carry her right to Amun - if he doesn’t move - and she’ll try to come out of it and tackle him to the ground. Maybe.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Amun realized he'd miscalculated when lightning zipped up his legs. It was a stronger jolt than the one Wessex had felt. Although it didn't hurt, he still hissed. He danced it place for a get to get the tingles to go away.
So he was off balance and distracted when she tackled him. Yelping, he toppled to the ground with her on top of him. He barely got his arms beneath him to cushion the blow.
Rolling with it, he tried to buck his hips and toss her aside using the remaining force from her tackle. However, he fully expected to end up pinned by her and was already tensing for some blows.
12-22-2020, 07:31 PM (This post was last modified: 02-14-2021, 04:48 AM by Wessex.)
WESSEX
the wraith
she tied you to her kitchen chair she broke your throne and she cut your hair
This is a familiar position for the two of them and oh, if only they thought of each other in that way, they might both be happier. He’s certainly learning, and Wessex grins when he tries to use her momentum against her. She has to brace herself against the ground for a moment and push back with her lower body to try and pin him.
That’s about it, though. She keeps her claws and knives sheathed, doesn’t even make a move to eviscerate Amun, despite their earlier jokes. Maybe his joke hit a nerve, maybe the Wraith is just… changing. If he decides to stop struggling, she’ll pull back and look down ever so slightly. “I’m sorry for hurting you. Doing damage. You’ve always been here for me and… and I don’t want to do that to you anymore." Pausing, she quickly adds a caveat. "Unless you say it's okay."
