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!
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
Oh, ye of little faith.
No matter what was going on around him, no matter the thrashing waves or determined ghost whales or weak looking star whale, he was going to keep channelling his Goddess' power. Gideon had been given a gift from the Gods, and he was not about to throw it away; when you were given an opportunity by Safrin herself, you used it.
Focusing too hard to respond to Arialla, he gripped the rail so hard it would probably have finger marks by the end of it and kept his hand outstretched, kept Safrin's magic going, believing with all his heart that it would do whatever was meant to happen, and his duty was to be a conduit for that fate.
---
Gideon determinedly continues to hold onto the railing and channel Safrins magic for the whale.
Aurelia 's is a truly clever plan, if not for the kinks. You see, any netting strong enough to pull down a whale as large as the ghostwhales, isn't the sort of thing the crew could lift and throw. And anything they can lift and throw, isn't really the sort of thing that can do anything more than annoy the whales. Though in that regard, they are quiet successful.
Despite the weights and netting floundering around them, the ghostwhales can taste the demise of the starwhale bright in the water. Gideon 's channelling has finally run its course, and the bright blanket of starlight over the starwhale finally explodes in a luminous wave, destroying the strange netting that was previously binding the creature. However the ghostwhales have nearly drained all light from the magnificent creatures, and now they circle like monolithic and skeletal vultures below, waiting for the last spark of life to fade.
The whale harassing the Ark has joined the duo near the starwhale, leaving Jack's vessel alone for the time being.
Is today the day we play hero? Or play it safe?
Your randomly assigned order is: Arialla, Aurelia, Jack, Neos, Gideon
You have 48 hours to post! So that nothing is missed, please include a quick summary at the bottom of your post of all actions and the descriptions of magic/magic items used.
REMEMBER: KQs are rewarding, but dangerous. They may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters - join at your own risk!
The starwhale wasn't dead yet, rather to Arialla's surprise; she ground her beak as she realized that this meant yet another opportunity to help it that she had to actively choose to ignore if she wanted to survive.
Before she got into that debate, though, she remembered that she was supposed to be reporting back to the Ark. The starwhale's free now, but the three ghost whales are circling it -- they'll take it down before it can get back into the sky unless we ... do something.
This would be the time for the ship to retreat, she imagined, with the ghost whales distracted. They had done their part, with the netting; Gideon had channeled Safrin; the only person who hadn't done anything of substance was ... Arialla.
And there was nothing she could do -- nothing survivable at any rate. With a feeling of impending doom, she hung in the sky, forcing herself to watch the starwhale's destruction.
Arialla projects a message to Neos describing the current situation, then remains in her eagle shift watching the starwhale.
Arialla
Freedom. Flight. Grace. Keen-sight.
"Golden Eagle - Mongolia" by carfull...from Wyoming is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
02-04-2021, 10:15 PM (This post was last modified: 02-04-2021, 10:16 PM by Aurelia.)
we rise and we fall and we break
"Shit!" Aurelia curses, "Alright, we're good to go, let's get the fuck out of here!"
They will have to make do with what little they've done because, as Jack said, they're leaving now. Unless his plans have changed somehow, given that the starwhale is suddenly freed. But she has serious doubts about anything more they'd be able to do. There's no attachment to this being other than an inclination to try, and they've done that already.
It's not worth their lives, not in Aurelia's opinion, but she does feel a bit... conflicted, maybe even bitter. In all their efforts, in all the damage the Ark had sustained, they couldn't manage to help change this thing's fate. Whatever it is, it's whale food now.
She's okay to assist in setting the Ark on its course back to the port, doing whatever she needs to do, though there is defeat in her expression.
Aurelia will help with. y'know... ~ship things~ to get them outta hereee
There are things that are possible, and there are things that are not. And here and now, with a single ship, a rowboat and a bird against three ghostwhales and a celestial hostage? It is not possible. Jack curses under his breath, for he is not immune to the legends of starwhales and all that it might mean for one to be swallowed beneath the waves. He's also not immune to just what a ghost whale could do to the Ark.
"We go," he orders as the last whale finally leaves them to go and circle the inevitable prey. If the rowboat wants to be a hero, that's the rowboat's decision. Moving again to man the sails, Jack barks orders to ensure that they get out of here at speed.
Jack orders the crew to flee, and uses his mastered air magic to help sail them the fuck out of there.
like a secret or a sin
JACK
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret:
Magic: Passive Telepathy | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
Also branded with a small star tattoo beneath his left eye.
02-08-2021, 09:53 AM (This post was last modified: 02-08-2021, 09:54 AM by Neos.)
Neos
Look out 'cause here I come And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
There's got to be something we can do.
You do anything to help it, you will likely end us both.
Neos' hands were gripping the railings as he forced himself to watch the last moments of the starwhale's floundering. He was straining himself to not even once blink during this, even when his eyes hurt more and more to keep them open. If he was paying attention to his grip, he's realize he was getting splinters from such an action in both hands.
"...there's got to be something...anything..."
Unlike in Eorzea, Hydaelyn isn't here to save you from doing anything crazy or stupid. You die here, your body will remain on the bottom of the ocean floor.
And let's face it, you have lost a lot of strength coming here.
As an act of frustration, rage and anger, Neos rapidly shifted into his lion form before letting out an echoing roar over the waters towards the ghostwhales. Will it do anything? Probably not. He didn't expect it at this point.
Neos rapidly shifted into his lion form and roared towards the ghostwhales, too upset to do much else.
Excluding his hat and slightly-glowing necklace, he has on hand...
A spear
A round shield
Plenty of rope
A small bag of jerky to possibly use as bait in an emergency
And he has his lion shift, which he's now in
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
Safrin's magic flowed through him until it didn't, Gideon's hand slowly losing the glow of starlight; he looked beyond the ship and sure enough the binding had disappeared from the whale. Satisfied that her will had been completed, he leaned hard on the railing to catch his breath, laughing (a little wildly) under his breath from joy at what he had just done; what he had been trusted to do.
The power he had channelled had released the bindings but not harmed the ghostwhales. He could tell it was unlikely the bound prisoner would survive, but that was not his concern. If the Gods wanted the creature to survive, it would have, the magic he had been given would have blasted them away. Perhaps this creatures fate was to die, but unbound and free, able to be loose in it's final moments.
Regardless, he wasn't going to be able to do anything on his own, and most of the crew of the Ark were leaving. Turning to the stricken Captain of the fishing boat, he yelled: "Well? What are you waiting for?! Sail away, man!"
---
Gideon tells the fishing boat to gtfo because he's done what Safrin wanted (he believes), so...bye o/
Despite freeing the starwhale (good job, Gideon), it is almost immediately killed by the circling ghostwhales. The light dims from the water as the sound of the ocean dulls the snapping of the large creature's bones.
The Ark sails away, as does the small fishing boat.
Have you failed the KQ and left with nothing? Or have you succeeded and been gifted your lives? Guess that's a glass-half-empty/full question you'll have to answer for yourselves.
So, that's that then. Here are a few things we've learned:
1. A lion on board a ship is about as effective as a stowaway is.
2. Having keen eyesight as an eagle is useless if no one listens to you.
3. Cannons cannot shoot directly down into the water, until it's from a good distance away. Stop trying to do this for the love of god.
4. Jack will always choose to save the Ark.
Congratulations? The starwhale has died, but you've all escaped with your lives. Which, considering there were three ghostwhales swimming about is nothing to sneeze at.
Still, your lives are all you'll leave with on this night. That, and the weighty knowledge that you let a starwhale die.
