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!
There's a voice coming, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out it is Azrael's mother, or some such—more alarming is the rattle of the doorknob. Aamu comes back to where the others are and dumps a handful of spears and halberds on the ground with a rattle. They can do fuck-all about this situation, but doing something will keep their minds sharper than doing nothing.
"Sam, that's noble, but we're absolutely not going to send anyone out and absolutely not going to open anything. We need to barricade whatever we can with what we've got, and set up perimeter sweeps to make sure we don't get caught unawares if they manage to breach the building. Pair up and stay in your pairs. Oh, and everyone should take a halberd or spear, they're useful."
Still—he's thrown by the voice coming in through the rattling door. Thrown by the sentience, the cunning. As he joins Mabel in pushing a heavy table to bar the door he looks to her, unsettled, and speaks in a quiet voice. "Can they be reasoned with? The monsters?"
Aamu delivers halberds + spears and tells everyone to keep fortifying, do perimeter sweeps, and pair up. Then he helps Mabel push a table to bar the door with.
Aamu is a lucky HG kid
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With your big heart, you praise God above, but how's it working out for you, honey?
Of course, Rexanna's voice did cause Bastien's heart to jump and ache, but after that? This was not the first time the monsters had tried to use her to hurt him, and he was more annoyed than upset. Gathering himself, he stood straight and squeezed Azrael's hand, briefly looking down to quietly say: "Correct. That is not your mother, but a beast wearing a mask."
His eyes flicked over to Samuel, but he dismissed the offer as the depressed ramblings of a suicidal nobody; not giving the monster any of the attention it craved he went to help Aamu and Mabel, lifting things for the barricade. "Azrael. Stay with me." He said as he had to let go of their hand to help. He could only hope they'd listen - he couldn't let another family member disappear in this dark time.
--
Bastien ignores the Rex monster and helps Aamu/Mabel to set up a barricade
Ok well fuck me I guess. Nobody is interested in my suggestion of drink and be merry (except me). Seems the pretty little redhead wants to light himself on fire, and everyone else wants to just barricade the doors, as though that's going to do anything. At least the handsome shepherd has a plan, though I usually like my pairing up to lead to more fruitful outcomes.
The pickings are slim, but ultimately I wind up tailing along with Mara, who at least seems to have the right idea about things. As for the voices outside? Nah, last time I responded to a LongNight caller I was fucked to death - though the time before that I saved Bastien's life, so hey, 50/50 odds at this point that we're letting someone take the fall. And those odds are odds I'm comfortable with, thank you very much.
Ezra hangs with Mara and will help with whatever she decides to do.
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
i may not be everybody's cup of tea but i'm someone's double shot of tequila
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Morgan had come here to help protect and fight, and that was what she was going to do. With nothing to contribute to the various little conversations around the room, she stood still by the door, hands adjusting on the handle of her hammer; she'd be there the whole week, if she had to be. Ever the stalwart protector and statue of strength, she did not let any doubt or fear show on her face as the monsters began to speak (perhaps it was easier because she didn't recognise the voice they used).
She approved of the barricade being set up, but someone still needed to be alert in case of a sudden breach, so she didn't help. Eyes on the door and windows, she continued to wait for an attack she hoped would never come.
---
Morgan stands by the door still, ready to attack anything that breaks in.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Elide is not one for comforting words and gentle shoulder pats, the likes of which someone like Samuel might need right now. At the idea of storming the monsters in self-sacrifice, she merely shakes her head and gives him a wary eye.
"No one needs to be a hero right now... do not do anything rash." She turns to survey the others. Her gaze lingers over Azrael with some hesitation.
She abandons checking the perimeter to join Morgan by the door and help Mabel and Aamu to create more of a barricade. As far as spears or halberds go, she has no dire need for another weapon.
Elide joins Morgan to stand guard at the door and help the others barricade it further.
sewn together, my humanity and my immortality together, they hang, trading places like sun and moon
we need love, but all we want is danger. we team up, then switch sides like a record changer
"If you do that, they'll just let you run around and burn yourself out. Literally." Mara says with a curl of her lip, shaking her head at Samuel.
"I agree with white hair." Mara says, meaning Aamu. "We could also try and find one room in here and make sure it's fucking sealed. That way if anything gets in, we have a plan B to hide out in."
Noticing Ezra suddenly at her side, Mara grins. 'You and that bottle can come with me." So saying she makes a come hither motion, before strutting down one of the hallways. Inevitably they'd find something to reinforce, and when they did, they'd bang some wood against it. Wink.
Mara suggests making a fortified room inside of the barracks incase something gets in. Then she and Ezra go to find something to seal up.
the rumours are terrible and cruel, but, honey most of them are true
'Alright...I might not be Rexanna...but I can take you to her. Death is just a second away and then you can be reunited. All of this...why bother? Why not go and be a family again?' The monster outside pauses. 'What if we promise to leave your bodies alone? You can...bury them or burn them, the way you creatures like to do..'
As the groups within move about in pairs, they will hear windows shaking, floorboards pressed up from the bottom, and roof tiles flung away. For now though, everything holds...
...Though the windows are blackened with boards and curtains, brilliant light flares from outside. The monsters squeal and scream as fire descends on the world. The roar of flame consuming oxygen is shockingly loud, shaking the building. For the time being the monsters forgo their assault on the barracks..
Please keep your posts as concise and clear as possible. Remember, this is a KQ. You can spend words on introspection later. Keep things action-based, and refer to the KQ guide in the guidebook for information about our expectations.
If I don't specifically say how your character has evaded an attack, or where the damage is, feel free to add this flavour in yourself!
and the sky was littered with the corpses of stars
So it isn’t their mother, then, as Bastien has said. They cling to their father, regardless, helping where they can to add to the barricade. The windows shaking and the roof tiles splintering off isn’t what causes them alarm, however, their gaze drifting toward the blacked out windows, spying the faint glow of something bright outside. Fear prickles in their heart and they do abandon Bastien’s side momentarily, clutching the can of monster repellant close to their chest.
“Did you see that?” They ask everyone, before their gaze lifts to the roof and another bit of concern flashes through them. “Are the… Is the building okay?” Something had happened, something grand, but they worry that the building has caught fire. Regardless, they do abandon Bastien’s side fully this time, moving to spray some of the monster repellant around the entirety of the front door.
Azrael asks if anyone saw what happened outside, worries for a moment about the buildings condition, and sprays a bit of the monster repellant around the front door that Morgan stands beside!
Type: Grey
Monster Repellant | Will make the air hostile to the senses of any predatory monster-like creatures. Sufficient strength and mental fortification can overcome the effects of the spray. Works in a 30ft radius.
Well, his suicidal fire suggestion wasn't met with much approval, but Sam didn't care too much, lost in the idea himself. He blinked slowly as he watched the low flames, stroking over his fingertips. Maybe Mara was right, but would that be so bad? It would at least provide a distraction for a while, and he'd finally be done with-
Closing his eyes tight and shaking his head, he tried to turn back into the room and plug back into what was happening. They all seemed so desperate. He was about to suggest something else equally fatalistic when the shock of light from outside surprised him, Sam flinching and hunching down instinctively, waiting for some kind of blast or explosion that didn't come.
His new depressed state gave him the ability to recover faster than he might have done before, and Sam went to one of the windows, attempting to reach up (perhaps step on a stool to do so) and peek through a gap in any of the boards, to see what was going on.
--
Sam tries to peek through any gaps in the boards on the windows to see what just happened.
She could care less about what the monsters had to say. Mabel had more concerns about the floorboards moving underneath their feet, about the windows shaking, about the clear signs of the world pressing in around them.
The blast of light from outside, piercing through the blackened out proportions, gave her pause. “Fire?” Was it fire? The panic seared over her bones - now two elements she was deathly afraid of. If they kept barricading, then there might not be a chance to escape.
Escape into what?
Her fingers trembled, grabbing hold of more chairs, trying to place them against the door, more out of something to do than anything else. “What else is out there?” She asked Samuel, backing away, slowly, into the middle section of the room. What would have caused the blast? And did they stand a chance against any of it?
--
Mabel continues to try and barricade the door.
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
If you dig under my feet You will find things that you don't want to see
It is unsettling: disturbing. Aamu stands in the center of the room, by accident more than anything else, head cocked to the side. He's not sure what he expected, but not this. Not such eloquence, sentience. It twists like knives and worms in his gut.
The house vibrates and screams with it.
But before he has the time to ask a strange glow lights up the world outside, accompanied by a familiar woosh and a strange stillness. It is a concern, an immediate one, but the others can investigate it. Instead, Aamu turns towards the door, addressing whatever might still be out there in the night, his voice raised.
"Why are we doing this? What do you want?" It is genuine, honest: Aamu wants to know.
He wants to understand.
Aamu stands around and then asks the monsters (in direction of the door) outside why this is even happening (kind of) and what they want. It's a genuine question!
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
With your big heart, you praise God above, but how's it working out for you, honey?
He was glad to hear the monster give up the pretence; hearing Rexanna's voice was hard, even if he knew it was an act. The shaking was unnerving. He looked up, eyes suspiciously scanning the ceiling - when he turned his head back down, Azrael was not at his side. Immediately, irrational panic surged through him, even more so as he saw them by the door.
Rushing forwards, he would try to scoop them up by the armpits and pull them backwards, more to the middle of the room. "I said stay with me!" Bastien hissed, keeping his voice quiet but clearly displeased; he did not often scold, but the fear in him made him grab Azrael's arms and crouch down to be on eye level with them. "Do not go towards the door by yourself. Do you want monsters to take you like they did your mother? I cannot protect you if you do not stay."
---
Bastien scoops up Az away from the door and into the middle of the room (assuming Az lets him)
I like being told what to do. Especially when I'm in a situation where I have no gods-damned idea what I should be doing and all my usual coping mechanisms (drinking, drugs, fucking...) are off the table. So when Mara instructs me to follow her into a room and make reinforcements, yeah, who am I to say no to a strong and beautiful woman giving orders?
Of course, that's before something outside goes kaboom. I stop in the doorway and turn around, my eyes widening as light peeks in through the beams across the windows. It's... quiet, outside. Too quiet. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong," I address to everyone and no-one, grip tightening on the bottle, "But is the building not in danger of being on fire? And are we in danger of dying in the fucking fire, should that be the case?"
Ezra would like to know if the building is on fire now and if they need to evacuate, thnx
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
i may not be everybody's cup of tea but i'm someone's double shot of tequila
Some nights, I wish that my lips could build a castle Some nights, I wish they'd just fall off
Once again, Morgan was in her defensive, protecting mode; she did not move, her hands steadfast and determined on her hammer and her eyes trained on the door, evening as the flash of light engulfed the room. She didn't know if this was normal for Longnight, but from the reaction of those in the room around her, she could gather it wasn't. Still, the monsters stopped - so maybe it wasn't a bad thing.
Maybe, she could hope, it was help.
"Can anyone see what's going on?" She asked out into the room, unawares that Sam was already looking. It was always good to know where you stood; though even if it was to remain a mystery, she would defend.
--
Morgan continues to stand guard, and asks if anyone can see out.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
