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!
Elide's busy shoving a table up against the door when there's a sudden, very distinct sound of fire erupting. It makes her freeze, stop what it is she's doing, and think.
Deimos told her everything she could've needed to know. Something in specific that he told her makes this feel like a trap, but if they all stay put they run the risk of being trapped either way... Was Elide really going to be the one to open the door wide open? No. She'd need them all on board. But she does place her hand on one of the walls to feel how warm it is.
"The windows are all boarded up. If we want a better look at what's going on, we'll have to go out there and see," she says, glancing about, "we may have to decide whether we want to fight - or go down with the barracks."
Elide tries to warn everyone else that they might have to actually fight.
She's also touching a wall near the door to try and see if it's hot
and, if so, how hot it is (cuz of fire y'know)
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
Mara had been looking forward to a little wordplay with her new companion, but in true KQ form, any amount of pleasant fuckery was immediately ruined. "I'm with soft-lips." They'd boarder up the barracks so fucking tight there was no way in or out. That had seemed like such a good thing at the time.
Fuck.
"Can anyone do anything about the fire from in here? Anyone with ... I don't know, fire retardant upgrades?" Doubtful, though how fucking smart. If anyone of them lived, they should absolutely quest for fire-extinguisher fingers ASAP.
"Ice, water? Can we do anything to secure the inside of this place before we all go up in a blaze of glory in the place we were supposed to be safe in?"
Mara wants to know if anyone has any upgrades that'll help.
the rumours are terrible and cruel, but, honey most of them are true
Azrael 's monster repellant currently does nothing.
Samuel sees nothing! You all did such a good job boarding up the barracks, there is nothing through which you can see.
Mabel reinforces the door, keeping the monsters out, but keeping you all in, as well.
Outside the monsters are far too busy with whatever the fuck is happening to answer Aamu. It certainly sounds like none of them are in the direct vicinity of the door, which might be a good thing. Or not.
Elide, thinking with her head, indeed feels heat coming from the walls.
The walls of the barracks have quite clearly caught fire. Now, because the wood is cold and the barracks are covered in snow, the creep of flames is slow. Slow, but consistent. There isn't much time to debate about what to do, maybe three rounds or so, before your choice will be made for you and the walls or ceiling will collapse in.
Outside the mechanical shrieks of your long-departed brethren scream into the night. Though there is another scream that penetrates the air. It's far louder and higher up and entirely organic sounding. And that sound is furious.
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
They spray the door, but it does little in response to whatever monsters linger outside. And before they have a chance to register what’s happening, hands are beneath their arms, hoisting them up, their fathers worried tone a sharp guiding light in the darkness. They weakly try to lift the can as if to explain why they had done it, but Bastien is kneeling before them, their gaze meeting his to hear the ultimatum.
Their head shakes, they don’t want to be taken like their mother was. But they also don’t know what else to do to help, feeling uselessly glued to Bastien’s side, that part of Rexanna embedded in them seems to scream that they need to do something more. So they ask, instead, after nodding to their father in understanding. “How bad is the fire?” They ask the room, remaining close to Bastien.
Az asks how bad the fire is but stays by Bastiens side (cuz they’re a bby ;-;) they will go with Bastien wherever he goes!
Well, he didn't see anything, no matter how much he pressed his face up to the gaps in the boards; they were too thin, the windows too thick, for anything to be visible. What Sam did feel though was heat coming through the air, warming his nose in addition to the light in his eyes. When he heard Azrael say 'fire', it sunk in what was happening; despite his current state of mostly apathy, there was a flicker of fear in his chest at the realisation.
Sam was aware, even though he was not the natural leader or one to take charge here, he was probably the strongest. It was odd - he was usually full of dread and tears, but the fear in him began to disappear as he thought of what he could do; to try and at least slightly reduce the deaths there would be. Turning from the window, he began to make strides to the door and spoke as loud as he could over any hubbub in the room:
"You are all going to need to leave before this burns the barracks...I've seen a fire at Longnight before, and it...you need to leave." As always, he couldn't speak clearly, but he didn't stop. "There's a back door. If...if I stay and leave out of the front to distract the monsters, you could get out of there and get to somewhere else. The Atheneum basement might be safe." The building was stone and large, and the basement had less exposure to the outside (in retrospect, it might have been a better place to stay in the first place). "I'm..the strongest one here, so I have the most chance. ...Unless anyone else...has another plan."
She ceased motion entirely, numbed, frozen, terrified. Her fingers trembled and she slunk to the middle of the room. She didn’t know what to say in face of Sam’s suggestion. She didn’t know what to do at all.
All she had was Henry’s shift in her veins, and suddenly she very desperately wanted to sprout those wings and flee.
“Should we leave?” Only managed to quake from her small whisper. Flee towards what? More fire? More monsters? A chance to go elsewhere? Her eyes swept over the older ones, pondering, wondering, the best course of action. She’d take anything at this point.
--
Mabel stops barricading the door and will take directions from whomever makes a decision.
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
Only silence—just the crackle of flames licking up the sides of the barracks. They need not fear the smoke, at least, just the devastating fire. Small mercies. Wordlessly, he shakes his head at Mara. He can't do anything, except maybe break the building.
Aamu's gaze snaps to Sam. "Stop trying to get yourself killed in useless ways. There's too bloody many of them to fall for that. Here's what we'll do: we'll break out through the back door as a group and fucking leg it to the Spire, use whatever is going on outside as cover. The moment we come under attack from the LongNight creatures-" He can't take the word monster in his mouth anymore; it's filthy, dirty, not what they are "-we all activate our invisibility chips and hope it'll last us long enough."
He looks at them. Children and booksellers, bartenders and artists. They can't do this. They can't risk it. "Then if shit gets fucked on the way, you can play at your heroics."
There. Should be good enough for everyone. Aamu won't die pointlessly, and die they will if they fight. "Oh—and I can turn into a dragon, so I'll do what I can if need be. Just don't expect stellar communication if I do." He doesn't stop to look who's with him, just strides away towards the back door, hoping the rest will come and help him break it open (or if they stop him, that they have a really good reason).
Aamu says fuck this shit and formulates a plan for them all to leg it to the Spire and sip drinks in Torchline instead. Then he goes to break open the back door so they can all RUN AWAYYYY. Unless anyone whacks him over the head to stop him, that is.
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?
Thankfully, Azrael didn't argue; Bastien kept a hold of their hand, frozen for a moment looking at the bright light coming in, which he came to the same conclusion as everyone else about: a fire. Why, he couldn't say; maybe it would help eliminate the monsters outside, depending on how far it spread, but there was no guarantee, and they couldn't stay.
He again, ignored Sam; the man was on some kind of depressed egotistical power trip, and they didn't have time for it. Aamu at least suggested a real plan, but Bastien shook his head at it. "No, we don't have time to get to the Spire, and there's too much open space on the way. The Sanctuary is closer and has enough in it to create barricades." No, it wouldn't be as secure a place to end up, but at least they had a chance to get there.
"We can discuss it on the way. Come on, we don't have time to stand here." Pulling Azrael along, he turned and began to quickly walk towards the back door. "Anyone with me, I guarantee you a place at the Sanctuary until the end of the dark."
---
Bastien argues it will be easier/more practical/quicker to get to the Artist's Sanctuary and begins to walk to the back door, taking Azrael with him.
Well at least Blondie has a plan. And frankly, as much as I like Bastien, I like Blondie's thought process waaaaay more. Get out, go to a beach, sip some blood martinis until this whole shitshow blows over. I didn't sign up to die for someone else's stupid cause, after all. I signed up to live.
"I'm with Blondie. Let's hit the Spire. And you-" and here I go to grab Redhead by the collar, if I can, intending to drag him towards wherever this backdoor is. "If you're so heroic, shouldn't you be going first? Y'know, protect us from whatever might be lurking out in the dark and all." I raise an eyebrow, flashing my most threatening toothy grin (which I'm pretty good at, weak knees notwithstanding). Voice dropping to a low purr, I press in close to Sam. "Or maybe you're trying to use us as bait, hmm? Slip away while the larger crowd catches everyone's attention?"
Ezra agrees with Aamu's plan but will follow along regardless. He also suggests Sam goes first if he's so strong.
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
Well, it was quickly becoming clear they would not be staying in the barracks either way, so Morgan left her post, lifting her hammer and walking away from the door, though still trying to keep an eye around at their surroundings. "I will go with the majority to help. I know that Ascended have an ability to see in the dark, but I do not. I would appreciate some guidance." It pained her to ask for assistance, but stumbling about in the night wasn't going to be much use to anyone.
At least she could offer something in return. Walking to the back door with the rest, she let a few drops of ice water fall from her palm. "If the blaze blocks our path, I will be able to calm it at least enough for us to pass." Morgan doubted she could do enough to save the building by now, but she could at least make their escape less lethal.
--
Morgan goes towards the back door, says she will need help in the dark but has water magic to help with the fire.
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for
Elide listens quietly as the people around her make their decisions, proud of them at least for giving themselves a fighting chance. She'd much rather try than give up and simply burn away into the night, and now she's certain that everyone else agrees with that sentiment.
She follows Aamu to the back door, axe in hand. The walls by the front door are certainly hot, indicating that the building is indeed on fire. At Morgan's announcement, she feels more confident that they can at least bypass the flames. Hopefully. "We stay together and leave no one behind," she says pointedly, definitely directed at everyone but meant to assure Morgan as well.
"Stand back!" She announces to anyone standing in front of the boarded up door, shouldering her way forward if she has to. So long as no one is in danger of being struck, she'll heave the axe through the boards, hoping to break through them as quickly as she can. She won't be opposed to anyone else that wants to help in this process, though.
Elide will go to the back door and (as long as no one's in the way of her swing, no friendly fire! lol) she'll try to use her axe to break the door open.
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
"Wait, if curls has fucking water magic, why don't we all just take a quick sip of her, and just get this wood real wet?" She can't help the innuendos, but it seems a much better plan than letting ginger play hero, or running out into the dark. Just because it's a backdoor doesn't mean there won't be monsters. "Let everyone else fucking burn out there."
"You think you and the kid are going to make it that far? Have you heard how many of them there are?" Mara asks of Bastien, looking skeptically at Az.
As for running to Torchline? "There's no way we'd all making it. But whoever you can carry, assuming you aren't one of those small dragons, probably could." Mara isn't one to vote women and children first. If anything, people can opt out, or draw straws, or whatever the fuck.
Mara thinks everyone should drink from Morgan, drench the place in water, and stay put.
the rumours are terrible and cruel, but, honey most of them are true
Everyone stands around talking as the world burns, except for Elide. Well done, you. The wood of the door splinters after a few wacks and crisp air blows through. The world outside is pitch black of course, save for the red glow of fire as it slowly consumes everything in its wake, but Elide will be able to see the eyes that blink and target this new structural weakness in the building. The training area of the barracks are far from empty.
The building is on fire so they don't dare stray closer.
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
They have absolutely no idea what to do, completely unprepared for all of this. They expected it, to an extent, to be a hindrance aside from healing when they could, but seeing as everyone was fine right now? They clutch to that can of monster repellant like it might actually do some good, like it’s a barrier between life and death. And they huddle beside their father, a hand right into Bastien’s clothes as to not lose him, as their gaze drifts toward the door that's open.
At the very least, they’ve spent their life focused on reading and creating (granted their life isn’t very long so far) but they stare out the door at the fire and clench their teeth. “Making it wet won’t make it stand forever though… it’ll just slow it down.” But, given the idea of Morgan’s magic, they wonder aloud. “Maybe an ice shield we can run under when it breaks?” Their gaze seeks out Morgan and Elide, before lifting to their father.
Az suggests a shield of ice they can run under in case the building collapses, but otherwise does nothing >_>
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)
