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!
The last time Jack saw Sunjata, the Governor had barged into his cabin and had messed up the globe on his desk. And the last time Jack had been in the Slagveld, it had been to instruct a few of his heavies to give the other man a particularly hard time. Oh, how things change. Or rather, how things stay the same, but their motivations change. Today Jack arrives at the Slagveld alone, with nothing but his wits about him, and a lot of questions.
They've both seen the Notice Board by now, surely. And if not, then Sunjata will certainly want to see it. He's not immune to the rumours that have been plaguing the Governor all LongNight, and the captain for one wants answers. Does he think he deserves these answers more than anyone else in Torchline, for no other reason than because he's fucking Jack Barclay?
You'd better know it.
"Governor," he rumbles as he steps into the boxing ring, gazing around for Sunjata expectantly.
are the angels on their way? i’m in the dirt
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.
He’s only just returned, spying the news on the Notice Board, trying to piece things together on where the fuck Nate is, and trying to go from there. But he’s not entirely sure where to start – sure that his father would have quite the web woven around him in order to make it as difficult as fucking possible to find him. So it is here that he returns, mulling it over, heaving in a bag of sand from the back to shore up the Slagveld just in case when he hears Jack’s voice ring out.
A bag is slung into the middle of the main room where Jack stands, though whether it’s because it’s heavy and he wanted it out of his hands, or Sunajta’s temper is flaring is up to Jack to decide. “Jack.” He says a bit gruffly, stepping into the main room and appraising the Captain with a dark raise of a brow.
And then it hits him, Zeph worked for Jack. Zeph knew Kane – some fucking how – and perhaps his best bet at finding the prick was through the Captain himself. “What is it this time?” He asks, cutting through pleasantries, not in the mood for it in the slightest, wanting to get to the point of it all.
Most of all, he wants to figure out just how much he’ll be explaining himself over and over again versus the bullshit spewed on the Notice Board.
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
In he walks, a sandbag in hand and looking just as prickly as the captain expects him to, and it's here that Jack has to tread carefully. His magic sharpens, opening fully to the Flood, picking up on nuances and truths and half truths, opinions and flares in emotion. Inhaling slowly and positioning himself next to the bag, he reaches down to heft it up himself in Sunjata's place. "Where's this one goin'?" he inquires.
As for what it is, he raises his eyebrows at the Governor. "You know what it is this time," he says, adjusting the sandbag on his shoulder. "Ain't gonna ask you much. Ain't even gonna ask you more'n once. Just tell me what the fuck's got the rest of Torchline bayin' for your blood, and we'll go from there."
are the angels on their way? i’m in the dirt
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.
“By the door.” He says simply, disappearing back into the door that holds much of the sandbags from before. He appears with a bag in hand, moving to the opposite side of the door from where he’s directed Jack to. The sandbag is placed right out front, hoping to create some sort of barge in case they don’t manage to complete their quest. For now, however, he pops back in to hear Jack’s words, his frustration evident in the panes of his face.
He takes a sharp inhale, peers at Jack for a moment before he shakes his head. “Where to fucking start.” Muscles feather in his jaw as he considers it. “Stems from Kane, though, if you’ve gotten any information on that piece of shit.” He stands up a bit straighter, steel gaze narrowing on Jack. “Most recently, though? He attacked Vai and since we have the same accent they're saying it’s me.” He moves to grab another couple of sandbags. “Which it isn’t, but I have no way to prove it, of fucking course. So, you know, it’s going great.” He can’t help but to let the whirlwind of anger and frustration swirl around him, the slight terror of what was to come. And where is Nate?
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
By the door it is. Jack moves like a man practiced with this sort of preparation, setting down the sandbag and heading back into the Slagveld, silent as a ghost as he listens to Sunjata. To look at the captain, he's barely hearing the words, but the reality could not be farther from the truth. Jack's mind is working overtime, weighing odds and taking in the man before him as if he might be able to tell what kind of a soul lives behind his eyes.
"Who the fuck is Kane?" he wants to know, blue eyes growing sharp as he pauses suddenly to straighten up, tilting his head at Sunjata. He can feel the other man's thoughts racing, feel the rising frustration, the way he's bent so far he'll surely snap at any moment. And that won't work, unfortunately, because Jack has put too much effort in, has tried too hard and for too long to get into a position with the Governor to have it put in jeopardy.
"You're losin' it," he tells Sunjata quietly. "And the rest of the islands are startin' to notice." It was something they had spoken about previously, he's sure. "What's your plan?"
are the angels on their way? i’m in the dirt
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.
”Who the fuck is Kane?” This stops him dead in his tracks, turning to Jack and narrowing in. “You tell me. He’s a friend of your boys, after all.” He tries to keep the bite from his tone with it, but fails rather spectacularly. And as the conversation continues, Sunjata lumbers another bag into place, gritting his teeth at the echoes words from a prior conversation with Jack. Ah, but he’d drugged himself to avoid his father and when Jack hadn’t found him? Wrote it off as visions.
And then it had become real.
“The plan is figuring out why my husband hasn’t come home yet when I know he’s made it back to Torchline. And when I find Kane? I’m killing him.” It’s blunt and simple, though it does nothing for the turmoil in Torchline, and he knows this. It’s frustrating, daunting, and he abandons his lugging of sandbags to step forward into Jack’s space. “Remember when you offered to keep an eye out for my father? How you didn’t find him? It’s because he doesn’t look like himself. The only thing that remained the same is his voice.” There’s a heavy pause here. “And Kane? Kane is my father. Kane is Shaju Senzaok. But true to my father’s wonderful charisma, everyone is none the wiser and I am made out to be the crazed idiot.” As per usual, a useless child with iron blood through his veins, all because he wanted a different world.
And so Shaju would take everything from him, including his sanity. Provided he didn’t stop it first.
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"Is he? News to me," Jack mutters; of course, this is the problem when one is so good at lying - one can never be sure whether a reaction is genuine. But Sunjata will have to take the captain on good faith, and in comparison, Jack needs to do no such thing. He still straightens and stiffens up as Sunjata slips into his personal space, though, and there's the edge of steel between them that could threaten to turn violent at any moment.
The Flood explains. Jack holds his gaze. Silence stretches out around the Slagveld. And then the captain says it. "I believe you," he murmurs, running his tongue across his teeth. "You didn't do it - that shit at Longnight, I mean. And Kane is really fucking with you. So let's do somethin' about it, 'fore all of Torchline bays for your blood." Little does Jack know, that evening the people of Torchline will do just that.
are the angels on their way? i’m in the dirt
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.
“Maybe keep better tabs on Zeph, then.” He rumbles in annoyance. And he moves to try and shift his attention away, muscles flexing as he goes to turn but stops dead again when Jack says he believes him. There’s a breath of relief, a realization that finally someone had without putting him through hell first.
He exhales a sigh, of pressure along his shoulders that he hadn’t realized had sat there. And when he looks back at Jack, his gaze is less sharp and more pained, worried, stressed. “So what do we do, then? I don’t have a handle on Torchline like you do. They’re not going to listen to me when they believe I’m some kind of monster.” His lips quirk in a frown, a shift of his attention back to the rest of the Slagveld. “Do I make finding Kane and killing him a spectacle? Show them how they were wrong to trust someone with a vendetta over actually caring about them?”
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
This is it, Jack realises. This is the line he's brought himself to stand before, to gaze upon this man who might be insane and judge him worthy of a secret he has killed for - multiple times. The captain does not trust. He is not a team player. But here and now, with the people of Torchline rumbling with chaos that threatens to bubble over at any point, with a Governor in crisis and a mystery that can't be solved without a little extra?
Maybe it's worth it.
Or maybe it's just because at the end of everything, at least Sunjata's half as crazy as he is "You say this man's your father," he says. "How would you draw your father out? Torchline loves a spectacle, that much is true. But I gotta ask... what's it all for? Why's he out for your blood?"
He raises a hand to stop the Flood before he speaks. "Before that, though, if we're gonna be on the same page, there's things you'd better know. You got an office in this place?"
are the angels on their way? i’m in the dirt
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.
His lips part to respond, though the Flood clamps down on it when Jack raises his hand. A huff of a sigh is released and he nods, gesturing for Jack to follow him. Up the stairs to the advocates he goes, past the door to the original office, for one far cozier, far more underground aesthetically than the front of the boxing ring. He sits heavily on the couch, nodding for Jack to take a seat, before he pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one, sliding them over for Jack should he want one.
“It’s a long story of why my father wants my blood but I can lay it out as quickly as I can.” He offers, dragging deep from the cigarette before he’s focusing on Jack. “But perhaps you should go first.” If they are to make this work, they would need to work together and Jack had already given Sunjata the idea that he’s trustworthy — nothing more so than when he’d been stuck in a crisis early on.
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Jack follows, absorbing everything he can from the layout of the boxing ring. He takes in the advocates' space upstairs and, more than that, all of Sunjata's passive thoughts about it. He steps over a board he knows now is creaky, and takes a seat not on the sofa, but in a nearby chair. But perhaps you should go first would have been his thought as well, and the captain declines the cigarettes so he can stretch out in the chair, drumming his fingers against the arm of it.
"What I'm gonna tell you is somethin' that no one else in Torchline knows," he informs him. "An' just because I'm tellin' you here in this poky little office, like it ain't shit, make no mistake. You say a word of this to anyone, and I'll know. And I'll kill you, Sunjata." Watching the Governor with sharp, sky blues, he hopes the other man knows how serious he is. Dragons aside, strength aside, Jack will get it done.
Then he lets out a deep breath and pinches at the bridge of his nose. "I ain't an Accepted. Ain't ever been one. You don't gotta tell me shit about your father. Just think about it - I'll know."
are the angels on their way? i’m in the dirt
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.
There's a seriousness in Jack’s fine that Sunjaya latches onto, settles into the couch and his cigarette, watching the Captain curiously as he speaks. “Alright.” He offers wearily. It wasn’t like anyone else would kill him if given the chance. Just… Hopefully whatever secret this is was easy to keep quiet. So he drags again on the cigarette, brows pinching together at the realization that Jack wasn’t accepted, but he wasn’t attuned or Ascended either… Which left?
Well, Jack pretty much sums it up. “Fuck, okay.” He says, breathing in a plume of smoke. And so he does — he thinks of him at six years old, thrown into the river and told to drown. He hadn’t, which had earned him years and years of beatings from his father in that infamous war room. He thinks of the Trial and how his father had bet against him and how he’d made it out through the mud and blood. And he thinks of his trainings, of the enforcer he had become and how he wished to change it all.
How he’d latched onto the rebellion instead of sniffing it out. How he’d fallen in love and been captured, how Lusea had been tortured in front of him for weeks before his father murdered her, how he’d nearly died then too only to be brought back to be a puppet for his father, ingrained and trained when he had nothing left. And how he’d taken Saar and ran, and ran, and ran until he popped up here.
By the end of it the cigarette is done and he’s pulling out another, voice hoarse as he stares at the pack. “Does that answer your question?”
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Sunjata accepts it with the dignity and blase acceptance of one who is already pushed well beyond his limits, and it's something Jack can appreciate. He lets out a breath he hasn't realised has sat held at the back of his throat, and settles in to listen. To see, to feel as the whole sorry story comes trundling out. The captain has to cut off the empathic vein of his magic with a force of will that he's not had to engage with for a very long time; Sunjata's past is violent and tragic. So are a lot of people's. But Jack doesn't need that sour taste in his mouth.
Blinking himself back into the here and now, his eyes flick up to meet Sunjata's gaze, and he nods. "Insane family drama aside, I can smell a vendetta from miles away. So he's sabotagin' you to get you out of leadership." Jack rubs his hands together and sits forward in the chair now. "An' you said he knows Zeph, and he ain't lookin' like himself? Bit of a clever cunt, your old man."
are the angels on their way? i’m in the dirt
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.
It’s unintentional, the way Sunjata floods Jack with the harm of those memories – but there isn’t anything else he can do with them. He’d thought them gone and in the past for so long now that with the band-aid ripped off and his father here, it came rearing back. So he puffs out a sigh, drags on the cigarette when that glazed look in Jack’s eye disappears and the focus is back on him. “Yes. Taking what I tried to take from him, nevermind the fact I failed at it.” He shrugs, pushing past it to suck in another heavy sigh.
“Sounded like they were business partners. He showed up at my reception, though I couldn’t exactly… Do anything without coming off more insane than I guess I am now.” He shrugs, lips feathering in distaste. “He’s always been clever. One step ahead, always. At least my wing is fixed now, that was a pleasant gift given by him in the Wilds.” He grits his teeth, shaking his head. “I’m sure I can draw him out, though. It’s me, he wants, after all. What I’m concerned about more so is him hurting everyone else that’s close to me. Vai’s already been targeted. And Nate is missing. Given… What happened to Lusea, I need to find him as soon as possible.” Tired and sad eyes lift to Jack with a frown.
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
