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!
A story of encantados in the isles, and curiosity had seized Arialla, a question forming in her mind: what would they think of her dolphin form? Back home, dolphins always gave off a friendly air; she wondered if they might be as curious about her as she was about them. So she headed into the water to find out.
It didn't take her long to locate them; she could hear their clicks and whistles from a distance. She approached a little cautiously, unsure if they would accept her. What if they attacked?
The pink dolphins noticed her grey form before she actually located them, and came swimming over quickly, circling her with a variety of sounds. She hung in the water, watching them and making inquiring noises -- she could sort of understand what their sounds, their body language meant, as if listening to someone speak with a heavy accent. It seemed easier when she didn't try to think about their communication, when she just let their responses wash over her.
They weren't hostile, at least; after examining her for a time, they whistled at her, then started off between the isles. Quickly, Arialla followed; the encantados danced around her, giving her dolphin grins, full of delight and mischief.
And, speaking of mischief: Arialla saw the encantados' attitude change as they circled a particular isle. They'd found something of interest! Surfacing herself, Arialla trained an eye on the isle and saw a human form -- one about to get a little wet, if she'd interpreted the encantados' intentions correctly.
"Bottlenose dolphin" by WIlly Volk is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Ray was walking along the edge of the island, her eyes carefully scanning the ground. She was on a mission to gather a local flower that made an excellent sleep aid tea. It was one of her most popular products and as such she often had to venture out to collect some. The flower seemed to prefer the climate of the Isles but thankfully it wasn't too hard to find. Ray's bag was already almost full of clippings. She would take them back to her shop and dry them out before making the tea blends.
As she walked she paused, hearing distant splashing. Ray turned towards the water and noticed flashes of pink. Encantados?
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The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
The encantados circled the spot of shore where the human stood, darting in for closer glances as they conferred on what to do with someone found so far off the beaten path -- at least, Arialla thought that was what they were communicating with each other about. Their interest didn't seem malicious, just mischievous. Arialla herself hung back; Ray might have noticed a grey fin behind the pink ones, if she looked carefully.
However, she'd probably find her attention taken up by the encantados as they used their water magic to pull the water back from the shore, then build up a huge wave to send at Ray -- not enough to really hurt her, unless she was particularly clumsy, but certainly enough to soak her and her bag of clippings.
Do they just think it's funny to get people wet? Arialla wondered. It occurred to her to warn the human, but, well, by the time she changed back and spoke, the encantados would already have completed their prank. But if they were also Attuned ... Arialla ventured a touch of telepathy: Watch out!
"Bottlenose dolphin" by WIlly Volk is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Ray froze as a voice reached her. Her head snapped up and swiveled to face the encantados once again. The warning came in time. She was able to see the water being drawn up into a wave and react. Leaping backwards onto the sand, she avoided the worst of the wave. Though some of the mist and foam did splash her, it wasn't enough to soak or damage what she'd gathered.
Taking a second to recover from her shock, Ray turned towards the mischievous creatures. She eyed them with a raised brow, noting the single grey fin and giving them a thankful nod. She then took off her bag with the fragile clippings and placed it high up on the sand before marching back to the edge of the water.
Ray leveled a playfully stern glare at the encantados. "Well that wasn't very nice. I'll have to get you back for that." Without any further warning Ray jumped into the water. The encantados easily avoided the splash she made but she just grinned. "Thanks for the warning by the way." She told Arialla gratefully. "Those clippings shouldn't be getting wet." She sent another mock glare at the encantados. "Though I don't mind playing in the water, could you be more careful next time? Please?" She had no idea if they understood her but Ray was too much in the habit of talking to animals to care.
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The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
Arialla was glad to see that her warning had helped -- and a bit surprised that the other Attuned jumped in the water anyway. But she smiled as the young woman spoke to the encantados. Good humor: Arialla appreciated that, and Ray's willingness to go with the flow. She circled Ray with the encantados, smiling her dolphin's smile.
The encantados chattered among themselves, a bit disappointed that Ray had dodged their prank but delighted by her attention. Then they gathered their water magic again and began to lift a large bubble containing Ray out of the water, letting her and her surrounding water float in the air. Arialla watched, impressed by the encantados' magic, even if the application seemed a little pointless. It was fun -- that was never pointless.
"Bottlenose dolphin" by WIlly Volk is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
03-06-2021, 12:53 AM (This post was last modified: 03-06-2021, 12:53 AM by Ray.)
A panther in the night, a fire burning bright.
Ray sent another grin at her fellow Attuned now that she had a better look at the dolphin circling her. Before she could say anything the encantados were lifting her up into the air. She let out a very undignified squeak as her stomach lurched from the sudden switch of orientation. Once she gained her bearings however she was left a bit stunned at the display of magic. She hadn't known that encantados were powerful enough with their water magic to lift someone.
Ray gently poked the bubble of water, amazement clear on her face. It was on wiped off and replaced with a teasing grin. "Wow. Is this how you guys catch fish?"
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The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
03-07-2021, 03:07 AM (This post was last modified: 03-15-2021, 04:32 PM by Arialla.)
Arialla
The encantados did not seem inclined to suddenly develop the power of speech and answer Ray's question; instead, they swam under her and carried the bubble with them further out to sea. Arialla followed along with them. She didn't think the encantados were malicious, but it probably hadn't occurred to them that humans couldn't swim as well as they could, and Arialla wouldn't put it past them to abandon the woman at sea. Fortunately, Arialla herself had no intention of doing so.
I haven't seen them do anything like this before, she commented telepathically. But I've only been following them for a morning. Are you all right up there?
"Bottlenose dolphin" by WIlly Volk is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Ray was truly bewildered. She had no idea what the encantados were up to. She'd likely have been panicking if she wasn't aware of their mischievous but generally not malicious tendencies. And having another Attuned present, even a stranger, also settled some of her nerves.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. I think I'm good but sitting in a bubble of floating water is just bizarre." Ray let out a small chuckle, shaking her head. "Did not see this coming when I woke up this morning." Truly this was one of the stranger things she'd experienced. But her curiosity was winning out so she watched where the encantados below her where leading. There wasn't an obvious destination to her but hopefully something would appear.
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The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
The encantados didn't have a place in mind to show Ray, as it turned out, but a game: the pod spread out into a more irregular group, some encantados clustering together and some leaving more space around them. Arialla, not really one of them, lingered on the outside of the group, keeping an eye on Ray.
Then the encantados began to pass Ray's bubble from one little group or single dolphin to the next, bouncing her through the air. They weren't perfect at it -- the bubble would lose some water here or there, dip almost to the surface of the water, even get hit by a wave. And they seemed to be spreading out more as they went, as if challenging each other to throw the bubble further and further.
Arialla doubted it was a smooth ride for the woman up in the bubble, but their game didn't seem dangerous -- if the encantados didn't catch her, Ray would just end up in the ocean, and she was already wet. Still, she said, If you're too uncomfortable up there, I can try to spoil their game.
"Bottlenose dolphin" by WIlly Volk is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Ray tried to keep a handle on her bearings as she was tossed around. "Oh jeez." She yelped at a particularly harsh throw. "I'm relatively ok. But making sure that I stay vatical and not flipping around would be amazing. I'm getting a little dizzy." She called down, both to Arialla and the encantados. Ray still wasn't sure how much human speech the encantados knew and didn't want to insult them by leaving them out of a discussion about their own actions.
Another harsh throw knocked some of the wind out of her. "Ok. Never mind. Can we play a different game that doesn't include me being thrown haphazardly please?" This was like riding a drunk horse. Fun at first but then...no so much.
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The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
All right, that was Arialla's cue to jump -- or swim -- into action, especially since the encantados didn't show any sign of stopping their game, either ignorant or indifferent to Ray's discomfort. Watching the encantados, Arialla seized her moment when they tossed Ray towards a single encantado: with a powerful thrust of her tail, she knocked into that encantado, throwing it off its balance -- and causing the bubble containing Ray to splash into the ocean. A bit belatedly, Arialla hoped the woman could swim. If not, she'd only have to wait a moment, though, as Arialla circled around and came up beneath her. Here, grab on!
Their game ruined, the encantados chittered unhappily, swirling into new little groups as they discussed the turn of events. They didn't seem angry, per se, but Arialla had a feeling it might be time to make her -- and Ray's -- exit.
"Bottlenose dolphin" by WIlly Volk is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Ray had half a second to register falling, her stomach feeling like a stone as she hit the water. She was stunned for half a second before Arialla's voice registered. Ray latched onto the other Attuned's fin immediately, relief flooding her. "Thank you! Let's go!"
Ray hoped that the encantados wouldn't react negatively. It was times like this where she wished she had an aquatic shift too. Regardless, she was incredibly thankful to Arialla for being there. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to handle the situation alone. Who knows how the encantados would have reacted to a panther suddenly being amongst them? It likely wouldn't be good. Ray kept a firm grip on Arialla's fin but kept her eyes on the encantados just in case.
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The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
Arialla made for shore quickly -- though not too quickly; she worried that if she moved with all the speed her dolphin body was capable of, Ray might fall off. And, rather to her dismay, the encantadors followed. She could hear them chittering, though, and their voices sounded once again playful rather than angry. One caught up with her, actually, passed her and gave her a victorious whistle: they thought this was a race. And if it kept the encantados happy, Arialla didn't mind losing.
She returned to the island where they'd first picked up Ray and stopped in the shallows -- she couldn't get much closer to shore without beaching herself, but Ray should be able to wade in from here.
Well, that was exhilarating, Arialla offered, somewhat wryly.
"Bottlenose dolphin" by WIlly Volk is licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Ray chuckled as she let go of Arialla and stood on shaky legs. "You could say that again. Thank you for your help." Ray glanced at the happy encantado with both exasperation and amusement. "You lot are just full of trouble, aren't you?" There was no heat in her voice though, just mild amusement.
Ray carefully made her way to shore and upon arriving, sat down in the sand with a huff. She hardly cared that her clothes would be covered in sand, she was already soaked. And she was too worn out to care. "Well this trip has been more eventful then I had planned for." She glanced back at Arialla. "Do you plan to join me or are you going to stay in the water?" She asked curiously.
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The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.
—Albert Camus
