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!
Since her arrival at the Table, the crowd has grown exponentially. Maeve notices a few familiar faces. The two main ones being Aurelia and Locke. She catches the smuggler's eye, giving her a small wave and a wink. Her eyes shift over to Jack and a brow raises. Well, if it isn't someone else who owes her a visit. She's tempted to say something, but decides not too as her focus shifts once more to Locke. Maeve motions with her head for him to come over while they wait for the Table to be unveiled.
Finally, the moment comes. The sheet is pulled away and left on the Table are various pouches, boxes, and other various odds and ends. Some glow, some hum, and some simply do nothing at all. Eyes slip over each one, pausing briefly on the starry silk pouch, unable to help lingering on the pretty fabric before the purple wrapped box captures her attention. Maeve takes a step forward to examine it further.
Maeve is picking the purple wrapped box!
With her sweetened breath, and her tongue so mean She's the angel of small death and the codeine scene
Ooh, presents. And for free? Well, they'd be free whether or not the Table liked it, with Theo's five-finger discount. Though the fact that the Table apparently spoke in his head, or on its own, made him question whether he'd be able to steal from it. Could be ventriloquism, but magic at work also seemed likely.
Theo's eyes flicked over the prizes, trying to decide what would be the best choice, the most valuable one. The beach towel would probably suit his lifestyle best, considering how often he ended up sleeping on the beach, but it didn't seem like a very exciting prize -- though there was always the chance that it was magical. The shiny blue box or starry silk pouch felt like better bets. But then, that could be a trick, drawing people in to what turned out to be worthless. Not to mention that there were twelve people present but only nine prizes -- someone would be going home empty-handed, and Theo suspected there'd be more conflict over the shinier items.
He decided to take a gamble, and went to stand beside the orange beach towel, glancing at the others to see what they'd choose.
Theo picks the orange beach towel!
Theo
"Poker" by ND Strupler is licensed with CC BY 2.0.
03-15-2021, 04:41 PM (This post was last modified: 03-15-2021, 04:44 PM by Wessex.)
WESSEX
the wraith
she tied you to her kitchen chair she broke your throne and she cut your hair
As the cloth covering the table is whipped off, Wessex takes a good long look at the midden-but-not-hidden items before the twelve of them. The light coming from the crate feels like the light that came from the sky, out in the Boondocks, and since timelines are always wonky this totally works. Wessex might normally have gone for something else - the shiny blue bag or the humming red box - but tonight, the pale glow calls to her. Loudly. Beyond all other reason. When others start to make their moves and choices, the Wraith slides towards her chosen ‘treasure,’ curious to see what the others will choose.
People funnel in, some he recognizes but most he doesn't. That's fine with him. Locke likes to keep to himself if he can help it. Maeve catches his eye and he hesitates before making his way over to her. Or trying to at least. There's a lot of bodies to jostle around. He doesn't think he's ever really been with her in public but the table is revealed before he can think more about it.
His eyes flicker over all of them, watching the others take their picks. He gives Maeve a quick look before moving towards the one that seems to call to him. A simple yellow bag. Unassuming, just the way he likes it.
___________________________
Locke picks the yellow cotton bag!
better get to diggin' while my body's getting cold. i keep tryna fight it so just promise when i go, you'll bury me low
Amusement flares between the bond between him and Nate, the snake coiling ever so slightly into Nate’s gentle touch as they arrive at the table. You did. He agrees, of Nate arriving at the same time, how clueless they both are for this event. But then? Then it grows all that much more intriguing, the cobra’s tongue poking out at the hidden prizes beneath the cloth that’s suddenly removed to reveal quite the spread.
Well, now we have to find out. He hums playfully to Nate, uncoiling himself and curling around Nate’s arm the second the starry silk box is in sight. He shifts back into himself when an opening in the crowd is made, a little unsteady from his sore muscles, but he steps past Nate with a hand lovingly pressed against the Ascended’s lower back as he steps over to the prize he’s picked.
He seeks out Nate to see which one he picks, a crooked smile on his face. Which one do you want? He prods playfully – pretty sure that his choice was an obvious one given the stars tattooed into his skin.
Sunjata picks the starry silk box and stands beside it!
SUNJATA
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.
"Mm, we're 'bout to find out," Jack rumbles to Raza as her voice appears at his elbow, the captain running his tongue across his teeth and raising an eyebrow to watch the red silk float away, revealing some pretty average tat, if he's honest. But that's the thing about Torchline - even the most unassuming stuff can yield unusually valuable rewards, and Jack hums out a consideration and glances to Aurelia next.
"Yeah? Well, let's make sure we make this mystery worth it," he mutters, smirking and stepping forward to examine everything on the table in a little more detail. He watches others make their selections, too, before settling on his own. Giving a nod towards the blue bag, Jack considers his choice made.
Jack chooses the shiny blue bag out of the bunch.
you wanted perfect, you got your perfect but now I'm too perfect for someone like you
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
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.
how do you wanna face it? when the end is so close you can taste it
Yep. The thing about Torchline is that grime can coat gems, but not everything that shines is worth somethin’. You hafta be clever about it. An’ even then, sometimes its just pure luck. Raza grins at the challenge an’ crosses her arms, cocking a hip once the items are revealed. Hmmm.
She takes her time, pursin’ her lips an’ tappin’ her fingers against her chin rather pensively. One item stands out to her, different than the rest an’ it ain’t pretty, is it? Faintly rotten leaves. Somethin’ tells her that it’s either the shit it actually is or a princely prize. She lazily raises the chin-tappin’ hand and points to the rotten leaves, indicating her own choice.
And then it was just them – those recognizable, as she glanced around, still trying to pierce through and understand what was occurring. Thereafter, all she could do was stare upon the Table again, at the packages of items, at the uncanny sheen of avarice pulling into her pulse. The disembodied voice adornments and bizarre nature of the whole thing didn’t really bother her – too enticed, too allured, by the potential of prizes.
The options were many, and several others positioned themselves around, chiseling their foundation and choice. Driven by impulse and impetuousness anyway, the youth instantly gravitated towards the Table, and sidled closer to the humming red box, intending to make her stand there.
--
Melita chooses to stand beside the humming red box.
You win a lot, but you lose just a little bit more than you gained in the end
While the table isn’t a grift anything like Nate’s seen before, that doesn’t mean he trusts it at all. The crowd melting away doesn’t register in comparison to the mystery unfolding, Nate nodding to Sunjata’s silent words. They most certainly will have to find out.
Leaning to the side to allow his husband an easier perch to shift off of, Nate looks over the presented prizes with a critical eye, watching things be picked out. He’s not going to double up, and risk losing out on something, which leaves him quite literally holding the bag.
Having the decision made doesn’t stop him from making a show of choosing though, a quiet ‘eenie meenie miney moe’ picking through the items before settling on the paper bag. Looks like this one. Comes the amused rumble, his eyes rolling at the starry bag his husband has settled on.
and this is why i have decided to leave your house and home unhaunted
They got quickly to the point, some chatter in the crowd hushed as the barker announced the table again, with just as much flourish and enthusiasm as the first time. The quiet of the surrounding market didn't go unnoticed, Rigby glanced over his shoulder to see the rabble in the streets had disappeared. This was... unsettling at best, and he started to slip away from the group when the silk fell away and the prizes were exposed.
More mystery, boxes and pouches all wrapped up in various ways. The twelve Table guests began to move towards their choices, Rigby hung back but gravitated towards the prize packaged in leaves. Seemed grimy and crunchy, but that was just the outside. There could be something great inside, or maybe just more leaves.
Two fade away, finding themselves outside the radius of The Table. Should have chosen faster. Those who hesitate never win.
And the rest of you? What lovely decisions you have made.
The packages don't move. They don't change. There is no visible alteration to the scene. And yet all at once you feel something from them, like the energy of whatever is within is speaking to you. Look around and you'll notice this isn't isolated to what you've chosen.
From each item on the table, you get a sense of...
Shiny blue bag - the taste of paint
Humming red box - the smell of flowers
Purple wrapped box - the cold of death
Faintly rotted green leaves - the chill of metal
Yellow cotton bag - the warmth of light
Starry silk pouch - the smell of the ocean
Glowing white crate - the sound of laughter
Orange beach towel - the stench of fish
Warm paper bag - the cold of shadow
Do you trust your senses? With this knowledge, will you stay with what you've chosen? Or be enticed by something new?
Aurelia and Ray did not post in time, and have been eliminated! They may not use this for a Random Event encounter.
Please put in a footer if your character is staying with their choice or choosing something new (and if they are, what they chose.) Remember, you may choose any item even if someone else has, and not all items need to be chosen.
Senses and semblances; an overwhelming cacophony of enigmatic assortments settled into her soul, into her chest. And for a moment, she had to pause, take a breath, to let them all sink in. A taste of something bizarre over the press of her tongue, the chill and depths of death, the warmth of other things, sounds of merriment and amusements – all reeling, all consuming.
And then there was the one she stood by. The smell of flowers reached her nose and plucked at her memories, at days spent in childhood glimmer and enthusiasm, dancing amidst glens and meadows of wild overgrowth. Petals soaked in the sun. Her sister gliding through patches of clover and lilacs. Their mother nearby, inspecting each blade of grass for potential healing remedies; a quiet song exuding.
So she stayed – not moving an inch or a muscle, not enticed or enthralled by anything more than this.
Theo wrinkled his nose as the stench of fish rose from the towel he'd chosen. Probably not something he wanted, then. Unless it indicated something interesting like, say, the ability to turn into a fish -- but even that wouldn't actually be very useful to Theo. So, should he stick with his stinky gift or go for something else? If the others around would allow him to go for something else ...
Laughter: something Theo was quite familiar with, even if his was often fake, intended to set someone at ease. It could indicate failure, cruelty -- but it usually meant something good. And that white box had to be special, didn't it? It did glow.
Part of him almost felt that the Table would be upset with him for his disloyalty, but he made a snap decision, and moved to stand beside the white box. He'd had enough of fish, he thought, and could use a little more laughter in his life.
Theo switches to the glowing white box!
Theo
"Poker" by ND Strupler is licensed with CC BY 2.0.
There's a shift, of what he doesn't know but still, the feeling of warmth lingers in his bones, reminding him of all the days spent sleeping on the beach. But a whiff of the ocean catches his attention, drawing him in. Lazy nights on the beach, toes tucked into the sand as he drinks, fingers trailing over sun kissed skin. The first time he sank himself into the waves, crying as his mother held his hand in one of her rare moments of presence. Showing his younger siblings all the good places to find shells. Both feelings are comforting, welcome but he moves over to the starry bag, tilting his head as he looks at it. This one then..
_____________________
Locke changed to the starry silk pouch!
