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!
With the tasks conformed to the latest attempts at improving Halo’s farming capabilities, the Sword had sought out the notions of Frey’s Breath. Already familiar with its outset, cave networks, and potential threats from last year’s unfortunate circumstances (the sickness, the torment, and the race for a cure), the Sword had readily volunteered to lead the latest expedition into acquiring water.
Bag of holding secure over his shoulder, complete with vials to collect the necessities, and a load of armaments upon his belt, he stood at the midst of the cavern opening, waiting for his fellow Halovians, pausing at the aperture to check, inspect, and ensure everyone was prepared and organized for the upcoming motions. Zuriel kept her noble head high, there just in case anything went awry and healing became a necessity, and Belial drifted along, wings fluttering, as another watchful eye (and perhaps a ward to hasten off the bats – as the peryton seemed overly fond of destroying anything else that flew).
--
This is a part of the RQ for Halo’s greenhouse! We’ll be collecting hot springs water from Frey’s Breath. I need two more Halo citizens! You can write your character arriving and we’ll journey in!
The decisions for Halo's next improvement were done in Noah's favor. The greenhouse would bring more sustainability to a land and people that only survived off of the meat and crude breads they could make. Vegetables and fruits were delicacies mostly consumer fermented in some form of liquid from the taps of the Kraai. To be able to incorporate these things into the diets of Halovians only increased their lives. Everyone would benefit from this, even if it was hard work.
Noah set out to meet with Deimos quite early. He trotted along the frozen landscape in his reindeer form, choosing it for its swift and quick legs. As he neared the general he let out a low rumble of a greeting. Eira glided above him, golden eyes big and bright. Settling to stand near Deimos, Noah dipped his antlered head, and anticipated the arrival of anyone else who would join them.
Life isn't always what you think it'd be Turn your head for one second and the tables turn
Aisha was characteristically unfazed by the idea of delving into somewhere new. She was excited to enter the volcanic region, the opposing twin to Halo and all its bubbling flames. She took off by wing, the bat soaring over the white landscape of the tundra at the early hours of the day, watching for where the horizon turned darker.
Eventually the clear blue skies reflecting the white snow turned smoggy and thick, heat and steam and ash from lava pits obscured the sun, turned the ground into a dark sooty wasteland. And in a way it was equally as beautiful to the wicked spires of the ice desert, both intimidating yet promising. She caught up to the two others at the maw of the cave, shifting into her human form, a small pouch slung over her shoulder to hold vials.
Noah was shifted into his reindeer form, tall and broad and boasting long twisty antlers. Aisha smiled, briefly drawing her hand across his large brown furred muzzle. Then to Deimos she offered a nod and a grin, "Have you been down here?"
and it's all in the way that you talk starts with a whisper
The duo that arrived were no surprise – Noah, steadfast along the plains, and Aisha, stalwart and tenacious – and both of them received a gruff laugh, and a warm smile in return. At her inquiry, and the reindeer’s silence, the beast arched a brow, and then eyes went to rest on the aperture of the cave. “Several times. The hot springs were used as a way to stave off the sickness.” He knew Noah would remember; it was how he’d met the man in the first place, as the latter kindly toiled away in the infirmary. “And then we searched here for the lilies.” Collected and found and spied for the fronds meant to be placed behind waterfalls, summoning both Tanau and leviathan.
All in all, just another Caido calamity.
The Sword turned, expecting them to follow, calling over his shoulder as they began to head into the Stygian wake. He lifted a torch, igniting it easily, sufficiently, and walked within, taking the lead as they wandered through familiar winding, twisting paths. “Keep an eye out.” Predator and prey semblances; senses to take in every darkened, shadowy corner (Belial drifted in along the eaves; quite content with blurring and blending into the backdrop, on the hunt for something). Zuriel maintained her residual dignity and merely stepped behind Deimos. “Last time we were here we ran into gore crows and swamp rats.”
The reindeer turned his head just as Aisha stepped into the snow on human feet. He wanted to smile at her arrival, but all he could manage in his reindeer form was a burst of felicity over the bond as her hand stroked over his muzzle.
The reindeer listened as Deimos frontloaded them of their journey, based on his previous experience. When Noah was in these caves last, with the General, they had been haunted as well as nearly hunted. Knowing the danger, Noah shifted into his human form to follow Deimos. He walked near Zuriel, but was respectful of the unicorn's space bubble. He appreciated the creature, and did not want to receive any end of her that was not meant for healing.
The torch lit their way, but with Noah's position it was still difficult to see with his own eyes. Silently he let his human eyes fall behind lynx eyes, and around him the cave was much easier to navigate.
Life isn't always what you think it'd be Turn your head for one second and the tables turn
She replied the the joy that Noah shared with a smile, glancing his way, "Nice to see you too," then posing her question to Deimos. The sickness, how could she forget. Aisha nodded along, hiking her pack further up her arm and looking into the mouth of the cave ahead. And the lillies, rae's lillies, Aisha was yet to see one but she'd heard plenty about them. She'd like to see it all if she could, the guild might be able to help with that, but most of it was her own ambition and curiosity.
No more time was wasted at the entrance, the trio delved into the darkness of the tunnels, with only the torch to light their way. Noah had the right idea, Aisha shifted her own eyes to the vibrant molten gold of the leopard, suddenly the twilit world was hers to see. Deimos offered warning, of gore crows and swamp rats. Crows and rats wouldn't sound that bad to an outsider, but Aisha had done her readings on the beings. Bigger, aggressive, dangerous creatures, those predators that claimed human flesh. She nodded, keeping her gaze on the path ahead.
and it's all in the way that you talk starts with a whisper
With Aisha quiet, the rest of the group had been assembled into bounties of hushed individuals. It nearly made him laugh, and he muffled the sentiment down in the deep rumbles of his chest, keeping his eyes open. He followed and traced after the paths they’d taken before, the flame held aloft, watching it interplay along the walls –
Until, sure enough, there was a familiar eerie sound ricocheting, bounding off the stone too. “Meat!” A chorus of other similar cacophonies branched and brambled their way through, and Deimos sighed heavily. “Here we go again.”
Pondering over which to align and prepare with – compelling, magic, insinuating the beasts just leave, Belial took to the first notions.
With great aplomb, and a vile hatred for anything else winged, the lithe peryton took it upon himself to snag at the lead bird flickering and flapping through the cavern, and there was a sickening crunch as bones were crushed in between the deer’s fangs. “Get ready,” the Sword announced, presuming the birds would come to avenge their fallen brethren, shaking his head mildly as Belial triumphantly flew overhead, the crow limp and lifeless in his maw.
Because, sure enough, the flock descended, two crows for each human – their overjoyed, bizarre chorus flanking the halls. “Eyes!”
Hesitate once and you won't live to hesitate again.
His father's words rang in his ears as the bird's echoing call reverberated off the cave walls. The hunter grit his teeth, his body shifting downwards into the body of his most useful shift for the task ahead. The lynx hissed at the incoming birds, lunging into the air to meet one claw to claw. Noah attempted to rip the large bird out of the sky, claws raking down in an attempt to ruin the wings. He laid assault after assault, biting at the creature's neck and head while dodging the beak as best he could.
His attack did not come without wounds, however. The second crow went for Noah's back as he wrestled on the ground with his flockmate. The crow managed to scrape down the lynx's side with sharp talons, Noah yowled out in pain, but did not stop raking his claws against the crow he had managed to pin.
Life isn't always what you think it'd be Turn your head for one second and the tables turn
04-15-2021, 04:15 PM (This post was last modified: 04-15-2021, 04:15 PM by Aisha.)
wears down my bones but they're not broken
It was usually Aisha who would instigate conversation among them, but even she was quiet now. There was an eerie quiet in the caves, the sizzling of lava and subtle crackling of stone permeated, but there wasn't much to be seen. Still, she was focused on it all, taking it in, scouring for threats and committing the tunnels to memory.
And all remained quiet until the voice of another rang through, echoing off the walls. Deimos's torchlight swung about, breaking through the darkness. Aisha's feline gaze caught the movement beyond his light's reach, the ruffling of feathers. Gore crows then, the large back avians and their mocking calls. The call to be ready rumbled through the cavern as Aisha shifted fully into the leopard, digging her claws into the ground before pouncing into the darkness.
The first crow was plucked out of the sky, brought down under her weight, and delivered a strike that sent blood splattering against the wall. The other that'd aimed for her took this time to dive down, it's beak snagging Aisha's shoulder and ripping at some of the flesh there. She snarled at the pain, snapping her head away from the first kill to face the other crow, which had swooped back up to mock from above, "Meat! Meat!" it screeched as it circled just out of reach.
04-15-2021, 09:39 PM (This post was last modified: 04-16-2021, 10:16 PM by Deimos.)
DEIMOS
Heave the silver hollow sliver
The Sword had a string of options at his disposal – and in the end he chose the simpler act of violence.
The primordial fathoms of Life Drain concocted through his blood – age-old, archaic, arcane, known since the beginning of his life, and perhaps the most familiar filaments of incantations residing within him. Mastered and content, it unfurled in almost a barrier-like state before him – waiting for the gore crows to come descending into the unseen force.
The birds hit the wall and immediately slowed as the enchantments began to snag, snare, and inveigle the energy, the contortions, the framework of their existence. It wasn’t enough to instantly maul, maim, and kill them though – disappointing – as their talons ripped into the depths of his left shoulder, and a sickening hiss pummeled through his throat. One eventually teetered to the ground, as if the single assault was enough to do them in, collapsing in a heavy heap on the cavern floor.
Belial followed through on the second, the flying deer casting his intense fervency and animosity upon the crow, fangs and jaws interlocking over Stygian feathers; the sickening crunch reverberating.
While he shook his head and Zuriel tended to his latest wound, the outcries of ”Meat, meat!” rose over the volley – and his eyes searched out the rest of the gathering. None of them seemed without a barrage of some type, and he was grateful once more for his unicorn’s presence. “All right?” Once the mare was finished mending his barbaric laceration, she could move onto the next. Gaze seeking the final, mocking bird in the haze, Attuned, feline stare catching it lurking overhead, he uttered another grumble of a command. “We finish this one off, then move on.” No point in having it trail after them, causing more multitudes of disarray, disorder, and chaos.
--
Feel free to have Zuriel heal your characters’ wounds!
Despite the white hot pain searing through Noah's muscles from the lacerations on his back, he continued his fight. The first bird fell limp beneath him and he twisted, pain causing another deep, guttural growl from the depths of his throat. He batted at the crow, claws extended to slice down the bird's chest. He felt feather and sinew and skin separate beneath his claws, felt the warmth of blood over his toes and he pushed forward. His second paw came up and grabbed onto the bird, keeping it from flying. He felt the crack of bones beneath his weight as he pushed the second assailant into the stone floor, and after a moment of his maw crushing down on its windpipe, it lay dead like its brother.
The lynx lifted his head just as Zuriel finished with Deimos. The adrenaline that pumped through his body did not give him much indication of how severe his wounds were, but as he took a step forward and limped from the pain running up his spine he knew that he would need the mare's services. She had healed him before, and once more the lynx dipped his head in gratitude as the unicorn's magic brought him back to his most right state.
The General spoke then, and Noah's eyes lifted to the final bird. He growled low and dark, and crouched, waiting for a moment to see what the warlord might do.
Life isn't always what you think it'd be Turn your head for one second and the tables turn
The final gore crow circled above, cackling it's morbid phrases into the darkness. Aisha's tail lashed, she made to leap for it but found that the wound on her shoulder made her falter. The pained tore through and she snarled in frustration, landing on all four feet and retreating. Deimos could handle this last one then, the general and all his fun toys. The leopardess padded over to Noah and Zuriel, waiting for him to be finished then stepping up to the unicorn.
The magic flowed through the bloody puncture, renewing the skin there and mending the muscle until Aisha's shoulder was once again good as new. She shifted back rolling the shoulder to find it just a tad tingly, then gave the unicorn a few long strokes to her mane. Without the whole flock the danger seemed lesser, so she stood by Noah and Zuriel, watching with yellow feline eyes.
and it's all in the way that you talk starts with a whisper
Zuriel, proud and dignified, still managed to retain her haughty demeanor with a very self-satisfied, smug air as she tended to each of them. Her incantations flowed, her mending soothed, and she was once more responsible for the safety and healing of others; a pivotal role, a catalyst, a beacon. Justified in receiving her scratches, the mare clearly looked for some demonstration of treat bearing, but that would likely have to wait until after the final outcries of ”Eyes!” were silenced.
And Deimos did just that, with little hesitance – a burst of fire and flame ravaged, savaged, the depths of the Stygian plumage, and its croaks weren’t lasting. The ashes fell to the cavern floor with nothing more than a few more feathers stuck into the edges. A huff of irritation bristled through him, before his eyes roamed back to his comrades. “Should be just ahead.” And he jutted his chin forward, resumed the torch-lighting, and carried on, presuming they were fine. Belial carted his gore crow corpses in his mouth like a prize, and Zuriel maneuvered onward.
Thereafter, the aperture opened up to their destination: the underground hot springs, outlined in rocky formations, in pebbled embankments, and the promise of nurturing, flickering warmth. The Sword would always be appreciative of its healing nature, and the way it had staved off the sickness for lengthy periods of time while they puzzled and mired their way through. A welcome generosity of the land before them, permitting them to leave the remnants of the vermin behind, and into the threshold of why they’d arrived in the first place.
Removing the bag of holding from his shoulder, and ignoring the fresh, new bloodstains already dotting his clothing, Deimos grabbed hold of the vials and containers they’d be using to collect the water. Then he maneuvered onward, hastening them towards Noah and Aisha, before sidling over to the edge, and glancing down.
As Deimos reduced the last gore crow to ashes, Noah shifted back up to his human form. It was still so interesting to see such a rare thing in the General -- blessed and cursed. He held both form of attuned and abandoned, and it made so many questions swim in the hunter's mind. Too many questions that he thought too rude to ever ask, and stuffed away because of that.
He followed closely at Zuriel's hip as they moved on, hand resting on her croup for a flickering moment. He stepped out towards the hot springs and took in a deep breath. The warm, sticky air filled his lungs like nothing else he had experienced before. This is what Hotaru hoped to have in her spa one day, and Noah had no arguments for that. As the General shuffled around in his bag, and handed vials towards him, he took them without argument, if more ungraceful than usual. He had been distracted by the beauty of Frey's Breath, as he usually was in new places.
Crouched down following the warlord, Noah followed Deimos' cues.
Life isn't always what you think it'd be Turn your head for one second and the tables turn
