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!
04-14-2021, 12:44 AM (This post was last modified: 04-14-2021, 12:47 AM by Wessex.)
I've embraced the torch passed to me
owned what I've been called to be
The disc is a familiar presence in her hand now - a hand that’s bled silvery fluid on more than one occasion as she practiced the aiming and the catching, the amount of strength needed (and how much is way, way too much) to go so far, and so on and so forth. She just needs a little more time, a little more of a challenge than hurling it at animals, callous as that kind of practice may be. Wessex wants the slickness of ice, the blinding light of the sun on snow, the ferocity of certain Halovians -
Maybe there would be sparring takers here in Halo - there didn’t seem to be any in the Grounds - which leads the Wraith to idly wander the streets of the Citadel, tossing her discus up and down until she either spots someone who looks ready for a fight - or they spot her.
04-14-2021, 04:08 PM (This post was last modified: 04-30-2021, 12:34 PM by Aisha.)
i wanna break the rules with you
Adorned in her sheepskins, sword strapped to her hip, hair tied up with her golden ribbon, Aisha wandered the streets of the citadel. A morning off of training with the Shield's had left her restless, today was decidedly not one to drink and enjoy and laugh away. She could've joined those at the guild, engaging in sword play with companions there, but rather she chose to walk through the citadel, simply explore and hope for the best.
And she did find something that sparked an interest, someone she did not expect to see in the icy streets. The queen, in all her dangerous design, she tossed a disc up into the air, practically begging to be challenged. "Wessex," the attuned called, breaking from her side of the street to meet with the demigod, pausing before her with her hand at her hip. "Didn't expect to see you in Halo?" she posed, wondering if the woman was simply here to visit or if she had other plans.
A woman with a familiar face hails her from across the street and the Wraith turns on her heels, brows raised at the greeting - which ends up being questionably friendly. Unable to tell if the woman is friend or foe quiet yet, she instead focuses on putting a face to a name. “Needed a brief vacation,” she jests with a small smile, because Halo is hardly a destination for vacations.
But to those who don’t feel the cold, it very well might be.
“Aaaaaisha?” A grimace betrays her shame in being unable to verify her identity - having never met the Outlander before, she has an idea based on seeing her around the Grounds when the Halovian once lived there, but nothing terribly concrete. “You once lived in the Grounds, yeah?”
04-16-2021, 04:05 PM (This post was last modified: 04-30-2021, 12:34 PM by Aisha.)
i wanna break the rules with you
At the question of her name Aisha did bark a laugh, no spite in it, just humor. They'd never really met, Aisha had known her as the queen but not as anything else. It made sense that Wessex would have to think after her own name, she was honestly glad she was known at all. She nodded her confirmation, giving the hand at her hip a little flourish as she replied, "The one and only."
"Was Deimos's second in the militia for a while, I'm a Shield and Guildmaster for the monster hunters now," she answered, glancing to the disc in the demigod's hand. "I hope you and your disc are enjoying Halo," she said playfully, her hand fell over the pommel of her blade.
“Oh that’s right!” Wessex chirps brightly, offering a small smile. “There was a notice about the guild restarting. I was in it with Kiada - hope that goes well for you.” Gods know there are so many new creatures to discover now, it could be quite a fun guild.
Not quite for her anymore, but there’s a gentle, floaty sort of nostalgia that comes with the MHG and she can honestly say it would be nice to see it continue - so long as they never end up hunting Ascended.
“I always enjoy Halo,” she retorts with a quick arch of her brows. “This little lady,” however, is a Halo virgin.” Flourishing her disc with a quick turn of her wrist, she offers Aisha a look at the burnished, bright disc. No sharpened edge as of yet, but it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine it as something formidable. “She’s never met a Shield’s blade before.”
Technically neither has Wessex, but this is about the disc's adventures, not her.
04-22-2021, 03:26 PM (This post was last modified: 04-30-2021, 12:35 PM by Aisha.)
i wanna break the rules with you
Aisha's smile did brighten when Wessex notes that she'd seen the notice. It was nice to know that people knew about them. Even if it didn't end up drawing recruits, people from around Caido would know that they were there to offer services, protecting and gathering as much as they could. "You're more than welcome to stop by anytime, we're stationed at an old inn near the center of town."
Wessex offered her a better look at the disc, how steady it was, how sharply cut, every sinew perfect. She ran a finger along the edge, not yet whetted but she could imagine it so, cutting through enemies. It was a good weapon, unique, not something she'd wielded before. Nor was it something she'd fought against. So when the queen insinuated a spar, Aisha grinned, baring the faintest points of her leopard's fangs.
Her own blade was pulled from it's sheath, golden hilt with the ornate leopard pommel, mended to fit her memories by Deimos and his incantations. The blade itself was sharpened regularly, shined and fresh for a fight. "I can't say I've ever trained with a demigod," she replied with a mischievous air. "I can show you to the training grounds if you'd like," she offered, though if the woman preferred a hastier battle she wasn't opposed to fighting in the street.
It’s kind of Aisha to say Wessex can visit, even if they both know that’s unlikely. Still, she graciously accepts the offer with a small nod and muses, “I’d love to start an Explorer’s Guild someday. Learn everything about the world that was kept from me.” Shrugging a bit, as if to acknowledge that it’s still a distant dream, Wessex continues in a musing sort of way. “If it happens, maybe they could work together.”
But that’s not what they’re here for. Like the fighters they are, they can appreciate a fine weapon when it’s presented and just as the Halovian admires her discus, so too does the Grounder genuinely ooh and aah over the blade - it’s hilt and pommel (so fancy) and how well it was kept. Nodding, the Wraith silently tips her proverbial hat. Well done, woman.
Pausing only to think of what Deimos might think if he found her sparring with Aisha under his very nose, she mirrors an impishness and offers a fanged grin back. “I got some tricks up my sleeve. If you’re up for a challenge, there’s no place I’d rather spend a morning.” In the training arena. Listening to her body instead of her mind. Tussling with someone new in a no-stakes (for once) situation? Ready to be surprised?
04-24-2021, 04:14 PM (This post was last modified: 04-30-2021, 12:35 PM by Aisha.)
i wanna break the rules with you
And explorers guild, meant to adventure and seek knowledge. Perhaps like Jigano's Loreseekers, but certainly something fresh and new, lead by the demigod queen of the grounds. Aisha nodded, an alliance to share their findings could be fruitful if ever such a guild were to come about. "I'd be happy to share what we know," she answered.
Aisha grins at the slight approval that her own blade earns, she knows it is a wonder and she is proud of it. The respect from a fellow warrior would always make her preen, always appreciated. She takes the acceptance of her offer and sheaths her blade once more, bright and quick and exuberant. "Perfect," she agrees, turning to head through the streets of the citadel, back towards the familiar barracks and the sound of steel against steel.
They arrived among the snowy stone columns, Aisha chose a nice spot in the center of the courtyard, away from fellow Shields who trained and mingled about on the edges. She wanted space for this fight, perhaps she felt she had something to prove, up against such a formidable foe. She drew her sword, shifted it from hand to hand, "Ready when you are," she said, playful smirk darkening as the leopard took it's place, it's stake in the fight. They longed to win.
It appears they won’t be alone in this spar, the unexpected audience poking at a sense of competition the Wraith’s not had in a while. She straightens, offering a nod to one or two familiar and friendly faces, who nod in return, but they are Aisha’s kin - not hers. And some eyes turn to them when they settle in the middle of the courtyard, which is finally what provokes an equal smirk.
“Don’t hold back,” she replies, implying that she won’t either - at least not much. Unsheathing the talons of her left hand, she holds the discus in her right and then suddenly hurls it towards Aisha low, at abdomen level, before launching herself, left hand raised to come down in an overhead swipe on the smaller woman.
With the crowd to watch, the stakes were higher. Some would be nervous, afraid of failure before their peoples. Aisha was only fueled further, winking off to her friends on the side, feeding on their shared energy. Don't hold back? "Never," she replied with her mischievous grin. Thereafter it melted from her face as the battle began, a harder more steely expression took it's place on her features as the disc flew her way.
She dodged this, sidestepping at the forward angle and moving to meet Wessex in the middle. She raised her blade up in a fluid motion, the flat of it catching the queen under the bottom of her outreached arm, hoping then to follow through and push her back. She might not be seeking to draw blood, but she would not go easy, the force behind her swing was enough to bruise and burn.
Laughing as the disc goes wide (what did she expect from the first throw, to all of a sudden be an expert at it?), Wessex takes note of where it lands and in taking her eyes off Aisha for a moment, she allows herself to be tapped - nothing that can actually hurt her, mind, as she can’t feel the pain, but the pressure of the flat of the blade is noted and then she is gone -
The woman’s sword has nothing to brace against air as the Queen is where the disc skidded to a stop - at a Shield’s feet, which has them stepping back with a startled sound as Wessex appears far, far too close to them. She grins and picks the disc up, launching it again towards Aisha, but again it goes wide and, well - even demigods have learning curves. A grumbled announcement of displeasure, she decides to let the disc be for the moment and perhaps lean on her other skills and abilities, ready to see what Aisha might throw at her next as she re-advances on the Halovian.
Sparring with ascended was always a different game, one where the opponent wasn't inhibited by mortal things like pain, even blood. Any fluid that would leak from nicks and cuts the queen obtained would not be the thick red crimson Aisha was used to. She reminded herself of this when her blade met Wessex's arm and the woman hardly flinched. Don't hold back, she would not.
The swordsmaster cannot follow through with her swing as the demigod is thereafter out of her reach. Other abilities were fair game, and Aisha had her own tricks to play. The disc that soared her way once more misses as she sheaths her sword and shifts into the bat, fluttering up into the air then diving upon the demigod. Just before she lands she shifts back and draws her blade from the magic sheath Deimos had conjured her, bringing the sword across to swipe at Wessex's chest. Hopefully this display would be distracting enough to land the hit.
The bat is unexpected, provoking a feral grim of amusement as the Wraith waits to see where Aisha will land. She almost wants to try and catch the woman in her hands, just to see what would happen when the Attuned shifts back - but doesn’t - and instead is rewarded by Aisha coming within striking distance again.
Now that she knows the woman can turn into a bat, that takes a couple of options off her plate, so Wessex instead decides to go for her knees - something that is necessary for all animals to stand on. Aisha couldn’t win a spar in bat-form, so Wessex shifts her weight and goes to brush aside the sword slice with an unguarded hand, palm catching the blade and leaving some fluid behind. A flesh wound, truly, as what she’s really trying to do is keep Aisha off balance so she can levy a kick at her knees and hopefully send her reeling either sideways or backwards.
05-11-2021, 10:54 PM (This post was last modified: 05-11-2021, 10:56 PM by Aisha.)
i wanna break the rules with you
The display of the shift earned her some woops from some of the gathered shields, but not the advantage she'd hoped for. Her sword met skin but not the queen's shoulder or chest, rather her bare hand. Her sword was caught in an open palm. Aisha watched the fluid begin to trickle around the blade, for a moment she was entranced by the oozing not-blood. Luckily she was aware enough not to let it capture her entirely, she noticed the kick at her legs just in time.
The swordswoman leapt back, pulling her sword with her and possibly drawing a bit more from the palm that grasped it. The evasion was so close to failure, the kick grazed her leg as she stepped back and she stumbled slightly but kept her ground. Then right back in she went, swinging her sword down at the leg that'd kicked at her, her turn to try and trip the other.
