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!
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
This morning's training session - until someone comes to join him, at least - involves Ronin hauling ass up one of the rope walls in the Dragon's Nest grounds. It's still too early for the sun to properly be on them, but that doesn't mean Ronin isn't already sweating it up a storm. He's been there since before dawn reached its fingers into the sky, ascending and dropping down and then trying to beat his own time, over and over.
He'd like to say that it is helping him feel better and focus, but the reality is that it will still be an hour or so before Ronin is even able to feel the burn enough for it to stop his mind whirring. So he merely focuses on everything he can feel; the cool air against his skin, the rope beneath his fingers, the sound of the wooden boards as he climbs.
Things had been strange for her since the attack with Gideon. And while she’d kept that vial of Ascended fluid, it almost felt wrong to have it so near without the ability to fully commit to protecting herself. She’d been useless if it weren’t for Remi – a thought that continues to burn against her mind. It makes sense, she supposes, given that he’s a demigod – but there’s a part of her that knows she could become more too.
Not a demigod status, of course, but if Remi could do so much work with that brilliant alchemist mind of his as well as be a battering ram of power, who’s to say she couldn’t learn to do the same?
So she finds herself back at the Dragon’s Nest, after quite a few missed sessions – the typical easy air around her seeming cold despite the warmth Longheat brought. And she stumbles across Ronin climbing up and up, and the Artificer waits until he’s dropped to the Ground again before she speaks. “Hey Ronin.” It’s a quiet greeting, but she offers him a small smile regardless, sucking down a breath and shaking her head as she stands up a bit straighter. “What’s on the training schedule today? Climbing the rope?”
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
The sound of his name hits the air just as he drops down from the rope wall again, Ronin straightening up and swiping sweat-damp hair out of his eyes. He smiles a bit at the sight of Sera, offering a nod of greeting and stepping up to speak with her properly. "Hey, Sera," he rumbles. "For me, right now? Climbing this wall over and over," he says, the barest hint of a smile on his face. "But I can easily change plans around - I was just waiting for anyone to show, honestly."
Which - ta da - she's here now. "Is there anything you want to focus on? This stuff is for strength and endurance, mostly, but if you'd like to spar we can head over and practice some hand to hand. Or weapons, or..." Stopping himself, Ronin smiles a little more easily now and holds up his hands to her. "I am rambling. Whatever you'd like to do Sera, I'm sure we can figure it out."
He looks like he’s been at it for hours and Sera idly wonders how he has any energy left – just looking at him exhausts her, a thought that surprises even the Artificer herself. “Looks a little slow today.” She agrees quietly, a small smile growing a bit brighter as she tries to stuff her sour mood away, deep into the recesses of some place she’s never had to before.
He goes off to ramble, though, and she truthfully doesn’t mind. But he realizes he is and cuts himself off – leaving it open for her, and Sera reaches out to pat the hands that are held up toward her. “Ramble away, I don’t mind.” She doesn’t, either, that’s the benefit. He could talk until he was blue in the face and she’d be more than content to listen. “Weapons, maybe? I was considering going to see Frey for something to better protect myself. I just haven’t experimented with any kind of weapons to see what would suit me best.” Her head tilts, her pony tail swaying with it.
“We can figure it out and you can ramble. You look like you could use it.” So saying, she steps past him toward where she’s seen the weaponry before, a bit less of a bounce in her step as she approaches.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
They're both working on putting their mood to the back of their mind, and Ronin smiles and glances over his shoulder. "Some days are like that - especially when it's hot. I can't imagine many people want to be out here training when they could be hiding in the shade." Not them, though. His smile softens a bit as her hands come up to pat at his own; Ronin nods and follows her over to the weapons rack, moving to dig through it while glancing over his shoulder, casting an appraising look over Sera that has nothing to do with attraction.
"I didn't realise Frey would be the type to create weapons," he admits. He can't remember anyone ever having anything made by the deity. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, of course, but with war on the horizon Ronin thinks he might have seen something by now.
"Be that as it may, I don't want to ramble - I want to train." Code for: no thank you. Ronin hauls out a large, heavy shield, along with an axe, a sword, a bow and arrow, and some throwing knives. "Here - I'll hold the shield, you come at me with those and we'll see which one you like the feel of. I can show you how to use 'em if you need as well." Whatever weapon she decides on first, Ronin will back up and raise the shield in a defensive stance.
Honestly, shade does sound good – but she’s here for training and she can shower and lounge in the shade later. It sounds like reward enough for the work she intends to do today. But he accepts her thoughts on a weapon and they walk over toward the weaponry, watching as he views her up and down and debates what kind of weapon might better suit her frame. A soft laugh leaves her as he mentions Frey not being the type, but Sera shrugs nonetheless. “I imagine if it’s creative enough, they’d have no issue.” This is said with a brighter, easier smile, one that doesn’t have the weight of everything else on her mind.
He doesn’t want to ramble, though, and she nods to that – because gods she doesn’t want to ramble either, she just wants to work on defending herself and learning and ignoring the potential of how everything could go wrong.
But then, he’s holding up the shield, and she’s eyeing the weapons he’d picked out, offering a soft hum as she considers what to start with. "Alright, if you're sure?" She think’s she’s definitely better at being long ranged than having to get into the thick of it, though, so she first picks up the bow and arrow, moving into a position farther away from Ronin to try it out – pulling the string back after she’s knocked the arrow, and letting it loose aiming entirely for Ronin’s shield.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
Creative enough is not something that Ronin particularly wants to think about too hard, the Star easily able to imagine what Frey would consider in place of a sword, for instance. He smiles to himself, able to hide it behind the shield he hoists up against his arm and shoulder, stepping back a fair distance as well when he notices she's chosen the bow and arrow to start. "Oh, I am absolutely sure - but if you hit me instead of the shield, you owe me a drink," he calls to her.
The arrow is loosed and it lands with a thock, thankfully, towards the edge of the shield, and Ronin pops up to admire the hit. "Not bad!" he tells Sera. "How does that feel? You want to try the throwing knives while you're at this distance?"
She readies the bow and arrow, nocking the arrow and pulling it back, letting it fly only once he’s confirmed to her that he’s sure. “Deal!” She chimes to him, managing a small smile as the arrow flies from the bow, plinking into the edge of the shield – not quite center, but it had still hit the wood of the shield and not the man behind it.
“It felt really good.” She agrees, setting the bow and arrows aside in a space that seems to suggest it’s definitely a contender among the rest of it. The throwing knives come next, Sera reaching for them and feeling how heavy they are in her hands, trying her best to ready the blades in how she thinks they’re supposed to be thrown.
And then she lets those go again, watching as she’s misjudged the throw and the weight of them, the first clattering to the ground before it even makes it toward the shield, sliding underneath it along the stone to bounce against Ronin’s shoe. “Oh, oops.” She furrows her brows, trying to fix the weight of the blade in her hand to better throw it.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
Her enthusiasm is contagious, and if she hadn't already been reaching for the throwing knives, maybe Ronin would have suggested she keep it up with the bow. But then Sera is readying herself and there's a knife lancing towards the shield except no it absolutely isn't, Ronin blinking as the blade comes skidding against the side of his boot. "Oh," he says, hiding a smile and leaning down to retrieve the knife. "Maybe it'll help if I move a bit closer," he suggests, halving the distance compared to with the bow and arrow.
"Okay, try again. Hold it like this," he suggests, demonstrating how to handle the blade and how to throw it so it would land point down. Lancing the knife into a nearby training dummy, Ronin grins and makes a voila kind of gesture before promptly hiding behind his shield again. "Do your worst!"
Oh he says and she raises her brows toward him, despite him being unable to see it with how the shield is placed. “Maybe…” She says, watching as he halves the distance and heads toward her, making it easier and even offering her a tip on how she should better hold the blade. She mimics his instructions the best of her ability, and only when he tells her to do her worst, does she actually throw the knife again.
This time, though, the instruction pays off – Sera watching as it dives toward the shield, plinking into the low end of it with a thump, to which Seraphina gleefully lets a small screech of surprise and accomplishment loose. Once the air of that has worn off, Sera eyes the bow again and hums a soft laugh. “I think I’m better with the bow, could we practice with it more?” She asks, flashing Ronin a brighter smile than she had arrived with.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
Honestly, for a second Ronin is a little bit worried that Sera is about to sink a throwing knife right into his shin, and he lets out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding when it thocks instead into the lower part of his shield. "That's it," he encourages, nodding and reaching around to pull the knife out again (and trying and failing to hide the way he jumps a bit when she screeches her victory). She reaches for the bow again and Ronin grins, gesturing for her to go ahead.
"Of course you can. It's your training," he says, backing up once more so she can get the full range of the bow. "If this is something you think you're comfortable using, we can do something separate another time just to get you practice with it. It's not my forte, honestly." Strange as that may seem. "Okay, hit me!"
He agrees that she should try the bow again and there’s a small grin that blossoms on her face with the thought of it – slipping the quiver back over her shoulder and handling the bow in a comfortable way as she had done before. “I like that idea, Ronin.” She agrees gently, brightly, content to find something she’s actually halfway decent at – and perhaps there could be an analogy made between the idea of the geometrics of her work versus how a bow works that explains why it’s more comfortable for her.
Regardless, he tells her to shoot at him again and she certainly obliges. The arrow is knocked, and she aims, waiting a second to steady her breath before she lets the arrow fly back toward the shield. It hits again, once more around the edge of the shield – thocking into the wood and hopefully not too deep for Ronin to get hurt by it.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
"You know, I thought you would," Ronin calls back, adjusting his grip on the shield and preparing for the best (and also the worst because he has to). She hasn't hit him yet though, and he watches with keen eyes as she takes up the bow again with markedly more confidence than she'd held the throwing knives. He hides his smile behind the shield as he takes his stance, and it's a good thing too because the last thing he needs is an accidental arrow between the teeth.
Sera hits again, whether or not it's the edge or the centre, and Ronin lets out a whoop of encouragement. "Alright let me make it a bit more difficult for your last shot," he calls out, and although he's slow about it, he does begin to track back and forth in a line, creating a steady but unmistakably moving target. "Okay, go!"
Evidently the stationary targets are the easiest to work with, given how accurate she’s been the two times she’s used the bow so far. But he decides to throw a wrench into it – and truthfully, she’s feeling quite confident between her two hits as well as Ronin’s encouragement, finding herself already knocking the bow and preparing to try and follow the line and guestimate where he’ll be as he moves along.
Hopefully she doesn’t shoot him in the foot.
It takes her a bit longer to get confident before she actually releases the arrow, watching as it glides through the air and smacks against the side of the shield in the direction Ronin was walking. She’d overcompensated for the movement, and had she been a second later it might have hit dead center. As it were now, though, the arrow plinks off the edge, hitting it and spiraling until it clatters to the ground. “Shoot.” She murmurs, stepping forward to make sure Ronin’s alright. “Moving targets are much more difficult.” She offers a bit louder with an apologetic smile.
