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!
07-07-2021, 03:40 AM (This post was last modified: 07-08-2021, 02:42 AM by Sah.)
yet my blood renders me a King
Sah found himself on the outskirts of the Citadel, waiting for Aino to arrive, and not wanting to interrupt the Shields' training time, Sah had decided on having their spar here instead. He'd been happy when she'd agreed to another spar with him, as after Aino's previous victory, Sah was eager to redeem himself.
They'd agreed beforehand on a magicless fight, which he was thankful for. His lightning paired for her life drain would have been an interesting match for sure. But neither wanted to harm the other. So a physical fight was the goal for the day. Sah had brought his sword, but he'd forgotten to ask if Aino wanted to go for a weapons spar or just hand-to-hand. He'd have to ask her when she arrived.
She came striding down the path right on time, with a sword swinging from its usual belt. It never found its way onto her hip, for some reason, yet the way she carried it slung over a shoulder gave the weapon a look of a trusted companion.
"Oh good, you're here" she said, upon spotting Sah. Coming over, she looked around for Lilly, even as she began to limber up the shoulders for the practice bout. "No puppy today?"
Sharp eyes the color of a Halo glacier took in Sah's equipment as she warmed up, and nodded in approval when she caught sight of the sword. "How good would you say you are with that?" she asked, more curious than challenging. Aino had experience and technique, and had managed to impress Deimos during their bout, but whether it would be given a chance to shine today was difficult to say.
Come and conquer, drop your bombs Cross my borders and kill the calm
Sah gestured his head towards a tree just a small distance from them, a finger to his lips. "She's napping." Sure enough, nestled underneath the tree and sound asleep was the little wolf. Lilly would likely be there the entire time, happy as can be in the snow.
Aino's question was met with a wide grin. "Pretty good. I've been improving steadily but I've only been learning how to use it since I came to Caido." In truth, the Outlander was picking up swordsmanship rather quickly and would likely be a decent enough opponent for training. Though Aino's experience had the upper hand for sure. "Want to have a sword spar? I'd enjoy that."
A quiet chuckle of amusement slipped from the woman as she followed Sah's gesture and noticed the puppy. It was quite adorable; she had a soft spot for canines, wolves or dogs mattered little.
Sah seemed confident, and Aino nodded with approval as he suggested a bout with the swords. "To first blood?" she suggested, a toothy grin appearing on her face as she drew her sword. It was not how the Shields sparred, but she remembered how evenly matched they had been in their last spar, and if their combined stubbornness was any indication, it was probably a good idea to set boundaries.
Besides. Training with edged weapons always came with risk. Better get used to the idea sooner rather than later. Aino took a stance, holding her sword in the left hand with the tip pointed low. Ready to defend or attack as necessary; waiting for Sah to make the first move.
Come and conquer, drop your bombs Cross my borders and kill the calm
A wide, eager grin stretched across Sah's face. "To first blood." He agreed. It was a simple enough plan, and would hopefully stop them from getting out of hand. Their last spar had been fun and the Abandoned was excited for another chance.
Sah drew his sword and then he was moving. Getting in close, he twisted, attempting to ram the hilt of his sword into Aino's ribs. The goal was to knock the wind out of her and possibly catch her off guard. As the sword turned with his momentum, he moved and attempted to leave a shallow slice on her side.
He was eager, the young wolf. Too eager, perhaps. While it was true that Aino was more used to fighting right-handed people, she knew every trick in the book when it came to dealing with her own kind. His attempt to come in hilt first was novel, she would give him that, but it was much too straight forward.
The hunter would find his sword-hand caught in a strong grip from her right hand and deftly deflected, so that neither the butt of his sword nor the blade came even close to her side. Grasping the hilt of her weapon in both hands, Aino stepped in and attempted to counter with a swift helm-splitting cut, at the last moment twisting the blade so that it would be the flat that might land atop Sah's head. It would make his ears ring at best, and be a sharp warning even if he managed to evade; Aino was as no-nonsense about her sword play as with everything else she did.
Come and conquer, drop your bombs Cross my borders and kill the calm
Sah grinned as Aino easily evaded his attack. It'd seem that he didn't have to hold back in the least, just as he'd hoped. Granted he hadn't held back just then, but now the Outlander knew for sure that he didn't need to worry. Sah however is just as nimble in evasion as Aino, and he too easily avoids her blade.
His sword catches hers with ease, completely parrying her strike. Letting gravity aid him, Sah slides his sword's blade down's Aino's. It's an attempt to use the blunt side of his sword to knock her sword out of her hand. If he manages that, he'd place his sword under her chin and call his win. But he'd ask for another bout if he did. A short spar was never fun.
My oh my. The whelp was good. Aino did her best to counter the attempt to dislodge her sword, but Sah's technique was excellent and so well executed that her own blade was sent flying neatly from her hand. She stilled with the tip of his blade pressed neatly against her throat, and let her hands fall in defeat.
"Very well done," she said, silky soft and brimming with an unexpected pride for this new brother of hers. "It's been a long time since anyone did that to me... Not even Deimos managed to disarm me." Not so quickly, or so neatly. "Let's see if you can do it again, aye?"
Backing off, Aino went to retrieve her sword, offered Sah a rough pat on the back when she came back, and gave him all of three seconds to resume a fighting stance before she went on the attack - her turn to start, this time.
She came in fast and hard, approaching from the front with the sword clasped in both hands. Three swift attacks were issued, heavy and brutal overhand cuts barraging down from above towards Sah's right shoulder even as she pressed forward - where he might find it slightly more difficult to block. If he backed off or turned she would simply follow; he would have to either endure this, or get creative in the defense if he was to escape without bruises.
Come and conquer, drop your bombs Cross my borders and kill the calm
Sah's grin at his victory was proud and vicious. "Thank you."He let Aino retrieve her sword as he added in agreement, "Let's see." The pat drew a chuckle from the Abandoned as he got ready just in the nick of time to deal with Aino's assault.
The first strike landed, making him grimace as he practically felt the bruise form. Aino could pack a punch for sure. Rocking back on his heels in a back-bending dodge, the second strike grazed his arm slightly, but not enough to scratch. The third strike was fully evaded however.
Snapping back up to fully standing, Sah surged forward. Getting in close he turned the blunt of his blade so that it would hopefully slam into Aino's chest. From there he turn the sword to leave a small graze on her side if it landed. The momentum of his attack would for sure bruise and possibly knock the wind from her.
Satisfying as it may be to get some revenge, Aino was not fool enough to think that one landed blow made for a victory. Indeed, the moment Sah managed to evade her barrage he launched a counter attack. Aino threw up her sword to block, but the force of Sah's blow was such that he managed to bring both their tangled blades slamming into Aino's side. The grunt as air whooshed out of her lungs was muffled only by the sound of her feet stepping through the snow - she turned, just in time to escape the slicing motion of the sword. She was not about to see herself beat twice in a row.
Disentangling herself from her brother, the soldier backed off and created some space between them, regaining her posture before attempting a swift lunge - better suited for rapiers than her hand-and-a-half sword. She aimed for the tip of her blade to stab into Sah's right shoulder, and kept ready to withdraw in case her attack failed again.
Come and conquer, drop your bombs Cross my borders and kill the calm
Aino's attack was too upfront. With a slightly dip of his shoulder, Sah evaded it smoothly. He easily returned to fully standing after and was ready to stop her escape. Aino's attempt to thus withdraw thereafter also failed as the Outlander surged forward too quickly for her to avoid. He really was giving a peak performance today it seemed.
With a feral grin, Sah aimed his blade to slash across Aino's front as he came forward. He kept his weight in the back of his heels so that he could easily withdraw if the blade looked like it was going to land too deeply of a blow. First blood didn't mean anything more then a scratch. Sah didn't want to actually hurt his sister after all.
Fortune favors the bold, or so they say. But one who leaps for the sun can sometimes find himself stuck among the stars too, and in this particular instant, that was not a wonderful thing.
Whether he was growing overconfident or if Aino simply settled back into her normal levels of skill again was hard to say, but she saw Sah's attack coming from a mile away. When he unleashed his wide cut, she elegantly stepped aside and watched him swerve past into a particularly slippery patch of ice.
"Hey... where are you going?" she asked him mildly, unable to resist a quip - even as she lashed out with her sword after his disappearing back. To smack the flat across his shoulderblades - she did consider the ass, but thought better of it. The boy had a staggering amount of pride, and while it was satisfying to deflate cockrels like him, she rather liked herself in one piece. He was a bit better with the sword than she'd first assumed.
Come and conquer, drop your bombs Cross my borders and kill the calm
Sah saw the side-step and felt his stomach drop. Skidding past her he rolled his eyes at her quip. "For a trip." He answered dryly as he slid past, just barely managing to keep on his feet. Struggling as he was, the blow landed squarely to his shoulders. The force only propelled Sah forward faster. Thankfully though, he managed to skid to a stop and not fall.
Turning around once he was no longer in motion, Sah looked at Aino incredulously. "You are an evil." He stalked back over, eye twitching slightly from wounded pride. Once he was close enough, he picked up speed. The goal this time was to slam straight into Aino at full speed and knock her on her ass. Then he'd place his sword at her neck again.
"I thought we established that from the first," she replied mildly, and snickered without bothering to hide it as he drifted off on the ice. It was quite satisfying to get at least one hit in squarely, though Aino had a feeling she would be paying for it soon enough.
And as suspected, Sah came barreling back in with a vengence. Aino braced herself and tried to catch him, but much like during their first spar she found him a lot stronger than expected. He did indeed manage to send her sprawling on her back, with enough force that her breath was knocked out of the lungs.
Reeling, she kicked blindly at him, hoping to hit a knee or a hip with her booted foot - but honestly, if she managed to strike anything at all she would call it a win.
Spirits, she wasn't getting old, was she?
Come and conquer, drop your bombs Cross my borders and kill the calm
