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!
07-08-2021, 01:32 AM (This post was last modified: 07-10-2021, 09:43 PM by Seren.)
Seren
There were gourds everywhere. In the thickets, on the ground, tangled up in snaking vines and gnashing after her passing heels. Seren had armed herself with a sturdy staff cut from a branch, but she desperately longed for something a little more effective as she cleared the path through the jungle.
It was perfect training, to be sure. She had to use all the dexterity available to her to duck, weave and spin away from gnashing pumpkins, slithering Hanging Vines and the general vegetation as a whole.
Thunk. A pale yellow butternut was squashed by the end of her staff. Stringy innards littered with seeds spilled out, staining her already gore-splattered boots with even more squick. A fruity, overripe stench of rotting vegetable hung thick and cloying in the air, and Umbra kept sneezing and snorting where he followed in her wake. Wings tucked, leaping with feline grace from stone to log to barren earth; his claws and jaws were covered in pumpkin too. Prowling ahead of the young woman was a slender forest leopard, lithe and supple and shimmering with starlight; it too was occupied with gourds and pumpkins, swatting them aside and biting down when possible. It was a great help, enough that Seren wondered if she would have been fine on her own, had it not been for her magic.
It was a good thing Fangorn wasn't around to see the carnage though. A good thing too that, for all the ruckus they were making, nothing worse than the gourds had appeared yet. Seren was beginning to doubt the wisdom in this little venture... Surely there had to be better ways and places to delve into the bond with her dragon than this.
Battle born they send us Covered in our noble blood
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
There were gourds everywhere. Seren is not the only one who finds great satisfaction in killing them, either. Slithering sentient vines wrap and warp around the pumpkins, sucking them into their depths, to let the flesh of the fruit decay and rot beneath their reign. There is something else present, not that Seren will be able to tell just yet.
Drawn in by the out-of-place sounds, a rather large predator lurks nearby, hunger guiding it out of lazy slumbers in the sunlight. Its paws crush sentient vines beneath it, the likes of which dare not impede its travels. Perhaps, in fact, they had meant to lead it here, for easy pickings.
But carnivores do not eat pumpkins, and as it sniffs lazily at the orange guts of an unfortunate butternut squash, it notices the small human rampaging ahead. Liquid metal pools from where it has taken pause, and Seren?
Seren might notice a faint glint on the palm leaves near to her. As if metal had been dripped across them.
In that moment, the world around the starchild erupts. An angered snarl, loud enough to make one's ears ache, is the only warning. And it isn't much of one. Not as the Molten Tiger launches after her dragon, paws as big as dinner plates extending to catch it, eyes fierce but unfeeling, yellowed canines yearning to break through bright blue scales.
With so much to look at and keep track of, the young woman could perhaps be forgiven for failing to notice the shimmer of metal on leaves. Amidst so many sprawling colors and distracting motions, what was another glimpse of color and light within this jungle?
She did not, however, miss the snarl. When the molten tiger erupted from the underbrush, Seren spun to face it and raised her improvised staff in order to defend herself. Yet it was not her the tiger was after. Umbra roared in outrage when he found himself the target of an attack - he? What kind of deranged animal went after a king of the skies? - and attempted to leap out of the way. Should he be successful, the blue dragon would then open his jaws and retaliate against the highly offending tiger with a jet of blue-white fire.
Seren meanwhile took a quick look at her dragon, then the tiger, and reached into her Pocket realm. From therein, she withdrew the bow and quiver of arrows Deimos had crafted for her and backed up as fast as she could, so that she might put some distance between herself and this huge, ferocious beast.
It surprised her how calm she felt.
Umbra tries to leap out of the way of the attack. If he is successful, he will retaliate by breathing fire at the tiger.
Seren retrieves a bow and quiver of arrows from her Pocket space, and tries to put distance between herself and the tiger, while getting ready to fire.
Magic: Pocket Dimension | Has access to a pocket dimension that takes the form of small island. Can store an unlimited amount of items within, and can bring one other person there with her. Restrictions: Items can be left unattended, but anything organic will die if left alone for more than 5 minutes. Requires a 2 post cool-down between uses in KQs/PQ+s.
Type: Light | Rank: Mastered
UMBRA - Mythical - Dragon (fire breath)
Bow and quiver of arrows, created by Deimos.
Battle born they send us Covered in our noble blood
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
The dragon was nimble but the tiger is swift. It leaps out of harms way and the fire licks the green foliage of a nearby shrub. Turning its attention to the woman, the tiger lashed out a paw and with a sound of tearing cloth the large claws slash shallow lacerations into her arm.
Darting aside, the big feline circled around, soon returning for another swipe. As liquid metal dripped and oozed from its stripes the ground vegetation began to smolder and shrivel up. The smoke rising up was acrid, but not yet thick enough to cause trouble.
Seren screamed when the giant claws tore into her arm. The pain made her eyes water and made holding her bow difficult. Staggering back, she summoned a pair of star-wolves and sent them in to attack. Clutching her arm protectively against herself, she kept backing up, mindful of the surroundings - there were still gourds in the underbrush, and she did not need more problems right now.
Umbra roared in outrage as his bonded was set upon, and spun around again to fix the tiger with a baleful stare. Again fire roared forth from his open jaws, hot and oppressive - though whether it would actually work on a creature who wore metal and heat was difficult to say.
Seren summons Star Critters (2 wolves) to attack the tiger.
Umbra breathes fire on the tiger.
Magic: Star Critters | Can conjure 2 medium or 5 small creatures composed of stars. Creatures have physical mass/presence and cast starlight in their wake. Can also heal one character at basic level. Cannot move more than 20ft from Seren.
Type: Light | Rank: Upgraded
Battle born they send us Covered in our noble blood
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Condensed stars in the form of wolves coalesced and condensed at the demigods command and charged the tiger. The first wolf caught the feline in the neck with sharp teeth and ripped open a large gash, snarling all the while. The tiger roared with pain and fury and batted the second attacker aside, smacking it so hard into a nearby tree that it dissolved into so much stardust.
Umbra was too eager with his fire, and not mindful enough of his bonded. The stream of fire missed the thrashing animals again, and nearly managed to hit Seren, who just barely managed to leap out of the way. The tiger shook off its attacker and immediately pounced, its jaws closing around the girl's shoulder while the head shook in a thrashing motion.
Umbra's annoyed hiss turned to a whimper when the tiger managed to seize Seren between its jaws. Pain rebounded between the bond as blood issued forth, and the dragon launched himself with claws and teeth upon the dragon, frantic in his attempts to make the tiger let go.
The world was a blur in Seren's eyes, hazy from pain and fear. She kept pushing and shoving at the tiger, wriggling out of the way whenever a stream of molten silver dribbled down from a stripe to scorch the ground. Beckoning for her wolf, she made it charge the tiger again, hoping desperately that the creature would be distraction enough that she was released.
Umbra attacks the tiger with tooth and claw to help free Seren.
Seren makes her remaining star-wolf attack the tiger again.
Magic: Star Critters | Can conjure 2 medium or 5 small creatures composed of stars. Creatures have physical mass/presence and cast starlight in their wake. Can also heal one character at basic level. Cannot move more than 20ft from Seren.
Type: Light | Rank: Upgraded
Battle born they send us Covered in our noble blood
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
The combined attack of wolf and dragon manages to drive the tiger back with new wounds opened up at its shoulders and neck, bleeding crimson and silver into the thick coat. Letting go of the injured girl it leaped away from the onslaught, wounded and in pain.
But that very pain seemed to spark a vengeful streak within the feline. Instead of running, it rounded back on the girl on the ground, intending to pounce; but Seren was able to dodge, and the big cat yowled in displeasure.
Rolling away from the tiger when it launched again, Seren bit back a scream of agony as her mauled shoulder was aggravated. Nauseous from the pain and unable to think clearly, she got to her feet and began to back off, clutching the bleeding wound in a vague attempt to stave off the bleeding. It did not work, of course, and the crimson soon began to travel down the length of her sleeve.
Calling upon the star-wolf, it left the tiger and came bounding over to the girl, pressing its solemn self against her. As the glow of starlight around the critter intensified her wounds began to mend, rent flesh and skin knitting together in a slow but steady manner.
Umbra meanwhile was hellbent on taking revenge, too. When the tiger missed its mark, the dragon deliberately shot in to place himself between the girl and the tiger, and for the third time unleashed a torrent of flame, intending to finish the predator off. Perhaps if it had backed off its life might have been spared... but not now.
Now it was too late.
Seren heals herself with her star-wolf.
Umbra moves to place himself between Seren and the tiger, and breathes fire at it again.
Magic: Star Critters | Can conjure 2 medium or 5 small creatures composed of stars. Creatures have physical mass/presence and cast starlight in their wake. Can also heal one character at basic level. Cannot move more than 20ft from Seren.
Type: Light | Rank: Upgraded
Battle born they send us Covered in our noble blood
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Searing flame issued forth from the dragon's jaws, and the Molten Tiger howled in pain as it was bathed in the fire. A stench of singed fur, burned flesh and liquid metal billowed forth in noxious fumes, marking an end to the life of this fierce predator.
When it fell, a stillness settled over the clearing. For a moment the jungle was eerily silent around them, and only the hiss and crackle of dragon fire eating at the carcass remained.
For a moment, at least. But soon enough the gnashing and grumble of vampire gourds in the underbrush would resume, as would the incessant call and response of birds, monkeys, insects and other wild things.
When the quiet settled, Seren slumped to the ground, dizzy and overwhelmed. The wolf's healing was slow and only gradually the bloodflow began to lessen. It would take a long time and many repeats before she was restored to full health - and she suspected that this was not the best place to wait for that.
When Umbra came to nudge his head into her chest, the girl crushed her companion to herself in a fierce hug. Through the bond, through the haze of pain, she lavished praise and gratitude upon him, and somewhere in the midst of it began to sniffle with relief as shock gradually wore off.
It took a while, but when Seren was able to stand again and had composed herself, she gathered up her bow and opened up the portal. Bringing her dragon along, she would take her time within the starry realm to heal and rest - and perhaps change her clothes, too. It would not do to come home to her family covered in blood and soot.
After that... she was fairly sure she'd had enough adventure for the day.
- FIN
Battle born they send us Covered in our noble blood
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
