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!
Sah took Deimos' instructions in stride, happy for the guidance. Machinery was still a very new concept for the former magical beast. So the help was much appreciated. Taking a moment to breath and reset himself, Sah jumped back into the task with renewed determination. Striving to do better.
This attempt had Sah double checking his work as he went instead of simply pausing every half second to check everything nearly five times. He eyed what Deimos and Aino were doing and mimicked them, but didn't ask for clarification on every small detail. Hopefully he'd be able to figure this out and not lose progress by hesitating.
Sah tries again! He's taking more imitative but still being careful.
The sound of iron shots is stuck in my head The thunder of the drums dictates
Eventually, it all came together. Levers and pulleys, woodwork and grains, baskets and proportions of swift, fast, keen modicums; and they could all step back with some relief. On a cheekier grin, Deimos eyed the line-up of the catapults themselves; turned, twisted, so that anything launched would go sailing over the Citadel wall. “All right, I will allow for a single use,” and therein he grabbed hold of several smaller rocks, passing them to Aino and Sah accordingly. The very juvenile grin coiled along his mouth highlighted the potential for mischief, and he stepped up towards his own designated machine. “For testing purposes.” There wasn’t a wink, but they could take it the potential formation in the breadth of his shoulders – in the pulling of the lever, in the sharp, keen movement of the weapon, as it rallied, bounded, and flung the stone. A sight to see – until it dashed over the fortifications, and landed out of sight. Amused, he waited for them to take their turns. “When you are done, you can meet me at the front steps.”
One last thing to achieve – and while they were busy and content, Deimos drew through the outer gates, motioning all the way back to the aforementioned stairs, eyeing the woodwork that had drawn more than its fair share of nibbles from passing gourds. Bizarre, how they would even make it here, but perhaps with the warmer temperatures surrounding the Citadel, even the sentient pumpkins could find shelter in its midst. Grabbing hold of pieces of timber, he placed them down on the ground, and then snagged at the various tools they’d need – glancing towards the individuals as they approached. “Vampire gourds have been at the woodwork,” and he pointed, in explanation, at the bottom proportion of the barracks, and the steps. “We just need to replace it.”
--
Take a turn using the catapults for fun, and then we need one for removing the wood and two for replacing! Deimos will fill in the empty slot!
The rhythm of the falls, the number of dead The rising of the horns, ahead
The offer to try out the catapults was a bit too good to pass up. While she normally didn't indulge in childish pranks and mischief, Deimos' grin invited trouble. So, after exchanging a look with Sah, the former soldier shrugged and stepped up to her machine with the stone. The loaded. Made sure no one was around to get hurt... and pulled the lever.
With a groan and creak the catapult came alive. The long arm swung up and around in a wide arc that hurtled the projectile far off into the tundra below, and slowly the counterweight swayed back into equilibrium. Wide eyed and thrilled despite herself, Aino suppressed a whoop of glee and nodded, like this was nothing out of the ordinary.
"It works," she stated redundantly.
Very casually she waited for Sah, before following Deimos back down. If her steps were livelier than normal as she set to breaking off damaged wood, who could blame her?
Aino fires off her catapult and waits for Sah before joining up with Deimos again. She begins to remove the damaged wood.
The offer to fire the catapult had Sah eagerly loading his. Lining his up with the tundra as well, he pulled the lever. Smoothly the device swung and the projectile went sailing into the snow. It landed far off with a satisfying 'thunk'. Sah turned back to Aino and Deimos with a wide grin. "Ok, that's awesome." He reluctantly stepped away from the contraption, far too tempted to fire it again.
Fun had, he got back to work. Seeing Aino removing the wood, Sah started replacing it as she went. He did his best to line up the wood with the planks around it, and secure each properly. With all the construction he'd been doing lately, hopefully it would go well.
Sah enthusiastically fires the catapult before beginning to replace the wood as Aino removes it.
The sound of iron shots is stuck in my head The thunder of the drums dictates
Amusements partaken with the catapults, there was only the replacing of wood remaining. While Aino removed the broken edges and the chewed upon fringes, he and Sah could easily line the planks around, ensuring nothing was maimed, whittled away, or maligned on this batch. All three worked smoothly, efficiently, until the process seemed well in hand; hammers going, nails plunged, everything secured and right again.
Afterwards, the General stepped back, arms folded across his chest, taking a look at everything they’d accomplished; at least on the outside. The interior boasted so many successful bouts too – another satisfying achievement for a hard day’s work. “We are finished. Well done.” A small grin elongated itself on his mouth again, before he began to put away the tools. “Let me know if either of you want training soon. And thank you for all of your help.”
Little did they know, of course, in a few days it wouldn’t have even mattered – the barracks a safe haven for a world that was no longer secure.
{FIN <3}
The rhythm of the falls, the number of dead The rising of the horns, ahead
