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!
The man had never been to Torchline before now. Having been raised a soldier in Stormbreak, with little opportunity (or desire) to leave, it was never a matter of thought to him. When another dragoon asked him if he wanted to accompany him to the skyboat port, however, to check out what they might one day either have to defend or destroy, Abraham agreed.
The two dragoons had split ways early on in the trip, the other man more interested in the whorehouse than anything else. Abraham, uninterested in pursuits of the flesh, went on to explore. He walked deliberately, but drew little attention to himself as he moved through docks and shop huts towards the jungle. Gwyneverre flew high above him, undetected.
Vega spent most of her days doing her duties. she kept her dead down. She fulfilled everything that needed to be done at the inn and then folded away into herself for training and practice. She had been coming to a secluded spot in the shadow of Apopo for weeks now, practicing the lightning magic that came forth from her fingertips. Despite all of her training and practice, however, the inn keeper still found herself continually frustrated with her lack of power. Even now, as she twisted her hands and sent sparks flying this way and that, it did not feel like enough. She wanted more, the desire to wield power brewing deep within her breast.
In her focus and frustration, Vega did not even notice the stranger approaching behind her.
Abraham noticed the woman standing in the jungle before he noticed what she was doing. He paused for a moment, his massive frame still as stone as he watched her. It was not until a bolt of lightning, clear and bright and hot, shot from her hand that he moved again. He was swift and without hesitation as he came down on her. He made no call of attack -- no yell or growl or cry coming from him. The leviathan swarmed the woman, his difference in mass knocking her down into the sand easily enough. He hardly flinched at her counter attacks, though the electrical burns would surely smart in the following days. He could only focus on one thing -- her death.
Her attacker came from behind. She hadn't noticed -- been too busy focusing on her own frustration. Her scream came quickly though as she felt the man barrel into her. She twisted, contorted, midway down before they both went crashing into the sand and grass mixture. Her head smacked against the ground and she winced, her hands raising to push on the man's chest. She sent her magic -- as powerful as she could manage -- through her fingertips in an attempt to get him off of her. It seemed to be of no avail, however, as he engulfed her neck with his massive hands. Vega kicked and screamed, clawing and shocking all the way as she struggled for air.
Even with her squirming and fighting beneath him, Abraham stayed steady on what he needed to do. Above them, high in the sky, Gwyneverre circled. She felt everything that was happening, felt the feeling of the fragile throat wrapped by Abraham's strong hands. She even felt the shocks against his skin. Abraham flinched some as the woman clawed at his face, and he gritted his teeth. He sucked in a breath and shook her some before slamming her smaller body back into the sand. Gwyn hissed in the sky, her excitement and his rage flooding and twisting and raging within each of their minds.
What had this woman done to deserve such an unprovoked fate?
As Vega struggled she became consumed by her most hated thing -- fear.
Tears streamed from her eyes as the man shook her and slammed her against the ground. She yelped -- tried to yelp -- but it was cut off as her air continued to deplete. She could not take anything new in with his hands wrapped around her neck. She felt her head go fuzzy and she squeezed her eyes shut.
She never imagined this. She felt herself wishing for someone to see them, for someone to hear them. She wished for someone to step in and save her -- a feeling she had never felt before. Panic raced through her veins and she struggled and fought as much as she could.
It was all in vein. The man was too large and too powerful. He kept her from breathing, and crushed her body beneath his. Everything went fuzzy in the woman's mind, and her body felt warm. Even if she opened her eyes she knew she would not see anything. Fear consumed her and panic surged again --
Abraham kept his pressure on the target until she fell limp beneath him.
This was not a delicate kill. There was no art to what he had done. It was hasty and it was brutal -- and there was nothing else this woman deserved in his mind.
Finally the brute released her, her body falling lifeless in the sands beneath them. He stood and started to brush the sand off of his hands and arms, all the while looking down at her. It was a pity that he had been forced to do such a thing. Had her life not been so unfortunate, it was possible she could have been a devout follower of the gods. Abraham could not comprehend an abandoned having any devotion at all, and gave no regard to the possibility. The gods rejected them, and they needed to be void from Caido just as the Ascended.
Gwyneverre dropped down in the sand next to him. She looked up at her bondmate with fiery eyes. He nodded, and the dragon set to her work. Her mouth opened and flames ravaged the body of the woman. After her scorching was complete, they were ready to dispose of her. Grabbing the woman by her legs, Abraham drug her body into the ocean, leaving her to float out to meet her dead lover.
