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!
07-16-2021, 04:31 PM (This post was last modified: 07-24-2021, 06:50 PM by Honey.)
BASTIEN
'Cause you've got a mind that is so hell bent on
Fixing me up before I get my coat off
Get to the court.
Holes for Peeping.
The Core had hardly given him lengthy instructions; Bastien had spent a couple of days just trying to digest the visit at all, the buzzing intensity of it's presence and what it wanted him to do. The only thing he could decipher from the message was a location: the Peepholes, in the Wilds, something he'd heard about from travellers coming in and out of the Grounds and Torchline.
Taking with him a couple of other Ascended, in the hopes that they might help him solve any puzzles unique to their people kept within the holes, he had set out at the start of sundown and up into the Oerwoud from the coast. Wearing a typically flowy, colourful outfit, Bastien looked far more like a beach model than a hiker, but he confidently strode up anyway.
"I...believe these are our goal." He announced as a pushed-aside branch revealed the large holes. "How odd."
---
2-3 Ascended welcome!
You with those hands that are so hell bent on
Making a mess to suggest you'd think something
Perhaps she was a fool for going, but she’d promised to help, in some way, shape, or form. More than just a messenger girl. But her hands still grasped her daggers tightly, as if they may fly off on their own, pondering over the tech in her pocket, and the bizarre walk they strode along. An avoidance of the beach and the sea, and every other sentiment that came with it, the darkness settled over the pool of her eldritch motions and movements, following after Bastien and the rest accompanying.
The jungle transitioning once more, her eyes widening in the glimpses of shadows, and then – the holes themselves. She scanned them, scrutinized them, wondered if anyone had ever traipsed through and simply not returned. Like a gaping, widening maw, like something that might swallow a person whole.
The regrets starting peeling into her soul. “Do we just…venture inside?” Glancing at Bastien, the adult and leader and everything else in this situation.
Let's go to war to make peace Let's be cold to create heat
We are only haunted by the things we refuse to accept -Bridgett Devoue
Nikolai had been thinking constantly about what Wessex had revealed at the meeting. His mind whirling with possibilities and conspiracy theories. So when Bastien had asked for volunteers, the new Ascended packed up a bag and went. Inside was a notebook and pen, and the current book he was reading. As well as a single dagger for protection, that didn't really know how to use at all.
Nikolai followed behind Bastien and Mabel, doing his best to keep his eyes on their surroundings. He'd never been so far from the Grounds before and he was nervous. Though he'd never admit it. As they arrived at the Peepholes he peered inside, to try and glimpse anything. They were tunnel as far as he could see, with a menagerie of items at their mouths.
Just waltzing inside seemed reckless and the young Ascended scowled. "Just walking in seems risky. But..." His scowl deepened in annoyance. "I'm not sure what else we could do?" Nikolai glanced at Bastien, waiting for whatever decision he'd make.
Resilience is born even when we feel like we are dying -Alex Elle
i wouldn't know where to start 'sweet music' playing 'in the dark'
They tag along, because first of all it’s an adventure, and second of all? It’s an adventure that features many of them including their father. One that has them incredibly excited despite the cryptic warning their father had ended up suffering. Perhaps that’s another reason they show, a bit of a moral support.
They’ve hung mostly toward the back on the trek here, but now that they’re here, their gaze drifts from their father to Mabel’s suggestion, then to Nikolai’s question. They slip past them all to stand beside their father, peering down into the dark of the tunnels with a bright fanged smile shot Bastien’s way. “If… We want to go inside I do have healing.” They offer, their gaze bright as they look back up to their father. “I’ve never seen anything like this!” They chime, the excitement of it all evident on their face.
'Cause you've got a mind that is so hell bent on
Fixing me up before I get my coat off
Well, the team he had gathered were not the strongest, the fastest nor the oldest of the Ascended, but they were at least willing to come and help; this was how they grew, he supposed, trusting and building on one each other. Still, he did peek back at Azrael as they stood before the Peepholes, knowing that at any sign of danger for his child he would be out of there, duty to the Core or not.
"I suppose so. I will take up the front. If things begin to look dangerous - and I mean this-" Bastien made sure to meet each of his companion's eyes, especially Azraels. "-Turn and run. Your lives are not to be tossed away for the sake of curiosity." That said, he turned to look into one of the holes. Maybe it would just be damp, dark and boring. Experimentally, Bastien put one foot inside and rested his weight on it.
If that foot did not break through anything, he would step entirely into the tunnel and begin to head down it.
You with those hands that are so hell bent on
Making a mess to suggest you'd think something
In another time or place, in a friendlier atmosphere, without impending doom and gloom, Mabel might’ve waved to the other incoming portion of the crowd – like Azrael, or Nikolai. Instead, she stood very much aware of how much danger could truly demean and pull apart; and she clenched her fists around daggers until the skin might’ve bled white. Her eyes glanced over to Bastien at his command and demand, and she nodded. Mabel was no one for heroics. Just vengeance, spite, and fear.
However, she did have an idea.
“We could try to use this?” She held out her mechanical butterfly, watched as its glossy, glassy wings unfurled, buzzed, and hummed. “It can see ahead.” And maybe give them an opportunity to strike, or run, before everything was too late.
So she let it go – releasing it from the mouth of the cave, as she followed after Bastien.
--
Mabel tries to use:
Type: Grey
Flutterspy | A small mechanical butterfly. Can fly in a radius of 10m from an ascended, and transmit images of what it sees to whoever released it.
Let's go to war to make peace Let's be cold to create heat
We are only haunted by the things we refuse to accept -Bridgett Devoue
Nikolai nodded sharply at Bastien's instructions, taking up a position near the middle of the group. That way he'd be close enough to the front to see what was happening, but not direclty in the line of danger. Nikolai was proud, but not an idiot. He knew that he'd only be a burden in a fight.
He watched Bastien's movements carefully, keeping an eye out for danger. When Mabel pulled out her flutterspy however, he eyed it curiously. "What's that?" Nikolai asked as he followed her and Bastien into the cave. The little device intrigued him as he'd never seen one before. The light it gave off showed at least one purpose, but it looked like it was too complex of a machine to simply be a source of light.
Resilience is born even when we feel like we are dying -Alex Elle
i wouldn't know where to start 'sweet music' playing 'in the dark'
They meet their father’s eyes easily, a brightness to their gaze that can only be related to the excitement and prospect of exploring, of seeing what kind of treasures the rest of Caido held. For now, though, they settle in to watch as their father offers the cryptic warning, committing it to heart – not unlike what Bastien had told them before the recent LongNight, a time where they’d tried their hardest, had been terrified the entire time, and managed to black out.
So they wait, a breath away from triggering their healing ability just in case Bastien needed it. And when it seems to be going okay for the most part, they follow the ragtag group together as they all head into one of the tunnels. The contraption Mabel brings and lets go has them nearly bouncing on the balls of their feet in excitement and glee, echoing Nikolai’s question with an eager comment of their own. “I want one of those!”
'Cause you've got a mind that is so hell bent on
Fixing me up before I get my coat off
Mabel produced a very exciting invention indeed and like everyone else, Bastien was impressed; he watched it flit about in the air and go ahead. "Wonderful. Did the Voice give you that?" She could have found it, but usually anything quite so special was provided directly from their Goddess.
He smiled at Azrael's exclamation, their ever-bold and unconscious excitement, as he headed further down into the tunnel. One hand on the edge, feeling the damp soil and rock, the other by his side, ready to push back if he needed to stop the group. With his Ascended eyes he could see in the darkness and for the moment, all looked well, if a little cramped - would this really lead to a 'court'? Had he interpreted the Core correctly?
All he could do was hope.
You with those hands that are so hell bent on
Making a mess to suggest you'd think something
i wouldn't know where to start 'sweet music' playing 'in the dark'
Bastien’s smile only spurs them on as they drift further into the Peepholes, their gaze following the contraption until the dirt and soil and rockery open up to a few more tunnels. Here, they pause, their uncertainty coming over them as they move to stand beside their father, a small frown crossing their face as they peer at the options before them.
“I think… We should take the left one.” They offer quietly, leaning forward just a bit to peer down into the darkness, hoping they might be able to see anything else. It makes sense to them, that if there were some sort of court down here that it would be hidden, right? Something down in the deep darkness? Of course, they’ll concede with whatever the majority decides, content to follow whomever. Yet they still stick close to their father just in case, finding comfort in his closeness.
Azrael suggests they take the left tunnel but will go with whatever the majority decides!
Mabel didn’t expect the attention suddenly lauded upon her, and had half an inclination to retreat into shadow, but as the images pressed into her mind, it all vanquished. “A flutterspy, from the Spire.” In case they wanted to find something similar for themselves.
She repeated what she saw for her fellow travelers, and tilted her head, listening to Azrael’s choice. Steep and down had implications of other potential disasters. But so did center and up, or straight ahead – uncertain of what laid ahead. Would the most difficult trek mean they’d find something within? “Left,” Mabel offered with a shrug; offering to send the flutterspy in any direction they chose with a lift of her hand as its wings and assailment returned to her.
--
Mabel also suggests left but will go with whatever the group chooses.
Let's go to war to make peace Let's be cold to create heat
We are only haunted by the things we refuse to accept -Bridgett Devoue
Nikolai debated their options silently. Wessex mentioned that her find was deep in King's End, which implied going down. That'd be the left tunnel. But it was also likely that such a tunnel was a burrow for some creature and that they'd be walking right into it's home.
The center tunnel with it's upward curve likely just opened up to another tunnel entrance. So that one seemed the least likely. The right however, with its forward direction was a possibility. That tunnel might lead further down into the ground later.
Hearing Azrael and Mabel's input, Nikolai eventually nodded in agreement. "The left one. But let's be careful. It might just be some creature's burrow." It was their best option.
Nikolai votes left but he warns that they might just be entering the burrow of an animal.
Resilience is born even when we feel like we are dying -Alex Elle
'Cause you've got a mind that is so hell bent on
Fixing me up before I get my coat off
When they came up to a fork in the tunnel, thankfully all of the group were sensible enough to choose the same option. Bastien was happy to go the way they wanted to, as long as they would all stick together - Azrael especially, whom Bastien had to resist grabbing the hand of as they walked through the dark.
"The whole thing may well just be a burrow, but the Core wants us to look regardless." Bastien said with a shrug, stepping into the left tunnel ahead of them and beginning his walk into the dark again. Partly for the need to satisfy his God and partly for his own reputation, he hoped he was leading them to something here (and something that wasn't dangerous, at that).
--
Bastien goes ahead of the group down the left tunnel.
You with those hands that are so hell bent on
Making a mess to suggest you'd think something
