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!
09-07-2021, 07:53 PM (This post was last modified: 09-19-2021, 03:54 AM by Nikolai.)
Nikolai
Not all truths Belong to the light
Nikolai stood in front of the spire, eyeing the renovations that had already begun. There were less obsidian chunks just lying around then before. As someone who had helped clean it up a few weeks ago, the young Ascended could only blame himself. But how was he supposed to have guessed that he'd need a chunk now?
Walking around the base of the tower, Nikolai searched for any suitable pieces. He'd need to carve it into a sphere, which was daunting in itself. A piece that was already rounded slightly would be preferable. As for actually carving it? Maybe he should use a sharp piece of obsidian to do it? The stone wasn't one that was easily cut or carved after all.
Nikolai shook his head, focusing and returning back to his search. He'd worry about the carving part after. First he had to find a piece that he could work with.
Mabel didn’t often wander around the Spire. It’d been there since her birth, and had really only investigated it when in need of tech or if anyone else required assistance, as they’d done some weeks before. She traipsed around it now simply to wander – stretching out restless limbs, contemplating all manner of armaments, when the slip of movement caught her eye.
Rounding along the proportions, swift and sleek, she came to discover it was simply Nikolai. No threat. No impending damnation. Any sentiments of sliding her knives or daggers into another’s ribcage left, and she huffed a quiet sigh – but no plumes of air burst from her lungs or curled into the ether.
Mainly to be a twit, she angled herself directly out of his line of sight, and then slid along, silent, unassuming, until he seemed entirely preoccupied. Intending to surprise him, her voice coiled out in its familiar, brusque manner, head tilted in all its predacious manifestation. “What are you doing?”
Nikolai flinched slightly in surprise as Mabel suddenly called out. Rounding on his heel he scowled at her, fangs bared. "Looking for some decent fucking obsidian that I can use. What about you?" He didn't see a point in lying about his purpose at the Spire. But the other Ascended would have to work harder for further clarification. As far as Nikolai was concerned, he'd been as civil as was required.
Keeping one eye and ear to his sibling, Nikolai continued his search. Digging through the snow and turning over debris in search of a prime piece of stone. There was an overabundance of shitty ones it seemed and Nikolai tsked as he continued to come up empty.
She smirked at his scowl, completely indifferent (and obviously amused) at the state of his flinch and then his bared fangs. No fear trounced or laced from her, a casual shrug interwoven with her eldritch, uncanny movements, sliding through the shadows with uncanny deliberation and ease. Her head tilted slightly as she listened, pondering, before vaguely lifting her gaze elsewhere, glancing at the obsidian they hadn’t utilized previously. “For what?”
She could always help, if he wanted it.
Not known for her obliging nature though, the youth maneuvered again, feet tracing and trailing along the stone. More than once she found something one might consider somewhat decent, depending on what the use and reason was; shoving them over with one foot before moving along again, ignoring his question altogether. Irritating others probably wasn’t a solid motivation.
Mabel's smirk received a hiss and a turned back. "For a quest. Our Lady told me to get some." Nikolai bit out the words as he continued his search. Ever piece of stone that was unsatisfactory was thrown off into the distance without mercy. Perhaps not the best course of action but it helped Nikolai deal with his frustration. Frustration that was only growing now that Mabel was bothering him.
Having said that, Nikolai looked over his shoulder and gave her a scathing look. "Either be useful and help me find a piece that's palm sized or bigger, or fuck off." He needed to carve it into a sphere after all. Anything smaller then someone's palm would likely be too tiny and tedious to carve.
Oh well excuse me, a quest. If she was envious, jealous Mabel sought not to let it show – giving a light sniff, lingering around some other edges. “Rude. Is that how you ask for help?” And the younger Ascended thought she was pathetically awful about requesting, imploring, for assistance.
But like an annoying sibling, she didn’t go away – investigating the bits and pieces of obsidian. Some were far too small, chipped along and reduced to edges and splinters, cracked, shards of things that could’ve once been proud pinnacles. Eventually though, the youth thought she saw a portion that might have been useful, and used her foot to kick the segment over to Nikolai, watching as it settled near his own. “Would that work?”
Nikolai rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to hiss at his sister. If he hadn't been so focused on his task, he surely would have. He was pleasantly surprised when Mabel stuck around. Still tossing stones over his shoulder, Nikolai paused when she spoke up. Picking up the offered stone, Nikolai studied it for a second.
It was a larger piece for sure, but rather jagged. Having said that, the overall shape was relatively spherical. Humming he grabbed a sharper piece of obsidian and experimentally started sawing off one of the jagged pieces. After a few minutes, it fell away and Nikolai sent a fanged grin towards Mabel. "This will work." He paused, "Thanks."
Beginning to work on making the piece vaguely spherical, Nikolai decided to be nice. At least, a little. "I'm trying to make a sphere out of it. Our Lady is helping me to get an ocular upgrade that will help me decipher languages and codes. Given what the others have been finding in the Wilds, it seems like a useful pursuit."
Perhaps Mabel would find the idea boring, but an eye that could read secret codes and ancient languages excited Nikolai to no end. It'd open up every book in the Atheneum as well. Maybe he'd even learn to write them after deciphering? That'd be cool.
With the obsidian decent enough, she nodded, accepting the gratitude rather than the snark. But she listened, even if it didn’t appear she was, as her eyes drifted over the other proportions of the Spire overhead. Ocular upgrades were an interesting choice – she was so focused on demolition and destruction that the notion hadn’t occurred to her. Not when vengeance and violence so heavily laced and layered into her being now. “Oh? Have they been finding other things?” The curiosity was there – lingering in the midst of her otherwise impassive features.
Pretending she and Ophelia hadn’t been ripping up portions of books in the Atheneum.
“Do we know how the other group did in the Peepholes?” After they’d left? She hadn’t heard otherwise – presuming success.
Nikolai continued to carve the obsidian, biting his lip in concentration as he worked. As such it took a second for him to respond with a shrug. "Remember that meeting last season where Wessex mentioned what she found in King's End? The tribute statue to Rae's champion and the acid river? That's what gave me the idea. I'm guessing that there might be other things like that hidden in the Wilds and they might not all be written in the known language." After all, what was the point in finding a clue if you couldn't interpret it?
Mabel's other question makes Nikolai's brow furrow. "I don't know. I've seen them around so I know that they made it out, but I haven't gotten the chance to ask." He grimaced, "I don't think they succeeded though. I'd imagine that if they had, we would have heard something." Another meeting or notice would have been likely sent out if something was uncovered.
The jagged piece of obsidian that Nikolai was using to carve grew dull. With a tsk, he tossed it away before grabbing another from the ground and resuming his carving.
The rehash of information coiled back into Mabel’s mind, and she nodded along. So many multitudes, so many parameters, so many junctures. Absentmindedly, she kicked a few other portions of obsidian over, in case the one he was working upon didn’t turn out as well as he’d hoped. “Another set of eyes would be good then,” she mustered, eyes back on the Spire itself. And what would she contribute to the cause? Rage? Vehemence? Nothingness? Some vexation pulsed in the back of her mind; maybe frustration over her efforts.
If they simply hadn’t been enough, while everyone else moved and stretched forward. She was stuck, twiddling her knives and wishing for bloodshed.
The other inquiry caused her brows to furrow again. Truth be told, it made sense that nothing else had happened or occurred. If it’d been her, she would’ve been howling it at the moon – parading around in her glory. “True. And there is always another time to try.” Stronger. More prepared for whatever they were dealing with.
09-25-2021, 02:01 AM (This post was last modified: 09-25-2021, 02:02 AM by Nikolai.)
Nikolai
Not all truths Belong to the light
Nikolai simply nodded, slightly ignoring his sister. But hey, most siblings do when they're focused. Nikolai's attention was narrowed to the stone in his hand. It was taking more effort then he'd expected to shape the obsidian. If he hadn't been an Ascended, there were surely have been a few sore muscles in the morning. It's unexpected when Mabel kicks over new shards, but not unwelcome.
The shard Nikolai was using to carve grew dull and is quickly replaced with one of the offered pieces. From there, he continues his work. Soon enough the piece of obsidian is spherical, if rough. "Huh." Nikolai turned toward Mabel, "Have any ideas on how to sand this down? It's a bit too sharp to count as a sphere a the moment."
With the notions already out and gone, Mabel could likely leave. He seemed to have the matter at hand, until he didn’t, and she lingered there for a moment, brow arched and contemplations scouring. Her whetstone wouldn’t do the trick; it would only sharpen and polish the edges, and the rounded proportions wouldn’t even be a possibility. “If you worked on it under some powerful, running water?” She knew the pulse and pull of the sea, but the manifestation of its strength was nothing to be sniffed at – especially after what it did to rocks and land after many, many years. “Or a certain kind of stone…” She mumbled, uncertain where to find one that would do a modifying, sanding trick.
Nikolai considered the options Mabel laid out. He had no idea what kind of stone could work, so water seemed like the best option. He eyed the area around him in contemplation. There really wasn't much water. "Wait. The water leading into the glade might work."
Standing up and brushing the dirt off of his pants, Nikolai headed towards the distant sound of water. Sure enough, there was a steam moving along towards the glade. And within that steam was a tiny fast-moving waterfall. Nikolai crouched down and placed his stone under the water's surge, tilting it to allow all sides to be smoothed out.
There wasn't a high volume of water, but it was moving fast enough. With a bit of patience it would smooth the stone into a proper sphere.
Mabel only followed to see if her plan and thoughts worked out. It certainly wasn’t the bounty of the water, the flickering of its babbling proportions, that led her along. Her stare went hard, and her entire body rigid, not blending or funneling her way towards the sanction of the glade with light footfalls, as if she’d rather not be seen. Not to be noticed. By the elements. By the fixtures of the world.
So she watched from a safe distance – knowing full well the oasis wouldn’t come out to gnaw and snag her into its depths – but unfortunately terrified of it all regardless. Only a narrowed whisper followed Nikolai’s motions, eyes watching as he bent beneath the surge of a water’s power. “Is it working?”
