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!
09-21-2021, 01:25 PM (This post was last modified: 09-24-2021, 02:20 PM by Noah.)
NOAH
set a fire for tomorrow set it to your woes
When Noah wasn't planning with Deimos and Cordelia, he was providing for them. He spent the early hours of the morning hunting smaller game in his lynx form to bring back for them. Deimos either froze it or Cordelia set to smoking it. They had settled in as comfortably as they could in the few short weeks they had nestled into King's End. Each of them still felt a sense of unease about it, and Noah knew it. He could feel it over their shared bond, in the new wrinkles in their eyes and in the downturn of their lips. It was easy to see on him, too. The hunter so far displaced from everything he ever knew.
So, Noah needed to do something he knew.
Frey had given him tasks. All were complete except one, the original plans for this quest thwarted after having their home stolen from them. Now, though, he had spent the last few days stalking a small group of doe through the meadowreach. He had their schedule almost down at this point, and now it was time to claim some for their own. Calling upon his friends while it was still night time, Noah led them to the place where they would begin their hunt. Noah was equipped with both quivers, new and old, one strapped across his back and one on his hips. He had his set of hunting knifes tucked away in the sheaths in the pockets of his coat.
---
This is an attuned only hunting party PQ for part of Noah's quest given here.
09-21-2021, 05:35 PM (This post was last modified: 09-24-2021, 06:40 PM by Cordelia.)
Cordelia
It's a return back to normal. Something that Cordelia is desperate for. None of them, aside from possibly Deimos, has seemed to truly settle. To be fair, she's not even sure that he has. There are too many unknown variables. Too many things that she's worried about. So much changing. So much up to the gods. It weighs heavy on her and most days it feels as if she's simply going through the motions.
Today, however, there is a break in their new "normal". A hunting party. Something she hasn't participated in in some time. She's prepared with her bow and quiver, a knife in a sheath on her thigh, and a hatchet on her belt. Her steps practically silent as she creeps through the snow behind Noah, breaths fogging in the cool night air.
Cordelia brings her bow, knife, hatchet, and shift.
Say something, something like you love me Less you want to move away from the noise of this place
The Sword would like to say being a refugee was a foreign concept, but it’d be a lie. Past lives had interwoven in brief, stark memories of a time and place all too real and vivid, living a clockwork pattern of failure and fault lines. So if it appeared he seemed settled into the abyss, it was only because there were so many lined proportions to it – already adhered in his shoulders, in the regard for stoicism, in the way he countered measures and provided aid where he could. Hunting, assisting, ensuring some reparations had been toiled away, some penance paid and owed in multitudes.
So perhaps it wasn’t that he’d settled, but knew what this life meant.
And what it could provide and preside, once they dug in.
Determination was in his blood and veins, and he had no intention of sinking any further into the footholds of desecration and ruin. They’d make the most of their time out in the Wilds, and eventually pierce their way into the future onslaughts. For now, it was a hunting party, and tomorrow something else.
Lined with his typical furs, Belial following along silently, and Zuriel content to keep her distance unless they needed her for healing, the monolith strode his way alongside. Armed with his shifts, his enchantments, and then his hunting knives, bow, and blade, he likely looked like a living, breathing weapon. Standing tall, and imploring stealth when and where he could, crouching, bending, waiting, he sewn resolution into the fold of their Attuned bonds, nodding to both – ready and willing and able to begin.
--
Deimos has all his gear, shifts, magic, and Belial at the ready.
Noah was thankful for the two at his side. They came equipped with knowledge and skill. They had both spent countless hours hunting and scouting, scouring the earth to bring sustenance to people they loved. This would not be an unusual day for them, and Noah prayed that it would be a successful day. Lowering his body, the hunter leaned into a tree and looked at each of them. The sun was at a point in the morning where it was just deciding whether or not it wanted to rise, and it caused a hazy winter dawn. From what I have witnessed, the deer have been known to bed down just over those knolls. He gestured out to the west. We will need someone, He looked at Deimos, to see if that prediction is correct. Once we have them in known position, we can push them slightly. We have to stay downwind, or else they'll all flee.
Noah looked out past the trees again, his breath coming in thick puffs. Last I saw and counted there were eight doe all together. I am hoping to harvest two today. He informed them.
---
We need someone to scout ahead to see where the deer are at this time. The others will prepare to push the herd.
feel defiance burning through my teeth it's not enough to drag this blade across the day
09-24-2021, 09:04 PM (This post was last modified: 09-24-2021, 09:04 PM by Cordelia.)
Cordelia
His voice echoed through her head clearly. It was softly spoken, barely a caress against her inner thoughts, the information swirling through her head and intermingling with her own. Cordelia pursed her lips, resisting the urge to lick them despite how they wished for moisture with the Deepfrost chill drying them out, eyes scanning the horizon as she took in the plan. Given that she couldn't fly yet it would have to be Deimos who went to scout. The Attuned could shift into her Luxere form, but that might spook the small herd.
For now she would wait with Noah for a confirmation. Her gloved fingers curled around her bow, holding to it tightly as she drew in a deep breath, the icy air filling her lungs with a familiar ache. The anticipation of a hunt bubbled under her skin, trickling along the shared bond, one of the few things she let loose as they waited.
Delia waits until it's time to push!
Say something, something like you love me Less you want to move away from the noise of this place
Winter was favored by the Sword in these little hazes – calm and serene in its cold, chilling composure, seemingly benign until its true power awakened. It reminded him sometimes of the Basin – but without the vibrant colors segmented across the skies. There was no use looking for them now, out of habit in each of these seasons, dragging his attention back to the play at hand.
He justified the direction with a firm nod – the only one in their party capable of shifting into something with wings (save for Belial – who could likely do the same, but he’d leave him here instead of reeling into rambunctious mischief). An eagle wasn’t uncommon. Wouldn’t be something to scare or startle the deer.
In one swift movement, he soared; sienna and majestic against the backdrop of Deepfrost’s early dawn – fast, sure, certain, and determined. Sharp eyes glimpsed over the horizon, then towards Noah’s directions, striving to find the intended game.
Noah watched as Deimos took to the sky. He looked over to Cordelia briefly, giving her a brief but firm nod. An affirmation. Noah stood and took a few steps ahead, careful to make as little sound as possible in the snow. His ears took on the shape of his reindeer shift, lending him the use of their acute skill. They twitched as Noah leaned against a tree, listening for the sound of the herd shifting in the distance. It came up short. Anything up there, Deimos? Noah asked across the bond, hoping the man was flying low enough to hear him still.
Noah looked to Cordelia then, gesturing out for her to fan a little away from him and take cover behind a tree several yards away. The woods became sparse here, and if they continued to advance without having knowledge of where the herd was there was a high possibility they would spook them up and lose them for hours, if not the whole day. We don't want to press too much until we know where they are.
---
The deer were not where Noah said they would be. Shame.
The group needs to find the deer. Deimos has two options: Scout further or go back to the group.
feel defiance burning through my teeth it's not enough to drag this blade across the day
He could hear Noah from a distance; much like a whisper. But he concentrated first, sharp eyes hastening over the horizon, head glancing downward, utilizing, honing his eagle gaze to snatch and grate at what, and where he’d presumed the deer would be.
Yet, there was nothing. An empty landscape where they might’ve bed down recently, where long grass not hampered by the snow bent in place, where there was just an endless stretch of naught now. No, but he didn’t relent any frustration. Sow any irritation. I am going to go a little further. I will send Belial too.
And it only took that minor accord for the peryton to take flight as well, much to the Sword’s irritation, as the youth’s enthusiastic zeal was sometimes too overbearing. Nonetheless, they could take opposing directions, cover and spread more ground to find the aforementioned prey.
The other Attuned whispered a cursed, lips pressing into a line as she looked ahead, dark brows drawing together in thought. Deimos pressed ahead and Cordelia shifted her weight in the snow, sinking a bit deeper deeper, drawing a deep breath as if she could scent things in this form. All she's met with is the smell of snow, freezing wind, and the dampness of the trees. "Should I shift? I could try to approach." She practically whispered, careful of letting her voice carrying, eyes flicking up to Noah to judge his answer.
She had no doubt that they could track the deer, but Cordelia was hesitant to push too hard, not wanting to scare their potential meal off.
Cordelia asks if she should shift and try to scent them.
I've been the archer and I've been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?
Deimos did the right thing by calling in his companion. Though Deimos' sharp eyes would be the ones to see the herd of does first, Belial's help would surely be needed. While he might not have needed his eyes in the moment, his space in the sky might become a great strategic benefit for them. The herd was smaller than Noah had last observed, which gave signs that they were not the only ones hunting in this meadow. It may also be the reason the does' pattern was set off, and it took longer to find them. Or the initial dice rolls were just bad.
Either way, Deimos would be able to tell his companions where they were at now.
Noah shifted his weight back to stop and look at Cordelia at her question. He simply nodded, following suit to her idea and shifting down into his own reindeer form. While the two attuned did not match the deer quite as closely as they did in their homeland, the fact that they weren't covering themselves in the skin and scent of predators would give them the upper hand.
Once we find the deer we need to push them in a spot where we can set up one of us to take them down. When we find them we can almost corral them before we send them someone's way. He projected at the two of them, hoping Deimos was still in range to hear them as Noah and Cordelia moved slowly in the snow.
---
We have spotted the deer! We must get them gathered and moving in the direction we want them to go, causing a push towards one of the three of us to shoot one. What will you guys do, or suggest, next? Let's see!
feel defiance burning through my teeth it's not enough to drag this blade across the day
Cordelia followed Noah's lead. She easily shifted into her Luxere shift, shaking out her fur as she drew in a deep breath, scenting the herd of doe that were further ahead of them. It would be a bit of a challenge to get them where they wanted to go, but Cordelia didn't doubt them capable. The Attuned trotted forward, hoping that their scents would ease their prey into false sense of security, allowing them to corner them the way they needed to. Deimos will likely be able to get ahead of them to take a shot. If we time it right we could likely strike at the same time. They'll be too startled by the first attack to see us coming.
The hunter suggested, eyes lifting towards the sky to watch Deimos above them, soaring high through the grey winter sky. With a familiarity that only comes from years of hunting her eyes go to the snow, searching for tracks and tells of the herd, knowing that would help with figuring out the trail they were on.
Cordelia makes a suggestion for how to strike as she shifts to her Luxere form to track hear with Noah.
I've been the archer and I've been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?
Then there was success – deer spotted between himself and Belial, and the determination fueled, sparked, incensed throughout the bond. He lowered his frame along, and the peryton followed suit, coasting above, sending images of the small herd towards his compatriots.
As for a spot to corral them? The woods would only amplify the ability for the prey to escape. He glanced along the surroundings, pondering where they could be pushed, and hopefully pinpointed, segmented enough, for one of them to launch.
Yards and yards before him were several larger barrows, rising, resembling, smaller hills. It might take time for the does to wander upwards, clamber along. There are some larger barrows ahead. We might be able to push them there. He gave a pause, pondering the other possibilities and parameters, gliding along the chilling winds. I can drop down on them in my hellhound shift. It’d give them time, and it’d be purposefully quick and efficient.
--
Deimos and Belial stay above, scouting out the deer and looking out for an area to corral them.
The deer moved slowly, walking almost carefree in the early morning light. They took their time scraping away at snow to reveal what they could eat, unaware of the danger that lurked around and searched for them. Even the scent of other deer had not reached them yet.
We should draw them into a funnel if we can. Noah replied to Deimos' imagery, his eyes lifting as he searched what he could before them. His eyes caught the sense of movement, and he paused for a moment, unwilling to startle the herd at this point. We don't have to worry about the wind too much at this point, or anything like that. We just need to know whether to push them east or west. The reindeer rolled his shoulders forward, gesturing to Cordelia where he saw the movement ahead of them.
When Deimos gives us direction, you take right flank and I'll take left. We'll push them up and hopefully into a spot that slows them down. Then Deimos can strike, and if we're quick enough, can get some if they scatter. The hunter instructed his fellow hunter, easy enough for Deimos to hear as well to stay on track with them.
---
Do we drive the herd east or west? Noah waits for Deimos' direction, but gives Cordelia and himself their next roles.
feel defiance burning through my teeth it's not enough to drag this blade across the day
Hovering above, as if in nothing more than an easy stroll along the sky, the eagle and peryton surveyed, watched, the scene. The piercing depths of his eyes cast in several directions, calculating, pondering, wondering – the funneling could easily take place from a more eastern front. They could push, they could cajole, they could rush, and the deer could be blocked on either side, unless the prey was more willing to take a chance on rushing upwards at potentially dangerous slopes and gradients.
But he listened as Noah gave forth the command, and he returned the message to both with the depths of images again. East, the Sword remarked, waiting for approval, casting himself in a further glide. Preparation was key, and he’d already spotted several weaker, slower-moving targets.
--
Deimos says east, and tries to spot a potential target.
