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 little attentions to detail certainly work in their favor, Azrael managing to maneuver the stones and bricks back into a semblance of something strong, strong enough to be able to continue layering over and over again for the wall they work on. When their helper comes, Azrael flashes him a bright smile of greeting and an array of thank you’s for the help (both to the helper and to Ed) and they slip up the ladder to continue their attempts at making the wall higher.
They’re careful and meticulous with how they place the bricks, trying to ensure that they continue the same amount of ability with the way they decided to redo the last half of the wall. And hopefully it works well enough to get them up to the rest of everyone’s height.
Az gets on the ladder and keeps on keepin’ on!
shadows dance around the room, i know their names, i carry their blood too
"Thanks," Cam echoes, also blushing at Wessex's compliment -- as much as an Ascended can blush, anyway. They grin at Nikolai. "We've got this, right?"
They can only hope that they're not being too cocky. But they do feel like they're getting the hang of this whole building thing; it's not as hard as they expected. Maybe working with your hands isn't so bad -- especially when you're Ascended and can't actually get tired, sore, or sweaty.
"Last one to the top's a rotten egg?" they say, mostly joking, to Nikolai as they pick a section of Wessex's collapsed wall to rebuild. "Or maybe we shouldn't race. Make speed, not haste, and all that."
Once again, the young duo work very well together; Cameron and Nikolai seem to strike a rhythm and have a technique down for building these walls, and they’re able to do what the General cannot. They catch up with Azrael, and between the four of them and their night time speediness, they’re able to build the walls high, sturdy, and even.
Wessex, on the other hand… rolled a three after a two is not having the best night. She is easily able to carry the stabilizing pillars in through the door (she even manages to not knock any of the new walls out!) but the beams themselves simply do not want to stay put. Or perhaps the demigoddess doesn’t know her own strength, as each slight adjustment seems to send the beams wobbling. There are two around the front door and two at the back wall, meant to support what will be a middle beam running the length of the building.
Eventually the poles settle and they’re able to move on to the next step: the roof.
There are large, hammered sheets of metal that Ed’s assistants start to haul toward the building. But first - they’ll need some support. Gesturing a pile of shorter beams, Wessex begins to explain the next step. “Okay, can two of you please join me on ladders on the center line? I’m going to get this big beam in place. And then we’ll need to place these thinner slats at even intervals along the middle support. Then the metal sheets on top of that. Make sense?”
Hopefully it does, because Wessex waits only for two of them to scramble atop ladders before she begins to lift the central support.
------------------------------
Ok, two of you atop ladders to help guide the central support in, one to start bringing in the smaller supports, and then Wessex will teleport up there with the metal sheets.
No, I’ll be the stone
I’ll be the hunter, a tower that casts the shade
I lie awake and watch it all
At this point, Nikolai is feeling great. He had no idea that he had such a knack for basic construction. It makes him want to try building something else. Perhaps he can try and build himself a small reading nook somewhere? One with a nice window on the ceiling that he can cover during the day but let the stars shine through at night? That'd be perfect.
At Wessex's call, he practically bounds over and scurries up one of the ladders. Getting situated as best as he can, Nikolai turns and holds his hands out. "Alright, I'm ready." When Wessex begins to hand him the central support, Nikolai will do his best to ease it into place carefully and properly secure it.
Nikolai climbs a ladder to help Wessex with the central support.
They catch up after their blunder and they’re more than excited to have gotten this far with it. And honestly, seeing their plans come together in a fully fleshed out building? Just the cherry on top. So when they’re done with their wall, they slip down from the ladder and thank their helper, moving to where Wessex is explaining what the plan was – situating the center beam so that they can build around it.
It makes sense and as Nikolai moves to climb up the ladder to help, Azrael immediately moves to the other ladder to help out there too. “I’m ready too!” They chime once they’ve reached the spot, ready to grab the central support beam to help secure it on their end as well.
Azrael also helps with the central support on the ladder!
shadows dance around the room, i know their names, i carry their blood too
Cam doesn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed that Azrael and Nikolai get up the ladders before they can -- they pick relieved, since they're having a good day and don't want to ruin it. Besides, they may have done well with the earlier construction, but best not to test their luck, or their sense of balance.
"I'll get some of the slats ready," they offer, fitting action to words. They pick up one of the wooden slats that need to go along the center beam and carry it over closer to the base of the ladders, ready to hand it to whoever needs it. At least, they hope this is helpful -- they really aren't sure what else to do right now.
Cam brings over one of the slats to get ready for the next step.
Finally, some good luck all around! Wessex is able to haul the main support beam up the ladder and with Nikolai and Azrael’s help, settle it in place. It’s long and sturdy and barring in giant creatures crashing into it, should hold for many years to come.
While the General climbs down to sort through the metal sheets with Cameron on the ground, Nikolai and Az do pretty well with setting the extra support slats at even intervals, making Wessex’s job all the easier. Grabbing on to several at once, she teleports herself to atop the center beam and then sets everything down, shifting the sheets to one side or the other until they create a flat ceiling. She’ll come back later to try and weld it all together with some time-consuming laser-ing.
After all, the point of this building is to be big and fire-resistant:a place to practice and a place to retreat to, if need be.
All that’s left is her office. When Wessex returns to the ground for the last time, she’s grinning. “Almost done. Just my office is left and that should be easy, given everything else.” Gesturing vaguely to what they’ve built around them, it should be obvious that two walls, a window, and a door in the back corner are nothing, all things considered. “Let’s make it twelve by twelve. And leave an open space for a door. There should also be a pane of glass around here somewhere…”
---------------
Last round! Just two stone walls left, installing the window, and cutting wood for a door. <3
No, I’ll be the stone
I’ll be the hunter, a tower that casts the shade
I lie awake and watch it all
Things are finally starting to come together and Nikolai can even begin to visualize what the barracks will look like once they're done. Given his prior success with wall construction, he decides to work on the last two walls. Grabbing stone and mortar and a ladder, Nikolai sets to work once more.
Once again, he tries to keep each layer of mortar even and place the stones in snuggly. As much as he wants to be done with building, he forces himself to slow down and take his time. It'd do no one any good if half the walls were half-assed. So falling into a steady rhythm, Nikolai tries to work efficiently but carefully.
There’s relief that spreads through Azrael when the beam goes into place easily, as does the extra support slats – the way it all seems to just come together like puzzle pieces, one after another each falling into place. They slip down the ladder when that’s done, brushing off their clothes from dirt and pieces of the wood from the beams that had coated parts of them as Wessex explains that the office is all that’s left (a tidbit they’re proud about given part of that had been their idea to begin with when they’d drawn it up with their aunt).
Nikolai is quick to pick working on the walls again, and while Azrael would love to help out with the walls again, they didn’t have much luck initially with it. So they pick the door, slipping to the side to grab a few slats of wood, working to cut it to the length needed and nail the boards into place to then align some hinges and space for a doorknob.
Azrael picks the door!
shadows dance around the room, i know their names, i carry their blood too
Cam thinks along the same lines as Nikolai; they did a good job on walls before, so why mess with success? They figure having some experience with their task will help. Besides, the door and window sound like more delicate tasks, and Cam's still a little on the clumsy side.
Laying the mortar, Cam can't help humming to themself a little, a tune that none of the Naturals around them will recognize but that they realize, after a moment, is "Bad Romance." OK, weird pick -- they've never been a huge Lady Gaga fan -- but that's what happens to be in their head right now. They can't say their humming is particularly good, either, and after becoming aware of it, they stop, self-conscious. A long time ago, someone told them their singing was no good; ever since, they've avoided singing or even humming around other people, though they do tend to do it when alone.
Azrael already knows the dimensions of the office well, so the door they cut fits perfectly into the space left by Nikolai and Cameron. Wessex manages to get yet another beam in just in time, to act as an anchor for hinges. Then there’s the pane of glass, which she holds steady in its wooden frame whilst Cameron builds around it,locking it securely in place. She’ll finish the roof portion of the office up later with something similar to the roof of the Barracks themselves (probably).
Teamwork makes the dream work - or something like that. And even though we’re handwaving time factors right now, and even though this PQ has dragged on and on, it’s quite feasible that they’re finishing as the sun crests the horizon, spilling daylight at the base of the Barrack’s walls when they emerge. Ed is snoring away, propped up on a sack of cement mix, while his assistants have surely traded in manual labor for their beds.
“I can’t thank you three enough,” the General says with a weary grin. “I know it was a lot of work, but with any luck Cal and I can start holding some pretty cool training sessions there and we can start to learn to fight as a team - if you’re interested in that kind of thing. Or healing and helping in combat,” she says with a knowing smile towards Az. They already had a bit of experience with that, but more practice couldn’t hurt.
And with that, she sends them all home for the day, and continues to work on the Barracks by herself for the rest of the day, tidying up, straightening, reinforcing where need be, and finishing the Office.
[FINISHED. Finally. Thank you all soooooooo much <3 ]
No, I’ll be the stone
I’ll be the hunter, a tower that casts the shade
I lie awake and watch it all
