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!
Well, seems like stairs to nowhere were the best idea. Before he ascends (for the third time) Nate pauses at the base, and grabs a stone off the ground, tossing it up and catching it again while he goes to stand alongside his companions. Without any hesitation, Nate tosses the rock in through the strange portal, squinting after it.
"There's only one way to know for sure, right?" Nate grins, then steps past Isla and Az both, gesturing for them to back off just a little before facing the portal, and summoning one of his false arms. He does hesitate this time, long enough to take a steadying breath, and reaches through the portal with his arm, bracing for whatever comes.
Nate throws a rock through the portal, then sticks one of his holographic arms through this can only go well
Get my pretty name out of your mouth Don't talk 'bout me like how you might know how I feel
"Hm?" Isla turns as Az speaks, blinking as she spots the shimmer in the air. "Oh, that is interesting," she agrees, smiling and reaching out into the air as if to brush her fingers against the portal. Nate's footsteps have her glancing around, and before she can protest there's a rock sailing through the air and into the portal. "Nate," she scolds, even as she's herded back so he can fish through the portal with one of his false arms. "What if the Prince is through there?"
The last thing she wants to do is accidentally bean the poor thing with a rock when they're trying to call out for it. "I would have just jumped through," she admits to Azrael. And that is absolutely her plan, should Nate's experimentation prove to be non-lethal.
Isla wants to jump through the portal, but she hangs back so Nate can complete his experiment.
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
The rock sails through, disappearing once it hits the shimmer. There are no obvious indications of what has happened to it on the 'other side'.
And as Nate sticks his arm through? Does it burn off? Explode? Does some alien thing slide up his circuits, rewiring his body and then his brain, taking him over entirely???
No. Nothing at all seems to happen. Nate's sensors will register that the temperature on the 'other side' seems to be warmer than the rest of King's End, though not uncomfortably so.
They get quite an uncomfortable feeling about all of this, but Isla mentions she’d just hop on through and Nate arrives, tossing a rock through it and Azrael can’t help but to blink unhelpfully as they stare at the shimmering portal – watching the holographic arm slip through. Their brows pinch together and their hands between to twist their wrists a little in their uncertainty but pure curiosity. “Did… Anything happen?” They ask in a hushed tone, voice a bit higher pitched from their worry.
But they turn to Isla and in their gaze holds the uncertainty and the question held behind their teeth, but it also harbors all of their trust. “I’ll go with you if we’re going through…” They offer quietly, reaching for Isla’s hand. If she goes through, Azrael will go with her.
Azrael’s fuckin nervous and asks Nate if anything happened, before telling Isla that they’ll go if she does. If Isla jumps through the portal, Azrael will jump through with her.
shadows dance around the room, i know their names, i carry their blood too
A short laugh bubbles out of Nate, Isla's complaint the first time the idea that he might hit the Prince actually gracing his head. "I guess I'll have to apologize if I did." He decides easily, just before sticking his arm through. It's only the tension on Azrael's face that keeps Nate from screaming in mock horror his arm is left blessedly unmolested, the scare feeling cheap and inappropriate. Instead, he shrugs, and draws his arm back to do a quick once over before looking over his shoulder. "It's warmer through there." His tongue pokes out between his lips, thoughts chugging through his head before he abandons them in favour of action.
"Age before beauty, huh?" The joke rolls off his tongue easily, softening the serious blow of his next words. "Keep behind me." And without a moment's more hesitation, he steps through the glimmering portal, on high alert as he comes out the other side.
Nate steps through the portal and looks around, making sure to keep in front of Azrael and Isla as they follow.
Get my pretty name out of your mouth Don't talk 'bout me like how you might know how I feel
All but vibrating with curiosity as Nate gives his findings, Isla can only scoff at his remark, seeming intrigued as he hops through the portal. And were it not for Azrael at her side, she'd be hot on his heels, but as much as this is important for them all, she won't risk Bastien's child for anything. "It looks like we're going on an adventure after all," she says softly, reaching out to clasp their hand and give it a reassuring squeeze.
"You heard Nate, okay? You stay behind him or me, no matter what happens. And if things look dicey, I don't want you to be afraid of leaving. It's important for you to stay safe." And their healing might prove to be the most useful thing of all, if the situation does go south. Without further ado, though, Isla hops on through the portal with Azrael.
Isla takes Az's hand and hops through the portal after Nate!
sooner or later, we all have to wake and try forgetting everything
