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!
Amun's shop was mostly up and running, but he had discovered that the supply of dyes was sorely lacking. The Hollowed Ground was not exactly known for its vibrant colors, so he'd headed through the portal into Torchline. Seeing as he wasn't exactly an expert on the local environment, he'd chatted up a few shopkeepers, asking them about their products.
Eventually, he'd gotten one to admit that the colorful feathers and horns that were adorning the woman's stall were from a creature called ramphires. They seemed like a good option, so he'd headed away from the (relatively more) civilized areas in search of the animal.
Of course, he wasn't a tracker, so he spent only the gods knew how long wandering the beaches and jungles of the area before he spotted something in the distance that was vibrant, strange looking, and moving. Unfortunately, it was up on the slopes of Apopo; he eyed the volcano. Finally, with a sigh, he started making his way up the slope, heading in the direction of what he sorely hoped was a ramphire herd.
Today, Lilliane decided she would do something she hadn't done since coming here. If there was one thing she missed, it was her hiking trips on the weekends. Of course, with this new world being different - and more dangerous - than the one she came from, she had focused on other things first. Now, taking advantage of the fact that it was a bit cloudy and less warm than on other days in Torchline, she decided it was time to hike up the old volcano.
Some time into her hike, she spotted something unfamiliar further up. It looked like some kind of creature, though one she wasn't familiar with. Clad in vibrant colors, several of them were in sight for a moment before moving out of sight. Intrigued, Lilliane decided to take a look. Carefully, as she was unaware whether the creatures might be dangerous, she started hiking in the direction where she saw them.
To her surprise, she didn't seem to be the only person out there. As she continued walking up the mountain, she saw someone else doing the same. She waved to him, deciding not to call out to him in case the animals might hear it and be startled away. But maybe he could tell her if she should be careful around these creatures or not. Once she was close enough, she said: "Um, hello." She paused for a moment, realizing she should probably have thought of what to say beforehand. "Do you know this area, by any chance?"
Amun had heard the sounds of something approaching for a while now. Unbeknownst to Lilliane (the Ascended assumed), Zhanshi had already tunneled through the ground to the woman and determined she was not immediately a threat. So when she finally spoke, the potter turned and walked backwards a few steps, grinning at her.
"For a given value of know." Tilting his head to one side, he gave her a once over. "I'm not a local, if that's what you're asking." Facing front again, he angled his steps until he was walking beside her. "I'm Amun. And this hill with delusions of grandeur is Apopo. Don't worry, it probably won't erupt again." He waggled his eyebrows at her, before glancing back up to make sure he was still on the trail of the ramphires.
Though Lilliane was a bit surprised that the man seemed to know she was there before she spoke to him, she decided to file it away as 'Caido things she didn't understand yet'. Instead, she smiled and replied: "I'm Lilliane. And I've mostly been asking because I saw some interesting-looking creatures up there." She nodded towards the direction they were going.
"I was about to take a closer look, but I'm not sure whether they could be dangerous, so when I saw you, I decided to ask you about it." For all the exploring she was doing right now and would be doing in the future, she knew there were probably things in this world that she shouldn't get near yet.
As Lilliane explained her presence, Amun smiled. "Nice to meet you Lilliane." At that point, Zhanshi chose to surface. The potter snatched his companion out of the air and held the little landshark up so he was at the Ascended's eye level. "No biting," he admonished. In response, Zhanshi twisted so he could nibble on Amun's finger.
Sighing, he released the landshark, who promptly flew over to give Lilliane an inspection, flying in circles around her starting at her feet and working his way up. The potter kept an eye on his companion, but Zhanshi behaved. "If he bothers you, let me know."
The Ascended scratched the back of his head as he looked up the slope at the herd of some creature that definitely fit the description of ramphires. "From what I was told, they're called ramphires and they're relatively harmless. Well, as any wild animal is. But still, herbivores and more flight than fight." Shrugging, he started making his way towards them. "Of course that's if you can trust anything anyone in Torchline says." He let out a laugh and winked at Lilliane.
When a little shark suddenly came out of the earth, Lilliane was definitely startled, taking a step back quickly. Though the initial shock subsided quickly when it became evident that it seemed to belong - and listen to - Amun, she still kept a cautious eye on it. What she didn't expect, however, was to be inspected by the creature next. "Uh, I guess that's okay?" She followed the landshark with her eyes. "As long as he doesn't bite." The last sentence was half-joke, half-serious.
But with no imminent danger from the shark, her attention turned back to their conversation and the creatures further uphill. She smiled at his last remark. "I don't know Torchline that well, but so far I've learned that everything someone tells you there has to be taken with a grain of salt." Still, someone who was traveling with a shark, however tiny it was, probably had no issues with a herd of mostly passive creatures. "Are you also interested in them, or are you just headed in that direction?"
Amun let out a chuckle at Lilliane's reluctant acceptance of Zhanshi's presence. Waving a hand in the hand, the potter shrugged. "He might nibble, but he hasn't taken a chunk out of someone in ages. Promise." He crossed his heart as he made that not particularly comforting reassurance.
Inspection complete, the landshark dove back into the ground. He made a circle at the Ascended's feet, the companion's passage marked by furrows in the ground. "Just one? I think you'll learn it's a pinch soon enough. Or maybe it's a dash? I don't know, I don't cook." He grinned at her.
Shading his eyes, he nodded at her question. "Less them, more their feathers. I'm looking for new materials to make dyes with, and ramphires seemed like a likely candidate." He glanced over at her to see how she'd take that information. Of course he couldn't resist adding, "Granted, you met me in Torchline, so who knows what dastardly plots I'm brewing for those poor innocent critters."
Now Lilliane couldn't help but chuckle. "A dash of salt for everything someone in Torchline says? That sure sounds like a very salty meal." Though she did raise an eyebrow afterward. "You say that like the people in Torchline are all horrible, and cruelty towards animals is normal here." Of course, it had been a joke on his side. But there was often some truth in repeated jokes like these.
Glancing over at the animals Amun had called rhampires, Lilliane continued: "Have you thought about how to get their feathers? Do they lose them somehow or are you planning to hunt one? I just want to take a look at them, so I'll try not to get in your way with whatever you're doing."
She paused for a moment to think. "If you don't mind me asking, what will the dyes be for? Clothing is the first thing to come in mind, but many things need dyes."
Amun arched an eyebrow at Lilliane. "Supposedly that's a good thing. Salt makes stuff taste good, right?" Grinning, he shrugged. "It's been a while since I had a meal, but I vaguely remember that being true."
Pausing for a moment, he scratched under his chin. "I'm not from here, so this is, of course spurious gossip. But from what I know, it's not that they're cruel and horrible, so much as expedient and always looking to score something out of every situation. Every person out for themselves and all that." He glanced over to see how she processed that news.
Laughing, he shook his head. The animals were now close enough that he could actually pick out details; their feathers were as vibrant as described and as he'd seen on display on the stalls, but the horns were a surprise. They were beautiful, and he slowed his pace so as not to spook them. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting to find them, so no, I don't have a plan. I figured we can see if anyone of them are molting. If not, I have a few tricks, well, not up my sleeve exactly, but close enough." Wiggling his fingers he slid behind a tree to just watch the animals for a moment.
"Oh, I'm a potter." Eyes still trained on the ramphires, he tilted his head towards her. "How about you, what do you do?"
Again, Lilliane chuckled. "Too much salt won't taste good. Plus, it's actually harmful in big doses because it dehydrates the body." Though it wasn't like anyone would eat that much salt unless they were going for stupid dares like eating several spoonfuls of salt at once.
Following Amun's example, she decided to hide behind a tree too. Meanwhile, she thought about what he had said. "It sure seems like that kind of place at first glance. I haven't been here often, so I'm not sure how true that gossip is."
Glancing from the animals to Amun, Lilliane placed one hand at her chin, pondering the options. "If none of them are molting right now, I know that chickens sometimes drop feathers when they are startled. So if you only want the feathers without harming them, maybe scaring them might be an idea."
When it came to the talk about jobs, she smiled. "I'm a cook." Though right now, she felt more like an apprentice again, with so many new ingredients she had to learn about. Which reminded her. "So if you do decide to hunt one, maybe you can trade some of the meat with me so I can try new recipes."
Amun glanced over at Lilliane and arched an eyebrow. Smiling at her, he tilted his head to one side. "Is that so? Like I said, I don't eat myself, but it's good to know." He nodded at her.
Shrugging, he scratched the back of his head. "I'm from places where people really banded together and made sure the community thrived as a whole, so maybe it's just the contrast for me." He spoke in a quiet tone, his eyes trained on the herd of colorful ramphires that were just ahead of them.
Narrowing his eyes at her comment, he hummed a low note. Jerking his chin, he sent Zhanshi ahead underground to scout out the situation more closely. As the companion followed the potter's direction, he gave the cook a once over. "Good to know? How good are you at throwing?" As he asked his question, he crossed his arms and drummed his fingers on the metal bracelets he wore most of the time. "Absolutely! Do you specialize in any specific type of cuisine?"
Lilliane nodded to Amun's statement, leaving previous parts of the conversation at that. She eyed the distance towards the ramphires. "Not bad, I think. I can hit a target, but I'm not good at throwing far. I think towhere the ramphires are might work, but getting a bit closer would make things easier." She made a short pause. "What do you have in mind?"
Visibly brightening up when the topic changed to cooking, she continued: "Not really. I recently finished my apprenticeship, so I've spent most of the time learning the basics so far. But I'd like to try baking more often. Bread, sweet pastries, or some more hearty pastries, all of them are interesting."
Amun nodded as Lilliane explained her capabilities. As she spoke, he hummed a low note as he activated his metal manipulation upgrade. The metal bracelets lining his arms began to ripple and shift, sliding down into his hands as he formed a metal net out of them. It was just large enough to contain a ramphire. "I can hopefully stun one and startle the rest, if you think you can toss this over the stunned one. Once we get closer." He held out the net for her.
Grinning, he gave her a thumbs up with his free hand. "Baked goods, especially sweet ones, always seem to be popular. Good choice." Still speaking in a whisper, he crept closer to the herd, walking as lightly as he could and ducking behind another tree. As he did, he sent a request to Zhanshi to tunnel to the other side of the closest ramphire, which had moved slightly away from the herd in search of some grub.
Lilliane watched with surprise as Amun's metal bracelets changed form. "Everyone seems to be able to do amazing things here," she said, somewhat baffled. When she took the net, she looked at it for a moment before focusing back on the matter at hand.
Weighing the net in her hand for a moment, she nodded. "I think that will work." Afterward, she crept closer to the herd too. As she did so, she looked over to Amun from time to time, clearly trying to copy his approach on sneaking up on the animals. Once she was hidden again, this time slightly crouched behind a big bush, she looked over to Amun. Pointing at the ramphire closest to them, she mouthed the words: 'This one?'.
