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!
But if it's selfless love you're looking for, you've got the wrong goddess
On the surface it must surely appear odd to see Deimos and Hotaru of all people in the middle of an arid desert. They are children of the mountains, inclined to seek out snow and ice over sand and shale. Perhaps it's slightly more fitting then that they are surrounded by skeletons and mismatched bones rubbed smooth by errant sandstorms. That, at least, is fitting.
"Do you think you could live out here for long if you were siphoning water out of lizards and buzzards?" Hotaru idly comments as she props one hand onto her hip, the other shading her eyes as she gazes out over the boneyard they've found themselves in. They've mostly been traveling by air due to the heat, but the graveyard was so massive even from above that they'd deigned to stop and explore a little.
The heat doesn't dissuade the Valkyrie, though it does amuse her even now that she seems drawn to only the most drastic sides of the scale when it comes to weather. Stifling heat and pervasive cold are the only two that have ever spoken to her.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
It wasn’t immediate dislike, but something close to it. Not the heat, not the endless pits, not the collection of bones scattered around – but distinct memories of another time and another place. He might’ve passed right over as an eagle, had Ru not been curious, and though he shared some of those inklings, at this point he just wrinkled his nose, half-heartedly glaring at everything around them. “Charming place,” he remarked by the use of the decrepit pieces, where vultures had long since picked the remnants clean. Perhaps it might have held a kindling, an inkling, of overtures made by ice and snow, but he refused to make any abandoned, forsaken connections to the desolation.
He passed by a few more rocks, shrugging his shoulders at her question. “Probably not.” There seemed to be nothing out here at all – and while he could likely form plants and water and anything else they needed from the elements, this remained vastly unpleasant. "What is there to keep anyone here?"
Drawing his hair back into a messy bun, the notions of the air finally pinpointed on what irked him. “Reminds me a little of the Dragon’s Throat.”
But if it's selfless love you're looking for, you've got the wrong goddess
Later, likely as they are departing, Ru will spare a moment to embarrass her brother-in-arms with her gratitude for his easy capitulation to her exploratory whims. He will grumble and sass, sarcastic and rebuking, and she will see right through it. For now the bones are more interesting however. Shapes and remnants Hotaru can't recognize. That's not a huge surprise considering how infrequently she has been in Hak Etme, but the curiosity remains.
"Perhaps the lack of life is precisely the draw," is her rebuttal, contrary for the sake of it in all things. "A good place to disappear or to be overlooked. Or maybe they're underground," she whispers dramatically, eyes wide and wiggling her fingers in the vague direction of the sand beneath their feet. Though the theatrics break on an unladylike snort as Deimos finally makes the connection that was clearly needling at him. "Gods, a terrible memory to bring up. Though at least they had clay and those ghastly metal structures to mix things up. Slightly more interesting a horizon than this." Marginally, though.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Taking his eyes away from the motif of animal skulls, or the others littered around in various sizes, he snorted at Ru’s next insinuation. “A refuge for the banished?” A joke, maybe, considering where they’d been the past couple of seasons, as he sauntered further, gaze flickering down at the dirt, soot, and sand. Having been in more than enough caverns, and under the dirt melees, the preference still didn’t rally to his heart – not one so touched and molded by ice and snow. “They can have it.” All their roots and monsters buried in the rubble. An arch to his brow countered with an almost silent inquiry. Would she retreat here, given no other options or alternatives?
Pleased with her indignant snort, a boyish grin settled on his features, despite the less than amiable surroundings. Might as well make it irritating for everyone. “And a magical bridge? With keys?” The Sword laughed then, a deep rumble to exude and echo over nothingness. "I did not go there often. Once for a battle, and another for trade discussion."
But if it's selfless love you're looking for, you've got the wrong goddess
“A last resort at best,” she intones, amused as she spins in a slow circle. “Though it would be a fun challenge, creating an empire beneath the sun. Like the Torchline veins but completely invisible from above.” It’s no surprise the idea appeals to her, with all its secrecy. The idea of being better somehow than the network that already exists. Merely a fanciful brainchild of course.
His grin is brighter somehow when lit by the oppressive sun overhead, or perhaps it’s the mischief that makes it glow from within. Her own grin is helplessly brought to the fore. Childish hatred of an opposing kingdom that lingers like a grudge they’ll never really forget. “Keys that were so easy to steal,” she almost giggles, recalling the thrill of their heightened defenses and narrow-eyes looks which had done nothing to stop her from obtaining that which she wanted. She hadn’t been present for the invasion on the sands of the Throat, so Ru listens with keenly interested ears. “I only went once, when Gaucho came to challenge me for something or other. I went willingly, and spent the entire time getting information from those who had no idea I was a prisoner.” A snort of amusement. It was hilarious they’d let a known thief wander free just because she had no way of crossing the channel. Precisely why the Basin had installed jail cells.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Deimos, ever the pragmatic, stared upwards at the sunlit sky, and then back to the ground. “It would require a vast amount of resources and power.” A means to tunnel under the earth without it falling around them. A measure of food and water. Shelter that could be maintained, sustained, even as the above proportions sizzled and smoldered away into nothing. He arched his brow – only vaguely familiar with the depths of the caverns within Torchline, or the watery veins intermingling through the region. Enough to know an appeal to Safrin had been made for the canals, at the very least. “Then you have the landsharks to contend with.” The Sword offered her another grin – not to purposefully ruin her fanciful, imaginative construction, but he certainly didn’t help in building it.
Dragging the Dragon’s Throat though was far more appealing than a skeletal region below. Bemused, offering another smile for her thievery, the deep rumble continued as they circled around another set of skulls – perhaps old dragons, if the shapes bore any resemblance. “Did you ever use them?” Out of spite, because she could? The last insinuation didn’t surprise him at all – offering one more laugh to bounce off bleached bones. “Of course you did.” Then his brows furrowed slightly, reminded all the more of his own time as a prisoner, which hadn’t been humorous or entertaining. “Anything of worth?”
But if it's selfless love you're looking for, you've got the wrong goddess
A hand waves nonchalantly at the idea of such hurdles. “Godly help and a little tenacity and I’m sure we could tame the landsharks.” Though the foxlike slant to her eyes as she smirks implies she’s aware her little ant colony of spies is an unlikely possibility.
This has been a time before her crowning, before Ophelia placed trust in her that Hotaru had not had in herself. “Yes, though I believe alliance was struck before Ophelia found reason to use it. Shame.” She’d been the one to visit the Throat borders when that alliance was made. The irony not lost on either side as she stood there, a once-prisoner made untouchable. Her gaze is drawn to movement, away from the skulls Deimos was circling, and she frowned slightly. “Speaking of landsharks. I’ve not seen one myself, but that movement below the sand - you think?” The half-finished sentence doesn’t require completion when she knows Deimos will catch on swiftly, directing his gaze with an outstretched hand.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
He rolled his eyes at the notions of taming any landsharks; though he’d seen Amun snag at one for a companion. “You are welcome to try,” by way of goading, a challenge they both knew likely wouldn’t happen anyway. “I cannot see you being a hermit,” followed by another boyish grin and endeavor – imagining Ru underneath the sand and dirt, sitting upon her throne of roots, routes, and tunnels.
Alliances and armistices did have a way of ruining some of the more treacherous amusements – even if they safeguarded their people, which was the only reason he’d ever have signed off on such endeavors. “There will always be opportunities here,” he countered with a shrug, pondering if Ru’s reputation might have circumvented too much nowadays.
At the movement however, predacious gaze wandering away from bones towards living aspects, he snorted, then sighed. “Most likely.” He’d seen the pattern before – when one was chasing Zuriel and he nearly lost his arm for his audacity, bravery, and dominion, and when a young luxere had been the unfortunate victim of their hunts. Magic and incantations already unfurling to the brim of his veins, he purposefully opened the earth near the motions, revealing a rather put-out youth, as if it were shocked and surprised its cover had been pulled away.
But if it's selfless love you're looking for, you've got the wrong goddess
Ru edges her elbow out to stare down at the light golden tan of her skin, humming in dramatized consideration. “Very true, if I lost any more color I’d look like a ghost. It would ruin my image.” The saucy wink she aims at Deimos over the curve of her shoulder is entirely sarcastic, aware of his brotherly exasperation with her more physical wiles. The same shoulder shrugs slightly at his attempt to console or perhaps encourage her. Undaunted by the prospect of being unable to return to such a life. “Perhaps, perhaps not. Caido favors direct opposition, and I find I don’t mind adapting to that. I feel I already am.” Precisely why she trains her body more than her mind these days. Call it ego, but Ru doubts her more manipulative skills will ever dull. They were practically born into her.
As if in cue the landshark arrives. A chance for dominion and violence. Hotaru laughs at the unexpected unearthing, the flailing that leads to a stillness as it hunts for more sand to reassert its directional abilities. “Bet I could use the pelt for something,” she murmurs, fingers twitching with covetous desire. Or perhaps it’s the cougar’s claws wanting to emerge. Enticed by the wriggling prey. Instead she lets feathers overtake her, shooting past Deimos’ shoulder to get a better vantage point, determining the size of the shark. It’ll be a pain to butcher but I want it. Can you make sure it doesn’t go further down? Waiting in the air for Deimos’ confirmation or alternative idea before she dives.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
“We could not have that,” arrived on a deadpan, dispassionate, flattened affect; yes, suitably exasperated. He even rolled his eyes once more for a better measure, choosing not to make a comment about how neither the Basin nor Halo had ample amounts of sunshine for tanning the skin. There was another argument yielding to the way information was handled, precise, almost insidious and preferential, but he shrugged too. “Both are beneficial.” Power and might and dominion in a variety of ways – not nailed down to either wiles, but to the whole lot of them, masterful and precise.
It was difficult to surmise the landshark’s reasoning for being there. Not amongst its habitat, but along two individuals perfectly capable of skewering it within a matter of moments. Maybe it couldn’t comprehend the measure or machinations of strength mustered and mired, coiled and curled, within another; too intent on preying, unaware it was becoming quarry. “Fine,” the Sword acquiesced; arching a brow as she shifted – not doing so himself (perhaps it was better off that way, where he wouldn't be so tempted in any of his predacious forms to obliterate the beast), if he was to control the earth.
Which he did. The layers of sand and dirt continued to unravel away from the creature. Its haphazard attempts were panic-oriented at best, seemingly selected at random, until Deimos stole the furtive spots. And then it was wide open.
But if it's selfless love you're looking for, you've got the wrong goddess
“So glad you understand,” she chortles, childish and pleased by the way he plays along. The same way he abides and entertains her desire to explore the boneyard. She would do the same for him in a heartbeat, but admittedly they both know the Valkyrie is more prone to flights of fancy.
Truly Ru couldn’t care less about the why. The shark is simply unlucky today, and it will pay with its life. Simple as that. The desire to hunt and kill is only stronger as she changes forms, hawk eyes drawn to the tiniest movement that human eyes wouldn’t have been able to discern. If a dramatic blown kiss of appreciation could be turned into emotion, that is what Deimos will feel seconds before Ru dives. Talons tucked and wings encasing her small body until - right before the moment of impact where a hawk would use its body weight and momentum to snap the spine of its prey - she transforms into her mountain lion form and lands hard with far more weight behind it.
She has never killed a shark before, but the anatomy is relatively similar. Claws dig in and teeth seek out the spinal cord, and it is over and done within moments. Her tail thrashes with predatory glee. There’s no time to waste however, and so she swallows the remaining blood on her fangs to prevent herself from tasting it as a human before reluctantly transforms back. Hotaru efficiently ties up her skirt to get it out of the way before plucking her dagger free to begin skinning it. The innards could be left for any buzzards and stubborn sand dwellers. The skin would come with her. “Its hide would make great flexible armor,” she notes conversationally, as if she hadn’t just killed it moments ago. “It feels so strange, I wonder if a regular shark feels any different?” Maybe they should have a hunting trip in the ocean, because she suddenly desperately needs to know.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
The difficulty in not catering to the hunt, to the rise and fall of death and demolition, stayed behind his stoic exterior. But only just; threatening to leap in hellhound facets, tiger range, eagle talons, and any other minatory instinct clambering and racing through his blood. Perhaps it was best that Hotaru finished her kill quickly, alternating between feathers and claws; the efficiency permitted less of a bombard of the senses. The Sword breathed and released the earth, watched as it crumbled and solidified back into desert dunes, sand, and dirt.
He wandered forward as she skinned it, pondering over other components to utilize. Lacking in adequate claws and bones, and the cartilage snagged by her, perhaps the rest would remain behind, for whatever else lurked there. On a few whims, he had his air magic lift and cart the innards for a moment, scattering the remains over by the skeletons and skulls, and then further out, not intending to attract anything else while they strayed here. “Most likely. I presume the only difference is their habitat.” His piercing gaze landed on the proportions to be scavenged, snorting. “I have heard the more dangerous predators in the ocean are the ghost whales. Or the sea panthers.” One of which he’d already slaughtered, the other never seen.
But if it's selfless love you're looking for, you've got the wrong goddess
Innards magically flying around in the desert is certainly a visual Ru never expected to see. Not because of the innards themselves of course, those are far more commonplace in her life than deserts. Still weird though. Gross in a childishly fun way. It distracts her for only a moment from her practiced skinning and butchering. It’s tempting to keep more of the meat than she takes, but it’s not worth lugging it around either. It will be utilized by the other desert animals anyway.
“Hm, I haven’t seen either yet. Not that I’ve taken any trips beneath the surface when it comes to the ocean. Apparently my soul is not intent on taking the shape of an aquatic creature,” she chuckles, remembering the poetic explanation of shifts passed down by the heralds to those who had sworn themselves to them. Standing, she wipes the blood from her hands and tucks the hide away, rolled neatly into her pack for later use. “Water sounds good about now though, let’s get out of here.” Neither of them is meant for the arid landscape. Nothing more than a pit stop on a greater journey.
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
By experience alone, he snorted. “I would avoid the panthers, at least.” If she craved a description for why, he’d certainly relent – half of the event had been in comical, justified error, with the Flood being electrocuted.
But in the spirit of familial competition, he squared his shoulders, walking away from the aspects of the skeletons at her admission. “Oh? Mine did.” A perfectly irritating smirk centered along his mouth, before he tilted his head vaguely. “You can use air magic too. And there was talk of crystals from cloud mantas.” Which he and Cordelia had acquired, but as far he knew, hadn’t put into use yet.
Regardless, with Ru content on her recent findings and shark skin, there was no need to remain. Perhaps they could arrive again, some other day, and in portions of the region not so damn desolate. “Fine by me.” And then they could take to wings and feathers, and on to better achievements.
