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 hesitated before the shrine. The light it emitted bathed his skin and revealed the bedraggled state of his clothes and the unkempt hair that hung limply. He scrubbed his hands across his face before kneeling. Clearing his throat, he opened his mouth. However, he didn't speak just yet. Instead he clenched and unclenched his hands a few times.
Finally he spoke in a low and quiet voice. "I've returned. I'm sorry it took so long." Pausing, he took an uneccessary breath. "I know you've expended a lot of yourself recently, but I hope you'll still have time for me, the Voice. And I did finish what I said I would last time we spoke. Far too late." But he hoped it wasn't too little as he bowed his head as he waited to see if there'd be a response.
Amun has completed the following quest from don't be scared just be prepared: Amun must believably lose three different fights (training threads), one of which must be against someone he'd normally beat easily.
the rocks work as hard as the stars, to be what they are
Weary and with far less electric zeal than when he had seen her last, the Voice nonetheless appears. "Things take just as long as they take, Amun." She says kindly as a tendril of blue light extends from one of her palms to wrap around him. Though he'll feel nothing, a quick scan will indicate that alongside the increases made in virtue of training, he'll find that he is faster and more accurate in addition.
"You have done well, my bright one. I am pleased."
As the Voice appeared before him, Amun breathed a sigh of relief. Her energy washed over him and he initiated a scan. When the reports came back flexed and unflexed his fingers as if to test his new agility. "Thank you." For the first time this season, he smiled a genuine smile.
Zhanshi took that moment to erupt from the floor. Flying around the goddess in a circle, the little landshark wriggled around. "He missed you." Pausing, the potter added in a quiet voice, "So did I."
Giving her a closer examination, he felt the smile slipping away, replaced by a slight frown and a tightness around his eyes. "But I have to admit, after Stormbreak, I don't feel like I did well. Even with all your efforts to strengthen us, we lost so many. Too many..." He swallowed, closing his eyes for a brief moment.
"Ronin was so powerful. Four of us and even with Wessex and Nate we could barely touch him." Opening his eyes, he pressed his lips together. "Edrei died. And I...did nothing. Couldn't do anything." He clenched his hands into fists. And he didn't even know about Nate's death yet (the writer assumes).
Gazing up at her, Amun forced himself to relax. "Wessex says that Ronin and Remi are the biggest threats to us and after what I saw I'd have to agree. Is there any way to weaken or neutralize them? I'm not even saying hurt them, just...make it harder for them to hurt us. Disorient or drain them or something?" He scrubbed his face with both hands.
the rocks work as hard as the stars, to be what they are
Letting static blur down in the shape of fingers to brush against the landshark, the Voice gazes down at the creature and smiles. "I do not regret doing what I did...to give you all more of me, and to remove Cian once and for all...but I missed you as well." She replies, straightening and listening to what Amun has to say. "None are ever lost, Amun. Remember that. When we die, the souls of those lost, of Samuel and Edrei...the come to me." Death was death, but when it came to the Voice one never quite knew how permanent it was.
"Ronin's strength comes in his ability to switch places with himself...to move so quickly. There might be a way of binding him in place for a brief amount of time. He could still attack but at least he would not be able to flit about so easily."
Zhanshi had already returned to the ground, but Amun could feel the landshark's delight at the touch of the Voice. It matched the potter's own. As she explained recent events from her perspective, he nodded. "I know. But it's still hard for those of us still alive not to miss them some times." He inclined his head to her.
Humming a low note as she offered a way to briefly disadvantage Ronin, the Ascended arched an eyebrow. "Would it only work on Ronin? Or could I use it to temporarily bind others as well?" He tilted his head to one side while he waited for her response.
the rocks work as hard as the stars, to be what they are
'We would make it as broad as possible. Coils of electricity from your fingers that are made to bind those within reach. The stronger those within your coils the more strength it will take from you to hold them, but...well, you have been training quite a lot." The Voice chuckles. For as athletic but weak as Amun had once been years ago, he'd worked hard to hone his body into something more useful just as he'd honed his pottery skills as a much younger man.
The Voice explained in more detail what the upgrade she could grant him would do. Lifting his hands, he wiggled his fingers. "I like it. And I think it would work well with the other upgrade I received recently." He grinned at her, thinking about how he could combine that with the other upgrades in his hands and the intangibility he could now activate for brief moments of time.
"What would I need to gather for that?" Tilting his head to one side, he scratched under his chin. "And two more questions. One, is there anything I can do to help restore you to your full strength? Two, is there anything I can do to help us retrieve any of the remaining relics?"
the rocks work as hard as the stars, to be what they are
“Use your upgrade to make long metal chains, and let them be struck by electricity. Natural or artificial doesn’t matter.” The Voice explains. “And then see just what it is like to try and hold a powerful opponent with them.”
Smiling at Amun, the Voice shakes her head. “You have always been so eager to put me first, and I will never forget that.” She says. “My strength will return. Giving all that I am to you is something I do eagerly.” As for the relics? “I do not know where the others are. Luckily with the Knowtbook in Wessex’s possession, should anyone else begin to move towards them, you will know. Be prepared. Be ready to mobilize the strongest among us at the blink of an eye.”
Amun has been given a quest!
He must
1. Use his upgrade to create long metal chains (think of the ones they use in cross fit)
2. Have the chains be electrified.
3. Use the chains to trap a creature that is
- in a PQ+
OR
- in a KQ
OR
- 2 training threads with opponents who are a higher level than he is, or no more than 2 levels lower, AND 1 wild creature
03-13-2022, 05:02 AM (This post was last modified: 03-13-2022, 05:02 AM by Amun.)
As the Voice explained that task before Amun, he nodded. Finding a smile creeping onto his face again, he held up his hands once more, staring at his palms before looking up at her. "Thank you. I will do as you ask." His lips twitched for a moment. "Hopefully more quickly than my previous tasks."
As she spoke about her strength returning, he inclined his head. As for the relics, he let out a huff of laughter. "I feel that Wessex is always ready to do that, but I will support her as best I can." Standing up, he bowed to her, and Zhanshi poked up from the ground to circle around the potter. "Until I see you again."
