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!
When Sah received word that Ludo was up to yet another bout of fun, he made his way over without hesitation. The last event run by the deity had been a nice break and rather amusing. It'd be a waste not to participate. The Outlander was lucky that the game hide and seek was something he was familiar with. It could have so easily been some unknown game specific to Caido.
Regardless, Sah set about trying to find a suitable hiding place. He didn't have any magic or items that could hide him so he settled for good old fashioned stealth. Choosing a large tree, he quickly climbed it. Findign a nook in the branches that was obscured by the leaves, Sah settled in. He did his best to remain still and silent, so as not to give away his position.
Sah climbs a tree and hides in a nook of branches and leaves.
some turn to dust or to gold, but you will remember me
Oh yes, it’s one of those godly coincidences that brings them all together. Is this a dream? Is it real life? Sometimes the Wraith feels like she never knows.
Quite sure that the herald can see through anything they throw at it, Wessex scampers away to play anyway, planning on shifting into a kitsune so she can utilize the shift’s power of iLlUsIoN. Where to, where to? She might have chosen to hide underwater, where there are no air bubbles to betray her and the dappled blue light dances with each rolling wave, casting shadows and doubt. Once she finds a tall tree, the Wraith teleports as high as she thinks safe and then carefully shifts so she might blend herself into the canopy, above where the herald might normally look.
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Wessex finds the highest tree she can, teleports to the top, and then shifts into a kitsune so she can use Mastered Illusion magic to blend into the canopy.
Kitsune Ability | Mastered illusion
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
Anything unusual in Torchline was always worth checking out. So when whispers of strange lights out on the Kauli'i Isles starting spreading through Haulani, Pihu had immediately shifted into her raven form to check it out. Following a line of torches and Isles along the surface of the ocean, she heard sounds below.
She started diving, drawn to Ludo like a moth to a flame. As its words rang out, though, she changed direction. Flying to one of the smaller isles, she found a nice branch to settle on shaded by some leaves. Then she tucked her head under her wing and closed her eyes, pretending to be a sleeping raven.
Pihu stays in the form of a raven. Finding an isolated isle, she lands on a branch with some foliage and pretends to sleep.
There wasn't much that Maeve misses in Torchline and when people begin to gather along the beach, making their way out to the isles to follow lights that hadn't been there before? Well, the Queen isn't going to just stay behind. Absolutely not. She follows along with the rest of them, hearing the instructions clearly and instantly sets off for the darkest part of the isles she's able to find. The Nightshade uses her small size to her advantage, finding a hollowed out tree to squeeze into, curling herself up tight into a ball and covering what little is exposed of her with a dark cloak. Except she's not sure this will really do the trick and what's wrong with a little help.
Knowing better than to bother Safrin with such a trivial thing, though Maeve suspects that the starry goddess wouldn't mind pulling one over on Ludo, she directs her prayer to the spirits instead. "Please keep Ludo from finding me." She whispers into the night.
Maeve hides in a hollowed out tree and asks the spirits to help her hide cause leveling requirements!
Accepted Channeling: Allows an Accepted to channel a deity or lesser spirit during a time of crisis (1x a season)
Type: Light | Rank: Upgraded
the only heaven I'll be sent to is when I'm along with you
Sah said he was going to Torchline and that meant Cordelia was going to Torchline too. While she wasn't eager to leave home again, the Attuned knew better than to turn her nose up at an opportunity like this, deciding to simply go with it. She splits off from her cousin as the instructions are given, quickly shifting into a fox and disappearing into the brush, thinking her natural camouflage will help with her hiding spot. Finding a bush that has leaves relatively close to her fur color, the Attuned settles in, going still that way only animals could when hiding.
Sharp eyes watch closely for any sign of the deity, hoping that she wasn't one of the first few found, unwilling to stop playing the game so soon. It had been ages since she's done anything simply for fun.
Cordelia shifts into a fox and hides in the brush.
Say something, something like you love me Less you want to move away from the noise of this place
Given all that has happened recently to say that the alchemist isn't feeling particularly playful is an understatement. That said, when you're the demigod of a herald who constantly likes to play games, you get used to donning a smile despite your feelings.
Or if not a smile, his version of Ludo's spoopy rags.
Remi's body dissolves away as he slips into one of the large and rocky boulders that litter the isles. Better something without life so that the drain on the world around him won't be felt by anything living. It's a strange thing, being inside of a solid object while being incorporeal. There was no good way of discerning precisely where the bounds of his body were in relation to anything else. So it was that the alchemist found himself resting his chin on his knees which were tucked up against his body.
Remi uses his Wraith ability to hide within a rock.
Bereft of Body | Can pass through solid creatures and objects at will, causing a Life Drain effect (Mastered)
you could never tell if you were the monster
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
It's a very rare thing, these days, for something so playful to come a-creeping. And rarer still for the Ascended to be invited. Or not invited, necessarily, but not banished either. So as Amun's ship delivers them to the Kuali'i Isles, Isla is quick to take the plunge off the railing. Indeed, she lets herself sink deeper and deeper, having no need to breathe, until she's on the sea bed nestled in with some seaweed.
Her fair hair drifts about her head like a halo - Isla is hopeful that maybe it will help her disguise, almost. Just another bit of blonde seaweed here. Move along, everyone.
Isla lets herself sink to the sea bed and hides herself among some seaweed!
I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it When you hit me, hit me hard
I can't wait for this no more,
My eyes have come undone
Hiding in the undergrowth of the hot, humid forest (even at this time of year) was not Noah’s most ideal way to spend his time. But, he hid despite it. Ludo would bestow a gift on the best hider, and that alone was enough to entice the demigod of life. Noah moved through the greenery as swiftly and silently as he could, using his honed hunting skills to move him as undetected as he could humanly muster. He was draped in his invisibility cloak, thanks to the mighty hands of Deimos, and settled himself in between two fallen trees. The logs were covered in moss and more plants that took advantage of their rotting bodies. The opening between them was just big enough for Noah’s body, and once he was settled in he made sure that his cloak was covering his entirety.
Noah hides between two fallen trees and covers himself with his invisibility cloak.
Invisibility Cloak | Ornate, detailed cloak, that when worn, renders an individual invisible. (Made by Deimos)
but now it is a competition of whichever is heavier: my will, or the pull of gravity into the grave
Hiding is a well-honed skill of Hotaru’s, but hiding from a deity? It’s almost preposterous. Still, excitement and fun usually come about from events like these, if not other goods. There’s no reason not to participate then.
The Attuned seem to have similar ideas, but Ru is grateful for her Falcon shift’s tawny coloring as it blends easier into the autumnal colors of the tree she perches in. Finding the thickest bundle of leaves still clinging stubbornly to their branches and hunkering down like a brooding hen to try and avoid detection.
- - -
Ru shifts into her falcon form and finds a tree with autumn colored leaves to match her coloring to hide in.
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.
03-14-2022, 08:35 PM (This post was last modified: 03-16-2022, 09:06 PM by Ludo.)
Ludo
You run, you hide, you blend, you peep, and Ludo waits and waits.
Melita channels some spirits to help hide her, and small, sandy creatures spring out from the sand beneath her feet. Pillow-like, they pile on the honeybee girl until she is almost buried in the beach!
Maeve tries something similar, but in her case, the spirits are perhaps more mischievous. The wind whips around the hollow of the tree, and a strange, ethereal voice calls out NO ONE IS IN HERE, all obvious like.
Both have fulfilled their levelling requirements by channelling!
A childish tittering rings across the islands, and a large number (roughly half, how about that) of the gathered souls will find themselves, as the British say, rumbled.
"I found you!" Ludo announces to those who have been caught out. Instantly they will find themselves sucked into blackness and gone from the game.
When they awaken, it will be from the most horrific nightmares imaginable. (Feel free to enjoy some aftermath threads of that!)
And then, with a rrrrrrrrmmmmm, the islands begin to shift and move.
The following people have been found by Ludo and are out of the Drop! They will awaken in their beds following a night of terrifying nightmares. Fun!
When the islands started to move, Sah had to restrain himself from jumping out of his skin. It felt too much like an earthquake at first or his comfort. But once he realized what was happening, the Abandoned debated his options. He could move with the islands and find a new hiding spot. Or he could stay and let the islands move him.
It was a game of hide and seek after all, so it seemed like a better option to stay hiding. And even if he stayed in his tree and the island moved, he'd still be on one of the islands. Ludo hadn't mentioned anything of boundaries, so Sah assumed he wouldn't be disqualified for simply hitching a ride on his tree to wherever the island chose to go. Decision made, the Abandoned tightened his grip on his tree and stayed hidden.
Sah stays hiding in his tree, though he does tighten his grip in case the ground he's on begins to move.
Tal didn't know much about Torchline, and he was caught off guard by the moving islands. He stifled a yelp as the rocks he had chosen to hide among shifted and groaned a little, but nothing teetered or tried to fall on him. The misplaced Halovian didn't know what was happening or if this was all part of the game, but sometimes you just needed to have a little faith.
Or be too scared to move. That worked, too, in this case. Either way, Tal continued to hold his cloak over him and hunkered down, trying not to pray in case it drew down the attention of the very being whose notice he was trying to avoid.
The island whose shore Hadama was hiding off of began to rumble and shift, and the manta found his hiding place drifting away from him - and taking his cloaking sand with it. For a long moment the dark shape floated motionless in the water, frozen with indecision, but the game moved on and Hadama made his choice.
The dark manta moved back in close as slow and carefully as his wings could glide him through the water, until he could hide himself and his slow swimming in the shifting, slithering sand beneath the water once more, moving as stealthily as possible - but moving all the same.
what tried to destroy you didn't have the strength
No shrieking, no giggling, no laughter came to him. He breathed, easing through the confinement beneath the cloak, used to a predator’s wiles when it came to hunting, seeking, or simply remaining silent, still. Undetected. Even as the isles shifted, remembering the way they worked, his bulk and physique stayed hidden.
He wasn’t tempted to move – not when this spot had proven efficient for the moment. Maybe those notions were foolish, and simply gave the herald more opportunity to find him amidst the mantle covering. Maybe they weren’t, and the swindling of the islands was meant to entice and lure others out and away.
Merely a game though, and nothing more.
--
Deimos stays hiding and doesn’t move from his spot, under his Invisibility Cloak.
Type: Grey | Style: Other | Level: Upgraded
Invisibility Cloak | Ornate, detailed cloak, that when worn, renders up to two individuals (or a rider on a horse) invisible.
