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!
04-26-2022, 12:45 AM (This post was last modified: 04-26-2022, 03:27 PM by Chaele.)
chaele
worship like a dog
A single pair of footprints mark the snowy path from the main road, drooling down a long slope toward a crack on the side of a craggy hill. The mouth of the cave is narrow and dark, its lips thick with the ice-growth of an impending winter; when it finally comes, the entrance might be sealed up entirely. The rocks within are slick with untouched ice, like slippery molars descending into this hidden darkness. At the back of its throat shines a pinprick of light, a flame at the end of a beckoning torch.
Chaele holds the light source diligently, a large pack on their opposite shoulder. They have come this far with only a hunch to guide them, hoping to find something worthwhile in the depths. The spot where they stand is as far as they dare go without the others, however much the flickering torchlight licks curiously at the downward path behind them. Their own eyes, obscured as usual by the stag skull mask, are fixed on the distant sliver of light from the entrance above. They blink with relief as they notice a figure cross in front of it.
Chaele has brought enough furs to guard against the cold, a waterskin, a flintsteel device, a few extra torches, charcoal pencils and paper, and an herbalist's box that includes various bones, integuments, herbs, and candles.
...look into a wolf's eyes. You'll never be the same again.
Sah crests the hill that marks the Fangs and spots an unfamiliar figure at the mouth. Eyes narrowing, he recalls the description given by Deimos. This must be Chaele. Approaching he nods in greeting, "Chaele, I presume? I'm Sah. Good to meet you."He knows very little about the stranger but if Deimos was willing to work with them, then he imagines that they're not a bad person.
Sah adjusts his grip on the bag thrown over his shoulder as they wait for the others to arrive. Inside he carries his usual hunting gear and provisions, though he doubts that they'll need them. He recalls his last attempt at the Fangs vividly. There had been little dangerous, but ample frustration. Hopefully today would go better.
Sah arrives. He brings everything on his profile, his hunting gear, a water skin, rations, a rope, and 3 daggers.
There was an ease in his steps now, a bit more certain, a bit more sure. No need to partake in concealing himself beneath his cloak. No need to pretend as if he wasn’t there, sneaking around in covert operations. Strides were purposeful, intent, bag of holding over his shoulder, and the familiarity of the world, of the people, around him made all the difference.
He carried a torch as well, the fire burning brightly, following after Sah’s steps, rounding the bend until he recognized the individual with the mask – nodding his head towards the shaman, a rumble of greeting within his measured tones. “Chaele,” To Sah, he smirked, content, gratified that at least there wasn’t any danger lurking here.
Just the potential for the mind to be a bit wounded.
“Cordelia should be coming shortly,” he noted, and then hopefully they’d be on their way, striving again to a decent outcome.
--
Deimos brings everything on his profile (except companions) within his bag of holding, some food, water, and a torch.
04-27-2022, 12:50 AM (This post was last modified: 04-27-2022, 01:13 AM by Cordelia.)
Cordelia
There had been plenty of talks about Mageglass. Different groups talking about going, but none of them fully committing to leaving the safety of Halo. When Deimos approached her with the invitation, she couldn't turn it down, wanting to help any way she could. Trotting through the snow in her luxere shift, deciding it was the easiest way to travel across the snowy landscape, finding the party waiting for her. She quickly shifts back, offering Sah a smile and bumping his shoulder before dipping her head towards Deimos and finally Chaele. The latter she doesn't know, but she extends the same greeting to her as the others.
"Cordelia... Nice to meet you." The Attuned said softly, honey eyes examining her with a bit of uncertainty, but deciding that trusting Deimos hasn't steered her wrong yet. Why would it now?
Cordelia brings her bow and a pack containing rope, a few daggers, a water skin, rations, and bandages.
Deimos and Sah both know the way, having been here previously. Winding through the dark and icy tunnels, eventually, the group will come to a slate door which had stumped the former trio.
Will they get through this time? Upon the door has crude stick-figure drawings of the gods and various flora and fauna with the following:
Vi can but Safrin can't.
A white dragon can, but not a purple dragon.
Ludo can't, but a whisper fish could.
Rae's lily's and Vi's roses can, but not a luxere.
Can a land shark?
Can the kingmaker?
Can each of you?
TO ALL READING THIS: while puzzle-KQs are fun to try and figure out, please do not try and help those currently in the KQ. Not only does this defeat the purpose and make things less fun, but should the group fail and you know the answer, you can initiate a mageglass KQ of your own and succeed where they have failed! If I catch anyone sharing hints or answers OOC, there will be consequences c:
KQ Group -- there will be 4 puzzles in total. Please follow the posting instructions given per puzzle. Questions can be asked in your discord chat. You can get 3 wrong answers total before you fail the KQ.
You have 48 hours to complete this puzzle. Only one member of the group needs to post your answer.
...look into a wolf's eyes. You'll never be the same again.
Sah eyes the door for a second, brows furrowed in thought. It dawns him why the door is familiar, and the answer becomes clear to him. Or at least, he hopes it does. Odd syllables can and even ones can't. That's, it right? He hopes so. "I think I've got it." He nods to his companions and steps forward to key in their answer.
"Land shark is two, kingmaker is three, I'm one, Deimos is two, Cordelia is three, and Chaele is two..." The Outlander mumbles as he works. Sah really hopes they've got it right this time. Surely between the four of they, they can actually count.
Sah types in their answer. Odd syllables can, even can't. So..
Land shark (2): can't
Kingmaker (3): can
Sah (1): can
Deimos (2): can't
Cordelia (3 b/c of pronunciation): can
Chaaele (2): can't
Down another winding path that is fully of slippery ice and walls that are so smooth that they offer no relief or handholds for those descending comes another door. This one has words carved into its surface with a clear indication that a missing word should be input.
TO ALL READING THIS: while puzzle-KQs are fun to try and figure out, please do not try and help those currently in the KQ. Not only does this defeat the purpose and make things less fun, but should the group fail and you know the answer, you can initiate a mageglass KQ of your own and succeed where they have failed! If I catch anyone sharing hints or answers OOC, there will be consequences c:
KQ Group -- there will be 4 puzzles in total. Please follow the posting instructions given per puzzle. Questions can be asked in your discord chat. You can get 3 wrong answers total before you fail the KQ.
You have 48 hours to complete this puzzle. Only one member of the group needs to post your answer. Figure out the pattern and then submit the final word.
The puzzle from before had been familiar, and with some manner of relief, they’d learned from their prior faults, and Sah proclaimed the correct answer. Onward they maneuvered, along winding paths, presiding in careful steps and strides, until there was another.
A phrase, and only that – something missing upon the blank slate. Furrowing his brows, he read the notions over and over, but when their discussion came together, there were a wide amount of variables that it could be. Pondering, he stepped forward from the group, and toward the carving once more, holding his torch over the words. Thinking, inspecting, and re-examining again. Hopefully, with some pertinent information to take back to their gathered.
--
Deimos uses his INT to gain a clue from the puzzle.
Information processed and received, all there was left to do was figure out the rest of the precision and patterns. For a couple of moments, gathered amongst and amidst themselves, they worked through several angles and particulars, until something jumped out. Checking, and rechecking, processing along the notions and ideals, he nodded his own confirmation of the possibilities. A few more scratches on the piece of parchment, agreements abound and shared, the Sword stepped toward the door once more, intending to piece and parse together the remaining word.
“Just as stones only nod, diamonds just fade magically, and mageglass joins.”
The door grinds and grumbles as it moves inward revealing yet another endless passage signaling that the answer given by the Sword was indeed correct. Light your torches and shift your eyes, because as you go, all light fades.
Down you twist and turn into yet another door blocks your progress, this one with symbols upon it with one blank space.
TO ALL READING THIS: while puzzle-KQs are fun to try and figure out, please do not try and help those currently in the KQ. Not only does this defeat the purpose and make things less fun, but should the group fail and you know the answer, you can initiate a mageglass KQ of your own and succeed where they have failed! If I catch anyone sharing hints or answers OOC, there will be consequences c:
KQ Group -- there will be 4 puzzles in total. Please follow the posting instructions given per puzzle. Questions can be asked in your discord chat. You can get 3 wrong answers total before you fail the KQ.
You have 48 hours to complete this puzzle. Only one member of the group needs to post your answer. Figure out the pattern and then submit the final word.
Onward they wandered, torches lit, flames drawn, and the nothingness clambering around them. The third door was where they’d had difficulties in their last iteration, so as they came upon the newest configuration, the Sword wasted no time in gesturing the embers closer to the pictures. Shifted eyes, those of a tiger, snagged at whatever they could.
Symbols upon symbols, mottled and placed in a variety of ways – twisting, turning, pointing, ghostly, forest-related, and stars upon stars. Perhaps they were Old God affiliated, but nonetheless, he attempted to glean another viewpoint, another intellectual beacon, to light and guide their way.
If I hold up hell, will you take the blame? Put the devil’s tongue on my middle name
Her brows knit together as she studies the symbols, stepping forward to run her fingers over the symbols, muttering quietly to herself. The pattern isn't apparent at first. None of it making sense until she realizes that some of them are flipped. That perhaps that matters. Using her torch to light the area around her, Cordelia kneels down in the cave, removing a dagger from her hip to carve into the ground. Tally after tally is made. Seemingly none of it makes any sense to those who aren't aware of her sudden thought process. Suddenly a smile curls on her lips.
"I think I've got it..." The Attuned murmurs, standing and slotting an upside down ghost into place with a satisfied nod. It seems to fit, and she steps back to take in the pattern as a whole.
Can doors be said to begrudgingly open? This one certainly does. Slowly and with stony annoyance the door slides back as Cordelia enters the correct symbol. Given that the next puzzle will require you to explain your reasoning, one might think that these doors and their tests are actually sentient. Or, perhaps you're too focused on finishing this damn thing that you haven't noticed.
Upon the final door are the following three images:
TO ALL READING THIS: while puzzle-KQs are fun to try and figure out, please do not try and help those currently in the KQ. Not only does this defeat the purpose and make things less fun, but should the group fail and you know the answer, you can initiate a mageglass KQ of your own and succeed where they have failed! If I catch anyone sharing hints or answers OOC, there will be consequences c:
KQ Group -- there will be 4 puzzles in total. Please follow the posting instructions given per puzzle. Questions can be asked in your discord chat. You can get 3 wrong answers total before you fail the KQ.
You have 48 hours to complete this puzzle. Only one member of the group needs to post your answer. Come up with the correct names for the items and explain what the relationship is between them.
The cave adopts an eerie quiet as they delve deeper than any creature in their right mind would go, or perhaps a stubborn one. And so it is that the silence is only interrupted by a smattering of contemplative whispers, a fast and furtive communication that disturbs the disgruntled calm like so many spirits in the dark. Chaele can even hear the scratching of her pencil against paper as she scribbles down some letters, then rips them apart and rearranges them. She nods and considers and proposes and scribbles again, until finally an agreement is reached.
With a cold exhale, she turns toward the base of the door. She lowers into a crouch and places the letters A, E, L, P, and T onto the ground.
First, she moves the papers to spell out PLATES.
Then, she rearranges them until they say PETALS.
Finally, she shuffles them into the word PLEATS.
“Anagrams,” she whispers to the door, then for good measure reaches a charcoal pencil up to scratch the words themselves onto the stone, alongside the phrase ’They Are Anagrams Of Each Other’.
---
Chaele submits the words plates, petals, and pleats, describing them as anagrams.
