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!
Sometimes there were occasions for pragmatic circumstances. Sometimes there were portions for amusements, and with the season changing, the portal locked down, and winter howling in the distance, Deimos chose the latter.
The interim was much the same as before, recruiting several merchants for hot cocoa purposes and warm, delicious food, while he reworked and revamped a portion of land along the Citadel. While the last interval had been for careening sleds and sudden snowballs fights, this one was angled towards swift measures and keen machinations.
The General had started early in the morning, before the sun had risen, as the plumes of air curled amongst his breath, over a flattened proportion of snow. Using his mastered water incantations, he shifted most of the frozen parameters into something with more of a sheen, more of a challenge, until finally, after several hours and many onlookers, he’d manifested a skating rink. Some portions were complete with railings, for those who weren’t as daring, bold, or experienced, while other segments were widened, opened, for games and frivolities. And by the booths, in case some didn’t have their own, were a series of skates.
Thereafter, once it was completed, and passersby had gawked long enough, they began to circulate and laugh, until the air was filled with the hum of enthusiasm – a treat for Halo.
--
You’re all welcome to attend a fun mini-event for Halo! Deimos has created a skating rink, complete with skates on the sidelines, and some railings for the less experienced.
There’s also some hot cocoa and warm food available from the merchants. This will stay up until LongNight, so go enjoy yourselves and come and go as you please!
Tal had also been up early, feeding the dogs and sweeping out the store while his oldest sister checked the inventory. By the time his middle sister had come in to take over, he was more than ready to head outside and put the team through the more limited training of Deepfrost.
It was in the midst of this that he heard the excited chatter of passersby mention the General's name and what new diversion he was in the midst of for Halo's darkest season.
Of course Tal had finished his work with the team first, but as soon as it was done he ran inside to grab the skates hanging by the door and then dashed out again with a whoop as the big, pale dragon launched off the roof and soared in his wake. They just followed the crowd streaming towards the central hubbub of people and gathering merchants setting up their stalls.
Feet jammed into skates and boots tied together by their laces and hung around the neck of Boreal - who gave Tal a withering glare for being used in so cavalier a fashion - the courier quickly slid off the bench and into the new rink.
Halo’s cold is familiar to the young girl, if entirely different to bear now that she has smooth skin instead of pleasantly insulated fur. Still, her winter dress from Maeve ensures she can still enjoy the beautiful garments she’d grown fond of in Torchline without sacrificing her comfort and warmth. It is what she wears today as she skips along with Luka’s mitten-covered hand clutched in her own, inseparable as ever. The event had been well advertised, and Soleil had been looking forward to it for days.
Catching sight at last of the smooth ice that is slowly collecting skaters, Sol gasps excitedly and drags Luka closer. “Let’s skate!” she crows, only dropping her twin’s hand so that she can kick her shoes off and begin putting on the skates that best match her small foot. With a little help from a kindly passerby, she is laced up and on her way out onto the ice - clutching to the railing to keep herself steady, but beaming and with warmth in her cheeks all the same.
everyone around her seemed brighter and better for having known her
An astute observer, for he wouldn’t have been a decent soldier without those skills, he watched the rest of their world take in the splendor – content to be a witness as they skated across the ice. Some fell, sliding and careening across the surface with rounds of laughter. Others were quite talented, orchestrating measures of launches and leaps, spins and twirls, and he eventually finished his hot cocoa, nodding kindly to those remaining behind to continue serving the populace, while he ventured forth.
Not on skates yet, but close to the edge, his eyes narrowed a speculative degree. There were a pair of children, going along hand in hand by the railing, and Talyson – so who better to pick on than the latter?
Within a moment, looking completely innocent, he’d taken hold of some nearby snow with his Air incantations, permitting the manifestations to combine into a decent sphere. When the snowball met his approval, he waited until crowds wound their way along the embankments, shielding him from immediate notice.
The ice was clean and clear and smooth and Tal's skates were freshly sharpened. He glided over the surface like he'd been born to it; or at least like he'd been doing it as long as he'd been able to walk, which was entirely accurate. There weren't any fancy twirls or acrobatic leaps, but there was speed as he put his head down and dodged recklessly among the slower skaters, grinning fiercely into the wind of his pass--
Splat!
He stumbled at the unexpected impact to the back of his head, and snow splashed forward as he yelped and scrambled for balance. Careening between three other skaters who had been going at a more sedate pace he managed to avoid getting tangled up in anyone else but his trajectory landed him in a snowbank at the rink's edge before he could straighten out.
Pushing himself upright immediately, he grabbed snow and started making a ball of his own as he glared around the rink for the culprit - immediately jumping to conclusions. "Sah, you dick!" he yelled. "Show yourself!"
Boreal, meanwhile, ambled up beside Deimos, chortling wickedly to herself as she bumped her broad head against his hand in greeting.
06-04-2022, 11:19 AM (This post was last modified: 06-29-2022, 04:15 PM by Deimos.)
Deimos
Dare we know the halo's hanging low
Had he not been attempting to be a sneaky, furtive cretin, the impact of the snowball, and the response, would’ve made him laugh uproariously. As it was, the amusements had to be kept close to his ribcage, muffled in his chest, coming out as a boyish, ungallant snort as the blame for his antics went pinpointed to Sah. All in all, michief well managed.
The bump to his hand by a wiser dragon permitted him another chuckle. “I know. He is a bit daft,” he murmured, scratching at the top of the companion’s head, bemusement settling in again. His eyes cast watchful looks along the children, ensuring they were still safe in their play, sliding and gliding along the ice, before pondering his next set of antics.
