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!
The Hollowed Grounds are a lot larger than Neron has given them credit. It's true that he's only ever visited previously as Warden of Halo, or as one of the Voice's footsoldiers at Longnight, but now that he's got the chance to really take the place in... well, it just keeps going. And with no Morgan, no bar, no mischief to get into, there's little more for the Hailstorm to do but explore.
Tonight's venture has taken him out to the Glade. The snow crunches underfoot and reminds him of home Halo, his hands buried in the pockets of his black coat as he peruses glowstones and the bare branches of the trees. It's a different sort of cold and a different sort of scenery, even though everything is painted white, and Neron loses himself to the sound of his own footsteps and the howl of the breeze around the distant Spire.
we are like birds of a feather, we are two hearts thrown together
The promise the alchemist had made not to enter the Hollowed Grounds without permission was no longer one he remembered; the fealty to the keeper of that promise no longer held any sway over his mind or heart, making what he was about to do incredibly easy. Having taken the unassuming form of a hawk, the alchemist was forced to hunt and sleep in this shift lest he be outright discovered. Luckily hawks were common enough in the grounds and unlike the rest of his shifts, this one was neither bold nor particularly eyecatching. So it was that Remi found himself perched in a tree (one that was prone to wander, surprisingly) waiting in the bitter cold for his prey to appear.
Days passed, which only served to encourage Remi's annoyance to broil into anger. That Neron Launceleyn had dared to try and implicate him in Morgan's murder? That a Launceleyn was still causing problems for him? Alone, in the cold and dark and without Ronin's blue eyes to temper the alchemist's emotions, Remi's mind grew all the more feral the longer it took for Neron to appear.
On pale wings Remi streaks from the tree, guided moreso by his instincts rather than the moonlight. With his talons outstretched he aimed for Neron's face, wanting to give truth to the lies told about how the Hailstorm's face came to be marked.
THE ALCHEMIST
we will be forever as one, my brother under the sun
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Listen, Remi. The Launceleyns have been city slickers for as long as you've known them. If you want to find a rabbit, hang out in the fucking Glade. Want to find a Launcelyn? Should have gone to the Vlamvloed or something. Whatever, here we go.
Busy as he is listening to (himself, let's be real) the noise of the Glade in the night, and given that the sound of a hawk taking wing isn't uncommon or suspicious, it's far too late for Neron to react by the time he turns to look around.
Talons catch along the right side of his jaw and tear down and deep, opening deep lacerations in his neck. The damage registers but the pain doesn't, the Launceleyn choking out his surprise and raising an arm defensively, even though it's far too late.
Be that as it may, the moment he hits the ground and rolls, he engages his cloaking upgrade. Not that the snow will do him any favours.
Type: Defensive | Level: Basic
Cloaking Upgrade | A 90% body upgrade that bends light making the user invisible. Dramatic action or the use of weapons/upgrades/items makes the user 25% more visible. This translates to rolling disadvantage to hit the user in a battle.
we are like birds of a feather, we are two hearts thrown together
Had Remi's talons released blood instead of fluid, with as isolated as the alchemist's mind had gone during his waiting, the hawk might not have left his prey alive. Instead, the acrid tang of fluid was enough to disengage Remi's instincts, letting his mind take over. Still, it was oh so tempting to pluck out one of Neron's moronically blue eyes with his beak just because.
Instead, drenched in fluid as he now was, the hawk didn't bother to cling to his prey's neck as Neron flashed away beneath him, rolling about in the snow as if Remi was some fire that could so easily be put out.
If Remi could have been confident that he'd not change his mind about killing Neron, he might have shifted and made some comment about the Launceleyn now knowing what it was like to be attacked by the Lullaby. He could even have thrust Neron into a thousand year's sleep. Instead, the icing on this particular cake would come in knowing that this "random" act of violence would serve to ban the ascended the Stormbreak.
So, fluid-coated and unsatisfied, Remi takes to the sky to disappear anonymously into the dark.
THE ALCHEMIST
we will be forever as one, my brother under the sun
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
You hear a scream that seems to stop time and drain the colour out of the world. In the distance you see what appears to be a woman in a wedding dress, but of course…you know that’s not what it is. Lifting her head the banshee seems to lock her eyes on you and unless you back away now, she is likely to pursue you until she is able to choke the life from your body.
You’ve encountered a Banshee. This counts as a rare creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. If you choose to follow this creature, you do so at your own risk, however, just having it in this thread is enough to satisfy your levelling requirements. You may not kill your rare creature without admin permission.
Banshees (rare/mythical): They take the form of a skeletal lady wrapped in rags. Some wander the woodlands, singing a haunting melody. Others sit near streams and weep. Either way, disturbing these creatures will cause them to become very aggressive. They can pursue their prey seemingly without need for rest, and will strangle all those that they catch.
It won't be today, or tomorrow, or even this season. But one day.
He's still trying to understand what attacked him and why (he's a delight, at least in the Hollowed Grounds) when holy fucking Voice tits, that's a banshee.
Neron thinks he's read some trashy romance about a man who falls in love with one of these spooky bitches, and although the novel was pretty good, he can safely say that he doesn't agree with the protagonist.
And so, scrambling to his feet and trying to stem the flow of fluid from his neck, he flees into the night slinks handsomely and broodingly away. Fuck this shit.
