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!
Sah gritted his teeth in annoyance, his usual patience already at its end. If subtly didn't work, then force it was. He decided to forgo waiting and instead channeled his magic. Focusing on the vegetable to be picked, the Abandoned attempted to grab as many as he could comfortably hold with his magic. From there he tried to pick them all in rapid sequence.
Because if he couldn't get rid of the pest, he could at least try to outpace it. And if the critter happened to appear attached to one of the plants, Sah planned to grab it. On some level he knew that this was a reckless idea, but he was annoyed to care.
~
Sah tries to use his telekinesis to pick multiple vegetables at once. He's trying to outpace the pest.
Telekinesis: Can move large objects.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
Triumphantly re-emerging with her prey in mouth, Cordelia drops it at the edge of the box with the intention of skinning it later. It would make good jerky or stew. Shifting back into her human form, the attuned returns to the task at hand and resumes her noting of the different plants. She grabs the ones that need to relabeled and moves to the side, finding a small table to write on so that her penmanship can actually be legible.
Delicately dipping the quill into the ink, Cordelia sets about writing the different labels for each of the herbs, lips pursed in concentration.
He wasn’t always the brightest crayon in the forest, but he didn’t usually need to learn the same lesson twice, either. Maybe because he was going slower, Tal was able to clear the underbrush and trim back the overgrowth that had threatened the paths through the greenhouse without further mishap. Soon the greenery was looking far more tame – at least along the walkways - and now everyone else would be able to move easily throughout the structure.
As it turned out, an eagle’s talons weren’t the best tools for harvesting delicate fruit – but Deimos had the agility and control to pull it off. Mostly. There were a number of pre-sliced peaches and gouged apples that would need to go home with the current caretakers rather than handed out to strangers, but combined with his efforts from the last round the baskets were slowly but surely filling up. Unfortunately, an eagle’s wings weren’t nearly as well-suited to getting into the tree’s interior. The General was able to harvest the outer sections of the trees, but the fruit in their interior canopies were going to need one last effort to reach.
Sometimes fortune really does favor the bold. Sah ’s decision to start harvesting while the veggie-thief was hiding was well-timed and he was finally able to start filling his baskets with roots, tubers, and all the good things that grew beneath the earth. And also, unexpectedly, one bad thing.
A gopher, looking completely shocked, was pulled up attached to one of the carrots. All four legs started flailing and it dropped as Sah made a grab for it, scampering towards some undergrowth to try and escape! Quick, after it!
Finally things were going right for Cordelia. With her vandal vanquished she was able to find more of the original plant stakes with their names still legible, and could make replacements for the damaged ones in a clear, concise hand. Soon she had finished the labels and was able to set them neatly with their appropriate rows of herbs.
”I think we’re almost done,” Tal called out, looking around at all the progress they’d made with a grin – even for Sah. ”Delia, if you can check the corn for whatever’s ripe I’ll start carting the baskets over to the Palace for handin’ out!” Last round!
Deimos has one last section of fruit to pick, but it seems like his eagle shape won’t be of use inside the denser branches of the trees.
Sah has managed to gather enough vegetables, but still needs to catch the gopher so it doesn’t ruin future harvests!
Cordelia has succeeded in collecting and labeling the herbs. Now it’s just harvesting the small corn plot to go!
Considering Deimos knew his efforts were never going to be reduced to farming (sticking to warrior tactics seemed to be the best case for all of them), he was reasonably impressed by how the notions went. And while eagle talons might have marred a few, the machinations hadn’t hurt. There were still a few he couldn’t reach though, and so he forced himself to spiral back downwards, land, shift, and try something anew.
The temptation to cause a few billows and gusts still encroached on his mind, but he opted for another angle of incantations. Forcing his concentration solely on the branches, brambles, and boughs that contained the remaining fruit, he gathered his Mastered Earth machinations, compelling the tree to drop its interior wares.
--
Deimos uses Mastered Earth to try and compel the fruit tree to give up the last portions.
Sah's eyes narrowed in on the gopher the second it appeared. Using both his hand and telekinesis, the Abandoned tried to grab the creature by the middle. Even if he'd be bit in the process, Sah just wanted to grab the little pest securely without hurting it. The gopher would have to be released outside later, but for now, simply securing it would do.
If he managed to catch it, Sah would then try to place the gopher in another basket and close the lid. A basket of vegetables and a gasket with a gopher. Improvisation at its best. Regardless of his success, Sah refused to take his eyes off the gopher for even a second.
~
Sah uses his hand and telekinesis to try and catch the gopher and trap it in another basket.
Telekinesis: Can move large objects.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
Cordelia takes the time to place the labels back where they go, ensuring they're visible to anyone who would come in to harvest herbs for their own needs. With that job done, Cordelia takes up a basket, turning her attention to the corn that needs to be harvested next. Walking through the rows, the Shrike examines each stalk, grasping ears of corn at the base and wrenching them free from the plant. Soon she has a nearly overflowing basket of the fresh vegetable and she has to get a second basket.
"We'll have plenty here to dry out and grind up for cornmeal, but there is enough for a fresh meal." Cordelia calls out to the others, placing her second basket next to the first, pushing her hair from her face as she stands.
'Cause darling, it was good // Never looking down And right there where we stood // Was holy ground
The General's earth magic was a powerful tool, and one that, it turned out, was custom-made for this particular task. As Deimos walked beneath the trees the ripe fruits fell into his waiting baskets, filling the last of them in such a way that there would be plenty for the week ahead. Stored cold in ice boxes to last a little longer; made into jams, jellies, preserves, or pies; dried and candied; or just eaten fresh. The sweet harvest would be a welcome treat in the darkest week of the year.
Now that he could see the little bugger, Sah 's telekinesis worked exactly as advertised. With a clear target to make a grab for the gopher might have been able to keep out of reach of the human's arms, but he couldn't evade the magic that dragged him back into Sah's waiting hands. There was the requisite struggle of man vs. nature for a moment, but the Advisor came out on top - and the gopher ended up chuffing angrily inside the basket until it was forced back out into the far less hospitable cold, snowy winter.
Cordelia knew a good ear of corn when she saw it, and she reached unerringly for those with the yellowest silks and readiest husks. Even the small amount of corn stalks in the greenhouse could produce a significant harvest; each stalk had several ears, and while they weren't all ripe at the moment there was enough to ensure supplies could go around to those that needed them most.
Tal came back from his first delivery of supplies in time to hear Cordelia's suggestion and lose his scowl, nodding eagerly. "Yeah, we've earned a little treat," he agreed. "Good job, everyone. The greenhouse looks a lot better an' this should be plenty to keep everyone goin' through LongNight. Now, about that meal..."
Thank you all for participating! The Citadel had a well-fed Deepfrost thanks to you!
