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!
Prepping Torchline for LongNight had become a different affinity from the days of the Hollowed Grounds – even now, well after monsters were supposedly gone. A time for gaiety and mischief, for heavy drinking and rowdiness, for expulsions of rampant stupidity and nothingness under the moonless, starless sky. They made their own merriment and mirth.
As a frequent patron of the latter, the honeybee scrambled her way down the beach that morning, searching for portions of driftwood. They’d be easy enough to catch fire and keep some light burning against the Stygian blackness, while they drank up their liquor and remained thoroughly obnoxious along the swells of sand. And it gave her some opportunity for Fangorn and Sila to get out and wander about without being disturbed – the little hatchling needed to stretch her wings.
With the vampire gourd casting a watchful eye, the young dragon had already begun to roll around in the dunes, thoroughly amused, apparently, while Melita snagged at a few scraggly bits and pieces by the treeline, starting a pile. They made a muffled thunk as they hit the granules, before she started anew, repeating the process.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
Darkeye went through the against because he wanted to have a clear head again, Torchline had always helped him often and well to organize his thoughts. When he saw the vampire pumpkin, he looked at the area vigilantly. He showed himself open and waved him friendly. Where the pumpkin was, the honeybee could not be far. He enjoyed her company and hoped that she could give him a few types. He had to prepare for the LongNight and he wanted to ask someone other than the grounders and maybe she could help him.
He approached the pumpkin slowly and carefully, showing that he had no intention of violence. He thought it was Fangorn because he had the marks on the vines, but he could be wrong. "Hey Fangorn, I hope it's you. Can you tell her I'm here? Or can I pass?" He asked politely after a bow dedicated to the pumpkin.
Fangorn, ever the perennial survivor of the vampire gourds, ceased all movement when Darkeye approached. Had the man not been familiar, there likely would’ve been all manner of pandemonium and outcry, with loud rumbles and bared fangs and ridiculous hisses. But for the older warpriest, he gave a salutations of waving vines, before bumbling and grumbling his way to Melita.
The youth glanced up from her latest snagging of driftwood, casting the dried stick in her arms with the rest of the lot. “Hey Darkeye,” she called. “How are you?” Permission to pass along the beach and all that, as she dropped her gathered portions in the same pile as before, figuring there should be a massive entity for future endeavors.
Sila, unaware of who or what this man was, immediately tucked her wings in and flew behind the honeybee.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
He followed Fangron with enough distance and was glad to see him again. He had to tell the story about vampire carrots to Melita and Fangron soon if they had heard anything about it. He knew the farmer had suffered from it, but Darkeye had to smile about it.
Darkeye walked up to her and bowed to her, casting a glance at the creature behind her. "Greetings Melita I see you are still hard at work". And you have fulfilled your task, I see. "He smirked slightly and pointed at the small dragon behind the honeybee. "Is it okay if I join you, I'm currently living in the Grounds and Deimos said I should prepare for the Long night, do you have any tips for me?" He asked with a friendly look.
The vampire gourd, content in his guarding abilities, ambled back to stand in somewhat of a protective distinction for Sila, who’d begun peeking further out from around Melita’s ankles. The honeybee, to her credit, snagged at the young, flying lizard, and placed her along her shoulders, where she then wrapped herself along neck and shoulders. “Oh yes,” she beamed to both, proud of her achievements, even as the hatchling dug further into her curtain of hair. “She’s a bit shy though, sorry.”
As for the task, she ambled forward, grabbing some more of the wood angled towards the jungle. “I suppose it depends on if the all the monsters truly are gone,” she’d heard about the one in Halo last year, after all. And while she had no misgivings towards shooting any of the wayward demons, others might not be so suited. “We used to line the houses with snow moss,” for the quiet, to muffle their movements, pretend they didn’t exist. “Lure luxere, for their light,” the beguiling enchantments sometimes enough to keep the cretins at bay. “Block the windows. And gather plenty of firewood, rations, things people needed for hunkering down for a week.”
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
Darkeye looked at the Dragon and tried to classify it directly. But the dragons of Caido were different from those of his world. "You don't have to apologize for that,"he said. "Even though I should smell smoke and fire, I spend so much time in my new world, which I have built on the grounds. But I am glad that you succeeded. What's her or his name?" He asked with curiosity, keeping his distance so that the honeybee's new companion could get used to him.
Darkeye nodded curtly. "I have enough coal for a year that shouldn't be the problem but I think I'll stockpile some more. Thank you for your tip about the moss. I don't trust Voice with that statement. I will prepare myself for the worst. But as long as I'm here I think I'll give you a hand if you allow it. Maybe there will be something left over for me," he said with a grin. He liked Melita for her friendly yet honest manner. Which he also often tried to adopt.
The little bronze hatchling peeked out from behind tendrils of crimson, permitting a slight roar as if to sound menacing, but coming across as a tiny squeak instead. Melita snorted – presuming, eventually, the shyness would cease and the confidence would flourish. “Her name is Sila,” she preened, reaching out a free hand to scratch at the top of the fledgling’s head.
Dropping the wood into the pile, the honeybee started wandering further down the beach, beginning to start another. The more bonfires, the more amusements, or so she figured with a shrug meant only for her. Fangorn provided and presided some aid, entangling his vines around a few sticks and carrying them over to the newfound distinction. “Torchline tends to use wood for bonfires. We have some nice parties on the beach.” And by that she meant get stark-raving drunk and give zero shits about the darkness. She conformed the rest of his speech with a wrinkle to her nose. "I wouldn't trust the Voice either. But you don't have to stay in the Grounds." There were plenty of other suitable places.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
Darkeye could not help pinching himself at this sound. He bowed to the Little Dragon Lightly. "Greetings Sila, it is a pleasure to meet you." He put down his backpack and took out some dried meat and showed it to the honeybee, asking if it was okay to feed it.
This was the first time a diabolical grin was seen on Darkeye. "I need to be where they're most likely to show up, and that's in the Grounds. I don't want to hide, they don't have that power, and I don't want to give them that power over me. I just want to prepare myself for the eventuality. I would like to hunt them down and be sure that they will never show up again. After that, I would like to put the body of such a thing on a voice shrine and say, Here is your truth. But I do not have the time. I would also like to be at this party, but I can't be in two places at once." He had not fought for too long and the last time was against the shark where it was close. That was the experience Darkeye was looking for. Maybe the LongNight monsters could achieve that.
Melita tilted her head, brandishing Darkeye with a certain look – signifying the broad stretch of his statement was false. Ignorant. “But they are that powerful. They’ve slain many people.” She scoffed and snorted, shaking her head. “I don’t know where you got the idea that they’re easily dispatched. Or that you’re more capable than them.” She glanced at him up and down, and then persisted in her collection.
Fangorn waved his arms, either to waylay the harsh notions of the honeybee’s blunt veracity, or to be remain the ambiguous beacon on the beach. Sila noticed the man’s profferred jerky, reaching out a muzzle in a distinct flaring of her nostrils; clearly intrigued. Melita nodded in turn, but she was clearly stewing over the implications of LongNight and its potential, thriving monsters still lurking in the midst.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
Darkeye said nothing about it, for now, letting the words rattle around in his head. He tried to say the words he said next with a lot of calm. "I serve a God who loves battle and peace. These beings are strong and I will not make the mistake of underestimating them. I don't think I'm more capable than they are, but I won't close my eyes to what's happening. I want to show that I can put my money where my mouth is and protect those who are unable to do so. Maybe my words will have more weight in this world when I have proven myself. " he said thoughtfully as he lent a hand and tried to help her, thinking he understood why she said that. It must have seemed strange to outsiders, but that was his belief.
He gave it to the little dragon with much glee on his face some of the meat. Only with a little distance that he put it down the animal should not eat from his hand before the honey bee allows it. Hopefully, the LongNight monsters will not harm this little lizard or another person that he liked. It remains to be seen how much weight the words of Voice will have in this time.
Reaching for another stick, the honeybee shoved down a molten multitude of disarming words, trying to settle herself for something better, something kinder, when everything else wanted to tumble out. Darkeye’s ignorance loomed wide, and even if there weren’t any monsters at all, even if a thousand people told him the same thing, it didn’t seem to matter. “You don’t have to prove yourself.” Who was asking him to? She shook her head, and the mass of wild, crimson locks flickered down along her sides, pieces and pockets of fire. “How would you dispatch them?”
Sila sniffed at the meat though, allowing for a distraction as her long snout came poking out of the curtain of hair. Gently lowering the dragon to the ground, and with the vampire gourd’s protective stance also nearby, the hatchling maneuvered slowly, cautiously, along the sand.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
Darkeye also grabbed a few sticks and did not want to watch idly as the honeybee does everything alone. "I have the feeling that my words and my advice are not listened to in Caido, it could be different if I show what I am capable of... I want to create a village where people who are not interested in the war can come and if they know that I can protect them, maybe they will come sooner." It was clear that he could die trying. But then he could at least show Kor that he died fighting."I would first try to set many traps with ashes from my forge so that I can see them. Then throw oil-soaked axes at them until they are about 10 paces away, and then set fire to the sheath I have built if necessary. Otherwise set them on fire. If they are from Voice, it will demoralize them and then it's spear work. If I survive that long."He Said slightly thoughtful. It was only a rough plan, but he was actually planning to make a trench. That it would not harm the other houses around it.
He placed the flesh on the ground and took a few steps back to see if the animal was already able to use its teeth - in Aventuria, little dragons could not yet. They had to develop their teeth first, which is why they were fed like birds. He was pleased that Fangorn seemed to like the little thing and tried to protect it.
“Experience speaks for itself here,” she murmured, snagging at a particularly gnarled branch and shoving it into the nearest pile, wiping her hands clean of any debris as she turned to address the older man. “You have a lot of opinions, but so does everyone else. A lot of us have lived through LongNight. Have seen what can happen. Sometimes it feels like you’re not listening. You already have your mind made up.” She shrugged her shoulders, the point blank, made, and clear. “But you don’t have to prove the monsters to us.” And there’d already been claims of the Voice’s lies, based on last year.
She maneuvered on, nodding her head at the insinuation of the neutral village. “It’s a good idea, but if you die during this LongNight experiment, then you’re not doing anyone any favors.” Her head tilted vaguely at the insinuation of weapons – the traps he’d set, not sure if she had the heart to tell him that they’d likely see through all of it.
On an impulsive lunge, not unlike her bonded counterpart, the little dragon snagged at the meat, munching it closer towards those she trusted; breaking off a small piece and nibbling.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
Darkeye just nodded for now and had to digest what she heard. "It's unusual to be the one who has to ask for advice," he said. "I try to form an opinion, that's true, but it's not always firm, I like to be swayed by good arguments. I can imagine that it often seemed like I wasn't listening. A lot of this still makes little sense to me." He thought about the words of Deimos that he must have lost many that were important to these beasts. All the more it was important to be prepared. "I understand your warning and I thank you for it. I will think about your words and prepare myself for the LongNight, but if I decide to spend the LongNight here with you, do you think I would be a welcome guest?" He asked with curiosity not wanting to invite himself.
This comment was clear enough and put the old good-for-nothing on edge. He stroked his beard. "I've put a lot of work into this, and it would be a shame if it was all ruined because of my carelessness. You've got a good point there, where I can't say much against it. I don't know much about these monsters and to be honest, I don't want to provoke or challenge them..." It would have been good just to smear it in Voice's face. But what would become of his forge if he wasn't there to back it up. It was a thought that crept into his head and wouldn't leave so quickly.
A slight smile could be seen. They were serious topics but often it was these moments that gave Darkeye his head a moment's pause. All the girdling over and over again was exhausting in the long run. He laid down two pieces this time, one for Fangorn and one for Sila. Thereby he gave again enough distance that both could feel well.
