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!
Weak and unstable though his new magic was, it was unlikely to be a weapon in any meaningful way. It might, however, make for a worthwhile defense. Given how he had fared against Melita’s projectiles in the past it was certainly worth considering and once that thought had begun turning over in his head there was really only one thing to be done about it.
Field testing.
The letter had gone out – dictated to the scribe he had found to help with such things for a moderate price – to find the honeybee girl and invite her to target practice; nothing lethal, but a new twist on their usual antics of assault and improvement. The usual place, and a time convenient to them both.
Pastries would be provided.
And at the appointed day and time the mermanta swam through the tunnel that connected the Pool to the ocean and surfaced, pushing his hair back and out of his way as he swam slowly towards the shore to set the waterproof bag containing their reward on a sun-warmed rock for after they had finished.
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
The Honeybee had just been wandering out the door of her cliffside home when the note came. Only for her to huff a breath, go back inside, retrieve her blunted arrows (rather than the bloodthirsty lightning, fire, or ice ones), before frolicking her way down to the Miana Pool. Fangorn and Sila came along, the latter testing out her wings against the still sharpened wind patterns, and the former content to bobble behind.
She repressed a residual shudder, following myriad of footpaths and other trails down towards the familiar coastline. To no surprise, the mermanta was already there, and she gave a hearty wave before companions dispersed to their own devices. “Hi Dama!” Pulling out her bow, and the assemblage of arrows, she already began notching one, eyes flickering back over the scene. “What did you want to work on?”
Frost clung to the edges of the Pool beneath the jungle's shade, but the center remained free of Deepfrost's clutches and the midday sun was warm where the sea breeze was broken by rocks or trees. Not that it seemed to bother a mermanta well-used to the chill of deep waters and he swam in his usual lack of layers until the honeybee appeared, flitting down the coastline with her red hair a jaunty banner to announce her approach.
"Melita," he greeted, the edges of his eyes crinkling with a smile for his fondest human friend. "I have a new trick." So saying, he teased a small plume of water out of the Pool to float, wobbling, in the air in front of him. "I cannot send it far yet, but I want to hone it as a defense." He nodded to the bow she was already preparing. "And I can create targets for you to aim at."
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
Her eyes flicked up from the bow and its constituents at the notions of a new trick – gaze catching the way the water maneuvered, altered, in front of him. This inspired her usual array of grins, and even thereafter the curiosity began to settle in. How far could it go? How much power could it wield? It made sense that a mermanta would have the range and capability of the surface, but the Honeybee was all about emboldened properties and how much an individual could push. Maybe they’d find out today.
“Very nice,” she smiled, finally notching the training implement on the bow, testing the strand with distracted ease. “Sounds good to me!”
Then she backed along a fair distance from the pool, wanting to ensure they instilled and established a challenging range for herself, and whatever means he needed to work on. “When you’re ready then!”
Hadama nodded once, pleased at Mel's approval of his new talent. Now, to see if talent could be honed and sharpened into tool. His friend had tools of her own that he'd rarely seen in action before today, and he studied her magical bow in turn for a moment, admiring the elegant efficiency of it.
"Yours as well," he rumbled, a sparkle of mirth in green eyes before he swam a little ways back to provide her with a more worthy challenge - and himself with a fraction more time to react to her arrows.
"Ready,' he called, maintaining a spinning disc of water a few feet away from himself. A target for the honeybee, and a chance to test how much protection his new magic could offer.
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
The youth relented a few more steps back, and watched for a moment. For a being more apt to impulsively notch an arrow and permit it to fly with little regard, she tended to her precision now. It’d been a difficult measure when they were confronting the massive landshark in the desert, and she didn’t want to give into the temptation of simple boldness.
Adjusting her stance, the youth fixated her sights on the watery fixture, pinpointing her aim amidst the rotating disc, tightened the strand so her muscles were taut as well, loosened a breath, and let it fly.
For this first challenge they were both ideally situated to play to their strengths. Hadama had his full concentration on the small amount of water he could command to do his bidding; a forbidding focus on using the water to--
Not reflect or repel. A projectile would never be fully repulsed by such a small, weak amount as he could currently control. But deflect? To turn aside, knock askew, even if just a few vital inches? Ah, therein lay the intention. The mermanta knew his element's strengths and weaknesses intimately and he adjusted his expectations accordingly as he leaned into the magic.
It was easier still when Melita's aim was steady and true and the arrow flew straight and dead-center to the watery target. There was only a split second to react and speed the small whirlpool's spin to meet the approaching projectile but it was enough. Blunted wood hit swirling water and passed through with a splash, though not quite on the same course it had been before. Hadama felt the wind of its passage as it whistled into the water behind him but his tattooed hide was unbruised for the moment.
Nodding to himself, he began to swim slowly to the side. "A moving target," he called out next. More fun for Mel to shoot at, and more challenging for him to maintain his focus as he tried to hold the spinning water between him and the archer while not swimming into a rock or the side of the Pool.
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
The reverberations were quick and sudden, and she bore witness, for she could do nothing else at the moment, as the training implement went skewed in a different direction. Giving a nod of consideration for Hadama’s newfound skill, her own mind began working at altering approaches and angles, when the mermanta made the task more difficult anyway.
A moving target caused her to hum, and then offer a malicious grin. “I like those better,” she preened, memories flickering to many a downed, maneuvering foe. Concentrating, she notched another arrow along her bow, following the line of sight, the flickering motions, and when it was deemed right by her instincts, she permitted this one to fly too – directly at the unfurling droplets.
Somehow Hadama had suspected Melita might prefer a little more challenge to their training and though he didn't grin there was a merry twinkle in green eyes as he started off. He was swimming slowly, though that was more for his own benefit. Concentrating on the unstable water magic was difficult enough while floating still within the Pool. Holding the shield intact and making it spin while he was also moving was definitely a step up.
For the honeybee huntress the shot was simple enough; the watery target was between her and Hadama, moving at his pace and not making any sharp or unpredictable shifts. Her aim was impeccable as it impacted the eye of the small vortex but Hadama had a well-disciplined mind and now he also had momentum of his own. He purposefully spun the direction of the whirlpool counter to the direction he was moving so that the small deflection it provided as the arrow struck joined with his own liquid lunge to the side so that the projectile skimmed harmlessly over the water several inches behind him this time.
Not one to rest on his laurels overlong (not when there were pastries waiting, at least), he tilted his head, eyes narrowing in concentration as his floating puddle shrunk and then split into two smaller and visibly less stable targets. He began swimming again, calling out the challenge to Mel. "Two arrows, swiftly." One and then another in quickest succession; testing both her aim at two moving targets and the mermanta's magical and physical reflexes.
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
Content with her precision, and maybe watching the way the water moved and deflected, the youth nodded with the same nefarious grin at the next challenge. Firing off arrows in rapid succession had rarely happened lately, due to waiting for others to launch their assaults, people being in the way (oops, sorry Evie), or various other circumstances.
But there was a chance here to strive and try it.
Snagging at two from her quiver, the youth launched the first towards the smaller, spinning targets, quick, swift volleys interlapping, for she barely had time to see if the other made impact before she was notching the next. Another breath unfurled with her residual, habitual aim, and then did the same to the second.
Though his expression remained calm the corners of his eyes had tightened with the strain of concentrating on so many things at once. Maintaining two target-shields, keeping them spinning in opposite directions, and swimming with his chest and shoulders out of the water was stretching the limit of his mental discipline.
But not breaking it.
Melita's first arrow struck home to his left and Hadama twisted sideways as the water shield caught the projectile's tip and shifted it far enough off-course to miss the mermanta by no more than a few inches. The second arrow was a breath behind the first and no less on target. The shield wobbled but held its shape and rotation enough to shift the arrow just far enough that though it grazed Hadama's long hair, it missed his skin.
He took a moment to draw a few steadying breaths, merging his watery creations back into one while he considered one more test, then nodded slowly to himself. "Aim wherever you want," he called to Mel. "I will move the shield to meet it." This time he begin swimming faster and eeling through the water with sinuous, less predictable shifts in direction.
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
Melita couldn’t help the self-satisfied smirk wrapped around her mouth as the arrows volleyed and rallied once more. She didn’t even care if they flickered off and barely missed the mermanta, but for the precision behind them. It meant her practice was paying off, and the confidence instilled itself back through the breadth of her shoulders; a little air of sedition and defiance winding its way back into the angle of her chin.
Her brows furrowed at the next step though, because it seemed a challenge for both of them, and she wasn’t in the business of maiming allies (if she could help it), even if the arrows were blunted. “If you’re sure,” she uttered, before notching the bow. Deciding where to send the armament was another unwinding designation, and through impulse alone, the youth pulled the strand, stretching it through muscle and memory, before sending it to sail over the mermanta’s head, pondering how far that magic of his could hold.
There was some sort of saying about pride and falls that didn't make much sense underwater, but Hadama would soon learn the meaning of it. Tiring from the maintenance of his spell for so long and from pushing its limits so far, distracted by swimming and holding the spell while watching Melita so he could react, he finally found the boundary he couldn't cross.
Painfully, as it turned out.
There was no time to think or process where the arrow was headed in the split second he had to react. He saw it aimed in his direction, saw the fingers leave the string and the arrow leap forward, and he flung his water shield to meet it.
Too far out. Five feet away and one inch farther and the spinning shield came apart even as the arrow passed through it. It caught just enough of the dying whirlpool's spin to redirect it downwards and Hadama's instinctive shift to the side only placed him directly where he could be struck by the blunted arrow. He grunted softly as it impacted his shoulder, a slight wince marring his features for a heartbeat before they smoothed over again and he collected the arrow with a hint of rueful humor.
He collected the rest of the arrows, too, and swam back to shore to meet Melita and hand them back to her with the ghost of grin. "I think that is all I can do today," he admitted. "But we have earned our treats." Not that they wouldn't have eaten them anyways. It was just a nice excuse.
Like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
They all had limitations – even if Melita frequently didn’t acknowledge hers and bulldozed through them anyway. The Honeybee expected what had already occurred here over and over again – the water would rise up, defend its creator, and the training arrow would slide through the veneer and vestiges with little issue.
But, much like issue with the landshark and Evie, it found its mark this time. “Oops. Sorry,” she muttered sheepishly, taking the arrows back. At least this one wasn’t elemental, blunted purposefully. “That was really cool though!” Eventually, she presumed, he’d be able to manifest all sorts of potential water formations, or regulate temperatures or…something. Her mind was immediately distracted by the prospect of treats and pastries though. “Yes, please!” was a hum, and they could place their armaments aside for another helping of desserts.
