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!
Someone was going to have to learn to fly the new skyships that would be coming to Halo and train the region's own pilots and Tal knew that he was just the person for the job. His fascination with the flying craft had been piqued the first time he saw one at the port in Torchline the year before and a desire to possess one of his own had been growing in his heart ever since.
The fact that Safrin had basically given him her blessing by telling him to use his goggles while going fast riding one was the perfect icing on the cake, really.
The only fly in the frosting was that he wasn't here today alone.
As Tal swaggered up the boarding ramp to the serenely floating vessel he nudged an elbow towards the ribs of the man beside him with a dramatic roll of his eyes. "You really didn't have to come," he sighed for the third time since they'd left the Citadel. "What'll I tell your kids if you fall overboard?"
Boreal was slowly spiraling down from her vantage aloft, inspecting the mast and sails with a dose of healthy skepticism that seemed to speak as clearly as day that she wasn't at all certain that this contraption was in the same league as a dogsled.
Sah caught the elbow aimed for his rubs and shoved it away, hoping to throw Tal off balance a little. "I wanted to, and I doubt Deimos wants either of us doing this alone." The Warden probably would have also preferred that they both weren't going, but it was too late to turn back. "Can you really blame me for being curious about ships and other traveling er... vehicles... vessels? And if I fall, I swim."
The Outlander had seen such things back home but given that he had been winged and four-pawed, he'd never had the desire or need to use one. The devices both intrigued and disturbed him, but he understood the necessity of a skyship for Halo. Especially since it was beginning to look more and more appealing to destroy the portal in the Fangs.
Just like Boreal, Lilly too was unsure of the device beneath her paws. The wolf was sniffing around with curiosity and a hint of caution. She'd travel some distance to investigate something before padding back over to Sah for a quick ear rub before continuing her investigation.
The ship beneath them apparently was activated, if the slight hum in the air was any indication. Sah couldn't help but reflexively reach out and grip the rail when the ship vibrated, brow furrowed as he adjusted to the sensation. "I'm guessing that we're taking off soon?"
That might have worked a few seasons ago, but Tal had gotten used to the ebb and flow of their jostling and he was already braced to rock with the return volley. He would have been more off-balance if Sah hadn't thrown an elbow back at him, truth be told.
"Mmm... y'might have a point," he mused grudgingly to the notion that Deimos probably hadn't intended them to go together. "An' I guess you can be curious about 'em. Just don't expect t'get a ride from me when I have one o' my own." He flashed a smug grin at the hunter, even if his words were a blatant lie. At least in the moment he didn't not mean them?
Boreal had finally landed on the deck behind the pilot, sniffing the wheel warily while the muscular woman stoically ignored her. Her mental alert gave Tal just enough time to realize he was too far from the rail to grab it in time before the ship began to hum and the deck shifted beneath them. The courier stumbled and grabbed for a rope instead, hanging on as the ship began to move and the wind started to pick up. Grinning ear-to-ear, he slipped his goggles into place and wobbled over to stand next to Sah. "Y'ever been on a sea ship, then?" he asked, genuine curiosity squashing his usual attitude for the moment.
Sah smirked slightly when Tal dodged his return hit. The courier was learning, and the familiarity of their bickering was somehow relaxing.
The Abandoned rolled his eyes at Tal's declaration. "With you steering? I think not. The only reason you haven't crashed your sled is because of your dogs." The pups would avoid crashing at all costs after all, even with an idiot attempting to steer them. The poor dogs had to deal with Tal of all people. The Abandoned felt horrible for them.
As the wind picked up, Sah grip on the banister tightened slightly. "No. Never." he paused debating his next admission, "You know when we were gathering supplies with Deimos and Evie? That was the first time I'd ever been on a cart too." The ship lurched as it began to rise into the air, and the Abandoned eyed their progression warily.
Part of him was excited to fly again, even it wasn't with his own wings. But it was that very fact that unnerved him. Flight without him being in control? That felt just plain wrong.
Sah's taunt earned a scoff from the courier as he held onto the line for balance, and his lofty response was just a teensy undermined by how white his knuckles were on the rope. "An' who d'you think taught them?" The dogs crashing the sled was actually pretty common with the truly young pups who hadn't learned to run in harness yet, until they'd been trained to it and practiced until it came easily to them.
"Wouldn't expect you t'appreciate the skill that goes into it," he added, just a bit miffed at having his hard work so easily dismissed, even if he knew Sah was just teasing him. Tal's thin skin made him an easy target and even knowing that didn't stop his hackles from prickling up at the banter sometimes.
The admission took some of the wind out of Tal's sails and he glanced suspiciously over at the hunter to see if he was being teased again, but Sah looked serious this time and the courier scowled and used his free hand to rub at the back of his neck. "Um. I haven't been on a proper sailin' ship before, either," he mumbled in return admission, turning back to look at the crew as they bustled about the deck of the airship. As it lifted above the buildings of the Port its rise slowed to a more comfortable pace and Tal relaxed his grip, letting just his fingertips hang from the line as he adjusted his balance. "Just the airships 'tween here an' St--" he bit his lip, remembering too late that Sah couldn't go there. "Uh. Places," he added lamely. "C'mon," he hurried over his blunder, "let's go see how the pilot is steerin' it! I'll even help steady you if y'need a hand," he offered, wicked mischief flashing back to the forefront of pale eyes.
09-22-2022, 11:44 PM (This post was last modified: 09-23-2022, 01:18 PM by Sah.)
Sah
Sah's brow furrowed when it was clear that his words had cut deeper than intended. He nudged Tal's shoulder with his own as he quietly spoke, "They're lucky to have you." Words spoken, he returned to the prior conversation as if he hadn't just said something kind to the courier.
It seemed like courtesy was becoming a thing on the ship as Tal stifled his words. The Abandoned snickered, "Stormbreak, Errand Boy. You can say the name. I won't start crying." He rolled his eyes and started walking towards the small structure where the pilot was steering from.
As he passed Tal, Sah nudged his shoulder again, this time a bit more forcefully. A mischievous smirk stretches across his face. "As long as you don't try to take the controls from the captain."
The duo arrived and with a small knock, the door opened to reveal the co-captain who glanced at them in confusion. The captain remained standing beside a massive inlaid table. On it were maps, and other contraptions that the Outlander didn't recognize but assumed were for navigating. One was definitely a compass of some kind.
Right in front of the captain was a large steering wheel and some other lever thing that she had a hand on. Sah glanced at the table in bafflement. "What does all of this even do]?"
Tal harrumphed at the quiet assurance, but the look he flashed Sah was silently grateful.
Even if, a moment later, he deliberately tried to hip-check the hunter at the nickname. "Pfft. You're not missin' much anyways. You'd probably get yourself thrown out before nightfall even if y'were allowed in," he scoffed, relieved that Sah didn't seem upset by the reference - but no longer taking it easy on him, either.
The shoulder connected and Tal grunted but flowed with the impact, keeping his balance and weaving right back as if nothing had happened. Sadly, before he could return the favor they arrived at their destination. The pilot stood at her wheel on the deck above the captain's cabin with Boreal watching her steer with reptilian fascination while the men investigated below.
"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" the co-captain asked politely but with a brusque manner letting the passengers know that she was a busy woman.
"No problem. Just wonderin' how it all works," Tal answered with his best customer service smile.
The co-captain didn't look impressed, humming under her breath as she sized up the two young men.
"Magic," the other captain called from the desk, looking more amused at the pair. "And Safrin's blessing. Feel free to look around deck and watch what we do, but don't distract anyone who's working. We'll be skirting a storm soon, and the crew needs to be focused on their jobs so you get safely to your destination."
09-23-2022, 06:40 PM (This post was last modified: 09-23-2022, 07:51 PM by Sah.)
Sah
It was a relief to see that Sah's quiet comment had helped. He dodged Tal's hip-check and smiled slyly at the courier's comment. "Oh? Are they that uptight? Or are you underestimating my ability to get away with things?" The Outlander thought he was decent in terms of stealth, and if push came to shove, he could fight his way out. Unless it was someone like Ronin. Then he was fucked.
When they arrived, Lilly sniffed the air curiously, one ear turned to listen to the conversation. Sah let Tal deal with the co-captain as he watched the captain work. At the offer to stay and watch, he nodded at her, "Thank you."
Permission given, Sah grabbed a seat near the captain and simply watched how she was plotting out the course. He wondered just what kind of magic was in use to run the ship and how that was correlated to planning. Air and telekinesis seemed to be the most likely. The Abandoned wasn't sure which aspect was Safrin's blessing, maybe all of it.
Sah glanced up at Tal and silently gestured him over to a seat near him. "Come watch." He whispered so as not to disturb those working, nodding towards the open window in front of the captain. The clouds drifted past, the light coming through ever shifting as they did so. Sure enough, there was a slightly darker patch in the far distance, right in the direction that they were going.
A scoff met Sah's declaration, though Tal was grinning right after. "Aren't you overestimatin' your ability? They've got proper detectives in that town an' everything," Tal revealed with a smirk. "An' all the guards have dragons!" Which were pretty amazing companions after all.
And Ascended weren't the only ones that were flammable. Not if you tried hard enough.
At the cabin door Tal breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the other captains seemed more amused than annoyed by their curiosity. As Sah went to take a seat inside the courier eyed the comparatively small enclosure dubiously and then gave a shake of his head. "Nah, I'm goin' t'see how they steer it," he whispered back. He clapped the hunter on the shoulder and headed back out and up onto the quarterdeck to join Boreal. The pilot spared him a glance and a friendly nod and Tal adjusted his goggles to protect his eyes from the wind as he joined her. The ship moved swiftly through the sky, sails full and belled out as they caught a strong wind off the storm that was blowing up south and east of them.
Tal examined the wheel and watched as the pilot adjusted the ship by increments. Seeing his sincere interest she began to quietly explain what she was doing and why as the courier listened with shining eyes.
Boreal huffed and flopped down on the deck a little ways back, closing her eyes and tucking her head under wing for a nap.
Sah tilted his head in confusion, "What's a detective?" But the mention of companion dragons sent made an unexpected pang of grief pierce his chest. "I can handle companion dragons." It probably would have surrounded arrogant if not for the pained tone of his voice. He hadn't thought about Seren and Umbra in seasons. The Outlander missed his friend. Hopefully she was happy in the stars with her mother. Lilly pressed into her bonded's side silently.
The Abandoned sighed and shook his head to clear his thoughts. Sah lazily waved Tal away when the courier mentioned checking out the steering mechanisms, "Suit yourself." When Tal left, the captain sent the Abandoned a slightly concerned look, but he just shook his head once more to halt and potential questions.
Changing the subject, Sah gestured to the maps and other objects before them. "So, what are all of these things?" Taking the hint, she then began to explain her maps. There were some for the surrounding land, but also maps of the stars, wind currents, and other important things for sailing. The astrolabe in particular was fascinating for the Outlander.
After explaining each tool and map, the captain then explained how she combined them all to chart their course. It was an information overload for Sah, but he tried to retain as much as he could.
Having recently spent an evening helping following Finn around while the man investigated a case of stolen antiquities, Tal was feeling extremely knowledgeable on the topic. "Someone who figures out who committed a crime so th'guards know who t'arrest," he revealed. But his pride faded a moment later at the unexpected note in Sah's voice. Tal slanted a glance at him that was perilously close to concerned, though he would swear it was just confusion as to the cause of that pain.
Before he could ask further, however, the captains were speaking and the two ended up going their separate ways. The courier stayed outside, relishing the wind in his face as he learned how the wheel was attached a rudder that helped steer the ship by catching the airstreams and how the different positions of the sails could raise and lower the speed of the floating vessel. He learned about tacking and lateral resistance and pivot points until he could feel his eyes glazing over inside his Goggles.
After a time as the winds picked up and the storm began to catch up the pilot had to turn her attention fully onto her task and went quiet. Tal watched a little while longer before tip-toeing down the stairs to the main deck and knocking diffidently on the door to the captain's cabin to see how Sah was getting on with his side of the research mission.
"Everythin' goin' alright?" he called over the wild song of the rising wind.
Sah glanced up from the paper he'd been jotting down notes on when Tal came in. "Yes. I think we'll be arriving soon." And his notes were probably done too. After another lecture on how different seasons can alter wind patterns and how things occurring in the water below could even affect the skies, his page of notes was filled to the brim.
"Did you learn what we needed?" The Abandoned held up his sheet of paper for a moment, "You better have written some of it down." They'd need to be able to look back on the vast amount of information they'd been given today. How else could they properly manage the ship otherwise?
09-30-2022, 02:32 PM (This post was last modified: 09-30-2022, 02:32 PM by Talyson.)
Tal had most certainly not been writing things down. With the wind on deck it wouldn't have been feasible, but the courier prided himself on an excellent auditory memory as part of his delivery service. Not all the messages he delivered were written down, either due to illiteracy or paranoid secrecy on the part of the sender.
In other words, he hadn't even thought about it.
Sah had - ugh - a point, however. The information they'd learned today needed to be passed along to others and it would be easier if it was written down to be studied at leisure.
"I'll write it down for ya, don't worry," he smirked, as if he were doing Sah a personal favor. Swiping the sheet, he flipped it over and began jotting down the short hand for what he'd learned about the intricacies of piloting an airship. Not just the by-the-book explanations the woman at the wheel had given him but also the things he'd noticed while observing the practical application of the skill. "We have got to work on your handwriting," he mumbled with a slight shake of his head.
"Hey!" Sah scowled as Tal stole his piece of paper. He thought about taking it back but then the courier had the gall to insult his handwriting. "Well excuse me for only learning how to do so a few years ago." He was still getting the hang of it, ok! He'd only started writing when he came to Caido. Tal should be grateful that t it was legible.
The Abandoned tsked. "Just write your damn part down. We're starting to descend anyway, so hurry up." Sure enough, the captain had pulled a lever and the one steering had put on their own goggles. The ship began a slow descent, moving diagonally towards the dock.
~
Tal has stolen from Sah:
Type: Grey | Style: Other | Level: Basic
Two-way parchment | This parchment will replicate whatever is written upon it to its partner-parchment, regardless of distance.
