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!
Accepting the coffee with a few rumbling notes of his own for Evie’s ears only, he watched quietly as the rest of the team strolled in, taking their places amongst the work. With somewhat of a surprise, he noted Talyson joining the Evergreen, along with the multitudes of other Halovians, with mixing the cement. His eyes narrowed, speculative over a few sips of the hot liquid, before leaving it be – intending to join Noah in the digging of snow.
Maybe it was the cold of the morning, but the cement was sluggish to get started. Both Evie and Talyson would find their efforts solidifying, requiring greater strength and precision, concentration and might, than previously. It set them back in accords and regards to time, but eventually, they’d win it over in the end.
The Sword joined the Sentinel in hastening with paws – all too eager for mischief as they burrowed and funneled their way down. His massive, but leaner form, ended up absorbing many of the blows of the polar bear’s long reach, but nonetheless more amused than anything else; content to hasten his restless, coiled energy with shaking off the offending melee. Before long, the two had ensured the cracks were unburied, ready to be patched away.
If the cement was ready.
Regaining his human form, the Warden resumed his inspection over the cement, glancing over, knowing the work had been difficult. “We can try using this.” If it became too much, they could always re-try.
--
Evie and #Talyson (because dice) have had a hard time with the cement this morning. Hopefully it’ll still work out!
Deimos and Noah (mostly Noah) have dug out the portions that need to be patched up!
Patch away! No post order!
you're all bronze and bite all venom and fistfight
Tal glowered ferociously down at his cement as it refused to cooperate with his stirring. Again, Evie seemed to suffer from the same problems he was but that was cold comfort when there was so much to do.
Still, cold comfort was better than no comfort, and it least he wasn't the only one holding up the work. It was no one's fault that the weather was making it difficult this morning, but the courier did what he could to mitigate it: he built his fire up higher and added extra water in carefully rationed pours to try and even out the consistency of his cement. It took longer than he'd anticipated, but eventually things seemed to have worked themselves out.
"Yessir," Tal agreed with a wince at the Warden's words, knowing it wasn't the best - but it would have to do for now. Filling a bucket, he grabbed a metal spatula and headed towards the nearest crack to begin spreading it on and making sure to pack it in to the wider gaps so they would be fully filled with the reinforcing mortar.
Tal tries to save his cement, and then gets to work spreading it into and on a big crack.
Together the beasts worked and pushed a massive amount of snow. So focused on his work, the Sentinel did not notice when his works were too overzealous and covered the Sword. When the task was complete, Noah shifted back up to his human form and followed Deimos. The others also worked hard and it seemed to pay off. The mixture was ready.
Noah made his way to the cauldrons of mixed cement and filled a bucket. From beside the station he grabbed a trowel and set to work. It took him a few minutes of working alongside a more experienced mason than he, but soon Noah got the hang of what was going on. He was meticulous to make sure as he patched that they all ended smooth, and careful to add the right amount of mortar so that it was strong enough to hold but not gummed up enough not to set.
--
Noah starts patching!
i'd fashioned my own cross been crushed by its weight there's no stronger message than dirt in your face
It’s not a great start to the morning, between the exhaustion and the difficult cement. But much like Talyson, she is a stubborn creature, and the two of them toil away grumpily at their mixtures long after they should have been ready. It’s both a physical and magical workout, not how she wanted to start off the work, but eventually they have to throw in the towel and deem the cement usable.
Wiping her sweat with her forearm, she nods silently to Deimos, and goes about using a combination of earth, telekinesis, and trowels to direct the cement to the cracks to begin the patchwork.
- - -
Evie begins patching as well with both of her magics.
life shivers, melts, moves on the pain says I have come for you
They pulled themselves together despite earlier setbacks with the cement, churning and patching, working diligently until the cracks and foundations in the wall could barely be seen – drying out with the heat of the noon sun.
Even Noah, who ended up with portions of cement all over his clothing.
From there, and figuring out the revolution of the celestial body above them, Deimos figured they could carry on. “Good work. We should be able to finish the other wall today too.” And with that, amidst and amongst all the workers, they could meander towards the remaining southern tempests.
Glancing along the top wall, they’d find the semblances the Sentinel had noticed earlier – cracks and lines upon the peak, but nowhere else. “Hopefully this can go smoothly,” and he nodded towards the cement already mixed. “We can use what we have left.” And then go from there – depending on outcomes.
--
Nicely done! The western parts of the wall have been cracked and patched! Sorry about the cement, Noah.
Help patch the top portion of the southern wall! No post order!
The cement didn't fall apart and the wall looked almost as good as new by the time they were done. Tal sat back on his haunches and grinned as Boreal peered at the cracks he'd filled in and huffed a plume of smoke at them, unimpressed by slapping grey mud on stone and making her opinion of these strange human games known.
The courier just scratched her horns and stood up to see how the rest were doing. Noah was looking a bit of a mess and Tal tried to stifle his grin as Deimos gave them their marching orders to keep on keeping on. It took some lifting and carrying from various strong backs to get the cement cauldrons up the stairs and to the top of the wall where they could work from the air this time.
Tal rigged a simple bench from a broad plank and some rope and anchored it securely - very securely - before lowering it and himself a few feet down from the top to begin patching, round two. Boreal flew slow circles nearby, keeping a wary eye on her companion.
Tal rigs up a platform to work from and begins patching the outside of the southern wall while Boreal watches over him.
"Ugh!" The hunter grunted as the cement hit his coat. Groaning and grumbling, he tried to scrape it off before it could harden. He did not want to damage the garment, as it was made for him by Frey's own hands. Grumbling more, Noah took a step back and inspected his work on the wall. Despite Noah's messiness, the patching seemed to be holding and they were ready to move on.
Needing to move to the top of the wall, Noah teleported. He was able to help at the top of the stairs with moving the materials they needed. Talyson got settled in, and Noah did as well. Armed with another bucket and trowel, he set to rinsing and repeating his last actions -- hopefully, though, with more care and less mess.
---
Noah teleports to the top, helps move supplies, and starts patching!
i'd fashioned my own cross been crushed by its weight there's no stronger message than dirt in your face
Evie can’t help a small giggle, but she maneuvers over to Noah with a warm smile. “Here, let me see if I can help,” she offers, using her earth magic - which had thus far proven to be capable of moving, floating, and mixing the cement - to usher it off the Sentinel’s coat so it wouldn’t ruin the garment. Such things were far too precious in Halo.
With a quick parting smile - given how much work was still left - the Evergreen focuses on their new task. It’s far higher, so she uses her magic to levitate a few tools up to the top of the wall, and follows after the men the far more menial way: stairs. It means she’s a little slower, so she tries to make up for it by again using her earth magic to direct the cement in waves, hoping to spread it evenly and in wider strokes than her arm and trowel could.
- - -
Evie tries to help Noah with his coat, levitates her tools up to the top, climbs, and uses her earth magic once more to try and smooth/spread the cement.
life shivers, melts, moves on the pain says I have come for you
For whatever reason, these portions took far longer than necessary. The hours ambled away, through patching and working, incantations and enchantments, rigged platforms, and fellow workers side by side to ensure the job was accomplished. Which it was, but not without its own faults and flaws – not limited to falling tools, buckets, trowels, scattering around occasionally.
But by the time the afternoon rolled around, it was done.
With a long sigh, Deimos glanced along their efforts. “I think we are done,” came along a satisfied and content smile. “Now for the weapons.” Content with these notions, all of them could meander and traverse back to the northern arches and gates, returning used devices and instruments, until they’d spot the Sword’s already arranged armaments in sorted piles: miniature catapults, ballistas, crossbows, quivers, arrows, and anything else that might be snagged quickly for the use of war. “Decide on a location and place weapons there.” They’d have to think about where it would be best for each – along the directions and walls they’d already strengthened, and were due to do so again.
--
The southern wall has been completed, and with that, all the walls have been strengthened!
Snag a favored set of weapons and find a direction/wall to place them in! No post order!
Perhaps it was the fact that they had been working on this for so many days at this point, or worked the same amount of time on the skyport what are timelines? but this task took a great deal of time. Continuously bending and scraping, moving materials to their necessary places, was slow work. The sun broke and basked them in her glory and made the ice around them sparkle like newly unearthed crystal. Foggy breath puffed around each of them as they toiled and worked, and finally as Deimos called them back, Noah let his body relax with a drawn out sigh.
Gthering up and putting away building tools felt like a relief. The weight of tasks he was not as skilled at removed from his yok was much needed. Scanning over what Deimos had gathered -- or created -- and prepared for them, the hunter smiled with excitement. It wasn't excitement about the war itself, or the need for the weapons, but of the familiarity of them. Finally, it felt like something Noah was good at and could make an educated decision on.
Taking up as many quivers, arrows, and bows that the demigod could hand, he started up the stairs of the western wall. He placed the quivers about two-fifths of the way up the stairs, with the bows following suit. His intention of placing them along the staircase was that as soldiers ascended the stairs, they would be well armed before reaching the top and immediately ready to shoot
--
Noah takes quivers, bows, and arrows and places them along the western wall's staircase.
i'd fashioned my own cross been crushed by its weight there's no stronger message than dirt in your face
It takes quite some time, given the dilapidation of the wall. The afternoon sun is piercingly bright and sweat has gathered on her skin and cooled in cycling waves for the past few hours by time they are done. Her arms feel a little like jelly, and her magic has never been used so consistently for this amount of time before, but there’s no time for more than a brief respite.
Weapons. Okay.
None of them are her preferred weapon which makes sense given her favored types are incredibly rare, but it doesn’t mean she can lose out on the fun entirely. Choosing the miniature catapults and ballistas, she calls a small group over for assistance, and uses her thinly stretched magic anew to lighten even a pound or two as they haul them up onto the wall.
- - -
Evie chooses to place the mini catapults and ballistas.
By the time they finished patching Tal was ready to curl up in a patch of sunlight and take a nap. His arms and back were sore and he was definitely going to have to throw his current pair of gloves out after this, smeared with cement as they'd become.
Still, stifling a yawn, he clambered back on top of the wall and pulled up his makeshift seat after him. He was really hoping that Deimos was going to tell them to go home and get some rest-
But the day wasn't over yet. He managed to hold in his groan until he was away from the others, and Boreal crooned encouragingly as he trudged over to the piles of weapons behind the rest of the crew. There were fairly well picked over by the time he arrived and he didn't bother hiding his sigh, but it didn't stop him from collecting sheaves of javelins and stuffing them into his Bag. Then he climbed back up to the ramparts and began laying the weapons at measured intervals so the non-archers defending the Wall would be able to contribute by throwing sharp, pointy things until the attackers got into sword range.
Tal places sheaves of javelins around the top of the wall.
life shivers, melts, moves on the pain says I have come for you
For all the silent grumbling, they persevered, a strong, stalwart set of individuals. The Sword hadn’t believed he was pushing them unrelenting hard, and not with previous days, but he rolled his shoulders, snagging at the armaments remaining, and gathered them near the gates. Tucking them neatly behind walls, where they wouldn’t be known or seen by anyone charging in, safe and available, openly encouraged, for Halo citizens to utilize and bombard should anything come their way.
Everyone else was successful in turn, from Noah snagging at the quivers, bows, and arrows (though perhaps in his excitement he ended up dropping quite a few) and lining them along the western wall’s staircase, Evie’s miniature catapults and ballistas chosen in their portions, and Talyson, despite his moaning and groaning, placed the javelins upon the top of the wall, ready for the taking.
With that accomplished, there was little else to do, save for one thing in particular. Calling back to them in his deep, rumbling, reverberating voice, with a slight grin, he appeased the tired masses. “I will permit you all to rest once we have cleaned up.” Regarding any residue, empty buckets, cement portions, left behind.
--
The weapons have been placed! One last round – have your character pick up any residue, trash, empty buckets, etc.
Tal rejoined the others, trying to hide a tired yawn behind his scarf and blinking owlishly at the Warden. His shoulders slumped at the reminder that they still needed to clean up, but he nodded with tired obedience. It was no different than when he was building a new sled in the woodshop behind the Sundries store and needed to put everything away clean and neat after a long project.
It still sucked, though.
Too tired to complain, he toddled back up the stairs one more time to poke about after stray chunks of cement, buckets, or spatulas left behind. Finding a bucket with a hardened portion of cement first, he used that to gather the smaller items into while larger, dry debris was shoved into his bag as he made his rounds, first at the top portion of the wall they'd worked on, then again on the bottom.
Boreal helpfully found a sunbeam to curl up in and direct his efforts from.
Once he'd collected all the bits and bobs he separated them into tools that could be cleaned and salvaged and trash to be disposed of in the appropriate place.
Tal picks up the cement-related tools and leftovers, cleans the tools up, and hauls the unsalvageable buckets and dried chunks off to be disposed of.
