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!
So many speculations, so much activity in such a relatively empty place!
But some of you have to be right, and there are only so many reasons for a waterfall to turn red.
Those with predators in their souls will smell the blood almost instantly; it isn't overpowering, as such, but there is enough crimson in the Mountain's Roar for the metallic scent to start to rise into the air.
There will be no sign of anything dead far above the waterfall, however - no sign of anything at all up there.
Something does bob to the surface in the great pool where the waters plunge, however. Something small and sad and pale, face down beneath the surface. It is uncertain how long Stevie has been dead, but the pallid colour of her flesh is reminiscent of ramphire on the Torchline coasts, of Ceffyl Dŵr in the Oerwoud.
But even with every drop of blood in her body gone, it would be nowhere enough to stain this place such a vibrant colour.
It didn’t take long for the scent of blood to tingle in Noah’s nose, and with it his hackles rose. He looked to Deimos, a questioning thought broadening over the attuned bond. He turned back to the waterfall when, at the base, a body bubbled to the surface. Noah did not hesitate, despite the warning of the leviathan within. Noah sprinted to the pool and into the water, grasping the lifeless body beneath its arms and pulling it to the Stoney shore. He pulled her out completely before laying her down, crouching beside her.
”Does anyone know her?” Noah asked aloud, his eyes moving from the unfamiliar face to the faces of those gathered.
The apprehension contorted its way through his spine, until the rigidity in his shoulders was all he could feel. Noah’s question only sent another wave, and his gaze went towards the gathered, and then the pool itself. Possibly. Which would mean more chaos and more destruction, and a long, long breath unfurled from his chest. Not recognizing the woman attempting to cause a scene, he gave little care –
Perhaps it wouldn’t matter in the end anyway, not when the blood tapped against his senses and caused his eyes to narrow. The bobbling along the surface thereafter gnarled and knotted in his throat, and then the body thereafter gave over to the notions that – circumstances be damned – there was more brewing beyond the war. “Like the ursur,” he mentioned to constituents nearby in quiet, careful, cool contemplation, watching as Noah snagged at the figure, but the stranger bore no resemblance to anyone from Halo.
Coincidences clambering and warring – beyond solely creatures now. “Have there been any others like this, besides the animals?” A question to follow Noah’s at the masses – to wonder if this was the first, the beginning, or simply notched in between.
under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody, but unbowed
yes, yes, I am wild I am the wind that makes breathing hard
It was in this moment Melita deigned to fade into the crowd. Unlike the Crimson Cataract, it seemed, for it was blood, not lichen, that rippled and churned, that mauled and wounded and laced the water. She blinked steadily, eyes searching the prone form for some semblance of recognition, but her brain, her memories, compiled nothing.
Not unlike all those animals in Torchline.
Was it coming for people now? “Why does this keep happening?” went aloud, rendered without much thought, shuddering down into her spine and clicking over her feet. What was the cause, the reasoning, the logic – if any at all?
I am the ocean and the battered shore I will be the passion of thunder, a howl of fury
Tal ducked his head when he realized that Deimos - and Evie, of course - had joined the gathering. It was bad enough that he was trying not to sneak glances at Remi and Ronin's attire so he wouldn't blush in a situation that really didn't call for it without the Wardens also appearing and sending a jangle of conflicting emotions through him.
In the end it was Sah that he drifted towards (though only because Boreal went over to greet him first. Yeah.), giving the other man a sharp nod of greeting as they looked out over the red cascade and some teenager tried to give orders that - unsurprisingly - no one seemed interested in obeying.
"D'you think-" he started to ask his fellow Halovian, but then something bobbed to the surface, Noah was diving in, and what he dragged out-
"Fuck," Tal breathed, and there was no time for interpersonal conflicts with this new escalation.
"We saw a water horse like that in the Oerwoud," he spoke up to Deimos's question. "She's the first person I've seen like it, though."
To Noah he simply shook his head, grim-faced, his hand reaching down to rub Boreal's horns soothingly as the dragon looked towards the red pool and began to growl, scaled hackles rising.
10-24-2022, 10:01 PM (This post was last modified: 10-24-2022, 10:01 PM by Sah.)
Sah
Sah sighed heavily at Lisbeth's continued idiocy. Her rude gesture was only a minor annoyance but then she had the gall to try and order multipel region leaders, including her own king, around like they were grunts. It was ridiculous. The Abandoned was tempted to say something but restrained himself. The last thing he needed was her going off on him again. "That's her by the way. Lisbeth." He whispered to Talyson as he joined him. Sah doubted the Accepted needed further explanation.
He didn't have long to mull over his thoughts when it became clear that his guess was partially right. It was blood, As Noah and Deimos moved towards the body, Sah did as well. When he saw that the person had died similarly to the animals, he let out a quiet, "Fuck." Glancing at Deimos he added, "No, but the incidents with the animals have been occurring more and more often lately."
His eyes then went to the top of the water were blood continued to pour, "But that still doesn't explain...wait." He glanced at the body and the lack of blood present. His brow furrowed, "Is... something else up there being bled out as we speak? That would explain the water." There was so much blood, and it was actively pouring, so maybe?
Sah glanced at the crowd, "If there's an Attuned who is willing and able to fly up to the top and check, that'd be incredibly helpful."
I think there for I am, But what if all I do is bleed?
and sweetest in the gale is heard and sore must be the storm
She couldn’t stop shaking.
Fingers trembled – for Lena had never been a person made for war. For bloodshed. Her heart went out to every single living thing. She cared and mended. Assuaged and soothed.
And when she could stare no more, the youth nodded towards those assembled, because to do anything else than shudder like a leaf wouldn’t do anyone any good and –
“I can,” blurted, emboldened out of her a second later, before she unfurled into a mass of pink wings and assemblage, intent on flying to the top of the waterfall – to find and search and gather information.
--
Lena tries to fly towards the top to investigate!
that could abash the little bird that kept so many warm
She inhales swiftly, and mutters a soft prayer beneath her breath as a dark-haired woman’s body floats to the surface. She’s already gone and Evie knows it, but the instinct to throw herself into the pool to fish her out, to try, nearly buckles her knees.
Deimos’ rumbled words make her nod vaguely, though they weren’t directed at her. The Ursur, the ramphires…it makes her feel distinctly ill to see so much blood, to smell even the faint tang of iron, unmistakable to a healer’s nose. “I’ll draft a missive for Halo as soon as possible. Whatever this is, perhaps we should forsake the meat and not touch any of the felled animals.” Halovians would never let meat go to waste normally, but Evie is stricken by the sight. They can’t risk it.
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
Largely ignoring anyone who wasn't Ronin, Remi folds his arms across his chest. Swallowing hard, his instincts riled by the presence of so many people gathered in one place were only heightened and made all the more agitated by the thick scent of blood in the blood. She will not find anything up there. He thought, nodding towards where Lena had disappeared over the top of the waterfall. Anything large enough to create this much blood would have caused a disruption in the flow of water. But, given the flood of water still freely flowing down, it hadn't.
Maybe deeper within. He suggests with a shrug, before turning his attuned voice towards the likes of Deimos, Noah, and Phoebe. Though of course all other attuned in the area would be able to hear him as well. We should not be here together like this. If this is some sort of trap- Had anyone else noticed the lack of ascended here...? -our chances in the war could be severely hurt if we were all somehow hurt or captured.
i went broke believing that the simple should be hard
Table inspo from kae!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
A lot is happening, and Ronin can feel his husband's metaphorical hackles rise at the presence of so many people, so many voices (Attuned and physical) clamouring for their attention. Before he can speak as to Lisbeth and the other woman's request, a body floats to the surface - because of course it does.
Between he and Remi, though, he's the socialite, and so Ronin steps forward as Noah pulls the body free, as Lena flies far above the waterfall. He doesn't think she'll find anything either, and he pulses the same affirmative to the Lullaby behind him. "I know her," he says softly, only having to glance over the woman to know that much. "Her name is Stevie - she's from Stormbreak."
And now he's feeling paranoid as well, because there aren't any Ascended here, are there? We should encourage people to leave, he says, phoenix feathers shivering across his shoulders and replacing his towel with sleek, black leather.
"It might not be safe here," he calls out. "We probably need to speak more about this... but not in this place."
Phoebe doesn't smell or sense the blood in the air, not until a body appears in the pool of red. She gasped, covering her mouth as Noah ran in to retrieve the unfortunate woman. First the ramphire and now this? The escalation was alarming to say the least.
But Remi and Ronin were right. This place wasn't safe. She had not felt fear like this since the time she faced a LongNight monster in the Hollowed Grounds. "You heard the Commander! It's time to move elsewhere!" she called out in support of Ronin's declaration, already moving to usher people away from the pool.
Lisbeth looked around, confused. Too much was going on, and everyone seemed to have their own ideas, without any sense of coordination or cooperation. And now Phoebe, one of the few people she recognized, was shouting orders from the "commander."
She had never seen the Commander of the Storm face to face, and thus didn't recognize him, but the rank alone brought a reflexive response from the soldier. Immediately falling into the chain of command, she began working to help carry out the orders and try to keep people from panicking.
"This way!" she shouted, taking a position on the opposite side of the crowd from Phoebe in order to help herd people from the other side. "Follow Lady Phoebe and do as she says." She ushered people along, trying to guide them to move in an organized line instead of a crowded rush.
Meanwhile, she drew her bow and held an arrow at the ready, eyes scanning the top of the waterfall. If the Commander expected a potential danger, she intended to be ready for it.
Not one to follow orders--unless she was getting paid--Morana decided there was enough of all this standing around. The bird girl seemed to be the only one actually doing anything besides loitering. Might as well join her.
The bird had the skies covered, so Morana decided to take to the water. She ran for the edge of the pool and dove in, her body melding and shifting and elongating as she dove. She slid into the water as a massive anaconda, her long body gliding through the water with ease. Maybe from down here she could see if there were any more bodies under the water, or any other clues.
---
Snake girl is going for a swim to look for anything in the water.
”Take her body back. Someone she loves is probably looking for her.” Noah told Ronin with a cold sadness rolling over his words. He lowered the woman’s body down completely at his feet before taking a step back and looking around at those gathered. The wetness that clung to his legs was washed with blood that burned in his lungs, and the hackles along his neck raised as the bear within him stirred uncomfortably. The warnings and speculations pinged in his mind from huis demigod counterparts, and Noah stepped away from the body and towards his fellow Halovians.
Youre right. Let’s move along. His words rolled over the attuned bond and he nodded in agreement. Lena, come down from there and leave this place. Noah reached out to the songbird as she lifted towards the top of the waterfall. He looked to his comrades, eyes moving to Deimos and Evie specifically, and firmly restated for them to hear, ”Lets go home. We can discuss what’s happening from the safety of the Citadel.”
He simply ignored the snake and the small soldier.
