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!
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
"Thanks," Ronin(s?) pipes up to Hadama, smiling across at him even as he's nodding to Phoebe about the poles. "That sounds easy enough," he murmurs, moving to heft up one of the poles to set it into the hole he's recently dug.
"I'll hold it in place until it can stand on its own," he tells Jude with a friendly grin. "Then I can take over layering the clay and the stone. How does that sound?"
Good, he hopes, because while he's been mightily impressed by the boy so far, he can't help but have his reservations about Jude being able to keep a hefty wooden pole upright in the ground.
Ronin holds the pole steady while Jude layers the rock and clay!
our sun's still shining, but it seems half the size
Ronin is well within his rights to be wary of Judems arm strength, though his outward confidence bolsters the boy’s spirits plainly as he hurries towards them with his bucket banging awkwardly against his knees. Kneeling beside the post with rocks on one side and clay on the other, Jude smiles up at Ronin - huffing at his overgrown curls to clear his eyes - for the masterfully veiled offer. “I’ll try to be fast,” he assures, as if Ronin couldn’t hold half a building in one hand.
Days exploring the muddy Greatwood and silty Torchline shores have instilled a certain fondness and kinship in the boy for the earthly, dirty things in life. He scoops the clay in a circle around the post, patting it firmly down without wasting too much time being particular, and begins to lay the stones overtop. Round and round he goes, shirt and shins dirtied with no end in sight, nor any regret. He works hard, tongue peeking out of his mouth, and hopes he is doing well enough to pass muster.
- - -
Jude lays alternating layers of clay and stone around the post.
Phoebe smiled as Jude got to work piling layers of clay and rock around the post that Ronin held. That meant she could do the same with Astral Ronin, layering clay and rock around the post until the hole was filled. That left one more on their side and one more on Ronin and Jude's side to do. Things were starting to come together!
The Nightingale noticed Hadama drawing close to the end of his rope tying - but there were still rope related tasks that needed doing! "Hadama, once you are done tying the ropes together, please take the other long ropes and weave the planks onto them." she said, pointing out the pile of short planks near the edge of the river. Each had two holes on the short sides to weave the rope through.
Ronin - post holding duty for you! There is one more left on your side.
Jude - still on clay and rock duty! There is one more hole left on your side.
Hadama - time to weave planks onto the final two long ropes!
"Yes," he called back to the instruction, looking around for the planks and then spotting them as Phoebe pointed them out. When he finished knotting the last of the ropes together he swam over to the boards and stretched out his magic, using an arm of water to nudge the boards into comfortable reach so he could begin threading the ropes through the pre-drilled holes.
The work was simple, repetitive, and soothingly meditative. While his fingers worked Hadama's mind could drift to the curious nature of the half-submerged forest and the Fae who called it home. Perhaps there could be closer ties between their peoples now that water and wood had become so much more closely intertwined...
Hadama weaves the planks into the ropes!
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
"You got it!" Ronin trills back to Phoebe, before smiling down at Jude and nodding his approval. "That's great - do you want to do the same for the other pole? Otherwise you can just get it started and I'll finish it all up." It's making him a bit dizzy just watching the boy going round and round to layer the stone and the clay, but then again, he's smaller and thus more agile when it comes to this particular task.
Regardless, the Huntsman crosses to the other end of their side of the bridge, hefting up the next post and moving to ease it into the hole they've dug. While it's true that he could do this with barely a second glance, he still tries not to make it look that way. For kids especially, he finds it can come across as almost monstrous rather than giving off a superhero vibe, and besides, it's been a hot minute.
our sun's still shining, but it seems half the size
Whether it's that strange immunity to dizziness all children seem to have or the easy praise from the imposing but kindly-smiling man that keeps Jude working around the post is unclear, but soon enough it seems he blinks and the clay is even with the earth once more. His knees are dirtied and his hands have suffered far worse, but his spirits are high as he bounces to his feet and smiles back up at Ronin. "I'll tell you if I get tired," he offers with a shy but no less beaming smile; clearly the Huntsman has earned himself a new admirer.
The next pole is exactly the same, though Jude supposes he shouldn't anticipate anything more exciting. His tongue peeks out between his teeth as he works, wanting to prove that as much as he appreciates Ronin's assistance, he won't tire. As a rather active boy with a father keen on passing down the family torch of acrobatics, his arms are marginally better than overboiled noodles, which has to count for something.
Phoebe finished reinforcing the second post with clay and rock quickly, having already found a good method from her first time around. And when she glanced up, it seemed Jude and Non-astral Ronin had finished their task as well. How perfect!
Now came the trickier part - securing the ropes to the posts. Each post had two holes, one near the top and one near the bottom. Phoebe took up one of the long ropes that had the shorter support ropes tied to it and looked over at Ronin. "Catch!" she called out, tossing one end of the rope to his side of the river. Once he had his end, they could both work on tying it in place on one set of the posts.
"Jude, help Hadama by passing him planks as he needs them!" she called to her son. The mermanta had been working diligently on his own, it was high time to give him a helper.
Ronin - take your end of the rope and secure it to a post.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
Together it seems that he and Jude make a good team, though Ronin does feel a prang of guilt that he's just standing around and holding the post rather than doing anything more useful (or dizzying, evidently). "And I'll tell you if I get tired," he says with a flash of teeth, though obviously it's not going to happen. And before he knows it the boy is done, the posts are in place, and it's on to the next task.
"You've got a good one!" he informs Hadama of his new helper, all the while straightening up and reaching out to snag the rope that Phoebe tosses across to him. "I take we tie this off?" he calls back to her, already threading the rope through the post to begin knotting it in place.
Ronin catches the rope and ties it off against one of the posts!
It almost a surprise to look up and realize how much work had gotten done while he'd sunk into his meditative haze. The rope bridge was really starting to look like one as the planks were added, and the support posts had been finished, appearing strong and solidly anchored. Hadama turned at the sound of his name to see the child, and he tilted his head in solemnly amused acknowledgment of Ronin's endorsement of the lad.
"His help is appreciated," he assured the Huntsman and Nightingale both, turning to nod a greeting to Jude. "Thank you," he said, gentling the deep rumble of his voice. "I am ready for the next one." Holding out his broad hand he waited for Jude to provide the next board instead of using his magic anymore, ready to thread it into place.
Hadama welcomes Jude to Team Planks and continues adding the boards he's handed to the growing bridge.
our sun's still shining, but it seems half the size
Jude giggles at Ronin's assurances, burying it halfway into his shoulder as he works; he knows too many demigods firsthand and by recounted stories from his mother to assume Ronin would ever tire, but the charm alone is enough to inspire boyish laughter. The compliment makes him flush and beam before he scampers down to the bank towards where Hadama awaits him.
"Hi," he says simply as he arrives, immediately handing a plank over to Hadama. It warrants a grunt of exertion each time - he is still rather small after all - but he is stubborn and still relatively energetic, which leads to no delays in the passing of each plank whenever Hadama signals that he is ready for the next.
- - -
Jude hands planks to Hadama each time he signals he's ready for them.
"Yep!" Phoebe called back to Ronin. And they'd best tie good knots too or else the bridge would collapse when someone tried to walk on it. Thankfully, having spent time around the sailors of Torchline, Phoebe had learned to tie a solid knot.
As she retrieved the second rope she glanced at Jude and Hadama. They would be done with their task once she and Ronin tied off the second ropes - and Jude would be one tuckered out boy tonight.
When she saw Ronin was ready, she tossed him the end of the second rope for the second pole. It was a repetitive task, but it was necessary.
you've long seen your downfall, spelled out in another's bones
Don't you worry Phoebe, they'll be good, strong knots (58 STR knots, to be exact). And Ronin has also spent plenty of time in Torchline, so between them the bridge should hold for a long while. He straightens up from the first side, giving the post a gentle kick and the rope a tug to make sure they're sturdy enough, before moving across to hold out his hands for the second bit of the task.
"Got it!" he calls to her, snatching the rope from the air and getting to work a second time. It's probably the most social Ronin has been in over a year, and to say that the Huntsman is melting back into himself is an understatement. Ever the social butterfly, this is surprisingly pleasant, manual labour included.
Hadama's patience with the task stood him in good stead is it continued, but it would end soon enough. He nodded to Jude in gratitude as the boy passed him another plank and the merman murmured a heartfelt "Thank you," before he threaded the ropes through the holes in the board and pushed it into place. The planking stretched out quite a distance now, making a large pile beside them on the bank as the pile of loose boards beside it dwindled.
Even with the end in sight Hadama didn't rush the work. Each board was given its place and ensured to be firm before he moved to the next, and with Jude's assistance he no longer had to split his attention between magic and manual labor.
It was a quiet, pleasant sort of work with everyone pulling together and the Leafchange cool was pleasant beneath the shade of the trees. Even with his slow, methodical pace the work was finished eventually and Hadama offered Jude a deep nod of appreciation. "You did well," he complimented the boy.
Hadama also keeps on keeping on!
our sun's still shining, but it seems half the size
He can feel they're close to the end, and Jude can't help the excitement that begins to build as he notices how far they've come. It's easy to be distracted by the small things he had been tasked with, most of which involved looking closely at his hands instead of the greater picture. Now, in between handing the boards to Hadama, he can look out across the water at the bridge taking shape and marvel at just how far four people (and the extra Ronins, but Jude isn't old enough for philosophical talks on whether they count as people) can get with some time and determination.
The compliment makes him flush with pleasure, and he smiles shyly at Hadama. "Thank you, though you did most of the hard stuff," he protests in compliment of the older man, pleased to have helped in some small way regardless.
