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!
Eating fire is your ambition to swallow the flame down
Melita’s days were full of the foolish and nonsensical, for anyone but herself – submerged in endless parading, mischief, and immature joviality found nestled in the roots of her being. While others might have forged families, found themselves upon councils, or tangled up in other knotted, gnarled things, the Honeybee kept to her seditious traditions.
“All right Sila, let it fly!” erupted over the birdsong within nestled parameters of the jungle, and the young companion on her shoulder did just that. Flames unfurled from the dragon’s open mouth, pinpointed solely on a dried up, sad-looking plant that had died some months before.
Which meant it unraveled into a crispy portion of ferns, diminishing within moments upon the forest floor. “Well done!” was an overenthusiastic clamor of accomplishment, but perhaps the more Melita pursued angles of Sila’s confidence, maybe the potential would be more than just prospective prowess.
to be lit up from within, vein by vein to be the sun
Phoebe frequently used her free time - meaning time that Jude was with his father - to meander here and there, practicing her teleportation abilities and seeing all that Caido had to offer. Such was the case when she was found in the jungles of the Oerwoud. But it was a clamoring that seemed out of the norm that caught her attention. Pim screeched his equal curiosity at what sounded like a human voice not far ahead.
So with her trusty dragon at her side, Phoebe marched onward until she found the source of the noise - Melita with a trusty dragon sidekick of her own no less. "Melita!" Phoebe called with a grin as she approached. "What brings you all the way out here?" she asked, not having expected to see a familiar face this deep in the jungle.
Eating fire is your ambition to swallow the flame down
Had she not recognized the voice suddenly clamoring and echoing past vines, shrubs, and brush, the youth might have snagged at her weapons. Instead, there was an abrupt turn, a raised brow, and the sharp claws of her dragon along her shoulder. Fangorn made his presence known by her ankles, waving his own tendrils, while the Honeybee gave half a smirk. “Phoebe! How are you doing?” She hadn’t seen the other woman in quite a while – but given wars and reflections and all manner of things, at least the Nightingale had survived.
Sila’s bronze form stilled at the sight of Pim, and though the youth wasn’t certain what the reaction would be, she persisted. “I’ve been training Sila to use her fire.” For ultimately…more chaos. “What brings you out here?”
to be lit up from within, vein by vein to be the sun
"I'm well, and yourself?" she asked as she approached. And for the first time in a long time she meant it. Her heartache over Harper had begun to subside into an uncomfortable acceptance. The pain was still there but not nearly so sharp. She was well. Not good nor great, but well.
Pim arched his neck to get a better look at this other dragonling. Phoebe had been working on his manners over the last year, so instead of a snarl he trilled a greeting to his fellow kin. "Training? Mind if I join?" Phoebe asked. It would be good to work on her abilities and for Pim to see some action as well.
"Oh just wandering. Admiring all that Vi creates and Rae and Frey nurture." she said, wearing her devoutness on her sleeve. It was second nature by now to give reverence to the gods in all things.
Eating fire is your ambition to swallow the flame down
“I’m all right,” a common response uttered because to delve any deeper meant other thoughts wouldn’t be held at bay. Adrift and uncertain probably would’ve been a clearer distinction: from slaying beasts amidst the war, to now coasting along, staring at different horizons. She shrugged her shoulders, feeling Sila catch along the fabric of her dress and tilt her head in Pim’s direction. “Sure. Is there anything you wanted to work on?” Pausing, but not bothering to point out the massacred leaves and plants scattered behind them in their wake, she finally gave some credence to their attempted denizens. “We’ve both been trying for power and accuracy.” Sila for the prowess and potential, Melita for her precision.
She arched her brow at the devoutness and reverence, but said nothing more. “I heard there were some new lands and animals about too.”
to be lit up from within, vein by vein to be the sun
12-28-2022, 07:45 PM (This post was last modified: 12-28-2022, 07:47 PM by Phoebe.)
PHOEBE
It seemed she and Melita were on similar pages. They were generically fine. It seemed a common sentiment these days.
"I have some abilities that I would like to work on." she said, keeping it vague lest she give up the element of surprise. Not that she had skills in anything outright offensive, but she did have a trick or two up her sleeve.
"That's what I've heard as well. Have you visited any of them?" she asked curiously. She hadn't yet travelled farther than the reaches of the lands that had always existed. But she had heard tell of the new beasts and lands, keeping an eye out for the former as she travelled.
Eating fire is your ambition to swallow the flame down
The arch of her brow absolutely signified Melita’s inherent curiosity of said abilities - but when Phoebe wasn’t forthcoming, she only pouted a little. Fine fine, they could find out in order way. “You wanna hit some shit?” She pointed to several logs winding their way down the stream – perfect targets for fire (because then no one would die from the inevitable flames), precision (because if Melita missed, no big deal, it all meandered back into the water), and whatever means and measures Phoebe was working on.
While the Honeybee snagged at her bow, presuming the intended effigies would be all right, she shook her head. “Not yet. Did something happen in the Greatwood?” There’d been rumblings about it at the market, and naturally nosey, she’d listened, but hadn’t ventured that way yet.
to be lit up from within, vein by vein to be the sun
Phoebe only grinned when Melita pouted. In due time she would find out, rest assured. She briefly considered the logs, then shook her head. The Nightingale dropped into a fighting stance that had become more comfortable as she trained. "Why not make the target me and Pim, instead." she said, ready for whatever Melita would throw her way. Already she was drawing on the power necessary to cast her rainbow shield.
As for the Greatwood... "It was nearly destroyed. The Mathair was all that kept it together." she said with a bit of sadness. "Much of it is submerged by the Stonesong now, which is now called the Stone Symphony." Rebuilding had proven difficult and slow moving, but it was finally beginning to feel like home again. "How is Torchline?"
Eating fire is your ambition to swallow the flame down
Melita’s eyes instantly narrowed in suspicion, for she’d never known Phoebe to be someone who actively asked for weaponry to be used upon or against her. “All right…,” came on a dubious note, figuring there’d be some backlash forged along the way. Opting for her bow, and the training arrows out of her pack (rather than the elemental ones), she notched one along and proceeded to back away a few paces, nearly standing in the water.
Her gaze widened slightly to hear that actual details about the Greatwood’s plight, rather than just word of mouth. The Mathair holding it together, the Stonesong snagging at nearly everything. ”I’m sorry to hear that.” Because she was – the Fae had been rancorous for a long time, but it had never deterred the Honeybee. “Torchline held up well. We do have a weird couple of new islands though. Carnivorous plants. Might be some bones in the roots.” She shrugged, as if this was completely normal.
And then pulled the string with an ease of unpredictability, waiting to see what Phoebe would do as the blunted arrow surged towards her shoulder.
to be lit up from within, vein by vein to be the sun
Phoebe couldn't help her laugh at Melita's tone. Indeed, Phoebe was not one to incite violence against herself. But this was different. This was training. And she had a plan of action.
As soon as the arrow was loosed, a bright rainbow appeared infront of Phoebe, the second end covering Pim. The arrow would strike the rainbow, causing it to shatter, but left the pair unscathed and the arrow upon the ground.
"It gets better day by day." Phoebe reported with confidence. Usually that was where she could be found after all, toiling away to make the Greatwood habitable and thriving again.
Carniverous plants and bone roots was a new one though. She was briefly surprised but then grinned. "Sounds like Torchline."
Eating fire is your ambition to swallow the flame down
Ah, there it was.
Melita’s eyes widened again as the rainbow took shape – shielding, protecting, preserving both Phoebe and Prim. She and her two companions likely stood there gawking for a length of time, before finally giving credit where it was due. “Huh. Neat.” Head tilting to study it, she figured she could exchange arrows.
To up the ante, obviously.
“How much can it withstand?” was an inquiry she completely meant to test, snagging at the sparking, lightning embedded barbs, while Sila went overhead. She shoot the next arrow towards the shield itself, yearning to see if it would crack under the pressure of the snapping elements, while Sila, with some misplaced confidence, unfurled a roll of fire against it as well.
to be lit up from within, vein by vein to be the sun
Well. In hindsight, maybe she should have explained the shield first. Whoops. Arrows and flame came torrenting at Phoebe, but no shield was raised a second time. No, instead the demigoddess did the only thing she could - dodge. Pim managed easily enough, shooting a breath of rainbow electricity up at the other dragonling in retaliation.
Phoebe on the other hand was a hair too slow, but just lucky enough to only sustain a burn to her arm and a slash across her shoulder, skin prickling at the electric shock. She gasped in pain but was quick to act, her opposite hand rising to her maimed arm to send a healing pulse through it. She moaned, doing her best to focus despite the pleasure it sent coursing through her. Before Melita's eyes her skin and flesh would regrow and stitch itself back together, as though nothing had ever touched her.
"It takes some time to regenerate!" Phoebe called out with a sigh, glad she had escaped just in the knick of time to sustain only moderately minor injuries.but now she was ready to dodge again, weight in the balls of her feet.
Eating fire is your ambition to swallow the flame down
The slow dawning of recognition, or perhaps understanding that the shield wasn’t going to be a permanent fixture, pressed over her features in a slight grimace. “Ohhhh. Oops. Sorry.” Because she really hadn’t meant to singe Phoebe or Pim, even if they were working on accuracy.
Though Sila squawked surprise, flickering out of the way, but just barely, before arriving back at the Honeybee’s shoulder.
Not that it seemed to matter too much, since Phoebe healed with little issue. “Hm. How long does it take?” Switching back to the blunted arrows, for she’d save the others for when the shield returned, she notched another and sent it towards the Nightingale’s arm.
to be lit up from within, vein by vein to be the sun
Phoebe just chuckled at Melita's apology. "It's alright, I should have explained first." she called back. No permanent damage was done, and pain was part of life, was it not? In fact it had been a bit invigorating to manage to dodge as much as she had. It was a real sign of improvement for her, and one that bolstered her spirits.
Pim however huffed, not pleased to have missed his target.
Again her arm was knicked as she dodged, just not quite fast enough to fully get out of the way. But again she was quick to heal herself - with an unavoidable moan of course - the bruise that had been forming reversing at the pulse of healing magic.
"It should be good to go again!" Phoebe called back, readying herself for another onslaught.
