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!
01-25-2023, 07:20 PM (This post was last modified: 04-27-2023, 04:45 PM by Phoebe.)
You not wanting me...
The Stone Symphony was a beautiful result of the war, though some might think it more a scar than a sight to behold. But one thing all could agree on was its might. The Stone Song was a powerful river, too powerful for some of the shoreline which had begun to erode away. Today Phoebe hoped to fix that. At least, she hoped to begin to anyways.
The Nightingale had sent out a call far and wide, once more asking for help. She waited at the predetermined spot, a large grouping of mangrove saplings and bags of seeds at her feet.
Now she waited, hoping help would arrive soon.
Open PQ shoring up the shores of the Stone Symphony!
Farrow ran towards the saplings, careful to step quickly around any burgeoning life and new growth, though she did spy a bit of Peppermint Bark growing on some poplar trees in the area. Farrow slowed as she approached the meeting place, marking down the location of the trees. Even if the paths changed in the wood, she was happy to mark these things down, at least for her own records. She had a hunch that peppermint bark might relieve nausea if chewed slowly, and she was happy to have found a new location for foraging.
As she approached the mangroves, Farrow spied Pheobe waiting, bags of seeds at her feet. She dusted her skirts a bit, though there was nothing that could remove the earth stain from the brown and green fabric, what with Farrow's pervasive foraging habits.
"H-hello!" she called, trying again to smile when Phoebe swung around to look at her.
The Greatwood was a curious place. It was so very different from his salten sea but there was a tranquility there, beneath the spreading branches of the great trees. The Stone Symphony's powerful current was an excellent way to train in strength and endurance as well, and far more reliable than the riptides of Torchline. Since the War had sunk much of the land and he had gained the ability to teleport between bodies of water, Hadama had found reason to visit it from time to time when his duties could spare him.
As he had when they had built the bridge, he arrived from the water. Steel-silver hair gleamed wetly as he surfaced near the bank, blinking bright emerald eyes at the gathered saplings. The shadows above dappled his dark brown skin, making it appear even darker but the glint of his golden tattoos was visible in the flashes of sunlight that peeked between the leaves.
"Phoebe," he greeted solemnly, inclining his head to the pretty young demigod. Another familiar face was also nearby and he tilted his head again in recognition. "Farrow. How can I help?"
Hadama arrives!
Like the others, Sohalia had heard Phoebe's cry for help. Having a soft spot for the Greatwood and the Stone Symphony within its bounds, it was an easy decision to arrive at the appointed spot on the appointed day, dressed in long pants and boots, her hair in a long plait down her back, ready to help however she could.
Phoebe waiting near the river, accompanied by two others Sohalia didn't know. Soh flashed a bright smile to the group. "Hello, everyone!" she said in lieu of names. She waited in expectant silence, her eyes on Phoebe. The other woman had impressed her that day in the Eyes of Vi. She seemed so knowledgeable, so mature. It had stuck with Soh, and now she was eager to impress the demigod.
04-27-2023, 04:55 PM (This post was last modified: 04-27-2023, 05:02 PM by Phoebe.)
You not wanting me...
Phoebe greeted each person as they arrived. First Farrow who arrived in her shy, but sweet way. Then Hadama who appeared nobly from the water. And finally Sohalia who arrived with the same pep Phoebe remembered her for from the Eyes of Vi. She smiled at them all and then clapped her hands. Time to get to work!
"Thank you for coming everyone!" she said with a grin. "Today we will be planting some Mangrove saplings and spreading some other wetland seeds to help preserve the shoreline here to keep the river from washing it away." As she spoke she gestured to the various saplings around her feet as well as the bags of seeds to be spread.
"Please do whatever task you feel most prepared for."
And so it begins! The tasks are planting Mangrove tree saplings and spreading seeds on the shore line. All of the tools you need for these tasks are available. Pick your task!
Soh waited for instructions, gazing around at their surroundings. She was sad to seen that the shoreline was indeed eroding; she could see the signs as plain as day. She was glad that Phoebe had a plan to fix things; Soh loved the Symphony, and she would hate to see its natural beauty ruined when there was something they could do about it.
So she made her way to the pile of saplings and seeds along with the others, looking them over and making her selection with care. She picked up a sapling and carried it over to a spot on the shoreline, then returned for a shovel and some bags of dirt. She began to dig, glad that she had begun exercises to strengthen herself as she shoveled piles of dirt to the side. When she had a large hole, she unwrapped the sapling's roots, placed it in the hole, and began to cover it with dirt. Once that was done, she retrieved some stakes and some twine, tying the sapling in place for extra support.
He inclined his head in greeting to the last woman to arrive; a stranger, but one who came prepared for a day's work.
The riverbanks were looking a little worse for wear, Hadama could see. As much as he benefited from the river's expansion it was troubling how much soil was being washed into the water. Stabilizing the shore would help both the land and the Symphony both and he nodded agreement with Phoebe's wisdom.
Saplings would help the most, but the mermanta was ill-equipped for digging large holes in the earth. "I will scatter seeds," he offered. Swimming up to the bank he partially beached himself so he could reach a bag and dragged it with him back to the water, careful to keep it dry on his shoulder. Swimming slowly along, he took a handful of seeds and scattered them liberally into the wet earth beside the water, moving along with the river's flow.
Hadama scatters wetland seeds!
Farrow hefted a bag of dirt over her shoulder and gathered a small sapling and bag of seeds (which she deposited in the front pocket of her work apron) and settled down at the river bank. With her sleeves pushed up past her elbows, she began to dig into the wet ground, ignoring the mud that began to cake itself onto her forearms.
Once she deemed the hole large enough, Farrow shook the roots of the mangrove sapling, freeing the long roots and dislodging any obstructive clumps if dirt. She nettles the small tree into its new home and patted the dirt around the thin trunk before securing the willowy plant with some twine and two small stakes.
Phoebe grinned as everyone set right to work. She too set to the task of planting trees, as there were several saplings that needed tending to. And it seemed Hadama was most suited to the task he had chosen, unable to get on land as he was.
Farrow has no trouble with planting her sapling. It settles happily into the wet dirt, becoming pseudo-animated as it joined the network of the Greatwood.
Sohalia has a little more trouble. As she digs her trowel would hit a pocket of gravel. Definitely not good for a little tree to take up root in.
Hadama had likely the most frustrating problem of all. As he began tossing seeds, the breeze changed, sending most of the seeds he tossed back into the water.
No one ever said gardening was easy after all. And the Greatwood was picky about what grew within it. All the team could do was keep up the hard work!
Sohalia dug merrily, finding that she enjoyed the physical labor in its simplicity. It was hard but honest work, and it didn't take long before sweat appeared on her forehead, trickling down the sides of her face to drip onto the ground below. It wasn't long, however, before her shovel hit something hard and unforgiving, and she frowned at the gravel as she uncovered it with her shovel. That simply wouldn't do at all! She needed dirt for her sapling, not rocks!
For a moment, the young woman considered simply replacing the dirt and trying a new spot, but she suspected that much of her chosen area would have the same problem. So instead, she leaned on her shovel, biting her lip in thought. How could she most efficiently remove the rocks?
Leaning down, she removed as many of the larger rocks as she could by hand, leaving her with the finer layer of gravel to be removed. This she regarded with a scowl. Her shovel was ineffective at breaking through the little rocks, and she wasn't sure what the other tools available to her were, much less which would be most effective. Therefore, she shrugged to herself and got on her hands and knees, and began to pull out the gravel by hand.
When his first couple of seed-tosses failed, Hadama paused to reconsider his technique. He had water magic but not air magic and for once he felt the lack keenly. "Hmm..." He took his time considering his options before settling on a decision. Why work against the wind when he could work with it instead?
He swam to the far bank of the broad river and, with the wind at his back, attempted to scatter another few handfuls of seeds. Hopefully the breeze would lift them a little further up on the shore now. If the wind shifted or calmed he could swim back and seed the bank where the mangroves were being planted. They weren't in a hurry, and if he could work with the Greatwood instead of against it the job would go both more quickly and more successfully.
Farrow retrieved a few more saplings, setting them a few feet apart on the bank, marking where the new saplings would be planted before digging her knees into the dirt and thrusting her trowel into the damp earth.
Farrow's thoughts regressed until they knew nothing but the smell of running water and damp, petty earth, and the feeling of mud working it's way under her nails. It was methodical, the way she dug siglnfle-mindedly into the earth, clearing a home for new life, cleaning the small, spindly roots of the mangrove saplings and tucking them, gently and neatly into their holes.
One might have thought her care would impede Farrow's speed, slowing her down enough to be near useless, but springs spent sowing her mother's garden made her quick, and in no time at all, a neat row of mangrove saplings had been settled into the river bank.
Like Farrow, Phoebe moved right along planting saplings near the water's edge. It was a rhythmic, mindless sort of work. And with people around helping out, she was sure they would be done in no time!
Farrow has little problem with her tree planting, and the number of saplings needing to be planted dwindles.
Sohalia is successful in removing all of the impeding rocks, allowing her to finally plant her sapling and a few others.
Hadama and his ingenious plan work, and seeds begin to settle on the dirt along the shoreline. But there are still plenty of seeds to be spread, including a whole other bag of a different variety.
Congrats Farrow and Sohalia on successfully planting your trees. There are just a few left to go!
Hadama keep spreading those seeds, your technique is perfect!
It was gratifying to see the seeds fall upon the wet earth instead of into the water. True, they were the type of plants that wouldn't be harmed by a little dunking. Even the seeds that had fallen into the water earlier would wash ashore elsewhere and sprout eventually. For now, though, having the plants where Phoebe directed was better for everyone.
He finished his first bag and returned to the others to retrieve the second. The mermanta was impressed with how fast Farrow was working and he nodded encouragingly to Sohalia as he picked up his new burden. Continuing to work with the wind instead of against it, the King kept on sowing the wetland seeds up and down the riverbank where their host had indicated they were needed.
Hadama grabs the second bag of seeds and keeps on keeping on!
