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!
From Wrenzoak's Refuge, the silence of a Deepfrost night is broken quite suddenly by the peal of bright music.
The event does not begin in the way that some parties do, nervously and quietly with the arrival of participants in dribs and drabs.
By some act of magic (or Frey, more like), the masquerade simply is, brimming with life and activity, raucous laughter and masked strangers.
Strings of colourful lights paint the snow in cascades of rainbows, filling the streets with warmth and vibrancy. Food and wine and liquor are in free flow, and at the entrance of the refuge (and therefore the festivities), a table is laden with gorgeous masks in a near endless variety of designs.
All one needs to do is select one, step into the crowd, and dance the night away.
Welcome to the Masquerade! Please read the following carefully before posting.
1. This thread takes place in the REFUGE. This means that no attuned shifts can be used, no abandoned/demigod magics, no accepted channelling, no merfolk/ancient abilities, etcetera.
2. You may only use the NPC account to post in this thread.
the NPC username is NPC and the password is NPCaccount1 . There is a table called "Masquerade" already loaded into the account for you to use. Please don't add or make your own as this ruins the surprise/anonymity of who everyone is!
3. When you arrive, your character will be able select a mask. (Do this IC and describe it. At the top of your post give your mask a name - this will make it easier to distinguish between NPCAccount posts! i.e., "Sparkly Dragon Mask") When they enter into the masquerade anything and everything about their appearance will change. Obviously, things like skin tone/build/voices and other identifying features should make it easy to distinguish who everyone is, but hand-wave away those details! Write your characters with as few of their identifying features as you like, or give yourself new ones! (i.e., you can be taller, have different hair, a different build, different body, doesn't matter!)
4. The purpose of this masquerade is to remain anonymous and have a little fun!
5. For SWE participation your character must post in this thread twiceor post once and start your own break-off thread. Break-off threads should have [M] in the title, and can expect extra shenanigans ;) Yes, you can be in more than one break-off thread, but remember that these are all happening more or less concurrently so keep track of your timelines.
He doesn’t anticipate that picking a mask would be as difficult a choice as it is. The variety is surprising and with it, comes the host of indecision. He could go with those traditional colors that scream him, but what’s the point when it’s all for the sake of anonymity? Eventually, he decides, fitting a mask onto his face that covers it three quarters of the way, an emerald green and black checkered pattern that fades into peacock feathers that extend from the top of his cheekbone to curve around his head, while the nose section extends toward something close to a beak.
The rest of him matches suddenly effortlessly, dark pants and a silky, emerald green button-up shirt as he makes his way in, scanning the crowd of people and the liveliness, surprisingly unable to keep the smile from his face as he realizes just how bustling this party has started out. So he goes and greets some people, making his way further in to get lost in the crowd.
Keeping them maintained and to herself was the more difficult aspect, but her eyes adjusted to the masquerade follies rather than the surrounding areas. The sights, the sounds, the glamor, and the wonder was enough to keep her vastly entertained, and she took quite a few turns around the mask table, hands gliding over several, before finally selecting.
Hers was a rich ivory from the beginning, before finally extending outward in hues of gold and blue, mosaic like pieces starting from the eyes and branching outwards in alternating glassy fixtures. Not to be outdone, the rest eclipsed with feathers, contorting far above her head.
From there, she might’ve waved to a few strangers, but otherwise, beelined straight for the drinks.
A whirlwind of color, of lights, and sounds, made her heart beat rapidly to the tunes contained inside, and there were several moments where her hums began to match the pitch of the music and tunes. Not out of impatience, but perhaps excitement – something they’d all been sorely missing since the upheaval of war, the turn of demise.
She waited diligently behind several others making their mask selection, though once or twice she might’ve peeked over or around shoulders, striving to see and choose before she it was inevitably her turn. Once the other partygoers departed, she advanced, glancing towards the ivory sets. Drawn there for any number of reasons, the woman’s fingers danced delicately over an alabaster one, reminding her of leathery dragon wings, with an embellishment of light feathering upon one side.
It'd obscure her features nearly entirely – and for some reason that gave her another modicum of relief. Putting it on, she raced onwards, immediately straying off to the side; to people-watch and snag a few snacks.
To say he was reluctant to participate would’ve been an understatement. Perhaps because he was often incapable of anonymity, or that he was overly suspicious of the comings and goings of everything sanctioned and centered upon the event itself.
Swallowing down the notions with only the vaguest of silent, inward grumbles, he, unlike many, didn’t toil before the rows of masks. It could’ve been instinct alone that prompted him towards a mask along the corner: a dark blue, nearly black, like tracings of midnight, down the length of the nose. Matching horns extended from the top, nearly devilish and demonic in their design, and there was no more thought given to its features as he placed it over his face, and advanced towards the snacks.
He stares at the table with a furrowed brow, unsure of which mask to take. It's his first masquerade and frankly, it's a lot to take in. Finally, he spots a mask he likes and reaches out a hand. Running a finger over the black feathers he grins. It's a bit extravegant, but not overlay so. A black mask with gold branching through. What was it called? Filigree? It'll do.
Securing the mask, he then adjusts the collar of his black button up and walks into the fray. Spotting the snacks, he narrows in on some cookies and makes his way over. Taking a bite, he lets out a hum of pleasure. Chocolate and spice. Perfect.
They trip as they approach the table, pink in the cheeks as they scan the available masks. This entire thing was excessive but free food was free food. Who were they to complain? Even if they didn't like the idea of a masquerade or party, they weren't about to look like a fool with an ugly mask.
After a pause, they perk up. A white tiger mask has their lips curling up into a grin. This'll do. They pick it up and after an embarrassing long struggle, they finally manage to secure it. Coughing awkwardly, they stalk over to the snack table, tripping once more as they go.
You weren’t sure you wanted to be here. You felt it in your fingertips as you brushed them over the mix of different masks laid out on the table before you. All variety of colors and animals and sparkle and darkness mixed before your eyes. Deciding didn’t seem that difficult — it was easy to take the most plain, least ostentatious facial covering there was. It was the only mask you’d seen until this point that wasn’t an animal.
White and Black and Tan mixed in a beautiful array, mirroring and mimicking the birth tree. Small twigs twisted up off of the forehead of the mask to imitate the branches that twisted off of the young-lived trees. Carefully concealed by the mask of birch, you step into the fray of the gathering. You can’t help but clench your fists enough to whiten your knuckles once before relaxing them.
Bare toes passed over the grass of the Sanctuary, peeking from beneath a swirl of dark cloth with every step. They paused at the table of masks and long fingers hovered indecisively over the many colorful offerings. A glint of red and gold drew the attention of sharp eyes and was swiftly plucked from the festive pile. It was bold and bright, feathered and bejeweled, beaked over the nose and trimmed with chains of gold that hung down over the curve of each cheek. A peacock plume of crimson with an aureate eye bobbed above the flashy ensemble. Slipping it on sent a shiver of sparks down the reveler’s body, clothing it in a tight-fitting bodice of citrine and ruby that darkened as it flowed down into skirts that rippled over slim hips until they were black at slippered feet. Tiny crystals of red and gold woven into the fabric flashed with every shift and rustle that revealed them within the skirt’s folds.
A slender hand ran down the curves that were now sumptuously bedecked, lingering over the rich fabric. An indrawn breath of surprise and delight caught in her throat and she gave a cautious, experimental twirl of the dress before lifting the heavy skirts and proceeding in to join the party with her head held high, fiery red hair piled into an intricate up-do except for the loose curls that framed her hidden face.
The variety of masks, and the clear quality of their craft, is a balm on her nerves. While socializing is fun, the refuge's powers make her feel strangely bereft, and the anonymity of it all is more intimidating than exciting. Still, she chooses a cutely smiling, thick-cheeked mask to try and emulate the creature's positivity.
It's strange to see her hair be a different color as it falls over her shoulders in front of her, a stark ivory that she can't help but privately admire. Nobody is really...mingling yet though? Though she's not much of a drinker, she plucks a dainty flute from a collection of bubbling beverages and swallows half of it in one go, eyes scanning the crowd before diving right in. Alright, who has the most opposite vibe of her happily smiling mask? Normally she'd say the dragons, but the strangely demonic blue mask is downright frightening. Not an animal, but she'll take it; target acquired.
Swanning over and using her newfound anonymity to her advantage, the red panda woman smiles and bows in a distinctly masculine manner, ivory curls spilling everywhere. "Want to kick this shindig off? You'd think the anonymity would mean some bravery, but clearly it's a little lacking today." And if she can do one thing, it's talk.
A masquerade? Oh, of course she must go. She could go on and on about how she'd primped and prepped for this evening, trying to reach for an old feeling that hasn't been present in herself or Caido in so long, but that's not nearly as exciting as her actual presence. So she slinks into the crowd, a dark wolf mask affixed to her face that is at odds with her beautiful smiling lips but perfectly harmonious with her dark, short hair. Her bare nape feels incredibly strange, but admittedly freeing. It's all part of the change, the newness.
There are so many to ogle and coo over, though most seem shy and reluctant. It leaves her with her pick of the litter, so to speak. There is a distressed looking person in a birch mask that she sidles up next to, dark eyes nearly blending in with the hues of her mask as she peers through it at the perfect stranger. "Not used to parties?" she says silkily, unassuming and almost comforting, hoping to strike up conversation.
Wow, okay, this mask is delightfully large and opulent. Certainly not something he'd normally pick for himself, but wasn't the point of the masquerade to be someone else? Pretend for a little while? Well, in that case, he's nothing if not an actor. There seems to be a small handful of women trying to strike up a conversation in the pool of people he finds himself in, and the happy chatter on the sidelines seems to be the ambiance that they should be emulating. Perhaps they're all just a little wrong-footed? Or maybe, like sheep, all the awkward and antisocial individuals merely flock together.
Deciding to help out the others, the lion-clad man approaches the clumsy woman in a white tiger mask heading for the snack table, just as intent on the food but hoping to strike up a conversation as well. "Do you think lions and tigers are friends? Or should we invite a bear and make it official?" he says with a shameless grin at his own terrible line as he joins her at the table, eyes more on her than the food for the moment.
They look up as they hear footsteps, glancing over to see a gold lion mask with giant feathered cheeks. They hadn't been expecting someone to approach them, much less talk to them. And was that...a pickup line? Their brain froze, static in their ears as they tried to process the situation.
After a moment they cleared their throat, "Um..no? I don't do friends. And I'm not having sex with you." They reach behind them and grab the first thing that they can, a pastry. Shoving it in their mouth, their cheeks burn. Why did they just say that?? it was true, but still. Damn it all, this was why they avoided people. People meant obligations and fake friendships. And weird guys in lion masks flirting with you and eyeing you like the snack that you most definitely are not.
He wasn’t sure it was that kind of party yet, but since it was a Frey party he wasn’t counting anything out.
And he had priorities.
It actually took some work to find the simplest mask on the table, but the little white silk domino mask with the flaring corners fit right into place over his eyes, comfortable and snug. He twitched a little when he looked down to see his clothes had become so fine and fancy: black pants and a tailed jacket over a white vest and bow tie, all topped off with a tall black top hat and a cape lined in red silk.
Weird flex, Frey, but okay.
With a shrug the tall, elegant man headed for the snack table. He gave the White Tiger and the Gold Lion a cautious nod before snagging a wine glass and tucking in to the provisions.
