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!
02-20-2023, 06:29 PM (This post was last modified: 02-24-2023, 06:32 PM by Court Official.)
A cry reverberates through the Wildwood, casting ripples across the streams between the freezing islands and shaking snow from the boughs of the naked trees. It is a guttural thing, this cry, tapered through with a warbling, haunting sort of trill.
Something exists here that should not be, and yet it is.
Shuffling steps whisper through the dark, as if some monstrous creature is prowling - or attempting to, anyway. Whether by claw or talon, paw or wing is unclear, but its direction is absolutely certain.
It heads towards the Sidhe Village. And it is hungry.
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REMEMBER: KQs are rewarding, but dangerous. They may cause death and/or permanent changes to your characters - join at your own risk!
NOTE: We aren't actually adding Owlbears as flora/fauna and this is just for fun, lol.
Everest, who still had supply runs to make despite it being LongNight, had happily taken this particular assignment. Having practically grown up half the time in the Greatwood thanks to Mateo, not only was he fairly familiar with the terrain (or he had been, prior to the war), but he thought he might be able to find a nice LongNight gift for his friend on his layover. So it was that the skyship apprentice found himself far nearer to danger than he'd have liked to be.
"Oh no." Ever whispers to himself in a very small and concerned voice. Having been on his way to the village himself, he was precisely in the path of...whatever it was skulking in the unnaturally dark shadows of the Wildwood. Pressing himself against a tree and trying to keep his breathing calm and silent, Ever listens for all he's worth to try and figure out what direction the thing out there is moving.
Ever arrives and hides behind a tree and listens; nothing additional from what's on his profile.
even if i had to lose you to know you, i'd still be that temporary phase that you grow through
Thank goodness for aquaportation or navigation during LongNight would make it significantly harder to get around the world when that mysterious sense of being needed somewhere struck the mermanta and sent him out of the Underwater City's comfortable twilight and into the absolute midnight of the Wildwood.
The water was a great deal slower in the Greatwood's streams with ice choking the banks, but the ice occasionally made itself an obstacle to Hadama's passage as he swam along one particular river, the water below him lit by the glowing starlight tines of his trident. It was his first LongNight in the Greatwood, but even he could feel that there was something wrong about the place. The sound of prowling - dragging? - whenever he surfaced gave him a direction and he followed it with grim curiosity.
Hadama arrives with everything on his profile and starts following the weird sounds from a waterway!
Ray was out the Wildwood to gather fresh herbs for her store when he hears it. Ice fills her veins, and the herbalist is quick to act. Shifting forms, she takes on swift wings and sharp eyes. Grabbing her back with her talons, she takes off towards the sound. Getting closer, she slows down, weaving through the trees with ease.
Once it's clear that the source is just ahead of her, she lands silently on a branch and scans her surroundings. If anyone can hear me, be careful! There's something strange in the Wildwood. She's not sure what it is, or what it's doing. But Ray has been out here enough times to recognize a foreign creature. Or maybe just a rare one? Regardless, she's never heard such a sound before and it sets her instincts on guard.
~
Ray arrives as a shangyang and hides on a branch a short distance away. She has her bag in her talons and sends out warning through the bond.
She has everything on her profile and the items in her bag: a dagger, three throwing knives, a rope, a waterskin, flint and steel, and various herbs.
Orbs of light beckon and call from the darkened angles and shadows of trees. Were those whispers of your friends? Family? Fallen allies?
Was that a scream? Could they be in trouble?
Is it all in your head? Just your imagination?
Or something else altogether – because what if it’s true?
You’ve encountered a Will-O-Wisp. This counts as a common creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. If you choose to follow this creature, you do so at your own risk, however, just having it in this thread is enough to satisfy your levelling requirements.
Will-O-Wisps (common): Glowing orbs of light that dance and weave between the branches, despite their usefulness, these creatures are not to be trusted. Mischievous and loyal to no one, they will lead travellers astray at a moment's notice.
Darkeye was on the way of his exploration to get his head free again. He walked part of his route along the borders to see how the change was affecting the Greatwoods. There was no leader who would have forbidden him to enter. So there should be no more consequences for him. Or so he thought.
But he did not know the sound. But he knew that it did not mean anything good. He checked if everything was still in place before going in the direction of the scream. The axes as well as the spear were still his preferred weapons. It was time again to give Kor fresh blood. He sprinted as fast as he could in the direction of the creature and tried to get an idea of the situation. He could not let it come near the city if it was aggressive.
Hiding and watching and waiting is wise, but it will not do much to help the Sidhe Village. Especially given that the party is not the only group to have heard the warbling wail of the creature as it prowls through the forest, raking its claws down the trunks of trees and cronching through the snow.
Torchlight flares just as a few Fae burst from the undergrowth to try and take the owlbear down, but with a mighty swipe of its claws, it sends three of the - oh, let's say a dozen shall we? - fighters flying. One is instantly killed, blood soaking into the snow, while the other two crack against nearby trees and fall, motionless to the ground.
Lowering its sharp, curved beak, the creature begins to feast on the fallen Fae warrior.
Welcome to the Key Quest. Your randomly chosen post order is:
A Will-o-Wisp goes by, but Ray only gives it a passing glance. No, the beast is far too distracting, far too great of a threat. And as Fae soldiers emerge only to fall, the Attuned knows she needs to act fast. Diving to the ground and shifting back to human form (bag now in hand and not talon), she takes a deep breath and calls out into the forest. Because surely there are felines here, whether it be a cougar, or a Cat Sìth, hopefully one will answer her.
"Felines of the forest, please hear me! There's an intruder in your woods, your territory! Please help us drive it out!" Ray knows that she's now given her location away to the beast, but hopefully help will come and make it worth the risk.
~
Ray dives to the ground and shifts back. She calls to the felines in the forest for help (cougar, Cat Sìth, etc). Her bag is now in her hand and not in a talon.
Can call like-minded animals for assistance (1 large, 3 medium, 5 small, from the same animal family)
The Will-o-Wisp gave Hadama pause, but the wild wail of a beast and the screams of the Fae were more important than the memory of his grandfather. Diving beneath the chilly waters he swam with conviction towards the source of those sounds, and Ray's voice through the Bond was an unexpected and very welcome surprise. I am here, he called out through the bond, his deep, resonant voice as recognizable to his friend as his tattoos.
Seconds later he surfaced to a scene out of nightmare.
Seeing neither Everest nor Darkeye yet, Hadama considered the situation briefly, but with at least one Fae dead there was no time for his usual patient deliberations. When mayhem and violence were on the loose, he really only needed to ask himself one question:
What would Melita do?
"Set fire to its feathers if you can," he called to the warriors of Sidhe Village with their torches and, he hoped, bows. The Greatwood was currently filled with both snow and water and he could, hopefully, put out any wayward flames that spread beyond the beast. Reaching for a chunk of sharpened ice along the shore he gathered it up and flung it towards the owlbear's large eye, attempting to guide it with his Water magic to ensure it reached its target.
Hadama tells the Fae to try and set the owlbear on fire and uses his Water magic to try and guide a chunk of sharp ice into one of the Owlbear's eyes.
Water manipulation: Can manipulate water. Must be within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent
Type: Light | Rank: Upgraded
Darkeye rushes as fast as he can now as he hears the scream and tries to get into position as quickly as possible. When he sees the creature, a mixture of owl and bear, he does not know how best to fight it. A bear would keep a man at a distance with long spears and drive it back. But this creature seemed to be stronger than a normal bear. It was no use trying to kill it. Perhaps another opportunity would present itself. But now it was time to save the people. The orders that were shouted made no sense to him. Why make the creature even more aggressive?
The Wisp was ignored he had heard enough death cries. But he would take him on if the opportunity arose. He hated to be reminded of his failure. In this as well as in the old home.
He threw his axe and tried to hit the creature on the back, if he succeeded he would try to put something in its eyes. But that was still to be seen.
-----
Citizenship Ability
The world is new to you, and you to it. During PQ/PQ+/KQs/Drops, you roll with advantage on luck-based rolls and receive an extra name during drops. (In order to use this, make sure to note the ability at the bottom of each post)
Items
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Upgraded
Throwing Axes | A pair of throwing axes crafted from the tooth of a giant landshark. They only ever deal basic damage, but allow the wielder to teleport up to 15ft in distance. Throwing the axe and teleporting each count as separate actions - they cannot be done in the same turn.
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Basic
Karmic Spear | A finely forged weapon with vines engraved along the hilt. When hitting an enemy, the weapon causes Basic damage, but if hitting an ally, it will give Basic healing instead.
Nervously shifting, Ever's dark ears flicker at the sound of a female voice in his thoughts. There are normally lots of strange things here...I've spent a good amount of time in the Greatwood before the war, and maybe it's... Whatever else the young attuned meant to say is choked out by the sudden blood spray and smell of death.
With no plans like Hadama or Ray and no weapons to speak of, all Ever could do was bark; so bark he did.
With his ears flattened against his skull, the black dog snarled and snapped to try and focus the Owlbear's attention away from the fae and the rest who found themselves in its path. Being mindful to try and stay out of its reach, the young aviator did his best to serve as a distraction.
Ever uses BORKBORKBORK and tries to distract the owlbear away from the fae while also trying to stay out of its reach.
Your eyes they take no prisoners But I'd love to be your visitor
There is a vast difference between calling for assistance and getting it. Alas, for Ray, any like-minded felines in the area know when to get the hell out of dodge when something giant and scary is around, so she'll not be able to get much help here without forcing it - and that's an entirely different skill. And when what goes down next goeth the fuck down, perhaps she'll understand why the felines of the Greatwood aren't keen to come and say hi.
There is a great BORKBORKBORKing at the Owlbear's back, and it puts it right off its appetite. Roar-shrieking into the night, it whirls and swipes at Everest, but perhaps it is the colour of the black dog that helps it, for the claws strike nothing but air.
The turning of the great beast's body does mean that Hadama doesn't catch the creature's eye, alas, but the spear of ice does impale into its muscled, feathery shoulder; promptly followed by the thock of a thrown axe from Darkeye. Blood begins to mottle the feathers of the Owlbear's hulking arm... claw... thing.
But oh, you thought this round was over? Nay nay. The Tidebreaker has given the Fae an order, and hearing the only shard of logic ring through this utter chaos, they readily comply. And then some. They rolled a nat 100 OK.
Bows are drawn and torches are hurled, and rather than losing light, all of a sudden things are a lot brighter, given that the Owlbear is now very much on fucking fire. Does this make it more or less terrifying, more or less of a thread?
You tell me.
Welcome to the Key Quest. Your randomly chosen post order is:
The owlbear goes up in flames and Ray really can't blame her fellow felines for staying away. But the beast is injured by familiar and unfamiliar faces. With the fire, she can't get too close, so the Attuned reaches into her bag and grabs one of her throwing knives. If any of you need healing, come to me. She's not sure if everyone can hear her, uncertain as to who exaclty is present, but it's probably in her best interest to be quiet.
For all Ray knows, she might be the only one present who can heal. With that thought in mind, she throws her knife, aiming for the hulking, flaming mass that is the owlbear.
~
Ray tells the others through the Attuned bond to come to her if they need healing. She then throws one of her knives at the owlbear.
His aim might have been off but he still hit, and the Fae did far more damage than he'd had any right to expect as the strange beast went up in flames. There would be time to feel satisfied later, but for now there was chaos. Though this region wasn't his he was still a King in his own right, and he looked to the Fae first with a command.
"Spread out," he called to them, having ample evidence of what happened when they attacked en masse. The owlbear had been able to hit several of them in one swipe. "Use distance weapons to distract it." Keep it twisting and turning as it took steady, small damage from the slings and arrows of outraged Fae. Such things could kill, given time. But there was also the axe in its back now illuminated by flames, and the barking of a hound nearby.
Grabbing a long, wicked-looking icicle overhanging the stream Hadama broke it off with a grunt and a wrench of bunched muscles, then flung it towards the owlbear - this time attempting to guide it with his magic to wound one of the beast's legs and slow it down
Hadama tells the Fae to spread out and keep shooting from a distance.
He uses his Water Magic to guide an icicle spear towards one of the owlbear's legs to try and slow it down.
Water manipulation: Can manipulate water. Must be within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent
Type: Light | Rank: Upgraded
