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!
Hadama met Ray along the shore in the dark of LongNight's never-morning, handing her a bag to tie to her belt before he shifted into his manta form and urged her to hold on to his back. Arcing smoothly through the water he carried her to the MoonKissed Reef where even in the darkest week of the year there was light below the water.
He shifted back once they had arrived and took back his bag, pulling out a large, closely woven net. There is one that lives in this area. The reef has benefited from it, he explained, pointing out the increased health and growth of the local sea life. Look closely where the seagrass grows thickest. With luck the creature would be asleep in the confusing darkness of the day.
As always, Hadama's ring allowed Ray to breathe as long as she was near him.
Aqueix (uncommon) - The Aqueix appears as a large turquoise bird with scales instead of feathers, and wings that act like fins. The body of the Aqueix is in constant flux between physical form and a liquid state. The Aqueix prefers to reside in rich coral beds or thick kelp forests. Wherever it chooses to create a home, the area is enriched and flourishes with flora and fauna that act as a defensive barrier for the Aqueix.
StAer Ring | A ring that allows any within 10ft of it to breathe underwater. When in use, the wearer will create subtle constellations in their wake.
Ray was ready to go when Hadama breached the surface. Taking the bag, she gently but firmly grasped the manta's back. Soon they were delving deeper into the water, the Attuned breathing easily due to the King's ring. As he shifted back, Ray eyed their surroundings. Alright. I've never seen one, but I read accounts of sightings. The Aqueix's bright coloration would hopefully help them spot it.
Sure enough, the current parted a collection of kelp to reveal s glimmer of bright turquoise. There! Ray nodded towards the spot, waiting silently to see if it truly was an Aqueix or simply a trick of the light.
Ray's sharp eyes caught sight of the waterbird before Hadama's did. He had been peering under a teeming tangle of coral growing atop the skull of some ancient seabeast, but at her direction he turned his attention to the grass.
His own experience with the creatures was limited, but he'd encountered them before and it took only a moment to determine that they had found their quarry far sooner than expected.
I cannot call or compel it, he admitted with a soft sense of regret through the bond. But we can swim for the Maw once we have caught it. I do not want to trap it for longer than we must. With luck it would be too small for the kraken to want to eat. Perhaps it would serve as a companion for the vast monster that lived atop the ancient sea volcano.
He shook out the net and offered one end to Ray, then reached out with his Water Magic to spread the sea grass gently and press it down around the sleeping aquiex, leaving them a clear path to capture it when Ray gave the signal that she was ready.
Sending a reassuring sensation through the bond, Ray tried to soothe Hadama's regret. Sounds good. The herbalist would also rather not keep the creature in a net for an extended period of time. And with the sun soon to come, they didn't have time on their side either.
Carefully taking her part of the net, Ray did her best to arrange it without disturbing the creature. It was beautiful and she felt a burst of guilt over what they were about to do. Still, she nodded and on Hadama's signal, attempted to close the net around the aquiex. She wanted the creature secure but unharmed, a sentiment she was sure her friend shared.
bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones, bones.
You've encountered the OG random event! This allows you to skip one levelling requirement with the character in this thread. (Unfortunately does not count for characters over level 10, how sad.)
They spread the net above it and then began to carefully lower the trap over the beautiful bird. The fish and animals around it which would have normally defended it were either sleeping or in a sort of torpor from the ceaseless night, but at the last moment a few small fish shook themselves awake and swam fearlessly at Hadama and Ray to try and drive them off.
Since the fish were barely the size of Ray's hand, it wasn't the most dangerous threat they'd ever faced, and Hadama calmly ignored them as the net settled over the bird's feathery scales.
The aquiex awoke swiftly and tried to shift to water as it flapped its wings, but the netting was too fine to allow it to pass its constantly-changing mass through and Hadama used his own water magic to press it gently back within the net. Can you scoop it beneath her? he asked of Ray, distracted by the battle of watery wills as he worked to keep their protean prey from escaping.
Ray ignored the small fish, though it did make her heart ache with further guilt to see them trying to protect the slumbering aquiex. The net came down and the creature awoke. As Hadama used his magic, Ray used her hands. I can. Gently, as if picking up a newborn, the Attuned scooped the net beneath the aquiex and lifted her up and off of her perch.
With the creature now fully entangled by the net, Ray brought the creature to rest against her chest, holding it firmly as the net prevented it from going aqueous. Adjusting her grip till she had the aqueix securely in one hand so as to free the other, the herbalist then nodded. I've got her. Let's go.
The mermanta relaxed his magic and relinquished his grip on the net as Ray successfully wrapped the woven lattice around the aqueix so it couldn't struggle free and hurt itself - or them. Its defensive fauna had been stirred into a wakeful cloud of confused and irate life by all the disturbance, but Hadama reached out with a quiet Your pardon, as he pulled Ray into his arms much as she had held the aqueix. He flexed his powerful tail to thrust them up and away from the pint-sized protectors of their prey.
Once they'd put enough distance between themselves and their small harassers the merman carefully released Ray into the dark water. The reef glowed in islands of light a short distance beneath and around them, providing illumination in the immediate vicinity, but the Maw was going to be a far more difficult proposition to navigate to.
The King unslung his starlight-tipped trident from his back and extended it forward to light their way. I will use my water magic to protect us from the pressure of the Maw as best I can, he assured his friend. But if it becomes too much I will return you to the surface. As glad as he was for Ray's company, there were some dangers he wouldn't subject his human friends to when they lacked aquatic shifts of their own to protect themselves from the environment.
