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!
02-27-2023, 10:58 PM (This post was last modified: 02-28-2023, 12:40 AM by Hadama.)
It would be another day before the King woke to the strange call that drew him to the Greatwood. Until then the Kuali'i Isles guided him and his human friend, their path lit by Hadama's starlit trident until they reached the hungry depths of the Maw. He kept close to Ray, ensuring she was well within the protection of his ring, and when they dove down towards the kraken's home he looped a cautionary arm around her waist. He had no desire for them to be separated in the engulfing dark, and as they went deeper he used his water magic to mitigate the pressure on her as best he could.
They had come seeking the hidden heart of the Arclight. Hadama carried a pale, bleached stone from the Ahi Coast beach; one that had spent countless years tossed and baking upon the strand. Ray held an aqueix to her chest, the watery bird wrapped in a fine net of kelp to keep it still and countered by Hadama's magic when it tried to flow through the fine mesh that caught and gently but firmly held it in its more solid moments.
We have come to trade, he called into the dark when they had descended to the place where legend held the kraken slept. His trident's glow and the starlit currents from his ring only served to isolate them in a sphere of dim illumination surrounded on all sides by the crushing black, but he held firm to his belief in the star-eyed owl and his trust in Safrin, and though his voice was cautious it was unafraid. For the map.
Sun-bleached stone: {SE} The darkness doesn't need us
Live aqueix: Tipping the scales
Ray looped her own arm around the waist of her friend, even more reluctant to be parted from the mermanta then the King himself. Hadama could survive down here alone, the Attuned had no such abilities. She greatly appreciated Hadama's efforts and made sure to keep an eye on their surroundings to do her own part in keeping them safe.
With her other arm, Ray held the aqueix in a gentle but firm grip. They'd come too far for the creature to suddenly escape. Soon they arrived and the herbalist took a deep breath as Hadama spoke. When he finished, she said her own piece. We've brought the sun bleached stone and live aqueix, just as the letter said. Pardon our intrusion, but we request that you complete the trade with us.
When last the Kraken had been bothered it had nearly lost its life. Only a trade of some small leathery-hand pouches had kept it breathing, and though it had remained deep within the volcano, bothering no one and tending to the smouldering heat far below that threatened to destroy Torchline at any moment, still it was being bothered again.
Hadama, being who and what he was, would feel the vastness of the creature's presence far more succinctly than Ray would, though the attuned would not be spared the colossal mind that lingered in the dark.
what.............trade.......... The kraken wondered from the depths, coiled somewhere far in the deep and obscured by the thick swathes of darkness that the lack of sunlight produced.
Encountering The Big Daddy Kraken counts as a rare creature encounter for levelling and MP purposes.
The merman paused as the kraken's presence flooded through him. Ancient. Powerful. Very nearly overwhelming. But Ray was at his side and a message received at Safrin's shrine had sent him here, and Hadama drew strength from both to keep himself outwardly calm. He trusted in his Lady and he trusted in his friend, and he intended to fulfill their trust in him.
Though Ray's words did give him pause, and the kraken's question did not, perhaps, bode well.
A creature of stars and sky, he rumbled, his low voice feeling far less deep next to the kraken's weighty gravitas. Brought an omen to Safrin's Shrine. At Aumakua. He paused, his own slow manner of speech feeling oddly swift compared to the being which kept the volcano quiet. He had no difficulty remaining respectful of the legendary creature, nor did he try to hide the quiet awe that he felt for it. It led to you. To find a map. If you have one, and are willing to trade for it.
The Kraken's presence flooded her mind and Ray let out a shaky breath. Awe tinged her thoughts as Hadama spoke. When he finished, she nodded. Yes. We found a note that said 'Wait until Longnight. Take a sun-bleached stone and a live aqueix. Go to the kraken in the maw. Trade for the map.' If we were mistaken, I deeply apologize.
The last thing she wanted to do was to offend this being. If they'd been mistaken and had awakened it for now reason, then she'd have to think of a way to make it up to the Kraken. Yet it made her wonder, if the Kraken was somehow unaware of this note or map, who had written it? And why?
Silence follows, though it's thick with consideration. A being as vast and old as the kraken has a mind as expansive as a galaxy, and often it takes time for the comets of its thoughts to reach their intended destination. Eventually, though, it seems to understand.
Trade. It agrees, or merely just confirms; it's hard to say.
Both Ray and Hadama will feel the water beneath them shift with the creature as a tentacle large enough to crush them with accidentally ease pushes into their field of view. Give them.
Hadama was patient. With both his friend and the Kraken he held his silence as Ray spoke and as the great guardian contemplated. The mermanta moved just enough within the currents of the Maw to keep himself and his finless companion within the same position relative to the one they spoke with as he could manage in the dark waters.
He was reminded of Remi, and how long it had been since he'd seen or heard from the dreamwalker.
But he was not as relaxed or calm as he outwardly appeared. He was very much aware of how small and fragile they were next to the kraken, and not until the vast behemoth accepted their proposal did he allow himself to feel relief.
He watched the tentacle's ascent from the dim light of his trident where it rested against his back. Yes, he confirmed, simply and without caveat. The stone was placed on one of the suckers and he offered Ray a steadying fin if she needed it while she dealt with the aqueix.
Ray held her breath as the Kraken fell into contemplative silence. It felt almost like waiting for judgment. Perhaps that was exactly what was occurring. Much to her relief, the great being agreed. The massive tentacle that unfurled made the situation clear. Even if the Kraken was amicable at the moment, she and Hadama were at its mercy.
Hadama handed over the stone and placing one hand on the King's fin, Ray gently placed the aqueix into the crook of the tentacle. The small creature thrashed a bit, but it was firmly stuck in the Kraken's hold. The Attuned pursed her lips as she watched it struggle.
They had presented their part of the trade. Now all they could do was wait.
Despite how small the items are in comparison with the creature's size, the tentacles of cephalopods are extremely sensitive, such that the kraken is able to feel even these tiny trinkets with incredible accuracy. Dragging its tentacle down, the aqueix and the stone lost to the darkness, silence spills up from the depths.
For a long while there is nothing, not even the monumental pulse of the creature's thoughts, until suddenly, through the attuned bond, there is joy.
i....like.... The creature thinks, sounding as if it hadn't felt joy in a long, long while. map............... It thought carefully, as if trying to place the word. From the depths another tentacle appeared, this one holding a carefully wrapped piece of parchment.
map. The kraken confirms, releasing the parchment for the pair to take. When opened, the pair will see:
What you choose to do with this information (and with who) is up to you. IF you attempt to do what is written here, post the corresponding thread in the admin-replies-needed channel.
He waited. Floating in the dark, limned in starlight, he held himself and Ray steady in the waters as silence washed over them. Hadama was comfortable in silence, and he waited calmly for the kraken's response. He was not used to being humbled, but the great creature below made him feel very small and very young and he contemplated his place in the ocean until the upwelling of joy rose through the Attuned bond like a benign flood, sweeping away the darkness for a few moments.
The map floated into the light of the stars that surrounded them and Hadama reached out a large, careful hand to grasp it and bring it close to share with Ray. Thank you, he thought to the kraken below. For this. And for your protection. For keeping the great volcano dormant for so many generations of Merfolk.
Ray waited in the quiet, her grip on Hadama tightening just a bit with tension, though she was careful not to hurt her friend. Then the rush of joy came, and tears sprang in her eyes. She found herself sending her own joy and soothing warmth through the bond and at the Kraken. I'm so glad. Everyone deserved joy and happiness and the Attuned wouldn't wish isolation on anyone, not even her greatest enemies. Seeing, feeling the Kraken experience what they were well past owed invoked more emotion in her than she could have ever predicted.
She almost forgot about the trade until the Kraken offered up the map. Looking over it alongside Hadama, the Attuned smiled at the Kraken's direction. Thank you. With her words came her own gratitude and respect in the bond. The Kraken was a being of few words, and she hoped that the emotions she sent would be enough to let the great being know the depth of her words.
Hadama sent a pulse of warmth to Ray through the bond before adding his own gratitude and respect for the kraken. Then, not wishing to disturb the great creature further, he tucked the map carefully into a pouch on his harness and shifted his hold to Ray's hand so that they could swim, side-by-side, back out of the Maw and towards the surface.
I will go in Flowerbirth, he rumbled softly to his friend as they traveled. I have not been to the Mistbanks. You are welcome to join me.
The waters were dark now, and navigation was difficult, but Hadama had swum the Arclight around Torchline his entire life and he returned Ray safely to the shore before he went back to the palace to rest.
Blissfully unaware of how soon they would both be called to the Greatwood.
