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!
Alys followed the eagle-Deimos as he flew across the tundra, spinning and spiraling overhead to keep her in his sights. She crouched behind boulders and scampered amongst rocks, focusing on quiet footfalls and on steadying her breathing. Still, when she arrived at the boulder Deimos had selected as their staging ground, she was slightly out of breath from the exertion. She took a few deep breaths, then peered over the rock where Deimos had indicated. There, beyond their safe haven, was the ursur: a large, wooly, bear-like creature with serrated tusks.
Alys swallowed as she observed it snuffling about, suddenly second-guessing herself. It was so much larger than she'd imagined! She ducked back behind the boulder and turned to look at Deimos. "I could create an illusion of an young or injured luxere to lure it away from the herd," she suggested, her voice lilting up into a question mark at the end. "The only thing is, I'd have to stay close to it. I can do bigger illusions now, but I still can't hold them very far away."
His mind became a series of machinations and considerations, all twisting, spiraling, contorting, and curling amidst themselves. Ideas fractured and fizzled, from being able to alter one’s scent, to masking it altogether, then realizing it likely would’ve taken far more power to create such an illusion. The Sword’s incantations were largely elemental – with some other crafty notions welled inside his veins – but he also didn’t want to place her in too close quarters. As long as her deceit was far more enticing to the ursur…
Brows furrowing, eyes narrowing, he stared over at the lumbering creature once more. “I can make some rocks for you to hide behind, and I will stay close by.” Any chance or opportunity the bear might take with her would be swiftly met with the Warden’s capabilities – though that was a last option and not a path he wanted to wander down instantly. He waited for her acceptance though, not rushing into things without the planning, methods, and motions in place.
Alys chewed her lip as she waited for Deimos's opinion of her plan. She wasn't quite sure what she hoped to accomplish; even if her illusion worked to lure the ursur away from the herd, she had not intention of killing it, or even really of hurting it, even if she was capable of doing such a thing. She simply wanted to scare it off. But a young luxere, wouldn't be particularly scary. If they lured the ursur to a new place, what then?
But Deimos suggested rocks to hide behind, and Alys nodded at the suggestion. "But after we lure it away, we'll need a way to scare it off. What scares an ursur?" A human? One human alone might not be very scary - unless, perhaps, it was Deimos. But a group of humans would be too large an illusion for Alys's limited capabilities, and it would probably be an obvious illusion if she could even manage it. Another ursur? If they were solitary creatures, then perhaps a bigger, angrier bear would prove to be a deterrent to the first. "I could try to cast an illusion of another ursur, maybe defending its territory?"
Deimos was ever the meticulous and scrupulous planner, but he also knew his own capabilities. Alys’s were a bit of an enigmatic quandary, for their limitations, strength, and accord. He’d only seen her wield them for more than a few minutes at a time, and the notions she was coming up with might drain her completely with merely the singular illusion. “I fear any secondary one may cause issues,” of which there could be many.
His eyes narrowed, watching the bear once more as it wandered closer and closer to the herd. “I can scare it away,” a promise of convictions and possibilities – parameters where he wouldn’t be mauling or culling, but certainly rampaging down into his intimidating parameters. It’d been a long while since he’d been able to stretch those tendencies, and to say he welcomed it wouldn’t be a falsehood; merely an unfurling of all the nefarious qualities lodged within. “Do you want to try now?”
Of course Deimos could scare it away. Somehow the assertion didn't surprise Alys, who merely nodded in agreement. "Let's do it," she said softly, leaning to peer at the ursur, which was snuffling its way ever closer to the herd. They were running out of time, and with a plan solidly in place, Alys took a deep breath, then called upon her magic.
She'd been practicing since last she and Deimos met, and her stamina and strength had greatly improved. She was able to cast larger creations now, and hold them for longer, though she still couldn't send them much further away. It was still a challenge to conjure a young luxere, only a few days old, using the nearby herd to inform its shape and mannerisms. She sent it, cavorting and leaping, from behind a nearby rock and straight into the ursur's path, where it promptly slid to a halt, bleated with fear, and started to scramble away, towards the rock behind which Alys and Deimos sat.
Silently, carefully, stealthily, the Sword shifted back into his hellhound form; something menacing, minatory, and full of predacious audacity. There were other options at his beck and call, the mighty grizzly, the thunderbird, the complexity of eagle or tiger, but the preference for something quiet and all-consuming leaned close in its familiarity. And so he waited, for any opportunity to maneuver and offer his own chance at bedlam.
He watched as the other mage’s illusions rounded along the corner of the boulder, towards the forefront of the young ursur. The makeshift luxere wobbled much like a newly born fawn, legs akimbo and struggling to remain upright, before the launching and leaping. Any such motions would catch attention, and the bear snorted, turning its head directly to newfound prey. It didn’t muster any thought process over how and why it had come to be directly below its nose, or meander without a scent – it represented opportunity. Food. Energy for the future.
So it grumbled, moving swiftly, quickly, to swipe its paw, but missed, and careened towards the boulder.
Alys was thrilled when her plan worked. Her wobbling fawn staggered toward their boulder, bleating weakly for its imaginary mother. The ursur followed, grumbling with excitement at the prospect of an easy meal. Alys concentrated, sweat beading on her forehead as she forced herself to maintain the illusion for just a bit longer. She just needed to lead it around the boulder and into Deimos's path -
It was then that she realized that she was leading the ursur directly to her. And that, perhaps, was not the brightest idea. As her illusion rounded the boulder, Alys let it die, scrambling backwards to hunker down behind Deimos. She crouched instinctively, hiding and waiting, trusting in her mentor to protect her.
The illusion faded, the bear faltered in confusion, and Deimos made his move.
Silent, stealthy, intentions clear so he didn’t disturb the herd, hackles raised and fire blazed between the pads of his paws, igniting a molten precision leading the art of intimidation to the forefront. Indifferent to the way the ursur’s eyes widened, he advanced upon the young creature, rampant and deadly, treacherous, full of warnings, compulsion, and commands. No words were necessary as he progressed, massive form bearing down on the other creature, as if it had stumbled into the wake of demolition, destruction, and was unknowingly facing down its potential death.
Even if it had wanted that unfortunately (gone?) fawn, a hasty retreat was in order; and it began to back away in haste, turning tail, clambering another way entirely.
Alys coweredhidwatched from behind Deimos, and despite her vague knowledge that he was powerful, she was still surprised to see just what he could do. In his hellhound form, he was a sight to behold, and Alys found herself emboldened just by being near him. She rose, bracing against the boulder with one hand, and watched as Deimos advanced on the ursur, flames licking up from his paws. The ursur took one look and turned away, running away with its metaphorical tail between its legs and leaving the luxere herd far behind.
Somehow, they had managed not to attract the attention of the luxere, who continued to graze peacefully nearby. Alys watched Deimos expectantly, as though waiting for him to change back into a human. Whether he did or not, she said, "That was impressive," with approval (as though he needed it). "I'm glad we got rid of it."
Predator inclinations arced and coiled within his mind; the impulsion to chase, to slaughter, to rip and tear the bear apart. But a latter portion of his machinations, ones devoutly entrenched with control, logic, and precision, played their fundamental role, and he ceased the inclinations, let the ice turn to puddles beneath his fiery feet.
Within another moment he was human again, watching the younger ursur trace the outlines of snow, barreling onward across the plain with more predilections left in its wild and exuberant threshold. His eyes ghosted back over to the herd, who seemed to scarcely notice or mind, making him wonder how they hadn’t been picked off. Or if they’d simply been stealthy enough.
He’d go with the latter.
He gave half a smile in return for the compliment, a snort tucked and muffled somewhere in between. “Thank you. Your magic certainly has grown,” he offered with an arch of his brow, perhaps intending to test out the mettle and grit more at later opportunities. “I am too, though we should start heading back.” Before they felt the need to mess with the luxere’s dynamics any longer; permitting the group to meld and mold and persist amidst the terrain. With a silent call to Belial across their bond, Deimos waited for Alys, and then ensured they began maneuvering towards Halo once more.
