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!
and sweetest in the gale is heard and sore must be the storm
Munching on a few berries, she waved to several passersby that she knew well, and then to her surprise, Sohalia joined her. “Hello,” she offered in return, nodding her head. “Wonderful dress. Did you make it yourself?” Admiring the gown, she smiled, head tilting vaguely. “It’s lovely here.” And she was content, glad, for the moment, that nothing untoward or dangerous caused some nefarious interruption, but she wouldn’t say it out loud, in case of bringing the notions and daring something to come to the forefront. “You can join me for some snacking if you’d like,” extending her hand towards the chairs and food nearby.
But she was ultimately distracted by the young Accepted’s entrance – as flashy as he’d promised. The botanist’s gown of flowers were beautiful and exotic to behold, and she could only concede her grin as Mateo approached and passed through. “Well, aren’t you a sight!”
that could abash the little bird that kept so many warm
He grinned and joined the party with his friend beside him, leading his partner the way she'd helped him practice when it had been just the two of them promenading around her living room. His feet were steady over the grass, encased in sensible boots rather than fancy shoes since he wasn't above leaning into Halovian tradition if it meant a little more comfort and security.
He was painfully aware of all of the people around them, from strangers to friends to others, and all the eyes that entailed and he felt the heat starting to rise in his ears and the back of his neck. Before he could stumble Hotaru's hand shifted to his shoulder and she slipped into the frame of the dance that she'd taught him without thinking. Better still, she sparked his pride with her teasing challenge and Tal took a deep breath, managing a grin - slightly unsteady but sincere - back. "Ready when you are!" he declared, waiting for the musicians to strike up the next song before he stepped into the first moves of the dance.
04-27-2023, 06:23 PM (This post was last modified: 04-27-2023, 06:45 PM by Odd.)
GHILIO
All sorts of things had been left as offerings: a splash of liquor, a few bejewelled flowers, a glass boat, and even a cookie. Quite what should be left as an offering for the reclusive seasonal deity was anyone's guess, really, though some had certainly done better than others.
Ghilio does not appear at the head of the banquet table so much as he grows out of the gnarled and twisted roots serving as a seat. His long fingers clutch at the arms of his chair as he scowls out at those who have opted to dance in the warm sunlight. With moss furrowing his brows like tufts of hair, the deity leans back and surveys the merriment and decadence set out before him with utter disinterest.
"Come--" The giant spriggan grumbles as he reaches for a goblet made of clay and wood. All such goblets on the table have been filled with water as sweet and pure as anything anyone present will have ever had against their lips, but for one attendee in particular, theirs is perhaps slightly different. Whether the Sword had simply brought the deity the most appropriate offering or if perhaps the being saw something it recognized and approved of in the gruff and occasionally terse Warden was anyone's guess.
With a private smirk that might merely have been the twisted bark-like skin of Ghilio's mouth and nothing more, a crown of brilliant and swollen flowers appears on Deimos's head.
Spring Water | Held in a clay cup that cannot spill, this water can fully restore the HP of anyone/anything who drinks from it and removes any status effects they might have. One use.
Seeing that Melita had already begun to test the tastiness of the day's offerings, Hadama was hopeful that the feast would be up to their usual standards. He listened patiently to the list, and while the early options may have seemed plan to a landwalker they were still interesting to a seadweller. His smile was slow but warm as he considered the options and came to his decision.
"Boar, please," he rumbled. "And a honeyed potato. And one of each kind of sweet." The last was added with a hint of challenge in his eyes and quiet laughter beneath his words.
But then their host arrived, and Hadama grew silent and respectful again in the presence of a deity. Ghilio was an impressive sight for all his brusqueness, and Hadama drank deeply from the cup he found near at hand.
Melita gave the mer-King a swift nod, before she was dashing away to the table, snagging at the preferred food items. With a plate, a slice of boar, honeyed potato, and then the wide variety of sweets (popping several into her own mouth on the way by), the youth bounded back over with regular aplomb. She must’ve looked like some whirling dervish through the entire ball, but remained wholly indifferent to the motions. “Here you go!” She passed them back to Hadama, before being interrupted by Ghilio – eyes widening, cup in hand, she raised it towards the seasonal god, before taking a sip, stirred to utter silence.
This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight
It was quite a rare thing for Sohalia to feel out of place, but at this event, she couldn't help herself. Lena spoke with her for but a moment before going to meet someone else she knew; Deimos nodded in her direction, but was distracted by the woman at his side. Talyson danced with a woman Soh didn't recognize, and Melita snagged food items from the tables to bring to a merman nearby. It had been a while since Soh felt quite so alone, and she didn't particularly enjoy the sensation.
She found herself thinking of Harper, who had been so kind to her but had elected not to come to the ball; and of Jude, who she had bonded so closely with that day in the woods. Perhaps if they were here, the loneliness wouldn't feel quite so palpable. To distract herself, Soh wandered over to the food table. She was poring over her options when Ghilio grew from a seat in the midst of the party, and Soh peered at the being from beneath her lashes as she selected her food, trying not to stare.
Plenty come up to say their hellos, or imply it in their gazes from across the field, and Evie returns them all with a bright smile. Though Deimos has nearly all of her attention aside from those brief interactions, which is utterly unsurprising. Not that it helps that he has somehow managed to correctly guess who she'd been at a literal magical masquerade.
"I'm sure plenty of others would have been bold enough," she argues weakly, envisioning Hotaru's intrepid nature, Melita's desire for mischief, even Hadama's polite intrigue. Then she grins. "Though, I did have my suspicions; a man skulking around at the food table ignoring all social niceties? What were the odds?" Laughter dances in her eyes as she gently squeezes the inside of his elbow where he had gracefully maneuvered her hand.
She's not expecting Ghilio to actually make an appearance at the party, and can't help but stare in awestruck silence as he quite literally grows from his surroundings. When the deity bids Deimos forward she jumps, even though it was not she who was summoned, and removes her arm to gently usher him forward while she bites her tongue to withhold her excitement. Waiting only until he has returned to goggle at him. "That's amazing! I can't believe your luck!" Even a plain, empty cup would be worth being noticed so plainly and in view of all others, and Evie's heart is fit to burst with pride for her beloved.
the difference between a garden and a graveyard is what we choose to put in the soil
He snorted at Evie’s doomed argument, brow arching at the weight of false implications; though not her suspicions, which caused a brief bout of laughter. “Fair enough.” Had there not been food at all, he would’ve stuck and clung to the shadows and simply waited the hours out, hoping to somehow dissipate into the corridor and be left alone for the duration of the awkward evening.
With no decision made on either food or dancing, the choice was ultimately made for them when Ghilio’s appearance was made whole, real, and tangible. The Sword had never seen the spriggan personally, but perhaps he should’ve expected the way the seasonal deity took shape – a poignant representation of earth and renewal. The beckoning made them draw near, and he thought nothing more of it –
- until suddenly there was another crown on his head, and a cup with far more than simple water in it. His eyes widened more than fractions, glancing back and forth between individuals to see if their stances had been altered too, when Evie seemed to signify he’d been singled out. For what reason, he certainly had no idea, but he lifted his drink to Ghilio, a nod of two flower diadems melded together on his head. “Thank you,” he uttered in a deep rumble, before returning to the Evergreen’s exclaims with his own stunned shrug of shoulders and disbelief.
Alys stuck a hand in her pocket, fingering the tarot deck that lay there and watching the partygoers in silence. She wasn't particularly bored or upset that she was alone; for her, it was simply a state of being. She would be sure to say hello to those she knew at some point during the party, like Deimos, Talyson, and Hotaru, but for now, she was content to sit and watch.
She was, however, unimpressed by the seasonal deity, who, in her mind, was only marginally better than the other gods and heralds that roamed Caido. She sighed to herself as he bestowed a flower crown unto Deimos, hmphing a small chuckle at the sight of the man wreathed in flowers. There was something entertaining about such a large person having something so delicate on their person. She had to admit they were pretty flowers, though.
Noah could have laughed his ass off in front of all of these people. It was only the presence of the seasonal deity that kept him from doing so, but the effort was easily displayed on his face as his cheeks and ears both burned red hot.
He made his way over to Deimos after a while and did not hesitate to reach out and pluck a petal from the flower crown. "I'll send a raven to the painter." He nearly barked, the strain of keeping his laughter in coming to be too much. He let it loose in a controlled chuckle, and looked to Evie to see if she would have more to add.
