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!
Needing a fresh breath of air, Iskra poked his head out of the room and gasped. This gave the debris time to settle and after a few moments of breathing outside Iskra ducked back into the room, ready to find...something worthwhile of his efforts. Instead, he found he'd nearly made it worse. Swearing under his breath and gritting his teeth he tossed the broom to the side, opting for a mop and water bucket instead. He'd been too rushed to notice some already present moisture which had sapped all the dust into a filthy slurry. Grabbing the mop handle and swirling it around until it was only damp rather than soaked, he set to work mopping the tops of the walls, knowing everything nasty would drip down, so no point starting low.
Meanwhile, Goose stopped his pacing and sat, still fixated on the ningo. Every so often he'd silently bite at the air, unclear if it was a silet bark or an attempt at eating the bird. The two appeared equally matched in intelligence.
The residual moisture lingering in the void seemed to be amplifying issues, and it took Deimos more than a moment to realize; too involved in his own tasks. His eyes narrowed as more of the grime seemed to merely stick to the walls and the floor, no matter what Iskra did, and despite the Valkyrie’s best efforts, Hotaru would find her attempts at caulking the gaps to be somewhat abysmal too, sticking, then dripping down the frames.
Finishing up on the bars, with them solid and replaced, lacking the residual rust, he maneuvered into the middle of the room. “Let me see if I can dry the place out,” and hopefully, on those notions, they’d be able to continue. Dust would settle. Caulk could take up residence.
The Mastered Air compunctions and enchantments honed to his degrees of control, neither brisk nor wild, but just right to lift the masses of the thick, oppressive liquid from the surroundings, peeling and picking it away until the celled area no longer seemed to be dripping and vile. Nodding to the others, he went to assist Hotaru with the windows. “Try again.”
And all the while, the ningo sought its chance – striving to divebomb Goose.
--
Not great rolls, but Deimos has dried out the area. Try again!
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
If you already don't want to be doing something, and then that something becomes worse than you imagined because of course it does, well it kind of puts you in a bad mood. Iskra began to sputter like a candle flame in the wind, aware all too quickly that his wall-mopping efforts were equally pointless. To be fair, an actual scrub brush would have been a bit more useful than a mop, but still, it felt like this place didn't want to be clean. If that was the case, why was Iskra forcing it really? Couldn't they all just go to the bar...
Slamming the mop into the bucket with a frustrated splash, Iskra paced the room briefly, seething as he squinted at the walls. At this time Deimos announced an idea for assistance, the ripple of magic coursing through the air, billowing around Iskra as it wriggled into each and every pocket of the rooms. Iskra flexed his palm open and shut, aware not for the first time, and likely not the last, that his lack of training in his magic was often a detriment in this life. Perhaps he ought to chop less wood and crack open more books...
Well, self-improvement could come after this damn room's improvement, if he'd ever make it out of here. Grabbing his original tool, the broom, once again he tackled the walls, pausing sooner to see if it was a worthwhile attempt before draining himself again.
Meanwhile, Goose's attention was drawn to Deimos as the drying happened, giving him a lack of focus on the Ningo right as it dived down. He only caught it at the tail end and by then scrambled to dodge, startled more than actually scared, but a high-pitched yelp escaping nonetheless.
- - - -
Iskra tries to sweep the walls now that they've dried and Goose is startled by the Ningo.
It’s irritation that creases her pretty face, not frustration - not yet - but she clicks her tongue in a dismissive, regal manner as the caulk sticks and gunks unpleasantly. She steps back, heedless of her messy fingers, and is reevaluating the area to determine the issue when Deimos swoops in to the rescue, having already figured it out. He then comes to join her, and her previous irritation smooths away into a warm smile, her gratitude for his quick thinking felt instead of heard.
So here they go again. Wiping her fingers off on the rag so she isn’t smoothing the new caulk with less-than-smooth fingers, then cleaning up the drips on the frames, Ru diligently keeps at it, never one to accept defeat even in the smallest of ways. She will make the jail, in its woeful entirety, bend to her will one way or another.
- - -
Ru wipes her fingers and the precious mess and tries again!
Painful lust Two aching guts
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Finally, it all seemed to come together; caulk and floors, walls and grime, dust, dirt, and debris rankled and come to heel as the air settled and dried. Content with their feelings of accomplishment, he nodded to each in turn, snorting at the waves of calm descending through attuned measures. Deimos even permitted the smallest of sighs when he witnessed all of it piece over – save for the ningo.
He’d been rather hopeful that the dog would take care of it, but it seemed that was a fruitless venture too. In a matter of moments, he rolled his eyes, and sent the beast sprawling via another healthy burst and gust of air, until it managed to find some semblance of freedom (probably out that hole in the office).
“I think we are set here, for now,” though his eyes chanced a glance at the nest. “Unless someone wants to get that,” motioning and jutting his jaw to the aforementioned threshold the bird had once claimed, “we can head into the office.”
Taking his time to appease a rumbling stomach on the way by, he pocketed a few snacks and waved to Zuriel and her pleasant spot by the hearth, before patrolling the workplace again. It was as he’d left it before – gaping hole, scattered papers, snow in the corner…though, it looked as though that had moved. Interesting.
Turning to whomever deigned to join him, he pointed towards the tasks ahead. “Would you rather fix the hole or tend to the snow?”
--
We’re moving on! Tasks are:
- Get rid of the ningo nest in the cells
- Fix the hole in the office (wood available nearby)
- Or tend to the snow that definitely maybe moved on its own
Deimos will take whatever is left! No post order!
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Iskra paused for a moment when he heard Goose's yelp. "Goose?" he called out, not sure if the dog remembered where he was at this moment and whether or not the mutt needed help. The yelp was swiftly followed by a series of deep barks, the startle turning to outrage. Iskra shrugged and finished his cleaning, wiping his 'brow when at last the cursed task was complete. "Finally" he muttered as he strolled out of the storage room, curious to see what his dog was so worked up about.
As the actual bird had since left, Goose had quieted down but remained transfixed on the nest site, determined not to be caught unawares again. Iskra grinned a bit at the dog, envious of such a carefree life. Goose in fact had never had to clean a room that didn't want to be clean, and that was worth jealousy. "I'll handle the nest" Iskra said plainly as he glanced up at it, shielding his eyes with a flat hand.
Popping back into the storage room Iskra grabbed his trusty broom again and began to try and use it to knock the nest down, much to Goose's eager anticipation.
- - - - -
Iskra us getting rid of the Ningo nest int he cells by using a broom to knock it down.
Hotaru is - understandably - more of a cat person (hah) so the insistent barking is strange to her, especially with how it echoes in the empty space of the jail. More liveliness than she is accustomed to. Though, admittedly, it’s not in an entirely bad way. In fact there’s already a small smile on her face by time she and Deimos reconvene with Iskra and Goose.
Given she has already lugged things around today, Ru wrinkles her nose slightly at the boards and instead turns to the snow. “The hole is all yours, Dei,” she chimes in a way that would almost sound benevolent were he not privy to her particular brand of subtle sass.
With a combination of fire, air, and the broom pan and buckets, moving the snow will hopefully be easy enough by way of lifting it and melting it over the containers to be removed. No sense in simply melting it and ruining all of Deimos’ efforts to dry the place out.
- - -
Ru cleans the snow!
Painful lust Two aching guts
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Iskra had no problem knocking the nest down – with no ningo inside it, it was left to its own scruples, and could be deposited elsewhere, or placed amidst the fire. Unless the dog really wanted it. There were no eggs to be had, due to the rather poor season, so the canine would end up finding feathers and debris.
Deimos nodded at Hotaru, though his eyes took on a narrowed, specious glance, wondering if there was some insinuation or innuendo in there, but ultimately ignoring it for a handwave. Studying the gaping sanction, he snagged at a few creation incantations, beginning to patch over the massive opening.
And then, of course, there was the Valkyrie. Ordinarily, her actions would’ve cleared out the snow with no issue. Except – as one might’ve guessed, this was no rudimentary pile of powder. It took the onslaught viciously, and began to transform, altering, hissing, into something resembling a miniature dinosaur, like years past.
“Memory snow,” Deimos mumbled from his current scape, trying to withhold his snicker, as the little beast began pelting snowballs towards Hotaru. “Do you want help?” He offered, a wrinkle to his nose forming, ducking as rime slammed nearby.
--
Iskra and Goose have taken care of the nest! They…may want to assist Ru.
Deimos has started covering the hole in the office.
Hotaru has discovered Memory Snow! It has decided to pelt snowballs all around the office, and of course, at her.
Memory Snow Dino 100/100
No post order!
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Doing his best to aim without looking right up and getting old birdshit or other debris in his eye, it only took a few thrusts and Iskra sent the nest toppling down, right into Goose's waiting mouth. Triumphant, as if he had been the one to dislodge the nest, the dog bounded around the room shaking the nest back and forth, disassembling it little by little as he did. Iskra might have stopped him, or at least swept it up, but he'd already begun to make his way toward Hotaru and Deimos.
As he peered around them at the problem, a snowball came whizzing past that he deflected with his broom. "Hey!" he called, surprised more than anything. Once he caught sight of the memory snow monstrosity, Iskra at once understood, and dove headfirst at it to tackle it. He hoped if he could reshape it fast enough into something else, that'd be its new memory (maybe) and at least stop firing back. Laughing a bit, he attempted a quick snow angel before trying to shape the snow into small piles. "I've normally only played with memory snow outside, where it belongs. If we just....push it back outside, will it stay?" Hotaru had tried to melt it and pick it up, perhaps if they just stuffed it back through the hole?
Should she have noticed the snow acting strange? Absolutely, but the toil of work and focus is easy to fall into and blah blah blah. Honestly, she shouldn’t have to explain herself when there’s a snow dinosaur staring her down
Hissing between her teeth like a furious cat at having had her plans suddenly destroyed, her hands are already rising - and the hair on her arms alongside - by time Iskra and Deimos arrive. Not that it stops her from going through with her blatantly clear plan of smiting the thing. Her bracers deflect a snowball, and she gives Deimos an unimpressed stare at his offer. “Yes, thank you,” is her aggrieved response, seconds before she blasts the thing with lightning with no regard for ideas like transportation or ushering it outside.
No. It ruined her task, so now it gets to die.
- - -
Ru deflects a snowball with her bracers and then shoots lightning at it.
Painful lust Two aching guts
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
The memory snow proved to be a feisty little fiend, fast and maneuvering, altering its shape into something its water elemental cousins might’ve been proud of. From land-dinosaur to something with wings, it moved away from the siege launched by Hotaru and Iskra with bizarre ease – to the point where the Sword wondered if they were dealing with something else altogether.
His own assault, despite Iskra’s suggestion, unfurled in a multitude of molten fire; hissing, extorting, so that one of the appendages began to melt, and its streamlining moment of flight was over quickly. Not to be outdone, it launched more snowballs at each of them, with Deimos ducking, and the Valkyrie and logger not as lucky. “Probably not,” he coolly suggested back to the other Abandoned, his eyes glancing towards the hole he’d had to abandon for the moment. “Best to get rid of it.” Especially with all the trouble it was already causing.
--
Iskra and Hotaru have missed – and been hit by the memory snow. Deimos has hit one of its wings off. It seems to be a mighty little thing, but only has one wing left and is spiraling down towards the office floor.
Memory Snow Dino?: 36.5/100
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Further pissed by the way the memory snow takes flight without harm, Hotaru begins to growl subvocally, a soft rumbling thing meant to release the steam of frustration in her chest instead of communicating anything to those around her who might hear it.
Covered in snow now, Ru clicks her tongue in annoyance and shoots a cluster of lightning toward the memory snow a second time. It doesn’t matter if she missed the first time, it’s still her strongest magic, and whatever can bring it down the fastest is what she’s inclined to try her hand at.
“At least it’s not memory mud,” she tsks snidely, preferring to be wet rather than mud splattered.
- - -
Even if it’s broke don’t fix it, Ru uses lightning again.
Painful lust Two aching guts
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Iskra thuds against the nearby wall, having missed his tackle, and is subsequently sprayed with a shower of snow that leaves a cold sting on his cheek. He grunts as he rises, dusting himself off and backpedaling away from the elemental onslaughts that go whizzing past. Not for the first time, Iskra regards the magical menace and the arcane tricks of his peers, feeling helpless as his own fingertips offer no lull into such skills. He can make some fire dance, but he figures the snow won't be much impressed by such parlor tricks.
It rises above him, and Iskra grabs for the only good tool he has, even if it feels useless at this moment. His axe grins in his hand, the metal glinting with the light. He hurls it at the snow, but also aims it with Hotaru's lightning, hoping to infuse the two into a stronger attack, his axe a ready conduit.
- - - -
Iskra throws his axe at the snow and aims to have it join Hotaru's lightning to make it stronger.
Lightning, axes, and fire combined into something significant, and it was enough to undo all the emboldened prowess the memory snow had embodied. Perhaps it had been here all this time, slowly gathering strength and vitality, but would still prove to be no match for the elements and armaments flying its way. It spiraled down, down, down, reaching the floor in an eventual puddle.
Deimos snorted, shrugging his shoulders at the twist and turn the day had taken. “Still a mess though,” despite lacking in mud – the office’s wet floors and papers alongside had turned into far more disarray. Besides the miniature pool amidst the print, there were several new holes indented into the wall from the snowball projectiles. He didn’t even bother making a face, the sigh stolen somewhere in his chest. “Everyone all right?”
Once those matters were cleared up, and the unicorn near the hearth could heal if necessary, it’d be back to the tasks anyway. Returning to his half-repaired aperture, he jutted his jawline to several other newfound issues. “One of you can fix the holes,” pointing to the variety, and at different heights, “and the other can get the papers and puddle.” Which seemed to be an ongoing theme here.
Maybe something was interesting on the documents though.
--
The memory snow dino has been quickly vanquished but has left its mark on the office. You may choose:
- Clean the puddle and paper mess (maybe something will be interesting there)
- Fix the new holes
No post order!
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
