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!
Torchline was known for many things: blue-green waters, tropical drinks, warm and welcoming climate, hard bargains, dangerous night life, beaches in several hues, the markets both above and below the waves, and the prowess of its sailors, to name just a few.
But neither Haulani nor the Underwater City was particularly famous for its libraries. The human records had been lost to Apopo's tempers more than once over the generations, and the Mer records tended to be more oral than written, and entirely lacking in airbreather history.
So Hadama had come to Stormbreak once again on the night of the full moon, to pull himself from the Eye's waters and into the awkward shape of a two-legged human. His destination was the Archive, and though his bare feet evinced some murmured comment no one tried to evict the very tall, muscular man as he shed the rain in the vestibule and nodded with solemn respect to the librarian who helped him gather several books.
All evidence gathered so far pointed to the infected flora and fauna being something new to Caido, but it was not the first infection the world had faced, or even the first twisting of its life to some new end. Hadama settled in at the nearest empty table, which was conveniently within sight of the door, and bent his head to learning about the past. What had happened, what had been done to slow the course of Blights and Plagues in recent memory, and ultimately what had cured them.
Open!
Oh, how I find every subtle thing screams your name
It reminds me of places of times we shared
Liam wasn't sure what to do with himself now that he was home. Not that he had known what to do with himself in the Greatwood, either. And, if he was being honest, he'd been at a loss for years - ever since his family died, and he'd turned into a shadow of his former self. But maybe it was the wounds healing, scarring over at least enough for him to begin to function, but he had grown restless. There had to be more to life than endless physical training, than pushing himself to the point of exhaustion just so he could avoid the dreams.
Maybe he should rejoin the Dragoons.
It was a thought he'd had often in recent weeks, even since the Carpenter boy had approached him and suggested expanding their influence. Anju might not have liked the idea - and he could see how it could, perhaps, be misinterpreted - but Koa had been sincere in his desire to spread peace. Maybe, if he joined the boy, he could help guide the shape of the Dragoons' expansion into something... more palatable.
After all, if recent events were anything to go by, it seemed they might be needed sooner rather than later. Liam would need to be sharper than ever - and not just in training. So he'd made his way to the Archive, hoping to find something to keep his mind busy while he decided on his future.
What he had not expected to find in Stormbreak's great library was Torchline's king. He'd met Hadama briefly in the Greatwood and had liked the man, finding him to be stoic but helpful. Willing to put in the work to make Caido - beyond even his region - better. Liam admired him for it.
So instead of wandering aimlessly through the shelves, the ex-Dragoon made his way over to Hadama's table. "Hello," he said softly, to avoid the librarian's ire. A welcoming smile brightened his hazel eyes. "I didn't expect to see you here."
Couldn't live locked in these memories Now I'm chained to my thoughts again
Liam's arrival was well-timed. Hadama had just straightened from his current time to rub lightly at his eyes, and the quiet voice, though not well-known, was a welcome chance to rest. He turned his head to see who had addressed him and had a moment's pleasant contemplation of the quiet, diligent man he had met once upon a time in the Greatwood.
"Liam," he rumbled in greeting, inclining his head briefly. "Nor I, you." The question had not been asked directly, but it had been implied and so the Tidebreaker gestured to the books he had chosen from the vast repository that surrounded them. "The Mer have not experienced as many plagues as the landfolk have. The new plants seems to be... infected." He chose the word slowly, lingering over it with a faint furrow to his brow as if the word were not quite correct but was as close as he could come. "And now there are animals as well. Not new ones but... old ones that have been changed. I wish to learn about how such things were dealt with in the past."
He tilted his head at the wandering warrior curiously, a silent question in his emerald eyes.
Oh, how I find every subtle thing screams your name
It reminds me of places of times we shared
Understanding dawned in Liam's hazel eyes as he listened, nodding along to Hadama's reasoning for visiting the Archive. "An infected river star nearly killed a friend of mine," he rumbled. "And I've heard about other... variations that have appeared." He'd hoped that the infection, if that was indeed what it was, had been contained to small areas. It seemed that his hopes had been in vain. "Could you use any help?"
Once granted permission, he slid into a chair across from the mermanta and pulled a tome towards himself, flipping open to the table of contents and beginning to skim the list, a furrow in his brow. "Have you found anything yet?" he asked, glancing up at Hadama before continuing his perusal. There. A chapter on plagues. Liam began to flip through the book, allowing it to fall open at the appropriate page.
Couldn't live locked in these memories Now I'm chained to my thoughts again
"Hmm. Some of Torchline's river stars are infected, too," the King agreed, and though his expression remained serenely stoic there was a touch of concern in the corners of his eyes. "And some of our flowers." Which was his understated way of saying quite a lot, given that Torchline was home to Metacarpal Island. But he inclined his head with deep gratitude at Liam's offer. "Indeed," he rumbled. "Human libraries are... unfamiliar." The Mer had some written texts, but the ocean's tendency to wear away even the hardest of materials over time meant that they tended more towards oral histories.
After a few minutes of quiet study, Liam's voice drew the Tidebreaker's attention again and he looked up, nodding. "Perhaps. This has an account of the Blight in the Hollowed Grounds and Greatwood. Secondhand, but interesting." The book held the stamp of the Order on its cover. Not the most reassuring of organizations, but their reconnaissance of the Voice might yet prove useful. "This new infection also seems to be supernatural in origin." He paused, wracking his memory before speaking slowly, as if testing his question word by word.
"Did you experience the second Plague? The one from the Climb?"
Oh, how I find every subtle thing screams your name
It reminds me of places of times we shared
Liam had never considered that underwater libraries might be few and far between, but understanding flooded his face as he nodded and began to flip through the nearest book. In truth, he spent little time in the Archive, even when he had lived here before. It wasn't that he disliked reading - his preferred books were histories - but he'd so rarely had time between his duties as a Dragoon and his duties as a husband and father.
The ex-Dragoon made a noncommittal noise. He'd never left Stormbreak until his trip to the Greatwood, though he'd heard of the Blight. "No," he said. "The Plague never made it to Stormbreak." He'd heard of it, though: the piece of metal in Tanau's chest, the hallucinations and the fevers and the hydrophobia, the way it spread insidiously throughout the land. "The cure was water from Frey's Breath, wasn't it?" He paused, frowning. "Do you think we might have a cure for this somewhere in Caido?" If so, he'd be on the front lines searching for it. He wouldn't sit idly by again.
Couldn't live locked in these memories Now I'm chained to my thoughts again
Hadama inclined his head in acknowledgment of the Plague's limits, though at Liam's question he had to pause his own research to think carefully. "I am... uncertain," he admitted. "The Mer were not affected. And I was not coming to the surface then." He had been focused on his own life beneath the waves, back when a different King had swum the halls of the underwater palace and Hadama had been content to be a simple smith.
Or, if not content, then at least intent upon carrying on his mother's trade.
It was the second question that had him lifting his gaze from his page to meet Liam's eyes with quiet dignity and determination. "We must," he said simply. "What alternative is there?" He turned the book he had in front of him, pointing to a description of the Blight and its cure. "Perhaps these... Vi's Roses. They have cleansed infections before."
Oh, how I find every subtle thing screams your name
It reminds me of places of times we shared
Liam nodded a response. He himself had been happy to stay in Stormbreak, so he couldn't judge the merking for not having been coming to the surface. It was strange, the way things changed. Once upon a time, Liam would have been content to serve his homeland, never to journey beyond its borders. It was only after the Ascended attack that he had realized just how interconnected everything was, that sometimes it might be safer for Stormbreak for him to journey past its borders to deal with potential threats, rather than to allow them to come knocking at their metaphorical door.
And then, of course, there had been his months-long sojourn to the Greatwood. For all the good that had done.
"I saw a Vi's Rose in the Greatwood," he mused, brow furrowed. "There was one that grew in front of the house I had there. I wonder if it's still there." If cleansing infection was indeed possible, would the rose be better in the ground, or could it still be used if it were picked. "I wonder if we could send people to look for more of these roses? Or... perhaps one, to start, just to test the theory?"
Couldn't live locked in these memories Now I'm chained to my thoughts again
Hadama's attention on the Stormbreaker sharpened as Liam spoke of his experience with the Roses. "It could be worth checking for," he agreed solemnly. If it remained, it would be easier than seeking out a new Rose. From the accounts he was reading, Vi's Roses were rare treasures; difficult to come across, though hardy and easy to transplant once found. But he could not find any report that more than two or three had ever been discovered in the same place. Finding them would likely take a great deal of both time and luck, and the mermanta's Flowerbirth had been busy enough with the ascension of his newest co-ruler.
"At least one," Hadama agreed, pulling his book back to scan further down the page. "During the Blight, they were dug up and replanted in affected areas." He read a few more paragraphs and then paused again, finger lingering under another unfamiliar term. "Do you have any information on Rae's Lilies?"
Oh, how I find every subtle thing screams your name
It reminds me of places of times we shared
For all the time Liam had spent in the Greatwood, he'd only ever come across the one Vi's Rose. To find more would require time and manpower - which the Greatwood did not have in abundance. He bit back a sigh. There were fewer citizens in the region now than there had been when he had moved, and yet even without a leader, he assumed that other regions would be hesitant to send searchers en masse for a Vi's Rose, lest they start some kind of inter-regional incident on accident. As if there wasn't enough to worry about.
But Liam was not a politician, and he was sure there were others better suited to this line of thinking than he. At least the seed was planted with Hadama. Perhaps that would be enough to spread the word to keep an eye out for healing plants.
The ex-Dragoon shook his head at the mention of Rae's Lilies. "I know only what I've heard," he said of the flower. "I've never been to the Climb, but I know it's said that they grow exclusively there." His gaze flickered around the library. "There is a section of books on plants," he said, trying to remember where they'd been the last time he'd been in the Archive - which, admittedly, had been an age ago. "Perhaps we could find more information on them, or on other plants."
Couldn't live locked in these memories Now I'm chained to my thoughts again
"Hmm. I have been there. Once. But I did not see any flowers," the merman-turned-temporarily-human mused. "But it may be worth investigating Frey's Breath." An enjoyable contemplation, for all that he heard of the hot springs had been good. They were supposedly something of an oasis within the Climb's harsh environs, and his aquaportation would get him there without incident at any phase of the moon.
Though all too soon a moon would come crashing down, shattering all the pleasant plans made in the peaceful days of Flowerbirth.
Hadama tilted his head consideringly at Liam's offer, one finger pressing lightly against the corner of the page he had been reading. "Yes..." he said slowly, glancing down at the history books he had collected before nodding with more surety. They had been a place to start, and they had certainly proved their worth. But now they had given him another direction to hunt in. He placed a marker in the book he had been reading, shifting it to one side of the desk and collecting the others off to the other side for a librarian to take away and reshelve. Then he stood, slow in his dignity and his care in keeping his balance on two legs instead of a single mighty tail. "Do you know the way?"
Oh, how I find every subtle thing screams your name
It reminds me of places of times we shared
It was not often that Liam regretted his lack of travel, but just now, he had to admit that it might be helpful to have seen more of the world beyond Stormbreak. Even now, after a few seasons in the Greatwood, he had done little in the way of exploration. Perhaps if he had been more places, if he knew more things, he could be of greater assistance now. If Hadama had wanted opinions on history, on battle strategy, on training regimens, perhaps Liam would have been of more assistance. As it was, he was scrambling for any notion that might be a good one.
Still, the suggestion to hunt down more books on plants seemed to be welcomed, and Liam helped in organizing the books already on the table before joining Hadama as he stood. The soldier hoped that the layout of the library hadn't changed in the seasons since he'd been here, and that he might not embarrass himself by leading the kind of Torchline in circles. Still, he nodded and gestured to the side. "I believe they are this way," he said, and led the way into the aisles.
-FIN-
Couldn't live locked in these memories Now I'm chained to my thoughts again
