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!
"Things are going to be fine." Whether Flora was saying this to Hadama, to herself, or to the world at large wasn't entirely clear, but nor did it matter. Things were going to be fine.
They had to be.
They'd make them be.
Glancing over the rainbow stones toward Hadama, Flora offered him a fleeting and small smile. Where once she'd have feigned joy, now exhaustion and expectation had tempered her ability to put on a dazzling display. Now seemed more the time for honesty, anyway.
Knowing very little about Rae, Flora had approached this particular shrine visit the way she'd have done for Frey. In her best gown, she knelt before the shrine with a suggestively cored-out molten pineapple and a blushberry shoot that she'd been trying to propagate.
Exhaling shakily, she glanced over her shoulder, waiting for Hadama to similarly ready himself in whatever way he chose.
"Hey Rae...I know normally you don't tend to interfere in these sorts of things, but we call to you as creatures of your making, facing a threat not of your creation and uh...we need some help."
I'd like to use Flora's COTY award to call down RAE for a RQ!
"Yes," Hadama agreed, and the word was full of all the solemn certainty of the sea, because Flora needed it to be. And because the mermanta would do everything within his power to make it so.
He was weary enough to want to sink down into the waves and sleep for a season, but he found a smile for his fellow ruler, determined to be there for her as she was doing her best for all of Torchline. The rainbow hues of the water around them were almost jarringly cheerful compared to the devastation of the nearby islands, but there was no easier shrine to Rae that he could reach without a full moon--
And he wouldn't have trusted the gifts of the one that had crashed in their ocean, anyways.
For a prayer to one of the Great Gods, Hadama had at least taken the time to make himself presentable. His steel-colored hair was loose and brushed and he wore a flowing vest of lightweight sea silk that shifted between brown and golden in the sun. He had never prayed to even Frey before, so his offering was a simple one. He lifted himself out of the water to place a large oyster on the shrine. The oyster itself was a hairy beast that no one would call beautiful, but nestled inside it were twin pearls, large and blue and perfect.
He squeezed Flora's shoulder once, giving her a nod of encouragement, and then he bowed his head and added the strength of his prayer to hers.
dance beneath the stars as you drink in the night let the thunder overtake you as lightning fills the sky.
Just as Ludo was not Mort and Safrin was not Vi, nor was either aspect of Frey a duplication of the deity they served.
'You speak true.' In voices perfectly matched, Rae appeared. Their hands were interlaced together and though their movements were not identical nor choreographed, still the unison of their being was undeniable. Standing somewhat glacially, Rae turned each set of eyes upon Hadama and Flora in turn. "Tell us what it is you would have us do. These are unprecedented times in which we are more inclined to intercede."
feel the force of nature penetrate your skin, spin with the world as the magic sinks in.
The urge to let her jaw drop and look toward Hadama mouthing oh my GODs was so strong that she nearly did it. The only thing keeping the sudden burst of joy and relief she felt at seeing Rae was the knowledge that if they—she—fucked this up, there'd be little she'd ever be able to do to make up for it. So she bit her lip—hard—and tried to regard the deity with as much respect and fealty as she could.
With a quick look to Hadama, she looked back at the iteration of Rae currently looking at her. "We know that you probably can't just...like make Torchline protected from the void things..." If Flora's pause was just a touch pregnant, that was only to see if Rae might just prove her wrong and say they could.
It was worth a try.
"..so we thought Haulani itself. This isn't a natural threat. Nothing we could have prepared for, so we'd like a dome over Haulani to keep the void things out."
TL wants a dome across all of TL to act as a barrier to all the void things.
The Tidebreaker was no less stunned when their desperate plea was answered, but he had long practice at being silent. Usually his silence was a thoughtful one, but as the twin God appeared the mermanta was, purely and simply, in awe. He did, indeed, glance towards Flora to see how she was taking it, and he gave her the tiniest nod of relief and support as they both turned back to Rae in all their glory.
Later he might be bemused by Flora's irrepressible boldness at asking for all of Torchline to be protected, but he certainly did not blame her. He gave a small nod at her pause, lending it his own curiosity, and when she continued he added only. "Please. The wounds from the infected animals do not heal." He nodded to Flora's arm, not above bending his pride to beg for divine intervention for his friend. "And our people need a safe place to recover."
dance beneath the stars as you drink in the night let the thunder overtake you as lightning fills the sky.
Both aspects of the god turn their heads, now appraising the opposite leader. "Is that so?" Now all four pairs of eyes are upon Flora with a weight the Doubletake is likely to feel. Moving as one, they pivot, hands still clasped, and reach out for Flora, raising her wounded arm. Interest sparks something human-like in Rae's clinical expression as their eyes seem to see more than just old bandages and dried blood.
Beneath the bandage, Flora will feel her skin crawl and itch as if inflamed, until all at once, the infection is gone and the wound is no more.
"Fascinating." They say together, but now it sounds simply like two twins inadvertently speaking at the same time. Glancing at each other, the god considers and nods.
Straightening, they take a step back, looking in turn from Hadama to Flora.
"Never again shall we build a barrier. We would anticipate similar results to the one erected in the Hollowed Grounds and we have no need to replicate that outcome. However, we never intended to introduce foreign threats into our ecosystem and because of that, we will help you."
Flora has been healed by Rae!
Tasks. There is no time limit. There are currently 15 active Torchers. This means 8 unique characters have to participate. Characters can participate more than once. Hadama and Flora must participate in at least 2 threads each.
1. A thread of at least 3 torchers (including 1 mer) gathering stones from the Rainbow Road
2. A PQ placing those stones all around the borders of the city. Must have 8 rounds.
3. A thread with at least 1 torcher, capturing a void Flora or Fauna from every major region (SB, TL, H, HG, GW, KE), kept alive and brought at the time of turn-in.
feel the force of nature penetrate your skin, spin with the world as the magic sinks in.
"Wh—' Flora mewls before she can stop herself. As the god reaches out for her, the Doubletake holds her breath. Glancing over her shoulder at Hadama, she tries to give him her best if this gets me killed I'mma haunt the ever-loving fuck outta you, stare, before looking back with a gasp. Clenching her teeth together as what feels like fire beetles are scuttling out of her arm, all at once the pain is gone.
"Holy shit." She gasps, unthinking. "I mean..' Unwrapping the bandage immediately Flora runs her fingers along skin that was suddenly baby-fresh and entirely unmarred by void fuckery. "Oh my gods thank you." She has the good sense not to try and hug the god, but instead takes a step back, still trailing her fingers across her skin as Rae explains what they must do.
"Okay. Okay, okay, okay." With another fleeting glance toward Hadama, this time offering him a silent apology for what she was about to do, the Doubletake pressed on.
"Please...what can you tell us about these...these things? The people who have come down? They treated one of the demigods like a rag doll. Why are they here? What do they want?"
Hadama met Flora's initial stare with calm serenity. He'd been worried about the bite since she'd revealed it to him, and there had been little chance for them to take care of themselves amidst the flurry of rescues, salvage, and rebuilding. Who better to look at the strange wound than the god of growth and change?
He could tell when the pain was gone because of Flora's reaction, and for a moment the mermanta's weariness washed away in relief that only doubled when the bandage was removed and he could see for himself the unmarked skin. From the water where he floated the mermanta bowed deeply to the twin gods, only raising his head again to take mental note of what would be required.
He nodded slowly in acceptance, already considering options and locations. There was much work to be done on top of what they already needed, but it would be worth it--
And then blinked as Flora continued on. Well.
If anyone could charm a god into staying longer and answering questions, it was the Doubletake. The mermanta looked from his co-ruler to the twin gods, very curious indeed as to if and how they would answer.
dance beneath the stars as you drink in the night let the thunder overtake you as lightning fills the sky.
Ignoring Flora's outbursts and gratitudes, the deity interlaced their fingers back together once the infection had been cleared out. "They seek what nearly all species of a certain level of intelligence seek." They reply plainly, looking from king to queen as if the answer should be obvious. "Domination of this world."
Four eyes look at Flora, where her wound had been, before splitting to stare at the Tidebreaker and Doubletake alike. "Infection is likely their primary mode of gaining control." Frowning, the twins look at one another. "Perhaps we should have kept her infected, in order to watch the spread. Alas." Seemingly deciding something between them, they turn back.
"No doubt there will be others. It's advisable to be quick with your tasks." Having said so, the twins turn to look at one another again, melding and then disappearing wholly into one another's gaze until nothing at all remained.
~FIN
feel the force of nature penetrate your skin, spin with the world as the magic sinks in.
