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!
Tal wanted to find one of those fancy Roses to plant by his new house in King's End, but the world was a little sharper and nastier than it had been last Longheat, so he'd invited Sah along for the hunt. Because spending a little time with his best frenemy didn't seem so bad this year and, hail, it'd been too long since they'd gotten into trouble together.
Wandering around the Greatwood, and the Eyes of Vi specifically, seemed like a great way to find some trouble...
But also the best place to find something called a 'Vi's Rose,' so, you know. Win/win!
Boreal and Lily were keeping an eye on the Peregrine re: napping in a stray beam of sunshine atop the cabin so it was just the boys wandering among the eerie viewing pools today.
Well. The boys and a few other things.
"...So turns out Sunjata is actually pretty okay," he finished, after describing the new house. He turned his head to give Sah a wry grin and a little shrug. "Still needs work on the inside, but-- look out!"
In a heartbeat his demeanor changed, grin falling away into a shocked scowl as he grabbed the Dagger from his side and lashed out with it - right towards the hunter!
And the void viper that had just slithered down onto Sah's shoulders.
In fact, he was so busy watching Sah's new 'friend' that he didn't notice his own until a heavy coil tightened around his arm and chest as a second snake dropped from above, it's body an icy weight twining around him with malevolent delight. Void Vipers (Common): Once inquisitive Hanging Snakes, touched by the void, transform into Void Vipers. Their slender bodies now bear patterns that seem to absorb light, making them almost imperceptible in the shadowy depths of the woods. Instead of curiously exploring, they now slither with a purpose, seeking to entwine themselves around unsuspecting wanderers and imbuing them with a void-touched presence.
02-08-2024, 06:12 PM (This post was last modified: 02-08-2024, 06:13 PM by Sah.)
Sah
What is knowledge without wisdom?
Things in Halo had calmed down enough that Sah felt comfortable taking the time to accompany Talyson on his mission. While Lilly and Boreal napped, Pad patrolled the Peregrine in case of intruders. It was for the best that the dark wolf remained on the ship given the boy's snake situation. Pad would have certainly tried to bite one and likely would have been infected.
Sah laughed, "I've only spoken with him a few times. He has a good head on his shoulders most of the time." Not when it came to Safrin, but certainly regarding other matters.
The Abandoned felt the weight of the snake just as Tal called out, nearly staggering as the creature's strange energy touched him. Acting solely on instinct, his telekinesis latched on and squeezed. The snake let out a hiss that was cut off as it popped just as the second landed on Tal. "Shit." Sah sent a blast of concentrated air at the snake, trying to dislodge it off of his frenemy.
There was more hissing above them and Sah chanced a glance up and repeated himself as he noticed multiple pairs of ominously glowing eyes. "Shi..!" Another snake landed on his shoulders, hardly reacting to the residue of its kin on his clothes.
Tal might have asked what Sah and Sunjata had talked about, but they were rudely interrupted by guests of a serpentine persuasion. Because what went together better than snakes and cold?
... Maybe don't answer that.
Tal wasn't sure whether his initial attack had connected, but Sah's certainly did. The air blast struck the snake squarely in its middle, but it was wrapped too tightly around the courier's chest to be dislodged. Instead it was injured, and Tal finished it off with a slice of his Dagger to remove its head as it writhed in pain and loosened its coils.
He shook it off, doing the oh gods this is really really disgusting dance as he tried to get closer to Sah. "Don't let 'em separate us!" he called out, barely dodging a viper that tried to land on him. Instead it landed at his feet and coiled itself up in preparation for an attack on his leg. The courier was too distracted by the snake that already had a hold of Sah, however, and he lunged at it, trying to stab it from a distance with his weapon's special ability. "Hey! Get offa him!" he hollered at it, hoping to distract it.
In any other situation, Sah would have laughed at Tal's dancing, but this time the courier's freestyling was nearly his downfall. The dagger shot out and missed the snake, coming dangerously close to Sah's shoulder. The Wild Thunder's eyes widened, and he ducked sharply to avoid the blade, "Careful!" Who knew if blood would send the creatures into some kind of frenzy? His scaly passenger let out an odd 'blegh' sound as it nearly bit its own tongue at the sudden movement. It was frankly unfair for the creature to be cute in any way.
Closer to the ground as he was, Sah noticed the snake creeping up on Tal's feet, "Below you!" He sent a wave of telekinesis downward on the snake, hoping to pin it with the weight so the courier could crush it underfoot. More snaked hissed above and Sah had to remind himself that trying to rain lightning down upon them all would cause too much collateral to be worth it. The Greatwood was too...sentient...for the Abandoned to risk it. He wouldn't be shocked if such a deed would result in a tree branch strangling him.
Orbs of light beckon and call from the darkened angles and shadows of trees. Were those whispers of your friends? Family? Fallen allies?
Was that a scream? Could they be in trouble?
Is it all in your head? Just your imagination?
Or something else altogether – because what if it’s true?
You’ve encountered a Will-O-Wisp. This counts as a common creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. If you choose to follow this creature, you do so at your own risk, however, just having it in this thread is enough to satisfy your levelling requirements.
Will-O-Wisps (common): Glowing orbs of light that dance and weave between the branches, despite their usefulness, these creatures are not to be trusted. Mischievous and loyal to no one, they will lead travellers astray at a moment's notice.
02-10-2024, 08:01 PM (This post was last modified: 02-12-2024, 04:36 PM by Talyson.)
"Sorry!" Tal hollered, wincing in sympathy as the invisible blade of his distance-Dagger came uncomfortably close to giving Sah a nonconsensual haircut. It really was an accident, but that wouldn't have changed the pain the hunter would have felt if the courier had connected. Luckily he hadn't, but the Wild Thunder had distractions enough of his own that when he shot out his telekinesis it missed the snake and instead pinned Tal's foot to the ground. Luckily it didn't do any damage, but the courier's forward momentum jerked to a halt and he was thrown off balance, landing face-first in the damp soil of the Greatwood.
On the plus side, the snake also missed as its lunge went high, and Tal was able to roll over and stab it before it could gather itself back together for another attack. It hissed and writhed and the courier scrambled hurriedly out of the way on hands and knees, fetching up against Sah's legs finally. "You take the high ones an' I'll take th'low!" he called up to his frenemy, lashing out wildly in an invisible arc at the circle of snakes that had fallen around them and were beginning to slither closer, hissing with soft menace.
The snake coiled around Sah's shoulders shook its head and then opened its jaws wide to lunge at the hunter's ear, intending to give him a pair of new cartilege piercings free of charge!
Sah grimaced when Tal face-planted, thankful that the courier still managed to kill the snake. "Alright!" The snake on the Abandoned's shoulder recovered enough to attack and Sah just barely managed to tilt his head in time to dodge the strike. Reaching up he grabbed the snake and full force threw it at a tree. It made a disturbing 'crunch' on impact and fell silent to the forest floor.
Talyson focused on the snakes on the ground and the Wild Thunder glanced up at the ones above. How to do this without destroying the trees? A stupid idea came to mind, and he raised his hands. Calling forth his telekinesis and air magic, he shot a blast at the snakes, trying to avoid as much of the tree canopy as possible. If it worked, the duo wouldn't have to worry about the snakes above them anymore, but anyone nearby would have quite the fright in the form of raining snakes.
The problem with snakes was that they were fast and agile and flexible. It was hard to guess where one was going to be between one moment and the next. But at least being Void-touched didn't make them any smarter. They were still animals, cunning but not intelligent enough to realize that the physical and visible blade of Tal's Dagger wasn't the whole of it. Some of them were lucky enough to dodge as he activated its magic, making a series of short, sharp jabs and cuts at the snakes on the ground, but others within thirty feet were sliced open by an invisible blade that left them flopping and writhing into eventual stillness on the forest floor.
Sah had a similar level of success, though Tal might tease him about being a windbag later as his magic swept across the leaves and branches, sending a slithering shower down around them. A half dozen void serpents hit the ground, dazed but hissing mad as they gathered themselves to attack the boys from all directions.
Tal took the brief respite to scramble to his feet and press his back against the hunter's so they could watch each other's blind spots, scowling at the wee slithery bastards. "Least this looks like th'last o'th'nest," he called over his shoulder. "Get ready, here they come!"
Some of the tension bled out of Sah as Tal pressed his back to his. He had a clear sense of where his companion was and knew he was protected. "Don't take any steps, I'm going to do something incredibly stupid." Which was, unfortunately, an understatement. Calling forth his fire magic, Sah created a ring of it around the two men. With an exhale, he expanded the ring outward as a burning ring of fire to kill as many snakes as possible, trusting Tal to get the stragglers.
As soon as the snakes were dead, he'd activate his water magic and put out any residual flames. Hopefully, the Greatwood would forgive him given the situation.
"Yeah? What's new?" Tal shot back with a feral grin as they stood back-to-back and readied themselves for the scaly assault. The first of the snakes was already lunging forward as Sah ignited his magic. Momentum carried them through the flames, and Tal didn't wait to see if they were still interested in fighting before he dispatched them with neat slices from his Dagger.
The Wild Thunder's circle of fire expanded outwards faster than the snakes could slither as they realized that the tables had been turned on them. They tried to reverse course, but the magical flames engulfed them, and those that weren't killed outright were stunned and blinded by pain; easy prey for Tal to finish off.
Of course, stopping the fire was a different problem.
The flames had caught hold of several hanging vines and began to spread outside of Sah's thirty foot radius as he brought his water into play to dampen them. It took over a minute of both men running around, applying magic - or in Tal's case, a bucket pulled from his Bag - to the problem. By the time they'd finished there was a restless twist of roots beneath their feet and the remaining vines were beginning to writhe towards them with no good intentions.
"Oh, fuck. Fire's out, let's get outta here!" the courier urged, dancing away from a root that attempted to wrap around his ankle and booking it back towards the Peregrine with Sah in tow!
