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!
02-11-2024, 08:40 PM (This post was last modified: 02-11-2024, 08:43 PM by Noah.)
I'll follow you down through the eye of the s t o r m
Even with the season being filled with the longest days and the most amount of sun, it was still cold in Halo. It was always cold, but never cold enough to keep the hunter at bay when there was a purpose set in his mind.
Noah made his way towards the shrine before the sun started to peak over the distant horizon. Gathering himself before it, and laying his offerings down at the altar, the demigod began his prayer just as the sun broke over and started spreading long tendrils of light and hope across the frozen land. ”Vi, hear me. But if not you, let Safrin have the strength for me today.”
Noah is calling upon Vi (roll please ?) or of course Safrin if the dice so allow. He will be asking to upgrade a Demi ability.
Regional Score bonus: +1 in all shrine visits, drops, PQ+s, KQs, etc. (You must post this at the bottom of any post where a +1 should be included)
Don't worry I'll keep you w a r m
infinite inspiration and endless thanks to odd and sky
"He always hears you." Safrin's words are silken but slightly subdued as she appears in a sigh of starlight. Looking as immaculate as ever and yet somehow faded at the edges, the goddess gathers the lace of her gown around herself as she sits down on the steps to bask in the light from the nearby candles.
"I know better than anyone what it's like to call for him and think my voice has gone unheard, so believe me when I tell you that in times of despair and triumph alike, he is always with you." Vi saw all, for better or worse.
"I see you have returned home." Glancing around, Safrin smiles wearily. "Your family must be pleased."
I'll follow you down through the eye of the s t o r m
”Safrin.” Noah breathed, her whole presence a balm to is soul. While Noah knew the herald to have capacity for rage unmatched, for a vanity that (he believed) was from the deepest longing to be loved and held, whenever she was with him she was nothing but warm, supportive, on his side. Her words confirmed it in Noah’s mind — of anyone else in existence, she understood him. She was beneath Vi’s gaze and needed his welcome and acceptance, but just as Noah struggled to hold his good favor, it seemed that the herald felt that same position.
He let his breath leave him again, and his face softened. ”I have. They are.” He had, and they were — at least officially. His loyalty would always be here in this frozen land, but his duties spread far beyond the reach of the snow and the Fangs. Noah was a presence in the rest of Caido, doing as Vi had told him. ”They aged.” He declared, but his mind rang with But maybe you already knew that? For the twins were far too young to know who had given them the gift of adolescence. Noah’s lip curled with a hint of playfulness, but as he let his eyes move over the star-breathed herald again, his face fell back to the somber yet warm comfort it had at her appearance, and her encouragement.
”You look strong.” He said,for even with her faded edges she was more than any mortal. ”I was scared for you.”
Don't worry I'll keep you w a r m
infinite inspiration and endless thanks to odd and sky
With a small smile that elegantly twisted her lips, the goddess gave no direct reply. Her mirth fell away quickly, though, far too heavy to bear in light of all that she'd already endured, and so it was with a soft sigh that she met the demigod's gaze. "Looks can be deceiving." She murmured softly, drawing her knees up slightly before fussing over a fold of her gown, forcing it to lay just so.
"I fear for us all." Looking down into her hands, the goddess gives a small shake of her head. Returning had nearly killed her, while the warning she'd tried to give had nearly killed Ronin. That on its own would have caused concern in the goddess, but already the wickedness she'd nearly given her life to prevent, was spreading across Caido. "Dark times are ahead, Noah. You must be a light that shines in Vi's stead, that no one else might have to feel the fear that we do." The other demigods, those closest to the Foresaken would know the truth, but for the rest of Caido? "We can carry their fear for them. We must." For that was what it was to follow in Vi's footsteps. To bear the worst of it, with a smile.
Looks, as Safrin had said, could be deceiving and perhaps sometimes they had to be.
I'll follow you down through the eye of the s t o r m
The way that Safrin tugged at her dress and pressed down one of its many pleats was not lost on Noah. Glacier eyes moved with her hands as she forced the fabric into submission, a muscle in his jaw feathering as she did so. Looks could be deceiving, surely, and the herald had never given a sentiment of weakness in Noah’s presence before this, though subtle, hint of vulnerability.
”I want to protect them all from it.” Noah shifted, eyes moving from Safrin’s hands to her face despite how her own eyes still cast down among her fingers. He wanted to close distance between them and take her hands in to his own; wished to wipe the heaviness from her face. But he didn’t. He knew better, revered her too highly. ”Its your blessing and your guidance that gives me ability to.” Your being very clearly her as much as Vi, with the abilities he had in equal measure to both gods at this point. ”Help me help them.” There was only so much Noah could do and only so much MP his writer could spend to make himself stronger—there was a great measure of his existence as a demigod that stood on the blessing and strength of the god he followed and the herald representative.
”When you fought…did you…did they have a weakness?” Noah asked, desperate for an answer. If he was to be the light, to keep the people from the fear of this threat, from the threat of this threat, he needed to know.
Don't worry I'll keep you w a r m
infinite inspiration and endless thanks to odd and sky
"All that I have is only because of Vi." She counters with a humble shake of her head; perhaps the only time any might see her showing any semblance of deference was in regards to her maker. "If I knew how..." Safrin exhales a breath of frosty starlight. "For now, we can't let them panic. Rumours are already flying, letters, drawings.." Weakened as she was, it hadn't escaped Safrin's notice just how much wild speculation was being carried by pigeon and dogsled alike.
As for a weakness?
"Nothing that I saw. If anything, what I learned was how invulnerable they were to nearly all of my abilities." Her hands glow for a moment with soft celestial light as she looks up at Noah. "Take care in using your abilities against them."
I'll follow you down through the eye of the s t o r m
Humility was more beautiful on the herald than the vanity Noah knew she was capable of. Noah’s jaw feathered again as his stomach churned with anxiety. Wherever this threat had come from and whatever they were, having almost killed the herald had truly done something to her. It gnawed at Noah and the instincts within him riled and roiled.
”Then let me shield them. You gave me a shield, let me extend it unto others.” Noah replied swiftly, holding onto the word against. Vi had told him there was still room in this world for Noah to be a warrior, a paladin amongst them, but his entire essence came down to one thing: protection.
As for not letting them panic — Noah wasn’t certain how to do that. The likes of Deimos and Evie and Hadam and Flora had already been keen to working in their regions to protect and promote. That surely made the people either skitter in a wave of panic, or solidified them in union. Noah wasn’t sure what would take over, at this point — the grit or the anxiety.
But the people at large already knew the herald and Ludo’s demigod had not been able to fend off the threat. How was Noah, as weak as he was in the scheme of those around him — heralds and demigods and hybrids — going to spark the people back to the grit and union? ”Safrin, help me give them hope.” Was all he could muster, glacier eyes falling from her face to his own hands.
Noah would like to upgrade his shield magic to be able to shield another as well.
Magic: Celestial Shield | Celestial light sweeps together around Noah to form a barrier of light, protecting him from attacks for one round. The barrier follows Noah as he moves. Lasts for 1 post, requires a 3 post cool down.
Type: Light | Rank: Basic
Don't worry I'll keep you w a r m
infinite inspiration and endless thanks to odd and sky
"So it shall be." Safrin agrees softly, before murmuring what it was the Forsaken would need to do.
"You are Vi's chosen, Noah. Forsaken for a time, but never abandoned." The goddess says, raising her eyes and reaching out one of her hands for his. Her touch would feel like pure moonlight; liquid silk beneath his calloused fingers that would spark joy and sate the thirst of his soul. "Let Vi be your hope. Never has he failed us in all his long years of life. It is his magic you bare, his power you weild." That Safrin was a conduit did not change from whom her waters flowed.
"Building shelters, reinforcing walls, digging tunnels...that is not hope. Tell the people they are loved, that Mort has counted their sunrises and will not have those days be snatched away from them."
Noah has been given a quest! Noah must
1. Use his shield to help/protect someone he likes
2. Use his shield to help/protect someone he doesn't like
3. Use his shield to help/protect someone stronger than him
4. Use his shield to help/protect someone weaker than him
I'll follow you down through the eye of the s t o r m
Noah had stopped himself from reaching out for the herald out of his reverence for her, but she must have known how Noah had wanted to reach out for her. She did exactly what he wanted to do for her -- to wipe away the heaviness, to repair and restore and strengthen. Her moonlit touch ignited his soul and wrapped it in thick velvet, soothing and covering each part. His glacier eyes closed as he tightened his grip on hers, not ready to let go.
Tell the people they are loved, that Mort has counted their sunrises and will not have those days be snatched away from them. Be the light -- be Vi's light -- the bridge from the gift maker to the one they were all made for. Chosen. Cast out the darkness.
"I will." Yet here Noah would remain until Safrin herself disappeared into blinks of starlight.
FIN
Don't worry I'll keep you w a r m
infinite inspiration and endless thanks to odd and sky
