What do you get when two ruthless assassins raise their daughter travelling through the wildest reaches of Caido? Take one look at Theea and you'll get a pretty good idea. Cheerful and tenacious in equal measure, and curious beyond all else, she began her journey on a mission to find those her mother once called family. And find them she did, soon rubbing elbows with demigods, leaders and even ghosts from the past. Her determination is resolute, her thirst for knowledge unmatched. We can't wait to see where her next adventure takes her!
Congratulations, Theea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
OG Skinning provided by Kaons, with functionality and many custom plugins made by Neowulf!
06-04-2024, 10:04 AM (This post was last modified: 07-31-2024, 08:09 AM by Odd.)
Words hung above but never would form Like a cry at the final breath that is drawn
It has been a long journey back to Safrin's shrine, far longer than the Dragoon would have liked. With the spiraling distractions of disasters and exile, Koa had neglected his tasks for the Gods, put them on the back burner. Now, though, beset by helplessness and hopelessness, the Dragoon finds himself more focused than ever on his personal growth.
And what better way to gain power over his enemies, than by pledging himself to that which is strongest of all?
Kneeling in the snow, Koa bows his head. "My Lady of Stars, I hope you will forgive my tardiness." He has again brought flowers, though this time they are made of violet paper folded carefully by the boy himself. The bouquet is laid upon the altar, along with the pair of leather bracelets bought so long before. Pip sits perched on a nearby pillar, blinking blue eyes as she waits for the starlit being.
Starshine falls around the dragoon. Where the snow previously glistened, now it sparkled with the light of pulsing stars, and the child in the air was replaced with the warm weight of petrichor and lilac. "There is nothing at all to forgive." Safrin murmured as she appeared before him. Stretching out one of her hands, she brushes her fingers gently across the curve of his jaw before flashing him an adoring smile.
Reaching down the goddess plucks up the bouquet of carefully folded paper, and though it was certainly within her power to transmute the delicate buds into the real thing, she leaves them, quite enjoying the effort and time it must have taken Koa to create them.
With a glance towards Pip, the goddess places her hands upon the bracers, infusing them with starlight and power. "This is a very clever ability, Koa Carptener." She muses, her lips twitching with approval. "I trust you will use it well."
Koa has been given
Bracers| Bracers that when activated extend the movement of the user's hand to 6ft total. Includes effects from items/weapons.
Words hung above but never would form Like a cry at the final breath that is drawn
With puppy-like joy Koa leans into the soft caress of Safrin's fingers, basking in the balm of her touch on his cheek. He imagines starlight left glittering on his skin, a warmth which manages to permeate even the Barrow's winter chill. "I will try to be worthy of your grace, my Lady," the Dragoon sighs, gazing up at the goddess with brightly adoring eyes.
The smile only widens at Safrin's praise, Koa's ego blooming proudly under the goddess's adulation. So long he's felt rudderless, unmoored, unwanted. But now, here, in front of her? "I would use it in your service, should you let me," he declares with rash abandon, dropping his head in a bow, his hand raised in salute. "As a reflection of your light and goodness, O Fairest One." It is an offer of fealty made without much forethought, but nevertheless infused with sincerity and ardor.
And yes, a small sound of warning rings in the back of his mind, Sunjata's dark tale and Ronin's shifting allegiance and Remi's sour history casting shadows of diffuse doubt. But the shadows recede here, in the brilliance of potential. Koa so desperately wants a purpose- desperately enough to foolishly believe things will be different, for him.
Koa Carpenter
Mama said, burn your biographies Rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams
"I would be proud to have you wield them in my name." Safrin's smile is radiant as she holds Koa's gaze, his copper stare like twin suns in the expansive depths of her galaxies.
Tutting softly under her breath, rather than acknowledging the thoughts that she knows are twisting in the back of the dragoon's mind like insidious roots, instead the goddess reaches out for him yet again, her palms against his cheeks that she might lift his lowered head. Smoothing her thumbs down his cheeks, Safrin sighs adoringly. Where Koa's thoughts were on Ronin's warnings, Safrin's were simply on Ronin; the man he had been, once upon a time, but only because of the similarities she now noticed between her former star and the man before her.
Once Ronin had been kind, naive, and aimless. He's been a fledgling hero in his own right with a heart that yearned for love and purpose.
Words hung above but never would form Like a cry at the final breath that is drawn
The hands on his cheeks are enough to smooth out any lingering doubts, the celestial touch radiating through Koa's skin, down his spine, infusing him with warmth. He gazes fervently up at Safrin, engrossed as only a fool can be. A fool who wears his heart on his sleeve, who yearns to be molded by hands like these.
Koa laughs then, boyish and shy, his smile pressing the curves of his cheeks deeper into Safrin's hold. "You are too generous, my Lady," he murmurs with a sigh, though with no real protest behind the words. Far be it from him to deny any gift, and opportunity to grasp greater strength. "I want only to be strong enough to be worthy of your regard. Though perhaps-" and he glances down at the bracers, already blessed by Safrin's light, "-you might see fit to extend my reach further? So I can better strike at those who would endanger what I love."
Koa Carpenter
Mama said, burn your biographies Rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams
"And what is it you love, Koa?" Safrin wonders, her lips decadently close to his as she leans forward. In his mind she saw flashes of youthful faces, some she recognized some she did not, but ultimately none who mattered. None who could give him all the things that she could, and who could fulfill his wildest fantasies of power and pleasure.
"Who?" The goddess implored further as her fingers contoured around his jaw as if bringing his lips to hers. There were moments that Safrin made herself look utterly ethereal, carved from starlight and bound by lace in a guise that seemed wholly made of illusion. Other times, though, she appeared painfully real, with pores on her cheeks and lines on her lips that made her seem completely tangible. Now was one of those times.
Words hung above but never would form Like a cry at the final breath that is drawn
What does he love? The things that flash through the young man's mind are what one might expect: a sister, a home, a dragon, a friend. Two young women with cerulean eyes, their faces bright as summertime, their smiles as rich and complicated as his feelings about each. "I love my family," Koa answers softly. "I love Stormbreak, and the people there. I love warm days and the smell of the ocean. I love summer nights and starry skies."
But it isn't the answer she's looking for, and he knows this, knows it as soon as the single word curls out from between her lips. Her grip on his jaw is intoxicating, and as he looks at her through hooded eyes he can feel his pulse in her fingertips. Awed and enamored, Koa finds himself wondering what her lips might taste like - honeysuckle, he thinks, or petrichor. It's a blasphemous thought, and yet he can't help it. She's still a goddess, but somehow also more, real and within reach in a way he never could have dreamed.
"I would love you, Lady. If you would have me." Koa's throat bobs, his hands twitching with the ache to reach for her. He might be young and naive and partially ruled by the chip on his shoulder, but he's not that stupid.
Yet.
Koa Carpenter
Mama said, burn your biographies Rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams
Koa gets there, in the end, just as Safrin knew he would. It's all there in his mind, the golden threads of his thoughts meandering in not-unrelated concentric circles until finally he'd reached the centre. "Would you love me even if I wouldn't have you?" The goddess wonders, her lips parting in a small laugh that the dragoon would likely feel as a wintergreen chill running up his spine as much as he'd hear it. She's teasing him, of course; the way her fingertips pulse soft affirmations against his skin should be evidence enough that indeed she will have him.
"I only ask because...well, so many treat their relationship to me as entirely transactional. As soon as they stop getting what they want from me.." Like a flower petal being crushed beneath a thoughtless boot, Safrin's lower lip similarly wilts as she sighs delicately. "..they just leave. You wouldn't do that to me though, would you Koa?"
07-08-2024, 02:19 PM (This post was last modified: 07-08-2024, 02:20 PM by Koa.)
Words hung above but never would form Like a cry at the final breath that is drawn
This is strange. Koa has never been a particularly pious sort. Sure, he's gone to Temple with the rest of his family, taken the requisite theology classes in school. If asked, he would say he feels A Healthy Amount of Respect for Caido's deities, coupled with Some Sensical Fear.
But now, with Safrin's touch flame-hot on his skin, the smell of lilacs rolling off her, so tangible and real? Now Koa understands why men have committed their lives to the service of a higher power. It all makes perfect, wonderful sense. For surely there is no grater calling, than to offer ones love up to a god?
"True love isn't transactional," he declares boldly, staring ardently at those galactic eyes. It's a trap, and he doesn't care. He's a Natural, after all, and a Breaker at that. He was taught to love the Gods without condition or question. Add to that a dash of heroism, a teaspoon of ego, and an endless search for some greater purpose, and, well, there you are. The perfect recipe for a Safrin Stan.
"I would love you like I love the sky, or the ocean, or breathing - whole-heartedly and without expectation of anything, only the hope to be worthy of your regard," he concludes, with the most dashing smile he can muster while simultaneously trying not to turn to jelly in her hands.
Koa Carpenter
Mama said, burn your biographies Rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams
"Indeed," Safrin agrees warmly before she eliminates nearly all distance between them such that her eyes, if indeed Koa is able to focus on them, will be nothing more than a hazy glimpse into the entire cosmos.
"I would love it if you did." Leaning forward, her lips brushed against his. It isn't a kiss in the same way that a chiffon curtain over an archway is not a door, but it is just as light and airy, leading forth into some entirely new territory without the need for levers or locks. Though he might not be treated properly to the taste of her lips, her touch brings forth a radiant glow that will feel the way petrichor smells and will spread the way wild ivy climbs.
"Will you?" She wondered, her fingertips still softly against his skin, her lips just a whisper away. "Will you love me like the sky? Like the ocean?"
Koa can have his item upgraded for free if he pledges himself to Saffy.
Words hung above but never would form Like a cry at the final breath that is drawn
One heartbeat she's an arm's reach away; the next she's there, her breath exhaled against his lips, her celestial warmth illuminating his cheeks. Too close too look at, yet she is all he sees: a hazy sea of skin and stars, beautiful and tangible and terribly real.
He can feel her lips move as she speaks, each ghostly touch sending shivers down her spine. His fingers twitch against his sides, aching to reach out, to see if her skin is truly as soft as he dreams it to be.
Later, he'll be able to reflect on the practical reasons behind this choice. Afrer all, all his strongest heroes became that way through the favor of the gods, and what does Koa desire more than strength? And then there's the Family looming large, and when you look at it all it really makes sense to pledge oneself. Why not cast your lot with angels, when the devil stands upon your door?
But that will come later. Right now Koa isn't thinking of any of that; all he can hold in his mind is her, the goddess as beautiful and vast as the stars. What's a boy to do, really, faced with such an offer as this?
"Yes," Koa breathes without hesitation, the word traveling straight from his lips to hers. Yes, he will pledge himself to Safrin, wholeheartedly and with the bold conviction only afforded by youth. Yes, Koa will love this goddess.
What could possibly go wrong?
Koa Carpenter
Mama said, burn your biographies Rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams
Nothing at all will go wrong, Koa. Not if you learn from the mistakes of those who have walked this treacherous path before you. And, perhaps, Safrin has learned from the past as well.
Safrin allows her delight to become a palpable thing. It wraps around the dragoon's ankles, rooting him in place as if his loyalty had made him steadfast against the entirety of the world. It would curl up his legs, embuing his muscles with the sort of strength that one day he might achieve with Safrin's help before mingling into his core with a suggestive flare of heat. Upwards the warmth of her approval would rise, filling the spaces between the dragoon's ribs and sweeping away thoughts of anyone else (at least for the time being). His lips would buzz with her unfettered delight as the starshine in her eyes eclipsed the world around them in a blinding effervescent light.
"I love you too, Koa." Safrin whispers as her lips press softly against his. By no means is it a chaste kiss despite its brevity. It will certainly give Koa's imagination all the fuel it needs to imagine what it might feel like to touch the goddess for more than just a second and perhaps motivate him to do whatever necessary to find himself in such a privileged position again.
Words hung above but never would form Like a cry at the final breath that is drawn
Koa is young, and has been younger. He is familiar with the feeling of temporary immortality, the brash and foolish sense that one is impervious to the world. But this, this is the same and yet entirely different, escalated and magnified and beautifully addictive. Strength courses like lightning through his body, neurons firing in delicious synchronicity that has the Dragoon catching his breath in amazement and delight. No drugs, no exercise, not even sex - nothing has ever felt as good as the untapped potential brought to life in this delicious, intoxicating moment.
It's addictive, and even before it ends, Koa knows that he needs more.
Her lips are static shocks upon his, painful in their sheer perfection. It's only a kiss and it's so much more, the taste of divinity symphonic on his tongue as he brushes it boldly over hers. It lasts so long and ends too soon, Koa flushed and dizzy and deprived when the goddess draws away. He gazes at Safrin through hooded eyes as dark and hot as molten coals, his hands reaching out and grasping air as he fights the urge to pull her back, to taste that mouth again.
"Safrin," Koa whispers her name, a plea and a hymn and an oath and a laugh. "I will make myself worthy of you," the young man promises, ardent as he meets her starlit gaze. "Every time I see the ocean, or gaze up at a star, I will think of how I love you. Every victory I have will be yours. And one day... one day I will be as strong as you make me feel. I will be your champion, Safrin."
The greatest one of all.
Koa Carpenter
Mama said, burn your biographies Rewrite your history, light up your wildest dreams
The tension that ripples out of him like water disturbed by a falling petal has the goddess smiling, though what has her humming with soft, music-like approval are the thoughts that whorl with a beautiful chaos in his mind. Thoughts like, nothing has ever felt as good along with promises of I will be your champion has Safrin tilting her head just so that she might press her jasmine-bright mouth against the corner of his mouth where her eyelashes might tickle his cheek.
"I would very much like that." The goddess whispers against his skin, and as the words leave her lips a lilac smoke will cloud Koa's thoughts with hazy tableaus of grandeur and greatness. He'll see himself elevated, cheered for; See himself as an equal to the likes of men such as Ronin; See himself at Anju's side, strong enough to shoulder her burdens rather than simply being one. All of this Safrin could offer him, and what was everlasting fealty when it so perfectly aligned with his goals, anyway?
"Go then, my soldier. My bright one. Go, and worship me in everything you do. If you do this, I will always be with you."
