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.
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06-14-2024, 10:59 PM (This post was last modified: 06-14-2024, 10:59 PM by Mallory.)
Mallory
~ ~
She crept across the snow-dusted plateau, each footfall swallowed by the thick carpet of mist and white. Frost clung stubbornly to the ground, releasing soft, echoing crunches beneath her cautious steps. The brittle stillness shattered abruptly, a faint rustle piercing the air. Mallory halted, her breath held in a shallow grip, every muscle tensed, eyes wide and probing. Each exhale formed delicate clouds in the frigid air, dissolving away from sight and reach.
The mist teased, swirling and shifting, briefly parting to reveal a shadow slipping between two snow-covered mounds. Instinct surged within her, compelling Mallory forward with fluid, deliberate movements. Legends whispered in her mind of once noble creatures corrupted by the insidious touch of the void, now twisted specters. Yet, the allure of uncovering the truth, of witnessing firsthand the creatures that haunted her home, drove her forward.
The shadow paused ahead, its form obscure yet menacing against the pallid backdrop. Mallory's heart quickened, her loud drumming chest echoing the urgency of her pursuit. Still, she did her best to remain steady, her grip tightening on the small, stone-carved dagger secured at her side. As if sensing her resolve, the mist thickened once more, swallowing the shadow whole and leaving Mallory to wrestle with the intense pull of the moment.
With unyielding resolve, the woman pressed forward...
The gathering at the Castaway Exchange had been weird but cathartic, much as Tal hated to admit it. He wasn't going to think about the results of the Lucky Dip right now, though, because he had work to do. Before catching a commercial skyship back to Torchline he figured he might as well start scouting out the next stretch of road that he intended to build. The road from the Boondocks and past Queen's Gambit had been relatively easy in comparison, but the sections through Mourn and the Barrows were going to take some real planning, on account of all the tall hills.
And since the Peregrine was currently grounded on the beach in a different region entirely, Tal was forced to do his scouting on foot today. Not the worst outcome, since the road crew would also be on foot...
But the skyboat captain had gotten too used to the ease of skimming through the air and this whole 'walking' business was overrated!
It put the scowl back on his face as he padded along, taking notes of the lay of the geography and sketching in details on the map he held. A pale shape circled high overhead, small at the distance but with wings that were definitely not birdlike as his companion dragon kept watch from above. The mist was making it hard for her to see anything more than shadows below, however, and only Tal's See-Right Goggles let him take his notes.
They were also what clearly showed him the stalking figure suddenly appear from the mist when he was thirty feet away. He hadn't been trying to move particularly silently, but after most of a lifetime moving across the snow of Halo's Tundra he was naturally quiet in his steps over the frost-scorched grasses. When he saw the... hunter? sneaking around he paused, nose scrunched up in indecision of whether or not to interrupt. Whoever it was looked pretty intense, so he just cleared his throat softly in the hopes of not surprising them too much.
Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Mastered
See-Right Goggles: Reinforced goggles capable of seeing with perfect clarity regardless of conditions, up to 30ft. This includes magical darkness. Can see through illusions at 5ft, and be aware of illusions under 10ft.
With each step, the distance diminished. Through the swirling mist and the veil of frost, Mallory beheld the silhouette of her chosen adversary—a black unicorn, its once-pristine coat now a deep obsidian hue that seemed to absorb the surrounding light. A dark shade clung to its sleek form, weaving through its mane and tail like smoke rising from a campfire. In this instance, she felt a tingling sensation that ran down her spine. Her eyes involuntarily lingered on the unicorn's glowing purple eyes, captivated by them. Still, she gripped her small weapon vigorously. She wouldn’t exchange her rage for admiration; these creatures had destroyed what little she had left, forcing her to start anew.
She steeled herself, assuming a stance of readiness. Her dominant foot slightly back for stability, knees bent. Mallory had prepared for this moment; confronting this void creature was a test. The unicorn sensed her bloodlust, its head turning slowly to regard her. Heart pounding, Mallory held her dagger in a firm grip with the blade angled slightly upward, ready to parry or thrust. Her other hand positioned near her chest, ready to support or defend as needed. Her focus remained steady on the unicorn, prepared to react swiftly to any movement.
She knew the risks.
The unicorn shifted, its hooves stirring the frost-covered ground with a chilling ultimatum. Mallory took a deep breath, steadying herself against the oppressive presence of the unicorn. She had been noticed; there was no turning back now.
Tal blinked when his attempt to get the person's attention didn't seem to work, but then he looked past them and saw the unicorn. Well... kind of a unicorn. Former unicorn? No, no, it still had one long, spiraling horn of ebon bone emerging from its forehead, so it probably still qualified on a technicality, but its beauty was twisted and dark. It moved through the mist like a living shadow, and its violet eyes were fixed on the person - woman? - who seemed to be waiting for it to make a move.
"Uh..." Tal's hand dropped to his own Special Delivery Dagger, gods-blessed with an ability that would be damned useful in the current situation, but he hesitated after his encounter with the Void Horror in Torchline. "D'you got this, or...?" The courier didn't want to just walk away from someone in danger, but if she was out looking for trouble and had found it, he wasn't going to interrupt, either. Who knew? Maybe she had it all under control.
But just in case she didn't the courier let out a low whistle that cut through the mist. Overhead came a rumble of draconic assent, and the shadow of webbed wings passed briefly over the trio below, made larger by the obscuring mist.
A towering shadow cast its cloak over the scene, while a and a barely audible voice startled her amidst the cold wind. Mallory's eyes darted to the side, noting the figure of a man. Relief mingled with irritation; she wasn't alone, but his presence complicated things.
"Who the Fu-"
A primal snarl erupted from behind her before Mallory could fully register the man's presence. She spun just in time. The unicorn, sensing her hesitation, seized its chance. With a guttural snarl, it lunged forward, hooves churning up clods of frost and earth. Mallory's instincts kicked in. She sidestepped, her dagger flashing in the muted light. Just as she aimed for the creature’s neck, she tripped and fell hard into the snow. Gasping for breath, she swiftly rolled and sprang to her feet, scooping up a handful of snow to throw into the unicorn's face, hoping to blind it, if only for a moment.
The unicorn reared back, shaking its head furiously to clear the snow from its eyes. It snorted and pawed at the ground, momentarily disoriented, granting Mallory a brief but precious opportunity to act.
Everything slowed to a crawl, as if the world itself had hit the brakes. The woman assessed the situation. Her mind raced, calculating options amidst the chaos. With deliberate movements, she evaluated the distance between herself and the unicorn, as she attempted to anticipate the creature's next move.
Tal reached up to push back a lock of dark, shaggy hair from his face with a grimace that looked like it was very nearly permanently etched into his expression. Goggles with tinted lenses hid his eyes, but he wasn't wearing the full layers that might be expected in Deepfrost. A particularly dapper black vest flecked in white, striped in silver, and lined with fur was worn over a long-sleeved brown linen shirt a few shades darker than his skin, and the fine vest looked out of place over the homespun garment and his simple, comfortable trousers tucked into sturdy boots.
"Well, shit," he sword under his breath when the unicorn attacked. For a moment he thought that the woman had things under control, but then she fell to the side as the beast charged and Tal groaned. "Hey! Over here, ugly!" he yelled at the pointy horse, waving his arms to try and get its attention. The map flapped in his hand as he did so, and the unicorn jerked its head to focus in on the newcomer as its vision cleared. "Yeah, you! Why don't y'pick on someone else?" he taunted it. The Dagger in his other hand was held low and gleamed with an unsavory shine along the blade that spoke of more than honest steel.
And then the winged shadow swooped by again, only this time a gout of golden-red flame erupted from out of the fog, burning a path through the curling mist as the dragon's fire breath lanced down to strafe across the unicorn's hindquarters. In a heartbeat the companion was past and disappearing back into the mist once more as the unicorn bellowed and whirled, cutting at the fog with its horn as the unpleasant stench of singed hair filled the air.
Fortune favors the bold, or so some say. Mallory's eyes widened, the fear of losing her coveted prey to another igniting a reckless determination within her. She charged through the dense, snow-covered forest, each footfall sending a chill through her bones as the icy blanket yielded under her weight. "Stop!" she roared out in desperation, her voice slicing through the frigid air as she pursued the elusive unicorn. Her annoyance simmered beneath the surface, mingling with a gnawing dread of the flying creature. She feared its grandiose form, yet refused to let that same fear paralyze her.
The burned unicorn, momentarily distracted, presented an opportunity that Mallory knew she had to seize. The initial leap onto its back was executed flawlessly, but what came next tested her resolve. The unicorn bucked and twirled with ferocity. Each lurch and spin threatened to dislodge her, yet she clung on, her fingers seeking the creature's horn with thoughtless persistence.
Mallory edged closer to her goal, inch by painstaking inch, only to find her efforts thwarted by the beast's relentless vigor. The final, violent toss sent her sprawling into the snow, "Fu-!" the powdery cushion broke her fall. Coughing and gasping, she rose, snowflakes clinging to her disheveled form. Her eyes burned with an unyielding fire; defeat was not an option.
He didn't know whether the strange lady was telling him or the unicorn to stop, but he was pretty sure that the damned fancy horse wasn't listening. If Boreal hadn't intervened it probably would have charged him next, but he had armor to help protect him, and he knew he could take it. He wasn't sure if she could, however, and she wasn't doing much talking.
Before he could throw an attack at the distracted beast the woman had flung herself on its back and its whirling, bucking dance to try and get her off made it too dangerous for him to try an attack at it when any stab from his Dagger might hit part of her instead!
"Hey! What're you tryin' t'do?" he yelled, voice thick with frustration. "Stop fuckin' with it! Kill it or get outta th'way!" He didn't care which option she chose, so long as the void-touched creature didn't survive to spread its corruption further.
A few seconds later the unicorn made the decision for them as it managed to shake her free. Tal grimly gripped his Dagger more tightly and then thrust it forward, even though he was still a full fifteen feet away from the beast. As the unicorn rose up on its hind legs, preparing to come down on the woman and crush her, a deep puncture suddenly appeared in its side, right behind its foreleg. It bellowed in shock and staggered back, off-balance, as purple-tinged blood ran down its side and began to fleck the snow around it.
But it was still standing.
"Fuck!" Tal cursed, darting to the side to draw it away from the woman now that he had its full and undivided attention. It wouldn't last long with a hole in its lung, but it could last long enough to still hurt or kill one of them on its way out!
Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Mastered
Special Delivery Dagger | A carefully crafted dagger veined with crimson markings, decorated with the foot of a blink hare. Upon making a stabbing motion in the air, the dagger may damage a target up to 30ft away from the user.
"That beast is mine!" she roared, desperation fueling her every step. Mallory surged forward, closing the gap inch by inch, but it was never enough. It’s never enough, she thought, her mind sinking into a dark sea of doubt. The winter's chill wasn't what turned her blood to ice; it was the fear of failure. She couldn’t afford to stop, terrified that halting now would freeze her in place forever. The unicorn's horn was so close, a recently inflicted wound leaving a trail of oozing blood for her to follow.
She paused, fumbling for a small crystal jar filled with strange void insects. I should use it now, she considered, gazing at its insides. But hesitation gripped her—she needed that horn intact. "These creatures will only live long enough to serve their purpose," she muttered, steeling herself. With newfound resolve, she hurled the jar with precise aim, shattering it against the unicorn's wound. The dark, miniature creatures swarmed, gnawing at the injury, feeding on its life and essence in a horrifying frenzy.
And then, the creature fell, once a majestic being, now nothing but lifeless flesh. She took her time to walk into view, the mist still swirling around her. As she approached, she noticed the void insects had died, their tiny bodies scattered across the snow and the unicorn's corpse. She circled it, ignoring the stranger completely, her focus solely on the horn. Donning gloves, she cut the horn from its head and pulled it free without remorse. Gazing at her prize up close, she couldn't help but smile.
Tal wasn't listening to the crazy lady anymore. She'd had her chances to kill the beast and had spent most of them getting her ass kicked by it. While he normally wouldn't care too much about someone else's poor life choices, he didn't particularly enjoy watching someone get skewered in front of him even if they were a stranger. He struck out successfully, but it was going to take at least one more to bring the beast down--
And then a jar was flying through the air to break against the Shadowed Unicorn's side where Tal had stabbed it and the horse fell to the ominous, vampiric insects that emerged to swarm it. He backed right the fuck up, not knowing what the hail was going on with the strange buzzing nightmares and not wanting to be close enough to find out as the unicorn screamed and fell, its blood staining the snow around it.
Tal definitely did not sheath his Dagger as the weird lady started her butchery, but he was done being ignored by her - or yelled at for saving her life. With the danger past he shook his head in disgust and turned away, heading back into the mist to continue his mapping of the area.
Putting away the horn, she finally stood and turned to face the unwelcome intruder who had interrupted her hunt. "Hey, you!" she yelled, marching angrily toward him. "Where I'm from, barging in uninvited gets you in serious trouble," she growled, her frown deepening. As she glared at him, studying his features, she sighed and relaxed slightly. "Whatever. It's not like I needed you there, but I appreciate your part in this hunt," she admitted with a reluctant smile. That was probably the closest to a thank you she could manage.
Adjusting her gray fur coat and smoothing down her black wool dress, she reached into her bag and pulled out a sweet berry. "These are a pretty rare find," she said, extending it to the man. "Here," she offered.
Afterward- and without any warning, she stepped in close, her breath mingling with his. There was something remarkable about his eyes, a flicker of intrigue she couldn't ignore. But with his goggles on, it was hard to see. Driven by curiosity, she reached up without asking for permission, her fingers trembling with anticipation as she attempted to remove the man's goggles, desperate for just one glance at his eyes. She bit her lower lip, unconsciously allured, enthralled, ensorcelled by a simple idea.
Shit, he hadn't moved fast enough. He glanced back as she yelled at him again, his own scowl falling easily into its usual place as she came towards him. He sheathed his weapon and rolled up the map as she approached, and for a moment seemed to be seriously considering hitting her over the head with it.
"Yeah? Next time I'll just leave you t'die then," he glowered back, clearly unimpressed. When she said he wasn't needed he actually barked a disbelieving laugh and just shook his head. The rude lady might have gone from yelling to smiling over the course of a couple seconds, but Tal clearly wasn't over her earlier rudeness. When she offered the berry he just snorted and shook his head, taking another step away and waving the rolled-up map between them in refusal. "Nah, keep it. I was buttin' in 'uninvited,' remember?" There was a sardonic twist to his voice as he gave her words back to her.
Anyways, he didn't know how to identify the berry. He only had her word that it was rare... and, for that matter, not poisonous.
Tal didn't like being crowded at the best of times, and this definitely wasn't that. As the weird woman invaded his personal space the courier took a step back, a hiss of steel against leather heralding the reappearance of the Dagger in his hand as it came between them, leveled at her throat as he kept her at arm's length. An unsettling shimmer along its edges promised worse than a simple cut if it drew blood. "Don't. Touch me." The growl in his voice was echoed by an answering rumble in the sky overhead as the winged shadow circled above, blending eerily with the mist as it descended closer.
She stepped back, startled by the swift gleam of his dagger. It was just a feeling, but she sensed that this man could easily ruin her quarry. Fortunately, Mallory had ended it without him wrecking the specimen. She fixed her gaze on him, unflinching, and pressed her throat closer to the knife's edge. "Hm... you are quick," she remarked coldly, her voice cutting through the tension.
His foul mood was evident in the furrow of his brows and the tight grip on his weapon, but her own had taken an unexpected turn for the better. She looked up at the soaring beast with a sense of wonder. "A friend of yours, I presume?" she asked, genuinely curious, her eyes reflecting the huge shadow of the creature above.
"That creature would have surely scorched the dark beast to a swift end," she continued, her gaze following its feral movements as it circled in the sky, wings beating rhythmically. The darkness it cast danced across the pristine white snow, its presence was sure to bring trouble.
"But my test would've been ruined," she added with a hint of bitterness. She then took a step back and moved closer to the now-dead unicorn, noting its unusually small size. Its once majestic form lay crumpled on the ground, blood staining its dark coat. The eyes, still shimmering with an ethereal glow.
Pulling out a leathery book, worn from years of use, she began to ink the parchment, meticulously documenting what she had recently learned. The quill scratched softly against the paper as she detailed the unicorn's physical characteristics, the effectiveness of her void insects, and the unexpected interference of the man before her. Each note was precise, capturing the nuances of her observations.
Tal's scowl deepened as she didn't seem to take the hint, but he didn't move his knife away as she pressed closer. Ludo's poison on the blade would be a nasty - and potentially fatal - surprise if she insisted on cutting herself on the edge, but the courier didn't back down as easily as he once might have.
He huffed an annoyed breath as she pulled away and her mood see-sawed back again, from cold to warm in the space of a few heartbeats. The shadow of the dragon in the mist was deceptively large; though she was as big as companions came, it was a trick of the uncertain light that made her silhouette seem larger when the sun cast her shadow onto the shifting mist between her and the humans on the ground. "Yeah, she's with me," he allowed, not following her gaze. He could feel where Boreal was in the back of his mind and the corners of his heart and he didn't need to look at her to confirm it.
Her compliment - was it a compliment? - on the dragon's prowess caused Tal's scowl to take on a complicated twist as if he wasn't quite sure how to take it after her earlier yelling at him. There was a moment of confusion and he seemed to waver but the strange woman's swift addendum had him shaking his head. "Yeah? Well, I'll let y'get back t'studyin' then," he said, annoyed but not particularly surprised when she pulled out a book and started writing. How many other people did he know like that? The swamp witch in the Feverlands, Maea, even Alys sometimes...
He shook his head and sighed at the memory of his friends - well, and the swamp watch weirdo - putting his dagger away and turning away once more. He was done being verbally abused by the person whose life he'd saved and he had his own work to do. Without a sound he tip-toed deeper into the mist, relying on his magicked Goggles to allow him to see through the thick curtains of white until he was fully obscured and could get back to the business of mapping.
