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!
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
The tinge of blood in the air is certainly not what brings Astaroth this deep into the caverns of the Climb – but warmth is warmth and blood is blood, and in an effort of taking a much needed break from things and indulge in the heat, the butcher finds himself spending a little bit of extra time here.
That extra time spent as his lial shift, given that he hasn’t had much of a chance to test it out since it had returned and a part of him wonders if it’s at all the same as it once had been despite his recent realization of just how weak he’s become now.
Those particular thoughts don’t matter right now, at least. Because the Butcher has found comfort for the moment in bathing in the bloody pools beneath the waterfall, lounging within so that the only thing visible were the lial’s fiery orange eyes and the occasional jut of a volcanic rock of his plated armor, like tiny little rocks in amongst the lapping blood.
He isn’t sure what he’s waiting for, if anything at all, but a snack seems to cross his mind once or twice.
We're going down, down in an earlier round And sugar, we're going down swinging
Why is it full of blood?
Why is it full of blood?!
That's... pretty much Koa's only thought as he stares into the cavern, its walls stained an inky red from the light cast off the falls. It's utterly disturbing, reeking of iron, like something out of a gods-damned nightmare.
Or a really unsettling children's book.
Equally fascinated and repulsed, Koa hasn't made it very deep into the cavern. And yet he just can't turn away; he's too caught up in trying to figure out if the not-waterfall sounds different, being full of fucking blood. He doesn't notice the Lial prowling in the shallows, waiting for some hapless idiot (so Koa) to stumble into its den. He's too busy staring at the sanguine pillar, his clammy palms gripping the strap of his bag.
I'll be your number one with a bullet A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
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Distraction is a beautiful game, the Butcher decides then and there.
Because no sooner does a stranger enter, does Astaroth’s orange gaze focus in on him as a target. The lial remains unnoticed in the face of the magnificent crimson waterfall which is a blessing as the ripples from its falling streams hide the movement of the predator in the bloody water. It’s sticky and warm and essentially perfect for an Ancient looking for a spa day.
The cherry on top is an unaware dragoon venturing into the pit of sanguine splendor.
So the lial slips through the water, the butcher watching and waiting to see just how close he can get to the unsuspecting Accepted, volcanic body dripping with water as he slips out of the pool, blending in so perfectly well with the surroundings it’s almost laughable. It gives him time to open his maw of sharp teeth, clamp around the bag the man carries with his clammy hands, and tugs at it, hard to try and release the grip.
Why? Pure curiosity, of course. And it isn't like he has anything better to do.
We're going down, down in an earlier round And sugar, we're going down swinging
Koa is not inattentive. He's a trained soldier after all, drilled on the importance of situation awareness, on how to spot an approaching enemy, the value of keeping on guard.
Of course none of those lessons extended to how to spot a giant alligator lurking in a literal pool of blood, but there are some things school can't teach ya. Things that you can only learn through hands-on experience.
Or teeth-on, as the case will likely be.
He takes another step into the cavern, careful not to place his foot in the hot red liquid that coats the floor. Soon enough he's kneeling down, the better to inspect the water and reassure himself it isn't blood. He's just grown bold enough to extend a finger toward it when something catches the corner of his eye. Two things, actually, shockingly orange and blazing with menace.
Koa freezes, every muscle in his body tightening when he realizes the danger that he's in.
I'll be your number one with a bullet A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
If there weren’t a raging waterfall to drown out the drumming sound of the lial’s approach, Astaroth is quite positive he wouldn’t be able to be this stealthy. As it stands, though, it’s a perfect happenstance of coincidences that allow for him to be able to creep up on the dragoon, low to the ground, until he spots that bag that’s just hovering above the ground as Koa kneels and reaches for the bloody water.
Internally, the butcher is surprised to find that he doesn’t run, not once he’s noticed at least. The dragoon freezes, and with it Astaroth pushes forward, forgoing any lingering stealth to growl out a deep reverberating hum that has the water nearby rippling from the echo of it. Teeth tug at the bag, pulling it from Koa’s arm, orange eyes focusing on the dragoon to see if he does anything about it.
And if he remains just as frozen, the butcher will start nosing through the other man’s things in his bag, snapping long, sharp, and toothy jaws at Koa should he make any attempts to move.
07-16-2024, 10:09 AM (This post was last modified: 07-16-2024, 10:10 AM by Koa.)
Koa
We're going down, down in an earlier round And sugar, we're going down swinging
Koa has no familiarity with Lials. Are you supposed to stare them down? Get really big? Run the fuck away? I should have spent more time in the Celestine is the deeply unhelpful line of thinking now inside his mind, blindingly coherent and utterly misplaced as he scrambles back from the now swift-approaching reptile.
Which... doesn't seem to be all that interested in him, instead going for the bag slung on the Dragoon's arm. It slides off readily, abandoned in the name of some semblance of self-defense. Because of the provisions inside, maybe? He tries to think of what he's packed: jerky, water, bread, cheese. His boxing wraps are on already; the chakram hangs from a loop at his belt. The only really valuable thing he can think of is the mothman scale, but there's no way that a wild animal would be interested in that.
Slowly, eyes never leaving the monster, the Dragoon eases backwards. If he can just back away and put some distance between them, maybe the lial will take what it wants and leave the bag behind. Or at least leave Koa and his limbs intact. A bag is easier to replace than a hand.
I'll be your number one with a bullet A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping a req for level 4
The lial is surprisingly not interested in the dragoon in favor for the bag (why, might you ask, given that he’s a cannibal? Well, he’s recently satisfied his bloodlust and has recently eaten, which a tame enough lial makes). So, he becomes far more curious of the contents of the bag than anything.
Bypassing the jerky, cheese, bread, water, he noses up against something shiny and strange that the butcher can’t place. Plucking it from the bag and holding it surprisingly gently in between very sharp jaws, Astaroth retreats from the bag with a huff and a particularly sharp orange glare, watchful as he slips back into the bloody water, hiding under the crimson waves until the man has left before he can fully inspect the stolen trinket in his mouth.
We're going down, down in an earlier round And sugar, we're going down swinging
Aaaaand of course it goes straight for the scale, ignoring all his food. Koa scowls at the lial, briefly debating stepping in to retrieve the pilfered prize. All the replicable items in his bag, and the monster chooses something which cannot be replicated, something won with sweat and blood.
Except... he hadn't won it, had he? No; he's wearing the scale which he'd earned, crafted into an undershirt and snug against his chest. This scale had come from Edmund, on that chance encounter that honestly Koa is just as happy forgetting. He hadn't performed well then, and now he wonders if it isn't karma, to lose the scale he'd snatched from a retreating foe. Part of him had always thought he'd return it, if he had the chance.
Another part knew that was probably a lie.
What goes around comes around, as they say, and this feels like a balancing of the scales. "Fine. You win," Koa grumbles to the retreating Lial, eyes still watchful and wary as it moves. Like gunmen who have decided not to fire they both continue to back away, Koa never turning his back until the demon in his bloody cavern is far, far out of sight.
Astaroth has stolen from Koa:
Type: Light | Style: Defensive | Level: Basic
MothMan Scales | Incredibly lightweight but strong scales that can be crafted by a god into armour or a shield.
[fin! <3]
I'll be your number one with a bullet A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it
