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!
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08-09-2024, 01:45 PM (This post was last modified: 08-10-2024, 04:37 AM by Ronin.)
we shall heal our wounds, collect our dead
In recent times, Remi and Ronin have discussed potentially creating a training arena for Torchline to call her own, but gods, it's been a long while since the Knight has done anything close to creating his own space that he has no idea where to really begin. And so he goes to where his conversation with his husband has taken him - to Sunjata's old boxing arena, or rather the burned out shell of the place, still derelict after all this time.
It would be a depressing sort of visit were it not for the group of kids around who have tempted him with a game of soccer. Granted, the ball is made of nothing more than a bundle of rags, and one of the children has created a 'goal' out two piles of pebbles, but that's all that's really needed for tomfoolery on a breezy, Flowerbirth afternoon.
And so it's with his plans on the backburner and even with thoughts of them faint in the back of his mind that he feigns trying to tackle the ball from one of the kids, only to have them snatch it away and punt it towards the goal (it misses, but there is much cheering and carousing nonetheless).
The streets of Torchline, worn smooth by countless footsteps and the passage of time, guided Aurelia through a maze of memory and change. The once-familiar alleyways, now dappled with sunlight filtering through newly sprouted foliage, whispered stories of resilience and rebirth. The air thrummed with a vibrant energy.
Her heart quickened as she approached the sprawling plaza where the old boxing ring had once stood. It was here, in this sun-drenched clearing, that she had first met Sunjata.
The echoes of their sparring matches still lingered in the air, mingling with the joyous shrieks of children engaged in a spirited game of soccer. A stray ball bounced towards Aurelia. She kicked it back with a practiced ease, a fleeting smile gracing her lips as she watched it return.
She watched for a moment before she noticed a figure standing on the other side of the street. A tall, broad-shouldered figure with dark hair and blue eyes. Ronin.
"Ronin!" The name escaped her lips, a joyful exclamation that startled even herself. A wave of relief washed over her, dispelling the lingering shadows of doubt and uncertainty.
But Aurelia's initial elation gave way to a hesitant pause. Would he welcome her back, or would her past mistakes cast too long a shadow? He had been there for her before, when things had been so dark and chaotic. Would he still be now?
The words she had rehearsed, the apologies and explanations, withered on her tongue. Instead, a genuine smile bloomed on her face, a radiant contrast to the somber hues of her memories.
"Ronin," she repeated, her voice soft but steady, "it's good to see you."
The distance between them evaporated as she crossed the plaza to meet him.
What is clear is what is gold You're only human after all
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Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
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Skyboat | A small schooner capable of travelling to adjacent boards. Travels at the same speed as a wagon/pleasure boat.
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08-10-2024, 04:43 AM (This post was last modified: 08-10-2024, 10:31 AM by Honey.)
we shall heal our wounds, collect our dead
Having been waiting with bated breath to try and defend the ball from the goal as another one of the children prepares to strike, his name hitting the air naturally has him glancing up. These days his waking hours are filled with people asking for his help - help he gives freely when he doesn't get the chance to offer it before they ask - and he assumes this is another occasion. Only when his eyes land on Aurelia, there's a brief moment of polite acknowledgement before recognition spears through his expression.
"Aurelia?" He grins - and the ball smacks him in the shoulder, much to the kids' amusement. Laughing along with them and taking a second to extract himself (I still saved it, Ronin is protesting, despite having done little more than standthere) it's only a few moments before he can break from the group and cross the plaza towards the Fireheart.
"Gods, it's been years," he calls, and whatever sort of greeting Aurelia might have been expecting, she'll be treated to a bear hug from the Knight, the sort that will pull her from the ground and into his waiting arms. "Where the hell have you been loca?"
Upon such a display of affection, Ronin might feel her body stiffen momentarily. It had been a long time since anyone had been happy to see her, let alone showed any kind of affection. Been a long time since any human contact at all. But after a moment of hesitation, rather than letting the gesture overwhelm her, Aurelia reciprocated the hug, her arms tentatively wrapping around Ronin's broad shoulders.
When it was over, and she pulled back, she answered his question openly. "The Oerwoud,” her voice was a touch hesitant as her fingers absently traced the worn leather of her bracers, “I.. needed time. To heal, to reflect, to find a way back to myself.”
“And right as I was getting ready to come back, something started… infecting the ecosystem,” her voice lowered and she glanced over for a second to make sure the kids were still playing. She didn’t want to scare them. “The animals, the plants, it’s like they’re sick, Ronin. Or poisoned. Weird creatures swarming out of nowhere… I saw the second moon from there, too…” she looked up at him, her brows threading, concern washing over her green eyes.
“I want to help. I’m not going to stand by and watch. I might not have been here for the war, but I don’t think I would’ve made things much better. Not in the emotional space I was in back then. I would’ve added to the destruction… would’ve made more mistakes I couldn’t take back. When I found out the one person I ever felt true love for, had died.. I was so angry, Ronin.” Her chest tightened, as if she’d forgotten how to breathe. She clutched her chest and squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth as she let the pain come… and go. A sigh escaped. It was not easy to carry on knowing she would never see Milo or feel his warm presence again.
She still wrestled with the guilt of not having been there when she was needed most. For surviving, when others had not.
What is clear is what is gold You're only human after all
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Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
Tentacle Rod | An enchanted rod ending in three writhing tentacles. Outside of combat, the tentacles have a tend
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Skyboat | A small schooner capable of travelling to adjacent boards. Travels at the same speed as a wagon/pleasure boat.
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping 1 x level 6 requirement for 600MP
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000).
Skipping for a Level 10 requirement.
Unable to really tell whether Aurelia's stiffness is due to his embrace or the fact that he's also tried to spin her in a circle, Ronin sets the Fireheart down gently enough, his expression open and curious as she starts to explain. "Ah," he says, with all the understanding of a man who once destroyed the Temple in the Hollowed Grounds as a springboard for healing and self-reflection. "Well, I'm very glad you made it out before the void properly took over, even if you weren't entirely done healing yet."
The void - he so casually says the name these days, the Knight unable to say exactly when it had become so common-place. "We can't say how things might have gone in the past," he interjects softly. Perhaps Aurelia would have made a difference, perhaps she wouldn't. It's still over now either way. "But I for one would be proud to have you hear while we figure this new thing out."
Leaning in to plant a brotherly kiss against her crown, he hopes he doesn't need to speak it out loud for her to know that he knows that sort of anger, that bitterness and grief. And he can still stand here with a smile, playing soccer with Torchline's children. "Every little helps, if you want to start right away," he adds with a lopsided smile. "Up here especially there's still a lot of trash and debris left over from Longnight, if you can believe it."
He said he'd be proud to have her around and she smiled softly, before she was gripped by her own pain for a moment. The comforting kiss planted on the top of her head said all it needed to, in order for her to regain her strength. Or some of it, at least. "I've at least.. learned to live with it. Somehow."
She sniffed and offered him a half-hearted smile to meet his charming yet lopsided one. "Thank you," she murmured, and didn't think she needed to explain her gratitude.
"I'd love to help clean up. Gotta start somewhere," she shrugged, turning to look around the vicinity for whatever trash and rubble there might be.
She spotted a small wall alongside some houses, which had been broken at the end. Bricks lay scattered across the ground. The small building nearby (some kind of shack or perhaps a small business) was damaged too, with broken pieces of wood and random trash littered about. Pointing it out to Ronin, she gave him a look that seemed to say 'Shall we?'
And she began to make her way over, figuring she would start by collecting the pieces of wood and piling them together. She could burn them after, for they were too damaged to do much else with.
"So... tell me about how you've been. And Remi? Oh! You and Safrin have been treating each other well, I hope?" She knew the goddess could be quite hot and cold. There must have been a great deal of pressure on his shoulders, being her Demi God and all that.
What is clear is what is gold You're only human after all
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Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
Tentacle Rod | An enchanted rod ending in three writhing tentacles. Outside of combat, the tentacles have a tend
Receive a custom item (Accepted only)
Skyboat | A small schooner capable of travelling to adjacent boards. Travels at the same speed as a wagon/pleasure boat.
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping 1 x level 6 requirement for 600MP
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000).
Skipping for a Level 10 requirement.
"You make room for it," Ronin agrees softly. "The pain never gets any smaller, you just learn to grow around it." Which is true for a lot of things, but especially for grief. Giving her a brief squeeze before letting her go, it's good at least to hear that she's happy to move onwards and upwards, even if that particular venture will begin with cleaning up trash from Longnight.
Nodding his agreement and waving farewell to the kids still playing soccer, he follows Aurelia over to the ramshackle building, wrinkling his nose at all the debris. A second Ronin - his projection - steps out and away so it might go and procure a cart to get rid of the bulkier pieces that can't be burned; the Knight himself gets to work gathering the rubbish from around the wooden planks the Fireheart moves.
"Remi and I are doing very well," he says, a warm smile flooding his expression at the mere thought of his husband, though it turns slightly more stern as Safrin's name hits the air. "I... am not actually her demigod any more," he says. "Vi took me under his wing. He's my patron now."
08-12-2024, 02:18 PM (This post was last modified: 08-12-2024, 02:20 PM by Aurelia.)
Aurelia
She could never get used to Ronin having a magical duplicate, but the revelation he bestowed upon her in that moment was more shocking.
"Vi?" she echoed, her voice laced with a hint of surprise. A whirlwind of questions swirled in her mind, but she couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. "That's... unexpected. I... I can't imagine turning away from Safrin," she admitted, and perhaps it was none of her business but, curiosity got the better of her: "What happened, Ronin? Why the switch?"
Her gaze held his, trying to understand. She knew the gods of Caido were fickle and demanding, but this shift in allegiance felt significant, a shift in the balance of power. And Sunjata too... he's turned away from Safrin as well. In favor of Frey...
As she waited for his response, a spark ignited in her palm, a tiny ember that grew with each steady breath. She extended her hand, her fingers outstretched, and the flame leaped forth, a vibrant flash of orange and gold that engulfed the broken woodpile.
The flames served as a tool of renewal, cleansing the remnants of Longnight's chaos and leaving only a pile of purifying ash in its wake.
Safrin must be furious, she thought, a pang of worry mingling with her concern for Ronin. The goddess was not known for her tolerance or forgiveness. How Aurelia got along was a mystery, but she wasn't about to start questioning it. As she tried to focus on the task at hand, her mind buzzed with questions and a growing sense of unease.
What is clear is what is gold You're only human after all
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Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
Tentacle Rod | An enchanted rod ending in three writhing tentacles. Outside of combat, the tentacles have a tend
Receive a custom item (Accepted only)
Skyboat | A small schooner capable of travelling to adjacent boards. Travels at the same speed as a wagon/pleasure boat.
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping 1 x level 6 requirement for 600MP
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000).
Skipping for a Level 10 requirement.
Ronin's projection returns easily enough with the cart, the Knight depositing his rubbish into it. They might still be able to burn that, but he doubts the surrounding Torchers would enjoy them doing it here in this peaceful little plaza. Continuing to work around the debris to gather it up, he can't help but raise his eyebrows at Aurelia's outright questioning - he doesn't think anyone has actually asked him directly about it.
"She lied to me about something very important," he says quietly. "And then threatened to kill me. Not in so many words, of course - I think her exact phrasing was that I would help to grow my daughter Seren's strength. But however much stronger she became, I would grow weaker, until..." He shrugs. It's easy enough to imagine. "I would have done it - I didn't have a choice - but Vi intervened on my behalf and took me out from under her patronage."
He owes the God of Life everything, and he doesn't take a single day for granted now. Whether Safrin is furious or not - and he has no doubt that she is - quite frankly isn't his business any longer.
"She... threatened you?" she echoed, her voice barely a whisper. Disbelief mingled with a growing sense of unease. Safrin was demanding, her favor a fickle and elusive prize. But to threaten the life of her own demigod, to use their daughter as leverage... it was a cruelty Aurelia hadn't imagined.
A surge of anger, hot and righteous, flared within her, threatening to consume her newfound composure. But she tamped it down, reminding herself that this wasn't her battle to fight. Ronin had made his choice, had found a new patron, a new path.
But, Aurelia still wrestled with the conflicting emotions, her loyalty to Safrin battling against the revulsion she felt at the goddess's actions.
"I'm glad Vi intervened," she finally said, her voice steadier now, "You deserve better than that. You deserve a god who values your loyalty and strength, not one that would... siphon it from you."
A thoughtful frown creased her brow as she bent down to throw a pile of trash into the cart. "But Safrin... she hasn't come after you? I suppose she wouldn't, since Vi is above her and all that."
"Sheesh, Ronin... Remind me to never sleep with the gods..." She cracked the darkly humored joke with a shake of her head, as she was reaching for a stray brick on the ground.
What is clear is what is gold You're only human after all
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Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
Tentacle Rod | An enchanted rod ending in three writhing tentacles. Outside of combat, the tentacles have a tend
Receive a custom item (Accepted only)
Skyboat | A small schooner capable of travelling to adjacent boards. Travels at the same speed as a wagon/pleasure boat.
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping 1 x level 6 requirement for 600MP
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000).
Skipping for a Level 10 requirement.
"You seem surprised." The wry smile is audible in Ronin's voice as he leans down to grab up a few empty burlap sacks. Once upon a time he would have been as well, he supposed, but ever since the goddess had plucked away his powers once for his being rude, he'd not put anything past her. Rightly so, as it happened. Turning to toss the sacks into the cart, he glances up and catches Aurelia's troubled expression, offering her a warm smile.
"As am I," he agrees. "And I appreciate you saying as much. Vi has called me his White Knight which, while it's not a title I'd have ever given myself... well, I've been doing my best to live up to it." And sometimes that looks like playing soccer with street urchins, so sue him. "And no, Safrin hasn't been able to touch me since, though I imagine she'd like nothing more. If I ever need support with anything I might have to speak with her, as Vi's herald, but so far so good."
And who knows, perhaps time would heal some of the wounds between them? (Ha, pull the other one Ronin).
Gathering up the rest of the trash he can see, Ronin deposits it into the (now rather full looking) cart and moves to start pushing it back through the square, assuming Aurelia will follow. As for her reminder, he barks out a laugh before pinning her with a look as serious as it is amused. "Never sleep with the gods," he tells her wholeheartedly.
Aurelia laughed at the sight of Ronin's both serious and amused expression as he repeated the warning back at her. It's a genuine laugh, one well-needed. She tossed the broken brick into the cart and fell into stride with him, wiping off the dust from her hands before giving him a pat on the back of his shoulder.
"White Knight, huh?" she mused, her voice light and teasing as she fell into step beside him. "Didn't you used to be 'the Dark Star'? Sounds like Vi was trying to give you a whole new image, a fresh start away from Safrin's influence."
A thoughtful smile played on her lips, a hint of wistfulness in her eyes as they passed by the children engrossed in their game. The sight of their carefree joy, their laughter echoing through the plaza, stirred a longing within her.
"What's it like being a parent?" she asked, her voice soft and curious, "I never thought about having kids myself, but I always wanted to open up an orphanage."
Her gaze drifted towards the distant horizon, her thoughts turning inward. "My parents both died when I was young, and there weren't any places like that where I came from. Shelters for the needy, a safe place for those who had lost their way..." she explained.
She shook her head, a rueful smile touching her lips. "But, ehhh, I don't know. It's just a dream, I guess. A distant memory from another life."
They reached the disposal area, and Aurelia, without hesitation, joined Ronin in emptying the cart. The task was simple, mundane even, but it felt good to contribute.
What is clear is what is gold You're only human after all
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Type: Grey | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic
Tentacle Rod | An enchanted rod ending in three writhing tentacles. Outside of combat, the tentacles have a tend
Receive a custom item (Accepted only)
Skyboat | A small schooner capable of travelling to adjacent boards. Travels at the same speed as a wagon/pleasure boat.
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000)
Skipping 1 x level 6 requirement for 600MP
Skip a levelling requirement (100x the requirement level. Skipping a requirement at level 2 costs 200, at level 10 costs 1000).
Skipping for a Level 10 requirement.
"I've honestly lost count of the number of titles I've held," Ronin admits with a self-deprecating smile. If there was an award for it, he thinks he'd probably be in with a good chance of winning. "Though I wouldn't be surprised, even if Vi never said it himself. He was mostly interested in me helping people." From kings to paupers, it makes no difference to the Knight; he'll offer his help to anyone who needs it.
Waving at the kids still playing before they're pushing the cart onward, Ronin is aiming for a quieter sidestreet right on the edge of Haulani, where they can decide to burn the debris without risking anyone's lungs. Aurelia's question catches him very much off guard, and it takes a few moments for him to respond; if there's a bit of colour in his cheeks, too, he'd not deny it.
"It's the best thing I've ever done," he says with an honest shrug. "But it's also the hardest thing I've ever done. Before all of this," This being demigodhood, being in a new world, war and so on, "I'd always seen myself with a big family. And I suppose I still have that, just not in the way I anticipated." Pausing to halt the cart, he also helps to unload it.
"My firstborn, Aoife, died when she was a toddler. Seren was given to me from the stars, from Safrin, Mateo from a dream, and of course there's Flora, but I was not the man I should have been when she was growing up." Sighing hard and trying to shake off the melancholy, Ronin partially shifts his fingers into crimson feathers, leaning in to set the debris alight with phoenix fire. "An orphanage is a noble dream, though. You shouldn't give up on it."
Aurelia watched as Ronin's crimson feathers set fire to the flames, turning trash into wisps of smoke.
"The hardest thing, huh?" she murmured, her voice soft against the crackling fire. "Yeah, I can imagine." She leaned against the cart, her gaze distant, lost in memories of her own childhood, of the aching void left by her parents' untimely deaths. "I always thought it would be simple," she continued, a wry smile tugging at her lips. "Love 'em, protect 'em, teach 'em right from wrong. But life... life's got a way of throwing curveballs, doesn't it?"
Her eyes met Ronin's, understanding shimmering on their surface. They were both survivors, scarred by loss and shaped by the unforgiving hand of fate.
"Hmm... Maybe one day," she mused, of orphanages and safe havens for those in need, "A place where kids can find a home, a family, even when the world's turned its back on them. Gods know I needed something like that when I was young. Would've saved me from.. myself." Encouragement was certainly the best fuel for dreams, and she found hers flickering back to life, if only a bit. "Maybe I should give it more serious consideration... when the timing is right."
She turned to coax the fire a bit more, only to find that all the trash had burned away already. Placing a hand on her hip, she tilted her head back at Vi's newest demigod.
"So, where are you staying lately?" she asked, her voice laced with a hopeful curiosity. A warm smile played on her lips. "I'd love to catch up properly sometime, hear about all your adventures since... well, since everything."
What is clear is what is gold You're only human after all
