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!
Stepping between the towering hedges, Thal scanned their surroundings. She'd never been in the Labyrinth before. As morning was coming to a close, a light fog lingered between the plant-covered walls that structured the sides, making their shadows come to life. The soft edges danced in the shifting haze like eerily seductive dark beings. She was tempted to join them in their silent rhythmic movements, but she had come here for a more beautifully violent purpose.
Thal quietly pulled her daggers from their sheaths at her hips, their glossy black blades glistening in the obscured sunlight. Her eyes turned to Astaroth next to her, an excited glint in her eyes and flashing fangs. "Want to lead the way or are you going to give the excuse of 'Ladies first'?"
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
love, do you want love? do you want lust? say you don't know
The shadows dance as they drift deeper into the strange, moving maze. And while Asta might otherwise completely ignore his shadow, this time something about it changes. A quick glance offered to the shapes as his warbles and moves slightly, he can see from the foliage around how his shadow seems to push against the blades of grass and leaves, but he pays it little mind as they drift deeper and her voice rings out.
The glint of metal captures his attention, leaning a bit heavier on his favorite cane to get a better look at them as a deep chuckle leaves him in response. “I would say ladies first, but you’ve already beaten me to the punch.” Comes the playful lament, picking up a bit of speed in his long legs to come up beside her. The cane lifts, tucking it under his arm as he starts to roll his sleeves up.
There's a slight rustle in the hedge they approach, to determine whether to go right or left, and as they get a bit closer there’s a quiet squeak of follow me! as a squirrel darts out and goes down the leftward path. Watching it, the butcher looks over at Thalassa with a too sharp grin. “Perchance we take the right path?” Maybe the squirrel was running away from something? Maybe there’s better prey deeper within the labyrinth than squirrels?
Her smile was hidden in the shadows at his quip. She hadn't given him much of a choice, stalking into the Labyrinth unconcerned with what may lie within. Whatever it might be, she highly doubted it would stand a chance against the two blood hungry Ancients. Although she didn't know what a cane was going to do against them, and Thal gave Astaroth a pointed raise of her eyebrows at his choice of weapon as he easily caught up with his longer stride.
She watched the squirrel dart ahead of them, its tail streaming behind it, quickly choosing their path for them. After all, why would they follow such miniscule prey? "I think so. Unless you have any objections?" Even if he did, she didn't wait, stalking towards the looming darkness and whatever had spooked the squirrel. Before they had a chance to find it, another split in their path caused her to pause. Thal raised a finger for silence, listening closely for any signs of their target.
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
love, do you want love? do you want lust? say you don't know
The cane isn’t exactly the version of it that he would prefer – once the shrine is completed, it would be the next option for quests from their goddess. But bringing it with meant that the butcher was allowed the opportunity to utilize it and keep the memory muscle strong. Either way, glancing down the right path that the squirrel had just come from as it continues to bolt down the pathway with more calls to follow it and the occasional yes! and no!, Astaroth glances back toward it with a raise of his brow.
When he looks back to the right hand path, Astaroth notices her already heading down it. His long legs make it easier to catch back up to her – pausing at the next split, silent, listening to the way the branches rustle in the Flowerbirth breeze. There’s a sound that appears deeper within the labyrinth, a low kind of rumbling that sounds close to the ground and off the lefthand side of the split.
The butcher’s dark gaze drops toward her with a raised brow, trying to capture her attention as the cane lifts to gesture down the lefthand path silently.
Thal also noticed the growl from their left, sounding more like multiple to her ears. At the lift of his cane, she shot him a glare, slightly annoyed that Astaroth would think she couldn't tell where it was coming from. With two of her fingers, she pushed the tip of the cane towards the ground, gesturing with her head for him to follow before walking down the left passageway.
It wasn't long before the noise was gradually increasing. Her familiarity with the sound was lacking, but the higher pitch had her questioning what it could be. When the mist dissipated enough to indicate the end of their path, Thal slowed her pace, daggers at the ready for any signs of danger.
There was no doubt that their prey lay just around the corner. She crouched low to the hedge, peeking her head slowly around the end to spot the source. If her eyes didn't betray her in the dark mists, there appeared to be a handful of large rodents gourging themselves on garbage in a small opening of the Labryinth. They would make for great targets. After all, there were enough of them to be a fun challenge and enough mass to prove worth the fight.
Turning back to Astaroth, Thal gave him a feral grin laced in sharp violence. Jerking her thumb at the corner, she gave him a moment to see what they were getting into before she got ready to lead the charge.
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
love, do you want love? do you want lust? say you don't know
The cane lowers in silence with the press of her fingers and he lowers it to follow her – easily able to see above her as they make their approach, but he does leave her to do most of the investigating around the corners (not wanting to look like scooby doo characters looking around the edge of a wall).
Listening to the increase in sound, Astaroth can’t help the grin from growing on his face at the prospect. rOUS were always a unique opportunity to utilize both strength and mentality with the way they tended to scramble upon approach. Rather than shifting, especially as he sees Thal’s feral grin, it sparks his own and he lifts the cane to hold it in an easier manner that would allow for the hooked end to snag and grab.
Settling for only a second, he flashes her an equally bright grin and a nod, eager for the massacre to follow, a shadow at her back as she goes to lead the charge. The rodents still seem distracted by whatever it is they’re gorging on – the sound enough to drown out their footfalls even as Astaroth starts to utilize the shadow magic within him, the tall shape warbling as they make their approach. Only when they’re close enough for them to feel the vibration do the rOUS begin to pause and squeak and try to run – despite how both of the Ancient’s know they won’t get too far.
With Astaroth's confirming grin, Thal stepped around the corner. Her daggers were brandished before her, ready to strike, seeking blood like a starving hound. Their footfalls were silent as she raced towards the ROUS. There were three exits from the small courtyard, including the one they'd entered from, and there were five ROUS. It wasn't a large space, but there would be more than enough room to maneuver. Her main concern was letting any of them escape, especially as they lifted their heads at the sensing of their approach.
A cruel thought entered her head and Thal did nothing to dispel it, a vicious grin setting into her face. Striking her black blades against each other, she used the spark to fuel her fire magic, letting it grow into three blockades against the passageways. One of the fleeing rats plunged its nose into the flames, squealing in agony before lunging back into the group. Thal took the chance to lunge forward with her blades, ducking under a leaping rat. As she slid under its body into the fray, she lifted her dagger, splitting the ROUS from muzzle to tail. The warm blood rained down on her head and the creature screamed to join the rising chorus of the others. It crumbled behind her as she came up to a kneeling position behind it. But she didn't stop for long.
Vaulting over a snapping jaw, she twisted midair to land on its shoulders like a pouncing cat. Her face was dripping in blood, only her blazing blue eyes and glinting teeth visible in the light of her flames. With a carnal growl of satisfaction, she pulled her prey's thrashing head up in a moment of cruel embrace, exposing its neck like an offering before running the edge of her black blade against its throat, a spray of red coating her vision. Chuckling at the exciting splash, she turned to see how Astaroth was fairing in the chaos.
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
love, do you want love? do you want lust? say you don't know
Any other time and the butcher might simply stand back and watch in admiration as Thalassa lets herself go – for now, though, Astaroth is half paying attention to the massacre she dances through like it’s no different than a tango while he also works within the courtyard to destroy the large rodents. Working as a team, as she slides under the first beast, the butcher aims for the one with the nose still singed, howling in pain. The cane flips in an easy movement, hand connecting and holding onto the portion that reaches the ground as he uses the hook end of it to pin the rOUS to the ground, immediately dropping to a knee as he swipes the dagger from the inside of the leg still standing.
While pinned, the rOUS squirms restlessly, but Astaroth doesn’t let it struggle for long – the cane pressed down to compress its windpipe while it already struggles to breathe through its singed maw, utilizing the moment of panic from the creature to deftly stick the blade into the most prominent arteries of the creature, before slicing along drain paths. It sprays him, too, in a sheen of red, but he pays little mind – the slick scarlet only making it more of a playful challenge for the wood that makes up his cane.
It's about this time one of the rOUS starts to try and save its own hide against the flurry Thalassa has caused, hopping onto Astaroth’s back while he’s occupied bleeding the initial creature out. The second he feels the weight of it, he shakes it off, and before it has a chance to scurry back up onto its feet, the butcher’s shadow lifts from the blood soaked earth beneath them and smacks the rOUS in the middle. A squeal of pain leaves it as he focuses his attention, cane twisting to utilize the other end to puncture its lungs. His hair has come loose, but while the rOUS struggles, he savors it, leaning heavily on the cane as a bloodied hand moves to slick back the dark hair from his face with a deep and delighted laugh leaving him, his too sharp grin seemingly extra wild and shark-like in the flickering flame the other Ancient had sparked.
She had to admit that the Ancient had a flair of his own, making her smile grow wider at the bloody massacre before her eyes. As Astaroth lifted a hand to push the hair from his face, she let out a loud laugh, watching as blood smeared across his face. He looked like a primitive caveman spreading war paint down his forehead, not that she looked much better. The thought didn't distract her from the shifting movement to her left. Flashing him a confident grin from her crouched position atop her kill, Thal lifted her dagger with two fingers. With the raise of a daring eyebrow, she flicked her wrist, releasing the blade to sing through the air, sinking into the space between the eyes of the last ROUS. The thud of the hilt was a great finale to the dangerous dance.
As if it were just another Tuesday, Thal lifted her remaining dagger to her mouth, letting her tongue run along the blood coating its black edge. A playful pout appeared on her face as she tasted the coppery tang in her mouth. "That was way too easy. I was hoping they'd put up more of a fight." Granted, it was hard for most opponents to stand a chance against the two blood-thirsty Ancients, but that didn't matter. The scuffle had only lasted a few minutes and she was left wanting more. More action. More violence. More blood. But now the ROUS sat heaped around them, lifeless and boring. But maybe that was just a little bit of bloodlust talking.
Sighing, Thal stood from her crouch, going to retrieve her other dagger, making sure to keep the red covering its surface. In the meantime, she didn't think Dygra would fault her for enjoying the spoils of their hunt. Her flames dissipated into the fog, bringing the scene into a sinister darkness or carnage. Smiling sharply at Astaroth, she flippantly gestured with her weapon to the carcasses. "Would you care to join me?"
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
love, do you want love? do you want lust? say you don't know
The cane he uses isn’t one like he’d had back in the Climb. Mundane oak as it were, he still harbors the muscle memory to utilize it in the way that he would have once, had the edges been sharpened to a blade or laced with spikes. It still gets the job done, satisfaction curling through his gut as the warm blood drips along his cheeks, clinging to the dark hair he’s brushed back and out of his face.
Utilizing the cane to stand once more, he leans a bit heavier on it, dark eyes taking in the scene around them before he sighs and flashes too sharp teeth toward her as a dark chuckle leaves him. “They are not the most intelligent of beasts. However, they can be amusing at times.” Prodding one of the carcasses with the end of his cane as he stretches out, letting the blood drip from his face onto his collar without a care in the world, the butcher takes a long, slow, steadying inhale.
Only to capture her glittering blues and sharp smile in return. “I thought you would never ask.” He drawls, his grin sharpening even more as he picks the one that he’d killed that wasn’t singed by Thalassa’s flame, lifting the deadweight of the rOUS up after hooking the cane around his arm, sharp teeth making quick work of tearing off a bite (and somehow it seems to make more and more sense just why all of his teeth rather than just the Ancient fangs were sharpened to points).
Glancing at the limp forms of the ROUS, she sighed loudly. "I'll have to take your word for it." Even the refuse the creatures had been munching on was boring, just a pile of discarded paper. It made it difficult to imagine them doing anything entertaining, but maybe they just needed to see more of them altogether. In the meantime, she gave Astaroth a satisfied grin, her own fangs flashing in the dim light.
Setting her blood-soaked daggers to the side, Thal pulled another a smaller knife from a hidden sheath under her cloak. She then proceeded to rip into her own rodent, using a combination of blade and hand to tear into the muscle and other tissue. Her fangs sunk into the meat with ease as she relished the taste on her tongue, dampening the constant bloodlust that occupied her mind. For a short while, Thal let herself live in the presence, relishing in the relief that the blood granted her.
