From Attuned to Ascended to Ancient, Kiada Njovu-Reyes has been reborn several times throughout her short life, but her fighting spirit has never once been diminished. With beauty, grace and a quick wit, Kiada is the whole package wrapped in an infectious smile. Recent endeavours have found her in the heart of the Hollowed Grounds, aiding the region and bettering it for her new Ancient kin, and whatever she does next, we know it's sure to pack a punch.
Congratulations, Kiada!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
"I'll remember you said that when I've burned to a crisp in the light, alright?" She wasn't too good in the sun either, come to think of it. Just enjoyed the light of it. The clarity it offered. Resting was easier in the dark, but it did not help much when there were things to get done.
It was a fortunate thing indeed that the settled area was coming closer. That she hadn't retreated days into the wild to keep people away. The exhaustion was becoming a living thing, snaking through her limbs, turning her thoughts sluggish and less agile.
"Not gonna blame you," she murmured, looking much like a sleepwalker or a drunk where she hung in his grip. Dragging her feet behind her as if the shoes were made of led. "All you ever do is help... not sure how I'm gonna pay you back at this rate..."
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Chuckling, Amun shook his head. "I don't think you're allowed to make that joke when I literally used to burst into fire in even a little bit of sunlight." That particular danger had passed, which was why he was able to find the humor in it now. "But you can complain to me all you want." Indeed, he shot Maea a quick grin to let her know he was serious about that offer.
Then they reached the snowdrift at the edge of the path. The potter shifted so that he was supporting more of her weight as he helped her to hopefully navigate over it. "You can repay me by getting back safe and sound. Don't worry about the rest of it." Indeed, he watched her continued flagging strength with a bit of concern, though he kept it from his voice.
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
"Careful, I might just take you up on that," she retorted, a bit wryly. It was still strange to her, how this man could care so much and offer her so many things without wanting anything in return. They hardly knew each other, yet here he was, lugging her across a frozen wasteland like it was the best time of his life. It puzzled her to no end, and her expression told it plainly as she gazed up at him through the drifting snow.
Somehow, they got her over the edge and onto the road. But by then, Maea was quite done. Her knees buckled, and not even Amun's steadying grip managed to keep her on her feet. She tried to get up again, more than once, but the world spun so badly around her that she had to close her eyes. A pounding in her head made it hard to think of anything at all, and she tasted metal on the tongue.
"Seems... I overdid today," she slurred, only barely able to get the words out at the right angle.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun just smiled at Maea’s threat. "Don't worry. Honestly, complain away. I've learned over my many lives not to make offers I can't follow up on." It was a little slip of his tongue, one he didn't even notice as he tried to keep the banter going long enough to get her back to safety.
Luckily, they were almost there: while they still had a long road ahead of them, it was an actual road now, which was far less dangerous than the wilderness. Of course, then she choose to buckle entirely, and it was all he could do to ease her to the ground.
"That's alright. There will be folks along soon enough. You just sit here, and rest, and I'll keep an eye out." He settled in to keep a watchful eye over both her and their surroundings, unwilling to abandon her and knowing he didn't have the strength to carry her for long.
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
She mumbled something that might have been agreement, and pulled herself into a little ball, arms wrapped around the knees that she leaned her head down onto. She tried to lean against his legs for support, too weary to not take advantage of all the offered kindness. Just keeping herself awake was a struggle, one she feared she might loose at any moment.
Fortunately, freezing would not be an issue for her. Not with the rags over her. How many times had it saved her by now? Too many to count.
"What.. did you mean? By lives?" she asked quietly, after some time. Feeling the need to stay awake, knowing that falling asleep would be all kinds of dangerous, even disregarding the cold.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
As Maea pressed herself against Amun, he sighed. Then he shifted so he was seated on the ground, the cold and wet obviously not bothering him. He shifted so his arm was around her shoulders, and threw his cloak over her for good measure.
At her question, however, he stilled almost completely. Finally, he shrugged. "Would you believe me if I told you I was a star in my world? His voice came out quietly and not at all playfully. Indeed, his eyes were almost distant. "I was very pious, in my last life. I was a priest of the god of the moon. For my service, I was placed in the heavens." The words came out with as much longing as his discussion of the sea had before.
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
She probably should have told him that the cloak was unnecessary, that he did not have to worry about her growing cold. But it was nice to have his arm around her. Safe and comfortable. So she postponed it, let her head come to rest against his shoulder and just lingered. Resting.
When his reply came, it was with a stillness that reminded her of his ascendancy again. No true mortal could be so still, with neither heart to beat nor lungs to shift - he didn't need to breathe, she remembered. And the things he said? Maea stilled too. Tried to understand.
"Like... like Ronin?" she tried, grasping for the most incredible of the true tales she'd heard so far. "You were made a demigod?" But he'd said a star. An actual one, then, like the ones Safrin dusted across the night sky?
She angled her head to look at him, trying to grasp the concept. There was no doubt in her mind that he was telling the pure, utter truth, and she believed him. Just... couldn't follow.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun chuckled, then shook his head. "No, not like Ronin. Nothing so fancy as that." For a moment, he looked far away, as he found his mind drifting a world he'd been ripped from.
"I was never supposed to be placed back on earth. No one arranged for my return." He took a deep breath, though he didn't need it. "In my old world, the gods went to war with one another. A long, long time ago, many years before my first life. As a result, the heavens were...damaged, I suppose you would say." He sounded a bit sad as he recounted the tale.
Still, he continued easily enough. "No one really understood at the time, what that meant. I myself lived blissfully unaware, glad to be part of the cosmos." Pausing for a moment, he considered her. "But there was a tear. A hole." Finally he looked away from her. "And I fell through it."
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
He explained, and the girl listened. As the story unfolded, some clarity returned to her eyes and she watched him with rapt attention. Eyes a little wide, as the scale of his origin was painted up before him. Gods, wars, so far she was along for it, but when he spoke of the cosmos, of simply existing, it related to something she was not equipped to understand.
Too mortal. Far, far too human, for all that a spark of magic lived in her soul.
"Where did you land? Here?" she asked, very softly. Very respectful, and ready to accept any silence if it became too hard to speak.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
02-01-2020, 03:21 PM (This post was last modified: 02-01-2020, 03:21 PM by Amun.)
full moon rising on the waters of my soul
Amun chuckled, the sound dark and low. ”No, it was in my old world.” Pulling her a little closer, he shifted the cloak to cover more of her. "I fell into the waters of a port city. I had no idea what was happening, but the people there had seen my kind before." He found himself falling into the familiar cadence of a story.
"You see, I was still touched by my time in the heavens. I was changed, made slightly divine." Sighing, he shifted his weight a bit. "But only at night. During the day, I was a human, but every time the sun set I would change back." He sounded more than a bit nostalgic.
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
Nestled in against his side, with the cloak bundled about them and his story to pass the time, Maea could perhaps be forgiven for letting herself forget where they were. Sitting on the road to nowhere, with the winds and snows of Halo whistling about them. She was not cold, and the rest was doing her a world of good already, even though she would like nothing more than to fall asleep right there.
"Back into a star?" she asked him. "What was it like?" Again, she couldn't help but to draw parallells with Safrin's chosen Star. Was it really so different? Aside from the part of Amun being created quite by accident.
At least it wasn't so alien that she couldn't keep up, and she listened with interest for the replies.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Chuckling, the sound quite amused, Amun shook his head. ”No. Not a star. Nothing so wondrous as that.” Pausing, he glanced down at Maea, trying to figure out how she was holding up and if this was doing her any good.
When he spoke next, it was slower and more measured. "I was taller and more beautiful than this. I had horns, and I glowed softly the color of moonlight. And the moon itself sustained me with its light." Again, he sounded more than a bit bittersweet as he recounted the form that he'd lost when coming over to this world. However, if it kept Maea awake and interested he'd continue to reveal his past.
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
His searching gaze was met with a smile, small and drowzy but a little less strained. If they stayed like this for a little while longer, she might be able to try and move again. Maybe.
"More beautiful? Maybe it's a good thing you don't do it anymore... You'd never be left alone," she teased him gently. There was no denying he was already a fairly good looking individual, with all the charm to back it up.
"I'm surprised you did not come here as attuned to Safrin rather than ascended, if you were so close to the stars," she mused. "Why do you think that is?"
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun grinned and winked at Maea. "Trust me, I wouldn't mind some attention. I've been rather starved for it recently, to tell you the truth." Indeed, he did sound a bit annoyed that there hadn't been any action in his life since LongNight.
Chuckling at her question, he shrugged. "One of those demi-gods asked me the same question." Smirking, he peered down at her. "So I'll tell you what I told her: I was an immortal creature of the night that was sustained almost solely by the grace of my god. I suppose that put me firmly in what The Voice considered to be Ascended territory." His voice indicated that he wasn't prone to dwelling on the metaphysics of why and how he'd arrived in the way he did.
