From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
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!
The obsidian came away in the palm of his hand, gleaming and Stygian, enough to craft something of rudimentary potential. Placing it in his bag, and permitting Belial to bat away at a few stones near his feet, the Sword eventually sealed the portions of the wall off; ensuring the stability of the cavern once more.
Besides, Alys’s inclinations of the Grounds distracted him. He heaved a long and forlorn sigh, as if it said a thousand things without the nuances and words to adequately phrase them. There were some portions he did find sobering and melancholic, that he’d craved again and again for the sake of memories. To hear Alys didn’t leave portions of it behind in such wakes didn’t deter or surprise him, but his gaze might have become slightly wistful. “Maybe one day it will have something to offer to its citizens again.”
Alys picked and prodded at her own small seam of obsidian, finally managing to pry it away from the foundation to which it stubbornly clung. It was a bit like her, in that way - obstinate, set in its ways, determined not to change. Except she had changed, and continued to change. Every day that she spent in Halo, she shifted from the person she used to be into a new version of herself. As it turned out, she liked her Halo self better than her Grounds self. She was more self-sufficient, more willing to do things for herself rather than complain about things happening - or not happening - to her.
The obsidian fell to the ground. Alys stooped to pick it up as Deimos sighed nearby. She looked up at him with a furrowed brow; why should it matter to him if she missed her homeland or not? But he said very little, and she said even less. "Maybe." Maybe she would return to the Grounds one day, and maybe there would be something there worthwhile. But for now, she was content to continue her life elsewhere.
The sullen intonations caused the slightest arch of his brow, but without explanation (from either of them, it seemed), he was content to leave the conversation behind. “Do you have enough?” He pondered over snagging more rivulets or rubies simply for the sake of having them in stores for the future, but also saw no need to linger. Unless there was something to hunt nearby, and he could bring fresh meat back for the Citadel’s citizens.
So instead of taunting and teasing about the Grounds again, or falling into the multitudes of rancorous edges, he persisted in another angle of amusement. “Have you been practicing your magic?” They’d already seen marked improvements from the last encounter with the ursur, but there was always more to be had.
"Yes." She didn't have much, of course - it had been a small seam to start with, and what she'd actually managed to extract was smaller still - but it was enough for her to use to make some small piece of jewelry. She resisted the urge to pull the obsidian from her bag, to hold it up and twist and turn the stone in the scant light of the caves, just to see how the light reflected in the onyx ore. Instead, she adjusted the bag at her side, retrieving a flask of water, and taking a sip before offering it to Deimos.
"I've been practicing," she said in a tone that suggested she was offended that he'd think she hadn't been. Then she sighed. "I just don't seem to be improving. I don't understand why I'm struggling to make my illusions go further from me. I can do bigger things, and my endurance continues to improve, but my range..." She pursed her lips, irritated by her own inability.
He declined the water with a shake of his head, narrowing his eyes at the cavern walls, then leaving the rest of it in peace. At the very least, he’d know where to come next time he required any of the objects, and began moving further into the cavern, placing more strides along the intervals, certain along one more bend was where it opened to a larger room. Belial followed thereafter, occasionally hooting back at Alys, likely to get her to trail after them.
The tone indicated some notions of irritation, and while she probably couldn’t see his broad grin, he considered it a juvenile victory. Thoughts rotating and revolving back to days where he’d been in much of the same conundrum, he tilted his head vaguely. “Often it simply comes down to time and persistence.” Learning new things, experiencing haphazard wakes, gaining new opportunities to explore the vast potential of one’s incantations, and then snagging new foundations in between. Eventually turning his cranium back over his shoulder to glance her way, considerations continued. “How far can you extend it now?”
Alys followed as Deimos led the way through the caverns, trailing slightly behind the man and his companions, her lips pursed and her brow furrowed as she contemplated her magic. As Deimos reminded her that time and persistence would be the key to strengthening her magic, she made a face at his back. She knew that he was right, of course, but his persistence in reminding her only served as minor annoyance at the moment.
Alys took a deep breath, then summoned a fairly lifelike replica of Belial, prancing along beside the living peryton in a mimicry of the creature's habits. She sent it out into the cavern ahead of them, perhaps a distance of ten feet, and then it flickered, evaporating as she tried to push it further out. "That far," she said, a tinge of pride in the improved illusion mingling with a glumness at her lack of reach.
In part, he offered the advice time and time again because there was only so much she could do – magic lent itself in proportions of strength, dominion, and perseverance, but it coincided heavily with multitudes of experience as well. Sometimes they could reconstruct occurrences and events, but only so far; portions of it would only bend to the will of ages and seasons.
Entering the larger room, surrounded by the same flanking obsidian walls and caverns, would at least give her more space to amplify and extend her incantations. Much to the peryton’s delight, and Deimos’ snort, there was a second winged deer immediately in their midst. While Belial pranced alongside, made hooting, obnoxious noises, and scattered around it, the incantations eventually dissipated, fading. The Sword tilted his head in scrutiny, brief, courteous examinations, before arching his brow. “But still much better than before,” where he recalled little mice scattering amidst climbing walls. “Have you been taking any of Ru’s training?” The Academy had the ability to amplify as well.
Belial's antics brought a shadow of a smile to Alys's face, and she produced another figure, this time within the reach of her magic, and instructed it to prance about like the living peryton. She even tried to throw in a few hoots for good measure. They weren't perfect, but the fact that she could produce even a moderately accurate noise with her illusion spoke volumes of the work she'd put in.
"I'm planning to take one soon," Alys promised, her voice a little distant as she tried to split her focus between the conversation and the illusion. "I hadn't quite figured out the schedule, so I missed the last one." Her peryton paused in its play to sniff at Belial, as though saying hello. "But I'm excited to really start training with her. She's very talented."
His companion was utterly delighted at the concept of another peryton again, and the Sword was left to wonder where the rest of such creatures existed. He’d yet to see any others since that fateful day in Halo, pondering, perhaps, if Belial was simply a cretin of chaos and there weren’t too many like him within Caido. That suited Deimos just fine. Regardless, the young deer persisted in hooting after the other, unfurling his obsidian wings in display and show.
That Alys had yet to take a class with Ru surprised him, but maybe time had been a factor. As her second answer came along, he nodded, the understanding of schedules and frameworks always an abundant issue in his own life. Setting aside moments to complete other things rather than being consumed by Warden duties was something both he and Evie had been working on; but sometimes the opportunities were rare and fleeting.
At the praise of Ru though, he smiled. “She is. I think you will enjoy classes with her.”
Belial seemed to enjoy her illusions, and Alys giggled softly at the display before immediately tamping down on her laughter. She wasn't accustomed to relaxing enough to truly enjoy such shenanigans, but she'd found that since coming to Halo, it was becoming easier and easier. She wasn't always sunshine and rainbows, but the light was beginning to come out from behind the clouds. She let the illusion fade away, proud of her growing ability and pleased with her ability to entertain the living peryton.
"I think I will, too," Alys admitted. She'd been looking forward to training with Hotaru from both magical and mundane perspectives. It had not escaped Alys's notice that her new mentor had been dressed for hunting on the day they'd met, and she looked forward to learning all she could about her magic and about her archery. "Have you trained with her? Or, maybe 'trained' isn't the right word. I bet you two are pretty evenly matched."
The problem with entertaining Belial was that he expected it often, and so as the illusion faded, the look of dismay crossed his features. His eyes rounded to almost begging proportions, similar to those of a dog yearning for treats, staring straight at Alys. Even if he could feel Deimos’ disapproval unfurling through their bond.
Shaking his head and lifting his eyes back towards the ceiling of the cavern, another laugh nearly rampaged through his chest at the mention of Ru and him training. “Many times. Though we have some magic that matches one another, she and I tend to differ on strengths and weaknesses.” Shrugging his shoulders, his gaze pinpointed on the walls too, pondering if there were creatures laden within. They’d also gotten into multitudes of trials and tribulations with one another; feeding off the cataclysmic edges they both brought to the forefront; for sometimes the Helovian fringes were impossible to forgo and forget.
Whatever Belial's expectations, Alys's efforts combined with the work she'd put in to removing her little sliver of obsidian from the cave walls had left her tired, and she could feel her magic fizzling in her veins. Unfortunately, the poor peryton would find no more amusement from her at present. Next time, she promised him silently, sending a crooked smile towards the creature. Animals had always held a special place in Alys's heart, and companions - even other peoples' companions - were no different.
Alys tried to imagine what it must be like to watch Deimos and Hotaru spar, but found the notion difficult to wrap her mind around. She realized that she had very little experience with either of them in terms of what they could really do. Her time with Deimos had mostly consisted of him training her - even on this expedition, he'd quizzed her about her magic - and her time with Hotaru had almost been more social than anything else. She really should train with the other woman, and sooner than later. "That makes sense," Alys mused. Hotaru and Deimos might be evenly matched in some ways, but there were others - like physical form - where they differed wildly. "I guess she'd have to be faster and nimbler than you to get a hit in, and you're probably stronger than her."
Putting on another show, the peryton hung his head, retreating to the Sword’s looming figure, while Deimos rolled his eyes. To make up for it, the Warden found some treats in his pocket and tossed the pathetic creature some, which seemed to alleviate most of the pretenses and guilt.
Ignorant of Alys’ notions and imaginings, he was only left to arch his brow. Truth be told, he could still be faster than the Valkyrie, depending on certain circumstances, outcomes, and occurrences, despite his much more massive physical form. “In a way,” was all he mustered, with a manifested and juvenile grin, purposefully irritating and Cheshire. “We can use our shifts to train as well.” Predator for predator, as it were. “Sometimes I simply enjoy the opportunity to one-up her.” Head tilting again, he glanced back towards walls, narrowing his eyes as a lizard crawled along the surface. “She will have a lot to teach you.”
Fortunately, Alys's heart only had to hurt for a few moments of the peryton's pouting before Deimos seemed to take pity on the poor creature and toss him a treat. Where she might be seen as cold and aloof with people, she had a rather large soft spot for animals, especially when they looked as pathetic as poor Belial when his new friend had faded away. As the moment passed, Alys relaxed in relief, having been very close to summoning another peryton in spite of her looming exhaustion.
The young woman hadn't considered shifts when she'd thought of Hotaru and Deimos training, and it became clear very quickly that Alys's knowledge of Hotaru was very limited indeed. Still, she snorted as Deimos mentioned opportunities to one-up Hotaru, confident that the other woman felt very much the same about him. "I'll do my best to learn."
