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!
Sascha groaned softly where he laid on something soft and warm and he felt the suns rays prickle the light skin on his neck. He felt dizzy and could not recall where he was, what had he been doing? Wait.. where had he even been? He groaned again and wrinkled his still closed eyes a bit. What was this smell? It was not a scent he has smelled before and it agitated the headache that pounded like a heartbeat inside of his skull, hell everything seamed to own it's very own heartbeat. No.. he couldn't just lay around here even though everything in him screamed to just fall back out of consciousness, with that thought in his head he stretched out his shaking hands so they existed on each side of his waist before he just as shaky started to push himself upwards. He almost wanted to throw up and it took all his power to force open his eyes to see that thick wall of tired blur. Slowly he blinked his vision into shape as his feet came into contact with the ground and wobbly forced him up into a standing position. He raised his hand over his eyes, it was to bright right now and watched the scenery create itself before those worn out eyes.
Everything came into focus but he had no idea what it was he saw. This.. was not China.. where the fuck was he?! He turned around so quick that his dizziness almost made him fall to his death again and it took an enormous effort to stay upright. "Dàodǐ shì zěnme huí shì?" He muttered as the dread spread through his entire being. Yeah.. what in hell was happening?! His stump growled at him which made him also consider how long it had been since he last ate, everything was just so very wrong right about now.
He was dressed in the typical farmer fashion popular in the year 1909 in china. Black in color and still muddy from his trip through the chinese forest earlier. Well.. rather; or once in time? He had no idea how long he had been at this place and he also had no idea what to do now. The scenery scared him, it was like nothing he seen before. The trees looked different, the water looked different, the plants looked different.. Heck it all looked different. What country was he in and how the hell would he get back home?
A sudden noise made a chill crawl up his spine and he became stiff as a plank. What was lurking in this place? What was he supposed to do!? As an idiot he decided to ASK the environment, why? He had no idea. "Shéi zài nàlǐ?" He regretted his decision as soon as the words fell out from him. This was the end.. he will get murdered in a different land, just like that!
06-11-2019, 01:38 PM (This post was last modified: 06-11-2019, 01:39 PM by Are.)
Are
Train, wash, bathe. A good plan for a good day, a good little hike and a good little bout with imaginary foes. Good."Good!" he thought and said to himself, giving all he had to that little nugget of warmth in his head. A ball of sunshine straining against a mountain of darkness and worry. Questions coming in like rising tides, all without answers 'til the time came that it was too late to be of any use. Was he ready? No one could know until the time came again. Maybe it wouldn't be long.
The cobbler was at least partially right for once, a voice muffled by trees and shrubbery, but clearly in distress. A moment he froze, a split second of the warrior shrugging off every question but those pertinent to the moment. A good hike turned into a good run, turned into a good sprint. Leather clad, shield and axe in hand the warrior came powering through the brush, ready to face whatever threatened the owner of the voice. A second cry, loose words without meaning could be heard, but enough to get the warrior thinking.
Was he that dumb? Charging into the unknown. Ready to put his life on the line was one thing, but doing it without any rhyme or reason was exactly the kind of thing he'd catch a good scalding for. So he stopped, stashed his pack in the event he actually had to fight, better to be light on one's feet then to have an extra blanket for when an errant step puts one to sleep.
"Who goes there?" his stern voice broke the short silence left after the distressed voice had gone quiet. Without waiting for an answer he pushed through into the clearing, shield first and axe raised in case of an ambush.
The rustling of the leaves came closer. Damn what animals existed in this country?! And what country was it? His heart started raising, no, galloping in his chest. The sound came closer and closer and in pure panic he looked quickly around himself to find SOME type of weapon. He needed to defend himself with something but the only thing he could find was a slim stick. He had no choice though so he jumped towards that little stick and wielded it as a sword in his hands, well, more like a dagger or a potatopealer, but still! A voice leaped out behind a pair of bushes and as soon as the man jumped out from behind the leaves Sascha, terrified, flung the tiny stick at his general direction in pure panic. It couldn't be more then four inches long and as soon as he flung it towards the man jumping out he regretted his decision. True; It wouldn't hurt him much, if he even hit him with it, but rather he instantly felt bad for throwing a stick at a stranger.
He blinked. Staring at the man he flung the little stick at as his eyes widened. The man was armed with a freaking axe and he had just thrown something at him. It was almost like his life flashed before his very eyes by now. He was gonna be chopped in half like a served portion of Amur bream and spread out on the ground like a feast. Crap.. What should he do!? It came as a instinct; he raised his hands quick as lightning as in a surrender as the cold sweat went up his spine. "Wǒ dàoqiàn!" The chinese came rushing out of him and as per always before he recalled that the man had been speaking english and probably had no idea what he was trying to tell him. He swallowed nervously before a small stutter left him; "I-i'm sor-ry!!" His accent was strong but surprisingly enough it was not inaudible at all thank the gods!
" I-i didn't mean to do that! A-are you okay?" It was almost so the words "kill me now" went through his head but he stopped even his train of thoughts before he could finish that thought. He did NOT want to die after all and it was a very bad thing to take chances with.
Something came clattering off of his shield as he broke through, didn't feel like an actual attack, but it was still enough to have the adrenaline flowing and the warrior ready to strike. Between linen covered, painted wood and the ill-weighted, but at least sharp axe he saw the outline of a the aggressor. Enough to aim at for a good, powerful strike, covered by the shield the axe began it's arc towards the enemy.
As muscles released pent up tension and propelled the strike the mind reclaimed what little sense remained in the thick head of Are. Words, they took an eternity to process, but as did his cut. The meaning of the words finally sinking in and firing off a split second decision that was made even before he'd understood it.
Harmless the gleaming arc cut the air between the men, returning to the warrior's side ready for whatever came next. A moment to regain control, to find solid footing and to peer over the shield at the stranger. Green-brown mottled eyes found just another person on the other side of the shield, if a bit peculiarly dressed. A few quick blinks and a deep breath as tensions ran off Are like spring rain on a fatty cloak.
Standing up straight and letting the arms fall down by his side he shone a relieved smile at the stranger. "Heill! No offense taken, stranger. You lost?" he asked, still breathing heavy as the surge of adrenaline subsided.
The axe glimmered in the daylight as it raised up in the air to strike him down and he slightly recalled himself thinking; This is it, im dead. as he closed his eyes awaiting the powerful attack. The mans breath was terrifying him and he couldn't believe that this was the last thing he would ever hear. But.. nothing happened? He had forgotten how the breathe as he just stood there, stiff like a log, awaiting the incoming death. It took a while before he registered that he was still alive and slowly he opened an eye to peer at the stranger who seamed to have stopped his attack and now looked at him from the top of his shield. What?
He opened the other eye as well and was wondering if his legs would be able to hold up his weight after this whole ordeal. He started feeling dizzy and remember there was this mythical thing called breathing that existed and with that thought he drew his first breath after what felt like a eternity. He didn't really know what to do now, just stared dumbly at the man in front of him for a good three seconds before he opened his mouth to speak. Apparently this was NOT the day to tragically die in a mysterious place.
"I... ehum... " He seamed to need another second to gather his thoughts but cleared his throat and tried to look a bit tougher then he actually was, which failed epically. " I.. think so? I mean.. where am i even? One moment i was in the woods in China and then i woke up here. How far from China am i? Could you please help me to find my way back?" He was so confused right now that it wasn't even funny. He continued with saying; "I have never seen a place like this.. how long was i passed out?" Considering he had not starved to death then China should be pretty close nearby right? It's not like you could travel to far with a horse all to far before starving to death right? maybe a few days away? His stumic made a growling noise again which didn't make him much wiser. He was hungry; sure. But not starving.. WHAT WAS GOING ON?!
He'd been throwing his arms and gaze up at the gods a whole lot in the weeks passed, and yet again he drew a deep breath and looked skywards. "Good gods. he whispered, tucked his axe into it's frog and slung the shield on his back. Yet another poor soul claimed by Hel the land suspiciously inhabited by the not-so-dead, at least the one before him didn't seem much worse for the wear, and came to it somewhere more serene than the outskirts.
"Are's the name, I'm a cobbler mostly. You're in Caido now, that's what the locals call it." Are said with a sigh, clumsily approaching the bad news that deserved a better messenger than the crude cobbler and his loose tongue. "I'm 'fraid to say, but there's no going back. There's no telling how long you where out, me I was gone for what seemed like an eternity, or just a moment. Still shook me up, waking up in a field where you where drowning just a second ago." fast and without hesitation, hard as it might've seemed and sounded it was the only way he knew to put it in words without go off rambling more than he already had been.
"You came through a portal, a rift between worlds, between Midgård and this, Niflheim, or well, Caido if you ask anyone else. Let me tell you though, I'm still not sure we're not all actually dead."
Sascha was still in chock from ALOMST becoming split in half like a cucumber which made it a struggle to understand that he was still alive. His heartbeats where a bit stressed, ofcourse, but started to slow down from the horror he just had been a part of. The cold sweat on his back from the near death experience created small goosebumps on his skin but other then that he seamed to survive it all, for now at least. He heard that whispering and swallowed slightly, still trying to get his nerves back on track, not sure if he should reply to that whisper or just let it go for now. He decided on the latter though since it feelt stupid to push more limits today.
The man started to speak again and he listened carefully on what it was he spoke of. Caido.. ? He had never heard of this place before and alot of thought started to try and break out in his head but they had to wait, he REALLY needed to listen to Are's words carefully right now. Get a lay of the land and all that. When he then said that there was no way back home it was like someone just stabbed Sascha with a poisoned dagger. It made him almost fall down again and had to catch up his balance by placing his palms on his knees to not tip over. And as the man continued it felt like his knees where about to fail him, actually made him have do sit down in that asian resting manner with his feet on the ground and his butt almost touching the grass underneath him. Was this real? Was it just a bad dream? The world started to spin before his very eyes again as the words; there is no way home.. went on repeat within him. How was this even possible?!
"W-wait..! So my home is gone for good? There is no way back?" He felt himself starting to panic and felt like he was about to pass out again. Just fall over and die in a heart attack or something. "Ohh what am i supposed to do!? I mean.. i can't.. w-what is this?!" His breathing became forced, heavy as the panic washed over him. A bit from him was the bag he had on him when he disappeared into this world, laying just as beaten as him and it didn't take much longer before he fell back on his butt on the warm grass under him. Eyes wide as he rocked back an forth where he sat.. was this the end?!
Damn it. Too much at once, far, far too much. He saw the man collapse under the weight of the realization, stumbling, grasping after any and all explanations. A simple lie to ease the burden of knowing what was had ceased to be, to take the brunt of the impact and leave what little remained whole. Are knew that face far too well, it reminded himself so of how himself still clung to the past. Scraps of the cobbler from Aros still left in the back of his mind, but as the days went by it made way for the outlander warrior. Maybe it was a matter of survival. Keeping the past alive, honoring the ancestors and his home was one thing, refusing to let go a whole 'nother affair entirely.
In the ramblings of the slipping stranger there was a question that struck a chord with Are. 'What am I supposed to do?' One he'd keep asking himself until the day he faced second death, and probably in the next world over as well. One could only keep going on stubbornness alone for so long, but he'd never lacked in things to fight for. Signe, Roana, The Hollowed Grounds and what little friends he'd made there was all good reasons to keep swinging, but did little to aid a stranger who had nothing left.
"I'm sorry to say, but I won't lie, there's enough of that going around. You're here now, what was is gone." Are said as sorrow had his brow furrowed and eyes offering what little comfort they could. "A purpose though? Start at the beginning, are you hurt?" his voice betrayed the toll it took on the man, steering the stranger away from the edge of sanity.
The thoughts rushed through his head to fast to even try to grasp them and everything was spinning now before his very eyes. The warm grass he sat on didn't even exist, it was like it had been falling away underneath him as the realisation of his now destiny grasped him with a iron fist. No way home.. There was NO. WAY. HOME. He was gonna die, this was it, the end had come. Was this the punishment for him leaving the army that came to haunt him? Karma was certainly a powerful thing after all and a foe that was unpredictable and sending people away to different worlds it seamed. His body were shaking slightly over the punishment he now had to endure as Are's voice tried to break through his skull. It was almost like a ringing in his head tried to block the others voice and completely pull Sascha into a pit of total despair.
He had to struggle to snap up what Are was trying to tell him and it all sounded muffled where he sat trying to focus on breathing. As the air filled his lungs time upon time he started to here Are's voice clearer with each calming breath with such a terrific timing that he managed to hear his very last question clearly whilst the other sadly had gone unnotcied from his panic. He swallowed as he looked up with eyes reflectioning pure fright that shot out on poor Are. What was he even supposed to reply to this bisarre question? Was he hurt? He felt like he had fallen down an endless staircase right now so the hurt was there to say the least but not as much bodily as mentally. He tried to clear his thoughts before he opened his mouth, lips shaking, and replied with pure despair; "I don't t-think so.." He turned down his gaze to the grass as his hands started to press on his legs and arms to make sure it all was unhurt. He was sore but nothing seamed broken at least which was the smallest good point in his entire existance right now.
He felt in pure horror how his black eyes started to tear up as the crybaby he once had been as a child which in the traitorous light of the groove made them glimmer even though they where watching the green grass. Come on! Stop crying like a child, at least where there was people that could see him! He was 20 years old! He couldn't start crying over the smallest of things right? He was to old for this.. He TRIED to descreetly clear his watery eyes as he tried to stand up again on those shaky legs. It took some effort but he managed to stand and looked up on Are with a look of a lost and alone puppy dog. Looking fragile and alot younger then he was as he tried to gather courage within him. "What am i supposed to do now...?"
That look, that broken, pleading look of a man with nothing left in life and slowly circling a maelstrom of despair. How it deep it cut a cobbler's heart, yet it was a warrior's heart that answered the cry. A falling man needed a strong, steady hand to get him up, not a friend to follow him down into the abyss. So Are swallowed his sorrow, his empathy, and tears. Even as his heart cried to follow the outlander into the deep waters of a lost life he forced himself to grit his teeth and smile at the answer barely more than a whisper.
"Good." was all he managed to say before he almost lost it again. As he could almost see a life flashing past black eyes tearing up, his own followed suit. Jaw clenched so hard it almost cracked teeth, a deep breath and a short respite behind closed eyes kept it down. Kept tears from rolling down his cheek and kept the gaze steely in the face of the pain.
It seemed whatever he'd put out was mirrored by the stranger gathering what little courage remained after the reality of the situation had been made apparent and clear. His question made Are's gloomy expression crack up and he offered a smile. A sign of life from one who's lost one, promising enough to give Are hope for the one not much younger than himself.
In an uncharacteristic moment of clarity he couldn't shake the feeling of absurdity. There he stood, a cobbler posing as a warrior, offering courage, advice and a helping hand to a man who's situation was exactly his own just a few moons before. He shook his head at it all, accepting that he was far from perfect, but better than the stranger's options, alone, or worse, Álfar.
"What to do? That, my friend, is something I've yet to answer myself." Are said, laughed and placed a strong hand on Sascha's shoulder. "I couldn't answer that for you even if I tried, not without lying, and I'll spare you that. Although I can say this much, these are ripe lands of heroes. One eye on you and I can already tell you'll be among them before long." another laugh and a reassuring squeeze before he let go and turned back from whence he came. "Hang on for a moment, I've got something." Are said and fished his pack out of the brush. From it he pulled a neatly wrapped parcel of bread and fruit he passed to Sascha.
Sascha knew nothing sabout the pain he caused the other with the pain he himself felt which perhaps was for the best. He would probably die of a heart attack if he knew what the other man was feeling right now. It would have been like a end of the world thing if anything at all. To see the despair in someone that lived here would have been the end of him right this moment he now was in. Thank the gods that didn't happen though.
Instead the man laughed seemingly happy and put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner which made those black eyes owned by Sascha almost tear up again but in a more cheerful manner than before though. He listened to what Are told him as his breathing started to calm down a bit and the sparkling lights started hide from his sight. At least it seamed like he wouldn't just fall dead at the ground any second anymore. As Are told him to hang on he stood there, collecting his sanity off the ground and tried to stay out of panic. Okay so he was at a foreign place, in a foreign wold and there was no way back home.. It was not like it was the worst thing ever happening to a person right? He could do this, couldn't he?
His tummy growled again and he started to reconsider how long he had been passed out again. It must have been quite a while but at least not long enough for him to starve to death obviously.. Are came back with a neat parcel that he handed over to him which made him a bit confused accept it, filled with a wondering of what it might contain. His eyes looked down on it as he unwrapped the neat package to se various food items inside, clearly not from his world but food non the less. Quickly he turned his gaze up on Are again surprised if anything not to mention astonished. Here he was, starving, and got handed food. Just like that. He had no words over this kind gesture but as soon as he noticed the content he reached into one of the pockets containing his clothing to fish up some coins from them. He ofcourse had no idea whatsoever that coins where meaningless in this world but still, as a weak smile started to spread on his face, he reached out the chinese coins in hope that he would accept them for his generosity. Worthless as they may be it was all he had on him that was of any value, at least in his world.
A simple sound, a clinking of coins. Exactly what had been missing from ever market, stall, and shop. Not something one usually dwells on, but the lack of the noise kept every scene just one voice short of a harmony. A cacophony of commerce never fully whole without it, without the sound of coins changing hands. It took Are by surprise, the realization, not the act of paying itself but the symbolism of the currency wanting to change hands for service rendered.
Well, not services, gifts. As he finally realized he'd been staring at the coins he shook his head at the gesture, however well meaning it had been. "No, I didn't sell you food, even if I did I wouldn't take your coins for anything more than the pretty trinkets they'd make." he explained, smiling and laughing at the simple mistake, one he to that day still found himself falling for occasionally. Rifling around the belt for a purse left at the bottom of a chest at home, digging into a belt bag for silver but always coming up empty handed. Or as empty handed as a craftsman at his prime ever could be.
"There's no currency here, just barter, makes my job a bit cumbersome, but at least you're not getting stiffed at the market."
Sascha looked baffled over these news as his gaze went from smilingly trying to give Are some payment for his genorosity to confused turning them down onto the shiny, chinese coins in his hand. Huh... so no money in this place huh? How did they.. ? A small "Ohh i see... left him as he ALMOST embaressed let the coins slip back into his pocket followed by him scratching the back of his head with just the look of bafflement he actually felt. Okay no money.. His mind raced through the other possibilities quickly in his head and the most logical happened to be trading. Yep.. trading seamed like the most likely choice after all.. Maybe he could trade his coins for something later on.
Soon his confused look turned into a big smile instead. "I thank you for these gifts then!" He said honestly before his hunger made him dig into the wierd foods. Starting with the bread that was most familiar for him. As stated before; he had no idea how long it had been since he last ate but gods knew he was utterly STARVING! Hungrily he munched away while he looked at his now new friend in this VERY faraway existance. It had always been a bit awkward for him to not pay for what someone handed him but it was welcomed non the less. "What are you doing in this place by the way? And .. where am i even?"
SASCHA
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
It sure was a breath of fresh air, talking to someone not of the three kinds of problems he'd ran into in Caido. Not one with their head buried so far in the mundane they could talk of little else than how the crops where wilting or sheep where lop-sided, not that Are minded, he was after all cut from that cloth whether he realized it or not. Neither was he of the kind that was so concerned with the state of the realm that they turned a blind eye to the people of it, chasing lofty goals to the detriment of the common man. And lastly, Are was absolutely sure that the man before him was not one so deeply concerned with nothing but himself, although it wouldn't had taken much to fool the warrior-cobbler, he was after all just a man.
What was he actually doing in Caido? A question Are had managed to avoid asking himself, but as times grew more dire he couldn't keep pushing it away. Maybe in spirit more a question of what he wanted to accomplish, the answer to Sascha's question was easy if one wanted to be a dick about it and serve up a half truth. "Are you asking my profession? Because that's easy, I'm a cobbler by trade and a warrior by choice, one keeps me fed and the other keeps me not dead. If you're asking what I'm hoping to achieve, now that's a whole 'nother thing entirely." Are said and made himself comfortable on a flat, mossy rock. "You see, there's a whole bunch of people tugging every odd way, all hoping to make this place better. Each with their own agenda and plan for it all. Me, I don't have much of a plan other than try to do the better thing. Right now that's taking up arms for the good of the common man, whether they approve of it or not. You see, I'm an outlander, we both are, and 'Naturals', those born here in Caido, don't usually take kindly to outsiders coming and mucking about their business. Especially not when it brings change they never wanted or asked for, even if it's for their own good. My craft gives me enough use they can put up with my passion, for the moment at least, but there will come a day when we might need to drag Caido into a new era, kicking and screaming if need be." he rambled on, losing track of the question he was trying to answer and instead finding back to the train of thought that had him trusting Roana more than Jigano.
