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!
Sam had explored as much of the Greatwood as he'd known how to find. With Jigano he'd already entered the woods once and gone to Sidhe; now on his own he had found the Mathair and explored the Stonesong, had become familiar with much of the landscape surrounding the woods.
So there was one thing left to do; ask The Voice what was next. He had other questions, but with Zariah blocking his way home and no clear goal in the woods other than exploration, he had to know what to do above all else. He was not good at an unstructured life. Sam liked to have routine, to have someone telling him what to do, to have a clear job and purpose.
There was a more simple, physical reason to go to the shrine too; without many humans out in the Greatwood, there was no one to drink from. He had to get some fluid soon, or he would be forced to the Hollowed Grounds.
It was the early hours of the morning when he slipped out into the woodlands, still invisible as an extra precaution incase any guards were about. He crept slowly, carefully, not breaking a single twig, trying his best to be quiet. His paranoid visions of being dragged to a prison kept him very cautious until he got to the shrine, where he stayed invisible but let himself drop to his knees before it.
In a low, quiet voice, he asked: "Are you there, Voice? I have done what you asked, as far as I can. I...want to ask you some questions and I need to feed. And...to be honest, I would rather like the company."
"Hello my bright one." The Voice said, though her voice seemed to come from within the tree itself. Lighting up with ribbons and veins of electrical current, a branch reached down towards the ascended to gently stroke the thick swaft of crimson hair that new grew along his face. "Drink first, Samuel, and then we will talk." She whispered. The branch around Sam suddenly became swollen and as human-like as the Voice could ever be considered to be. A wrist pressed itself against his lips, while another bit of the tree with finger-like branches curled into his hair, pressing him into the soft un-flesh.
after all is said and done you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood you're nothing but a monster
Wessex would know that energy anywhere.
She isn’t far from the shrine when Sam activates it, and like a pointer on a fallen bird, she finds him - and their Lady. But rather than interrupt his feeding, she stays at a distance, watching and waiting. There are many things on her mind, too: questions from old books, of strategies and weapons and what lies beyond the Hollowed Grounds. Already, she is resolved to explore, to leave this stupid woman and her stupid laws behind, to find another place for them to live. This home is not a home anymore. These people are not her people.
A place, perhaps, where the Ascended can be top dog.
07-18-2019, 09:29 PM (This post was last modified: 07-18-2019, 09:30 PM by Samuel.)
SAMUEL
Stretch out my life
And pick the seams out
Sam smiled wide as he heard The Voice. He hadn't realised just how much he was missing company in the woods until he heard the greeting; once he had gone years without hardly talking to a soul but now that he knew the joys of friends, of visits and conversations...it had been hard to go back to solitude.
But conversation had to wait when the arm appeared and his senses took over, the urge to feed. Hungrily he surged forward and bit the extended branch. As he drank he felt himself growing stronger, happier, more whole. After a long moment he pulled back and wiped his lips, breathed out a sigh of relief.
Unaware of his observer, he asked: "I have explored the Greatwood as much as I know to, like you asked. I found it was...a nice place, but rather lonesome in parts. I made you a shrine! Or...well, a monument....? In the trees." A little like a child telling their mother about his day, he continued. "There's something happening to a lot of the trees. I think they call it the 'blight'...it seems to be spreading. Do you know about that?"
The branches curl around Sam, drawing him in as a lover might, drowning him in lifegiving blood. It is good that he does not need to breathe, for the tree all but smothers him gently against bark and un-flesh. Wessex of course does not go unnoticed, and as Sam drinks sparks pulse in higher boughs like many eyes spying the hidden being.
“Is that so?” The Voice asks, a branch of the tree softly stroking his hair. “You explored many places to be sure, but not the village...” There is a purr of disappointment in her voice as a branch snags in his hair. Probably unintentionally. “A shrine? Oh Samuel.” And then the Voice is there in earnest, her projection illuminated in the tree as her incorporeal form steps outwards to regard her child with laughter and love in her eyes. “How thoughtful. Do you know it has been years since any have made me a new place to be?” She reaches out to caress the side of his face. “But your thoughtfulness is not enough my bright one...” She says softly, ignoring his questions of the blight. “The village...the whole of the Greatwood...it must be explored..”
after all is said and done you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood you're nothing but a monster
There is a reason for everything, it turns out. A reason for Wessex being there, in a normally private encounter.
“I can help with that,” she says just loudly enough, stepping forward and into their conversation. “If you can somehow do better than me at getting into the Village.” She looks at the red-haired Ascended with her usual mixed feelings of indifference and disgust. Their Lady is the buffer between them all, the only reason they can occasionally (and she uses that word loosely) be a cohesive group. A part of her dies a little inside at asking Sam for help, but in the end he’s still a step above Bastien. Barely. Like a half step. Fuck, she’d welcome Rexanna into their ranks but also what the hell is she thinking, wanting to do this for the most useless Ascended ever?
Sam smiled at the feeling of the branches in his hair, the motherly care he'd never really had...and wrinkled his nose as he was snagged. "I'm sorry. I...I went earlier, I thought that was enough. I'll...try and do the rest of it soon, I promise."
She didn't answer his question about the blight and Sam wasn't sure if this was because she didn't care, or because she didn't know. With The Voice it was hard to tell. But if his Goddess wasn't too concerned, he supposed he didn't have to be either. The praise, though; he drunk it in like air, smiling wide as she appeared. "I can make more, if you'd like."
He was going to make more excuses for his failure to explore Sidhe, when he heard a voice from behind and turned shocked, freezing as he saw Wessex. He knew in the presence of The Voice he was safe, but Wessex was still intimidating.
Though when she implied he had no advantages for this job, he frowned. Swiftly, he turned himself invisible and then came back though only slightly, like a ghost sat beneath the tree. "I am the most suited person to the exploration, I think."
Glancing up slyly towards Wessex, the goddess nods. "Did you know Samuel can make himself invisible?" She cooed, turning back towards the red-haired ascended with a proud smile. As Sam demonstrated, the voice beamed happily, a brow raised in motherly approval.
"You have grown so much faster and stronger Wessex, but the fae are a ... " She paused, a slight sneer on her lips. Impressive people? Oh yes. They were that. But they were also a bother. "..a fastidious sort. They will certainly be on the look out for you. But they cannot look out for what they cannot see, isn't that right Samuel?" She smiled, turning warmly back to Sam.
after all is said and done you're just a carnivore
let you in and drink my blood you're nothing but a monster
His shock pleases her, if only because it means she’s still intimidating. And with her confidence recently shaken, that little ego boost goes a long way. But then there’s this revelation that Sam can turn himself invisible and as he does it, Wessex finds herself begrudgingly admitting that it is indeed a useful ability. “I didn’t, but I can see that it gives him certain advantages.” She nods decisively. They need say no more, well - their Lady need say no more. Sam is kind of ignored anyway.
Turning to her fellow, she takes that special piece of parchment out of its hiding place and opens it up in front of him. The whole of the Greatwood - the Village, the Sea of Branches, the Drop, the Mathair, lie before him, the image occasionally shifting and moving in real time. “As you can see, this is a map of the Greatwood. The trees move, they shift and throw people out who can’t navigate the forest properly. Take it, use it to get to the Village. I’ve seen the Bodega and the inner part. We just need these two,” she points to the big tree that houses the Observatory, and the Undercroft.
She looks hard at Samuel, trying to impress the need for secrecy, stealth, and speed upon him. “I would advise that you go at night. Don’t stop, just race quietly on through. The Fae have a lot of different power, and they will not hesitate to turn you over to Zariah if you’re caught.” Wessex rolls her eyes, but the implication should be clear. His safety isn’t guaranteed… and they might not be able to save him if he’s captured. “But… if you see anything that looks like a small book, something you can easily grab and carry, I would be interested in seeing what it says.”
Cause why not?
Then, turning to the image, Wessex inclines her head. “I’ll come again tomorrow, Lady.” There is too much on her mind to share the time with Sam. Speaking of… as she exits, she pauses by him and whispers (under no illusion that their Mother couldn’t hear every word) “Lose that map, and I’ll find a way to kill you and steal your invisibility.” Then a move to clap him on the shoulder, and she’s gone into the night.
The Voice subtly, carefully defended him and Sam felt his chest fill with a love he had not often known, not a romantic sort but familial, warm. When he had recently decided to let The Voice into his heart, into his life, he had found her a source of almost parental comfort. He smiled at her and nodded, his eyes nearly filling with tears.
But even the presence of his Goddess couldn't help him with finding Wessex intimidating - he stiffened as she approached and took the map quickly, as if scared if he held out his hand too long she would attack. Looking at it, it was in some ways a relief to know he did not have that many places to explore. But those places were in the heart of Sidhe, full of people who would show no mercy if they found him.
He swallowed anxiously and nodded at Wessex, closing his eyes in fear as her hand came down upon his shoulder.
When she had gone, he turned back to The Voice. "I will do this as soon as I can, I promise. Um, I..." He paused, unsure if it was worth asking about the Blight again. Instead, he chose a more general question. "I was wondering, why do you want us to explore the Greatwood for you? I am willing to no matter what, of course, but...can you...see through us? Or is there another reason..?"
Wessex is as she has always been, and the Voice could not be more pleased. Though her methods are abrasive and unconventional, the Voice understands them. Pulling Sam closer, the goddess strokes his cheek soothingly.
"It will all become clear in time, my bright one. You and your brothers and sisters are setting the foundations for what will come next. And do not think I have not noticed just how much of this burden you have carried yourself." Wessex too, but that is not important now. Sam has gone above and beyond her expectations and the Voice is consumed with a crackling maternal love for her creation. "Your name will be remembered forever, once this task is complete. You will be one of my very brighest." She coos with a dazzling and warm smile.
The Voice was the comforting motherly presence he'd never had, and Sam was more than willing to be taken into her embrace, smiled at the feeling of the hand on his cheek. "Thank you, mo--Voice. Um...I..I'll do anything else you need."
There was little else to say, so once he had spent just a moment taking in her love, he stood and left with a warm goodbye, promising to explore the areas of the Greatwood he'd missed soon.
