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!
There is warmth within her at her goddess’ words, believing with every fiber of her being that it’s true. She gladly lets the Voice envelop her, feeling the surge of something akin to darkness. She doesn’t have time to react, and while her mind seeks out those previous fears, they are no longer there. Her fangs bite, and ecstasy courses through her, quelling the magic she feels brimming and burning beneath her skin. She feels wonderful, incredible, invincible. This is what she wanted. To become something more, something better, something stronger.
Far, far too soon, it’s gone. And her eyes adjust (far easier than before) to the darkness of the Shrine as the world around them comes back into view. Her eyes lift up to meet her Goddess’, seeing the exhaustion but a pleased look about her. And she looks down at herself to see that not much has changed. She isn’t cold, her wounds have healed, and she runs her tongue along her sharpened teeth. “Thank you for all of this.” She says, softly, finding it a strange feeling to not particularly require breathing. She gives the Voice a grateful smile before she turns to look back at Bastien.
Her glamour is gone, and it perhaps makes her seem as though she’s a bit tired. Aside from that, her brand peeks halfway out of the clothing she wears — where Rexanna suddenly realizes he’s never seen her brand. But it doesn’t worry her, even having come straight here from escaping Zariah’s clutches doesn’t fear her either. There’s a part of her that wants to scream her happiness to the world — yet all she can do is look toward Bastien to see his reaction, his eyes as she grins to him with her fangs.
Bastien did not know how long he stood and waited for Rexanna to be freed from The Voice's process. It felt like a minute and a year at the same time, watching his love unsure of how much pain or ectasy she was in. He had never given into nervous habits like biting his nails, but his toe tapped anxiously on the floor in an uneven rhythm until suddenly, the Voice stepped back.
When Rexanna turned to look at him, her fangs appearing behind her lips (and looking quite adorable), he felt a swell of pride in his heart quite unlike anything he'd ever felt before.
He rushed to her, immediately taking her in his arms and lifting her up, spinning her around in the middle of the aisle of books. "Oh, tesoro! I am so proud of you! We are whole!" Laughing, it took him a moment to feel ready to put her down and put a hand on the shrine, nodding a thanks to it. The Voice would see it, he was sure.
But back to Rexanna - for it was hard not to look at her. Perhaps the glamour had gone, but Bastien didn't notice; she looked more radiant than she ever had. "How do you feel?" He asked as he came close again, touched her shoulder.
I am the carbon collected. I am the printed upon your stars.
She turns to look at Bastien, and her eyes meet his as he seems to look her over. There’s pride and happiness in his face, and she’s certain it’s reflected in her own. But then he rushes to her, and she turns a bit more fully to face him as his strong arms wrap around her and lift her from the ground. He spins her and she feels so, so free, she can’t contain her own form of laughter as it escapes her lips.
When she touches the ground again, her hand lingers in his briefly as he gives a quiet thanks to the Voice while Rexanna can’t stop the grin that forms on her face. “We are.” She agrees, her attention remaining on him and this new body, this new feeling within her. His fingers touch her shoulder and the pressure of it feels far less than what she would have once upon a time, but she finds she doesn’t mind it so much. She reaches up to brush one of his rogue curls from his face before she responds. “Like I could take on the world.” She says with a quiet laugh.
But the tone grows a bit more serious as she focuses on Bastien. “Or Zariah.” She says with a small shrug, sighing. “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it here tonight, to get you and do all of this.” She says, gesturing to the room and the Shrine as her eyes lift to meet his again. “I no longer work for Zariah, not after the day I’ve had.” She says, imagining that the hold would have broken when she Ascended, and no harm other than leaving the past in the past had come to her.
Rexanna said she felt like she could take on the world and Bastien had never heard words so wonderful. As she continued to speak he leaned in, holding her shoulders. "That is...fantastic to hear, my love. We can live our lives now. Not for anyone else but ourselves and our desires, hm?" Pulling her close he stroked her hair.
"I hardly know where to start. But I know where I would like to." Pulling back he held her hand and looked towards the door. "At home, with some wine we can hardly taste to celebrate and the moon in the sky. What do you say?"
I am the carbon collected. I am the printed upon your stars.
He pulls her close and speaks, and she presses her head to his chest – hearing the rumbling of his voice. She savors it while he strokes her hair, smiling while the feeling of elation shifts to something more manageable rather than the overwhelming feeling she had just had. Pulling away when he did, she looks up at him and smiles in response. “I’d like nothing more.” She says softly. And it’s true, she’d like nothing more than to spend the rest of her long life with him – she only hopes he feels the same after what she plans to tell him.
Squeezing his hand gently, she glances one more time back toward the Shrine, before her eyes level out on him and she follows him out of the row of the books. It was a joyous night, a frightful night, so full of everything she loved and hated, and there was a part of her that was tired from it all but more in a mental way. Physically, she feels the best she’s ever been – she’s not sure if that’s because of her Ascension and if it’ll fade, but she hopes it doesn’t.
She lets him lead her into the dark, toward home and the comfort of being with him.
