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!
"Join you?" Neron raised his eyebrows, though he nodded his acceptance. "I just might." So saying, he motioned for her to follow as he led the way back through the corridors and down towards the ground level of the palace. For simplicity's sake (it wouldn't do for Zariah to get lost or go nosing where she shouldn't) he directed them back to the entrance room where they had been reunited. A fire crackled merrily in the hearth and, at Neron's command, a small table set up between the chairs that they might talk over breakfast.
"You need not be so overt, Zariah," he murmured, smirking across at her. "I am well aware of your tastes. And I have been thinking upon it all night - about your role here in the Citadel. A few spring to mind, but all are dependent on where you feel you might be most useful. What do you want to achieve here?"
”Don’t act so surprised, I haven’t seen you in a year. I should take every opportunity to steal your time.” she said with a smirk. She wanted to steal all of his time actually. It didn’t matter what they did so long as she was with him. Not in that utterly romantic needy garbage sort of way – she was more than capable of going on without him as she had done. She had missed him for what he added to her life, not because he made it.
In comfortable silence she followed him along the path back to the first room she had been brought to. Hazel eyes followed the servants as they prepared a small table for breakfast, and she sat across from the Warden, crossing her legs as she considered him. ”I’m just making sure you remembered.” she teased at his comment a smirk pulling her own lips. But she fell silent as he continued, a slightly raised brow the only indicator that her interest was peaked. ”My, my…the Warden of Halo thinking about me all night? Be careful, you just might make me blush.” she purred with a smirk, folding her hands over her lap as she considered her words. Hazel eyes slipped over to the fire, its reflection flickering through green and brown hues as she thought. ”My goal is to see our family achieve the greatness we were always destined for. The place matters not to me.” Her dedication was first and foremost to the family she led – which to another leader may have been unsettling but Neron was one of her own, and so her loyalty to him was unshakeable. Her gaze turned back to him, face expressionless but eyes alight. ” I should think this place could be a bastion of magic, respected and feared by its neighboring nations. You’ve already begun to sway people’s minds, now you must begin to reshape their thinking from surviving to thriving – which you know could be done if everyone embraced the arcane. There is vast potential here from what little I’ve gathered but I am an outsider who will have little sway amongst your, as you yourself said, distrustful people. How would you position me to change their minds? What is it you think I would be most suited for – because really, Halo is your Ward and I am your ally. What is it you think I could provide?”
"You, blush? That will be the day," Neron drawled, a smile curling up the corners of his lips. Along with water, the workers brought in mugs of hot wine, and it was this that the Warden picked up to nurse in his hands. Not that he felt the cold, but it was still more pleasant a drink. And it was the depths of the wine that he considered as Zariah began to speak about her uses, the Launceleyn's expression like stone, giving nothing away. (Ah, the perks of being a once-upon-a-time lawyer).
She made some good points, ones that only added to Neron's already forming plans for her. Slowly, a smile thawed across his face and he sipped at his wine before setting it down again. Breakfast arrived in the form of pastries and meats and cheeses - all sturdy, necessary to survive the cold.
"Halo has a Warden, but it needs one to focus wholly upon the arcane, as you say. With that in mind... I would make you Archmage of the Citadel. Train those who possess our gifts, and show them just how important they are to Halo." And a school of magic wouldn't go awry, either.
She smirked, picking up her glass of warmed wine as well, swirling it gently as she did so. ”I’ve a feeling you could figure out how if you so wished.” she said, lifting her glass to her lips to take a sip. But her own expression fell into its neutral, doll-like mask not long after, explaining her position and then listening to his thoughts. Her eyes stayed locked on him, studying, re-learning and remembering every detail of it.
Archmage of the Citadel. It had quite a nice ring to it, with a touch of pious fervor mixed in. She sipped her wine in quiet contemplation, tilting her head to the side. ”My assumption is that such a position has never existed before. How will it fit within your governing structure already?” she asked curious. She assumed he had advisors and helpers of various sorts already at his sides – where did this position fall amongst them? But training mages, building ardent believers in the beauty and power of magic? These were all things she was more than equipped to do. ”And just how much leeway are you willing to give me to build this center of magical power?” Their family had managed it through many methods – training was but one. Regulation of blood lines had been the most effective though. It would be trickier here…but there were ways to incentivize productive breeding habits.
Taking another sip of his wine, Neron set the mug down and raised an eyebrow as Zariah spoke. Figure out how to make her blush? Quite. If only he wasn't ice-hearted these days. Back to business, then; the Warden heard her out and relaxed in his seat. "It will fit well enough. A position like yours did not exist before, and now it does. I would introduce the idea slowly, though - these people will chew up and spit out anything that does not look as though it will fit."
As for leeway? A frown furrowed Neron's brow, the Launceleyn not quite understanding what she was getting at. "Ask and ye shall receive," he said slowly. "Run anything you plan by me first. In that regard I suppose your possibilities are endless until I get a say."
Zariah merely raised a brow back, an almost silent challenge as a small smirk curved her lips. Perhaps over time she could goad her frozen-hearted lover into taking a step closer to the fire. But she nodded slowly as he described the situation and the people. It made sense to her. ”I will refrain from taking too many bold steps then and follow your lead until you think they are comfortable with the change, and I get a better sense of the people myself.” she said quietly. It wouldn’t do to rock the boat Neron had built in this frozen tundra after all.
”Ask and ye shall receive.”
Zariah smiled the tiniest bit, pleased with that answer. A partnership, in a way. He wanted to be appraised first, perhaps allowed input, but otherwise, he seemed to still retain some trust of her ability to make appropriate strides in the right direction. ”Of course. I am more than amenable to such an arrangement. I should think we will make quite the formidable pair.” she said in a velvety smooth tone.
”A very wise call, but then you always have been able to put yourself one jump ahead of any potential problems.” Neron smiled over his wine at Zariah - a compliment, perhaps? He must be in a good mood. Nodding slowly and putting his cup back down, a slow smile crept across his lips as he shifted to start tucking into their breakfast.
A formidable pair? He couldn’t have selected a better description himself. ”Here is to the first of many breakfast meetings, then,” he said, raising his cup again briefly in a toast before settling down to talk work, food and - if Zariah got her way, which didn’t seem as unlikely as it had yesterday - a little chit chat about other things too.
