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!
When the display finished, Loren glanced over at Rexanna, the remaining joy still lingering on his face and in his voice. ”Thank you.” It was insufficient in response to what she’d just given him, but hopefully he could pay her back with his own magic.
When Rexanna brings up a phoenix, of all the beasts and myths she could’ve mentioned, Loren’s smile just broadens. The blue-eyed woman had no way of knowing this, of course, but it was one of the summoner’s favorite creatures. That was not only because it was useful (fire being a most excellent deterrent) but because of the symbolism behind it. So, rather than answer her, he simply lifts his eyes to the heavens and waves his hand.
And fire exploded into the sky, taking the shape of a bird. It danced among the remaining motes from the fireworks gracefully at his orders, weaving and bobbing in streaks of light and beauty. At the apex of one of its arcs, the summoner sends it a mental command, and it opens its beak and crows in joyous triumph, echoing to the two on the earth below, hopefully watching it with awe in their eyes. Loren knew he was.
There is joy in the show, and she gives him a mimicked bright grin. “You’re welcome!” She tells him chipperly, smiling a kind smile at the end as she contemplates what creature he could bring to life. She’s never seen one before, but the stories she had heard as a child had inspired her far beyond anything she could have imagined. And she wonders if she’ll need to explain it further, eyes drifting to see his smile grow broader – a sigh of relief leaving her lips.
She doesn’t know if she could explain it accurately.
She doesn’t have to, however, as her eyes lift up toward the sky when his do, and she sees the wave of his hand in the dark fading light. Fire explodes, and had she had a breath to hold, she would have – instead her eyes grow wide and hungry for the beauty of what she sees – a bird of flame and wonder and awe, gracefully weaving in and around the remaining sparks of her fireworks. A hand almost trembles as it covers her mouth, surprise lacing her every movement.
It moves through streaks of light and flame, the light reflecting around them and she listens as it crows its triumph. The beauty of it, the joy within it, is enough to send a small amount of fluid to her eyes in replacement of her tears – and her eyes swim glassy as she wraps an arm around herself, fully covering the lower half of her face as she watches the dance. She recovers the best she can before looking over to him with the most genuinely touched smile she can. “Thank you Loren.” She tells him, every inch full of joy and wonder and amazement. “I’ve never seen one before, it’s far better than anything I could have imagined.”
The look in Rexanna’s bright blue eyes as she looked at the phoenix and the tone in her voice filled Loren with equal parts pride, pleasure, and joy. It had been a long, long time since anything he’d done had made someone else happy, and he’d somehow forgotten how good it felt. ”I still don’t think it can compare to your fireworks, but you’re welcome.” His eyes glanced upwards again, and he set the phoenix to dancing among the stars now that the last of the Rexanna's sparks had faded. Already, his energy was drained, and rapidly draining, but after her reaction Loren wanted to give her, give them both, a few more moments of wonder.
So the summoner kept up the dance until he was completely out of magic and the moon had made a great deal of progress in her cycle and the night crept on and exhaustion tugged at his limbs. Only then did he dismiss the bird of fire with a final flourish, and it called out to them one last time before fading to nothingness. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he turned to the woman beside him, a sudden shyness stealing upon him. ”I should probably sleep. But we should meet soon to figure out if we can both summon the Spark Bird.” What he wanted to say in that moment was that he’d also like to see her again, maybe just as friends if that's what they were now, but one night of revelry—for that’s what this had been to him, though she might not know it—had to be enough. He’d have offered to do the test now, but he was still scared. And, more selfishly, he didn’t want to mar the memory of tonight with his own shortcomings.
Unless the blue-eyed woman needed him for some reason, he’d bid her goodnight, and make his way back to the cold manor, where no one wanted him but everyone needed him.
Maybe it’s the fact that her fireworks come to her as easily as breathing used to. Maybe it’s because it’s like she’s looking into a mirror every time she summons a sparkler or something larger. Maybe it’s because it’s like looking at the back of her hand. But she can’t agree with him for the gift he’s given her. She remains silent in case whatever she tries to say leaves her lips garbled and incoherent before she recovers, eyes following the flaming bird until it’s gone, and she blinks back the tears, hand dropping from her mouth as she looks back to Loren with as much of a grateful smile as she can.
He mentions he needs sleep and she nods, feeling all the joy and wonder she can, before she gives him a brilliant white smile. “Yes. Let me know what works best for you. I live in the Settlement.” She offers easily, her home an easy place to find. Most people knew her, so it wouldn’t be hard to gather a direction to her, wherever she was. She only hoped she’d be able to remain as readily available as she was now, with the blight spreading.
But she bids him goodnight as well, slipping into the walk home in the moonlight with happiness, joy, and friendship blossoming beneath her exterior.
