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!
Somehow, Loren found the energy to get out of his cot for yet another day. Every day was starting to blur together: he’d get up, shave, get dressed, make some breakfast, wait until he inevitably realized no one would be joining, left some food out for everyone just in case, then went to go help out with the LongNight preparations. That was it. No friends, no family, no fun, nothing but work. Just Loren, alone, in this giant house or alone out in the world. He’d convinced Beatrix and Jace to come home—and convinced many others to come stay there as well—but he never really saw them, or anyone else, and he couldn’t blame them, any of them. He was toxic, and they were probably better off without him. Still, he stubbornly clung to what dregs remained from his life, even as he slipped further and further away from the those who'd once professed to care about him.
He felt a little like he’d been cast adrift, though the truth of the matter was he’d cut his own lines, and now he was living with the consequences of his actions.
Today he couldn’t even be bothered to cook. If someone showed up, he could make something basic, but for now he just set the kettle on the stove to heat. As always, to ward off the chill he could feel even though he’d stoked the hearth fires, he was dressed in thick and ugly brown wool that hung off his nearly skeletal frame in a way that would be worrisome if he was capable of worrying about much of anything these days. Astra came out from behind the screen that blocked the corner of the kitchen where he slept and lived, and he obligingly scratched behind her ears as he waited for the familiar whistle. Even the luxere couldn’t make him smile, sadly. However, he wandered over to the pantry to set some hay in a bowl for her.
Beatrix and Jace were definitely around, but the girl had gotten used to fending for her and her brother on her own. She didn’t think about how it might hurt Loren’s feelings, she didn’t think it even a possibility. So she went about her days, still stealing food stuffs from the market and keeping Jace occupied as she practiced her baby magic (which she was determined to get stronger at!).
On this particular day though, she was looking for a treat, and she didn’t want to trek all the way to the market to find something yummy. So she headed down to the kitchen. But when she walked in and saw the random sheet thingy and a cot and…”Are you wearing a potato sack? And how come you look so awful?” Beatrix said bluntly when she saw her older brother going through the pantry.
Although Loren hadn’t heard or seen Beatrix in a while, not since he’d convinced her to come home, really, his half-sister’s voice was unmistakable. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he had yet to hear anything but a critical word from her. Still, she was a child, and he was tired of fighting, so instead of a spark of anger as he might’ve felt once upon a time, he just felt a wave of exhaustion course through him. Besides, he didn't really care what he looked like, not anymore. ”No. And I haven’t been sleeping.” That was true enough, and it was better than saying he hadn’t been eating as well. The kettle started the telltale whistle and he took it off the stove and placed it on a cooler piece of metal nearby. ”Do you want some tea? And can I make you anything? Bread, eggs? Or I could heat up some leftovers.” There were other dishes, but the summoner wasn’t sure he was capable of anything too complicated in his current state.
Beatrix blinked at him, very confused by his answer. "Well yeah you look tired but you look like a skeleton too." she said. Why? There was apparently plenty of food around since he was offering it to her. And if there wasn't, there was plenty in the market for the taking. Frankly, she was a bit surprised to not be getting a lecture of some sort. Loren seemed to like lectures quite a bit.
"No I came looking for candy. I've been practicing my magic." she said, glancing over at the cupboard where she expected candy to be hidden. "You should eat candy too. So then you won't look like a skeleton anymore."
Yes, Loren looked like a skeleton as much as he looked like a ghost. However, seeing as Beatrix hadn’t actually asked him a question, he wasn’t exactly going to answer her. Besides, just because he looked bad didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of doing what he needed to. And that was all that really mattered.
To him at least: other people didn’t really get to have opinions if they were only going to be in his life sporadically. As she said she was looking for candy, the summoner opened a cabinet and pulled out a bag of honey candies. He’d taken to stocking them after her return, seeing how much she liked them; it wasn’t his fault she was never around to ask him for some.
Placing the bag on the counter before him, he stepped back and leaned against the counter opposite it. ”I don’t like candy.” It was way too sweet for his tastes, probably because he’d been denied every luxury growing up. ”How’s your magic coming along?” Although he probably should’ve been training her, again, he’d barely seen her, and he had a lot else on his plate. Still, if she wanted some help, he’d be more than happy to do what he could.
Beatrix's eyes widened, just as she popped a piece of honey candy in her mouth. "You don't like candy?!" she said aghast. It was the most preposterous thing she had ever heard in her very short decade of life. Even Peter liked candy and he was a total dweeb! Well...he still needed to eat something to stop looking like a skeleton. As odd and abrupt as it was, Bea did care - she just wasn't very good at it. "Well then...I guess you need something else then..." she said tapping her chin. After a quick scan of the kitchen, and shoving a chair by a counter so she could reach, she set to making Loren something. It was simple, bread with butter and some cinnamon and sugar on it. "Here." she said, holding it out to him, still standing on the chair. "I woulda toasted it but I don't know how."
When he asked about her magic though, her demeanor fell and she stuffed another piece of honey candy in her mouth. Slowly she shook her head. "Not good." she mumbled, glancing at him warily. Magic not coming along well was not something anyone admitted to easily in their family, and she had reason to be worried. He was the oldest person left, and if anyone would punish her for it, it would be him. "It's still just disintegration, and its still really hard to do." she said quietly.
As Beatrix puttered around the kitchen, Loren tried to get a word in before she’d actually started making him something. Unfortunately, he failed, since she was way faster than he'd been expecting. ”I really don’t” He was perfectly capable of feeding himself, and he wished people would stop shoving food down his throat. His objection seemed to be too little, too late, since the bread was plated and covered in tasty things before he could do anything about it.
Unfortunately, it was clear his half-sister didn’t know him all that well. As she held out the plate, he shook his head. ”I don’t like sweets in general. Thank you though. You can have it, though.” That was true, but the real truth was he just wasn’t that hungry these days. He tilted his head at her admission that she didn't know how to toast it. ”Would you like to learn how?” It would be simple enough to show her.
He probably should’ve realized that talking about magic would be a dicey subject. Indeed, if he’d been thinking at all clearly he would’ve recognized that she might be worried about how he’d react to her comments. Thankfully, the kettle started whistling, which gave him some time to collect his thoughts as he took it off the stove and poured himself a cup of tea. ”That’s okay. Would you like to practice.” His voice came out mildly as he blew on the tea, though he watched Beatrix for any sign that she might get worried, upset, or angry.
Beatrix frowned, pulling the piece of cinnamon sugar bread back. "Oh." she said, frowning. "I only know how to make sweet things." she said with a huff. She had no idea what to make him now in all honesty. But he offered to show her how to toast bread and she nodded. Maybe then she could just butter it and he could have that...like a sugar hating weirdo.
But the offer to practice made her pale a bit. Ahe had just admitted to being weak at her magic and the follow up offer could only mean one thing in her experience. "I'm sorry, I have been practicing really hard a lot." she said, staring at the floor with a deadened look in her eyes. She should've just lied and said it was goinf great.
As Beatrix admitted she didn’t know how to make anything that wasn’t sweet, Loren took a sip of his tea to hide his expression. It probably wouldn’t have changed much, but he couldn’t decide whether he should smile at the comment and how funny it was, or frown that no one had taught his half-sister how to properly take care of herself, and in fact had spoiled her sweet, literally. So instead, he just nodded. ”Well. Let’s teach you how to make something non-sweet then.” Toast wasn’t too hard, and Beatrix was mature for her age. She could likely handle the stove.
Thankfully, it was still hot from the kettle, so he just placed a pan on it and then dropped two slices of bread in it. Once he could smell them toasting a bit—which only took a minute or two—he flipped them, then waited another minute before sliding them onto the plate with the sugar-cinnamon bread. ”Not too difficult. Though I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use the stove without supervision.” At the very least, he wanted to be able to heal her if she burned herself. That wasn't a rule, just a request, so hopefully she wouldn't fight him on it.
At her fear, he sighed, then did his best to give her a gentle smile. Unlike Zariah, or the rest of the members of their family, he wasn’t going to hurt her because her magic wasn’t progressing as quickly as she might like. ”I believe you. Why don’t you show me what you’ve learned?” With that, he set the mug down, and created three small balls, which he began to juggle in a practiced manner. ”Try to disintegrate one of these.” It was a small, relatively quickly moving target, so even if her magic wasn’t that strong, she could at least practice focus and precision. Strength wasn’t everything, he knew that better than most.
Beatrix watched curiously as her brother toasted the bread on the stove. She had never seen it done without magic before – her mother and Edrei always used fire magic whenever they got the chance. But fortunately for him, his request would go heeded. She already knew she wasn’t supposed to used the stove, so she simply nodded as he asked her the same. ”Okay, so I will try it next time.” she said, grabbing some butter. This bit she knew how to do. It was perhaps ungraceful, but the toast got buttered and then held out to him. ”There. Not sweet toast so you won’t be a skeleton anymore.” she said.
It seemed though they were going to train, and her expression fell. Not to sadness, but the familiar mask, anticipating pain to follow any failure. Her gaze followed the targets as the moved, nose scrunching as she concentrated and fists bunching up at her sides. But after a moment, one of them turned to dust which fell to the floor.
Arguing with people about his eating habits was getting tiring—and Beatrix agreed to stay away from the stove—so Loren figured she could use a win. He pulled out another plate and moved the buttered toast to it, leaving the sweet one for her. Picking up one of the slices, he took a small bite, chewing slowly. However, he obviously had to set it down for practice, and if just happened to leave it there for a while, oh well.
As one of the balls disintegrated, he gave her an encouraging smile and nod. ”Excellent.” However, he wasn’t going to keep it easy on her. Creating another ball, he dropped his hands and used his telekinesis to whip them in a much faster circle. If Beatrix could hit such fast-moving targets, then she was doing just fine.
To be honest, Beatrix had never tried to hit anything moving that quickly – she didn’t really have an easy way to do so on her own, and neither her mother or Edrei had had telekinesis. Her brows furrowed as she tried to focus on the spinning targets, feeling a little dizzy from watching them so closely. But with a little effort she managed to disintegrate a portion of one ball, but as her gaze shifted to another on accident, that one began to disintegrate, rather than her intended first target. Her lips pursed in a very Zariah like manner, clearly displeased with herself, before looking at her brother warily, expecting punishment.
Instead of the expected punishment, Loren just smiled at Beatrix as he caught the balls easily—even the partially disintegrated ones—and held them behind his back. She’d gotten close to the targets, but had lost focus at the last moment. Still, it was a tough task. ”Good effort. Really good. We’ll try again once your head stops spinning.” He’d caught the way her eyes had tried following the spinning balls, and figured she was more than a bit dizzy.
”This time I want you to pay attention to two things. First, your breathing: take deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Second, instead of thinking about where the balls are, I want you to think about where they are going to be.” Predicting an opponent’s movements was important. And while the balls were moving quickly, they were also following a pattern. Instructions given, he brought the balls back out, grabbed them with his telekinesis, and sent them circling about at high speed once more.
Beatrix blinked in surprise, staring at Loren oddly. She wasn’t really sure what to make of his reaction. It was so…unexpected she couldn’t have imagined it in her wildest dreams. ”You’re…not mad?” she said slowly, placing her hand vertically sideways in front of her nose to help alleviate the dizziness she felt from staring at the spinning balls. Even stranger he said she had made a good effort – which she had tried her hardest but she had ultimately failed. How could that possibly be considered good?
But Beatrix nodded to his suggestions, deciding it was best to take this small mercy for what it was, and tried to implement them. She breathed deliberately, though it felt rather odd to do so, and tried to anticipate where the balls were going in the circle. After a few moments her brow furrowed, but a single ball disintegrated as it flew through the air, as if passing through a field of energy that ultimately destroyed it.
