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!
Strangely enough, Wessex had not been mad at Amun for his actions (or lack thereof) at the Mathair. However, despite the fact that she was the queen, she wasn’t really the one that the potter needed to answer to. No, there was a higher power that directed the Ascended: The Voice. And he was fully aware that he’d let her down. After all he'd promised to obey during their last conversation, though he'd also told her he wasn't a fighter.
Remembering that she’d said that she would always answer when he called, he’d gone back and forth on whether to call upon the goddess again. However, it was always better to ask forgiveness than permission. He also figured that if he didn't seek her out, and forced her to come to him, it would be much, much worse. So he’d gone to where he’d been told his new goddess would answer. Or at least one of the spots, the one in the Atheneum.
It had taken some searching, but it was night and no one else was there, so that wasn’t a problem. Eventually, though, he’d stumbled upon a hidden door that led into what he had to assume was a shrine. Kneeling, he bowed his head. ”I know you said you could always hear me, The Voice. If that’s so, I’d like to apologize for my actions at the Mathair.” He tensed, still not knowing if this was a good idea, but knowing it had to be done.
Though the shrine is small in this place, the goddess does not dwarf the space. With knees drawn up to her chest, she peers down at Amun with a knowing smile on her youthful features. "Normally when one apologizes it means they wouldn't repeat their actions. Is that what you're saying Amun? That, if given the chance, you would stay and fight?" She raised a brow.
As The Voice appeared, Amun felt the tension draining out of him. Even though he wasn’t sure how the goddess would react to his actions, he figured it was better to be speaking to her than to leave this unresolved. He relaxed further at her words: she didn’t seem that mad, though he wasn’t going to rely upon that. Still, her question was unexpected, and he found himself considering it carefully. ”No. I would not have fought. But I still let you, and the other Ascended, down.” Broken a promise, abandoned his new crew and that didn’t sit well with him. If he’d known what he was being asked to do, he wouldn’t have gone, but once he was there he’d been a coward. Of course, he was fine living to fight another day. He just figured The Voice cared about loyalty, based off their previous conversation and he hadn’t exactly displayed that.
"Did you?" She says, her voice free of animosity, merely brimming with curiosity for how he might answer. "But we were successful just the same. You aren't a fighter Amun. Not in the way we needed that night." She said with a light shrug. Sam wasn't a fighter either, but he'd been in this world long enough to hold his own. Rexanna and Wessex were each powerful in their own unique ways.
And the Potter? Well. His strengths lay in other areas. Even the goddess could see that.
Well, this wasn’t how Amun had been expecting this encounter to go at all. However, he tended not to worry too much if he could help it. The Voice wasn’t mad at him, so he’d just accept that and let the last little bits of tension go. Indeed, she seemed more curious than anything else, and so he decided just to be glad that she was still willing to accept him. ”I guess not.”
At the mention of success, however, he glanced up sharply; Wessex had obviously survived, but the two of them hadn’t really spoken. Rexanna obviously hadn’t said much to him either. Maybe The Voice would be more forthcoming. ”What did you need that night?” Fighters, apparently, but he didn’t know why, or for what purpose. And while he couldn't promise to be a fighter, because he wasn't, maybe he could serve her in some other way.
"The tree is a portal, though one which...needed a bit of TLC." She replied with an enigmatic smile that flickered with electricity. "But it obviously did not go down with a fight. It was my hope we might distract it quietly enough that the fae would not bother our efforts, but that was not to be." She shrugged. The past was the past. "I needed time. Time to do what work needed to be done to get the portal back online. And so your kin distracted the fae long enough for me to do what I needed to."
At the mention of a portal, Amun perked up. He’d been brought here by a portal, one commanded by The Voice. So the fact that there were others was obviously interesting to him. While he had mostly given up his hope that he could be returned home in lieu of exploring Caido and becoming the bright being that the goddess had hinted he might turn into, that didn’t mean there wasn’t still a part of him that longed for his old world. ”A portal to where?” The bit about the Fae and distracting and the portal needing to be fixed or opened or whatever was important, for sure, but less than its destination. Getting out of the Hollowed Grounds was highly appealing to him.
Still, he figured he should at least offer what assistance he could. "Is there anything I can do to help with the Fae or the portal?" Probably not, but it never hurt to ask.
"A place called Halo." She replies with an easy smile. "Hopefully in her capacity as queen Wessex can get the fae to let you all through. You remember when I said exploration was the next step in my plans? This is where it all begins. What I have done in the Greatwood is what we will do in Halo. You will be my feet and my eyes, taking me where I cannot go until I can. And then we will be gone again, until all of Caido is once again ours."
Halo. The name meant nothing to Amun, though clearly The Voice knew about it. ”Halo, huh? Anything I should know about it before I become your feet and eyes? Anything to look out for in particular?” Whether or not Wessex was able to convince the Fae to let them through, the potter would find his way to the portal. Indeed, the eagerness in his eyes and his voice was apparent. Still, he wouldn’t be a very good instrument of the Goddess’ will if she didn’t really make him privy to her plans. However, he knew he hadn’t exactly earned that right or her trust. Still, he was going to ask. And he would earn it eventually. Although he wasn't a fighter, he had other talents she could draw upon.
"It's cold. Very cold." The Voice replied with a bright electric laugh. "How you will take them by storm, unbothered by the cold as you are. It is dangerous though. Trolls, dragons and the like. But we will talk of that later. For now it is enough you survive through LongNight. When the sun rises again, we shall be gone."
Rocking back slightly the deity tilted her chin up with a wide and dangerous smile. She'd been thwarted once. She wouldn't be again.
Cold was no obstacle, as The Voice pointed out. However, that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be any obstacles or opposition. Indeed, it sounded like they might have quite a bit of trouble. ”I’m not sure what I can do about trolls, dragons, or LongNight monsters in my current state.” Indeed, all of those seemed like quite insurmountable challenges. However, he would do his best to survive, as she asked. Whether or not he would, well, that was probably beyond his control. As she grinned, though, he banished that thought from his mind, and matched it with a wicked smile of his own. Whatever might happen, at least he’d had a good season so far, and she hadn’t struck him down as he’d feared. If he died in the coming weeks, he'd do his best to die happy and go out with a bang (preferably sexual).
"We'll see about that." She chuckled back, dark eyes enigmatic with unsaid plans. "Until then, get to know your kin. You will be working them in the common weeks quite intimately you might say."
Her holographic form began to waver ever to slightly. "I trust you'll find many things to do during LongNight to keep yourself occupied. We shall all speak after." With a knowing wink—she was his creator after all, the darkest parts of his mind (unveiled as they were), were plenty clear to her—the Voice vanished.
