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!
It was a hopeful thought, that the both of them could enter a new step in their lives after the darkness. Abasi knew that often these kind of resolutions did not pan out, but he had never made one in this situation before and something about Loren made him feel hopeful. "Then perhaps we could support each other in our new endeavours."
If he was welcome to stay, he would not leave. With a little smile Abasi finished cleaning his front then began to pull on his pants, talking as he did so. "Insist all you like. I enjoy staying at the manor - more than I thought I would, actually." When he had first arrived, he had been so sure that Egypt was irreplaceable he would hate anywhere he stayed; while he still missed his home dearly he had found a different kind of peace staying with Loren.
"I will be contributing to the manor from now on, though. I do not like staying for nothing." He said, in a tone that sounded like he wasn't willing to argue on it.
The offer to support each other brought a smile to the Launceleyn’s face. He wasn’t used to having help, as evidenced by his annoying tendency to try and do everything on his own. It usually just meant he ended up doing everything poorly. ”I’d like that.” Clasping his hands behind his back—whenever he was just standing around he had a weird tendency to slip into martial postures, which looked stiff to others but felt natural to him—he tilted his head. ”Any idea what you want to do?” Loren didn’t, not really, but maybe Abasi had a better idea.
For some wonderful reason, the other man actually did want to stay at the Manor. The summoner’s grin far eclipsed Abasi’s small smile. ”Well, I am very happy to hear that.” It had never really felt like a home, not to Loren. But maybe that could change. While he wasn’t so naive to think that he could actually make a life with the other man (it was too new, too fragile, too uncertain), the Launceleyn was at least willing to make a go of it. And it seemed Abasi was as well.
Luckily for the other man, the summoner wasn’t going to argue it. ”Fine by me.” Granted, he was pretty sure Abasi didn’t know how to cook, clean, look after children, or make repairs, but they could find other ways for him to contribute. Of course, from Loren’s perspective, just having the other man around would be contribution enough; the Manor was far too large and far too lonely for one person. Unfortunately, despite the Launceleyn’s best efforts to fill it, only Abasi had really been around.
Abasi observed how Loren stood now, so straight and formal. The contrast between his posture now and where they had just been, fluid and soft against each other made him smile just slightly, keeping most of his amusement to himself. "Yes. With my experience with preparing bodies for burial and my discussion with you earlier, I was thinking this place could perhaps use somebody willing to learn the death traditions and put them into practice for each Outlander and Natural as they like."
Pulling on his shirt and going to put the cloth back in the bucket, Abasi rubbed his hands dry over it. "What are your goals?"
As Abasi explained what he planned to do once the darkness lifted and the flowers began to bloom, Loren smiled. ”That sounds like a wonderful idea.” The other man had already expressed interest in funeral rites—and in his old world he had been devoted to his people’s god of death—so it seemed like a natural fit. Although it might’ve seemed morbid to others, especially during LongNight, the summoner had grown up in two worlds at war. Though he was a healer and tried to preserve and protect life, he’d known his fair share of death. ”I’d be happy to help you get set up.” Assuming Abasi wanted that.
When the conversation swung around to the Launceleyn’s future plans, he sighed. ”I don’t know, really.” He’d had a dream back in Leafchange, but it had gotten lost in the shuffle and he wasn’t sure he wanted it any longer. Still, even just thinking about it made him feel a little more hopeful about the future. ”I thought about opening a school, but...I’m not sure I’m...well. I don’t know who’d want to come learn from me, and what I would teach.” Magic might’ve been an obvious choice, but now that his magic had changed in ways he didn't yet understand, he wasn’t sure what knowledge he could impart. Besides, he’d been told over and over again how ignorant he was, especially about Caido.
However, they had all this information, all this knowledge, both individually and collectively, that they’d amassed. And yet, no one seemed to disseminate it: the Loreseeker’s collected information, but held on to it, the Medical College focused exclusively on healing, and the other guilds and organizations and businesses mostly stayed in their narrow lanes. But here, in the Hollowed Grounds at least, they had a confluence of people from many worlds, with many backgrounds. He would appreciate a place to learn about all of that and about all this world had to offer.
Abasi nodded, sure it was a good idea himself. "I may need help in finding a location to establish a workspace. I've heard that there are abandoned buildings that can be taken for such uses. I will also need assistance in clearing the building." He had many skills, but manual labour was not one of them, despite his strong build, which had been mostly built from carrying around heavy objects in the temple and running around the city.
"Perhaps you should ask the people what it is they would like to learn." He suggested, thinking about how he would go about the task. "I could teach my skills, if you needed tutors. Though admittedly, a lot of them are related to Gods that are not known here." Abasi managed to say it with a straight face, even though it still cut through him sometimes to remember the deities he'd dedicated his life to were obscure here.
With his clothes on and his mood almost settled back to normal, he walked towards the door. "I will see you soon. ...I..." Abasi looked back to Loren, about to say something, but he could not find the word. "Never mind." He would leave then unless Loren held him back.
Loren nodded at Abasi’s comment about finding a place; the Launceleyn had heard the same thing, and he was planning to find a space near the Manor for his school. ”That’s correct.” He’d already offered to help the other man get set up, so presumably a reminder was unnecessary. ”Perhaps we could look for suitable locations together?” It would be nice to have some company on his search for an abandoned building.
The suggestion to ask what people wanted to learn was so obvious that the summoner felt a little silly for not having thought of it sooner. He gave Abasi a grateful smile. ”That’s a great idea, thanks. And I might just take you up on that offer. I for one would be more than happy to learn more about your world.” Although the other man seemed sad, Loren also knew that Abasi was usually happy to talk about his former home.
Immediately, his mind jumped to who else he could ask about his school idea. However, as the other man began to leave, Loren grinned, though there was a wistful quality to it. He didn’t know if either of them would survive LongNight because that’s how timelines worked, but he very much hoped so. ”I’m looking forward to it.” There was a warm light in his eye: for once, he actually had something to look forward to. It felt pretty damn good.
