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!
"There is no consensus about Frey." You tell Kai as you stroll through the Greatwood. The trees around yield happily to your presence and you find it easy to move through them. "Some view them as a —" You pause to check your notes. "Crazy sex maniac ass hole cunt." You repeat, word for word, blinking at them. It seems unnecessarily vulgar, but it is what you have heard from those you've interrogated questioned in the town. "Others describe their interactions as helpful and positive." Given that Frey's purpose within the barrier seemed to be encouraging procreation to sustain the population, perhaps this isn't terribly surprising.
Given that you've not met the herald before, you try not to let these statements and opinions cloud your judgement.
11-04-2019, 01:30 AM (This post was last modified: 11-04-2019, 04:53 AM by Kaimana.)
wisdom begins in wonder
"That seems like a weird thing to say about a herald." You're paying more attention to the trees than your sister, but the commentary on Frey's nature is enough to elicit a response. Though most of the things people have said about the herald have defied your expectations, you must admit. "Do they have a cloaca?" To have an asshole and a cunt is more characteristic of birds than mammals in your experience, but who's to say. You will have to ask Frey about it when you meet.
But you're quickly distracted once again. The trees in this place are positively animated, and you love every slow and impossible movement they make. "D'ya think they're emphasizing population expansion now that the barrier's down? 'Cus with the woods can probably support it. Or maybe they're focusin' on increasin' the biodiversity of the flora first."
Flipping through your notes you regard the section on Frey. Skimming the well-read passages, you shake your head. "Unclear. Given that their jurisdiction within the ecosystem seemed to be to encourage reproduction, fertility, and hedonistic ideals, it is possible."
While your twin romanticizes the movement of the trees, you try and map out the patterns of them using complex formulas and a quick graph that you've sketched out. Glancing up towards him, you consider this. "Perhaps they are altering their mating to better adapt to the new living conditions." You say thoughtfully. "Picking out specific instantiations of adaptive superiority and breeding to encourage the prevalence of those traits." It's what you would do, of course.
11-04-2019, 02:02 AM (This post was last modified: 11-04-2019, 04:53 AM by Kaimana.)
wisdom begins in wonder
"I dunno. Human eugenics doesn' seem like somethin' Dama woulda wanted the herald to do." It is closer to guidance and interruption than scientific observation - closer to something you would do, if left to your own devices. But maybe you and Frey will be more alike than you initially expected. This idea pleases you, and you cheerfully pick up your pace.
"Hey 'I'o... were the heralds made just 'cus the barrier, or were they made before? An' how come other places don' have 'em?" You know you ought to know this, but honestly history has never been your strong suit. You're far more interested in the way things are and the way they could be than the way they were in the past.
You give your twin a pointed look at the repeated use of the word Dama. You try to tell yourself that it is merely a placeholder. An acronym with no meaning, instead of an amalgamation of Ma and Da. “Or, it is exactly what Rae would have them do. Given the closed environment, many of the controls would be easy to monitor, the variables easy to adjust and record.”
You don’t mind stillness and silence, only because you lack the social cues to notice when they become awkward. But as always you’re happy to answer the questions that Kai asks of you (even if you think he really ought to know the answers already). “The heralds did exist before the barrier, yes. They were placed within specifically at Mort’s request, so that the inhabitants who would continue to live inside would have some access to what Rae, Mort, and Vi normally offer outside.” As for why there were not more heralds, you shrug. “What need, when the lesser deities could answer the panderings of those who appeal and appear at shrines? If anything those inside of the barrier are lucky. Better to be answered by Safrin, than a wandering genie.”
The real question you think, is what will the heralds do with the barrier raised? Have they been wandering around themselves, reacquainting themselves with the world they were forced to leave behind?
You shake your head, but suppose there's a non-zero chance that perhaps the barrier was in fact an opportunity for eugenics. But... "Wouldn' that go against the idea of non-biased observation? An' nature demonstratin' free will an' stuff?" It seems to you that if Frey has been doing exactly what Oia keeps telling you not to do - interfere - it's a little bit...
Not unfair, but something close to it.
The explanation makes some sense, and you make a point to commit it to memory so she doesn't have to explain it again (she probably will). "So are the heralds gonna answer everyone's prayers now, d'ya think? Even the ones not in the Grounds?" It seems like an awful lot of work, but then again perhaps with the barrier down other beings will move in to assist. Maybe there are genies living within even now.
The sound of rushing water interrupts your thoughts, the blood-tinged waterfall coming into view from behind the trees. "Oh, 'I'o, look!" you gasp excitedly, unable to contain your enthusiasm for the sight. "Wow! No wonder the herald likes it so much! Lookit all the lichen- wow!" Running into the smooth stones at the river's edge, you spin rapidly, trying to take it all in.
"We're here to be non-biased. Nothing in my records indicate that the herald was meant to be, or that they in-fact were." The twins and the herald were not related strictly speaking. Or if they were, they were very very very very distant cousins. It wouldn't surprise you at all to know that the instructions Rae had for the pair of you, were different from those given to the herald. "Maybe it was all an elaborate plan to see how long it would take those within the barrier to rebel. Maybe the experiment was to see how long the heralds would listen for."
Everyone was told to stay inside after all, and now here they were, out.
"I suppose. If the herald answers us, we can ask." You aren't actually that interested in the answer, but you're always happy to round out your notes.
You walk behind your twin. You don't feel the same rush in your soul that he does, but you do feel it in your mind. Metaphorically, anyways. The newness of everything is what excites you; so much to record and uncover. Even if the herald shows up, that won't be the most interesting part of the day, you're sure.
Walking into the pool, heedless of your shoes, the lichen immediately flocks to you. Rippling up your leg half by magic and half by its own swift abilities, soon you are covered nearly up to your waist. "I have never seen any sort of algae-plant creature move this fast. " You marvel, noting this in your book.
"Hmmm... I guess you did say that Delphia told you they have a friend, an' that's not very nonbiased." Another curious question: how had the time in the barrier affected the heralds, altered their perceptions of their responsibility and role? Have they moved away from the initial intent of their parents gods, given the lack of oversight?
So many questions to ask of a ever changing world.
You're already in the water by the time Oia steps in, the lichen blooming around you in a truly magnificent display of crimson. Some of it has chased up your legs, too, clinging to both skin and clothing with little care for propriety. "Usually when something is this persistent it's invasive. I wonder if it'd be this prolific if we introduced it to another body of water." With competition and predation would the red algae win out, or would it be stifled by the native Flora?
"D'ya think the herald havin' a shrine here affects its growth patterns, maybe?"
"That is what she said." You agree. Then again of all the heralds, Frey having a friend seemed the least likely. But you will withhold judgement until there are more facts at hand.
You glance towards Kai, nodding thoughtfully. "At what point does a species cease to be invasive and merely become part of the ecosystem?" You wonder. "Everything was introduced at some point, whether by Rae or other means." Paradoxes of these sort are your favourite; stumbling to find lines between when a thing stops being in one category and falls into another without being arbitrary. Most are impossible, which is why you love it so.
"More evidence of their presence here affecting things."
"Whaddabout when it's evolved to the point where it isn't recognizable as introduced?" Something as prolific and quick to reproduce as this lichen, for example, must have undergone some level of genetic variation and adaptation in its time here. If they introduced it to another area, who's to say how long it would take for mutated versions to become the most abundant in response to the ecosystem?
In that case, would it become endemic or still count as invasive?
"Maybe it's not Frey's influence, though. Didn' your notes say somethin' else lived, here, too?" You have this infuriating skill of looking at things from multiple angles, always flipping to another possibility in your attempt to understand. Some might call it attempting to form a second opinion. Others, playing devil's advocate.
Really, your brain just works very quickly - not in a genius level IQ of 208 way, so much as a dog with ADD attempting to ignore a flock of squirrels way.
You shoot your twin one of your rare smiles, but then again, Kai's cleverness always delights you. "Exactly. Being invasive seems more to be a temporal term." You decide after a moment.
Glancing through your notes, you skim for a moment until you find what it is you think Kai was referencing. "The Undine?" You ask, glancing up. "My notes don't necessarily describe it's abilities or affects on the environment. Only that it's reclusive, lives behind the water fall, and occasionally appears to sing on clear and star-filled nights."
"Yea! The Undine." That sounds right enough, and you nod along eagerly, splashing a little in the water and upsetting some of the lichen that by now has risen to your chest. "I s'pose we could try an' ask it? If it lives behind the waterfall maybe it's home."
And then, because you are nothing if not brash and prone to take swift action, you take some steps toward the deeper water, your footing sure despite the shifting rocks. "Undine!" you call, before glancing back at Oia. "D'ya think livin' in such a loud environment affected its hearing? Maybe it feels vibrations- tho there'd be a lot of those, too."
You are not confident in your twin's suggestion, but he's proven you wrong before. Nodding, you step deeper into the water. It doesn't occur to you to do anything other than get closer, and of course you aren't bothered at all by the water or the way the lichen tries desperately to keep itself attached to you as you move.
"It might have. Though that it sings suggests that it does have control and understanding over its auditory and verbal processes. What I'm not sure of is whether or not it refers to itself as an Undine, or if that is merely a name ascribed to it." Which is all just to say, it's possible that Kai is merely shouting nonsense at a waterfall.
Wading further into the water, you quickly find yourself submerged up to your chest. It's cold, and yet there is something comforting and familiar about the sensation of fluid wrapped around you. It's delightful, you decide, even with the lichen that seems determined to cover you like a blanket (or perhaps a smothering, overeager lover, if you had the capacity to understand such things). You like this place.
You like all places, but that is neither here nor there.
"More to ask!" You're close enough now to feel the spray of the waterfall, your head barely above the water if you stand on your toes. Extending your arms out you begin to swim toward it, aiming for a rock near the torrential water which seems as good an entry point as any.
