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!
The Underground called to her. Not because there were many dead left, Ludo had done an excellent job collecting the souls of those who had lived here, but because there were a great many who had perished in this place. She could still feel the imprint they had left in the place, and she wasn’t surprised by it. It was dark and cold and lonely – those who died here had likely suffered long before they moved on to Ludo and ultimately Mort. It was a good reminder of why those who lived feared the day they met her father – because for many, their passing would be the most painful aspect of their life.
And so as she walked the maze-like network of crumbling tunnels she slowly drifted into the realm of the dead herself, naught but a translucent apparition, the echoes of those past ringing loudly in her ears. Sometimes her job was to send souls on to her father. Other times her job was to simply listen and empathize and comfort, until the remaining ties of the dead released their hold for good.
Oliver had heard stories of the underground and what it held. It'd be a lie if he said his interest wasn't peaked, so much so that he decided to take a visit to it. Of course, he didn't go empty handed. Once more he had brought his wooden staff, some apples, his sketchbook, and a few long pieces of cloth just in case he were to get injured. He was absolutely under prepared, but Oliver hoped that he would be alright.
It took a bit for him to find the entrance, but eventually he did. Taking a deep breath, Oliver steadied himself before entering into the corridors. He made sure to take the easiest path, writing down in his sketchbook every single turn he took to get to this point, as well as including any landmarks he noticed...which were mostly just fancy rocks he saw.
What he didn't know was that he hadn't visited the Underground alone. Someone else was within the tunnels along with him, maybe extremely close for all he knew.
Extremely close may have been an understatement. As Oliver began his trek through the Underground, the temperature would suddenly drop a near 10 degrees. This was followed by an eerie sensation as Delphia came out of a wall and walked right through him, still in her ghostly form. Of course, she realized then that she had walked through a person – not that she had known he was there, she had been on the other side of a wall after all – and paused her own exploration to turn back to him.
And despite most definitely being a person, she was indeed very much see through.
Until she let go of her ability and slowly became a solid, clearly living person again. ”My apologies, I didn’t realize anyone else had come down here.” she said softly, the corners of her eyes crinkling as a ghost of a smile curved her lips briefly.
None of the sudden changes went unnoticed. The sudden drop in temperature caused his skin to prick, his hairs somewhat standing on end. He had at first assumed that this was what caves did or something. Air must travel differently there, so surely he had just hit a random cold part of the cave?
That was until a certain sensation coursed through his body. He let out a shudder and instinctively pulled his arms closer to his body, clearly very uncomfortable by this sudden seemingly unexplainable feeling.
Then he saw her. A human that...wasn't quite human. Goosebumps started to form as his eyes widened in fear of the unknown. He took a few steps back, prepared to run away as quickly as possible. Even when she started to change back to normal, he was still on guard. It was obvious just by looking at him that Oliver was a spooked cat, prepared to dart away at a moments notice.
Her apology was nice, but that didn't explain anything that just happened. He would be polite for now, but his guard was still up, ready for an attack at any moment. "It's fine...I don't normally come down here myself." He spoke slow as though he were contemplating every single word that he spoke. "I'm- I'm sorry if I'm being rude...but what are you?" Time to run...?
His fear was tangible, and those spirits nearby who had learned to feed off of such emotions pulsed, inching towards him, unseen by his mortal eyes. "Do not be afraid. I've no intent to harm." she said softly, a kind, warm sort of smile curving her lips, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly. My name is Delphia, I am the daughter of Mort, the god of death. I was exploring this place to assess the state of the spirits and dead here, and it is much easier to do when I walk on their plane of existence." she explained, hands clasping loosely behind her back.
"What is your name, and what brought you down here?"
Of course Oliver didn't realize that he was a literal beacon of fear. Well, he knew he was absolutely terrified, but didn't realize that there were spirits anywhere near him. Hell, he didn't even really know that spirits existed in the first place! The girl tried to calm him down, and he somewhat did. However, he was still prepared to run at any moment, ready to bolt and hopefully escape. The blonde nodded slowly at her claim to be harmless.
Her voice was calming as was the look on her face, but that didn't mean that Oliver completely trusted her. It made sense when she introduced herself why she appeared transparent. The daughter of Mort. Was she dangerous? Did she want to kill him? Oliver wasn't ready to die.
Wait- Wait hold on. She was assessing the state of spirits? As in right here? There were spirits right here right here?! He could hardly even focus on her next question, clearly still radiating fear now that she had mentioned spirits. God, they were probably surrounding him and laughing at him or whatever it is spirits do.
"My...my name is Oliver. I wanted to see what was down here. Explore-" Calm down. He told himself. His mind reflected back to the particular exercises taught to him by others on how to deal with his stress and fear. Oliver took a deep breath to try and relax his heart rate.
"Do...are the spirits friendly? I can leave if you and your spirits want-"
”It is nice to meet you, Oliver. There seem to be many adventurous souls in these grounds.” she said with a soft smile. She could see the attraction of this place. It was dark and mysterious. But that came with its own dangers as well. Things lurked in these tunnels that were far more dangerous than any spirit or ghost.
A light laugh broke through her lips at the implications of the spirits somehow being hers. ”Oh, these spirits do not belong to me. They were here long before I ever walked Caido and they will be here long after.” she said, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly. ”They are neither friendly, nor unfriendly. They merely exist. These seem to have adapted to this place, thriving on the darkness and quiet, drawn to the fear of mortal man which pervades the walls and soils. A great many people have died here it would seem.” she said softly, looking around, distracted by worlds he could not see. ”But they are not to be feared. They are not particularly powerful. They’d struggle to move a small stone.”
The blonde shook his head slightly, not quite agreeing with her. He tried to speak quietly and show that he wasn't trying to be rude or correct her, just stating his general opinion. "It's nice to meet you as well- but I wouldn't really call myself adventurous...maybe curious?" Oliver wasn't the strongest nor did he find fun in going monster hunting. It's why he wouldn't call himself daring or adventurous, but he absolutely loved to try new things. Oliver also loved seeing new people, new places, or well, anything new really. He knew his curiosity was far more of a curse than a blessing.
Ah great. The spirits didn't belong to her! He would've been very, very concerned if not for the rest of her explanation. He didn't exactly like the fact that plenty of people had died down here. It sent shudders down his spine and made him want to leave as soon as possible. The spirits may be kind, but Oliver did not want to die, not if he could stop it. "So...why did they die down here? Is it safe for me to be down here?" Now would be a perfect time for the girl to take out a knife and stab him in the chest or some freaky shit like that.
"Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back. That's why they have nine lives." she said lightly, though clearly distracted, looking around at things he could not see. Perhaps she came off a little...not there for it, but she had always found the workings of the spirits far more interesting than most people.
"Oh. These were never alive in the physical sense." she said softly. "But most of the human spirits I've seen were eaten by ROUS. And...there is something else down here...smelly but harmless poor thing..." she mumbled, playing with the air with her fingers. Or was it a spirit? Oliver wouldn't be able to rightly tell given his inability to see what she could.
Yes, cats did have nine lives: Oliver, however, barely even had one. He knew he was accident prone and considering he had stupidly walked down to where APPARENTLY tons of men had died....yeah, his life for sure wasn't fully one anymore.
The more Delphia talked about the spirits, the more confused Oliver got. "Wait...hold up. I have a ton of questions." He paused for a moment so he could personally collect his thoughts and try to at least process everything she said. "If these spirits aren't from dead people, then how are they created? Also what is a ROUS?" Okay. Two questions for now. Then he'd push about this poor little thing that was apparently down there and also claimed to be harmless. Oliver would rather not trust it, but he could give it the benefit of the doubt...for once.
Delphia glanced back at him, an eyebrow raised. Interesting. Had what she said been so out there? A ton was a rather lot so she hoped it was hyperbole. Having known both Kai and Oia meant she was very accustomed to the game of 20 (read 100) questions they tended to play, if only out of their natural curiosity. But thankfully, it seemed he only had two.
"People made them. Or the gods did. It doesn't particularly matter. This is where they are now." she said with a shrug. Most of these spirits were imprints on the land left by humans in their dying moments. But she wouldn't discount the possibility that some had been here long before. "And ROUS are Rodents Of Unusual Size. Very large, man-eating rats." she said lightly, as if discussing the weather.
Her answer on the creation of spirits only seemed to perplex Oliver even more. If they weren't created by people dying, then how on earth did people create them in the first place? Were they like, magical rituals gone wrong? He was so close to asking for more information. So close. Until he found out what the hell a ROUS was.
Which was just SPLENDID.
With a look of absolute terror, Oliver's body shuddered. He grew far more nervous than ever and looked around slightly. "Sorry to be rude...but could you help me find the entrance to this place? We can talk over there. I'm just uh...getting chilly. And cold. Yeah, super cold and chilly." Not like he felt extremely unsafe and terrified for his very life. How the hell Delphia spent her time down here was beside him. Hell, how ANYONE spent anytime down here was hard to understand. Who the fuck wanted to spend time with a bunch of man eating rodents?!
Delphia couldn't help her light laugh at his question. "Did you not come from the entrance?" she asked lightly. My, no wonder these people did not do well in the Greatwood. Their sense of direction was awful. No one would be able to navigate the moving paths of the wood like that! But she did not deny him, leading the way towards the entranced of the Underground. At any rate, it wasn't a place fit for anyone so unprepared as Oliver. Clearly he was wholly unaware of the dangers lurking just beneath his feet.
Yes. Yes he did come through the entrance, what a wonderful observation. "Well, yeah, but you see....my memory is really bad, especially when it comes to directions. I can remember a voice extremely well, but my directional skills really suck." Oliver did take pride in the fact that he could easily remember a voice and recognize it within a crowd. Voices were just something that came easily to Oliver, especially when they had a distinct accent.
Thankfully, despite the little bit of sass he received, the girl seemed more than willing to help him find the entrance once more. Apparently she didn't want him dead, so eventually the two did end up back at where he had first entered. He let out a sigh of relief and his body relaxed once more. No way in hell was he going back down there. "Much better." There was a nod and he looked back outside before turning to look towards her.
"These spirits...why do they exist? Can they help us out?" Now he could ask questions without worrying about evil squirrels trying to eat him.
