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!
Delphia did not receive much physical affection either, living alone as she did. But it came to her naturally, her love for all displaying itself in many forms without much conscious thought. A hand ran lightly up and down his back, soothing and gentle as if he were her own younger brother that she was trying to calm. As Kai looked up, she smiled sadly at him. Carefully, if he did not pull away, she wiped the tears off his cheeks and from his eyes with gentle fingers.
”Because these are not living souls. These are Ascended souls, whose bodies have been dead for centuries. They belong with Mort now. And it is…not a pleasant existence for the dead who continue to reside here. It is why Mort has a separate world for them. It is…how being in the Spire made you feel. That is how the dead who remain here feel all the time. It is unnatural. Ascended, Attuned, Abandoned, Accepted…the dead are the dead. It does not matter what they were in life. With Mort is where they all belong.” she said softly.
You nod along slowly, still unconvinced but trusting Delphia to be more of an authority on such things. Though her answer does not really address your question, and you sniff loudly as she brushes away your tears, biting on your lip. "Whaddabout the ones who're alive now, though? Like... Like Amun, an' Bastien, an' the rest of 'em? Where're their souls?" You've liked all the Ascended you've met so far. Do they have souls? And if not, are they even alive?
And does it matter in the end, if this is what they wanted? Ascension seems like a valid adaptation, though as with any it has its downfalls. Like the no sunlight, and the no food, and all of that. But plenty of plant and animal species don't like sunlight, and they're doing just fine. They still have souls, though, or you think so anyway, which begs the question: "What... what does the Voice do with the souls?"
Delphia's head tilted in confusion at his question. "Well in their bodies of course, just like us." she said, tapping his chest just below his collarbone with a small smile. Sould were more ethereal than that but it was a pretty common conception that the sould proper sat near the heart in the body. "Do you think the Ascended do not have souls in their bodies?" she asked, curious of his read of them. She had only met one, and he seemed to have met a few.
At his final question though, her expression darkened. "I am not sure, but I've a theory...one even Ludo could not deny the possibility of." she said looking up st the Spire. "The Voice was once human, and yet she has lived forever. I fear she might be using souls of her deceased Ascended to remain alive herself."
Now you are somehow more confused than ever, your expression a picture of bewilderment as you turn your tear-streaked face up to Delphi. "But... but if only the dead ones don't have souls, why's it so important to get 'em?" It's true: you rather thought that what she'd meant was that there were not souls in the living bodies, that the Ascendeds were somehow mere lumbering husks. If they do have souls, though, you're less alarmed.
Death and what happens then has never held much interest to you.
Sitting back onto your bottom you wipe your face, leaving tracks of dirt. "Is that really bad?" you wonder innocently at Delphia's assessment, noticing her dark expression but still failing to fully understand the issue. "If the Voice needs 'em to stay alive it makes sense she'd collect 'em. Is it really so much worse'n any other predatory creature?" If she isn't even killing people, or taking their souls while they're alive, are her actions really so awful? Or are they just evolutionary advantages that humans fear because it makes them prey?
"Because they do not belong here, they belong with Mort in the realm of the dead." Delphia said gently, wiping his cheeks dry with soft fingers. "Vi creates life, all in the world starts with his inspiration. Rae watches it grow and change, ever vigilant. Mort takes current life away when it is time, so that new life can come once more. This is the balance Caido wished for the world. For souls of the dead not to go to Mort is as wrong as you felt inside the Spire." she explained, ever patient with Kai's questions and musings. He was the son of Rae, that he was brimming with curiosity was his diving nature.
Ha. Nature of the nature demi-god. Punny.
She released him so he could sit on his own, hands resting on her knees. As appalling as his question was to her soul, she did not fault him, and instead smiled warmly. "When a predator eats another creature for sustenance, they are maintaining their life which Mort is not yet ready to receive. The creature that perishes is intended for Mort's realm, and their soul goes to him. But if the Voice is going as I said...well...a few things are wrong." she said, pausing to let that sink in and collect her own thoughts.
"First, the Voice is circumventing her place in the cycle. She should have died centuries ago. But she has stolen life, and in so doing disrupted the balance of the cycle. Second, in order to maintain oneself on souls, I imagine one would have to destroy it in some manner. The existence of that person would simply be gone. No predator wipes out the existence of a life. Even if they kill all of a species, they live on with Mort." she said, tilting her head. "Does that make sense?"
Again Delphia has a point, but you still have questions about the why of it all. A thing that is alive - changing, growing, being part of the world - just feels so much more important to you than a soul. "But Mort allowed the Voice to live. Why'd he do that if he doesn't like the way she stays alive? An' if she doesn't have a soul. Does the Voice have a soul?"
You're still somewhat unconvinced, because overall this feels an awful lot like assumption to you. And there are still so many things you don't understand- "Have you asked the Voice what she does with 'em? Or, or why? If the Ascended want to serve her, an' it's their souls she gets, then why do we get to say it's bad?"
”Everything alive has a soul, the Voice included.” Delphia said softly, nodding a little. ”And it is not so simple as you say. Mort did not simply allow her to live. By the time the gods realized the trouble she was causing, it took all their combined strength to merely seal her away. And besides…if she is using the souls of others to extend her own life…then her life is not yet intended to end. More does not take what is not ready to come to him. It is a loophole…one I don’t think any would have thought someone would take advantage of.” she said, brows furrowing.
She shook her head at his next set of questions. She would not lie to him about how early in her thought process she was. ”I have not asked her, but I am not keen to either. Why would she be truthful to the child of her enemy?” she asked, shrugging a bit. ”You and I do not deem the keeping of dead souls bad, Mort does. And we follow our divine parent’s wishes, do we not?” she asked, smiling at him. Did he not travel around, observing things, because Rae wished that of him and Oia? ”But…if you had ever seen how a soul can suffer when trapped or lost in this world…you would likely not be so quick to assume it is not bad.” she said, looking troubled as she gazed up at the Spire.
12-10-2019, 10:51 PM (This post was last modified: 12-10-2019, 10:52 PM by Kaimana.)
"Why wouldn't she?" As far as you know there's no evidence of the Voice actually lying. Sniffing loudly, you nod slowly at her assessment that you follow the wishes of your parents. "My Dana doesn't want us to interfere."
A set of instructions you are, admittedly, quite bad following.
Standing up from the ground, you wipe your palms across your knees, following Delphia's gaze to the Spire unhappily. "I don't want the souls to suffer, but..." Shrugging, you trail off
"I should go back to my work, Delphi. But I... I hope you find what you're looking for. An' do the thing you're s'posed to. An that I see you soon." With a final smile you turn around, eager to get as far away from the Spire, as fast as you can.
