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 theory and concept of having two races wasn't exactly unfamiliar to Oliver. He had met plenty of people who had been cursed to become an Abandoned and heard of those gifted with the ability of the Attuned. For some reason, though, it never really occurred to him that this was a valid option: that he could become an Attuned. At least, it hadn't until Jigano mentioned it to him. This realization sparked something inside of Oliver. It was something he wanted to do: something that felt like he was made to do it. It sounded perfect and it had become a brand new goal for Oliver.
After restless sleeps and constant inner battles with himself, Oliver finally decided he'd try. The gods had never answered to his prayers, but he understood why now. They had lacked trust in the Abandoned and that was fine, he could prove to them slowly that he could be trusted. As well, sometimes his prayers were for small things, so small that they most likely had bigger or far more important things to worry about. On the inside, he still held a small bit of resentment, but now he was starting to reconcile with this.
Jigano had been wary of Safrin, but something simply felt so right about seeing her. Maybe it was Sunjata's good experience or maybe it was his fear of Frey and Ludo, but he had chosen her as the person to seek out for guidance, to maybe allow him to join the Attuned.
He had prepared a basket filled with a wide variety of items to offer. Within the basket was a bottle of wine, fresh bread, a potted flower, a star necklace, and a flower crown that he had tried to make on his own. It was a mix-match of items but he had chosen each one carefully in hopes that maybe the goddess would appreciate them.
Oliver had chosen a time where hopefully nobody would walk in and interrupt. Kneeling down, Oliver gently placed the basket in front of him, making sure that each item looked presentable. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his heart pounding in his ears.
"Wise Safrin, I ask you for your time. Guide me. I promise that I will not betray you if you come to me. I desire...to change. To become something great that others will accept me for." It wasn't quite the right wording he had been searching for, but it was good as he could considering how nervous he was.
Turning in my Hybrid Pass.
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
"Guide you?" Safrin's voice was like tinkling silvery bells, existing somewhere far above. "To become something great mmm? Something to be respected? You mean, aside from the cursed and abandoned man that you are?"
As if the curtain of reality was pulled back, Safrin emerged as radiant and deadly as a comet. She regarded Oliver with slightly narrowed eyes, the galactic depths of which gave away nothing of what she thought.
"Answer me this sugar, who, who have never done a thing for me, ask me now to change your life? To make you into something better? Why should I?"
The voice came out sharp. His eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat. His ears and mind tuned out anything that wasn't the rapid thumping of his heart and that voice. Oliver could feel the power it held, the words only backing this up. The blonde swallowed hard at her words that spoke of what he wished for, only to condemn him for what he was: an abandoned.
Then, she appeared. Oliver remained kneeling his heart still pounding. She was incredible, breathtaking. No sounds left his mouth as he looked at her with wide eyes...until she started to question him. He hadn't done a thing for her, at least, not yet. Why should she help him? She was a goddess, but how could he convince her? Surely, he could find the right words.
Still looking at her, Oliver tried to mask the nervousness he was feeling, the worry that he may slip up and say the wrong thing. "I promise to pledge myself to you. To do what you ask of me and to continue to leave you offerings. You do not need to ever speak to me again if that is what you wish." Oliver felt as though he had already messed up. What he meant to say was that she didn't need to speak to him again, he'd leave her alone, but still continue to remain loyal. "I will not betray you. I will remain loyal. I will show others how great you are and help spread the word of your greatness." There was plenty more to say, but Oliver already felt like he was rambling. Speaking nonsense.
"Change me and I'll do all of that and more."
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
11-26-2019, 07:06 PM (This post was last modified: 11-26-2019, 07:06 PM by Safrin.)
"Of my greatness, mmm?" The goddess repeated, folding her arms across her chest and narrowing her eyes. "Go on then. Tell me what it is you know of my greatness, given that you have been in this world for only a few weeks. Just what is it you would tell others?"
They were all the same. Promising to do things if only Safrin would do her part first. And for what? To receive bits of dead flowers, trinkets, and some wine at her shrine? Did they truly think that would be enough to satisfy her? Oh, but then Oliver had spoken the magic words. Spreading news of her, speaking of her greatness. But the man seemed nervous and unsure, ignorant of what he promised.
11-26-2019, 07:33 PM (This post was last modified: 11-26-2019, 07:34 PM by Oliver.)
OLIVER
Many of his words had seemed to have fallen short due to a lack of response, however, she seemed keenly interested in his promise of sharing word of her greatness. That part surprised him, certainly. Surely, anyone would share the greatness of Safrin, well, anyone except for Jigano who seemed to have an intense hatred towards her.
Still, a small bit more confidence had built inside him. He felt like he wasn't utterly failing. His back was tall and his heart rate had started to return back to normal. Safrin proceeded to ask of him to share what he knew, share of the greatness that she had done. She did, however, have a major point: he had barely been there for a few weeks. He had hardly seen the greatness she had done, meaning a lot of his knowledge was gained through word of mouth.
Once again, Oliver took a deep breath, but this time he spoke with confidence. "For one, you've made Sunjata into an attuned. He has done so much to help me and I've seen a shift in his confidence, in his happiness. You brought new life to Sunjata. You are also so wise...you've guided people towards greatness, giving them advice in their times of need or despair. You always seem to know what to say, even when the person is blinded in some way." There's the faintest of smiles on his face as he pauses for a bit, allowing himself to take a few breaths. "I also know that you...you took on the blight, something that would've been incredibly challenging. You are so powerful to have done that, and while I did not see the blight first hand, I know of what you have done. You went into the Spire, despite the blight, which just shows how amazing and strong you are." Hopefully he wasn't praising her a bit too much, but then again she did ask for him to tell her of the great deeds she had done.
"You are the Lady of the Stars, a wise person who will help guide us through tough times. I have heard those who doubt you, who speak ill of you...and despite them, I will continue to trust in you, to speak of your good will."
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
"Sunjata helped himself. I merely showed him that all he needed he already possessed." The goddess corrected, arms folding tighter around herself. As for always knowing what to say? What was she, a greeting card?
"Took on the blight?" She repeated, brows narrowing as upper lip twitched into a near sneer. "No, darling boy, I did not take on anything willingly. Unless you are confusing me with Arduinna. Oh no, I was infected with the blight just like everyone else. And, like everyone else, I nearly died. I needed Vi to save me. It wasn't strength on my part."
All in all, it sounded like Oliver had spoken to exactly one person who knew of her first hand and had positive things to say (Sunjata) and one who didn't. Presumably that was Jigano.
"So I am supposed to help turn your life around, and in response you will mistakenly explain my role in the blight, mention how I have helped one person you know? Oh, and that I always know what to say?" Dangerously cold starlight flickered in her eyes then as she stared down at Oliver. "Admit it. You know nothing of me, other than that I might help make you great. A greatness you don't deserve. You come here making promises you can't even begin to keep."
He messed up. Oliver felt embarrassed as he was scolded yet again. Jigano had warned him to be careful with his assumptions, to watch what he said. Many others had as well. Wessex, Phoebe, and so many other individuals had told him to watch what he said, to not make assumptions. And here it was, biting him right in the ass.
There was only so little he could do to recover from this, or so little he could really think of. Had this been a mistake? No. No it hadn't. If he failed then so be it, he would've learned from it. Oliver needed to grow up and understand that success isn't always going to happen and that he needed to face his problems rather than hide away through alcohol or other means. There was still things to be done, otherwise Safrin would've left him by now.
"I may not know as much right now, but I am willing to learn. I know of others who don't want to learn or don't want to go out of their comfort zone, but I am willing to learn. I want to know the truth about you so I can share others the stories and information about you. Pardon my lack of fancy words, but I am willing to be taught. I know that I am more ignorant than others, but I am also more willing to make myself available to knowledge." Jigano had showed that he didn't want to associate with Safrin. That he had lost all trust with the goddess. Oliver, however, wanted to learn. He wanted to trust Safrin and not be ignorant.
"What I know is that you are wise, Safrin. You are far more wise than I or many others in Caido. You are strong. Those are both admirable traits that I wish I had. Allow me to learn, to tell others about you. To share my newly gained wisdom." Time to see if she'd be willing to allow him to learn. Oliver wanted to learn, to understand more about her.
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
”Do I look deaf to you? Or slow?” The goddess asked, fingernails tensing against her upper arms as they crossed more tightly about herself. “Given how often you repeat yourself it certainly seems that way.” He was willing to learn, he would try, and all the other useless promises that so many made. But the point still stood: he wanted something now for something that he’d do for her in the future.
“So that’s it, then? I give you grandness and respect now, and you what? Study me? Go around reciting what I have done to others?” Glancing up towards the sky the goddess pulled in a breath. Once upon a time she’d had dozens of followers. Men and woman constantly striving and seeking to learn from her; to simply be around her. And now here she was, scraping the bottom of the barrel with an outlander man who hardly knew more than a few facts about her.
It was deplorable. But it was also her current situation.
”Alright, Oliver, is it?” She cooed, her beauty suddenly breathlessly overwhelming as she extended a hand towards the man’s pale face. One of her fingers stroked along his cheek as she smiled. “To be worthy of respect...it isn’t just power and strength that allows for such, but poise as well...If you are going to represent me, you must learn poise. You must learn to stop babbling, to stop placating those around you. Have a backbone. Do you think you can do that?”
The boy had hardly even realized that he had been repeating himself. Then again, didn't he always repeat himself? Either he'd struggle to accept the truth or he'd simply say things over and over. Why? He wasn't entirely sure, now that he thought of it. Maybe Safrin had a point, maybe he did it to try and make the other person believe it more. The trade wasn't entirely fair, not in the slightest. Oliver couldn't find the words he wanted to say as her attention turned away from him.
Was this it? Had he screwed up enough? Before, if asked, Oliver would've said he would be crushed. To have the goddess ignore him, but now? He's fine with it. He had an audience with Safrin, someone who had no reason to respond to him. He'd try to learn from his mistakes around her....and then that all changed.
Her attention shifted back to him and he couldn't stop his eyes from widening ever so slightly as she spoke his name, formerly addressing him. Had he said his name? Surely, he hadn't. It was hard to think, hard to process anything as he now felt incredibly overwhelmed. Not only by the sudden contact between the two but also her radiating beauty, the emotions it caused him to feel. He felt like he couldn't pull his eyes away from her and all of his attention belonged to Safrin and her alone.
What she asks of him is a thing he hadn't realized how big his problem was. It was something that when he thought about it, it was a major problem. He had always striven to make others happy, even if it meant making himself feel deplorable. Oliver tried to speak confidently and clearly, mostly to avoid the whole babbling thing, "Yes, I can learn to speak clearly and to be stronger: to have a backbone." It felt weird to speak so little, but maybe this was a good thing. To not ramble on and on and constantly repeat himself, praying that maybe he'd say the right thing.
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
As he spoke his agreement, suddenly the goddess shot forward. It was one thing to agree. It was another to prove it. Her arm now seemed made of black ice that pressed against Oliver’s pale throat, a tree or a wall suddenly behind him that she pinned him against. Her face was a mask, looking both feral and ancient as it sneered at him like a ghostly marble statue.
The pressure against his throat tightened, her other hand curling through his blonde hair with fingers that would feel like ice. Eyes that now looked soulless and as black as any bottomless pit narrowed.
“You are pathetic. You are unworthy of my time and every one else’s. A useless boy. An abandoned. What do you have to say for yourself Oliver?”
12-06-2019, 11:57 PM (This post was last modified: 12-08-2019, 12:36 AM by Oliver.)
OLIVER
The words left his lips and everything went wrong. Anhand shot out and tightly gripped onto his neck, slamming him backwards into a wall or something. Whatever it was, it hadn't been there before. His eyes filled with fear as he stared into the eyes of the goddess. Was she angry with him? He knew the power she helped, and now his life rested in her hands.
The cold pressed into him, causing his body to shudder. His wide eyes stared forward into her own. The words stabbed deep into his core. The words that flashed through his mind constantly. He had been nothing but a useless burden on everyone else in his life...but he had also done so much since he arrived. Was he really that worthless? He helped to rebuild the Monster Hunters Huils, he helped Deimos with the Military Barracks, he helped prepare for LongNight. There were so many other little things he did, so was he really that useless?
"I want to be helpful, I want purpose. Ever since I arrived I have tried to help others and I have succeeded in many ways. I am not useless. I am not worthless." Time to get smited! Smote? Burnt to a crisp? Flayed?
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
“Purpose? I thought you wanted respect.” The goddess snarled, her teeth like shiny icicles as they bared themselves through a smirk. Continuing to listen she raised a brow, the hand against his throat pressing ever so slightly. “But if it is purpose, helping others and all that, what’s stopping you? What other than your need to be more than you are. Don’t think I’ve not seen how you delight in your magical abilities. It seems to me that you only desire to be more because of the friends you’ve made recently. Isn’t that so? Jigano, Deimos, Remi, Loren?” Which was of course to say, the hybrids.
"But if you're so full of worth and usefulness, what is it you need me for precisely?"
Safrin continued to morph, showing how terrifying she really could be. Jigano had warned him slightly of what she could do, but Oliver also knew she was great. She had kissed Sunjata, showed him nothing but great things. She wasn't a terrible person, not even in the slightest. He simple needed to be able to find the right words, show her that he truly did want this. That if she granted him the ability to be attuned, he could be shown respect and do great things.
"It is normal to want both respect and purpose." And then she said something completely incorrect. Delight? Since when did he fucking feel delight over his magic?! Maybe in the presence of the very few who use it as a gift, but Oliver would personally rather continue life on without it. It had hardly been a gift, far more of a curse. In what possible way had he delighted over it?! "I know I have room to grow, I know I can do better. I want you to help me not be so ignorant. I want to tell others about how great you are, prove those who speak ill of you that you are someone who is great and wise. Very few people talk about you and you deserve better." It's honestly true. Sunjata was the only person who really talked about Safrin all that much. Everyone else talked about Ludo, The Voice, or Frey.
"Make me an attuned and I'll be able to be everything you want me to be. I will even give up my magic."
I JUST WANT MY EXISTENCE TO BE MORE THAN TREMBLING
"I never said it wasn't." The goddess hissed back. Just as she was about to part from him—to leave him with shards of ice bound into his clothes that he might have to wait for them to melt before he was freed—he said something that stopped her entirely.
Very few people talk about you.
Somewhere far, far away, a star explodes and vomits its light into the void.
"That I do." She agrees in a voice which is deadly low. That Oliver would give up his magic is a cute gesture, but meaningless. Had she the ability to remove the tarnish from the souls of those around her, she would. But she could bring him closer to her, she supposed.
Given how prone he was to rambling, she knew he'd likely be quite good at it.
"Mark this Oliver; hear me very well." Leaning towards the boy, smelling of frozen lilac, Safrin's eyes narrowed. "I am not always kind. Not always good. What I am, is someone not to be trifled with. Someone who bestows blessings onto those who serve me well, and who will curse the others. Do not mistake me for some all good woman, here to hold your hand and hear your woes.
