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!
Halo was open and all that, yet the Ascended hadn’t really received explicit instructions on what to do next. Or at least, Amun hadn’t, and seeing as he was a lazy motherfucker, he wasn’t going to show much initiative. Then again, he figured that coming here, asking for guidance was showing initiative in a way.
He meandered through the tunnels of the underground, the dark holding no fear for him. Although he wasn’t sure of the exact location of the shrine, just that it was there through trial and error he eventually stumbled upon it. The glowing lights and the statement were a dead giveaway.
Sauntering up to the altar, and stepping up onto the platform, he faced the statue. "The Voice. Or Sparky, if you prefer." He grinned, a mischievous light in his eyes. "I was wondering if you might grace me with your radiant presence." His tone was respectful enough, but there was a wicked edge to it nonetheless.
"I never have been one for nicknames." The Voice replied suddenly appearing atop the shrine. She sat legs crossed and arms neatly folded in her lap as she gazed down at Amun, the electric roots of the pseudo-trees bursting with white-blue pulses that matched the blinking of her eyes.
12-11-2019, 03:25 PM (This post was last modified: 12-11-2019, 03:27 PM by Amun.)
full moon rising on the waters of my soul
Amun grinned at The Voice’s appearance, though he immediately nodded at her comment. ”Understood. Won’t happen again.” Apparently, the first times she’d been indulging him, but not this time. Fair enough. He mimed locking his lips then throwing away the key. Still, he gazed at her with eager eyes. See? He could follow orders when it was important to him.
When she asked what he was there for he hesitated for just a moment. Then his grin faded, a far more intense and serious expression taking its place. "Purpose. Direction." His voice was quiet, but passionate. "When last we spoke, you told me to bide my time until after LongNight. That we'd get to speak after, but in the meantime, to get to know my kin. And then, after we spoke in Flowerbirth, that I would be your eyes and ears and feet in Halo." Spreading his arms, he gave The Voice an adoring look. "And that you'd help me be great."
Lowering his arms to his sides, he felt his expression fade, though his mind was no less adoring. "Well. I got to know my kin. I bided my time. And Halo is open, and I have been doing what I can to explore it." He paused for a moment, before sighing. "But I don't know what I'm looking for."
The goddess listened with polite silence as Amun explained himself. Nodding at appropriate intervals she couldn't quite help her smile from growing before he had even finished. "Looking for?" The Voice shrugged her shoulders in a manner that seemed surprisingly youthful. "You aren't necessarily the one looking, my bright one." She explained with a grin, near roguish enough to match his own. "It is not poetry that I am always with you, as I have said before. Every step you take in Halo sets down roots that I might use to spread our light, to bring us closer to Torchline."
Amidst the adoration the Voice could sense what might be seeds of frustration, or doubt. "Greatness is not achieved by the completion of tasks, but comes simply while they are being done. " She said softly, electric gaze deep with understanding. "Nor can it be rushed. But I have not forgotten what I said to you."
As The Voice began to speak, Amun fell silent. At her comment that she was inside of him at all times, he opened his mouth, thought better of the lewd comment, and closed it again. When she finished, he grinned.
Whatever seeds of doubt might've have been planted were completely eliminated by her response. Instead, he felt light and giddy. Good thing he was easy to please in pretty much every sense of the word. "I understand. Thank you." His voice came out easily, all traces of troubled thoughts gone.
One word did stand out to him. "Torchline is name of the next land, then? What is it like?" Hopefully better than the cold and unforgiving Halo.
"Torchline is one of the most southern points on Caido, set along a tropical coastline. It is comprised of a number of islands, as well as the coastline itself. It might be one of the largest areas, actually..." Her geography was a little rusty, after all the centuries away. "...which means we will be there for a while. Though it is quite nice, even though you won't be able to feel the heat."
Amun felt his teeth stretch in a broad grin. ”Sounds wonderful. It’ll be nice to see the ocean again. Maybe even sail, though I’ll need a boat, and the stars of Caido are unfamiliar to me so navigating might prove difficult.” However, he felt even his easy-going nature falter. ”Plus I imagine my sailing will be limited if it’s as tropical and sunny as you say.” His eyes and his voice grew a little wistful for a moment, but he wouldn’t trade away his new life and the promise of greatness even if he could.
It didn't take long for him to bounce back, and he smirked. "Hopefully I'll be of more use to you in Torchline, then." Since she had little for him to do in Halo. Then a question occurred to him. "You said it was on the southern coastline. Are there shores beyond that?" For a moment wanderlust filled him, and he had to forcibly remind himself to trust in the goddess' plans for them.
Hesitating, he gave her a much more tentative smile. "Might I be replenished?" He gazed at her with hopeful eyes.
The Voice smiled and waved her hand. "A boat and a map of the stars? You think I can't provide you that?" She matched his grin with a charming one of her own. "Not necessarily...The longer you inhabit this body the more your fluid becomes stable. Soon you will be able to be out in the sun longer and longer, until it hardly harms you at all."
Tilting her head slightly to the side, the Voice offered the potter a slightly confused stare. "Well, each of the islands has its own coast you might say. But yes, there is a coastline on the southeastern border as well. The most southernly tip of the continent falls away into the sea from high cliffs."
With a smile truly adoring and maternal now, the Voice nodded. Stretching out her wrist to him, she offered the dark-eyed man his fill of her. She would envigorate him in a way that drinking from humans never could; he'd find both body and mind soothed and the inner workings of his ascended-form perfectly calibrated and primed.
Amun gave The Voice a brilliant and pleased smile. ”Oh no, of course I think you provide that.” His tone was certain, and certainly impressed. ”But a map would only get me so far. The stars of this world are different than the ones I’m used to, and if I have to sail at night, learning to navigate by them might not come easily to me.” Although that might have bothered other people, here he just stated it as a fact. If he had to spend time and effort relearning constellations and the constants of the night sky, he would do it.
However, her explanation of how his resistance to sunlight would grow with time certainly perked him up. Grinning again, he felt something within him ease that he hadn’t even known had been tense. ”That’s fantastic.” Then, because he was always willing to push limits, he tilted his head, a mischievous look in his eyes. ”I don’t suppose that applies to fire as well?” He doubted it, but it was worth asking.
As she gave him a confused look and even more confused explanation, he realized his mistake. Chuckling, the sound dark and low, he quickly clarified what he'd meant. ”Oh no, my bad. Sorry. I meant, are there other continents?” His voice wasn’t all that apologetic, but he’d at least said the words.
Then she offered her wrist, and he winked at her, a happy smile back on his face. Reaching out, he tenderly took her wrist in his hands. Then, eagerly, but still in a controlled manner, he sank his fangs in. Like last time, the effect was immediate and electric: he found himself restored in ways he couldn’t quite explain, filled with the power of his goddess and the happiness she brought to all her children.
"You learned once, didn't you?" She asked, a challenge sparking in her electric gaze. "Besides, who says it would be a regular map?" The Voice added, brows raising only once to punctuate her point.
Shaking her head no, the Voice shrugged. "It doesn't. But there are ways around that. Upgrades that had be procured. Even armor or the like."
Understanding what he meant now, she shook her head again. "No. This world is one giant landmass. Perhaps one day it will split apart into separate continents, but that hasn't happened so far."
Amun found himself grinning. ”I did at that, and I’ll do it again.” Although hard work wasn’t his forte, he made a mental note to check out the Atheneum, see if it had any information on navigation. At The Voice’s comment, he chuckled. ”Me, I guess. Which I guess also betrays my lack of imagination.” He wasn’t at all troubled that the goddess’ mind was better than his. Quite the opposite in fact: he was thrilled that she had decided to guide him, despite his deficiencies.
Maybe that was why, instead of being bothered by her next explanation, his eyes lit up. ”I’ll keep that in mind.” At the moment, his single upgrade was rather lacking, not that he minded. However, after seeing Wessex in action it was hard not to wish for his own unique abilities.
Still grinning, he nodded his head. ”Good to know before I try to strike out looking for other lands.” He’d have to content himself with this single continent. Hopefully Torchline would be better than the parts they’d seen so far.
"Perhaps one day you will have the strength to make your own lands to sail to, mmm?" The Voice said with a smile. "Until then, perhaps you can simply be satisfied with this one. It is quite large; it would take months to sail all the way around."
With Amun's questions asked and his fluids replenished, the goddess gave him a nod before departing in a shiny blue-white flash of light.
At The Voice’s words, Amun grinned. ”I’d like that. Both the power and to circumnavigate the land.” He pictured himself at the helm, shouting orders to the crew, contributing to the exploration of this world in a way that few could.
Nodding back cheerfully, the Ascended couldn't help but let out a sigh as his goddess disappeared. Still, he was glad for the time and the attention, refreshed in mind, body, and spirit. When he stood up and turned to go, it was with renewed vigor. Halo awaited, and beyond that Torchline. Now that he knew he could actually help, and that the ocean was so near, he found himself longing for it.
