over and over again

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." Wind. Snow. Drifting needles of ice that stung her cheeks bloody, blinding her oh, so sensitive eyes to where she was, when she was... How long had she been trapped in the storm? It seemed like it had been a lifetime, now. She couldn't even recall why she had gone out that day... was it yesterday? Or... she seemed to recall the passing of light into shadow, of darkness to light. Maybe it was a whole day. More? No, it couldn't be more. She was weary, tired of walking but not so worn down as a trek through a storm over the course of days should have made her. No more than a day, she was sure. Quite sure. Clutching the black rags tighter around her thin frame to keep out the wind and the cold, Maea kept her head down and pressed on, placing one feet in front of the other. Into the wind she walked, leaning against it as it whipped the thin skirts of her dress to ribbons. Leaning, as though it was the only support she had left in life. Perhaps it was, at that.   Lost. She was so lost, had no idea where she was now. The trees of the new forest was gone, had been for a while now, and though she thought it odd that she hadn't found any of the houses of the Hollow Ground yet, there was nothing for it but to keep moving. The storm had to settle soon, and then she would be able to find her bearings again. How far could she have gone, after all? Sure, the storms were violent and the ghost... spirit? Noah? had said... something. She couldn't recall... elemental? Whatever that meant. Thinking was so difficult, of late. She was so tired. Exhausted, actually. If only she could stop and sleep... She hardly noticed when the wind slowly died down. The darkness of the storm gradually paled, and slowly the world lightened around her. Blinking, and squinting against a light that suddenly felt blinding, Maea looked up. And stared. It was a wasteland. A barren, endless nothing of ice and snow, stretching as far as her eyes could see in every direction. Overhead the storm whipped on, it's fury diminished but not quenched as it left her behind to ravage some other region, and behind her the sun was a radiant orb of white flame that beamed down from a sky that was bluer than anything she had ever seen. Glittering, beautiful... and completely foreign. "Gods... where am I?" she whispered, awed as she was terrified. Turning, she stared until her eyes watered, until white spots danced before her vision. No landmarks she recognized, no signs of animals or people, no tracks in the ground or birds overhead. Desolate. A shiver pimpled the flesh of her arms, that had nothing to do with the biting winds of the tundra. She couldn't feel the cold, even though she should have been dead to frostbite a long time ago. No, it wasn't that kind of shiver. This was fear. The kind that made her hands tremble, and stopped her mind from working. But she didn't have time for that kind of nonsense right now, so the girl merely balled her fingers into fists and searched for something, anything at all that stood out in the landscape around her. There was nothing else for it. She picked a direction and began to walk.

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun was on his latest bout of exploring Halo. After dropping off the requisite bag of goodies (meat this time, pilfered from some Fiat Lux prep), he’d started following the road down the Tundra. However, it occurred to him that he hadn’t actually spent all that much time on the Tundra itself.

So he broke off from the road that Wessex had built. Although he was cloaked, it was mostly for show, as the freezing cold winds did nothing to deter him from his steady march across the snow and ice. In the distance, his sharp eyes made out a figure. Although it was likely something that would try to kill him, he angled his way towards it anyway.

It resolved itself into the figure of a woman, dressed in rags, with pale skin, hair, and eyes. Honestly, Amun wasn't sure how she'd survived this long. "Need some help there lady? Or are you some weird ice spirit that's going to try and eat me." She looked a little too pathetic to be a monster, but he'd been burned before.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." A dark blotch on the horizon. Small at first, like an ant drifting in and out of her consciousness, until she realized it was growing larger. Coming her way. Caution told her to stay away from anything unknown, but wasn't this whole place unknown to her already? With so much danger around - of freezing to death, of starving, of going insane as she wandered this frozen waste until her feet wore down and nothing remained - how could she refrain from taking the risk of facing some other unknown? Take the chance that it might be able to help? With that in mind, Maea angled her path towards the figure, and found that it grew steadily into a familiar silhouette. Arms, legs, a head... A person, then. That was... something. But when they were close enough that she could see a youthful man's face, and hear a voice address her in a language she actually understood (although the accent was off just enough that she could assume he was Outlander) her courage failed, and the smile she offered was rather shaky. There were spirits out here? That would... eat people? "I think you are more dangerous than me, sir", she said, and was surprised to find her voice barely audible. As if she hadn't used it for a very long time. Coughing in an attempt to clear it, she went on; "I... don't even know where I am."

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun smirked at her comment. ”Oh I highly doubt that, icy. I’m a big softy. And I'm no sir” He winked at the pale lady.

Shucking off his cloak, he handed it to her. He was clearly unbothered by the cold. At her next comment, however, he tilted his head, mischief glinting in his eyes. "That lost, huh? Well don't worry, we'll sort you out." He swept into a shallow bow. "Amun Arlun, at your service." Straightening up, he grinned. "I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I think you'd disagree with that, under the circumstances." His voice was cheerful.

Gesturing at his rapidly filling in footsteps in the snow, he indicated she should follow him. "If we follow these, we should get back to the road." Beginning to walk, he glanced over at her. "I'm curious how you came to find yourself wandering the Tundra in Halo with no idea how you got here." Though his tone was light, his eyes were sharp.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." "Oh, you have no idea how much of a pleasure it is to meet you, Amun" she replied, with quiet laughter in her voice. "I'm Maea." Her smile warmed slightly as he spoke. With each word her wariness faded. It was difficult to keep her guard up against someone who smiled at her, so while some small voice inside her mind suggested that this was the time when she really ought to be careful, the young woman disregarded it. When he offered the cloak however, she declined it with a quick shake of the head. "No, please, you keep it. I have no need, I'm not cold." She ought to be, of course. Dressed in nothing but a thin dress with that ragged black shawl wrapped about her shoulders, as though she'd been about to attend a Fiat Lux dance rather than hike about in the wilderness... but her hands showed no signs of frostbite, nor did she have any trouble walking in those thin shoes of hers as she fell in to walk beside Amun. If she sometimes stumbled, if the skin beneath her eyes was shaded it was more due to fatigue... and maybe hunger. Maea hadn't noticed before, but she was really hungry. Ravenous, even. As though she hadn't eaten in... forever. "Halo...? I don't... know" she said, and felt another trickle of cold dread trickle over her skin. "There was a storm, and I got lost. I've come from... from the Hollow Ground. Have you heard of it? Do you know where... it is?" What if he didn't? What if she had been whisked away to some other world entirely, like the outsiders had? If she was now the stranger, in a strange world with new rules... But no. Ludo's rags still kept her warm in the bitter cold, and they spoke the same language, she and Amun. And... well, she couldn't really have gotten that lost, could she? Belatedly she realized that it perhaps wasn't the wisest thing, to reveal where she came from. The Hollow had been isolated for a reason, after all. Now that the barrier had fallen... maybe not everyone would be thrilled about those who had been locked inside for all those years.

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun smirked as Maea claimed she wasn’t cold. ”Neither am I, and you definitely don’t look warm, icy. Come on, I don’t need it.” Continuing to hold out the cloak, nevertheless started walking back towards the road.

Glancing at her, he gave her an appraising look. ”Must’ve been some storm. And it must've led you to a very special and hidden place, to have deposited you here. Where were you when it came upon you?” His tone was still chit-chatty, but his eyes sparkled. ”I do know the Hollowed Grounds, yes. They’re back this way.” With that, he began walking in earnest, though he was careful not to set too punishing a pace.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." Charming. Pleasant, in a chatty way. And he was stubborn too. Maea considered refusing in earnest, but when Amun just kept holding the cloak out she relented, and accepted it. The weight of it about her shoulders was almost enough to drag her to the ground. Gods, it was heavy! or was she the one who'd gone without food for too long? She couldn't quite recall the last time she'd eaten properly. It must have been... the festival? That was days ago. Many days ago, and she'd been too sick after that to do more than nibble on her food. "Wish I knew" she sighed. "I went out into the Greatwoods, just once. To see it, you know, as the wall came down just a few weeks ago and... and I've never gone beyond before. I thought, maybe just this once, how bad can it be? But then the storm came, and it got colder as I tried to find my way back home, but I lost track of the path. Then the snow came, and the wind, and..." She shook her head, disbelief plain on her face as she stared out at the white expanse. Some storm indeed, if it had landed her in a completely foreign region. What misfortune had brought her into this? And had her luck changed now, with this timely arrival of this kindly stranger? She glanced sideways at Amun, quietly taking in his appearance, the obvious lack of clothing in a freezing place, his ease of movement and the lack of surprise at her revelation of where she had come from. It struck her as odd that he would have heard about the fall of the barrier already, and his comfort in this cold place was... unusual. Either he was abandoned like her, and versed in some kind of magic, or... but no, that couldn't be. Not here. Not so soon. "Do you... live around here?" she asked.

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun shot Maea an amused look. ”Just weeks ago, huh? That’s funny, the Greatwood has been open for several seasons. Well, kind of.” Tilting his head, he smirked. ”You feeling alright, icy? Storm mess with your head or something? Or did you hit it in your wandering?” His tone was teasing, but there was a slight worry in his eyes. While he kept walking and leading her back to the path, he turned slightly so he could watch her out of the corner of his eyes.

At her question, he chuckled, the sound dark and low. Then he shook his head. "No, I don't live around here." He grinned at her. "I take it you normally live in the Hollowed Grounds when you're not randomly wandering around Halo?"

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." Maea stumbled, barely catching herself in time before she fell headlong into the snow. Straightening up again, she gave Amun an incredulous look. "Seasons? You're joking, it's barely been a few weeks since then! I should know, I was in the bloody Spire when it happened!" While it felt like ages had passed, the memories of the awful things she'd seen down there were far too fresh to warrant any passing of time. The sounds, smells, the feeling of hot blood covering her own hands... the girl shuddered and rubbed her fingers against the cloak, as if the lingering sensation was something that could be washed away. As if it hadn't stained her to the very soul. She nodded in confirmation; aye, she lived in the Hollow. For good or bad... though it hadn't felt like home much in a while.

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun tilted his head and placed his hand on his heart, an overly dramatic hurt expression on his face. ”Are you calling me a liar, icy?!” Then he chuckled, the sound dark and low.

”Nope. I am telling the truth. I arrived last season, Deepfrost, and from what I understand it had been down for a while.” His tone was perhaps a bit too cheerful, though his eyes still were watchful. Then he gave her an appraising look. "You were in the Spire when the barrier fell? What was that like?" His tone was eager and hungry.

As she nodded in response to his question about her home, he grinned. "Is that so? Whereabouts in the Hollowed Grounds?" His tone was still chit-chatty as he picked his way through the snow back to the road.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." Maea's head reeled. She stopped, disregarding the antics of the man as she tried to process what he was saying. He'd arrived in... and then the wall had been... but.. "But that's impossible!" she objected. "Are you sure we're talking about the same wall, the same barrier?" Granted, she had been ill for a while after it happened. But not for so long that several seasons could have escaped without her noticing. Nor could the storm have been holding her in thrall for that long. Amun made it sound like a year or more had passed, and that was just ridiculous. Right? Not remotely possible. And yet... fear slowly started creeping through her insides at the thought. It reflected in her pale eyes as she looked up at her guide, an almost plea for him to admit that he was joking. He seemed so fond of it, after all. It was a joke, right, and not... Lost... not only in space, but in time as well? "What... year is it now?" she asked, very quietly and with a forced calm that only went skin deep. Please, please... Let her be wrong.

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

Amun grinned, and shrugged. ”I wouldn’t be so quick to say anything is impossible in Caido.” There was a strangely annoyed and yet also reverent tone to his voice. Then he chuckled at Maea’s next comment. ”Are you sure about anything, icy?” His words were teasing, but he still eyed her a bit warily.

Her question caused him to pause momentarily, though he quickly resumed his steady forward motion back towards the direction he hoped the road was in. "Oh. Huh. Good question. I don't know that anyone's ever asked me that, but I'm pretty sure we just hit 310 PC. Post Cataclysm, right?" This time, his voice was simply matter-of-fact, without the mocking edge.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN

M  A   E    A I talked to God to no avail Said, "If you won't save me, please don't waste my time." If a person with hardly any color could pale, then Maea did. She didn't notice the flicker of annoyance in his voice, nor did she try to keep up as he kept moving on ahead. It wasn't so much that she wouldn't, but rather... she couldn't. Maea couldn't even breathe. Impossible. No, no no! How, how was it even..!? "It's not possi.." but she caught herself before she could say it again, because... well, apprently it was? Somehow, without her noticing, a whole year had passed her. In the forest, in that storm... Somehow, for some reason, by the fickle twist of fate or worked by a sprite or whatever, she had walked for a year... in what seemed like little more than a day. Or maybe two. Or..? She couldn't recall. Her mind reeled. The breath picked up, grew unsteady as shock began to set in. As her knees began to buckle, Maea clutched tightly to the cloak, the shawl, to anything at all that was solid and unmoving and constant, because all of a sudden not even the rules of time seemed constant anymore. What about her friends? Were they safe, were they alive? What about the portals, and the secret she had discovered but never had the chance to tell anyone... how much had happened without her being there to help, without her even knowing about it? The farm, the guild, all the responsibility she had reached for and tried to place on others... It was all too much to take in. "I need to go home. Right now. I... is it far? How long until we get there?" She looked up, not quite able to focus on the disappearing back of the stranger - because he was, even if she did know his name. It was all she knew about him, after all. Realizing only then that she had stopped, Maea began to walk again, stumbling along as though she couldn't quite feel her feet.

my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,

for it is infinite.

It took Amun quite a few steps to realize that Maea hadn’t kept moving as he did. As soon as he realized she wasn't at his side, he turned, seeing his distress. Then she spoke, and he returned to her in a surprising burst of speed. Attempting to slide a hand into the small of her back, he would gently guide her back to the path.

"Hey, whoa. You're alright. We'll get you home." He grinned at her. "You must be pretty tough to have been wandering Halo all that time." Once more heading back to the path, he shot her an appraising glance. "It'll take however long it takes. Travel in Halo can be difficult, but we'll get there." His voice came out with a rather cocky confidence.

by being moved I exert my empire,

making the dreams of night real

AMUN