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!
With Loren out potentially dying on a quest to find Mageglass and Zariah being... well, Zariah, Neron had the impression that pushing ahead with his plans was in his best interests. Thus he found himself just outside the shrine in the Citadel; evening had not long fallen, bringing a soft snowfall which muted his footsteps and gave him time to properly replenish the braziers outside the building. The wind was low and, while cold, with the Longheat season it was not nearly as bitter as it might have been.
The Warden had heard of the Outlander priestess, of course. Those in Halo appreciated her bluntness - devout and yet relatable - and Neron thought he could probably make use of that as well. And with the right nudges in the right directions, who very well knew what the results might be. He was patient enough and the chill of the night didn't bother him, so he would wait as long as he needed to catch sight of Ingrid.
01-08-2020, 11:19 AM (This post was last modified: 01-08-2020, 11:29 AM by Ingrid.)
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Ingrid, who was approaching the shrine in her usual fashion (barreling towards it on skis with an armful of candles) was positively stunned when she saw Neron. Is Lazy Launcy here to... pray? Well, fuck. Guess I have to stop calling him that, she thought. Loyalty to the Old Gods was pretty damn redeeming. Once she reached her destination, she turned to stop herself a bit past the shrine, and the edges of her skis sent snow flying.
"Hailstorm," she said with a nod as she unstrapped her boots. Then, she headed to the alter and started to replace the spent candles with her new ones. I wonder who he's praying to... In her experience, people who wanted to pray didn't exactly feel like striking up a conversation about the (ever-freezing-as-fuck) weather, so she decided not to bother Neron while she worked. Striking a match, she lit the new candles so they'd burn through the night. Ingrid grinned. The tiny flames were already starting to melt the icicles that adorned the shrine.
”Priestess.” If Neron was cold from his time spent waiting for her to arrive, it didn’t show, the Warden’s steel eyes watching with interest as she went straight to her duties. ”You do not miss a night, do you?” A question that they both knew the answer to, no doubt, but it was polite nonetheless. ”I hear you’ve been having quite the back and forth with the Archmage. Or should I say, lightning bitch.” The amusement in his voice was difficult to hide, so he didn’t try to.
”She has you off doing something, does she not? Spreading word, changing minds, informing the good people of the Citadel about her deeds of daring do?” He hardly blamed her. It was a bloody good idea.
Ingrid turned about slowly when Neron spoke. "You do not miss a night, do you?" She shook her head. Of course not. And when she wasn't in town, she always made sure to leave a heaping pile of candles by the shrine for any worshipers. Wait, is he trying to flatter me? What does he want?
...Oh.
"Back and forth is one way to put it. I wouldn't say I'm changing minds, merely offering details that she didn't want to share herself... And offering beer. But I've always offered beer. That's not a Lightning Bitch special or anything."
The woman wouldn't tell people she was blessed by Mort, yet she would lightning bolt ningos in front of everyone. Whatever Zariah's reasons, Ingrid was absolutely thrilled her nickname for that odd duck was catching on. "Anyway, I've just been telling people she's blessed by Mort and takes no shit. Y'know. The truth."
”As it rightly shouldn’t be,” Neron said of the beer, knowing well that the people of Snowcloak functioned on the wellsprings of a good brew to keep them warm. A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth at Ingrid’s continued explanations regarding Zariah's escapades, and he nodded dutifully; it was the truth, after all.
”Entertaining though she may be, I did not come to see you explicitly to speak about Zariah,” he said. ”If I may, it is you I’m interested to talk to. I have an offer to make, one that I hope you will consider seriously.”
Ingrid nodded. "That's probably a good thing. If we talked about Zariah the whole time, I'd risk using her name too much. Did you know if you say it ten times in a row, she appears in your bedroom at night, steals your nail polish and then kills you in your sleep?" she asked with a chuckle.
Then the man said he was here with an offer. Ooh, I hope he's selling drugs, she thought. Neron had to keep the Citadel funded somehow, right? The idea made her recall one time a Halo visitor traded her drugs for a couple of fish. (The drugs had been fucking awesome, by the way. Unfortunately, the guy died while trying to pet an ursur, so Ingrid never got to ask him about his supplier. R.I.P.)
Smiling sharply at Ingrid, Neron shrugged his shoulders. "I did not know that, in fact. Thank you for the heads up - I would prefer my nail polish to remain safe at all times." Not that he could ever conceive of a situation where he would say Zariah's name ten times in a row (no, not even then, naughty), and he put that amusing subject to rest.
Drugs? Unfortunately not - not in the traditional sense anyway. But power was a potent drug, and he could offer that in abundance. "The Citadel has need of someone who knows the old ways well - someone to whom the people can turn. A High Priestess, if you would." He inclined his head to her. "I would have that someone be you."
01-30-2020, 08:56 AM (This post was last modified: 01-30-2020, 08:59 AM by Ingrid.)
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"I would have that someone be you."
Ingrid took a step back and nearly sent her armful of candles tumbling into the snow. She juggled them frantically, but when none went overboard, she stilled. Whew.
"W-what? I mean, yes. YES. Fuck yeah."
Suck it, world! I finally made Seer! Well, not exactly, but "High Priestess" is good enough for me.
She stepped towards Neron. "So, what's in the job description? Am I just supposed to be an important priestess, or do you literally mean high priestess? Because I can get crossed more if that's what it takes," she said, grinning. It seemed Zariah wasn't the only Launceleyn who could flip Ingrid's opinion.
Neron hid his smile at the enthusiasm that poured out of Ingrid; having recruited quite a few council members as of late, he had seen it all. Polite acceptance, nonchalance, and now this. ”Good, I’m glad to hear it,” he said as she agreed to the role, watching the candles dance in her arms as if wondering whether they really would take a tumble onto the icy ground.
As for the role description, per say? Neron wouldn’t have said anything he didn’t mean. ”I mean the High Priestess. A step up from the role you hold currently - as far as I am aware, you are the Citadel’s first. As well as being an active part of my council, you’d be expected to fulfil your usual duties alongside a few others. The people of Halo are understandably rattled by the rumours of the Voice and the Ascended - spiritual guidance and maintaining faith in the old gods will be paramount. Arranging a few festivals would not go amiss either.” Gods new the citizens’ morale could use it.
"So you want me to be the High Priestess, but you don't want me to get high? Doesn't make a whole lotta sense, but it works for me. I can still drink," she said.
Ingrid kicked the snow, sending up a little puff of it. "Council. Wow, okay. Don't expect me to talk fancy like Zariah, but I can do festivals. And faith. The Voice and the Ascended are scary as shit, so I can definitely understand where people are coming from. I mean biting? Really? Fucking gross."
She stood silently for a minute. Wasn't she forgetting something? "Oh shit, right. Thank you. This really means a lot, Neron."
”Whatever you choose to do outside your role is not my concern,” Neron said with a hint of a smirk. High Priestess indeed. ”But if you would kindly keep your head whilst on the job, that would be preferable.” As for the council, and the talking fancy, and the drinking on the job, Neron could only regard her with amusement. ”I assure you, it is your ideas I am interested in hearing, not the way you share them,” he said.
His thoughts on the Ascended were kept quietly hidden away - as far as Halo was concerned, though, it’s opinion on the new gods was the same as Ingrid’s. ”I will call a council meeting soon. Until then, I have every faith in you, priestess. I think I shall leave you to your candles, lest they try to jump out of your arms again.”
Keep my head? I could be high right now, and you wouldn't even know. Wait shit hold on did I...
Oops. If she was upset about the stay-sober rule, she was equally pleased to find out Neron was a cool teacher who allowed swearing in class.
"I have plenty of ideas. Probably too many," she said with a chuckle. "I'll see you at that meeting and try not to drop anything else before then." She turned around and trudged through the snow to set her candles down by the shrine. "I know a little bit, Neron, about what really makes a place work. I think Halo could be so great, not even the weather could drive people away. I'll see you when you call the meeting."
