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!
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Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
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Her eyes narrowed, his insistence making a rare temper begin to flare. "I did tell you. I'd trade it away in an instant. I hate being what I am, I hate not having a choice. Unlike you, I am not content with just shrugging and swallowing it though. I hate what and who I am so I'm trying to change, and that is the whole point of this conversation."
She tossed the bucket back down the well, heard it rattle against the stone walls and land with a distant splash on the water below. Throwing an eye on the blazing fire, she found it had not made any attempts to spread, and returned a dark glare to Amun.
"I'm cleaning the farm because I want to sell it, and because I need something to live off of when it's no longer mine. I do it to put food in my belly and ensure I don't wear myself to the bone trying to make this business work, so that I don't kill myself by wearing down my health to nothing and die a bitter crone who can't even thank Vi for the life I was given. That I can make the most of. Not some universal accident that was infused with my soul without purpose or consideration."
Her tone was still even, but the pace was quickening, the words hardening as if she tried to bludgeon him with them rather than just answer. Wrapping the stifling hot shawl tighter about her shoulders, Maea forced down a breath of air.
"You're the one who told me to ask questions, who can't seem to accept that I'm not comfortable around you. Since I'm already trying to alter my circumstances, I'm obliging you. Because, who knows, maybe understanding something about your kind will help me survive one day.
"But if you've changed your mind we can stop any time. Just say the word, and I can get back to work."
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun rolled his eyes at Maea’s indignant response. ”I mean my question about asking Attuned.” However, the words continued to spill out of her, and he moved to lean against the well as she spoke.
When she was finished, he raised an eyebrow. ”I’m not uncomfortable. And I’m glad you're moving on with your life." Tilting his head, he regarded her with slightly mischievous eyes, though it was the barest of glimmers. "Let me ask you one more question. How is your treatment of Ascended any different from the treatment you receive from those that look upon the Abandoned with fear?" Again, his tone was as reasonable as he could make it, under the circumstances.
Breathing in a deep, long lungful of air, Maea willed her simmering temper to ease. It did not help much, but Amun was at least not taking the bait. He remained as calm as ever, even seemed a touch amused by her tirade. Perhaps it was better than getting into a yelling contest, but Maea confessed to herself that it might have felt good to blow off some steam too. This little outburst was just a peaking of the lid, defusing the worst while the rest kept boiling beneath.
"It's not." She answered his singular question with a flat tone, bone-deep weariness lining her face where there should be none, not for many years. "Do you think I'm proud of it? That I want to be afraid? Yet here we are. We talk, but I'm still not convinced you're not suddenly going to do something terrifying. I keep waiting for... something, I don't even know what, and I hate that about myself too."
Restless fingers reached up to bother the braid, trying to push loose strands back into the folds without much success. In the end, she just undid it and combed it through with damp fingers, then wove one section over the other into a new braid. It fell back to rest between her shoulderblades with a quiet thump, and Maea kept avoiding Amun's gaze.
"I could blame the stories. The tales they told to scare us children into obedience. I could blame the Voice... but in the end it's on me. Isn't it enough that I admit as much?"
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Unfortunately for Maea, there wasn't a whole lot of sympathy in Amun's expression. Instead, he continued leaning against the well, just watching her. Finally, he shook his head. "No. Sadly, it's not enough." Turning so he was leaning on both elbows, he stared down the well, his eyes piercing the darkness to easily see the water below. "At least it's not if what you say is true, that you don't want to be afraid. That you're not proud of this part of yourself."
Turning his head, he stared at her. "So. How would you like others to treat you based on your Abandoned status?" The question came out idly, but his eyes were sharp.
She hadn't expected him to settle. Why should he do so now when it hadn't been enough to let her be before? Still, his demands on her felt heavy all the same, the profound change in views it required of her feeling a touch more than she could manage at the moment.
Sighing, Maea hated that he made her feel like a child. The answer to his question was obvious, and stating it out loud would only hammer down the fact that she was being an unreasonable, prejudiced cunt. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction, prove him right or let him lead her down some winding logical path, because fear really was the pure opposite of logic. There were reasons for its existence, oh yes, and there was probably some reptilian part in her that saw the Ascended as a threat and decided she'd be better off staying away from them. Was it fair? No. Was it right? No, of course not. Would his reasoning change anything? No, probably not.
But simply not answering the condescending question would prove her the child she felt, and that too was something Maea couldn't stand. So she swallowed the ire and replied, tone flat, voice as neutral as she could make it; her discomfort was plain as the day, but there was nothing she could do about that.
"I want to be treated according to my actions," she said. "Given the chance to prove myself worthy of trust and acceptance and not be judged by the deeds of people long dead and gone...
"Come on, what's the point of this? It's not like I'm throwing rocks at you or keeping you from doing things. Why do you care so much whether I'm afraid or not?"
She gave him an exasperated look. What part of her demeanor towards him was so appallingly different from what she was saying? She didn't know him, had only one encounter to base an opinion on and while that had been favorable indeed it was still only one instance. Maea didn't expect anyone to trust or even like herself after so short a time.
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Straightening up, Amun spread his arms in a helpless and hopefully placating gesture. For a moment, sorrow bled into his eyes, and he looked suddenly exhausted. As exhausted as an Ascended, without their need to sleep could look. ”Because that’s all we want. To be treated like people. Not to be feared, or need to be understood, or treated as threats, or monsters, or whatever." Sighing, he slumped against the well. "We're just people. As diverse and different as any other group."
Looking down into the well again, he closed his eyes briefly. "So your fear hurts me. Okay? It sucks to be treated this way by someone I've shown nothing but kindness and patience to, because of things I didn't and have no intention of doing." Turning his head, he opened his eyes. "So yeah, you'll fuck up. You'll still be afraid. All I'm asking is that you make an effort." He pushed off the well and stood up fully again.
The girl closed her eyes. Took a long, steadying breath. Tried to center herself and shake off all the preconceptions, all the prejudice, all her tired annoyance and personal pain that was quite unrelated to this conversation. She focused on the heat of the sun, the scent of smoke and dry earth, of the damp lingering moisture on her hands and face. One by one, she sought out these things and fed them to the crackling fire she could hear not so far away; it hissed and mumbled, muttering in contained hunger as it consumed the fuel she'd fed it. Somewhere overhead, a hawk screeched, drawn by the smoke in hope that a grass fire might stir up prey.
When she looked up again, Maea regarded Amun and tried to actually see him. The person, not the Ascended. Tried to use the same lens as with every other person she met, where their chosen religion and nature was second to the personality, their actions, their efforts. For a moment it worked. At least now, while they stood there talking and the pyre burned and the peace was relatively easy to swallow.
"So... I'll make an effort. Then what?" Her head tilted slightly, pale brow rising in silent question. He was making an awful lot of effort to change the opinion of one person. It was almost as if he wanted to actually be friends.
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
As Maea regarded him, Amun regarded her right back. He noted her shawl, her skin, her hair, her eyes. There wasn’t any judgment in his gaze, simply acknowledgement. When she agreed to try and asked his question, he smiled. It was shockingly light and his eyes gleamed for just a moment. Not with mischief, but something purer than that. ”Then we go make offerings to a goddess together. After that? Who knows. But we've got the whole world ahead of us."
He lifted the bowl, which she hadn't taken yet. Shaking it slightly, he tilted his own head, wondering whether she'd back out of the agreement now that they'd come so far.
He looked so happy that she felt a little ashamed of herself. Recalling the calm, casual teasing they'd thrown back and forth before she'd made things difficult, she wondered what would have happened if she hadn't been so prejudiced. If she could have accepted him as easily as he did her, if they'd already be laughing somewhere else instead of standing here.
But it was pointless to worry about it. Done was done, and Amun had been astoundingly patient with her idiocy. "Alright, we'll find a shrine. But it'll have to be the simple one here on the farm, I can't leave that fire alone for too long. Is that alright?"
Maea couldn't help but return his grin, and reached out to accept the bowl he'd been carrying with him. She turned it between her hands, and heard something rattle within. Poking the lid open just a touch, the girl found a simple necklace within. A brow rose; she poured it out into her hand and held it up to look at. From a silver chain hung a little charm carved from the same metal, of three interlocking symbols. One was a sickle moon, one a fluttering candle, and connecting them both was a simple circle.
"Huh. I've never seen this before," she commented.
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
01-21-2020, 03:13 PM (This post was last modified: 01-21-2020, 03:14 PM by Amun.)
my love affair with water runs deep into my soul,
the serenity as intense as the tides ebb and flow
At Maea’s question, Amun nodded. ”Sure. Seems reasonable.” Then he frowned. ”I'm curious, though, why wouldn’t it be alright? Surely Safrin can hear and see us wherever we make our offerings.” He tilted his head, a confused expression on his face.
When she took the bowl, he grinned again, though it was still weak. As she revealed the necklace, his eyebrows rose. ”Pretty. And high quality” He held out his hand. "Well, seeing as you've never seen it before, you can't have that strong an association with it. So let's see how it looks on you, yeah?" Still holding his hand out, his crooked his fingers in the universal symbol (well, hopefully) for 'give it here.'
Maea shook her head. "Oh no, I just thought that perhaps you had wanted some grand ceremony at one of the bigger shrines," she said with a smile.
Inspecting the necklace more closely, she had to agree with Amun's assessment. Metal was rare in the Hollow Grounds, or had been in the past hundreds of years beneath the bubble. To find something like this was rather unusual, especially in the house of a farmer who literally scraped a living off the land. Maea tried to recall whom the bowl had belonged to, if it had been a grandmother or someone even further down the line... but the thing had been sitting in the barn long enough to collect dust, and she couldn't remember.
Noticing his gesture, she held out the necklace by the chain and let the charm come to rest on his palm before the rest of the coiling silver followed suit. Somewhat bemused, the girl took a step closer. The idea of wearing some unknown woman's jewelry - no doubt a devout one, if the symbols were anything to go by - was strange and a little unsettling. But there was no reason to refuse either; so she let Amun do as he pleased.
Effort. Except, it didn't take that much effort to turn and pull the braid out of the way, exposing her neck to him. Less than she had thought. Far less than she had feared.
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Maea’s comment caused Amun to grin faintly. ”What can I say? Even when I'm blue I prefer to keep things intimate." It was a quiet acknowledgement of his current mood and his general personality, though it still came out with less flair than he usually spoke with.
As she handed over the necklace, he took it. Unfortunately, it took Amun quite a bit of effort to unclasp the delicate piece without damaging it, given his prosthetic. It took even even more effort to clasp it after he'd gently placed it around her neck. Somehow, he managed, and he walked around and gave her an approving nod. "It suits you."
He proffered an arm for her to take, should she choose to accept it. Regardless, he'd gesture for her to lead them on. "Shall we make the offering, then?"
The metal was cool against her neck even in the heat of the day. Maea looked down at it and considered the symbol as it came to rest on her chest. The feeling of having him so close made her skin prickle slightly, but she wondered if it was so much because he was ascended as it was that he was a man, or there at all. She was certainly not used to having people invade her personal space.
"Alright, come on." This too felt like a small challenge, to herself as well as to him. So she took his offered arm, and after making sure that the fire was under control she led them off the yard, up the hill. The brown, dry grass was high, reaching Maea almost to the chest as she plunged into it. Once it would have been grazed down to the quick by hungry sheep, but it seemed no one had attempted to claim the land for their own livestock in her absence. An odd show of respect, she thought, and perhaps a sign of hope for the Grounders. Without the barrier, perhaps the land would recover. Become more fertile again.
On the other side of the small hill lay an orchard. From the vantage point the many rows of apple trees looked neat and tidy, quiet and peaceful under the glaring sun. But once they entered the shelter of the manmade forest, the neglect became apparent. Broken branches bore mute witness to the heavy snows of Deepfrost, while litter and high grass made it difficult to move about between the trunks. Seeing all the new shoots that ought to be trimmed, and how too many unripened apples clinging to each branch made her fingers itch to find a pruning shear, saw, a ladder. It would all need seeing to, and soon...
But it was no longer her task.
Maea brought them to the center of the orchard. There, a small shrine had been erected in a semi-circle of tiny cherry trees. Far from common, they had not been tamed to bear fruit but rather allowed to grow as they pleased, in honor of Frey and the vitality of nature. A white stone lay in the center, perfectly round and smoothed by the hands of many generations - a dedication to Safrin, mirroring the moon that would make the stone shimmer and glow on certain nights. And all around it, hanging from the branches and resting by the trunks, were lanterns. Big ones, small ones, skillfully crafted by artisans and some fashioned by the clumsy hands of children, they were the offerings of five generations come and gone. Some had rusted and fallen down, others had long since returned to nature, but none had been removed. It was the nature of things to wither and perish, and what homage could be better to Ludo than lanterns?
"Here we are," Maea said, and gently slipped herself free from Amun's arm to bow before the shrine.
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Maea took Amun’s arm, but he let her set the pace and the destination. Waiting patiently as she examined the fire, he said nothing as she led him through an orchard. Even though he had no experience with farming, even he could see that it was untended, with weeds, and unpicked apples. Still, he didn't comment on the farm.
In fact, he said nothing at all until they reached the shrine. His eyes darted from the trees to the lanterns before finally coming to rest on the white circle. Bowing his head, he echoed he was silent for another moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was quietly respectful. "We make this offering to Safrin." He gestured for Maea to place the bowl.
