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!
Her offer of a position for a Loreseeker assistant had possibilities, and Jigano nodded thoughtfully. "I'll bring it up at the next guild meeting, and see if any current members are interested. Perhaps Loren..." He seemed the obvious candidate, being a part of both organizations already, but perhaps one of the younger Seekers who weren't quite ready for distant fieldwork would be interested? Quanil came to mind, though...
The thought of unleashing Quanil upon the Healer's College made him grin internally a little. Phoebe would never manage to get through a lesson with all the questions, but some of them were pretty darn useful. It might make for an interesting match after all, if the youngest Loreseeker would accede to sitting still long enough for it,
He was surprised to hear Kai's name, though it made sense when he thought about it. A demigod of Rae seeking out Frey's chosen one among the mortals here was only to be expected. "Maea's farm?" he asked curiously. That, or Emmett's... though Maea's would have fewer memories attached to it for Phoebe, and he hoped that was an agreement they had come to. He tilted his head curiously as the jar was brought into reach and he took it from her, nodding agreement. "I can do that, and gladly. What sort of tool, if I may ask?" As he spoke he focused on combining Mastered Earth and Healing magic to fill the jar with enriched soil that would grow any seed planted in it strong and healthy.
Whoever it was that Jigano chose to send to the Medical College was no concern of hers, and so she simply nodded as he mentioned Loren. She would deal with whatever personality was sent her way. But the topic changed quickly enough to the farm she had acquired and she nodded again. "Yes, Maea's farm. We will use it to expand the medicinal gardens to those plants that require more space and light." she explained.
She watched quietly for a moment as he filled the jar with earth. "A plant that grows functioning body parts, so we can use them for study without the decay from a cadaver marring what we see." she said, as though it were nothing nearly so grotesque as what it was.
He nodded understanding (and a little relief) that the Valair farm would be going to good hands now that Maea had no further use for it. "If you need help getting it cleaned up, I'd be glad to assist," he offered. They were all becoming fairly experienced at cleaning up various buildings and lands that had fallen out of use by now, but helping the Healer's College was especially useful considering they work they did for the Grounds as a whole.
Her answer was completely unexpected, and the bard blinked at her answer, too stunned to quite process it for a moment. "Ah... functioning, you say?" he asked tentatively, trying to imagine such a thing. The vision he conjured was certainly nightmarish out of context, but Phoebe had said it so matter-of-factly that he forced himself to focus on the more scholarly words that had followed. "For study? That... that makes a lot of sense," he agreed, albeit cautiously. It was rather a lot to wrap his head around all at once. "That... yes. That would be... good." Certainly for those illnesses that couldn't be fixed with magic it would come in handy. The idea was growing on him the more he thought about it, and he felt his magic reacting to the thought. Again he strummed across the shimmering strings of his soul, fashioning an earthenware jar in his hands and filling it with a mix of healing magic and earth magic once more, this time of a richer and blacker appearance than that which he had filled Phoebe's jar with before.
"Here," he offered it to her with a tentative smile. "I don't know how large your, ah, organplant will grow, but this should help to fertilize it in the future if needs extra nutrients. It's a bit too rich for most seeds to be planted in directly, but if you work a handful or two in with the existing soil once a season or so, it should boost its health. Or you can use it for your other medicinals instead, if you'd like." Really, whatever the Dean thought best for it. It was a gift from one healer to another, for the good of all the patients in the Grounds.
"Thank you, I will keep your offer in mind." she said with a nod. The fields were likely to require quite a bit of work. However, this late in the season, she was content to let them lie fallow again. She could think about what more to do with it when Flowerbirth came around again.
As the bard worked his way around the concept of what she was seeking from Frey, she nodded. "Yes for study. Moreover, unlike a cadaver, these will be functional, so we can see exactly the manner in which they work, what ways they can become dysfunctional, and test methods of correction without causing unnecessary harm to living creatures or people." explained. It would be a revolutionary tool for them, something that would allow them to learn much more quickly than they would have otherwise.
The additional fertilizer was a surprise, and it showed on her face as she looked at it. "Thank you, Jigano. I will use it wisely." she said after the moment of shock wore away.
The more she explained, the more sense she made but the nightmarish image of the plant lingered in his imagination. He hoped - with a little silent desperation - that it wouldn't look that way once Frey was done constructing it, but they wouldn't know if the god was feeling fey or fickle until it all came together. "I can certainly see how a recorder would be helpful to have on hand for those sorts of experiments and discoveries," he said tactfully instead. It was a stroke of brilliance to ask for such a thing, it was just a bit much to get used to all at once. He knew that once he had a few days to settle the idea he'd be much more enthusiastic about it...
Though Phoebe herself was lacking in that energy at the moment, in the wake of all the tragedies she had recently endured. The fertilizer was a small gift, but he hoped the surprise was a good one and perhaps a strange one - but then, they were all a bit strange in their own ways. As he rose he gave a small bow to his fellow guildmaster. "If you need more, you have only to ask," he promised. "I can let you get back to work now. I'll try to stay in touch more, going forward. I hope you have a good rest of your day, Dean Phoebe." Not wanting to burden her more when she had enough weight in her slim shoulders he gave her a final smile of parting and made his departure.
