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!
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
In the cold Halo dawn, a lone figure walked across the ice. Woefully underdressed for the biting temperature, with long hair and threadbare skirt whipping frost-white in the hard wind, she looked a wraith of the wastes. Small, thin, not someone who should be able to survive in this climate. Or rather, someone born of it, perfectly adapted to the surroundings.
It was all a hoax, of course. A trick of magic, the boon of a god that she should walk the winter wastes without being touched by its wrath. Maea kept her shawl wrapped tight about her shoulders and wished the wind would let up so she could let go of it, but was too afraid to have it swept off into the expanse. The wind showed no signs of wanting to settle either, so she resigned herself to practicing with her hands occupied. Might be a good thing in the end, who knew.
This far away from other people, the slender young woman allowed herself to let the barriers down on the magic that swirled and swelled within her. With no one around to hurt and nothing to destroy should she lose control, she reached for the ice around her, within her, and began to mold it. Shape it, pull it up from beneath her feet and down from the sky, creating shapes and things from her imagination until a wonderland of strange and twisted sculptures stood around her.
Once the worst of the press within her had settled, she coughed, a dry, hacking sound that shook her thin frame, and set to wander her labyrinthine creation. Too see what she had really created, and think of new ways to mold this power. To control it, and bend it to her will.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
After Amun’s first visit to the Sea of Glass, he’d found himself more than a bit intrigued by it. Although he had an actual sea to play with now, that didn’t mean he couldn’t see how true the name of the spot in Halo was. So he’d grabbed a cutlass and a cloak, and set off through the portal.
Tossing a bag of wood to the guards, he’d made his way down the road. However, he broke off soon enough, heading for the expanse of ice in the distance. As he approached, though, he discovered a weird sort of sculpture garden in the distance.
Slowing, he walked cautiously towards it. When he got close, he studied the outside for a moment, then began climbing the irregular surface. It didn’t take him long to reach the top, and he perched there, sitting with both legs swinging below him. Weirdly, he saw a familiar figure below. ”We have to stop meeting like this.” His call to Maea was far more cheerful than the last time they’d spoken.
01-28-2020, 08:07 PM (This post was last modified: 01-28-2020, 08:09 PM by Maea.)
MAEA
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
The call made her look up. Squinting into the wind, the pallor of her eyes was not visible from that distance, but the smile that appeared on her face as she caught sight of him could be seen clearly. Tilting her head into the wind, so that the white hair whipped back out of the face, she considered his elevated position for a moment, then glanced down at the glacier beneath her feet. With a rumbling groan and odd, singing zips the ice cracked and buckled before the girl, became a step in a steep staircase, and with only the barest hint of effort she walked up towards him, forging icy footholds to carry her step by step as she went.
Stopping when she was face to face with him, the girl crossed her arms over the chest, pinning the black rags in place with a mock scowl.
"Did you let anyone see you come here? If you're not careful, people might think we're actually getting along." Maintaining the joke for only a moment, Maea then laughed and jumped the last bit of distance, landing with steady feet onto his little tower.
"It's good to see you, Amun," she said, quite earnestly, with far more ease than the last time they'd spoken. She could without any shame report that she'd made a lot of effort towards changing her views on his kind... and she had the teethmarks still fresh on a thin wrist to prove it. "What brings you out here?"
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
As Maea looked up, and then made her way closer to him, Amun grinned a bit. The display of magic was impressive, and he applauded when she finally reached his level. Then he winked. ”Don’t worry. If anyone asks, you can tell them I was stalking you in true Ascended fashion." He held up his hands as mock claws and gave a little growl, though his eyes sparkled with mischief.
His expression shifted into something friendly as he dropped them to his lap. "It's good to see you too." At her question, he chuckled. "I wanted to see how much of a sea the Sea of Glass was." The words were intentionally confusing, but lighthearted enough.
Gesturing at the icy landscape she'd manipulated, he waggled his eyebrows. "You know, if I'd known how much you liked sculpting I would've invited you to the Artist's Sanctuary long ago." His words were a bit teasing, but not at all mean.
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
The applause made her grin even wider, actually rather proud that she had managed the little feat without losing grip on the magic. Doing things on this scale with it was far easier than controlling it for small, detailed things (like freezing water in a glass without shattering, which she'd practiced to the despair of every tavern owner in Halo) and Maea knew she needed the practice.
"Oh? And is it sea enough for you?" Maea looked out over the expanse. To her, it looked little different than the rolling expanse of the Tundra, where he'd found her the first time they met. A ltitle flatter perhaps, the ice more prone to breaking up into jagged formation. It was nothing at all like the ocean she'd seen described in texts, with frothy waves and glittering endless horizons spanning as far as the eye could see. Rather a disappointment, if she were to be honest.
Grinning down at the potter, and the sculptures she'd made, Maea shrugged a little. "I did not know it to be this fun either," she admitted. "If you ever decide to hold classes I might be able to sit in on one... But between the Loreseekers and Zariah's new school, I suspect I'm going to be rather busy." She coughed into the crook of her arm, wincing at the dry, painful tearing it made in her lungs. Perhaps the cold wouldn't bother her, but this wind was doing her no favors.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun grinned, and shook his head. ”Nope.” However, he turned to stare at the distant horizon. ”But I haven’t reached the edge of it yet, so all hope is not lost." For a brief moment, there was a longing in his voice and his eyes, a call to adventure that he'd thought he'd set aside long ago.
"I'll talk to Bastien about classes, then." The agreement and acceptance came easily enough. However, he gave her a pointed look. "Zariah didn't mention anything about a new school. Nor did you." Still, he wasn't bothered by that, merely curious.
As she coughed, he raised his eyebrows. "You alright? Don't tell me I'm going to have to rescue you from the icy wilderness twice in as many seasons." There was a slightly teasing tone to the words, but also a real concern buried deep in them.
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
Maea considered him, the wistful look about him as he stared out towards the horizon. "A shame I can't go with you," she said lightly. "Unfortunately I think I'd starve before we found anything worthwhile... It does not strike me as very hospitable."
Blinking at him, she was slightly surprised by how easily he agreed to arrange classes. She would love to attend them indeed, but that he'd go through the trouble? It was flattering. "Really. And did you speak to her recently? I was invited quite some time ago... Perhaps she's only been scouting Abandoned. It's supposed to teach magic users in the end." Maea shrugged. She had mixed feelings about the academy. It was causing a rift between her and Jigano, and she had yet to fully resolve the differences there.
Waving off his concerns at the cough, she straightened and took a careful breath, caucious of triggering another fit. "It's fine. For now, at least... I'll see a healer before it gets much worse. Why, is that concern, Amun? I'm touched." The girl smiled at him, mischief glittering in her eyes despite the dark circles that bruised the skin beneath them.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun just waved away Maea's worried response. "Nah. We can always ice fish if you get peckish." Waggling his eyebrows, he gestured at the distant horizon. "After all, you and me are getting pretty good at navigating all this ice and snow, don't you think?"
Nodding at her question, he shrugged, not really bothered. "Aye, fairly recently." Then he winked. "And I can do magic, under the right circumstances." There was a teasingly flirtatious edge to the comment, but it was clear he wasn't serious.
As she called him out on his concern, he chuckled, the sound dark and low. "Nope! I just don't wanna be held responsible for your frozen corpse. Got a reputation to uphold, don't I?" His voice was cheerfully bright.
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
"Oh, I hope you know how to fish then. Because if you let me starve, I might try the cannibalism way." And she clacked her teeth at him, with a wicked little grin that soon shifted into laughter.
Sitting herself down beside Amun, she pulled her legs up beneath her. Lowering herself down made the wind less biting, not as sharp against her face, but it continued to whip her hair about, pale silk drifting like a living thing.
"Can you now? What circumstances are those, then?" she quipped back, raising her brows at the flirty tone. That was rather new, wasn't it? Jest or no. She retaliated for it, and for the comment of her winding up dead out here on her own, with her tongue poked out at him. Eyes still laughing.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun snorted. "Of course I know how to fish." Honestly, he sounded almost legitimately offended at her doubt, though if she looked closely she might notice the amusement dancing in his eyes. He held out his arm. "But go ahead. I'm dying to find out how Ascended fluid tastes." Arm still outstretched, he waggled his fingers at her.
As she shifted to sit next to him, he shifted as well to block out the worst of the wind. It didn't bother him, obviously, though she was looking worse for wear. However, he turned to her, legitimately surprised by her question. "What, all those scary stories didn't tell you?" He was teasing her more by rote than anything else, and his expression grew a bit more serious. "We can use the abilities of those we drink from. Just once, though." He was actually shocked she didn't know that already.
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
Maea wrinkled her nose at his arm, the offer bringing about only a genuine and deeply rooted disgust in her. A crate full of roufhly chopped up body parts flashed past her vision, it's contents spilling out onto the icy ground by her feet in a flood of blood and gore. Meat stashed away in an old mine, to keep fresh...
His revelation doesn't make it any better, revealing what kinds of things he'd have to do to coax that magic to do his bidding. Maea shuddered. Though, it was not the same kind of frightful flinch as before. Rather more... sensual.
"Until just recently, I had no idea that the bites even did anything except cause pain," she retorted. Pulling up the sleeve on one of the arms, she held up a thin, pale wrist, and showed him the marks that still remained over the veins. Bitemarks. Quite distinct.
"Apparently, one of your kin called Nate can do more than just steal magic. It seems I have a condition. He was quite thorough in examining what it was." And it wasn't entirely clear from her tone what she thought of the whole thing.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Maea's reaction wasn't exactly what Amun had been expecting. Oh, sure, her response to his offer to take a bite was normal enough, but not her response to his revelation about what else Ascended bites could do.
As she lifted her wrist, however, he raised his eyebrows. "You let someone other than me give you your first bite?" Tone mock offended, he placed a hand over his heart and leaned back what would be dangerously far given their precarious perch, but for him was likely fine given how tough Ascended were. "I'm hurt, icy." His eyes sparkled with mirth, though.
However, his expression faded to something much softer soon enough. "Well, Nate's clearly been holding out on us." He studied her features. "He should've told you about the stealing, though." Again, he was displaying a weird amount of concern for her. "So when you said you were fine, what you meant was that you were very much not fine?" Although his tone was light, he wasn't exactly grinning anymore.
Carry me through this world alive I feel no more, this suffering
Pale eyes studied Amun for a long, lingering moment, apparently trying to discern if he really was just jesting, or if there was anything else underlying his words. Whether he actually had wanted to... bite her. But she found his display enough of a jest to pass inspection, and rewarded him with a wry smile in return.
"Too bad, snappy. Maybe next time," she snorted, with a roll of the eyes that suggested Amun would have to be truly dying for her to even consider it.
The chide about her health was gentle, but she winced under it anyway. "Technically it's not untrue," she said, trying to wriggle out of the almost-lie. "It's nothing new, I've lived with it all my life. In his words, my body can not protect itself against the particles that causes illness... which is why I get sick often. But I already knew this, so... This - " Maea gestured to her lungs, her bruised eyes, the thinness of her " - is nothing new. All I can ever do is get a healer to fix me up, and then hope the next time doesn't come about too quickly."
She shrugged, looking a bit glum. It was one thing to know something might not go away, and another to actually hear it outright.
Bury me in this cold light I feed the wolf, and shed my skin
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Rather than being bothered by Maea's comment, Amun chuckled almost delightedly. "Oh, so there will be a next time, then?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, of course, but his eyes were amused rather than sensual.
However, it faded as she explained what, exactly, was wrong. The potter glanced out at the horizon. 'I'm pretty sure I already know your answer, but I have to ask." The words came easily enough, though he couldn't bring himself to look at her. "But that's not all you can hope for." Taking a deep breath, even though he didn't need to, he kicked his feet idly in the space below.
"The Voice knows a lot about bodies. It's possible she might know of a cure for what ails you." The words came out more softly than anything he'd ever said to her.
