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!
Harper does not want to make a habit out of disobeying Gods. Or, well, singular God. Safrin had told him simply that he needn't bother with the other Old Gods, though she had been kind enough to give him their names. Harper would have been content to leave it at that, had it not been for Kiada.
Hearing of her quest had made his heart ache with sympathy. Though he has no reason to intervene on her behalf - and wouldn't, for she is fully capable of fighting her own battles and would surely kill him for the insult - his curiosity is nonetheless far from sated. Yet again, he has not been told anything of Ludo or its works. So Harper does what he does best - he leans on his faith, and he leaps.
'Ludo's Woods' had been the only hint he'd been given from the library, but finding the Shrine (or what he thinks is the shrine) only takes a bit of wandering and exploration. After the disaster of Jigano being a jerk, Harper hadn't been inclined to ask anyone about gods again. Having known even less about Ludo than Safrin, he is less certain as he places his offering at the shrine - a horse toy on wheels with a little string attached to the front to pull it alone, painted on all sides (badly, but he had tried) to mimic the skeleton of the creature beneath. Sitting back he closes his eyes, and though Harper is not used to his prayers being answered yet, he tries nonetheless. "Ludo, if you have a moment I would like to meet you." Hopefully his sincerity would translate. And if the God could not arrive, then perhaps it would enjoy the toy left in Harper's wake.
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
Not the sound a toy horse should make, but it was nonetheless the sound that rang through the shrine as something plucked up the string and caused the contraption to trundle merrily along. "I like this. You have made it yourself - I can tell."
The paintwork is terrible, seemed to be the unsaid phrase, not that Ludo enjoyed it any less. Whilst its presence was not currently visible, the swell of the woods, the rustle of leaves and the whisper of the breeze all suggested that the deity was very much there.
"Hi. You've met me now," it chirped.
LUDO
Braved the forests, braved the stone
Braved the icy winds and fire
Braved and beat them on my own
The sound Harper lets out at the sudden body-less voice is also not a sound a human makes. Parallels! It makes him jolt and glance around stupidly, even as a smile creeps up his face at the adorable noise. Gaze drawn back to the toy as it stirs into action, Harper laughs at the image it paints, seemingly pulling itself along like a stubborn dog holding its own leash. The words that follow startle him less at least, though the compliment's implications make him grin. Paint is still flecked along his fingers and he wiggles them into the empty air to show it off. "I think the terrible paint job makes it all the spookier. The real horror of the world: anatomical inaccuracy!" As soon as the words fall off his tongue he bites it, wondering why he always says such stupid stuff when he first meets a god.
The idea of 'meeting' seems inaccurate when he can't see the god. Maybe it doesn't have a physical form? Geez Harper don't be so small minded. "It seems I have. Pleasure to do so," he calls out into the air, feeling warm and blessed by the fact the gods of this land allow him to take up their important time with his nonsense. "My name is Harper. A friend of mine mentioned you, and I wanted to meet you and maybe ask you a few questions if you have the time? About...about people who have passed, and how that works here. If that's okay." It feels like a sales pitch which makes him feel gross all over, but he's not going to assume Ludo simply has the time to sit and entertain Harper's narrow worldview.
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
”I think it is quite lovely,” Ludo insisted of the toy; the toy which now raised up off the ground to sail lazily through the air. If anatomical inaccuracy was acceptable, what was a law of physics or two? After making a circuit of Harper and coming to land safely back at the shrine, the man might notice a glimpse of a porcelain mask peeping out from behind one of the trees.
”The pleasure is mine,” it said, watching Harper thoughtfully. ”The last one who asked such questions died shortly after,” it told him offhand. A coincidence, but Abasi was still dead. ”I have the time. Ask what you will.”
LUDO
Braved the forests, braved the stone
Braved the icy winds and fire
Braved and beat them on my own
"I'm glad you like it," Harper sincerely responds, feeling warm inside at the approval. He watches with eyes that widen in wonder as the toy sails up into the sky like a bobbing boat on an invisible ocean, laughing merrily in surprise. The sudden appearance of a discolored object behind a tree in the distance makes his shoulders stiffen temporarily, habitually. But he trusts this shrine, trusts in the safety he feels in Ludo's presence, though perhaps that is a naive notion.
"Hmm...we all die," he says quietly in allowance, thinking of all those he has lost. So, so many. An entire city of civilians beneath his wing that had been so quickly torn away by the mechanics of mankind. Reuniting with them would not be a terrible thing. Harper has flatlined a few times in his career, and while he'd come back every time it had certainly impressed itself upon him that you usually go peacefully and with little awareness of the world around you. "If that's my fate, at least I'll go with a bit more knowledge won't I?" The smile returns to its rightful place, flashing it at the mask in case it's the herald, still slightly unsure. "Kiada told me that her beloved's soul was in the balance, and she was fighting for it. Is that normal, here? Do spirits linger on this plane? And...and potentially ones from beyond this realm?" He hadn't meant the last question to slip out, but he just...sometimes he wishes he could know for sure that when he goes, his parents and his first love will be there to greet him on the other side.
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
Frankness in the face of death was something to be admired, and Ludo's mask seemed to bob approvingly from behind the tree. "Knowledge, then," it said, and a mass of rags would seem to swell up around the mask, before it swooped out to hover before the shrine. The little horse it snagged in one tendril of fabric, the toy disappearing soon enough into the folds of its void.
Masks could not frown, but Ludo would certainly seem to give that impression as it considered Harper's questions. "Not normal, no," it said. "Spirits do linger, but they ought not to. The Longnight is the reason why Kiada is trying to lay her lover to rest. As for ones beyond...?" It shook its head. "Mort keeps Caido's souls. And that is all."
LUDO
Braved the forests, braved the stone
Braved the icy winds and fire
Braved and beat them on my own
The toy disappears as rags overtake the area surrounding the mask, and Harper can't help but stare in inquisitive awe. An entirely different being than Safrin as he'd expected, but still completely out of the realm of imagination Harper had.
The knowledge itself is saddening, perhaps even a little distressing, and Harper can't help the frown that pulls at his lips. "Are they in danger the more time that passes? They can't be broken or decay can they?" Kiada had not voiced that concern directly, but she had mentioned that she would have to fight for Ru'in's soul endlessly until she succeeded. "I don't want to sound ungrateful to Mort for handling my soul when it's my time but...will I never be reunited with the souls of my home world?" Sorrow lines his words in a betrayal of his feelings, terrified that after so long telling himself he can't lay down and die because he'll reunite with his parents and loved ones when the time is right, that perhaps The Voice has stolen that opportunity from him.
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
"They grow more frantic and more dangerous, the longer they are left," Ludo murmured. "Not necessarily more difficult to obtain, but certainly it does them no good to wander so endlessly, without peace, without rest." It sighed - it might be Longheat, but Longnight was ever around the corner, and it showed in the sag of the deity's ragged shoulders.
Its masked gaze fixed back upon Harper at his questions, shaking softly to indicate no. "Mort keeps Caido's souls. And that is all." Its repetition spoke of finality. "But that is not to say that your experience of the passing may not be one of reunion and tranquility. If you believe me to be vague, it is because I am. You ought only find out when it is your time to cross that bridge."
LUDO
Braved the forests, braved the stone
Braved the icy winds and fire
Braved and beat them on my own
A soft empathetic frown mars the man's face at the God's words. "How horrible..." Though he's unafraid of dying, like many he has struggled through the act of living itself, and peace in the beyond is something he'd look forward to. Being denied that is a cruelty that's hard to stomach. Particularly when your safe passage, and whether or not it happens, is out of your hands. "You said obtain. Is that what Kiada is trying to do? Um...transport it somehow? The monsters can only keep it hostage, not obtain it permanently right?" Concern thickens his voice, wondering just how much time is left in the hourglass for Kiada's beloved.
The chastisement for his curiosity is kind, and Harper takes it in stride with a warm smile. "I understand. Reunion is all I could want, but half the fun is in the mystery." An outlook he'd had to cultivate painfully, lest he crack under the pressure of losing so many loved ones over the years. "Is there a way to help? I don't want to intrude on Kiada's quest when she's a capable woman, but...well, I wouldn't want my soul to end up like theirs either. Keeping people safe during LongNight I assume is a given..." But preventive measures in his experience can only achieve so much. Backup plans upon backup plans hadn't been enough for some of his old teammates.
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
Ludo nodded gently. "The monster holds it hostage and must be defeated to release the soul. There is a man with a lantern to hold those lost souls, and it may be kept safely there until it makes its final journey to Mort's realm," it explained. As for help? "Ask the Naturals within the Hollowed Grounds. They are practiced at keeping safe for the Longnight. To go outside is certain death, unless such precautions are made. Unless you plan to help fighting off the monster, I do not know how much help you might be." Certainly that would not go amiss, however.
LUDO
Braved the forests, braved the stone
Braved the icy winds and fire
Braved and beat them on my own
"Do the monsters have souls?" Is the first thing to Harper's mind. Stomach churning uneasily. "If they have enough forethought to capture and keep souls...they sound quite humanlike. How did they even come to exist? Does Mort capture their souls when they're killed as well?" A barrage of questions to be sure, and Harper smiles weakly in apology for them. Killing is still something he struggles to bear after years of being forced to snuff out innocent lives. But what truly defines a monster? Where is the line in this world? Hopefully Ludo can help him find it. "If she asks for my aid, I'll give it. What's the best way to kill one of them?" Because if he must do so for the greater good, Harper will. And there is always a better method to erase an existence. An unfortunate lesson he'd learned and wouldn't soon forget.
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
The mask did not blink, but Harper would get the distinct sensation that the deity's patience for his questions was beginning to run thin. "No," it said simply. "They do not." Opinion or fact? That was for Harper to decide. Ludo had never claimed to be an unbiased herald, as any who had visited it would know; this was especially true when it came to Longnight and the Ascended.
"They were created. They are abominations," it supplied. "They cannot be collected for they do not have souls." Defiant, insistent truths, spoken in black and white.
"With force," it said, clipped. "How else does one kill anything? You talk your tongue into knots, sweetling. It is wise to learn when to hold it."
LUDO
Braved the forests, braved the stone
Braved the icy winds and fire
Braved and beat them on my own
Harper wilts under the chastisement, blue gaze dropping away from the expressionless mask. Clearly he had already been spoiled by Safrin's patience, being as she was the first deity he met in Caido. It's his own fault for assuming they're even remotely the same, but the irritation hurts nonetheless.
Harper doesn't even consider that it might be Ludo's opinion, far too trusting in the being's decisive answer. "Sorry," he says softly instead, hoping to atone for where he has clearly misstepped. "There's still so much to learn about this place, and if I can help by destroying them..." he cuts himself off before he starts to talk too much again, lest he stuff his foot in his mouth seconds after being told to keep it shut. Harper manages a smile and brings his gaze back to the masked figure. "You and Mort may not be the gods I followed in the past, but what you do for everyone...I wanted to come and say I appreciate it, and that however I can help or honor you - even just by bringing you toys - I promise I will." Hopefully a better note to leave it on. Far too full of faith and love to be fully spurned away from worship.
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
The deity did seem to soften under Harper's change of tune, and it reached out to tickle at the Accepted's nose with a tail end of a rag. "Then learn," it advised. "Speak with those who came before you. Explore and live, that you may step into death fulfilled." And y'know, if that involved a bit of murdering Ascended or destroying Longnight monsters along the way, so be it.
Ludo would seem to begin to fade away now, the ragged being disappearing until only the stark white of its porcelain mask was left. "Offerings are appreciated for all deities," it advised. "That, sweetling, is a piece of advice that you will never go wrong by following."
That said, the mask winked out as well, and Harper would once again find himself alone in the woods.
~FIN
LUDO
Braved the forests, braved the stone
Braved the icy winds and fire
Braved and beat them on my own
