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!
02-21-2020, 07:33 PM (This post was last modified: 02-21-2020, 07:37 PM by Maea.)
MAEA
Once a gate has been forced to unlock, it becomes easier to slip through, and with each trip, easier still to find again. And it is true as they say; sometimes doors open both ways....
In the quiet of the predawn light, the master bedroom of the VlamVloed was bathed in silence. Darkness had not yet relinquished its grip on the room, even though a faint light had begun to brighten the windows, and the shadows still reigned surpreme in every corner. A short, slender young woman lay nestled in the arms of her lover, her milky hair splayed across the pillows. He slept peacefully, but she... stirred. Shifted restlessly as something in her dreams changed. For a time, all it brought was a light stirring of her thin limbs, head tossing back and forth as foreign thoughts and images not of her making seeped into her mind. But then, as a message was made plain, brought to her with undeniable truth, it was with shocking clarity that tore her from her sleep.
Maea was torn from her sleep and sat bolt upright in the bed, gasping like a drowned. Sweat beaded on her skin, and she was trembling, eyes glazed over, not quite seeing the room around her. Still trapped within the haze of the message, the vision, the all consuming understanding.
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Receiving Secret information
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
His dreams had been… Well, uneventful, as of late. He’s had his typical restless bouts of sleep, but unable to remember the dreams really once he wakes. And for that, he’s grateful, able to forget about it and focus on things that truly were happening – like now, this night, back at the VlamVloed with Maea there in his arms. But he was pretty exhausted, as was the norm lately.
But he was pretty calm in his sleep, and having lived with the air of caution on his side for so long, nearly anything could wake him up. So when she stirs, he rolls slightly, partially waking up but remaining asleep realizing she’s still there. Until she bolts upright, gasping, and then it wakes him up to full alert and attention.
Sitting up, he glances to her first then to the room, searching for any sort of threat that might have spurred it, but when he notices there isn’t one – sees the faraway look in her eyes, he exhales and rubs a hand over his face briefly before focusing on her. “Maea…” He rumbles quietly, leaning toward her to try and pull her to him. “What happened?”
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
She did not seem to notice him. Not that he sat up, or how he scanned the room for danger, or even how he pulled her in. She was stiff and unyieldy under his grip... and only when he spoke, asked her what happened, did the girl respond.
"The storms are not of manmade hands. They are the will of Rae and forged by divine might to ward against the return of the one who Rebelled."
The voice that spilled from her lips was not entirely her own. Distant, as if speaking from very far away, and somehow overlayed. As if it was not one voice but many... (or perhaps she was just hoarse, throat dry from drinking too little water before going to bed. Who could say.)
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
She doesn’t respond, doesn’t yield to his touch, and all he can do is draw his legs closer and blink away the exhaustion and sleep in his eyes as he focuses on her – and the voice that leaves her is distracting enough, far unlike the usual lilting tones of her voice though he can’t quite tell why. And when she starts to speak, mentioning the storms – storms she’d asked him to maybe look into instead of the portals (another secret kept from her, of working with the Ascended, that he intends to keep) he stills and stares at her.
It takes his mind a bit to catch up, brows furrowing together in his confusion and yet some equal part understanding – another barrier of sorts, another to keep the Voice in.
He puffs out a sigh, moving on the bed to try and settle before her, to grasp her head in his hands and scan her face, to brush her wild hair away from her face. “Maea.” He asks again, trying to get some flicker of clarity, but he stores the dream information away for later – to be looked at when he’s far more cognitive to endure it. For now, however, he needs her awake, talking, not of storms and portals and dreams and gods.
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Hands caught her face, but the haze did not lift from her eyes. Even as they turned to look at him, perhaps in response to the sound of his voice, they remained distant. Seeing something else entirely.
"They cannot be brought down by the hands of man. The storms safeguard the lands of Caido from the return of the one who Rebelled. Only by the opening of Portals will the elemental rage falter and fail, but it is not the Will of Rae.
"Hear this, and be warned. It is not the Will of Rae that the storms be quelled and the Rebellious one let loose upon the lands."
Her hands shot up, gripped the wrists of the hands that held her face with surprising strength. And for one, horrible moment, the eyes that stared beyond the man, focused. With terrible, awful clarity, as if something more than Maea stared at him, knowing, seeing.
Or perhaps it was just the dream that made her speak like that. Look like that. Awake but not awake... Dreams can be tricky like that.
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
She doesn’t see him, and he’s half tempted to shake her to bring her out of it – wondering what he can do to try and break the spell that’s cast on her. And with it, he nearly begins before she speaks again and he filters it away, waking up more and more with the seriousness of the conversation. He shivers beneath the look she gives him, but when she grabs his arms does he almost flinch under the pressure and surprise.
She looks through him, and he seeks her gaze as well, trying to find her beneath it all. And when he’s unsuccessful, he strokes his thumbs along her cheeks, curling his fingertips into her hair, edging closer with an almost desperate look crossing his gaze with concern. “Maea.” He repeats for the third time, louder, stroking her face a bit harder in the attempts to pull her out of her distraction. To talk to him, to come back.
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
She flinched. Sucked in a sharp breath, and blinked. Dazed, like she had just woken up, Maea looked around, her gaze clearing. Found herself sitting up in the bed with Sunjata sitting before her, his hands stroking her face, a look in his eyes that was almost... frightened?
The girl breathed out, and slumped down into his arms, hands trembling violently as they let go of his wrists. She tried to say something, coughed when she found her throat raw and dry, and then tried to speak again. Found that it was a little bit easier this time.
"It... it happened again, didn't it..." Closing her eyes, squeezing them shut tightly, she could still see the swirling images form and dissolve before her inner vision. It was so strong, far more than she recalled from the last time... But it was the same. She knew it, felt it.
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
She slumps against him, gaze clearing, and he exhales a quiet breath as he pulls her into his lap – cradling her close to him to hear his thundering heartbeat, the strength of his arms around her once she’s let him go. The mention of it happening again has him nodding, but not quite understanding – instead, he focuses on trying to calm her down, to coddle and hold and care for her. “Are you okay?” He asks, trying to see if there’s something he can do for her.
He lowers his head to the top of her own, resting his stubbled cheek against it, going through the thoughts that the information has lead. They were never meant to find their way to the rest of Caido, even if the barrier fell. The only way were the portals, and the portals were against what Rae wanted. To keep the Voice in… Quietly, he wonders if Safrin knows what he’s been up to, what kind of deals he’s made, wonders if perhaps he should just continue on the off chance she doesn’t know and see where that takes him.
Perhaps he’ll just get smited instead. But he keeps his thoughts to himself, focusing on her and trying to calm the shaking of her hands.
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Was she alright? Maea wasn't sure. She curled up in Sunjata's arms and tucked her face away against his chest, feeling his head come to rest on top of her head. He held her, and the warmth of his hands and body drove the chill from her bones a little more with every beat of his heart. It was racing, she realized, and with no small amount of guilt she wondered how badly she must have startled him. Woke him up, even.
"I... yes, I think so," she mumbled. Her hands ached from a cold she had not summoned, that she should not feel; Maea tried to rub them back into life, thoughts still lingering on the dream that was not really a dream. "This... it's the same as last time. When I saw the device. The bringing of Outlanders here. It has... the same flavor. Only.. stronger?" Because that first time, she had been guided. Now, it felt more like her mind had been invaded by the vision.
"What... did I say? Did I do anything?" Judging by how she'd found herself, Maea assumed she hadn't just woken up. But she couldn't recall, only knew the visions of the dream. The startling, shocking clarity of it all.
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
She says she thinks that she’s fine, and the only thing he can do is keep her close, trying to offer his warmth to her, drawing the blankets close and over her to hold her tight as his free hand reaches for her own to rub them gently. He listens to her explain, nodding along in understanding even if he didn’t understand anything. He does his best to tell her that she’s not alone.
The question of what she did, however, has his steel gaze flickering over her face before he looks around the room again, gaze lingering on the windows. “You shot up out of bed, I thought maybe someone broke in.” He replies at first. “Then you talked about the storms… Rae’s wishes, the portals, all of that.” He explains, not wanting to trigger it further.
“You weren't yourself, though. You didn’t look like yourself.” He rumbles quietly, heart calming as she talks and remains in his arms.
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
His description made her shudder. Not herself? Who was it that had been talking with her voice, then? Who had looked through her eyes when she was still lost in the vision? Not for the first time, Maea questioned the source of these visions. Was it the gods, some spirit... Caido itself? It was enough to make her press tighter against Sunjata, her fingers seeking to tangle into his when he tried to rub some warmth back into her hands.
"Sounds... like I more or less repeated what I saw, then," she said quietly. Blinking, Maea found her eyes gravelly and tired. From lack of sleep perhaps - there hadn't been all that much of it lately, though she wasn't about to complain - but she couldn't help but think that perhaps her eyes had actually been seeing something more than just the inside of her eyelids.
"It seems... searching for the portals is the only way to find the rest of Caido, after all," she sighed. Rather disappointed, more than a little guilty sounding... because, for all of what she had told Amun about being reluctant to use them, Maea still wanted to see it. The world. "Do you think... the gods would be terribly angry with us, for wanting to be free?" She didn't have to explain which ones she meant; there was only one who would be pleased beyond a doubt if more portals were found and opened.
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
She presses tighter against him and he’s content to just cocoon them there — but a thought hits him and he shifts his skin along his arms to that of the Panther form, darkening his skin with the warm fur of the feline shift as he tangles his hand with hers, keeping the blanket close.
The question, however, causes him to tear his gaze away from the window to the woman in his arms, jaw clenching ever so slightly as he debates telling her or not. “Some more than others perhaps.” He offers at first, keeping her close as he exhales a quiet sigh. “But they should expect nothing less, really. You can’t cage people and expect them to remain in the boundaries when the cage is gone.”
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
The dark fur was familiar. Warm and soft, like touching the night, and quite comfortable to run her hand over as she let the soothing familiarity of Sunjata's presence anchor her back in reality. It was a bit ironic, because sometimes she could still swear it was all a rose-colored dream, his presence in her life. Some miraculous hallucination, and illusion that might disappear at any moment. Only, he felt so very real in moments like these, when she could hear his heart beat and feel the hum of his voice tickle against her temple as he answered her concerns. Offering guesses and opinions, that both helped and made her feel worse at the same time.
"It makes me feel like a child taking cookies from the oven, expecting to get away with it just because no one said it wasn't allowed," she grumbled, but had to smile a little at the analogy at the same time. "I suppose you are right... I talked to Amun about the portals, about that note Ronin left at the Temple. Of course he's biased, being Ascended and all, but... he seems convinced there could be a way for everyone to coexist. Both the Old Gods and the New. Do you think it's awfully naive to hope such a thing might be true?"
Angling her head back, Maea looked up at her lover. They were both followers of the old gods, and yet had friends among the Ascended... She knew him to be loyal to Safrin, that he loved the Goddess of Stars, just like she loved Ludo. And they both wanted to move freely...
Nothing lasts forever, I thought you should know
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Her grumbling ignites a small smile along his face despite his uncertainties. And with it, he squeezes her hand gently, shrugging against it. “I’ve never been particularly good at following the rules even when established.” He admits, having found it always like that. Even in Korofi, he was breaking the rules, sneaking into the library, sneaking out of his room to go to the ocean with Saar. He sighs lightly at the thought, focusing on her more fully.
“Both are biased.” He tumblrs quietly. “Ronin was blighted because Safrin was blighted. Likewise the Voice is Amun’s goddess.” Shoulders rise and fall in a small shrug. “Perhaps I should be too for suffering the blight… But I’m not. Lucas gave me a job and a place to start when I arrived.” Somewhat thoughtful, a quiet rumble, before he looks out toward the window again.
“But I think that it’s the best case scenario. To coexist. It just seems more like a war brewing that they’ll make us fight for.” Despite her gaze on him, he lets his shadowed gaze focus on the window still. “Besides… The Voice brought me here didn’t she? Even if I’m a copy, as you said. I wouldn’t be here with you without her.”
rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
