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!
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"Arduinna did." Safrin points out. "But yes. A lack of death is not a particularly strong argument, though I think you'll find it's one of her favourites."
Nodding at this, Safrin watches Amalia nervously break up the scone. "Samuel. Yes." She says with a nod. This bit of information has not slipped past her radar. As to whether she'd speak to him? Pulling in a breath, the goddess raises her eyes and inspects the ceiling where stars are softly scattered around. "I don't think so, no." She says after a moment, her dark gaze falling back to Amalia. "I am not here to convince, nor to argue with the ascended. Sam made his choice to be what he is, and he makes his choice every day he reaffirms his commitment to the Voice. It is not for me to break that cycle."
Safrin raises a brow. It might be for you, though.
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
She bites her lip unhappily, listening to Safrin's proclamation with head bowed. She couldn't say she finds the denial entirely surprising, but she can't hide the disappointment that spikes in her chest, either. "I don't think he'll ever change his mind." Now simply pulling the scone into smaller and smaller pieces, Amalia frowns. "He thinks the gods... that you're fickle and cruel. He doesn't understand that the Voice is just using him. Using all of them."
Frustrated again, the Shield shakes her head. "I don't understand it. How they worship her. How they justify her after everything she's done. The LongNight monsters, the Spire Demon, the Prince, the Blight... they act like it was worth it. Like it's all forgivable." She grips her fists, looking up at Safrin. "I thought maybe, if he met you... he'd see how beautiful you are, how much more good than the Voice... maybe he'd understand."
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
'Sometimes we are fickle and cruel." Safrin acknowledges with a shrug. "But such things are not for Sam to decide. Not for the Voice to decide. This is Caido's world, and Vi's, and Rae's and Mort's. If Caido decides the sky shall be yellow, then so be it. It isn't for the likes of mortals such as Sam to question that choice. To that end, the gods have made their judgements about the Voice and her actions, her creations."
Listening and allowing Amalia to experience her frustration with nothing more than a soft sigh, the goddess waits until she's finished before speaking again. "It's fear, Amalia. Once changed, there is no way back for them. If they admit they were wrong, what is left in life for them? No way to die in a way that returns them to Mort, nowhere to turn to grow. They've have made irrevocable choices, and therein is the Voice's real power. She is all that they have." It is for this reason among others, that she won't speak to Sam.
"You would have me speak to him, to shine a light in the maze he wanders only to reveal that it has no escape? That he is doomed to run into dead ends again and again?" It seemed a cruel thing indeed to ask.
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
No way to return to Mort- "What does happen to them, when they die?" She remembers clutching the Ascended's head, bringing it to Frey in hopes he might have closure. Sam had believed he would be with the Voice forever, but what if he isn't? What if there truly is nothing to be had?
It sounds like a form of slavery, this thing the Voice has done. Like indentured servitude, like serfdom- like something Zariah might have stood for. It makes Amalia sick.
She wants to help him, but the goddess has made it clear there is little she can do. Another lost cause. "I don't understand it. If the Voice is so powerful, why can't she control the LongNight monsters? Why couldn't she stop the Blight? It's hard to imagine she was ever strong enough to stand against Mort and Vi."
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"I'm not sure, really. That isn't my...area." Safrin says softly. "She keeps them, I do know that, though I don't know where or how."
Reaching across to snag one of the crumbs Amalia has made by her anxious fretting, Safrin pops it into her mouth. "All questions you might ask her. Perhaps she doesn't want to. Perhaps it brings her pleasure. Perhaps she simply doesn't care. Truthfully I think it's because she can't...or won't divert the resources to it."
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
The scone has been reduced to crumbs; the Shield places her head on her palms, elbows on the table. The suggestion has Amalia quirking her lips uncertainly, looking up at Safrin. "If I went to speak to her... you wouldn't be angry?" She would like to ask these questions of the Voice, to hear what paltry excuses the false goddess might give, but not if it would go against her own deity's wishes. "Sam offered to take me, but... I wouldn't want to go to her if it would be against your will."
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"Certainly not." Safrin says with a shake of her head. 'Though I wouldn't expect much from her, and whatever you do get, surely it won't be the truth." She adds contemptuously.
Of course he did She thinks with a bitter twist of her lips, but merely shrugs. "I have no fear I'll lose you to her, Amalia. Do as you wish."
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
Surely it won't be the truth. The same thing, she is sure, the Voice will tell her about what she learns from her goddess- but in Safrin's case a history of lying does not already exist. There is no part of Amalia that could ever fully trust the false goddess, but she wants to at least try to understand. Especially if it will prove to Sam that he has chosen the wrong side.
She feels better, safe; she does not want this moment to end, hates knowing that reality waits just beyond this serene haven of stars. "Is... is there anything else I can do for you or Vi now, Safrin? Or in the days to come?"
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"LongNight approaches. I worry this year will be particularly bad. If you had a second chance at redemption, at global take over, would you not be practicing ways to strengthen your creations?" The implications of course being there would be more mistakes running about. "Find ways to keep them all inside, Amalia."
Pulling back and standing, tucking her chair neatly into the table, the goddess considers. "Perhaps..perhaps your relationship with Sam might afford you new information. He might know things the goddess only wants her ascended to know..?"
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
"It's hard to keep them in when Ludo keeps sending them out." The irreverent slip is immediately followed by a coloring of her cheeks, the Shield's eyes widening as she realizes what she's said. "I- that is- not to say that Ludo is leading wrong. Or we shouldn't listen to it. Just..." She searches Safrin's face for any sign of consternation, scarcely able to believe her own blasphemy.
She stands along with Safrin - it feels strange, to sit while she rises - nodding, though her brow furrows pensively. "I'll... I'll see if he knows anything. But I doubt it. Sam... Doesn't want to believe that the Voice would hurt people. I don't think she'd tell him, if she planned to." Wessex? Certainly. Sam? No.
Or at least she hopes not. Their burgeoning relationship depends on it.
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
The goddess snorts at this, not minding at all this disrespectful slip of the tongue. "Well. It is not to Mort nor Ludo that you most align yourself, is it?" Amalia's piety is obvious and vast, but still, there is no denying that it is Vi who holds her heart most tightly. Or is there?
"Ludo toys with you all. If everyone simply stayed inside, there would be no souls to collect. No need for lanterns or staffs."
Shrugging lightly, Safrin considers this. "He may not think she's told him...but I think he knows far more than he lets on. Things he perhaps thinks are unimportant, or secrets he won't reveal." Moving towards the door like some mortal who needs to leave through it, Safrin hums softly. "He may not want to believe it, but it is what he is, Amalia. What he chose. And there is no going back on that now."
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
"No." There is absolute confidence in this syllable: though Amalia worships and respects all the Old Gods, her heart and soul will always belong to Vi - and by extension, the starlit goddess. Tilting her head, she bites her lip. "But... shouldn't we open the door, when someone knocks? If it means we may save a life?" It's almost impossible to say whether the visitors are human or monster, but a life is a life. "Is there a way - a tool, maybe - to know, before we open the doors?"
As for Sam, Amalia bows her head, her expression clouded. "I'll see what I can learn from him." It's almost a reluctant promise, the girl knowing that this can only lead to more fissures in their relationship, but she will not disobey her goddess. There are bigger things at stake than her already fractured family.
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
'As you have seen, the monsters grow more and more clever with each passing year. It isn't as though LongNight has ever snuck up on anyone. We all know when it will be. If we were talking about a handful of stragglers who found themselves somehow locked out, that would be different. But tell me, of all those who were outside last year, who knocked to be let in, were any of them in that camp? Or were they adventurers. Did they go out to capture monsters? To retrieve bodies? To simply be in a different location?" Safrin shakes her head. "Have them stay inside. Those who do not respect the rules take their fates into their own hands."
With a smile, the goddess lingers for a moment. "Perhaps when next we speak, we will have happier things to discuss." But even if not, I will come and see you again, her eyes seem to say, before she vanishes into a plume of star-smoke.
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
