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!
And round about his home the glory That blushed and bloomed,
He had to strain his ears to hear what Loren said, but didn't dare look away from where he was going. "Oh? What kind of abilities?" It piqued his curiosity. He was aware of people having multiple shifts - not least from seeing Loren change between them - but anything else had not really dawned on him as special.
"I see. Does it ever... I don't know... Worry you? That you're dealing with forces you can't explain." Korbin wondered at the farreaching consequences of the magic. Where had that meat Loren summoned come from? Was an animal walking without a chunk of muscle somewhere? Had a hunter been robbed of a morsel of game? Was it conjured from nothing, created out of thin air, with no relation to anything that already existed?
Pointless questions for someone who didn't even have magic, but he was still fascinated by the subject.
Is but a dim-remembered story Of the old time entombed.
Loren smiled briefly and faintly at Korbin's question, but it was a smile nonetheless. This time, the healer spoke with a bit more confidence. "I know an Attuned who can actually turn into a dragon. Others that can turn into manticore and a qilin. I'm sure there are more besides. And many of the Attuned I've met have had the ability to command animals to help them out." His tone was honestly a bit enthusiastic.
Pausing, his expression grew thoughtful. "Not really. It's just...always been a part of me. And it's not like it doesn't take it out of me to cast spells." Indeed, he'd collapsed in exhaustion more than once from overexerting his magic. "Does it bother you that you can shift whenever you feel like it?" His skin rippled with fur as he thought about his own shifts.
And round about his home the glory That blushed and bloomed,
That did surprise him, and Korbin took some time to process the idea. Might he be able to do something similar one day? He wondered what kind of creature might dwell in the depths of his soul... A dragon wouldn't be half bad.
"The gods must love those people very much, to grant such gifts," he commented. "I can't say I ever was bothered... but then, I know where my ability comes from. It's a gift from a god - never mind that I don't know which one. But that's not the same for your magic, is it?"
If only the gods knew what magic was - if even they knew - then it could be anything. Do anything, have any consequences. It was a thought as chilling as it was thrilling.
Honestly, he could keep talking about these things forever. Good thing there was a long way to go before they were back home.
Is but a dim-remembered story Of the old time entombed.
04-23-2020, 01:02 AM (This post was last modified: 04-23-2020, 01:02 AM by Loren.)
Not knowing how to interpret Korbin's lack of response, Loren just made sure the hunter doing alright. It had been an incredibly rough day, and unless and until they were in an area the healer recognized he wasn't going to relax.
When the other man finally spoke, the Launceleyn shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not, though. The ones I've met didn't necessarily have the favor of the old gods. But they definitely had a relationship with them." Amalia and Jigano had been blessed by at least one of the deities, but Remi's interactions had been far less positive. Clearly, Loren was out of the loop about the whole new demi-god thing.
Sighing, Loren brushed the snow off his clothes again, making an annoyed face as he did. "I suppose technically everything in Caido came from the gods in one way or another, either directly or indirectly." At least, that's what he'd been told. "That has to include magic."
And round about his home the glory That blushed and bloomed,
"Ah. I'm gonna have to work on that, then," he commented dryly. Considering he couldn't even recall the one time he'd seen a god... if he'd even seen it... there was some relation building to be done.
He frowned into the whiteness of the snow as he mulled over the next response. "Are you sure it's not the other way around?" he asked, almost too quietly to be heard. It felt like a dangerous area to be making guesses, but... "What if magic is what made the gods in the first place? It would explain how The Voice could do what she did... and why they've become so shy about dealing with it. Maybe someone got too close to the truth."
And maybe it was time for him to shut up and keep walking. The skin between his shoulderblades fairly crawled with unease, and he felt very exposed, for some reason.
Is but a dim-remembered story Of the old time entombed.
Loren resisted the urge to use telepathy instead of speaking normally. It would've been easier, but Korbin was clearly uncomfortable with it. "Probably. Like I said, let me know if you want a shrine buddy." The healer would honestly be happy to do that.
As the hunter went on, the Launceleyn felt chill fingers of unease creep down his spine. He didn't respond for a long time, and when he did it was quiet. "I don't think we'll ever know the truth." Taking a deep breath, he pressed his lips together. "But maybe it'd be best not to talk about things like that while we're in the middle of a blizzard." He couldn't help but think how easy it would be for them to disappear out here.
And round about his home the glory That blushed and bloomed,
Maybe Ursurs would fly before Korbin asked Loren to come along for a shrine visit. Maybe he would regret the decision to go alone once he'd been twice cursed and forced to live with the consequences of his stubbornness. But hey, experience is the best teacher they say.
In any case, Korbin just nodded gruffly, and promptly forgot about the offer. Didn't take it seriously anyway. It especially didn't feel very appealing once his line of thought derailed into speculation about divine origins, and it felt like all the eyes of the world landed on him.
Probably just imagination. But then again, maybe not.
"You're right. Sorry. Let's just... get back to the Citadel."
And so saying, Korbin resumed his careful plotting of their course. Slowly but surely, he led them down onto the Tundra, and back towards home. By some miracle - skill, Korbin would claim - he didn't even get them lost.
-----
- FIN
Is but a dim-remembered story Of the old time entombed.
