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!
I'm a lady, like whoa I could bring you to your knees
She has been here once before at Sunjata’s request. He had come looking for wonder puddles, and she wonders what drove the curiosity. Rarely people go looking for magic simply for the thrill of it, or at least, that has been her experience. They are all creatures driven by some sort of curiosity or another.
As a whole, Weaver generally steers clear of the Greatwood, knowing it is not her place to come. But today she seeks someone in particular, who had said to come here and call to the spirits. This did seem like the most appropriate place for a child of Mort to be found. Weaver knows a little of the demi-god, Maea having spoken briefly of Delphia and suggesting that perhaps she could help locate her brother. The idea still niggles at her, and perhaps, she could sneak that in to the conversation today.
Weaver is not here for her brother today though, but rather Maea. Her scythe is on her back, the blade sweeping behind her like a grim halo. It is with her most places, and though she thought about leaving it to seem less hostile, she also knows she may need it. In the end, she chose to be prepared, rather than poliet. Weaver makes her way into the forest, trying to figure out exactly how to tell the spirits she is looking for Delphia. She has no idea, so she simply says it, hoping the intention is enough. ”I am looking for Delphia. She said you could help.” Weaver says to the air, wondering if the spirits were always listening.
The spirits were listening, and they could indeed help. But none of this was instantaneous. Perhaps she would notice the shift in the mood in the wood, the cold breeze rustling the trees as they whispered to eachother. More than likely not though, such sensitivity being rare indeed. Her message was received though, and making its way through the wood to the demigoddess she sought.
And Delphia was unsurprised upon getting the quiet summons from the spirits. Maea had been well loved and kind - that people had questions was to be expected. So with her little Cat Sith kitten in tow, Delphy headed out, the woods shifting at the whim of the spirits who guided her path until she was face to face with an unfamiliar woman. "Hello. You wished to speak to me?" she asked.
I'm a lady, like whoa I could bring you to your knees
Perhaps it does get colder, though even if Weaver was in tune with the spirits enough to feel it, the magic in her veins keeps her from noticing. She is only aware of the breeze as it rustles through the trees, but she does not know if it is from the spirits or simply from mother nature.
It takes time for Delphia to find her, but not so long as to be annoying. The spirits do their job well, it seems. ”I’m Weaver,” she offers, giving the other woman a nod. She is willing to rest in the assumption she has found Delphia, because who else would have come at such a strange calling? ”I was hoping to find out what happened to Maea. I saw the note, but...it did not give details, just goodbyes.”
It will change nothing, to know the details. Weaver already knows this. She is no stranger to death, to living in the wake of those taken to Mort’s realm. But still, Weaver wants to know if her friend suffered or if she found peace in the passing. It will calm the unknown, churning questions, if nothing else.
Delphia's head tilted, the corners of her eye crinkling as though she might smile. The Cat Sith kitten poked her head out between locks of the demigoddess' hair, crudely spying on the Halovian woman. Suspicions confirmed that this was indeed about Maea, the Seer nodded. "Maea was eaten by a ghost whale and drowned within it." she said, not softening the blow or trying to cover up the horrifying nature of the gentle girl's death. "She had been trying to help friends and found herself in the waters at an unfortunate time."
She didn't try to say more than that. Sometimes more word were more painful than those that went unsaid.
I'm a lady, like whoa I could bring you to your knees
Delphia gives her the truth, without some candy coating or lies about how Maea died quickly or painlessly. Weaver appreciates the bluntness of the Seer, the direct answer that comes with neither too many nor too few words. Weaver still has questions, of course, but she isn't sure how much most of them mattered. Maea went to help friends, to do something with her restless spirit, and it had not gone well. In the end, what other details really matter?
Weaver nods, a quiet thanks for the answer. ”She mentioned you, the last time I saw her. We were talking about the afterlife, wondering how it worked? I’ve lost three family members, and plenty of friends. I always wonder, do they still see us?” She isn’t sure either answer is necessarily good or bad, she just sort of wants to know. Moreover, it feels like she ought to follow up on the question, even if she cannot tell Maea the answer.
Delphia's head tilted, warm, pleasant expression still on her face. That Weaver had no more questions was surprising, but as she continued to speak, it made more sense. The questions of Maea, fresh on everyone's mind, was just a connection point to other questions - more personal inquiries. And these questions were familiar to the demigoddess, for so many wondered the same things about death.
"Mort's realm would indeed be a sad one if the souls he cares for could not look upon those they loved in life." she said with a warm smile. "But Mort provides the soul with fulfillment and completion, and the sort of yearning you feel - the missing of loved ones - is not imparted on those who have died. You are still living the life Vi has given you and that is a glorious thing. No soul in Mort's halls wishes for you to hurry though that to be with them."
I'm a lady, like whoa I could bring you to your knees
Delphia’s answer is shockingly satisfying, and there’s something like relief that comes to her at the answer. As if maybe she’d been holding a tension or a worry she hadn’t quite realized. How long had she been carrying it? Perhaps since they all died, piling on to it with each death. It was not an end, she knows, just a change. One day they would be together again, but still, it was an end for her in this life. A loss of her mother, her father, her brother, her friend. The list grew too easily.
”Thank you,” she says, pausing for a moment simply to let Delphia’s answer sink in. Perhaps Maea is watching them now. Hopefully she would be watching the Kraai, the drinks that would be made with her brother’s notebook, the ways that they would not let her be forgotten. ”I have a million questions, but honestly, I don’t know that the rest of them matter.” That’s the truth, too. Her loved ones were happy, they were waiting, but they were not longing. What else could matter?
”Is there anything I can do for you, in exchange for your help?” She feels a little bad having just asked all her questions and then leaving. There’s something inherently wrong about it to the Halovian, to offer nothing in return.
Delphia smiled, silent as the woman let her answers sink in. This moment too, the demigoddess was familiar with. For some it was soothing, for others it hurt just as much as it had before. But it seemed this woman found peace in her answers, for which Delphia was grateful. Slowly she nodded as she finally spoke, confirming that whatever else she had questions of likely did not matter in the grand scheme of things. Life was complicated, but death need not be.
"Simply remember this peace you have been granted. When a time comes that you can offer me assistance, I am sure you will recognize it." Delphia said with a shrug. She was not one for payment in tangible things - things ought be given with feeling attached. But it never hurt to have friends and favors in an ever expanding world - and this way the value of the knowledge she had been given would reside within Weaver's control. It was, after all, more valuable to Weaver than it was to herself.
I'm a lady, like whoa I could bring you to your knees
Weaver simply nods at the mention of remembering it. Favors. A currency not all that used in Halo, for they were too proud for that. Favors felt like charity, and though many would give it, few would accept it. So charity was hidden, given in unfair deals where the buyer got away with more, in labor that was paid at far less than it's worth. Still, she knows the value of a favor with no strings attached, but she will honor the request if ever there is a way.
”I am happy to let you go, if you have things you need to do,” she begins, not wanting to keep the Seer from whatever she may have had planned. ”If you are in no rush though, perhaps we can get to know one another better. Maea considered you a friend, and she seemed to have good taste,” her tone is light and smile friendly and playful, a little less serious and a little more Weaver-like.
Delphia's head tilted, interested in the turn of the conversation. Get to know her better? My, what an interesting twist of fate. Had Maea not used the same or similar turn of phrase when asking to be her friend? Her expression melted into the briefest of smiles, wondering if perhaps the pale young woman had called souls of a similar ilk to her in life.
"I do not see why not. It would be lovely to have another friend." she said warmly. "Tell me...have you met Ludo? What did you think of them?" she asked, curious how similar this woman was to Maea.
I'm a lady, like whoa I could bring you to your knees
Weaver might not have tried to so obviously make a friend if it were not for Maea. Normally she just waited to see what happened, finding that some conversations clicked and some did not. But Maea had liked Delphia, and though Weaver was certainly not Maea, perhaps there was some common ground to be found. Or at the very least, perhaps they could be allies as the need arose.
Weaver nods at the question. ”I have. Once in Torchline, when it appeared to simply play games with those gathered. Games are not my strong suit,” unless they were drinking games, though that didn’t really need to be included here, ”but it was enjoyable, and there was something like childish innocence in it.” It could mean Ludo, the games, the whole afternoon. The statement was accurate of all three. ”And then once when I went to pray. Less childish then, though certainly still playful. I find I rather like Ludo and its way of being.” Which she couldn’t quite get into words well, but hopefully Delphia would understand her. ”Do you know your father’s herald?” she asks, not really sure how that works. Perhaps there is no need to know the herald when the god will attend to you.
Delphia listened, a small smile curving her lips. It seemed Ludo was indeed loved, despite the way many viewed death. "It warms my heart to heart it." she said. Would she ever be so loved, she wondered? She was made in the image of the raggedy god, and yet she found Mort's direction of connecting with other mortals far more difficult than her counterpart did. "Indeed, I have, for I am made in its image. It is good to know they are so revered for it is well earned." she said.
But things could not always be so simple. A small tug, one only she could sense, pulled at her mind, and she glanced back into the wood with a stormy expression. When the master's away the cats did play it would seem. "My apologies, I will have to cut this meeting short. It seems there is some trouble amongst the souls in the wood. I do hope we will meet again soon, though." she said, giving Weaver one more small smile before fading away entirely as she entered the realm of the spirits and departed.
I'm a lady, like whoa I could bring you to your knees
Perhaps it would always be harder for Delphia than Ludo. It was easy to see Ludo as something other, whereas Delphia was more human than goddess. Even if her powers give her some ethereal quality, she is so different from the ragged herald. Not in a bad way, but it made the comparison hard. Weaver expected a very different sort of connection to Ludo than to an woman, though their conversation today is certainly pleasant enough.
Though it is cut short, as Delphia is called away to something Weaver cannot see. ”Thank you again,” she says as the demi-goddess disappears. With that, Weaver turns and makes her way from the Greatwood and back to Halo.
