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!
Maru has no real love or concern for the mouth-breathers affected by the eruption, but he still cherishes all forms of life and creation ushered into existence by Rae. As such he cannot help but to patrol the edges of the ocean, dark eyes sweeping through sunlit shallow waters for any stragglers or displaced citizens. The lighthouse is a common safe zone, a literal beacon of hope. Though its light is not on display with the sun overhead, the rocky outcrop beneath it has held it for time immemorial. Were he a land-walker, Maru would be inclined to shelter upon its stalwart surface.
Hauling himself upon the rocky shores, the merman gazes out stoically over the horizon, searching for any movement or presence of life before he will move on to find others and ascertain the current events of Torchline.
Where there was great amounts of death, so too was its child.
Delphia walked along the beach, contemplative and quiet. Tishy was off collecting souls now were it was too dangerous for her to yet tread, and so instead she ferried souls from the water. Many had fled into the ocean only to meet their demise there from riptides and overpowering waves. As the waters lapped at her ankles, the ocean itself became the conduit to her. As she pulled another soul from the sea, her teal eyes caught sight of an unusual someone.
"Can the volcano be felt below?" she called out, unconcerned with the number of souls floating about her like little lights.
Maru has seen many things, has reveled in the wonders of Rae's creations more times than he can count. He has never seen a spirit shepherd however, and his fathomless eyes stare from where he is perched upon the rock, waves crashing against it in rhythmic time to wet his lower half. The words called out are of less interest than the woman herself, but though he is a reticent man he is not an impolite one.
"Yes. Water carries even the smallest vibrations, and this is quite drastic. We will yet see how the sediment settles." The tides will reorient everything summarily, of that he is confident. Pulling himself up to a mimicry of a human sitting, Maru adjusts to better view the woman above. "Can you sense or see any survivors in need, or shall I continue my patrol?" He will not assume her powers after all, and they both are clearly hard at work.
She came to a halt next to him, glancing in the direction if the erupting volcano. "Are the vibrations or debris more troublesome for you and your people?" she asked with curiosity. As she looked back into his fathomless gaze he might find her own similar though for different reasons - haunted, older than the years on her face, but filled with all the love her father had instilled in her. Teal eyes that reflected the sea glanced out to the ocean as she sat on the edge next to him. She rolled her pants up far enough to let her legs dangle in the waves without the fabric getting wet. A light laugh escaped her lips. "I forget how warm the water is here. I grew up along the northern seas." Those waters were always bitterly cold.
"I cannot, but the spirits amongst us can." she said, closing her eyes. She sat that way for a time, motionless save for a slight tick - her forefinger drawing circles on the pad of her thumb. After a few minutes past, her sea-blue gaze reopened and she looked passed him. "Those on the shore along that direction are fine...but there are a lot." All the thrashing was sure to attract predators and then they would be very not fine. "And this soul here..." she said as one soul light came bobbing forward. "There is a rip current along the opposite bank... many people are struggling. Mostly young children and women."
An interesting question, and Maru considers it with due diligence. "The sediment. It disrupts our vision, drives away our food sources. But all things settle with time." Much as he had told his daughter. Those in Torchline are likely far more negatively affected than Maru and his people. Precisely why he is he here now, trying to do what little he can. As the woman joins him and sticks her legs into the water, he gazes back out across the rocky shoreline. "I was born in warm waters, though I can handle the cold I do not prefer it." If she is inclined to share then he will do so as well.
As she closes her eyes, communing or meditating or whatever she may be doing in that moment, Maru awaits her response patiently. He is only a little exasperated when she mentions the riptide. So many unknowingly aim for the waveless section of ocean, thinking it to be safer than a child being knocked down by a wave. Many, despite having lived her for most if not all of their lives, still unaware that the stillness is a mirage, a death sentence. "I can swim them back if you will take them inland? I cannot leave the water for long." And dragging himself with his hands isn't going to get him - or anyone he's holding - anywhere fast.
She hummed and nodded. "Time fixes most things. That is the glory of Vi and Rae's creations." she said with a soft smile. She inclined her head towards him, fascinated that he could survive in the frigid northern waters. "In all my years I've never seen Merfolk up there. Do any of your people regularly spend time there?" she asked. If so, they must be awfully elusive. Maybe the northern waters was where the Merfolk hermits made their homes.
But her eyes turned back towards the rip current, or its general direction anyways. "Take them inland where they will suffocate on smoke and ash, or burn or be crushed? Or witness the deaths of their loved ones?" she asked, before shrugging a bit. Death did not bother her in the least. Saving people was letting them die. Even then, another silvery soul came up from out of the waters, floating to amongst the others. "The souls lost in the rip current grow weary. Their bodies fail and in exhaustion sink. They do not fight death, but great it calmly. This is how my father would have it. You need only move them if it offends or harms your people." she said softly.
It is a philosophy that Maru agrees with wholeheartedly, and his reserved smile is sincere as he hums softly in reply. "Yes, I agree." The ocean is a womb after all, far more than it is any kind of graveyard. Rae's creations flourish in his waters, as does himself and his people. His loyalty to her is a firm and unshakable faith. "We live in something akin to pods. All mercreatures are different, with varying levels of tolerance to the cold. I have done no more than visit, myself. This is my home." More than he normally speaks, but he is comfortable with telling her such things when she is clearly already educated on the existence of his people.
Though she is still clearly young, and he gives a soft noise of dissent at her words. "No. Inland to the shore where they can maneuver along the banks, flee from the smoke while chasing a life that is not yet ready to end." Though he respects Mort's side of the coin, for Mort and Rae are intrinsically linked, he cannot help but disagree with her outlook. "An early death without having lived a rewarding life that honors Rae's gift is no death to be celebrated. Though they may greet it calmly, it will not be without regret. And I will do what I can to preserve Rae's creations, until Mort greets them when they have lived as brightly as they can." Here he eyes her curiously, wondering how she can claim that Mort would want the deaths of children when Maru himself is there to ward off such a sad and unnecessary demise. "Tell me child, will I make it in time to save those who still live? Or shall I linger in your company while they pass?" He is not averse to death after all, even if he will happily slip back into the churning waters to save those he can. He still stands by his views after all, biased towards Rae's side of the circle of life as he is.
She hummed in thought, nodding slowly as he explained the structure of the merfolk. It seemed possible then that some did live in the cold northern waters, but perhaps stayed further from shore. It tended to be rather tumultuous waters that battered the coastline, so ststing further at sea likely made far more sense. "So similar yet so different from your human kin who walk the various lands of Caido. How clever." she said with a smile. Certainly Rae had watched this development with great interest in centuries past.
As he reached the end of his lecture, she turned her gaze back to him, warm and loving despite having only met him moments before. "Though I agree, a death come early is not one Mort greets with pleasure, those in the riptide cannot be saved. Instead, let them greet death with swiftness and calm, than prolong the inevitable." she said softly, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"But if you wish to try, I shall not stop you. My duty is only to ensure souls do not get lost in the waters of your kingdom, as they are apt to do."
