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!
04-05-2020, 09:26 AM (This post was last modified: 04-06-2020, 05:25 PM by Quanil.
Edit Reason: best, not be
)
It seemed natural to find an inn, a bar, a tavern, a public house to do this in. To settle down somewhere they could be reasonably left alone (and where the wind wouldn't blow all their gathered materials away).
When Quanil didn't know where else to go, they went to a bar. It had worked out for them so far. The Hanged Man was an entirely different ambiance than the VlamVloed, but... perhaps that was for the best.
They had come to Torchline to make the lantern, done what little they could to secure the materials from local merchants. Mostly writing and copying of things, some storytelling for children. It'd given them the idea that maybe they could set up a shop as a scrivener? Back home in the Hollowed Ground, of course. Or maybe not set up shop at all, and just offer it as a service as they wandered, as they'd done here.
In any case, they'd procured various papers and wire, prepared the paper, gathered scissors and glue. They ordered a drink - something they didn't recognize and that was... unnervingly fruity - and settled in at a table. They looked out over their lantern-making materials and thought:
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
They were only looking briefly in because Father had something he had to do. Someone he had to talk to or such, Seren wasn't too clear on what or why. She stood quietly by his side like the good girl she was, but oh, did her eyes roam the strange new room. It smelled sharply, not unlike Sunjata's boxing ring - and sometimes his house too - but it was not unpleasant.
Vivid blues fell on a nearby table where a young person was sitting. It was their youth that intrigued her, and possibly the interesting things they had placed out on the table. Her attention was rapt and unveiled, and unmistakeable.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"Argh." This was the same problem they'd had discussing the memorial with Mr. Amun. "Well... seashells," they said to themselves. So they set in to drawing a couple of seashell shapes on colored paper. Or... trying to.
The little fan shaped ones were easy enough, but they wanted to draw one of the conch shells, and that... wasn't as easy. At ALL. "Maybe I'll come back to that." Distractedly, they took a sip of the fruity drink and shivered again. They set it down and pushed it farther away from themselves so maybe that wouldn't happen again.
They looked up to the ceiling to try to think... or they started to. Their eyes caught on a young girl looking in their direction. They smiled and waved.
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
She was noticed. The person even waved. Seren brightened into a wide smile and she waved back. The table really wasn't far away and as Father didn't seem in a hurry to leave, the girl inched a bit closer. Only a few steps or so, her hands innocently clasped behind her back.
"Hello! What are you doing?" There was not a trace of shyness or hesitation in her demeanor, and though she was quite little, she spoke well. The seashells caught her eye, but she wasn't supposed to grab things without asking. So she just leaned in closer to look more properly.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"Hello!" They were happy when she came over. Most people stayed away, even though they tried to be nice and friendly. "I'm making a lantern to remember a friend of mine who died recently. It's something we do in the Hollowed Ground, where I'm from. Where she was from, too. But I made friends with her here, so I wanted to do it here." They looked at their attempts to draw seashells and shoved them away a little.
"I'm Quanil. Who are you, young lady?" They pulled the fruity drink away from her a little bit, just to be on the safe side.
04-06-2020, 07:30 PM (This post was last modified: 04-06-2020, 07:31 PM by Seren.)
Seren
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
Ooh, she knew about lanterns! And about friends. Especially friends being sad over a lost friend. And she knew about the Hollowed Ground too! Amazing, Seren was actually in the know, here. "Are you sad? My friends are sad because their friend is gone too. Sunjata and Loren and Weaver and... and.. maybe Uncle Saiden too." But she wasn't sure if he was sad over the same thing.
"What kind of lantern will it be? I made a star for my sister Aoife." The pencil and paper they had made her hands itch, painting was fun.
"I am Seren! My daddy is Ronin and mama is Safrin," she replied, dutifully recounting the relations everyone were so curious about.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
They perked up at hearing that list of names. "I am sad, but I know Ludo took Miss Maea to be with Mort, and I bet she liked that, at least a little bit. I hope she did anyway. You have very good friends. I even know some of them: Mr. Sunjata, and Miss Weaver, and Mr. Loren. Not sure if I know your uncle or not though."
"I usually just make cylinders," they said. "But I decorate them. I'm... not very good at art, really. I want this one to have seashells on it." They showed her their drawing of a seashell on some blue paper.
"Oh, nice to meet you, Seren! You..." And then their brain tripped over her parents. Mostly her mother. It took them an extra second but they finally managed, "...your parents must be very proud of what a polite and nice young lady you are." SMILE SMILE SMILE DO NOT ANGER THE GOD CHILD.
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
This one was talkative, but Seren had no trouble following the words. She beamed under all the praise, and smiled back, bright and cheerful. "We can be friends too, if you want to," she offered happily. "What is a cy-cyli... What is it?"
Tilting her head to the side, she looked at the drawing of a seashell. "That lives on the beach," she offered helpfully. "Many many, go pick some and put on the lantern?" It would require a fair bit of glue, but Seren saw no problem with that.
Besides, Quanil had given her a piece to the puzzle of who it was that everyone was sad about. Maea was a name she had heard before, when Sunjata and Saiden talked. "Who is Maea?" she dared to ask, hoping she finally found someone who might answer questions.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"Oh, a cylinder is like this." They picked up a piece of paper and curled it in demonstration. "Like a tube." They smiled. "And I'd like to be friends, Miss Seren, thank you."
Quanil was just happy they could tell what the seashell was from their drawing. "I thought about that," they replied to her suggestion, "but it might weigh the lantern down too much, make it heavy and unbalanced. I want it to be a light lantern, free of heavy burdens. I think Miss Maea would have liked that."
And of course they were happy to answer her question about their friend! "Miss Maea was a friend of mine from the Hollowed Ground. She was lovely and sweet and a friend of Ludo's, too. She was a very, very good person, but... well, she died recently. So I'm making this lantern to remember her."
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
The girl listened and nodded, her little face attentive and the eyes very bright as she took in the explanations. "My lantern was a cy-cyli-... a cylinder too!" she declared. It took her a bit to get the new word right, but when she repeated it, it was with Quanil's inflection and accent. Like a proper little parrot.
Hearing about Maea dying, about her being friends with Ludo, made Seren reach out to pat Quanil on the arm with a small hand. "There there," she said softly, with all the sympathy in the world. "My sister Aoife is dead too. They can play together now." Which really was the most generous thing she could imagine, considering how much Seren wanted to play with her own sister.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
They smiled when she said "cylinder" properly, though they didn't really recognize their own inflection parroted back at them. It just sounded like the right way to say the word. But the smile faded when she mentioned her sister. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that your sister passed. I thought I'd lost my sister, too, but it turns out she was just actually lost and not dead. So that was good. Was your lantern for your sister then?"
A question occurred to them. Or rather, it occurred to them that Little Miss Seren might be able to help them with The Question. "Hey, uh... does your mom ever talk about what it's like to be a god?"
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
Seren nodded with a somber expression, confirming the subject to which she had dedicated her very first ever lantern. There didn't seem to be more to say about that yet though, as she had yet to offer it to Ludo and see if it was accepted... But Quanil had more questions.
It made the girl blink at them with blank incomprehension. "No," she replied simply. "Mama is Mama." It was clear she didn't understand the question.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Hm. Quanil tried again. Gently, they asked, "Your mama is Safrin, herald of Vi, God of Life, right?" They resumed their lantern-making. Lanterns didn't make themselves - or, at least, they'd never heard of such a thing happening. Wouldn't put it past them though. Mostly, Quanil was trying to play it cool, be casual.
This was not something Quanil was good at.
Maybe she's just named after THE Safrin?
They kept up their lantern-making, securing the cylinder and starting to cut out the seashell shapes they'd drawn. They still would have liked a conch shell shape, but that was probably a lost cause.
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
Watching the drawing and the assembling of the lantern, Seren admired the ease with which Quanil worked. A lot smoother and quicker than her attempts.
"Yes, that is Mama," she confirmed, waiting patiently to see where Quanil was going with this. Throwing a glance back, she saw her father still there in conversation, and relaxed. No need to go yet.
I am a princess on the way to my throne Destined to reign, destined to roam
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
