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!
They stopped to consider how to phrase the question. "Does she ever talk about what it's like being a god? Like... 'ugh, someone else is PRAYING, hold on', or... or anything like that? I can't think of another example, but..." They shrugged, finished cutting out that seashell, and went on to cutting out the last one. "Maybe I don't have enough seashells..."
An idea occurred to them. "If you want, while we chit-chat, you can make some waves, maybe? Like this." They set down the scissors and drew a curved line up to a point, another curved line from there to another point, etc. They did a second row a little ways beneath that and said, "See? And then I can cut out the waves and paste them on the lantern. She liked the water."
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
Bright-eyed and innocent like the small child she was, Seren would happily have talked about Safrin for ages. But to Quanil's question she could only shake her head. "Nope. Mama told me stories and showed me Daddy, and hugged me lots," she reported cheerfully. But what it was like to be a god? "Mama said I need to stay with Daddy to learn how to be mortal," she added, sensing some relation there.
Seren hesitated when she was offered the scissors. Part of her really wanted to help, but there was the possibility of Father leaving soon. She shook her head, hands behind her back. "Not my lantern," she said, a bit vaguely.
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.
When she refused the scissors, Quanil nodded. "Right you are. Okay then. I'll cut the waves out next." Couldn't fault that logic. Little Miss Seren hadn't even known Maea. They just hadn't wanted her to get bored. They went back to cutting out the last seashell.
"What sort of stories did your mama tell you? I like stories a lot." Very very true, and also possibly helpful. Their eyes were focused on their paper as they cut carefully, trying to stay on the lines. "It's always nice to hear new stories, too, or the same story from another perspective."
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
Seren was content with merely watching, plenty entertained just by having someone to talk to when she otherwise would've had to listen to grownups talking about things she didn't understand. Quanil was bigger than her, but didn't seem quite as grown as the rest. This was fine.
"Just stories," the girl replied. "About dragons and unicorns and the other gods, and Daddy and Aoife." Perhaps they were lessons in disguise, or mere whimsical tales meant to entertain; Seren didn't know, didn't think to question the contents of them yet. She was too young for that.
"What stories do you like?" she asked. "My best ones are about pirates and mermaids." Though dragons really were up there too.
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.
"Ooooh, those sound like very adventurous stories!" They held out the seashell of colored paper to study it. It'd have to do, anyway.
They started to figure out where to place the seashells on the lantern; that way they'd know how many waves they needed. Didn't want to overdo it. "But do you remember any of the ones about the other gods? I think those would be my favorite. But sometimes my favorites change a lot. Depends on what mood I'm in."
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
"They are fun," Seren agreed, admiring the seashells from her place nearby. They looked very nice to her, masterpiece work. It would be a pretty lantern, she was sure.
"Caido made the world and Mort and Rae and Vi made people, and Mama and Frey and Ludo take care of the people," she recounted. Mother's version had been a lot prettier, but Seren thought she got the essence of it down. "And The Voice is bad and try to change what was made." She'd almost forgotten that part. There had been more of course, but she didn't really recall all the details.
If Quanil was fishing for something juicy, they were perhaps probing the wrong waters. Early birds might catch worms, but if they got too eager, they'd likely fly headlong into a tree because it was still too dark. Or something along those lines.
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.
Quanil was pasting the shells down. Maybe they wouldn't need as many waves as they thought. And Little Miss Seren wasn't going to be as helpful for The Question as they'd hoped, but that was okay. She was still a little girl.
"Your mom has a lot of work to do! Even with Frey and Ludo helping, she has to take care of all the people! That's a big job." They started cutting out the waves they'd already drawn as demonstration for Miss Seren. "But what do you like to do? Favorite games or books or toys?"
I am magnet for all kinds of deeper wonderment Destined to seek, destined to know
Well, Seren did know that much. She was very proud of her mother, even if she did miss her terribly.
"I play Pirate and sneak and look for trreasure, and sometimes daddy takes me on adventures," she replied. Her head cocked to the side. "Books? Toys?" Not that she didn't know what they were, but she didn't have any. Couldn't read yet anyway.
There was a shuffling of feet behind her then, and when the glanced back, the saw the person Father had been talking to walk away.
"I have to go now. Bye bye!" With a little wave of a hand, she turned and bounced back towards her waiting parent.
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, it was nice to meet you, Miss Seren! Take care!" That was abrupt, but they didn't mind. Kids were honest, just said what they were thinking, reacted honestly. It was refreshing.
And if they hadn't learned a lot about Safrin, well, that's okay. They were nearly done making this lantern for Miss Maea, and that had been what they'd set out to do anyway. They'd had a nice conversation with a nice little kid (whose mother was a GOD) while they did it. If it hadn't been exactly what they'd expected when they came to a bar, well... sometimes surprises were nice.
They held up the lantern while the paste was drying. It had something of a childish quality to it, for that matter. Likely always would have, when making it from colored paper, but Quanil thought perhaps their crafting companion had inspired them.
