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 will stand by you forever; you can take my breath away
The Wraith is knocking at the Palace’s door, having received Neron’s request for assistance with the cannibals. She did in fact have some experience with them, though it was minimal and not particularly impressive. Other than their rank hides and questionable taste in snacks (neither she nor Amun would have made a very edible meal), she wasn’t too impressed. A lot of them, however… could definitely pose a problem.
The guard doesn’t recognize her per se, just the name, and bids her have a seat and wait until he can find someone to speak with her. So like a good little obedient citizen, Wessex sits back in the chair in the hall, crosses one leg over the other and waits for a Launceleyn (they’re plentiful) to appear. Thought her eyes drift down and eventually close for a moment, the rest of her senses are still on alert. It’s been a long couple of days - week, maybe - and even demigods need to slow down every now and then.
Feeling more like a doorman than the Grand Healer, Loren found himself once again fetched when a visitor came to the Palace. At this point, he was seriously considering just staying near the front doors and relocating the infirmary. Nodding at the guards as he passed, he opened the door to the sitting.
And immediately stopped right in the doorway, hand still on the doorknob. "Wessex." Voice flat, he stared steadily at Wessex without moving from where he stood. "What brings you to Halo?" His tone was almost chilly, but it was polite enough. And his expression was very carefully neutral, though it would be hard to totally hide his dislike of her.
I will stand by you forever; you can take my breath away
Well if it isn’t Loren Launceleyn. Wessex slowly turns her head towards the person who says her name, already well aware that it’s one of the few people she would go out of her way to avoid. Alas, he comes with Neron’s territory. “Loren,” she replies, with all the faux politeness and sugar-sweet smile she can muster. “I’m waiting to see Neron.” Unfortunately for her, the letter had arrived rather late and even with teleporting to the Citadel, he’s gone off on other business.
“When family calls… well, you know.” There is, perhaps, the teeniest flash of something in her eye as she casually slips in Neron’s Ascension and his place in her own small circle of obligation. It's been a bit. Surely Loren knows of it by now.
As Wessex revealed she was here to see Neron, Loren raised his eyebrows slightly. "He's busy, sadly, and won't be available for quite a while. Unfortunately, you're stuck with me." His tone was wry, since he was fully aware they'd both rather be anywhere else right now.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he nodded. "I know." Then his lips twitched with amusement. "Welcome to the family, by the way. I suppose if Neron is now your kin that makes us in laws." He tilted his head to one side, wondering how she'd feel about that particular revelation. Still, he made no move to enter the room proper, just hovered in the doorway.
I will stand by you forever; you can take my breath away
There is an obvious bit of disappointment that Neron isn’t around, but that is easily remedied later with a little mental message for a chat. Or - Or she could talk to Loren about it. Maybe.
“Then it looks like it’ll be a family cannibal-hunting affair. How delightful.” Both her tone and expression betray that it will likely be anything but that. Biting back a reply that is something along the lines of the day I consider you family is the day Torchline freezes over, Wessex instead takes a look at her hands and pauses, looking at pale hands and nails that never grow. “Mmmm, that would make The Voice your mother-in-law. How do you feel about that?” Oh dear, how would Zariah feel about that one?
Wessex actually managed to startle a laugh out of Loren. "Given how my family gatherings usually go, cannibal hunting honestly sounds downright appealing." Then he raised his eyebrows and gave her a questioning look. "I wasn't aware we'd requested outside help for that particular problem." His tone was honestly more mildly curious than annoyed, and he was doing his best to remain civil.
Shrugging at her question, he crossed his arms. "To tell the truth, I feel fine about it. She's never really given me any reason to dislike her. At least not more than the other gods." If she was hoping to get some rise in him about the new gods and their plans, she'd be sorely disappointed.
I will stand by you forever; you can take my breath away
She grimaces. He isn’t painting a picture of a group that can get along (spoiler alert: she already knows they won’t) and can’t help but mutter, “The poor, poor Captain.” She wouldn’t trade places with Morgan for the world, especially if it means being locked in here for the entirety of Deepfrost with the Launceleyn family. “Being able to withstand the cold right now is particularly valuable,” she says by way of explanation. Or so she assumes that was the reason. Quite frankly, she’d been surprised too, but wasn’t about to tell Loren that.
“Really?” A brief pause. “What makes your reasoning different from most of the other Old God followers?” Is it because (if she recalls correctly) he came after the blight? Or that the Old Gods are being utter dicks to him too?
Loren smiled faintly at Wessex. "Don't worry about Morgan too much. I think she enjoys having something to disapprove of. Then his expression and tone grew wry. "And as I'm sure you remember, there's a lot to disapprove of when I'm around." Finally he entered into the room and took a seat across from her.
Raising an eyebrow at her comment, he placed his hands in his lap and slid his finger together. "Is that so? Good thing I've also recently developed that ability, then."
Shrugging, he ran a hand through his hair before returning it to its previous position. "Because all the gods have done shitty things. None of them are entirely good or entirely evil. In fact, I don't think those conceptions can rightfully apply to them."
He had a thoughtful look on his face, and he spoke slowly and carefully. "From what I've seen, at least the Voice is as faithful to her followers as they are to her. Plus I can applaud her goals even if I disagree with her methods." Much more quietly he added, "And I understand what it's like to be trapped."
I will stand by you forever; you can take my breath away
Morgan in and of herself doesn’t inspire worry, exactly. She’s sure that the Captain isn’t the only one in Halo who dislikes Ascended, but she’s 75% sure she won’t be able to muster up enough of a rebellion to do much of anything - not against the Launceleyns, and not against the Hailstorm. She is, however, someone to keep an eye on.
“Oh? Have you Ascended too? Made a deal with a God?”. Wessex is currently unaware, of course, that the Arcane Academy (bleggggh) bestows privileges on its members. Or maybe it’s just another one of his collection of powers. She’s lost track by now of what Loren can and cannot do. Without commenting much on the Old vs. New Gods, she simply nods her head a couple of times and agrees with the last point. “Even a fancy, gilded enclosure that holds anything you could ever want is a cage. Eventually they’re all the same.”
“I still don’t like you, but sometimes you surprise me,” the Wraith concludes with the faintest raise of her brow. “I’ll find Neron for a chat, don’t worry about passing anything on.”
Shaking his head at Wessex's question, Loren shrugged. "Nothing so dramatic as that. Apparently enrolling in the Arcane Academy imparts some sort of cold resistance." It wasn't a secret, given how many students there were.
Nodding at her next comment, he got up to pour himself some water. Partially, it was so she didn't she the way his eyes hardened at her words. "I've had my fill of cages. I can only imagine the Voice fills similarly. And as for what she's done to escape hers, well, it's hard to say the Blight was really any worse than the plagues and monsters the old gods created." He took a sip of water to buy himself some time to get his emotions in check.
Settling in across from her again, he let out a huff of laughter. "I have that effect on people." Leaning forward, he gave her an amused look. "Full disclosure, if they sent me it's likely because Neron cannot or does not want to see you right now. It's nothing personal, promise. I didn't see him for almost two seasons." The Warden was busy, that's all. "Rather than waste your time sitting here, why don't you just set up a meeting with him?"
04-20-2020, 10:10 PM (This post was last modified: 04-20-2020, 10:10 PM by Wessex.)
I will stand by you forever; you can take my breath away
She makes a little huh sound at the Arcane Academy’s little bribe. She still doesn’t understand how anyone would join it, given what they know about Zariah. But hey, to each their own.
Wessex nods along to his points, agreeing because she’s made them to others and know they weren’t well received. She’d be curious to find how Loren felt they might be received, but if Neron isn’t around, she doesn’t particularly want to stay. “Oh I know. I don’t take it personally.” Standing, Wessex smiles a little smile in regards to the advice. “I will.” But with no mention of how she’ll do that, the blonde turns to head towards the door. “See you at the hunt,”[/say ] is offered with a little finger wave as a Guard opens the door for her and she disappears into the cold night."
