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!
After the recent meeting, Amun had been left annoyed and angry in equal measure. Not trusting himself around most of his Ascended kin, he'd ended up inviting Letha and Clemente to help the potter in the last task their goddess had set before them. Arranging to meet both after dark by the portal in Torchline.
When they all showed up, he'd nodded at them. "Thanks for coming. The Voice needs us to collect the stone from a cloud manta. They live along the Ahi Coast." With that, he gestured for them to follow him along the beach. He had a cutlass, which, along with his flash bang, he figured would be more than sufficient to finish off the beast.
Born from dark water, daughter of the rain and snow
Whatever Amun asked Letha to do, she probably would. Her trust in him continued to grow, and she did not see that stopping anytime soon. Samuel, on the other hand, did not yet hold her trust, and after the meeting in their safehouse, Letha held him further out. He had been kind to her, like Amun, but his reluctance to fight the Longnight monsters rubbed Letha the wrong way. Actually, the entire thing made Letha feel uneasy. She was convinced that choosing to fight had been right for her, but for the well-being of the entire Hollowed Grounds, she still was not sure.
The expectation to be bright felt heavy on her shoulders.
Without hesitation, when Amun invited her back to Torchline, she took up his offer. She did not know much about the other Ascended boy that he had chosen to bring along, but Letha admired his grit. Following Amun, Letha wanted to ask him exactly what the creature was they were stalking, but decided that her questions to him were probably annoying at this point. Instead, she looked questioningly towards Clemente, wondering if he had the same question or if he knew what the creature was.
Clem can't hide his malcontent nearly as easily as the older two Ascended, a depressed darkness clinging to him as he arrives last. He'd mostly offered to help Amun for the distraction it offered, but he still adores the older man. He would have helped regardless, but he simply would have displayed a far fairer temperament on any other evening.
Letha is still an unfamiliar face to the teenager, but he greets her with a lopsided smile in a small attempt to lighten the atmosphere a little. Unaware of her existence and place in the family until the meeting, he only knows her name, and he's not quite sure how to strike up conversation from that alone. Luckily - or unluckily, depending on reception - Clem is not so intimidated by the idea of asking Amun questions. That's all he'd done the entirety of the day Amun had spent teaching Clemente how to read; if that hadn't scared the man off, nothing would. "So what'sa cloud manta? Will takin' the stone kill it?" While Clem subscribes to the idea of the circle of life more than most his age, he'll admittedly be a little sad if they have to. The name 'cloud manta' makes him think of something cute and fluffy which will make him feel guilty to murder.
When the other two didn't really greet one another, Amun glanced between them. "Clem, this is Letha, Letha, Clem." He gave the younger man an actual, if brief smile. "Letha's new to Caido. Really new. Just showed up this season, so she's probably got all sorts of questions. I've been showing her the ropes a bit."
Then the potter looked at her. "Clem's been here as long as I have. Maybe longer. He's good people." Hopefully that would do for introductions.
At Clem's questions, Amun shrugged. "It looks like a real manta. It's some sort of animal plant hybrid. And yes, we can't take the stone from it and keep it alive." This time, at least, he'd done his research. "The Voice needs it, though, to make her latest shrine in Torchline."
With that, he continued leading them down the coast. Eventually, figures floating just above the ground appeared, drifting down the coast. Though he'd never seen them before, they were unmistakable. Pointing at them, he gestured for the other two to be quiet.
Then he crept towards them as stealthily as he could. Soon enough, he could see the largest of the mantas had a crystal growing out of it. He raised one hand, but he wasn't quite in range. He would be shortly, though.
Born from dark water, daughter of the rain and snow
Letha did like children, and even though Clemente might be nearly a man, it was easier for Letha to warm up to him. As Amun formally introduced them, Letha offered a smile. Smiles still felt foreign on her lips, for her history of them before arriving in Caido was small.
Clem did exactly what Letha hoped he would do and asked the potter for clarification for what they were searching for. She nodded, though stayed silent as she followed Amun. She did not need his suggestion to do so, but she made note of it either way. Ocean eyes widened some as they came upon a gaggle of the plant-like creatures, amazement clear in her gaze.
She stopped on the beach as Amun approached the creatures, watching him with wonder. She didn't feel any sort of emotion to the fact that they had to kill this creature to do as the Voice asked. Death was a part of life, especially to non-humanoid creatures. Letha might have some qualm if they had been asked to take a life of some sort of human, but of his manta she had none.
Clem gives a cheeky little grin at Letha during the introductions, wandering after Amun like a duckling sticking close to the first face it imprinted on. Stuck forever in a teenage body and as of yet unbothered by it, this is more adventure than arduous task to the boy. He makes a sad noise at the idea of killing the thing, but at least it being half plant makes him feel a little better.
He doesn't bother to respond, if only because they seem to be lucky in finding one of the creatures relatively soon. Amun's gesture for silence only emphasizes that. Clemente hangs back with Letha, essentially useless but happy to be included.
Strangely, Letha and Clem didn't have much to say in response to Amun's words. Maybe it was the hush of the night, or maybe it was just that he was really good at introductions. Whatever it was, he was glad it let him focus on the task at hand. Glancing back at the other two Ascended, the potter nodded when he saw they were staying back.
Looking front again, he continued to creep forward. When he was in range, he hunkered down a bit. Watching the group of manta carefully (were they a school? a pod?) he waited until the largest one, the one with the crystal, had separated itself from the rest. Then he raised his hand and fired his flash bang.
As it exploded, he dashed forward, unsheathing his cutlass as he did. The manta he'd targeted had fallen to the ground, stunned, while the rest had scattered to the wind and the waters, scared off by the burst of light and sound. Taking a firm grip on his blade, he swung it when he was in range, putting the strength of his body and his momentum into the blow. His target was to sever the manta's head, hopefully putting it out of its misery quickly.
Born from dark water, daughter of the rain and snow
Letha did not know what Amun's plan was to harvest this crystal, so when she received any instruction from him she had to be obedient. She watched, silently, with eyes widened with interest as Amun crept over the beach. The creatures were magnificent to watch, floating over the sand with an unmatched sort of grace. Her head tilted some as she watched Amun on his hunt raise his hand towards the sky. What was he--
FLASH!
Letha's body moved backwards, her body sinking down into the sand. Surprise and wonder and excitement filled her body, and her eyes widened even further as her jaws opened and her face showed it all. Amun's flashbang was only the second upgrade she has seen, and it carried much more pomp and circumstance than Samuel's invisibility in her mind. Her jaw dropped some and she scrambled to her knees, trying to stay as quiet as possible, to see the outcome of Amun's attack.
Clem isn't exactly sure why they're needed for this with how easily Amun assumes control of the hunt, but he doesn't mind being present just to watch if that's what Amun had wanted. Clem doesn't think the beautiful creatures would really pose much danger or difficulty to the older Ascended after all.
He is not expecting the explosion at all, and goes staggering in surprise just the same as Letha. He assumes Amun isn't as disoriented since he was the one to throw it, but Clemente is still impressed by the speed and efficiency of the er...decapitation. Clem admittedly looks away during that part, awaiting success or failure from Amun.
His blade passed through the creature's neck swiftly and cleanly, killing it instantly. As the manta's strange blood splattered him, Amun darted back, since sometimes bodies twitched before death. Indeed, there were a few movement before the corpse finally still.
He let another heartbeat that he didn't possess pass before he finally apporached the fallen creature. Eyes wary for any sign of further danger, none arrived as he leaned down to carefully take the crystal out of the manta's forehead. Holding it up, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was undamaged.
Then he glanced at the other two Ascended. "Thanks for coming. Do you want to help me push this poor fellow into the sea so he might feed some fishes?" It seemed wrong to just leave it lying on the beach somehow.
As he waited for their response, he took out a cloth and cleaned his blade with it, before putting it back into his pocket. Slipping the crystal into the other, he sheathed his sword. Then, with or without their help, he rolled the body into the ocean, followed by the head. He himself took a quick dip to wash himself off a bit, before turning to face Letha and Clem. "Ready to head back?" They'd hopefully be seeing him again soon to set up the actual shrine.
Born from dark water, daughter of the rain and snow
Despite scrambling back up to see what Amun would do next, Letha cringed at the sound of Amun's blade slicing through the air. She made sure not to look, her ocean eyes darting down to the sand. The woman was not toally turned off to the idea of death, of the natural order of things calling for lives to end. But, in this moment, watching felt cruel.
When it was all over, though, she stood and walked out to help Amun. They pushed the lifeless body out to sea. She was thankful that the death would at least be useful -- to them, and to the creatures that would feast from the remains of the plant-animal hybrid.
"I'm going to stay in Torchline for a little bit." she informed him, gesturing towards the town they had spent a day in before introducing her to the Hollowed Grounds. "I want to gather some things for my home. You can find me at the inn, in the mean time, before I return to the Grounds." With that, Letha made her way towards the port city.
Well...that was fast. Clem still feels vaguely sick at the death of the creature, even if he had kept his eyes mostly averted. Only turning back when he's sure the act itself is finished, though he moves forward to help throw it into the sea. That, at least, he can understand. The demise of one thing needing to be purposeful and meaningful, to help those beneath it on the ladder. Clem was kept alive by such a circle of life once upon a time.
"Sounds good, captain!" There's not really anything else for him to do, so he gives a jaunty little wave as Letha takes her leave, and blows a cheeky kiss at Amun in teenage mockery before he goes bouncing off down the shore to explore some more.
