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!
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
After finishing the first two tasks the Voice had set before Amun, he just had to get the metal she'd provided struck by lightning. Unfortunately, given that it was Deepfrost, that was harder than it sounded. Luckily, even though it was the dry season in Torchline, storms still emptied their clouds on the tropical land.
So he'd taken to checking through the portal every day to see if it was raining. Eventually, he lucked out. Taking just the sphere, and his cutlass, with nothing else, he headed out towards where the clouds seemed thickest, which was a decent distance from the portal.
There, he settled in to wait, sphere held overhead. As he waited, he tapped into the power he had within him, holding it ready. He'd found out eventually that Hotaru had lightning magic at her command, which meant that he had it too. Enough, at least, to accomplish this.
So you drink your day away till the liquor in your mouth laughs
The rain, sporadic as it was, had been enough to keep the majority of Haulani quiet, more people than not deciding to stay in. Nate was not one of those people, the rain, and the chill that came with it, not bothering him in the slightest. Though, without anyone else around, there was no reason to walk through the city instead of the beach, a nicer vista anyway.
Apparently, a more interesting one as well. Nate didn't recognize the figure on the beach until he got closer, but even when he did he waited to call out, instead surveying his fellow ascended carefully, looking for the dourness of their last few meetings. Nothing seemed to jump out to him though, no reason to keep distant, so he called out, the grin clear in his voice as he did. "You trying to get struck by lighting or something? Cause that's how you do it."
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
As the voice rang out behind Amun, he glanced back. However, when he saw that it was Nate, the potter immediately looked ahead again. "So what if I am?" There was a distinct lack of tone or emotion in his voice.
However, as light flashed on the horizon, followed a few seconds later by a rolling boom of thunder he sighed. Setting the orb onto the sand, he retreated a safe distance away, keeping a grip on the magic inside him. Brow furrowed with concentration, he extended both hands towards the metal.
Still, he spared another look for the doctor. "Can I help you?" With that, Amun focused on the sphere again.
So you drink your day away till the liquor in your mouth laughs
The snappish but not response to his teasing had Nate lifting his hands, the grin on his lips falling a little as it did. Still, he wasn't going to prod too much at what seemed to be a sore spot, even if that seemed to be most things for the other ascended at the moment. Instead, he watches the strange set up with the ball, giving it a wide berth as he circles around to Amun's side.
Despite the fact that Amun wouldn't see it, Nate shrugged his shoulders slowly, putting some though into his response before offering it. "Maybe I'm just worried about you. I mean, you're snappy, angry. You walked out of a party without saying anything really, and now... this." Maybe he was talking to a brick wall, but even if he was, at least he can say he tried now.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
As Nate spoke, Amun scowled a bit, back still turned to the doctor. "I wasn't aware you cared." The sarcasm practically dripped from every word.
Finally sparing a glance for the other man, the potter raised his eyebrows. "Maybe work on your own attitude before worrying about mine. When you can stand in a room and not take petty swipes at Sam we can talk about my problems." With that, he faced the metal orb again.
The quality of the air had changed, and the rain was falling harder now. Stretching both hands up to the sky, Amun's brow furrowed in concentration. "Also? I have everything under control." With that, he reached out with his magic, pulling the energy from the storm and trying to channel it into the sphere.
And lightning came at his call. It flashed down, deafening and blinding, striking the ball directly. However, the potter was stunned, his magic spent. Blinking away the spots in his eyes, he found that he'd staggered several steps away, swaying where he stood.
So you drink your day away till the liquor in your mouth laughs
It takes nearly everything in Nate to not heave a sigh in response to Amun's words, though he does take advantage of the back facing him and rolls his eyes. "Most people aren't." He answers after a moment, crossing his arms.
He can't keep from scoffing in response to the words, his face twisting in a sneer as Amun turns to look at him. "My attitude is fucking great man. He's the one who can't help starting shit, and I'm not about to sit there and let him." He had made every attempt to be... maybe not friendly, but at least neutral with Sam.
Before he got the chance to voice his disbelief, refusing to think for a second that Amun had everything under control, lightning struck, the flash of it all encompassing for a moment. He couldn't see, couldn't hear, could almost taste the electricity in the air. In stark contrast to his fellow ascended though, Nate hadn't moved, just kept his eyes screwed closed tightly and stood, waiting until the ringing in his ears had faded. "Seems real fucking under control." He spat out, shaking his head when it still didn't sound right in his own ears.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
At Nate's words, Amun just shrugged. "Does that bother you?" Again, the words came out distant and distracted, since he wasn't particularly invested in this conversation.
However, the doctor's next response once again drew the potter's gaze. "Why not?" The question came out bluntly. "If you don't rise to his petty comments, he'll look like a dick and you'll look golden. Right now, you both seem like assholes." Clearly, he wasn't trying to mince words or make nice right now.
When the other man actually insulted Amun's methods, though, he finally snapped. Whirling around, albeit unsteadily, he marched towards Nate. "The Voice told me to strike the metal with lightning. I struck the metal with lightning, and no one got permanently hurt. So what, exactly, is the problem?" Glaring up at the doctor, the potter's nostrils flared.
Then he spun again and marched towards the rapidly cooling orb. Waiting a long as he could, he bent down and snatched it up. And if the scent of singed skin filled the air, well, it was a good thing Ascended healed rapidly. With that, he began to stalk down the coast towards the shrine.
So you drink your day away till the liquor in your mouth laughs
Nate narrowed his eyes at the potter, noting the flippant tone, and sighed, rolling his shoulders. "Why would it bother me? All it does is make it real easy to figure out who's worth worrying about."
"I'm not just going to let him stand there and run his mouth." Nate insisted, crossing his arms. As far as he was concerned, whatever Sam said about him was a personal slight, and he'd never hesitated to correct them before. Especially when he had made the attempt to be cordial. Really, he should be congratulated on his restraint, on the fact that he hasn't escalated to fists and not words.
The lightning strike blew all of those thoughts out of his head though. And the ringing in his ears only seemed to grow worse as the other man stumbled towards him, Nate's brows pulling together as he was snarled at. It was a small mercy that they were close enough he could hear the complaint. "There's safer ways to get shit struck by lightning." He offers back, too loud. "Why's the Voice need metal struck by lightning anyway?" Seemed like an unnecessary risk, in his opinion, exactly for this reason.
Amun began stalking off, an unfortunately familiar and stomach churning smell lingering after him, but Nate wasn't going to let him get away quite that easily. He hurried along after Amun, aiming to get ahead of him and face him properly. "What the fuck is your problem?" It came out rougher than he meant, but it was hard to school his tone at the moment. "We were fine, and now you're acting like I shit in your cornflakes. What happened?"
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Amun's eyes narrowed, though with his back still turned to Nate it was impossible to tell. "And who's that?" Again the potter's tone indicated that he didn't much care about the answer one way or the other.
Rolling his eyes, he gave the doctor an unimpressed look. "Why not? What do you lose by rising above it?" Amun really didn't understand the other man's need to respond to someone who was clearly being irrational and petty in a similar manner. "If only so that it makes our so-called family gatherings easier to get through for everyone else."
Expression annoyed, the potter scowled at Nate. "So what? It worked, it was quick, and it was safe enough." Nostrils flaring, Amun just turned to walk away. "It's for an upgrade." It came out as more of a mutter than anything else, but he made sure to pitch it loudly enough that even their lightning damaged ears could hear.
For a moment, he considered leaving the doctor in the dust. However, with a groan, the potter came to a stop instead. "Nothing you did. It's just been shitty, recently, okay? And I'm not really in the mood to pretend to be okay to make others feel good about themselves." With that, he moved to push past the other man.
So you drink your day away till the liquor in your mouth laughs
"That's for me to decide, isn't it?" Nate replies to the back facing him with a snort. He's doesn't offer anything else though, not until Amun is facing him again, all but berating him about the way he was handling Sam. "Anything he says is shit someone else might believe. If I'm going to have a bad reputation, I want to fucking deserve it." Really, he didn't need or want to go through that again, but if something was going to follow him around, it should be something he actually did.
"Safe enough." Nate scoffed, the ringing in his ears the least of the potential risks. There was one thing he knew about lightning, and that was that it was unpredictable. At least he got an answer to his second question. An upgrade made the most sense, really, but it was nice to actually know for sure, instead of finding out weeks later that he'd missed on some big request. He was apathetic towards the Voice's cause, but not stupid enough to turn his back on it completely that's how you ended up with all your abilities stripped.
Nate half expects to be shoved past, the thought made clear by the brow that rises as Amun actually stops. But the answer he gets only has him huffing again, resisting the urge to roll his eyes in his fellow ascended's face. "I never asked you to make me feel good. Just fucking talk about it. You might be surprised by how much it helps." He might be bullheaded, but this particular kind of self-pitying defeatism rubbed him the wrong way, especially when he was willing, was trying to help.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Simply grunting in acknowledgement of Nate's words, Amun shrugged. When the doctor replied about Sam, though, the potter couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Seriously? It's Sam." His expression was more than a bit incredulous. "Do you really think people are going to believe him about a relationship?"
Meeting the other man's gaze, Amun scowled a bit. "Yes. Safe enough." He wasn't going to budge on this point, especially because he hadn't asked Nate to come here and talk.
Snarling a bit, the potter stopped again, spinning to face the doctor. "What do you want me to say." Amun spread his arms. "That I'm lonely? That it feels like the world is moving on and I'm being left behind? That it seems our so-called family is falling apart, and wasn't much of a family to begin with?" Shaking his head, he turned and began walking away again. "Seeing as I view you as part of the problem, you'll forgive me for not wanting to talk about it."
So you drink your day away till the liquor in your mouth laughs
Nate really isn't sure how else to explain his position, when Amun seems to be desperate to be contrary, all but putting in effort to not understand. "It's not just about the relationship. I can't be there to defend myself when he runs his mouth to whoever he talks to. I'm going to take the chance I can to speak up."
Safe enough would have to be good enough. Despite the protests that still line Nate's teeth, he shutters his jaw shut and shrugs, conceding the point. A dozen things could have gone wrong, but they didn't, so... what does it matter?
"What the fuck do you mean I'm part of the problem?" Apparently, he just couldn't stop following Amun, regardless of how much he wanted to wash his hands of the other man. He didn't want to talk about it? Tough. Nate was going to get answers. "How much shit have I come out to help you with? How many times have I pitched in, even without being asked? I'm pulling my weight for the Family." It was surprising to him that he cared so much, given his recent feelings about the Voice, but that was never something that had affected his feelings towards the rest of the ascended.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Gritting his teeth, Amun gave Nate an unimpressed look. "Do you really think engaging with him is helping your case?" It was clear that the potter didn't think that, as evidenced by the fact that they were arguing about it right now.
Snarling a bit, he stopped again, since it seemed the doctor wanted to continue this conversation. "Good job focusing on the one part of my statement that happened to involve you." Amun's tone was mocking, and he sneered a bit.
However, his eyes narrowed. "I've been here a year, and this is the longest conversation we've had. And basically the first time we've spoken outside of a task for the Voice. But it's not like you deliberately sought me out." Expression annoyed, he crossed his arms. "How many times have you actually spent time with us outside of it being something our goddess asked?"
So you drink your day away till the liquor in your mouth laughs
All Nate can do is shrug in response to Amun, another battle he knows he isn't going to win, but all he does is stake his life on hills no one should ever need to die on. Would he even be himself, if he didn't? "I think it's doing something. That's all I need. Alright?"
Nate sucked in a breath between his teeth and clenched them, willing himself to keep his tone even, his voice steady. "I can't fix anything else Amun. You're not the only person who's lonely, you're not the only one who doesn't know what the fuck is going on. If I figure out how to make it better, I will happily share it with you. But I can fucking work on myself, if you've got a real problem. I can try to repair some of whatever's wrong there." Though the want to do so was slipping more and more.
"So because I don't talk to you, I'm not doing enough?" Nate could barely believe what he was hearing, didn't understand the audacity of Amun, his expression, his crossed arms. "First off, if you're really going to bitch about that, it's a two way street. And second, I do spend time with other's in the Family, just for fun. Deliberately and otherwise. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't happen."
