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!
Sam liked Deepfrost. It was cold and unwelcoming, yes, but there was something in the quiet peace of the snow and the cleanness of the horizons. The world seemed calmer, softer even in the cold. He even loved the Long Night; it was a chance to indulge himself and hide away inside for a whole week with books.
He even liked the Luxere. Usually he hated animals, especially large ones; but there was something in the light of their antlers and the grace of their bodies. They were beautiful in a way that allowed him to forgive them for having very stompable hooves.
He had not expected to see any so early in the season, but his walk around the Oasis (now frozen, with the snow blowing over it; he shivered and brought his coat in tighter around his chest; he felt no cold but habits stuck) had been interrupted by the sight of a pair of bright antlers in the treeline nearby. Stopping in his tracks, he knelt down and held out a hand to the Luxere, trying to gently coax it in closer.
01-03-2019, 09:06 PM (This post was last modified: 01-03-2019, 11:16 PM by Ronin.)
Ronin hadn't been on his way to the Oasis initially - he had been going to drop by the Shrine, in truth, but the sight of the perfectly frozen water through the skeletal branches of the Glade had brought him out into the open. The sight near enough took his breath away, the guildmaster smiling quietly and simply standing in the snow for a few moments to take it all in.
He was bundled in a long coat lined with the pelt of some beast he'd come across near the end of Leafchange, his hands buried in the deep pockets of the garment, the collar turned up against the chill.
With blue eyes even more startling against the paleness of the place, he let his eyes flicker across the muted landscape, though he paused at the sudden and unexpected sight of a man leaning down, hand outstretched to... to... what was that?
Ronin had seen the notice on the board, of course, and he had already begun to take his preparations seriously. Vanya was expecting their child and the colder months were already guaranteed to be taxing. He was taking no chances. So the sight of what he assumed must be a Luxere - from the glowing antlers, at least - had him stepping closer tentatively.
"It is even more beautiful than the description," he remarked in almost a whisper to the man trying to coax the creature out.
Sam was at first unaware of the footsteps behind him even with the crunch of snow, too wrapped up in the mysterious beauty of the creature in the woods. But he had had a lifetime of solitude that was continuously, unfortunately interrupted and heard Ronin when he was a few paces away.
He waited until Ronin spoke to acknowledge him, having hoped the man might walk by. But he was clearly an Outlander from the amazement at the Luxere and his unfamiliar accent; Sam supposed it was fair he would be entranced by their winter beasts.
"They..are beautiful, yes." He agreed in a soft voice, still trying to draw the attention of the animal, who snorted in his direction but didn't seem interested in moving. "And useful. For a lot of people...in the Long Night." Sam didn't think as to whether Ronin would be aware of the Long Night or not, the lore simply slipping through him without thought.
"If you can g-gain it's trust, it will let you stroke it." They were not unlike himself, he thought, shy at first but willing to be befriended. Not that Sam would let people stroke him unless they were very handsome.
The Long Night. It didn't sound particularly sinister when he was reading it, but hearing someone say it out loud... eesh. Whatever this frozen landscape was going to bring them towards the end of the season, he had no time to lose.
Tilting his head, the guildmaster carefully approached Sam further before eventually leaning down beside him, as though being lower to the ground might help to coax the deer out. So far it had only snorted and given them a little attention if that, but perhaps together they could win its trust?
"And how does one do that?" he asked. "Is there a particular food that they like that we could offer? Or... perhaps there's something we can do to coax it closer?" He liked animals but he wasn't exactly an animal person, he'd say.
Sam only moved away a little bit as Ronin knelt next to him, a marked improvement from only weeks ago when he would have flinched away a couple of feet. He had been forced into social interactions (and one book-induced nightmare) that had made him learn his way through faking confidence a little better.
"I don't have anything on me..." He mumbled, patting his pockets even though he knew there was nothing in there. "But they like vegetables, sweets...you know. Th-things animals normally like, I...think?" Honestly he was vastly inexperienced in all things animal related, but had had some success coaxing Luxeres in the past.
Slowly, Sam moved up into a crouch and sneaked a few steps towards the treeline. The Luxere was now only a few feet away, so close he could see it's breath turning to clouds in the cold air.
"I...heard that they like singing." He mumbled back to Ronin. He hadn't wanted to share this because he knew the pressure would then be on to sing himself, which was a nightmarish prospect. "Do you...know any songs....?" Very softly, he began to hum under his breath, looking straight ahead at the Luxure and determinedly not at Ronin. The tune was a simple one, a lullaby from his childhood.
"That makes sense... alas, I don't think I have anything on me either." He still patted his pockets, just in case, but apart from a little peppermint bark he hadn't brought any food out with him. Perhaps that would work? Or maybe they could coax the creature another way? He was about to make a suggestion of his own when the stranger suggested singing, shifting closer to the deer with the glowing antlers. "Singing...?" he echoed, arching an eyebrow and straightening up a little.
At the sound of the soft humming the Luxere's attention flicked to Samuel completely, the creature pawing the ground and taking a few halting steps towards them. Ronin grinned at that, unashamedly delighted by the custom, and he ruffled a hand through the back of his hair as he racked his brain for a song. "I know a couple but they are mostly sung in taverns..." He chuckled. "But there might be one..."
He waited for Sam to finish his lullaby, trying to remember the words, before taking a breath to sing a few bars.
"Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold."
His voice was quiet and low; by no means an entertainer (he preferred to paint, in truth), Ronin could carry a tune at least.
Sam was about to point out that the Luxere could not speak, so it didn't matter how rude the song was (and honestly, he was curious about what was sung in otherworldly taverns) when Ronin began to sing. It didn't sound like a tavern song - Sam actually thought it was beautiful. He wasn't sure what it was about, but the words were like poetry; he strained to hear them in Ronin's hushed tone.
The Luxere seemed to like the song too, stepping forward enough that Sam felt confident to move in and stroke it's back, softly and gently. The creature's fur was rough and warm under his fingers, and the mane was soft like downy feathers.
"You can approach now." He told Ronin with a smile, looking up to the Luxere's glowing antlers and smiling at the simple beauty of it. While he kept his eyes on the Luxere, he spoke to Ronin, something that had come to his mind the moment he had heart the song.
"I am...a b-bookmaker. If you have more songs, from your land...I'd love to write them down. Keep them. So I could make a book of...songs, from other places. Someone has to record these th-things. If you want me to."
Ronin was smiling too as the Luxere began to approach - the simple beauty of the sight before him would stick with him for a long time. In fact he thought of sketching it out; the image of the other man standing with the creature against the frozen backdrop of the Oasis was striking to say the least. He let the song drift off into the cold as he was told it was okay to approach, Ronin stepping closer to stroke the Luxere along the nose - it nudged against his hand and let out a huff of misty air.
"A bookmaker?" he repeated, smiling to him and nodding. "That you would take an interest in something like that is flattering enough - I'd be happy to give you anything I know so you can write it down. I'm Ronin Taliesin, by the way." He held out a free hand in an offer to shake. "I run the Bounty Hunters Guild. Do you have a stall? I can drop by some time and we can work on it. For now, though..." He returned his gaze to the docile Luxere before them. "Is it true, that they stand outside homes during this LongNight?"
"Oh. Samuel Wordsworth." Sam shook Ronin's hand over the Luxere's back, a little awkwardly. He had never heard of a Bounty Hunter's Guild, but a lot happened in the town he wasn't aware of, so he didn't think too much of it. It didn't sound like anything that would ever be of much interest to him anyway.
"I have a stall in the settlement, yes. It's not v-very big, but.." He trailed off, not sure where he was going with that and much too distracted by the creature between them to worry too much about it.
While Sam had never been one to bother with coaxing in the Luxere for LongNight himself, he had done so with his family when he had been young and seen it done plenty of times in the town. Personally he thought a candle was much more practical and didn't leave messes on your doorstep, but perhaps he was missing some of the magic.
"Yes. It's very very dark. So people use the Luxere to light up the streets and their houses...I-I don't know if they would go with an Outlander. Probably, though. It seems to like you fine. Do you...know much about the LongNight?"
"A stall is a stall," Ronin said sunnily to his new acquaintance. "The quality of what you sell matters more than the size of it, no?" There was an innuendo in there somewhere, he could feel it, but it felt much too clumsy on his tongue for him to attempt. He was still amused by it though, internally, standing back to pat the luxere's flank and admire the beauty of it. It was calm and docile between them, enjoying its fuss and pawing at the ground to uncover some grass to nibble on.
Listening with interest as the other man spoke, Ronin nodded to him and considered the beast between them. He was right and it certainly didn't seem to mind him - with a child on the way he needed every bit of help he could get with this LongNight, so if it was happy to stand outside the guildhall he certainly wouldn't complain!
"I know only what was left on the notice board. And well glad am I that someone was kind enough to write that much," he admitted with a weak smile, shrugging a shoulder. "I collected some snow moss and tried to pack it under any creaks in my floor, and I know of these luxere. Next I'll have to try and collect some fuel and food, I think."
"Yes, I suppose so. I do have a lot of stock. I-I use a lot of leather and paper...I do sometimes wonder if the Luxere's skin could be made into a leather..." He said this thoughtfully, stroking along the side of the creature, but then seemed to have a moment of bad conscious and patted it's neck. "B-but don't worry. Not you."
Sam wasn't sure who had left the advice on the notice board, but he had been glad someone was trying to help the various Outlanders. Leaving his house on the end of the LongNight to see a load of Outlander corpses on the streets would have been very unpleasant.
"You should get food that won't go bad. And for fuel..." Sam frowned. "I just use candles. A lot of them. M-Maybe some wood for a fire. If you are strong enough for it you could cut some here." He had never tried to use an axe himself, always trading for wood from lumberjacks stronger than he, but Ronin seemed capable. "There is the Sparkbird, too. B-but I'm not sure if it's real."
When he actually listed all of it out, it sounded like a lot. "...Where you came from, did you have Deepfrost traditions?"
Ronin couldn't help his wry smile to Samuel, patting the deer's neck as well as if to console it. "No," he agreed. "Not you." Not that they would know if that very same deer ever ended up in their path again. For all they knew it could become a book cover in the very near future.
"I don't see why it wouldn't, though. I've never tried hunting deer, so I doubt I would be a very good companion, but if you needed a hand hauling it back to your stall I could probably help." There wasn't nearly enough punching involved in hunting to capture Ronin's attention for long.
The advice was welcome and the guildmaster listened eagerly while the luxere between them accepted its fuss, stamping at the snow as if to tell them they were talking too much and petting too little. Ronin obliged with a chuckle, arching an eyebrow at the mention of the Spark Bird. "That certainly sounds like something. It must be mythical if you aren't sure if it's real. What does it do?" Apart from... you know. Spark.
Ronin shook his head in response to Sam's question, his brow furrowing. "I don't recall any. There was nothing like this LongNight of yours, though. It just got cold and bleak."
"Oh, no, no. I wouldn't hunt it. I'm not...the hu-hunting type." Sam was more than content to get his leather completely removed from context, a sheet of material as distant from a living beast as possible. He didn't even know how to properly hold a bow, if that was even what one would use for the job.
He wasn't really sure that the logic followed that if he didn't know it it must be mythical - Sam rarely left his home and when he did he only went on short walks or to a shrine. But he didn't argue with Ronin, just shrugging and making a 'I don't know' face in response to the question. There was probably a better answer somewhere, but he didn't know it off by hand.
"Cold and bleak...with no LongNight?" Sam frowned. The LongNight was the best part of Deepfrost, as far as he was concerned. The one time of year where it was totally valid to stay in your house all week. "That sounds miserable."
The luxere moved on not long after that - you could never keep wild animals for too long without food. Without the deer, Sam had little reason to talk to Ronin, so he swiftly made his goodbyes and left, not wanting to linger any more than he had with a stranger (though he did secretly congratulate himself on how well the conversation had gone).
