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!
And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden
Leadership meant making the hard decisions.
It meant swallowing her pride and doing what Morgan believed was right, no matter how hard it was, how it twisted her heart to be climbing the stairs up to the Academy. A leader had to try and provide for all of her people, even those she did not care for, and Neron did still leave in the Citadel...whether Morgan liked that or not.
She did not want there to be gossip, to be a visible rift between them. Sure, a lot of people in Halo hated Neron right now, but there would be more eventually that did not, and if she was seen as the aggressor to him? It could be dangerous.
Not that he was off the hook - not at all; she was just intending to make an effort for something like civility. Knocking on the door twice she let herself in, not intending to ask permission to enter: she was still the warden and he was, for all purposes, a prisoner.
She was sure he would be surprised to see her and she stood a step in the door, looking to Neron wherever he was in the room. "I have come to speak to you."
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
”And I am bound to listen, as it happens.” Neron’s voice was quiet, smooth, and he glanced up from his book as Morgan entered the room. If she looked closely she would note that the ex-Warden was reading some trashy romance, courtesy of his twin (thanks Loren), and he was slouched on the bed given that it was more use as a couch than for somewhere to sleep, given his nature.
Neron looked better than in recent days, but his need to see the Voice would not be held at bay forever, and blood was not a cure; merely a patch on something much deeper. ”What can I do for you, Warden Aristomache?” he asked, placing his marker in the pages and closing the book. ”I trust that I have not been causing terror in the streets?”
And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden
"Mmm." Morgan responded distractedly, taking in the book he was reading: not the sort of thing she expected Neron to read and she found herself oddly embarrassed now from having walked in on the man with such a book. He didn't seem to be ashamed though, so she refocused on his face as he continued to speak.
"More mocking." She replied honestly, having heard many children playing at the Cultists and Neron, fighting over who got to be Eirachi or herself: hard to know how to feel about that. "The people think you are a fool who glibly tossed away our Kingdom for your own personal gain; I can't say I disagree." With this said, she sat down on the simple stool beside the bed.
"But--" She sighed, rubbed a hand over her mouth. "--I do not want to live in hate and contempt with you forever and it seems, thanks to the mercies of your brother, you will be staying with us. I have come to offer peace between us, of a sort: a chance to converse and discuss what happened: would you agree?"
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
”Luckily for the two of us, it is no longer my job to care about what the people think. That honour falls to you now, so far as I am aware. Congratulations, by the way - I was glad to see my vote put to good use.” Neron placed his book down on the bedside table and shifted to sit up properly so he could talk to her; the fact that she did want to talk was confusing in and of itself, and he raised an eyebrow as he heard her out.
”I really would be a fool should I disagree,” he murmured. ”I shall have to extend my personal thanks to Loren for my guard of honour, too. Though I do wish you had appointed someone a little more talkative. That guard has perfected the stony and silent personality.” He wrinkled his nose. ”Anyway, I digress.”
And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden
While it pained Morgan to give Neron the reaction he was clearly looking for, she couldn't help the surprised look as it was revealed he had given his vote to her and not his own brother. It took a few moments for her to say anything as she tried to decide if this was a trick or a joke: Neron seemed genuine... "Why would you vote for me, and not Loren? Does he know that?"
Perhaps if the comment about the guard had been made by anyone else, she might have laughed: as it was, she just stayed stony-faced herself. "You are lucky to have someone that treats you well, conversationalist or not."
Speaking of...time for the conversation. A difficult one to be sure, but Morgan had never been shy. "Do you regret the events that lead to Eirachi's cultists attacking our gates?"
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
Neron couldn’t help but smile at her confusion, the Hailstorm shrugging his shoulders. ”You would make a better Warden,” he said. ”Besides, having just formed a bridge with my brother to try and act like decent people together, I can confirm that having him in a position of leadership would not have gone well. And it isn’t as though I had the deciding vote.” Morgan had been in the lead by a head, that much had been obvious.
”But no, he doesn’t know that. Better, probably, to keep it that way.” Ah, but more to the point about why she had come. Raising his eyebrows, Neron at least gave her the courtesy of thinking hard about his answer - Morgan may be inflexible at times, but he hoped she could appreciate that it was complex, to say the least.
”Yes and no,” he said honestly. ”Do I regret freeing myself of Zariah’s chains? No. Do I regret putting people in danger as a result of it? Yes, of course I do. I didn’t foresee what trouble my actions would bring, and I lacked the foresight to believe the Eirachi would punish anyone other than me. I regret that.” It was why they had found him trying to bolster the square, to protect people after the Palace fell.
And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden
"You have such little faith in him?" Morgan asked, a raised eyebrow and a little bit of amusement on her lips; she agreed. Loren was a good man, a great healer, but not a leader: as much as she hated to admit it, Neron had had more of that about him than his brother. Given that she had no more than a political interest in the Launceleyn family drama, she wouldn't tell Loren of Neron's vote.
While she appreciated the honesty of his answer about Eirachi, his candid speech ruckled up anger in her she had to fight to swallow down. "You see now why the position of Warden is not for those with large egos." She eventually said, managing to condense her rage into a bitter statement.
"Tell me how you were caught in Zariah's chains and how what you did ended that; I feel like I have missed half of this story." The family ties involved were so complex and abstract that keeping up felt half-impossible.
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
”I have faith in my brother. Less in myself.” Neron was a tide of spite held back by the thinnest of dams, and who knew what would send it crumbling down. Better not to risk a test to those boundaries if it could be helped. Raising an eyebrow at Morgan as his words succeeded in riling her up again, however much she managed to boil it down to a few sentences, Neron couldn’t help but scoff. ”Is there anything that I say that doesn’t make you angry?” he asked.
Her further questions confused him; he was certain he had told her of his history and the reason for his decision. But then, it was entirely possible that she hadn’t wanted to hear it - so Neron cut the etiquette and resorted to the simple truth. ”My family were routinely tortured growing up, to ensure we toed the line. I coped by gaining gratification from pain - sometimes sexual, other times not. Zariah knew, and took advantage of it wherever she needed to. As head of the family, it made her a very difficult person to defy. So I removed my ability to feel pain.” Perhaps that would satisfy her.
And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden
Morgan raised an eyebrow when Neron claimed to not have faith in himself: that was certainly not the impression she'd gotten from him at any point. In fact, she might have argued that one of his issues was a bit too much faith in his own intelligence and power, but that was semantics and besides, he had said something more worth of comment: the second question, if he could say anything that would not make her angry.
To her own surprise, Morgan laughed at the question. She had not expected to laugh during this conversation, but something about the bluntness of it got her. "...Maybe not, but you don't deserve much else at the moment. Wait until more than a week has passed since your hubris resulted in the attack." The smile didn't last long.
The smile did not return as Morgan spent a considerable amount of time after Neron's next words wondering if he was implying that he had done something sexual with his cousin: frankly, she didn't want to know. "Right, yes, but...I was told something about sacrificing children. What about that?"
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
”A fine point. I shall just have to grow more resistant to your barbed temper, Warden.” Neron sighed, though he had to accept that Morgan had a point. Regardless of what had happened ultimately, his decision had caused destruction and pain for those who lived in the Citadel. And Halo had a long memory, so expecting anything but ire from one of its natives was a fool’s game.
Still, as she continued he furrowed a brow, honest confusion flickering through his expression. ”I’m not sure I follow,” he said. ”I made a deal with the Eirachi for my first born child - a child that did not exist, and that I never intended to have. Jace is from... another place, another time. A time where I did not come to Caido as I am now. I refused to acknowledge him here at the Citadel because I knew the Eirachi would take him. I did not know Zariah would act independently.” He shrugged. ”Of any other child sacrifice, I’m not aware.”
And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden
At least Neron wasn't arguing too much: had that been the case, she would have been far more scathing. As it was, she was content to pass civil (but harsh) words with him to see if they could mend some of the rift that had only grown wider between the new and the old of Halo, of the Citadel: she was sure there would be fresh Outlanders that would side with Neron easily and did not want to alienate them.
That Neron spoke so casually of Zariah's sacrifice as if it were simply any other action she could take chilled Morgan and her frown was a clear show of the disgust she felt. "Is it normal then, in your family, for child to be tossed away like nothing? Even if you did not know this 'Jace', you must feel some remorse. Some pain for it. Anything else would not be human." Perhaps that was a bit of a challenge; Neron's humanity was already in doubt after he had traded his heart for a machine, his blood for fuel: Morgan waited to see if he had lost his empathy as well.
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
Quite what Morgan was after Neron did not know, but his eyes did grow sharp at the implication that he didn’t care. ”It is normal in my family not to show emotion lest we appear weak or vulnerable,” he said quietly. ”Especially to someone who has all but said directly that she would prefer to see me dead or exiled.” He tilted his head at the Warden.
”When the blizzards calmed in Flowerbirth I was planning to go and meet with the Eirachi to find out what had become of him. To find out if anything could be done.” Korbin’s suggestion, on reflection, had been a good one. ”How exactly that will affect me I don’t know, but it is the least I could do after Zariah traded him away.”
And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden
Morgan watched flatly as Neron explained about his family and got in his little jab about her: did he really expect her to be his best friend right now? Honestly, she wondered how the Launceleyns had even made it this far, if they were as dysfunctional as every member of the family insisted.
At least it seemed Neron had not intended to leave Jace entirely to die. While Morgan wasn't sure she could trust everything the former Warden had to say, he didn't have much reason to lie now. "I see. And do you still want to do this, when the Flowerbirth comes? I would consider allowing you out, with a guard party and an escort, for this meeting. If you believe she would become angry and attack the Citadel again though...consider what is wisest."
Really, she wasn't quite sure what she'd intended when she'd come here, but she knew it wasn't entirely just to discuss what had happened. "...I was wondering...if there was anything I could do to make your imprisonment here more comfortable?" Morgan asked, praying he wouldn't give some sarcastic answer like not being imprisoned.
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
Indeed; lying would do him no good now, not with Morgan and her guards breathing down his neck. ”Yes, provided that it isn’t too dangerous,” he said, his brow furrowing as she advised she would allow him to go with an escort. ”I would like to put as few people at risk as possible,” he murmured; not a no, not by any means. Just a consideration to perhaps not send half a dozen people along with him. Giving a thin smile, he nodded in agreement. ”If I managed to strike a deal at all, it would be with the caveat that it affects me and me alone,” he said.
And then things got really weird, and Neron tilted his head quizzically at Morgan. He considered sass in his reply, but caught himself in time to realise that this might be a very rare occurrence indeed. An olive branch? From the Glacier?
”A desk would be nice, if you could arrange it,” Neron said, gesturing around the room. ”I could write a few letters, study...” He shrugged. ”And if you wouldn’t mind, an escort to the shrine when the snows melt. I have been very lucky this season, but it isn’t sustainable.”
