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
"There will be at least two guards and one member of my council." Morgan told him. While Neron was so far an obedient prisoner, she knew the Launceleyns had been strong mages: it was possible he had Ascended tricks up his sleeve she had no idea about. After hearing of Wessex's abilities, she knew there really wasn't a limit to what the followers of the Voice could do. "And you trust that Eirachi will follow that caveat?"
She could see the confusion in his eyes at her offer of comfort and did enjoy it at least a little: it was good to be unpredictable, every so often. "A desk could certainly be brought up after Longnight. Who is it you are intending to write to?" A question she would not ask anyone else, but Neron was still a prisoner: he had lost his right to privacy.
Morgan visibly stiffened at the second request, once 'shrine' made sense in her mind: the shrine to the Voice in the mountains, one she had been intending to destroy. "Would you be willing to make a journey to a Hollowed Grounds shrine instead?" She asked, trying to sound indifferent. "And...how is it you have been sustaining yourself in the meantime? Have you been...drinking from someone here?" Wordlessly, she looked towards the door, clearly wondering if her guard had been providing extra services.
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
”Make sure they’re seasoned. The Sea of Glass is hellish even in the warmer seasons,” Neron said, though he hardly needed to tell Morgan that. Still, he had no objections to her choice, tilting his head back to rest it against the wall. ”I do not trust the Eirachi at all,” he said. ”But she is bound by her word, so far as I can tell. If she makes a deal and I hold up my end of the bargain, she will not go back on it. Caveats and all.”
Raising an eyebrow, both at the agreement and the intrusive question, he could only give a cold smile of understanding. ”Rexanna, in the Hollowed Grounds” he said. ”She is a good leader, and I would call her a friend. And Sunjata, in Torchline. He and I had dealings previously, and I would know when he next intends to visit Halo.”
Neron figured that his mentioning of the shrine would have a poor reaction, and there was a definite spark of curiosity about having to go to the Hollowed Grounds. ”A bit extreme, but... yes, I could,” he said. ”As for how I have been staying sane so far, there are some remarkably selfless volunteers within the Citadel. Weaver offered at one point, believe it or not, but I declined.”
And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden
Morgan fixed Neron with a look, one that said 'you don't get to tell me anything about these mountains'. Never having met the Eirachi herself, she couldn't tell whether what he said about her was true: before she let Neron out into the Tundra, she'd have to check with a more reliable source about the risk involved in sending him to make a deal with her. For the moment, she just nodded.
She had heard of Rexanna, though not of Sunjata: when the Flowerbirth came, she'd send someone to find out who that was. Make sure it wasn't some kind of conspirator. "I see. I have met the General of Queen Rexanna...he seemed to regard her well." This observation didn't really have much of a point, just a musing; she hoped her own subjects would have as kind an attitude towards her own flaws.
He agreed to go to the Grounds, so Morgan said no more on that matter; come Flowerbirth there would see if there was a shrine to go to in Halo. "...What is their incentive, to give you blood?" She asked, brows furrowing in a confused frown. "It does not sound a pleasant act to give oneself to."
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
Neron raised a hand in placation, trying to keep a straight face in response to her look, though he knew well that she was absolutely right. There was nothing he could say about Halo that Morgan didn’t already know; that was why she would make a great Warden, he thought. And she didn’t seem to object to who he wanted to write to; though he couldn’t confess to have met the General she spoke about, it was good to know that the Hollowed Grounds still seemed to be on good terms with the Citadel. Allies were important.
Raising an eyebrow as she asked about his current situation, should we say, he tried to find the best way to phrase it. ”Besides saving my life? It may surprise you to learn that not everyone wants me dead or suffering,” he said, smirking. ”Though you’re wrong about it not being pleasant. An Ascended bite causes feelings of intense physical pleasure. And believe me, it still doesn’t make me comfortable discussing it.”
And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden
Thankfully Neron did not try to argue that point with her: the one thing Morgan really would not be able to stand from the man would be him trying to pretend he knew better about the mountains she had been made from. There were levels of Outlander arrogance even the Launceleyns hadn't crossed yet.
"Hmm." Morgan just shrugged, not personally finding Neron's continued healthy existence a good motive to let him stick his fangs in her. He'd made the choice to become someone dependant on the strange ritual to survive, so it was his own fault to be dependant on it now.
The mention of extreme physical pleasure though, that struck her as odd. Unfortunately for Neron, Morgan was determined to know everything she could about the Ascended: they were discussing this, comfortable or not. "Physical pleasure? Similar to a drug or alcohol? I do not want an epidemic of my people trying to get fleeting joy from feeding the Ascended."
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
The hmm was everything Neron needed to know that Morgan clearly wouldn’t be counted among those who didn’t want to see him dead or suffering, and he suppressed a smile. If you had told him they would be sitting here and having this sort of conversation even a month ago, with he imprisoned and Morgan as Warden of the Citadel, he’d have laughed. Or... no, he probably wouldn’t have laughed. He’d have taken precautions. Duh.
Ascended couldn’t really blush, but the Hailstorm’s laughter was the kind that sounded politely awkward, and he shrugged to Morgan - she had asked for it, in fairness. ”Not exactly,” he said. ”It’s more like arousal, or sexual pleasure. I’m not sure you could stop people doing that any more than you could stop them from visiting a brothel.” But then it was likely her plan to get rid of those too, in time.
And oh, poor Atlas The world's a beast of a burden
Whether Neron was right or not would remain to be seen. If asked if she cared about his life, Morgan would snort dismissively and shake her head, but in the actual situation? She knew just as well as anyone else that she had always been fair; that if she had a chance to save a life she would, even that of an enemy. Even if the reason was so they could face a trial instead of getting out easy with death.
But while there were other people lined up, she wasn't going to offer to let Neron bite her with his fetish mouth.
Clearly uncomfortable now too (never having really discussed sex with a political enemy before), Morgan nodded and sighed, clapped her hands to her thighs and stood up. "Right. Well, thank you for answering my questions. When Flowerbirth arrives, we will discuss having you taken to a Shrine. Anything else you'd like to say?" She asked, going to place a hand on the door.
And the ships are left to rust That's what the water gave us
Morgan seemed suddenly in quite a hurry to go, and Neron bounced his eyebrows at her as if to say see? I told you. Still, he didn’t (aka: couldn’t) stop her, settling more comfortably on the bed and reaching out to take his book up once more. ”Thank you,” he said - because there wasn’t anything more to say after what had transpired, was there? ”I appreciate you coming to see me, and for everything else.”
Given that the Warden was hardly a woman of too many words, Neron left it at that and let her see herself out. Come Flowerbirth there would probably be a deal more to discuss, but at least for now the rest of Longnight could (hopefully) pass without incident.
