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!
I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces Reaching the starlight and silver fields
Seren was good at sneaking. She had learned well from the few tips Sunjata had given her, and practiced diligently. That was how she had made it out of the house for a very disobedient trip into Haulani, and that was how she crept back in through her bedroom window. It took some doing; she had covered the windowsill with potted plants and carefully selected seashells, and navigating her feet around them all was tricky.
But she managed. On light feet the young girl got down onto the floor and breathed out a slow sigh, relaxing slightly. She left the window open; the night breeze was cold but fresh, and her room felt stuffy after being outside. Tiptoeing out into the house beyond, she made for the kitchen.
Hopefully no one would have noticed that she was even gone. Remi had been drunk or gone most of the time since night fell, and the guests... well, she had not talked much to them yet. The house was strange without her dad there. Too big, somehow, and not very comfortable. She would have to brave it though, because she was starving.
Come with the night the science of fighting The forces of gravity
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
The guests hadn’t noticed she was gone either, but that didn’t mean they were asleep. Indeed, one of them was in the very kitchen Seren headed towards, but if Vai noticed that the girl looked as though she had just been sneaking around, she didn’t show it. The huntress was sitting on the counter - the dead of night when everyone was either asleep or off gallivanting in the Hollowed Grounds was the perfect time to secretly have a snack.
So it was that Seren would walk in to see Vai with a slice of bread drizzled in honey, and as her blue eyes landed on the girl she couldn’t help but put a conspiratorial finger to her lips, smirking. ”I won’t tell anyone you’re up if you don’t tell anyone about this,” she said. ”I’ll even share and sweeten the deal.”
I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces Reaching the starlight and silver fields
Dead of night had lasted for several days already, and it was not always easy to tell when one should sleep and be awake. For Seren, the absence of the stars was even more toublesome than the never rising sun. Never had she missed her mother so much... and now even Ronin was away, unable to make up for the lack.
Pausing in the doorway, Seren hovered guilty for a moment. But she wasn't scolded, so... no harm done, right? "Deal. Want some tea?" Heading for the stove, the girl busied herself with lighting a small fire and filling a kettle with water. Once that was done and set to warm, the went to fetch down mugs, easily able to reach shelves that she had needed a stool for only a while ago.
"How long will you be staying?" Setting down the mugs on the table, she sank into a chair, watching Vervain's casual ease with thinly veiled envy. How did one obtain such confident grace? Seren very much wanted it.
Come with the night the science of fighting The forces of gravity
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
”I would love some,” Vai said, a slight delay in her reply given her mouthful of bread and honey. Hopping down from the counter in an easy vault, she turned to slice another hunk of bread for Seren, drizzling honey over it before cutting it a little smaller (so she would make less of a mess of it than the huntress).
Slipping it onto a plate and setting it down on the table, she retook her place on the counter (and kept a stray eye on the kettle to make sure the water wasn’t boiling up too much). ”Hmm? Oh, at least until LongNight ends I should thing,” she murmured with a small smile. ”How are you finding it? This is your first one, right?”
I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces Reaching the starlight and silver fields
"Thank you." She reached for the plate eagerly and took a bite of the honey-soaked bread. It was sweet and delicious, and the smile it brought on was delighted, if perhaps a bit weary. Her adventure had drained a lot of energy, and there was a deep ache in her bones that wouldn't go away.
"Hmm, I see. How do you know Remi? You know dad too?" Unable to sit still for long, the girl was soon on her feet again, rummaging through the shelves in search for of tea. "It's not very fun, is it? There are no stars, and it's cold, and we're not going to any of the parties." Of course she had just been on her own, but it wasn't the same as going with her family, right? "Is it like this where you are from too?"
There was a small triumphant exclamation as Seren dug out a few tins of different tea, and the carried them over for Vai to pick a favorite.
Come with the night the science of fighting The forces of gravity
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Finishing her own sweetened bread, Vai absently sucked the honey from her fingers as she heard Seren out, a small smile on her face. ”The parties aren’t all that interesting,” she assured her. (Not unless they were spent running away into the trees with a certain dock worker, anyway). ”I know Remi and your father, yes. I know them both from where we all used to be from. Someone has to keep them out of trouble.” She winked.
Shifting to get down from the counter again, she raised her eyebrows and hummed a note of interest at the tins of tea that Seren produced. Recognising them all as Remi’s handiwork, it was with a nostalgic sort of smile that she selected one with a sweetened berry sort of taste. ”This will work, I think,” she said with a nod. ”LongNight still happens where I’m from, but it looks a lot different. Lots of trees and earth, no sand or oceans.”
I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces Reaching the starlight and silver fields
That definitely piqued the girl's interest. "Really? What kind of place? Can you tell me about it?" She didn't actually know much of where they had been or what they had done before she came. She knew a bit about Vanya and Aoife, and there had been a wagon on the beach before they got this house from Sunjata, but apparently there was a lot more before that.
As the kettle began to rattle and steam, Seren took it from the fire. Adding the chosen tea to a pot, she poured the hot water over and brough it to the table. With bread and honey and the scent of berries and leaf spreding through the kitchen, this started to feel like a feast. "Where is that... the Hollowed Ground?" Seren returned to her chair, though her keen blue eyes kept turning back to the woman, brightened by the prospect of new stories to be heard.
Come with the night the science of fighting The forces of gravity
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
06-29-2020, 07:06 PM (This post was last modified: 06-29-2020, 07:07 PM by Vervain.)
”It was a place called Northaven,” Vai explained; a lover of stories, was the huntress. ”It had a huge wall built around it, and a king, and soldiers called the Storm Guard. Your dad was one of them.” As she spoke she moved to take a seat at the table, watching Seren to make sure she was safe bringing the tea and the mugs over. Thanking the girl, she drew her mug close and inhaled the berry scent, already feeling herself relax.
Smiling, she shook her head no at her next question - not the Hollowed Grounds. ”It’s called the Greatwood - it’s just outside the Hollowed Grounds,” she said. ”There are trees bigger than houses, and a people called the Fae live there. They can fly, and they can only tell the truth.”
I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces Reaching the starlight and silver fields
Seren pulled her feet up under her on the chair, and nestled the mug between her hands. "What was it like? Northaven, the Greatwood... I've only been here. And with Mama, of course." Other places, distant lands, far away worlds all seemed so strange to her. Seren couldn't quite picture them, even if she tried to draw them out in her mind like the sketches her father taught her to make.
Biting down on the honeyed bread, she savored the flavors that mingled on the tongue. Bread. Sweet flowery sugar, and the fragrant tea. The shadows in the house were cool and still, familiar shapes she knew and loved. Having Vai there, and the boy sleeping in another room down the hall, was different. Not uncomfortable, yet... it really would have been better if father was home.
"Have you talked to Remi at all today?" she asked around the rim of the cup, blue eyes seeking the woman's gaze. Seren had avoided him for a bit, not wishing to intrude.
Come with the night the science of fighting The forces of gravity
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
”Colder than here, both of them,” Vai told the girl, smiling across the table to her. Northaven was like a little city behind a wall. It had a beach and a forest - quaint, really. But the Greatwood... you should see if your father will take you. I can’t describe it to do it justice.” She winked, blowing the steam from her tea and lifting it to her lips to take a sip. The both felt it, the difference - but for Vai it was the reverse, it seemed. Felix was the only thing that was familiar in this strange new place.
The mention of Remi drew a sad smile from her lips. ”Not today,” she said. ”He has gone to the Hollowed Grounds, to look after your father.” Against all better judgement, but it wasn’t about that. ”They will be back in a couple of days, when the sun comes back up. Until then, I’m holding the fort.”
