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!
Smother me with pillows and kindness, in which I have never seen
Please slit my perfect throat with the knife that I gave you
As he let the Voice take him in her arms, Sam let go of the last of the objections in his mind, at least for the moment. It was still true that he had never experienced a peace or love like that which the Voice could give and in that moment, the forgiveness she gave him was powerful indeed, the overwhelming nature of her maternal love bringing tears to his eyes.
He gasped with sudden relief as his strength returned and with it the lump in his throat disappeared at once; hoping his Goddesses words were true with all of his heart, Sam leaned back enough to look up into her face. "...Thank you. Are...are the other Ascended mad at me?" He asked, clear anxiety in his face. "I'm worried they might attempt to hurt me."
i'll be your hope, i'll be your love, be everything that you need.
Smoothing his hair down with her hands and smiling sadly at him, the Voice merely let her head shake softly. "Some are. I think more so because of what happened during LongNight. This was all...poor timing." It was an understatement, but the Voice was quite sure that Sam was well aware of the ramifications of his actions. He didn't need her to further underscore past mistakes made.
"It may take them time to forgive you, and that's okay my bright one. Don't force it. You must show them what you have showed me. All of us make mistakes." She said encouragingly, as any mother might when there was dissension among her children.
Smother me with pillows and kindness, in which I have never seen
Please slit my perfect throat with the knife that I gave you
Sam nodded, though he still felt privately that if they had gone with Wessex's plan for Longnight the ramifications would have been much worse; not that his idea was good, but...he sighed, trying to let go of that attitude, knowing it wasn't going to help anyone. "I understand." For a moment he closed his eyes and stayed safe in the moment, his mothers fingers in his hair...then took a breath and leaned away, knowing he couldn't remain forever.
"Thank you. Um, for taking me back and talking to me." He said, taking some steps away from the shrine. Hands clasped together he spoke with his eyes to the ground, but now from respect rather than disgust. "I'm...going to try and do better. I want you to be proud of me."
i'll be your hope, i'll be your love, be everything that you need.
"I will always be here for you Sam." The Voice said, letting him go with a maternal smile of affection.
"We are all trying to do better. Don't ever forget that we are all striving to be more. We should always try to make each other proud." Many of Sam's problems it seemed, came from always feeling as though he lacked things everyone else had. But he didn't, truly. He just saw his failings under a magnifying glass and worried over them until they consumed him.
While her ascended weren't human in the strictest sense, they were fallible in many ways. And like Sam, the Voice too was trying to improve herself, if only to improve them.
"We will speak soon." She said with a final smile, before disappearing in a frame of electricity.
