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!
The place he came from did sound oppressive in the real way, she suppose. Here there were not really classes, not yet; no money meant no real riches, just some people who happened to have a little more than others. Min personally did not like people who surrounded themselves with material goods; her own house had a very Spartan feel to it.
That anyone could be bothered about who consenting adults were having sex with confused her so much she was quiet for a moment as she tried to work out what the problem could be. As far as she was concerned the world would be simpler if no one had sex, but gender was not a reasonable limit.
"So you like it here and intend to stay." She stated flatly, taking a draw from her drink. "Wonderful." Her theory of people coming over intentionally resurfaced.
"You sound like you have attempted to lift the barrier. So have you been to the Spire? How was it?"
"I have no choice but to stay and luckily I have found that I like it here," Ronin corrected with a smirk, knocking a finger gently against the side of his mug. "Though it would please us both, I have no doubt, if we were able to spread out a little more and stop encroaching on your home. Though the majority of the native people I have met have been accommodating in a way that has surprised me..."
This young woman notwithstanding, of course. In fact he thought that this was the first person he'd come across (apart from that Ascended - Wessex, was her name?) who had treated him even remotely how he'd have expected to be treated.
"I can't say we have attempted to lift the barrier, but I have been to the Spire and I've seen and fought the monster that guards it. It was pleasant, if you discount my new scars and my stint in the infirmary." Ronin's voice was fairly cheerful, but his blue eyes had hardened a little. Thinking about that first fight always put into perspective how woefully underprepared they had been.
TALIESIN
SO LOOK, AND CONNECT
WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST
HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST
"The people here do not recognise the danger." Min instantly replied, frowning though not at Ronin; as horrified as she would be if she noticed, she was more confiding in him now than accusing him.
The news about the monster was interesting. Min had never dared to go to the spire. Not out of fear, not quite. She just knew she was unprepared and alone, and whatever laid there was more fierce than her two knives. Whatever it was, it had been enough to keep people from going there for many years.
"You are lucky you are not dead. Many who go near the spire or near the barrier do not make it back." In her voice there was just a hint of sadness, a memory of somebody long gone, but she managed to keep it mostly under control. "What did the monster look like? How many men do you think you'd need to take it down?"
"Mm... something similar happened where I was from. You recognise it, though." He smiled crookedly as he pointed it out; regardless, she was still talking to 'the danger' and sharing a drink with it right now. This was not really the time for smiles, however, not when they were speaking of the Spire and the thing that had killed so many both before and after Ronin had arrived in the Hollowed Ground.
He stared into his mug, frowning thoughtfully. "So I have been told." He sighed. "It looks like... a person, perhaps, once upon a time. Emaciated, with long and skeletal limbs. And its mouth is not... how a mouth ought to be. Stretched too wide, filled with teeth. It has no eyes, but it is able to scent and find prey with incredible ease." Absently his hand drifted to his shoulder, where the creature had tried to take a bite out of him.
Clearing his throat and taking a sip of his drink, he lifted his gaze to hers once more. "I'm not sure. I feel like bringing too many men might be needlessly throwing fodder against it. A few exceptional warriors and an airtight plan is a better plan, in my opinion."
TALIESIN
SO LOOK, AND CONNECT
WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST
HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST
His description of the spire monster was vivid enough for Min to develop an image of it in her mind. For years it had just been a hulking darkness in her imagination, a vaguely evil presence lingering just under the surface of the town. To actually have a form to give the idea was both exciting and somehow even more terrifying.
"You need magic." She insisted after hearing his plan. "Not just brute force. Magic, and animals. Everything you can have for a varied attack. This is...perhaps the only way in which the Outlanders taking on the task is good. You will move in ways the monster will not see coming...there must be different tactics for fights in your world."
As she considered this, Min took a drink; she was surprised to find she was coming to the end of her mug. Had she been talking to this Outlander for so long? She looked Ronin up and down out of the corner of her eyes.
"I would not go back out there until your child is born. You are not guaranteed to see the birth if you keep this mission up."
"Magic and animals," Ronin echoed, his tone a touch wry; in another time and place, he was sure, this conversation would border on the insane. Luckily for the two of them, he came from a place where this was the norm. What's more... "We had that last time, but I think we went in woefully underprepared. It won't happen again." His blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and he lifted his mug again to find that his, too, was nearly gone.
Shrugging his shoulders, he shot her a warm smile. "Whilst you might be right, I still don't think we'll get far in any endeavour without the knowledge and experience of those who lived here long before us," he said. "Together, perhaps, we can finally rid this place of the thing." Not as Natives, not as Outlanders. As one kind, determined to survive whatever the Spire had to throw at them.
"I don't intend to, but if people decide to rally for it, I'll be hard pressed to stay behind." Admitting that was tough, but no less true. He had marks to pay that monster back for. "Speaking of my child and its mother, however, I probably ought to go home to them." Ronin smirked. "Would you like another drink before I leave?"
TALIESIN
SO LOOK, AND CONNECT
WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST
HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST
His sentiments of coming together to defeat the spire demon drew an impressed frown from Min, her nose wrinkling at the idea. Despite her earlier weakness, where she had almost considered Ronin an acquaintance, she now thought who do these Outlanders think they are? with very little time given to consider the idea of a true united front.
"No. I do not like to be inebriated. Go back to your woman. I..." She paused for a moment. As much as he was an Outlander, as much as she thought him foolhardy, Ronin had been kind to her. "...I...hope your child is healthy. Goodbye."
Ronin smiled and nodded his understanding, rising to his feet after draining the dregs of his mug. He couldn't claim the same distaste for inebriation, but he was at least more careful than he had been in his youth. "It was good to talk to you," he murmured. Even if he hadn't caught her name, in the end. Still, the guildmaster patted his pockets and made sure he had everything he needed before sidling out from the table, offering her a friendly wave.
"As do I. If you would like to talk again, about the Spire or anything else, I have a guildhall in the Settlement. The doors are always open," he said, shooting another parting smile before he turned to head out of the Rathskeller and into the night.
{END THREAD}
TALIESIN
SO LOOK, AND CONNECT
WE'RE REFUSING TO RUST
HEALING HAS TO BEGIN IN THE PAST
