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 forest had felt different in the wake of her internal crisis. She begged the spirits and divine beings of the wood to help her find meaning - some place in the world in which she could contribute something - anything - that might bring her father pride. So far, she had been met with silence, her patience being tested. And so it was to the Stonesong she went, hoping that a good cleansing in its cold waters would clear her mind and soul. It was a path she had traversed hundreds of times, her soul's companion Tishy equally accustomed to the trail. And yet, as they arrived, the Cat Sith's shadows pulsed, green eyes locking on some unseen thing in the distance. She sniffed the air before yowling at her companion, and the daughter of Mort stared at her curiously. "A soul?" she said, brow furrowing a bit.
Upon concentrating more, the nail of her forefinger drawing circles against the pad of her thumb, she realized indeed that a person lay somewhere beyond the bushes lining the river. How strange... in that direction lay the elemental storms. Who in their right mind would try to traverse that way?
Delphia decided she had little to lose in this venture, and followed Tishy over some rocks and across the Stonesong, seeking out whoever it was that lay beyond, soul calling and disturbing the spiritual realm of the Greatwood.
08-15-2020, 08:10 PM (This post was last modified: 08-15-2020, 08:11 PM by NPC.)
I don't understand what I'm seeing.
It's me, I can see that quite clearly, but it also can't be, because I'm right here.
I'm right (I try and touch my face, but I feel nothing. There's resistance where my cheeks should be, but I don't feel any warmth, I don't feel the texture of my skin, I don't-) here
I look up to see the bright-eyed stare of a cat sith, and instantly I'm filled with dread.
"N..nno. No, no, no, no, nononono!." I drop to my knees, pleading before the small creature. "Please, I was only looking! I didn't mean for—" I look down at my face, laying in the grass. My beautiful skin has all but been sand-blasted away.
Tishy is indeed the first to find the spirit, sitting before it curiously. As tempting as her soul-light was, she knew better than to play with it. Delphia had taught her this. So instead she trilled a meow, purring as she too wavered before entering the same plane of existence as the dead girl. The cat stepped forward, rubbing it's head against the knees of the spirit.
Feeling Tishy transcend to Mort's realm, Delphia too stepped from one world to the other, finding herself standing before a very distraught young spirit as she rounded a bend. It was clear just what had happened based on the corpse nearby. "Do not fret. Your suffering is behind you." Delphia said softly, offering her hands to the girl. Here, in this form, she could be felt and touched, in ways that were now beyond the girl in the living realm. Hopefully it would ground her, and allow her to calm herself. "What were you looking at? Did you find what you sought?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
I inhale sharply when I see Delphia. We all know who she is, and if she's here...gods.
"FUCK." I groan, rubbing at my eyes harshly with hands that still feel like they're covered in sand. Folding my arms I give her a look and try not to snap at her. "I mean..I wasn't really suffering up until the end. " I say, almost pouting. "The sandstorm had ... well it almost seemed to fade, and I thought...well.." Can ghosts blush? I feel like I'm blushing.
"I thought I saw a qilin.." I blink up at the demigoddess knowing how ridiculous it sounds. But I swear I did. "But then there were all these weird..like...crab things. But instead of shells, they were inside of skulls. I tried to run away, but the storm..." I sigh.
Well. At least she wasn't as distraught as before if she was swearing like that. She would count it as a success.
Delphia listened to her tale, warm, loving smile never leaving her face. But curiosity sparked in her pale gaze. The sandstorm...faded? Qilins? Skull inhabiting crabs? "Well, if that isn't a tale to entertain Mort, then no such tale exists." she said with a grin, still pondering her words. Tishy meowed again, rubbing against the spirit's ankles, utterly disinterested in the conversation but ever entranced by her soul light. At least there was some entertainment. "But I can understand it would be vexing, to have seen these things and not get to the bottom of their appearance." Such things could bind spirits to Vi and Rae's realms, making it difficult for her to move them on to Mort.
But...she had asked for greater purpose had she not? Was this the woods' way of granting her wish?
"Would you show me the place you entered?" she asked, grinning a bit. "I cannot help but be intrigued. Such a tale of the storms has never been spun."
"I'm not lying." I protest unhappily as Delphia mentions that it's a tale for Mort. I frown, wondering if there will be any supernatural repercussions for picking a fight with the demigoddess who is meant to lead me into the afterlife.
Reaching down to pet the kitten—I always did like cats—I look up sharply as again the implication of this all being a lie rings brightly in my ears. "Well, the storm is back now, you can practically see it from here." I sass unhappily. I am not making this up. "And I already died once today, so i'm not too keen on going back. But by all means, go ahead."
Delphia tilted her head at the girl, laughing lightly when she realized the misunderstanding. "I don't think you're lying, and I truly thing Mort will enjoy hearing about this adventure." she said, smiling at her warmly. Frankly, anything was possible within the sandstorm. No one really knew why it was there, or how it had come to be, or what sustained it. That it now suddenly seemed to be fading - fading enough for a young woman to explore long enough to spot Qilins and other such creatures - sparked her curiosity.
When she declined to show where where exactly it had faded at, Delphia nodded in understanding. She had hoped that she would be more willing...but she had already told her much. "I understand." the seer said, glancing over where the sandstorm once again raged. "If it will comfort you, I will continue your investigation. When next the sandstorm fades."
Hmmph. Well, I don't entirely know what to believe, but I suppose there's no use arguing about it now. "I mean, it isn't like I'll be around to be comforted by it." I grumble unhappily. I've just died after all, I'm allowed to be a wee bit upset about the whole thing.
"But I mean..if you do, watch out for those crab things. I just thought they were a bunch of skulls until they started moving around. They were chasing me before I even know what happened." I huff. "And here I thought Qilin were supposed to be signs of good luck."
08-15-2020, 09:19 PM (This post was last modified: 08-15-2020, 09:19 PM by Delphia.)
Delphia
"Perhaps not here, but you will know if it. I promise." Delphia said gently. She was allowed to be upset, so long as she accepted what was to come next. She could not allow her to stay when there was nothing to hold her here. The curiosity that killed her would indeed be satisfied - that was the greatest comfort Delphia could offer her in that moment.
She did, however, take note about the crab things. Whatever skulls lay hidden in the sandstorm were not to be assumed for what they were. The seer nodded to her wisdom. "Thank you for your guidance, I will take it to heart." she said with a soft smile, offering her hand once more. "Perhaps your luck was being found by this cat sith, and not one more interested in collecting you for themself." she said with a raised brow. That, she thought, would have been far worse luck than death. Tishy meowed her agreement. "But now it is time for you to go and rest." she said softly.
I consider her words for a moment. She..had a point. Being batted about like a toy for all eternity didn't actually seem like that great of a plan. Even so, surely I could have just..avoided death altogether.
I just had to go out alone, trying to prove myself. If I wasn't already dead, Nephele and Co would kill me for being so careless. "Okay well...up up and away, or whatever." I mumble, scratching the kitten one last time before standing and giving Delphia an uncertain stare. It's my first time being dead after all, so I'm not exactly sure what comes next. "If you see that qilin in there, tell it fuck you from me."
Death's daughter smiled at the spirit warmly, glad that she was willing to go, but appreciating the uncertainty of it. Very few ever entered Mort's realm without some small sense of trepidation. At her finally request, Delphia could not help but laugh, the sound seeing far more in its element in the realm of the spirits than it ever did amongst the living. "I will gladly convey the message." she said with a grin.
With that said, the demigoddess focused on calling the girl's soul to her, and soon enough the spirit dissipated, replaced by the round, silvery soul light. Tishy watched it with excitement, chittering and chattering at it as if it were a bird. Lifting her hand to the sky, Delphia sent the soul up, up, and away to the halls of her father, where she could rest.
Her task done, Delphia slowly reanimated, her form once again solid. "Well, Tishy, it seems we have an adventure to prepare for." she said with a smile, before heading back into the Greatwood. As for the body...well...the woods would take care of it.
