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!
Ronin brings two offerings to the Aumakua this time, and he will continue to do so for the rest of his days. One is for his lady of the stars - a large bouquet of ghostly white lilies that glow as softly as luxere antlers. The other is for his starchild, Ronin having procured a small, stuffed toy in the shape of a blue dragon. He arranges them both carefully upon the shrine, the Star lit by the glow of a full moon and the clear, dazzling night sky.
”I know you’re taking perfect care of her, so I’ll not be so insulting as to ask if she’s alright,” he says softly, taking a knee before the offerings. ”But I’m sure you know by now that something strange is happening again. I was afraid, at first, that it might be another form of the Blight. But...”
But what, exactly? Ronin doesn’t know. It still could be. ”I could use your guidance, Safrin. I... I need you.”
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
She's there before the last words leave his lips. Brighter perhaps for the incantation-like quality that his choice of phrasing holds, Safrin appears on the steps before her Star. A gown of pale white light contours around her, as perfectly painted lips smile fondly down upon him. "She is learning the names of the stars and the galaxies." The goddess answers, pride making her cheeks colour prettily. "She's even named a few as well." Safrin adds, beaming.
The world might be burning itself from the inside out, but Safrin will always take the time to praise her daughter. Such is her vanity and her love for her family.
"It is not the blight, no..." The goddess replies stiffly as she reaches for the bouquet of lilies. Ronin is not the only one marred by memories of that specific time, and for a moment Safrin's smile is soured at the mention of it. "It's strange...the infection spread and has now...stopped."
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
Pride shines from Ronin, too, as he hears of their daughter’s education of the cosmos. He’s glowing more brightly than the flowers he’s brought for Safrin, the Star smiling up at her and remaining where he is even as the goddess shifts and moves around him. His ears are keen for any news that she might have, or anything she can rule out; indeed, the mere confirmation that this is not the blight has his shoulders relaxing, Ronin sighing out a breath of relief.
But to hear that the infection has stopped? His brow furrows. ”So it was contagious for a time, but now not so any more?” he asks, trying to make sense of it. ”Where could it have come from? I’m... I want to try and find a cure for it, if there’s one out there. But I don’t know where to start. Especially with Remi, Amalia, Sunjata... and all of the others sick as they are. They’re dangerous to themselves, Safrin.”
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
Safrin nods, her dark stare lingering on the scruff that lines Ronin's jaw. "Yes. Though whether it has stopped because its getting what it needs, or simply because its run out of energy, I don't know." She nods knowingly as he mentions wanting to find a cure. "Many more than just them." Safrin adds, though for them both, those are certainly the most worrying of the infected.
"All signs point to it having originated in the Climb, though..." The goddess shrugs and waves a hand. Where her fingers pass an illusion of the rocky crust of the Climb appears. Lava bubbles and spews into the sea as hellhounds race across the mantle. "I would have expected an area bathed in fire to be free of nearly any type of life, save for those specifically designed to withstand it." Perhaps that explained the fevers?
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
”Many more...” Ronin hisses a curse under his breath, rubbing his eyes and slowly rising to his feet to properly inspect the Climb as Safrin conjures it before them. His brow furrows to see the gouts of lava, the barren earth, and he shakes his head. It simply doesn’t make sense. But then he remembers, suddenly - Amalia talking about how Vi had changed her, how Kiada had died. And the details of it all swim back, murmured into the night while they were drinking wine and pouring out their hearts.
”Amalia went to the Climb,” he says. ”She said there was... a god, up there. Tanau, I think? Do you suppose it could be related?” It doesn’t;t explain why Ronin isn’t sick, given that Amalia had visited them soon after. But if it’s as random as Safrin suggests... it could be a possibility.
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"I suppose it could be...although I can't believe Tanau could be the cause of it." Safrin shakes her head. Though the seasonal spirits hold allegiances closer to Rae (which is to say, they're fairly unbound in their piety), she's always been rather fond of the firey being. For all the assumptions about him, he's kind and thoughtful in his own cinder-sweet way. He wouldn't do this. "He...so many hear fire and think him some hot-headed monster. But he isn't."
The Climb disappears, leaving Safrin gazing up at Ronin as he stands brooding over her. "I'll not go there, Ronin." She says in a low voice. "I'll not risk becoming infected with something again. Not when Seren is with me." Her head gives a definitive shake. As much love as she has for him and his needs, she'll not risk their daughter to save his husband and his friends.
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
Safrin doesn’t believe Tanau to be the cause of all of this, and her faith is more than enough to bolster his own; Ronin nods and ruffles his fingers through his hair, watching the fire-clad realm disappear into smoke and starlight. ”Perhaps he knows who did, then,” he says - despite all that has happened, it is so natural, the way Ronin fits back into their dynamic. To be Safrin’s hands when she cannot interfere herself.
”I would never expect you to. Not with Seren at risk,” he agrees with a nod of agreement. ”And nor would I expect you to come near me, should I contract something.” She says the infection has stopped, but there’s nothing to say it might not start again. ”But I will go. I need to find out how this happened, and how to stop it. There are to many people at risk.” The Climb, then. She’s already given him more than he could hope for, more than a starting point.
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"Perhaps...though..he isn't so easy to find." This isn't Safrin's way of shooting down her Star's suggestion, she only wants him to manage his expectations. "Tanau's agenda is his own. He won't simply come when he's called, no matter what his reappearance might have done to the world outside the Climb."
Were he closer, she'd have reached for him. Instead, she merely gazes adoringly up at him from where she sits curled on the steps, sighing lavishly into the space between them. "I have had to keep my distance already. Amalia, Deimos, Sunjata..." All have come to see her, and though for the sake of the relationships they've cultivated with her she's appeared to them, she's kept them more than at arm's-length.
"There is a spring that runs in the caverns of the Climb, or did, once upon a time. I've no idea if Frey has kept those waters running, but...they will quench more than thirst should you need it."
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
Ronin nods his understanding; he’s dealt with spirits previously, not all of them pleasant, and even things like the LongNight monsters remind him well that things with their own agenda may not be simple or easy to find. ”I’ll do my best. Perhaps I can learn how I can tempt him to speak with me. Or at least find someone else who knows more about the Climb than I do.”
It might be a rare thing these days, but for once Ronin does want to go to Safrin, though he knows better than to close the distance given that he’s been so close to Remi for so long. Even if he doesn’t have any symptoms, he remembers the Blight too well to take any chance. Especially for Seren. ”At least you came to see them,” he’s has with a small smile, tilting his head as she speaks of the spring within the Climb.
That it could quench more than just thirst... He frowns gently. ”Perhaps I’ll have to pay a visit regardless.” Could it break a fever, he wonders?
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
"He is a playful soul. Likes heat and metal." Safrin offers. In truth, she doesn't have much in the way of suggestions. Tanau will either find Ronin interesting enough to seep out of whatever dark crack he is broiling away in, or he won't.
"There are things specially designed to live in the dark and the heat. Things unlike any that you've seen before...huntsman though you've proven yourself to be, do take care. The Climb is...it is a trial, all unto itself."
There is also no easy way of getting to the Climb, although..."Perhaps the journey through Halo might help alleviate some of the symptoms of the infected...the cold is sure to bring their fevers down. It might grant them some clarity."
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
Ronin makes a mental note of all of these things, reminding himself to actually write them down when he manages to get a second, because his mind is not quite as infallible as his body is becoming. Whilst he takes Safrin’s warnings to heart - and he does, having absolutely no intention of getting himself killed out there in the Climb, let alone putting anyone else in danger - he can’t help but flash her a crooked smile for her trouble. ”I’ll bring you a couple of trophies, for my return,” he tells her.
And the added tidbit about Halo? Ronin’s eyes widen a fraction; he nods with clear reverence, offering his lady of the stars a bow worthy of a baron. ”You,” he says, ”are forever a light in the darkness. I’ll do all I can to make it so that your followers can approach you again - in full health, this time.”
sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
The thrill Safrin feels to hear him say so is not something she could put into words. Mortals, for how fleeting and fickle they could be, offering the gods something that their eternal lives and epistemic-scopes simply lack: whimsy. Optimism. Love. Her smile spreads slowly, cheeks alight with girlish charm as she beams at him. "I will eagerly await your return, as I always do."
Nearly does she reach for him then. If she pulled him to her now, would he forget his addled-love, sickly in bed? Would he succumb to the needs of his flesh; an itch that dreams simply can't scratch the way she could? Sighing softly, Safrin nods. "You are a good man, Ronin Taliesin."
but in your dreams whatever they be, dream a little dream of me
She graces him with a smile - a real one - and Ronin can’t help the way his cheeks flush, the bashful flare of being recognised by a goddess still something that feels brand new. He will never tire of it, he doesn’t think - but then perhaps that’s the point. And then she calls him a good man, and he inhales a shaky breath, almost wanting to refute her. But he doesn’t. ”For all my sins, I think I just might be. If you believe it, then anything is possible.”
With a soft laugh, he straightens up and lets out a long, deep sigh, seeming to steel himself for the tasks that are to come. ”I’ll see you soon, then. Probably with much more of a tan.” If the Climb is as hot as they say, he’ll be lucky to get away with only that much.
