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!
With your big heart, you praise God above, but how's it working out for you, honey?
Whatever had overtaken Bastien, it was refusing to easily let him go; he found his head full of a deep, difficult fog which clouded his every decision. He had just enough presence of mind to make sure Azrael was cared for, finding those that weren't sick and organising who could care for his child in his absence: it would take the world itself stopping to prevent Bastien from making sure Azrael was safe.
He'd come to the Oasis with the thought splashing some water on his face might help, somehow, and he felt bizarrely thirsty. Of course, he knew logically what it was he thirsted for, but with no one around he could bite, Bastien hoped he might be able to relieve himself with that which used to hydrate his body. At the very least, it kept him out of people's way for the moment.
Finally reaching the edge of the water after a while of wandering, he knelt and dipped his hands into the dim depths of the Oasis, bringing the water up to his face. In the evening air, it was refreshingly cool, even if his dimmed sense of temperature could not fully appreciate it...but it seemed to do little to satisfy his thirst. Sighing, he stared down at his reflection, begging it to tell him what was wrong.
Loren didn't know how long he'd been in the Hollowed Ground, but he'd tried to return to Halo. Unfortunately, the woods around the Spire had become too similar looking, and he'd lost his way. Eventually, he stumbled upon the Oasis again.
This time, though, he wasn't the only one there. Bastien was kneeling at the edge of the water, cupping it in his hands. "B-Bastien?" The healer blinked.
Then he cried out. "No. Get away. It's trying to hurt you." He stumbled forward, throwing a hand ahead of him.
And the water of the Oasis erupted away from the Ascended. The Firebrand's magic held it at bay. However, he felt sweat break out on his brow from even that effort and sagged.
Combined with his bedraggled appearance, it wasn't a good look. He kept moving forward though, step by step. As he did, he moved the water farther and farther back.
With your big heart, you praise God above, but how's it working out for you, honey?
The sound of his name being spoken was enough to distract Bastien from his contemplation at the water's edge; He hardly had time to react and see who it was before there was a mighty rushing sound of water being pushed away, Loren's magic taking a sudden command over the Oasis; Bastien scrambled back away from the edge, the loud noise alarming him more than it usually would.
"What are you doing??" Bastien yelled, turned to look at Loren with a deep frown on his face, angry that he had been interrupted when he felt he might have been close to some kind of revelation. "I almost had it! The answer!" With his own ranting and wild gesturing, the mud on his usually pristine clothes and dirt in his hair, Bastien certainly didn't look the picture of health either, though in that moment he felt as if he were addressing someone far worse off than himself.
Brow furrowed in concentration, Loren took another step forward. Then his hands twisted in the air. As they did, his magic lashed out, and the water he'd pushed back froze immediately. It was perfectly clear, with fish, plants, and other aquatic flora and fauna caught inside.
Sagging, he eventually stumbled and feel into a kneeling position. Leaning forward, he placed his hands on the muddy earth. "It lies," he hissed in response to Bastien's words.
The healer looked up, meeting the artist's eyes. "There are no answers in the water. Only in the fire." The Firebrand began crawling forward, though not in a straight line but in a random and erratic series of movements.
However, Astra planted herself in his path. She bleated and nosed him. Sighing, he stopped and moved into a cross-legged seated positon. When he finished, she crawled into his lap.
With your big heart, you praise God above, but how's it working out for you, honey?
Bastien flinched again at the sight of the water now freezing, staring at the strange spectacle of the still sculpture before him. With the way the world had been shifting and changing with each second in recent days, he couldn't quite tell if it was an illusion: he knew Loren was magically talented, and it was entirely possible this was all some kind of trick. As he turned to see Loren hiss somewhat ominous words, that fear grew in it's certainty.
"What is your aim? Why are you doing this?" He asked, watching Astra with a clearly confounded expression, the mini-luxere's presence only adding to the bizarreness of the whole situation.
As Loren sat down he began to crawl forward, grasping a clump of dirt and grass in his hand and throwing it in the healer's direction. "I was about to find out the answer!"
09-13-2020, 07:09 PM (This post was last modified: 09-13-2020, 07:10 PM by Loren.)
The ice immediately began to melt in the Longheat temperature, sparkling droplets of water sliding towards the bed of the Oasis. Loren ignored it, as well as the clump of dirt that slammed into his shoulder, leaving streaks behind. Instead, he fixed all his attention on Bastien. For a moment, the healer said nothing.
Then he licked his lips. Shaking his head, he rasped, "No. You weren't." He shivered, arms coming up to hug around his chest.
Astra nosed them aside. Instead, he encircled her, burying his face in her fur. Voice muffled, he continued, "The answers can't be found here. The Hollowed Ground is just that, hollow and empty."
He lifted his head, showing off eyes that were fever bright. "You have to go up. Up, up, up to find the answers you seek." Grinning, he swayed a bit in his seat. "But you go down first."
With your big heart, you praise God above, but how's it working out for you, honey?
Loren's denial enraged Bastien, more than was reasonable, but his delirious mind wanted to latch onto something to hate, to fight against. The revelation that Rexanna was dead came to him fresh every hour or so and it was fueling an emotional turmoil in him that could lead to an explosion soon. "You don't know that. What do you know?" Bastien wanted to snipe back with some comment, but he couldn't recall anything Loren had done. Still, he kept his angered gaze consistent, glaring at the Healer as if he were guilty of a great crime.
"The Grounds are not empty." He insisted, a growl in his voice as Bastien began to crawl over to Loren. "There are people here who have suffered a great deal. They thrive. They continue. They are not nothing. You-- you--" His mind continuously letting go of threads of thought, the rest of Bastien's speech was a murmured mess. The whole time he mumbled it he kept dragging himself forwards, reaching out for Loren.
As Bastien dragged himself forward, Loren did the same. Reaching out his own hand, he clasped the artist's. The healer licked his lips and stared into the other man's eyes. "I know enough," he croaked.
Lifting his gaze to the wall of ice behind Bastien, Loren sighed. Letting go of the artist's hand, the healer shifted into a kneeling position. "I know...I know...I know the people of the Hollowed Ground are wonderful." He shook his head and it traveled down his whole body as he shivered. "But they don't have the answers. Neither does the water."
Laughing, he dug his hands into the mud as fur rippled along his arms and feathers appeared in his hair. "You have to climb. Go to the land of fire. Get to it through the land of ice. The Climb." He growled. "Not water. Never water."
With your big heart, you praise God above, but how's it working out for you, honey?
His hand being clasped surprised Bastien enough to momentarily stop his crawl forwards, to make him pause and try to listen to what Loren was saying, though it was difficult through the fog of paranoia and rage circling his mind. "We aren't looking for the same answers. You don't even know the question." He said finally (though, admittedly, he had begun to forget just what the question had been too).
At this point, Loren was just rambling incoherently. Shaking his head Bastien wrenched his hand away, trying to stand up. He stumbled, unsure of his footing, but managed to stand, looking down at the healer and shaking his head. "You've...you ruined this for me." He mumbled, clear disgust in his voice that in normal circumstances would be hard to imagine, then began to walk away.
Peering at Bastien, Loren frowned. "Then you're asking the wrong questions. Because the answers are in the Climb." Rocking back and forth in his seat, he sighed. Astra bleated and crawled into his lap. Settling down, he stroked her with muddy hands, leaving dark streaks in her fur.
Making no move to follow the artist, the healer just stared at the other man as he departed. "I saved you," the Firebrand called. Looking down at his companion, he smiled. "He'll understand eventually."
With that he set her aside and staggered to his feet. Turning, he began to weave towards the trees. His steps were far from steady, and he had to stop to rest quite often.
