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!
Every word could make or break you, make 'em celebrate or hate you
It's still cold in Halo, no matter how the seasons change. When the sun sets, the temperature drops, same as it always does, same as it always will. Though they haven't quite gotten to that point yet, Hester is still scrambling, trying to decide where to go for the evening. Her parents wanted her home hours ago, some task needing an extra pair of hands, and maybe that's why Hester finds herself pointing towards the Kraai instead, despite not having her fiddle on her.
At this point, it's better to come home so late both her parents are asleep, rather than come back now and get told off.
There's a touch of daylight left, maybe half an hour, by her best estimates. More than enough time to walk languidly, follow a wandering path towards the bar. Hester lets her mind, her gaze wander, taking the time to notice things she otherwise wouldn't. The way a patch of untrodden snow sparkled in the light of the flames being lit in windows. The perfect curl of smoke, rising from a chimney. Sometimes, Hester really was thankful for where she lived, for the little beauties in the world. She wondered if they were intentional, lovingly placed there by Gods and spirits, or if they were simple random chance.
Hester was not the only one playing hooky. If Gideon wanted to host a successful sermon the next morning, he knew he really needed to get back to Stormbreak, begin the evening routine, clean the cathedral and put out the candles. Yet, something about the warmth of the Kraai (and, yes, the quality of the booze there) drew him back into it's doors for another hour, the last one he really could excuse before he had to get back.
When he finally left, admittedly a little tipsy (though he hid it well with years of practice, no one but the Priest knowing of the fuzziness behind his eyes), he decided to go on a brief walk through the cold streets to sober up before returning. Was Gideon putting it off a little longer? Perhaps. He loved his work, found it to be important, was passionate about it...but everyone liked to have a break every so often, and the joy of not being recognised here was freeing.
He was looking at the buildings himself, noting how they were different and similar to those in Stormbreak, when a sudden collision knocked him back: he'd thudded into the back of a young girl stopped in the street, staring at something ahead of her. Taking some steps back and holding out a hand to apologise and steady her, he tried to make sure she was alright as he thought Gods, Gideon, Get it together. It's barely been three pints.
"I am awfully sorry about that, Miss. Are you alright?"
Every word could make or break you, make 'em celebrate or hate you
So she had perhaps unwisely stopped in the middle of the path, the pattern of frost on a window catching her eye as it grew and spread. Nothing had ever happened before, despite the increasing regularity that people seemed to be running into her, and the possiblity quite completely slipped her mind. Right up until she was bumped into. She stumbled forwards, taking a few steps to steady herself, and leaning in to the hand that reached out gratefully. "No, I'm sorry, I really should know better." She laughed nervously, and looked up (and up and up) at the man who'd run into her. The fact that he was a stranger set her a little ill at ease, and she pulled away from himdusting herself off in a final check over.
"I'm fine." She confirmed finally, tipping her head to the side. Even if she wasn't, she'd pretend, to not trouble a stranger. Though, her curiosity overode her manners before long, Hester licking her lips before opening her mouth again. "Are you an outlander?" Sure, she wasn't familiar with every single person in Halo, but those born here had a certain look about them, something this man lacked.
Thankfully, it seemed the young lady he had crashed into wasn't going to take too much offense. Smiling as he let his guard down, Gideon was prepared to leave her be and go for the rest of his walk, hoping to let the cool air really sober him down this time (preferably enough that he wouldn't bump into people), when she asked him a question, one that made him pause.
Why would she think he was an Outlander? He almost would had been offended, had it not been such a bizarre question. His confusion was clear on his face as he answered: "No, I'm not. Natural as can be. Why is it you're asking?" Gideon tilted his head to the side. "Are you an Outlander?"
Every word could make or break you, make 'em celebrate or hate you
It seemed her question caught him off guard, a fact that seemed only fair considering how badly he had caught her off guard by bumping into her. "No, I'm not." It's only with a great amount of effort that Hester manages to keep the indignation from her voice; she is clearly a Halo native, whereas he... well, he looks like nothing she's ever seen before. "You don't look like you're from around here. Or... anywhere I know about, really." Narrowing her eyes, Hester leans back, looking him over once again, then gasps, a thought occuring to her suddenly.
"Has somewhere else opened up? Another new land connected to the portal?" Both her hands clap together in front of her, twisting almost as if she's praying, her excitement more than palpable. She may not have left Halo yet, nerves still keeping her in place, but if there was another option open, there was that much more reason to spread her wings and explore.
Hester's equal offense to the question made Gideon smile, the bizarreness of two Naturals accusing each other of being Outlanders not lost on him. "Okay, so we're both Naturals." He stated, chuckling and holding his hands up. "But you're right - I'm not from here. There's a whole world of other places out there, other than Halo." She was young; perhaps she was not very well travelled; this assumption made Gideon decide to go easy on Hester, though possibly added a patronising tone to his voice. "I'm from a city called Stormbreak. Ever heard of it?"
He frowned at the question about portals, not liking her willingness to apparently use them, nor her enthusiasm. "No. Or at least, not as far as I know. I don't use them: don't you know they're of the Voice? Going through them is tantamount to supporting her." Shuddering at the thought, he shook his head. "...What's your name? I can tell the Gods can see a great many possibilities for you, you know." Was this a lie? Well, it wasn't the full truth, but he knew how to get people invested in sermon.
Every word could make or break you, make 'em celebrate or hate you
Eyes narrow at the tone in the stranger's voice, irritation rippling over Hester's shoulders, making her hands ball into fists. "No. I haven't heard of it. Is everyone like you there?" Though she didn't elaborate, it was clear what she thought of him, from just this short experience.
"If you don't use them, then how did you come here?" It felt like a gottem, though that wasn't necessarily Hester's intention. Her arms cross in front of her, brow-raising as she waited for his explanation, his excuse. Though all her brusqueness melted away the instant he said the Gods saw her, saw a possibility for her. Even if it was just empty words, just placations and deceit, Hester couldn't deny the attractiveness of the idea.
The moment of thought, of calculation, was easy to see splashed across her face, though it was impossible to tell what was being weighed, and how. Whatever was decided behind her face was settled with a nod, her gaze returning up to the preacher man's face. "I am Hester Mac Girr an Adhastair." Her name is rattled off in a single breath, and she leans in closer, waiting to hear her potential.
"Like me? I feel like if I knew what you meant I might be hurt, Miss." Gideon feigned offense, a hand on his chest and his eyes closed. "There's a whole range of people back in Stormbreak. Any kind of person you should want to meet." No Ascended, of course, but those weren't the kind of people anyone wanted to meet.
He couldn't help but smile, amused and somewhat endeared, by her crossed arms and straight face, as if she was trying to intimidate him into an answer. "Just as the Voice provided her people with a way to get around, my Gods provided me with one." There was no need to reveal all the Order's secrets, after all. He liked to have some mystery.
The name was long and he widened his eyes at the sound of it, but then Gideon fell back into his easy smile. "Well, Hester. How often do you pray? I think you might find the Gods have things to say to you, Things for you to accomplish, if you would listen."
Every word could make or break you, make 'em celebrate or hate you
His offense had what was probably the desired effect, Hester's cheeks heating and her gaze dropping. She knew better. Still though, she didn't feel badly eough to apologize. It took a moment to click, but Hester lit up all over again at the idea of another city. New lands were all well and good, but a whole new city was something else entirely. "Is it bigger than Snowcloak?"
The specific phrasing he uses keeps Hester from poking at the subject of teleportation. An answer not easily given is one not meant to be given, after all. But her head cocks to the side, and she latches onto to something else. "What do you mean your gods?" There is something else sitting on her tongue, but she gives the man a chance to defend himself, to explain.
"My mother would like it if I prayed more, probably, but I leave my offerings and keeps the gods and spirits in my thoughts." The evasive answer is another rattled off all at once, though more because of nerves than anything else. The strangers continuation had her eyes widening, the prospect of some higher purpose appealing to her, even as her confidence immediately dashes the hope down. "What could I do for the gods?"
Hester, clearly appropriately shamed for her rudeness, didn't receive any more comments on it; as long as she began to show him the respect he deserved, both as her Elder and as a man of the Gods, Gideon would leave her be. "It's far bigger than Snowcloak. Maybe three, four times the size, if not more. This place is...quaint." He settled on, looking around the huddled-together houses, the frosted windows; it was a wildly different environment to the clean and spacious architecture of Stormbreak.
He wasn't expecting her second question, the phrase something he was used to uttering on a day to day basis. "Oh, just a manner of speech. My Gods are Your Gods...I suppose it just differentiates them from the Ascended 'Goddess'." Gideon shrugged, not having meant anything by that specific choice of words.
"Your mother sounds like a smart woman." He commented with a smirk, hands going to sit in his pockets, well aware of how much of an old, boring adult he had to sound at the moment. "You would need to ask them for a definite answer, but there's always work for willing disciples. You may well find yourself at the heart of our world's conflicts and concerns, if you ask genuinely. There's a lot happening at the moment, Hester."
Every word could make or break you, make 'em celebrate or hate you
Snowcloak is the biggest bastion of civilization Hester has ever seen, to imagine something bigger, by three or four times, is mind blowing. How does a place that size support itself? Is it filled with people, or simply stretched out wide? There's too much to even question, Hester barely able to pull her mind together before the man is moving on, responding to her next question.
At first, she nods along to his explanation, but as he continues again, the attuned's head cocks, confusion gripping her. "The... Ascended goddess is different?" Hester is clearly embarassed by her ignorance, her cheeks hot and her hands twisting together, but not enough to keep her cruiosity down. There is a low simmer of distrust for the Voice, the Ascended, but only because they're new, and it has slowly been fading, her urge to welcome new things into her home stronger than her suspicion.
"She is smart." Hester agrees, more to praise her mother than to agree with the man. But there are still doubts, her own lack of confidence, combined with the man's suddenly washy answer, getting the best of her. "I don't think I could do anything for the Gods. I... I'm content to simply serve them in my daily life." Better to be quietly pious than rejected.
Was education on Godly matters really so lacking in Halo? Gideon blinked in surprise at Hester's question, the Voice's otherness usually a given in any conversation he had. Once he'd had a moment to get over his shock he nodded and leaned forward to touch her elbow, brows furrowed, wanting his next words to really reach her: "The Ascended Goddess is not a Goddess at all, but a mortal attempting to ruin all the Gods have given us." He leaned back after, but there was still an intensity in his eyes, the desire for Hester to truly understand.
"There is an obvious way you could serve the Gods; to learn more of them and their past, and the challenges that face them, and all those that serve." He said, perhaps a touch harsher than he had to, still trying to get over Hester's lack of knowledge. "How can you know you are serving them well in your daily life when you don't even know what it is they need?"
Every word could make or break you, make 'em celebrate or hate you
"I didn't know that." There is a part of Hester that doesn't quite believe the man, his harsh judgements, but at the same time, was this not already something she'd heard in whispers, things her parents had murmured about when the portals first opened. When her mother warned her away from them. There had to be a place she could learn more about this, and for the first time in her short life, she actually considered praying at a shrine, seeking an audience.
Again, a tinge of embarrassment flushes Hester's cheeks, has her eyes dropping away from this stranger and to the ground, a weak shrug rolling over her shoulders. "I... I don't know. I suppose... I can't be serving them well." It stings, to be told she has been lacking, and yet, fills her with the fire of change. "I will... I'll have to do... something." Hester bites her lip, considering, then offers the man a short bow. "Thank you for your advice." She says quickly, before rushing off, making a beeline for home, to prepare an offering.
