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!
All night, Loren had tossed and turned. Finally, he'd thrown off his covers, knowing he wouldn't sleep anymore that night. Dressing in the dark and sipping from the waterskin that held some of the precious liquid from Frey's Breath, he'd left the Citadel before dawn.
Making the trek out to the Sea of Glass, Astra by his side, he'd settled on the very edge of the ice. As the sun rose, painting the sky in fingers of pink, yellow, and orange that chased the dark blue of night from the sky, he watched the dawn creep across the land. Once he reached the small shrine, he smiled and sank down beside it.
He stared out across the expanse of frozen water. Though his breath puffed in the freezing air, forming small clouds of white, he didn't feel the cold. As he shifted into a cross-legged position in the snow, the luxere crawled into his lap. Gloved hands stroked her, and he drew the peace that she brought him with her very presence in to his very bones.
As he sat there, he meditated. Breathed deeply, in through his nose, out through his mouth. He checked in with every muscle and focused on the points where his body was connected to the earth. As he did, he tried to let his worries slough off him. Tried to let the stillness of the waking world fill him. Tried, above all, to find his center.
The voice is as multifaceted as a diamond. Both masculine and feminine, whimsical and severe, interested and dispassionate.
"Despite the rumours that suggest the opposite."
Another voice, and yet one that is precisely the same, adds.
Together the twins stand, clothed in robes of a gentle and unremarkable brown. If the cold bothers them at all they give no indication of it as they turn barefoot on the ice to regard both the hybrid and his companion. With eyes of piercing spring-green, hands clasped comfortably before them, they are as aloof as they are entrancing.
As the voice spoke, Loren glanced up at them. Voices, rather. He looked between the two figures and as he did his breath caught in his throat. He knew them, in some deep instinctual way that he couldn't articulate, couldn't put into words.
Although he was rooted to the spot, Astra had no such trouble. She sprang from his lap and bleated, dashing between the twins. Her antics caused the healer to laugh.
Looking out over the water, he smiled. "I wonder how the rumors got started," he mused. Then he looked back at the mysterious beings.
"Astra likes you." Likes was an understatement: he could feel the pure adoration flowing through the bond with his companion. Clearing his throat, he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry if my presence here disturbed you. I was just trying to find some peace in all this." He gestured at the starkly beautiful landscape all around them.
One of the twins kneels, their skin nearly as pale as the snow into which their shin presses. With hands that know every muscle and fibre of Astra's being, they softly stroke the young luxere.
"How all rumours are started, I expect. Ignorance and need."
It's hard to know which twin is speaking. Their voices are audible, and yet there is a telepathic quality to them just the same. The twin fussing over Astra merely nods their head, acknowledging that the summoner has said something true but offering no other commentary.
As one of the twins stroked Astra she pressed herself against them. Although she was practically quivering with excitement, she settled and relaxed under their hands. Loren's smile deepened as he felt the unbridled joy from her.
Nodding at their answer to his off-handed remark, he felt relief course through him when they responded to his apology. Unable to determine which twin was speaking, he turned and scooted backwards a bit so he could reply to both of them at once. "This. Nature."
He gestured again at the world around him. "The open sky and the snow and the ice and the rising sun." Dropping his hand into his lap, he nodded. "I have." His eyes crinkled and he let out his breath with a small and contented sigh.
In unison, they nod, the twin with the longer hair tucking a strand behind their ear as they stand up from the snow. Their features are strikingly similar, and while they do in some vague sense portray recognizable traits that lean more masculine or feminine, there is something otherworldly about their appearance as well. Something above gender or stereotype. Something simple and pure.
"Then we will leave you to your contemplation and your peace."
Not unlike their herald, Rae is removed from humanity and the brief flickerings of life on Caido. It is rare for them to appear at all though that certainly doesn't mean they are ignorant of what occurs on the world they so painstakingly helped design.
Astra bleated as the twins said they would go. Detaching from the one that had been petting her, she moved to the other one. Loren tracked her movements and nodded as they mentioned they would go.
Biting his lip, he rubbed a palm against his thigh. Then he sighed. "Before you go, may I ask you a question?" He stood up and planted his feet, clasping his hands behind his back. Back straight he took deep breaths and smiled at them.
As he did, fur rippled along his arms and feathers appeared in his hair. His companion glanced at him and bleated. Taking one more deep breaths he got a handle on his shifts and his body was entirely human once more.
"I did," Loren acknowledged. Fingers twitching behind his back, his gaze flicked between the two sets of impossibly green eyes that regarded him. Astra looked up at the twin before her for a moment more before returning to the healer.
He knelt, one knee on the frozen ground. Bringing his hands around, he slid them into her fur. One hand scratched behind her ear while the other rubbed and patted her side.
Taking a deep breath, he looked up from his companion and met those unwavering stares again. "What is the cure for the mysterious illness afflicting me and so many others? The one we brought back from the Climb."
Watching these human-displays of emotion—the back straightening, the ripple of shifts, and now the kneeling toward his companion—with a neutral stare. Rarely expressive, of all the Gods surely the twins were the hardest to read despite being the most straightforward.
"This is a new strain of disease, but it acts like something I have seen before."
There is a research area I have designed behind the Mountains Roar. I believe you have already found the passage behind the waterfall to it?
The writings on the archway should have been clear enough: 10 lilies must be placed within the grooves.
The cause of the sickness must be placed upon the platform as well, so that a cure can be devised from the source."
Loren's jaw actually dropped as the twins answered his question. It took Astra nudging him to snap it closed. Cheeks flushed from more than just the cold, he inclined his head towards them. "I have." Blinking, he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the tunnel that led to the Climb.
Looking back at them, he couldn't help the stupid smile that broke out onto his lips. "Thank you. For the information and your company both. It has truly been a pleasure." Some tension that he hadn't even known he was holding had drained out of his body.
Still grinning, he stood up and rubbed his hands together. Although he was bouncing up and down with energy and purpose, he was still entranced by their presence. He met their gaze squarely, relief dancing in his eyes.
"I believe three or four blossoms have already been found. That should expedite the efforts needed if indeed that is your aim." It wasn't for Rae to speculate whether Loren would use this information to his own advantage or not, nor did they particularly care.
Watching Loren bounce up and down with a reserved expression, the twins simply nod their heads in unison. "This disease likely won't infect any others though, so perhaps it would be better to let it take its course." They add with mirrored-shrugs. Life will go on. It would be no great loss.
Jaw almost dropping again, Loren managed to contain his surprise this time. Still it was a near thing, and his smile almost hurt it was so broad. "That is my aim, yes. Thank you. I'll seek out the flowers." Astra bumped against his palm and he rubbed her head, ruffling her fur.
Hesitating, his brow furrowed. "What would happen if we let it run its course?" He bit his lip as he mulled over the possibility.
Tapping the fingers of his free hand against his thigh, he didn't respond to their question right away. After a few moments though, he nodded. "Just one more thing. Is the metal that I took from Tanau the source of the illness?"
"Those who are ill will die." The twins reply, showing no signs of remorse or judgement. Everything died. Life was created that way.
Patiently the pair wait, the wind nipping at the hem of their cloak though the bodies within show no signs at all of feeling the chill in the air. When Loren finally did ask his last question, the twins shake their head, no. "No. Depending on your views of cause and effect it might be said that the metal partially caused the disease, but it was from within Tanau that it was created." They reply, just as neutrally as before.
