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!
Amalia does not bother with heavy coats and padded boots, not when she has leopard's fur and feline feet made for managing frigid terrain. The result of her natural insulation is nearly comic, to be sure, with thick white fur fighting its way out from beneath her open-back shirt at every possible edge, but the Shield has never put much thought into her appearance. There are too many things to be anxious about, for looks to count among them.
Like this meeting. She'd begged Remi and Ronin to wait outside, to give her a chance to speak to Loren before they intervene. Now as she stands before his office door, the girl realizes that even if her mission is successful, she has no idea what will come next. It's dizzying and terrifying, but it is a problem for after this step is concluded. One thing at a time.
A sharp knock, and Amalia opens the door, Jyoti floating above her shoulder. "Loren?" the Shield inquires softly, stepping into the office and shutting the door behind her. "We need to talk."
Loren had been taking notes in his own private shorthand when the knock sounded at the door. By the time he looked up, Amalia was already inside, along with Jyoti. Smiling, he waved them in. "Amalia. Jyoti. Good to see you." Astra poked her head out from under his desk. Bleating, she trotted over to the woman and her companion.
Nodding at the Shield's statement, the healer's smile slipped away. "We do." Clearing his throat, he gestured for her to take the seat across from him. "Can I get you something to eat or drink first? I've got some tea brewing." He glanced over at the small stove in the corner, which indeed had a kettle on it.
Jyoti is swift to fly down to Astra, greeting her friend with a warm bubble of starlight and a low hum of pleasure. Amalia watches the companions fondly, her expression bittersweet and perhaps a little envious. As advanced as they are given their human bonds, companions still retain a level of animal innocence that the girl longs for, a simplicity in their needs and motivations that the anxious baker has never felt.
For her part she returns Loren's smile, though the expression lacks in luster. "I can't remember the last time I saw you outside your shift," the girl remarks teasingly, sinking into the offered seat and placing her hands in her lap. "Tea sounds great." She inhales a breath, and for a moment it feels this might just be a pleasant meeting between friends, without any world-altering stakes on the line.
Ha. Ha.
The pretenses drop, fading as they do beneath the weight she carries so readily. Leaning forward, her elbows on the table, Amalia looks up at the Firebrand through tired dark eyes. "So. Tell me."
Astra reared up a bit so she could give Jyoti a proper greeting. Eyes crinkling at the companion's actions, Loren's smile deepened. He glanced up at Amalia's comment though. Letting out a huff of laughter, he gestured at the journal. "It's a little difficult to write with paws."
Nodding at her response, he stood up. Walking over to the stove, he wrapped a cloth around his hand then gripped the handle of the kettle. Glancing over his shoulder at her, he sighed. "I don't know if you'll believe me, honestly. But...I was out at the shrine to the Old Gods by the Sea of Glass and I met..." Voice trailing off, he bit his lip. Finally he finished with, "I met twins."
The luxere projected the image and overall impression of the beings to both the healer and the Shield: blond with green eyes, vaguely androgynous, clinical in demeanor almost, seeming to share one mind, finishing each other's thoughts and sentences, and overall the adoration his companion felt for the twins and the connection the luxere was convinced they had to nature. He glanced at Astra and felt the corners of his lips twitch up. "Yes. All that. I think...I think they were Rae." Gaze flitting to the demi-goddess, he felt himself tensing for her reaction.
Regardless, he turned back to the kettle and began to pour two cups of mint tea. "They told me the archway Wessex and I found was a research station. That by putting ten lilies into the slots there we could create a cure as long as the source, meaning Tanau, was also present." He put the mugs on a tray with some cream and sugar and brought it over to the table. Setting it down, he sat again.
Amalia doesn't need any more explanations, thought the flood of images that fill her mind from Astra do confirm her suspicions. Awe washes over her slender face, dark eyes widening in wonderous delight. "Rae." She has never known anyone to have met the elusive gods, and a myriad of questions bubble to her lips, eager to be asked and answered.
It takes all of her self-control not to overflow. Eagerly the girl nods, soaking in the snippets of information and sorting them in her mind. "How many lilies have you found now? And have you spoken to Tanau?" Focus, Amalia, do not ask what their voices sounded like, what they said about the world. Do not drown in pious adoration, or let your envy bubble and twist. "Did they say anything about the Ascended, Loren? Will... will the cure work on them?" A stab of insecurity on this topic, but it is one that needs to be broached.
Inhaling deeply, Amalia watches as Loren continues to make tea. "Loren... I didn't come here alone." Shuffling her bare toes over one another, Amalia bites the inside of her lip. "Remi and Ronin came, too. They want the metal Tanau gave you." The men are waiting outside, in fact, along with Morgan. Amalia had asked for a chance to speak to the Firebrand before they resorted to aggression, and now she sits, looking expectantly at the Firebrand, her expression frank and resigned.
I will not be told where to stand
I will not be told what to say
During this Longheat sickness, Morgan had felt a lot of things. Despair, disappointment, hope...this was the first time she'd felt anger. When she'd received the letters, when Remi had come to see her, she had finally understood the full situation of what Loren had done. He had been given a potential cure for the Ascended, for his brother, and held onto it, selfishly and silently.
He couldn't even use delirium as an excuse. He'd been sane for enough time to give it away.
She had been determined to be quiet and patient, to wait and see what happened (hoping Remi didn't make this violent, as his letter as hinted); but as she came into her hall to see Remi and Ronin outside the door like children waiting outside a headmaster's office, immediately knew what it would be about, something in her snapped. Maybe it was embarrassment, that one of her councilmen was causing such an issue. Maybe it was upset that Neron was still sick. Regardless, she stormed to the door and opened it, determined not to leave until this matter was sorted.
As Morgan entered she heard Amalia's last sentence; while she would find out soon enough they were on different sides in this, she nodded. "Yes, Loren. I'm here for the same thing. You and I will be talking about why you haven't given it up sooner."
walked out this morning and i wrote down this song. i just can't remember who to send it to
Well, with Morgan deciding that Amalia's time alone with Loren had come and gone, the alchemist gives the Star a stern nod, before following the Warden inside.
There was something incredibly freeing about no longer being the Governor of Torchline. None of this—and what 'this' would be, was entirely up to Loren—would splashback on her. Though it can't really be said that the Lullaby comes across as intentionally intimidating, it shouldn't be overlooked that he has the ability to lock Loren in a hellscape of nightmares with just a touch. And honestly, that's probably the kindest of the magics he might use.
Standing silently though, Amalia and Morgan likely having far more reasonable things to say on the topic of metal and Loren's rights to it, the alchemist folds his arms across his chest and simply waits.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
10-13-2020, 06:23 PM (This post was last modified: 10-13-2020, 06:26 PM by Loren.)
there's light at the edge of the darkness
Relief coursed through Loren at Amalia's response. "Rae," he echoed, voice equally reverent, expression equally awed.
When she asked about the lilies though, he grimaced. Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his hair. "We didn't find any more when we went back to Frey's breath, unfortunately. And no, I haven't spoken to Tanau. I found that temple you mentioned though."
Frowning, he sighed. "No. No they didn't." Taking a deep breath, he bit his lip. "But I didn't ask them. I...I should've," he admitted, glancing down and away from the Shield.
However, his eyes flicked back up to her almost immediately. "Sunjata and Nate came to see me. They told me the Voice needed the metal to cure the Ascended and that nothing from the old gods would help, but..." Voice trailing off, his thumb tapped against the rim of the cup he picked up. "I don't know if I trust the Voice on that. She's probably right, but...I told them that I couldn't justify giving it to her until we'd exhausted all other options."
At her words he stilled. His gaze trailed to the door and he swallowed. "I see." Bringing the tea to his lips to take a sip, his cup rattled and a little liquid sloshed over the edge and onto his desk. He stared at it, refusing to meet Amalia's eyes. "What do they want the metal for?"
And then Morgan strode in. Followed by Remi. At that Loren looked up. He froze, color draining from his cheeks.
Fur rippled along his arms and his jaw feathered with tension. However, he took a deep breath and a sip from his tea before setting it down. "I didn't find out what it might, again might, do until a couple of days ago. Before that, all I knew was that the Voice wanted it. And that Amalia had asked me to hold onto it and keep it safe from the Voice until she could speak to me again."
He nodded at the Shield. "By the time I found out what the metal is supposedly for, I'd already found another potential cure and heard back from Amalia about this meeting, so I wanted to find out if said cure worked before turning over an unknown artifact with unknown properties purely on the word of the Voice." Voice ringing out in the small office, he raised his chin and squared his shoulders.
Yeah, Ronin is there too. Obviously. He steps into the increasingly tiny office with his hands buried in the pockets of his coat, standing next to Remi, jaw feathering as he gazes upon the little scene. It’s been a hell of a long time since he’s seen Loren Not-a-Launceleyn, and this isn’t how he’d have had it go. It isn’t how a lot of things should have gone, truthfully. Ronin has already chewed the inside of his cheek raw, and he listens to the speeches, the excuses, with rapidly fading patience.
”You are aware of course, that by holding the keys to all this information - the lilies, the metal, all the rest of it, that you’ve essentially got a whole race of people dancing on your strings? Your brother included?” He raises his eyebrows. ”I bet you’re really enjoying this, aren’t you? Who decided you were to be the master of puppets in all of this, exactly? The Governor of Torchline, the Queen of the Hollowed Grounds, Halo’s Warden... all of them waiting for little ol’ you?”
Apparently she will not be given as much time as she would have liked. Before she has a chance to agree or react (though her brow does furrow at the thought of Nate and Sunjata trying to aid the Voice) the door bursts open once again, and the cavalry storms in.
Amalia rises from her chair, turning back to the Warden, Star, and Lullaby as they enter the room, flaking her and leaving her in a rather uncomfortable position. The anger that the three feel is palpable - literally in the case of the two which whom Amalia shares an Attuned bond - and the girl can feel her hackles raising, fur feathering into scales over her shoulders as thorny holly blooms within her braid.
It's Ronin's outburst that surprises her most, Amalia's eyes first widening and then narrowing in a flash of anger. "Enough, Ronin," she snaps automatically, her ears flicking back on her skull in irritation as she inhales a deep breath. "This isn't helping."
Back to Loren, her expression softening, though the lines around her eyes remain deep and pained. "I agree that it isn't safe to give the metal to the Voice. But we have to do something, and fighting among ourselves won't help. If there's another cure - if the lilies would work for the Ascended - then we should try that first. Meanwhile, we should take the metal to someone who can actually tell us what it does, and what the Voice could do with it. Like Tanau. Or... Rae."
I will not be told where to stand
I will not be told what to say
Morgan wasn't expecting Remi and Ronin to follow her into the room, but as long as they were there to help with the same general cause, she supposed it didn't matter. In fact, when Ronin spoke she found herself glad for them, nodding in agreement with the Dark Star (and for the moment, ignoring Amalia). Once he had spoken she stepped forward, staring right at Loren at first.
"You really expect me to believe that you had something the Voice desperately wanted, that you found in the Climb, where the sickness originated, while the Ascended are ill and continue to be...and you didn't think it might lead to a cure?" Her exasperation was clear, an unamused, sarcastic laugh passing her lips as she looked about the room; how long had they all known? How long ago could the Ascended have been well?
Then she turned to Amalia. "The water poisoned the Ascended. I gave Neron -"(For the briefest second she considered looking to Loren and reminding him just who Neron was, his sick Ascended brother whom he was apparently fine leaving to lose himself week after week);"I gave Neron one of the lilies to see if it did him any better, it did not. Do you really expect Rae to give an accurate and fair depiction of what it is the Voice would do? Or that the lilies would cure them?" Surely Amalia had to see how bias she and her Gods were.
"I am not on either of the 'sides' of this argument between the Voice and the Old Gods, but there are a race of people out there sick and delirious. We have a chance to cure them, and you have held onto it, Loren, for this long?" She shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation. "I cannot believe you have been so selfish. You too, for trying to take it elsewhere, Amalia."
walked out this morning and i wrote down this song. i just can't remember who to send it to
They could argue and blame, defend themselves and bicker all they liked, but at the end of the day, there was only one thing that mattered.
"Where is the metal, Loren." How long had it been since the alchemist had spoken to the Firebrand in a civil tone? Given the feathers ruffling through the Lullaby's curls and the way his eyes keep tending towards a predatory glare, it's safe to think that it won't last much longer. "You're in no position to decide what is done with it." But three demigods and to a lesser extent, one Warden? Yes. That would do. Besides, Loren had had his chance, and had done precisely nothing.
And if Loren wanted to disagree, Remi would happily rise to that challenge.
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
They all said their piece. Loren found himself laughing under his breath, the sound having an edge of hysteria to it. "No, I'm not enjoying any of this," he whispered to himself.
Frowning at Morgan, the healer shook his head. When Remi spoke up, though, the Firebrand met the Lullaby's gaze squarely. "Somewhere safe." Taking a deep breath, the healer stood up, pushing his chair back as he did.
Astra, having shrunk away from the aggression on display in the room, trotted away from the office, escaping deeper into the Council Hall. Loren's eyes flicked towards her as he clasped his hands in front of him. "If you all want think the metal should be returned to the Voice I will take Neron there myself." He swept his gaze over those assembled there, ending up on Ronin. More quietly, the healer added, "It's what I wanted to do anyway."
Ronin can taste copper in his frustration now, the Star holding Loren’s gaze as it lands upon him with his hands clenching in his pockets. ”You realise, of course, that you somehow said absolutely nothing whilst moving your lips?” He shakes his head. ”I hardly expected you to be keeping it as a fucking windchime - of course it’s safe. The question is where.”
Growling under his breath and glaring right back at Amalia as if to ask if she’d like to join this argument, the Star eventually moves to lean back against the door, just in case the Firebrand should decide he’s going to run off. ”I don’t believe you,” he says simply. ”And I don’t trust you. If you wanted to do this, you would have done it by now. Frankly I don’t care what you want any more - this isn’t about you or I, or any one of us. It’s about helping people, and you’ve prolonged suffering instead. I thought you were a healer.”
