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!
The shrine is not a place Hester has often found herself, even now, simply being in the space fills her with a kind of nervous excitement, some feeling of trespass mingling with a sense of belonging. Her fiddle is strapped to her back, and in her hands is a scroll tube made from horn, carved with an elaborate design. It's old, made by her own unskilled hand, and filled with sheets of music, a song written, but never played.
Hester looks up over the shrine, then clears her throat, stands up tall, reaching out to place her offering before her. Is there a certain script she must follow, certain words she must say? All Hester really knows is she has to say something. "I know I... haven't often come here," haven't been to a shrine at all, really, "but, I'm hoping for some guidance. Maybe... maybe something to protect myself?" She gestures to the scroll with an open hand, though her eyes don't leave the elaborate designs of the shrine. "I brought an offering, um... Something made by me, just for this. For... you." Whoever shows up, really. Hester does not know who is most likely to answer her, who she should be appealing to for her request.
The scroll lifts up into the air, suspended by nothing, until smoky rags curl about it all of a sudden, like they've been there all along. And Ludo has been there all along, even before this shrine. Watching Hester play, tapping its raggedy tendrils to her music, bopping and bobbing along to the more jovial melodies.
Indeed, it is trying to balance the scroll on the tip of a bit of fabric as it warbles about the shrine, porcelain mask bright with enjoyment.
"But what do you need to be protected against?" it asks, curious about the trouble she can get into with such a comparatively fun filled job.
A voice, and then movement, and then rags. Hester's breath catches in her throat, the edge of a smile curling her lips. "Just for you." Even with her piety ignored for so long, Hester knows the herald, knows out of all of them, it is one she can let a breath out around. As much as she dares to let her guard down around any of the divine.
Still, there's no anxiety in her while she considers it's question, why she'd come today. "Well... the unknown, I suppose." It's not exactly a satisfying answer, even for Hester, but her conversation with Gideon had twisted things inside her, and even if the hand she outstretches to others first is kind, the other is held behind her back, clenched and suspicious. "I've never left Halo, and... I am afraid. I want to be able to come home to my mother, no matter where I go."
10-27-2020, 06:54 PM (This post was last modified: 10-27-2020, 06:54 PM by Ludo.)
LUDO
Still trying to balance the scroll, letting it bonk from one tendril of fabric to another, Ludo finally sequesters it away into the folds of the void beneath its rags, settling before Hester as if they are two children conspiring. "Protection against the unknown," it repeats, sounding utterly enthralled. "I think... I can maybe help you. You're a bard, right?" The mask seems to grin.
"Bards don't do very much fighting. But they play a lot of music," It taps its fabric against the ground, like it's making the beat of a drum. "What do you play? Lots of different things? Or just...?" It looks around at her, like it's trying to spot her instrument.
Ludo’s antics dash away the last bit of worry Hester felt, replacing it with a kind of easy joy, a wide smile spreading over her freckles cheeks. All she can do is nod as her request is repeated, as it says that it can help her, though she utterly freezes when it asks if she’s a bard. To be seen by the divine is something that sends chills down her spine, that makes her eyes sparkle in wonder.
”I am a bard, yes.” It’s easy to confirm, her body already twisting to grab the case off her back, to show the herald her fiddle eagerly. ”I’m best with this, I’ve been playing since I was young. I know some songs too, and, I’m not terrible on a pipe, but this is what I play.” Even with all her excitement, there is hesitance, Hester reluctant to simply offer up her most prized possession, but it lasts only a moment before she holds the case over, giving Ludo the chance to grab the instrument, if it so wishes.
"OoOoOo." Obviously Ludo wants to see the fiddle, and it lifts the instrument from the case with delicate interest, its rags holding it in multiple places (and completely wrong, of course). At least it doesn't try to play the thing, merely examining it and peering in close as if to see what it's made of. "Yes," it says suddenly in approval. "Yes, I think this will be able to protect you nicely." With its mask grinning away, it offers the fiddle back out to her.
"But it will take a lot of work, sweetling. I hope you are up to it." Reaching out, it boops her on the nose with one of its rags, then offers out the scroll once more - the one she had brought to it in an offering. But if Hester unrolls it, she will see that the song is tweaked and changed; not by much, but enough. And so it begins.
Hester has received a quest from Ludo! She must do the following:
- Complete 3 threads playing the song from Ludo's scroll. These threads must occur in places of significance for Safrin, Ludo and Frey, and they must be completed using Hester's fiddle.
Hesters heart thumps in her chest as the god takes her instrument, before the delicate care in its grip becomes obvious. Nervous eyes give way to curious ones, especially with Ludo’s declaration, the idea of her fiddle protecting her. The attuned takes her fiddle back, holding it for a moment as the raggedy god explains more, offers her scroll back as well.
Of course Hester unrolls it, curiosity getting the best of her. The changes made are subtle, but obvious as something other than her own work. Already the strains hum through her head, fingers tapping along with new notes. And with the song comes understanding, a determined nod coming from Hester, ”I’ll can do this.” She promises, overflowing with sudden confidence.
