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!
Delphine knew walking away from the dragon was a terrible idea. But instead of feeling teeth against her flesh, she just... felt... warm. Halo wasn't warm. When she opened her eyes, she found herself flat on the ground, in the middle of the woods... because logically, when she realized the dragon was coming for her, she'd tried to hit the ground.
She ran her fingers through leaves and moss, sitting up carefully, slowly. She searched around herself for the dragon and began patting herself down for injuries. Finding none, she hummed quietly and pushed herself to her feet. Spying someone, she called out, "Hello! Where am I?"
There was no time for pleasantries. She needed to know where she was... because this wasn't Halo, and it wasn't Torchline or the Hollowed Grounds. Realistically, the only other place she knew that had any sort of forest was a forest, but she'd never been to the Greatwood.
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
Juniper didn't spend much time in Ludo's woods; her family might be dead, but she didn't visit them often. She hadn't had much to tell them about her life, after all, nothing that might soothe the dead, and she didn't find contemplating them particularly comforting either. But today was different: today she'd come to leave flowers at her grandfather's grave, to tell his spirit of her recent work, so that perhaps he would know that reaching out to outsiders was no longer such a crime.
As Juniper laid the flowers down and was about to start speaking to her grandfather's spirit, she heard a call -- a woman's voice, so she didn't mistake it for her dead grandfather. It was too loud, too clamorous in the hush of the woods, and Juniper turned in annoyance to tell the speaker to show a little respect for the dead, only to pause when she noticed the woman's lack of wings.
"Who are you?"
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
Delphine furrowed her brow, studying the woman. Winged. Fae! They'd always said the Greatwood was full of the fae, right? So definitely the Greatwood... but how?
"I was in Halo a moment ago and... a dragon was coming to get me and now I'm here. This is The Greatwood right?" She's moving towards the stranger now, completely unaware of the part of the Greatwood they're in. Otherwise, she'd probably have been less obtrusive.
She reached out to touch the nearest tree, marveling at the bark. "What kind of trees are these?" She inquired, rubbing her hand against the bark. She wished she had some jars, something to collect samples in. This is...
Amazing.
What's that thing they say about a rose by any other name?
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
Juniper blinked. "You were in Halo?"
The woman's story sounded too fantastical to be true, and Juniper reminded herself once again that outsiders could lie -- that unlike the people she'd spent the first 50 years of her life around, an outsider could simply say things that were not true. What if this woman had some sinister motive for entering the Greatwood, and had fabricated a tale -- about a dragon, of all things -- to explain her presence?
Though ... Juniper had to think that if she were lying, she would have chosen something a little more believable.
"These are Ludo's Woods," Juniper said, feeling her skin crawl a little at the idea of actually touching the skin-like trees. "It's ... our graveyard."
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
Delphine nodded, furrowing her brow. "I was trying to get to the portal, to get away from the dragon and... I didn't reach the portal. I don't know why I'm here." She admitted. Delphine was a liar's pal, the woman could tell a lie that sounded so true you'd want it to be true. This story was too fantastical to be her typical lie.
After all, hadn't she lied about Ludo and her kids?
Delphine pulled her hand away from the tree, "So... the trees are using the dead bodies of fae to grow? Does that cause the texture of their bark?" She inquired, turning her gaze towards the smaller woman.
And suddenly she realizes she's been rude.
"I'm Del," she offers, offering a slight wave. "I didn't mean to... uhm, intrude. I guess if this is a graveyard you were here to visit somebody," She scrunched her face up.
Well. She was here, might as well learn a bit about the place before she rushed off to get home and assure her boyfriend she wasn't dead.
What's that thing they say about a rose by any other name?
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"Hmm," Juniper said, still a little skeptical but not about to outright accuse Delphine of lying. She sighed a bit. "Well, there are certainly worse places to end up."
Though Ludo's Woods wasn't exactly an ideal place for a new guest to the Greatwood either. It could be worse; Delphine could have shown up in Sidhe Village, scandalizing the Fae.
"I can show you to the nearest portal," Juniper added. Her tone was polite, but in the back of her mind was the thought that she did not particularly want to leave an outsider -- a stranger -- alone in the Fae's graveyard. Outsiders had already desecrated so much ...
"I don't know." It didn't bother Juniper too much to think of the trees feeding on dead Fae -- to return to nature was the appropriate fate for a Fae's body -- but she didn't want to dwell on the topic, either.
Ah, introductions. "I'm Juniper. Ah, I was, but it can wait."
Her grandfather wasn't exactly going anywhere, and meeting a strange stranger had knocked Juniper's thought about what to say to him right out of her head.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
"I suppose." When the fae offered to show you to the nearest portal, she furrowed her brows in thought. "It's in the Hollowed Grounds, right? I used to live there, so if you can just show me a way out."
She wanted to stay and explore, but... if this place was a graveyard, exploration might be disrespectful. She wasn't too sure. "You should keep an eye out for that dragon, too. It was different than the ones I've seen." She added, with a nod. She didn't want anyone else to wind up teleported to another area without a say. It was disorienting.
At least it was pretty. She might slip back in and explore elsewhere; after the fight she and Noah had, she was considering letting him worry for a while.
What's that thing they say about a rose by any other name?
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"There's one closer, actually." Juniper paused, thinking of the portal in the ruins of the Mathair, the physical gaping wound at the center of the Greatwood, an emblem of all the Fae had lost. Not something she particularly wanted to show a stranger, especially one who had already trespassed -- however unintentionally -- on their graveyard. "Maybe it's better if you use the Hollowed Grounds one, though. I'll show you the way."
She smiled a bit at Del's warning, though. "It was in Halo? I think I'll be all right, then. I don't spend a lot of time there -- too cold."
Though Juniper supposed that might change if diplomatic relations between the Greatwood and Halo continued to improve.
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
Delphine hummed quietly. "I didn't know there was one closer." Ah, Delphine until recently had never kept up with anyone or anything that did not concern herself. The Greatwood definitely did not concern herself.
"Before we go... can I explore? I'm a healer and..." ...well, this is a forest with a lot of plants. Instead she said, "I like to find new uses for plants—I'm really sorry I popped into your graveyard, though. I feel like that was just rude," she admitted, quietly.
She shifted from foot-to-foot, waiting for permission. Or denial. If she was denied she'd... well, she'd probably wind up lost in these trees later. But a guide could be beneficial.
What's that thing they say about a rose by any other name?
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"I suppose not many people do," Juniper responded. "It's ... The Ascended attacked the Greatwood to create it, desecrated a sacred place. It's a source of pain for us. Though I suppose it does make travel more convenient."
Juniper had been visiting the portal quite a bit lately, with her diplomatic trips to other lands. Every time, visiting the ruined Mathair reminded her of what was at stake -- and why she was going to all this trouble to try to hold the Ascended accountable.
She hesitated, unsure how to answer. On one hand, she wanted to be hospitable; on the other, she didn't really want to spend her day escorting this woman around the Greatwood. Though she did appreciate the apology. "Won't someone be looking for you back in Halo? If you disappeared during a dragon attack ..."
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
Delphine furrowed her brows. "The... Ascended? That's terrible." She'd not met many Ascended, but the ones she had met hadn't seemed so bad. Wessex had been a lot of fun to have around. She'd have to meet more of them and decide how she felt about them. Though the knowledge that they had destroyed a sacred place to the fae was upsetting. Maybe she'd ask Wessex about it sometime.
Juniper's next words made her frown. "I... don't think so. I got into a fight with my boyfriend right before this happened, so... I think some space is best." It wasn't rational, but nobody had said Delphine was a rational human being.
Literally, no one.
What's that thing they say about a rose by any other name?
you think i'm happy because i'm smiling,
but it's the easiest thing to do
"Yes," Juniper agreed simply. "I hope they will yet face justice for their crimes against us."
At Delphine's next words, Juniper frowned back at her. "That won't keep him from fearing for you, if you were attacked by a dragon."
Juniper wasn't much for relationships, so she could only give limited advice -- but it seemed somewhat cruel of Delphine to let her boyfriend wait, fearing the worst. Was she trying to punish him for their fight? Maybe Juniper had better not get involved. "I can guide you around the Greatwood a little if that's truly what you wish. But I do think it might be better to let him know that you're all right."
if you looked a little closer,
you'd find my eyes aren't smiling too.
