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!
Alina nodded in agreement with the man's assessment of the land. The sooner she got back to the Greatwood, the better. When he started asking his questions, she sighed. "It's true. We can't lie." She glanced over at him, shrugging. Whether or not he believed that was his perogative.
His next inquiry caught her entirely off guard; she sputtered, half with laughter half with outrage. "Yes we have a pit. It's for keeping prisoners in." Narrowing her eyes, she shook her head. "What, you think we feed our prisoners to wild beasts like savages?" She grinned at the stranger, clearly amused that he would think such a thing.
i have seen what the darkness does say goodbye to who i was
His brows raise with surprise at the fact that they can’t lie – clearly taking it at face value seeing as he believes her. Not sure why he wouldn’t think to double-check the information, but he takes it for what it is. A small half-smirk crosses his face as they continue walking, his attention snagging on the tunnels and the darkness that covers them and the clothes that cling to his body.
“Ah.” He offers at first, until she continues, pinning a question and a grin his way. He throws his hands up in a placating manner, his own bark of laughter returning to her. “Nev’r called ya a savage. But it does make’a pretty good motivator t’stay on yer good side.” He flashes her another grin, not wanting to become a prisoner. Perhaps he’ll avoid the Greatwood for quite some time just in case.
He looks up in time to spy a crossroads, two tunnels leading down, unable to remember exactly which one they had taken to get here.
i ain't ever been away so long don't look back, those days are gone
Alina shrugged at the stranger's comment. Although he hadn't called her a savage, the implication had been there and she wasn't going to pretend that it hadn't. For a moment, she walked next to the man in silence, considering whether Juniper had a point and that the Fae needed to work on their collective image.
Gritting her teeth, she took a deep breath. "Our rules are fairly simple. And if you follow them, you'll have no trouble from me." She shot him a look, considering him. "And how do you punish rule breakers in Torchline?" Narrowing her eyes, she waited for him to explain, although she had a pretty decent idea from her forays to the region.
i have seen what the darkness does say goodbye to who i was
She’s silent, and if there’s offense taken to the words, Milo doesn’t know any better. All he knows is that he was honest in saying what she’d asked – never once thinking or calling them a savage, deciding that it was likely a good enough punishment. She hadn’t said anything about the toothy monster that came and ate the creatures though, and so he wonders whether or not that’s true in the silence that expands.
But she speaks and Milo’s head turns toward her again, picking a branch of the tunnel to go down and committing to it. “Good t’know.” He rumbles back to her, offering an easy smile. As for Torchline, though? Well. “Usually just’n ass kickin’. Tho, the Arbiter – well, guess he’s the Gov’ner now – he made’a jail fer people t’go to.” He shrugs.
i ain't ever been away so long don't look back, those days are gone
Alina snorted at the man's explanation's of Torchline's customs. Shooting him a look, she narrowed her eyes. "So let me get this straight." Gesturing with her free hand, she scoffed. "You mostly beat people up and occasionally throw people in jail when they've broken your laws and customs? And you think us having a pit for the same purpose is worse?" Shaking her head, she actually snorted.
She didn't think she'd ever come to understand these outsiders. They claimed that her people were violent or wrong or strange when they were the same as everyone else. Just more honest about it, in their own way, less inclined to delude themselves or others.
i have seen what the darkness does say goodbye to who i was
She might be confused by it, but Milo can’t help but to bark a bit of laughter – brown eyes drifting back down to her with a wide grin splashed across his face. “I mean… I dunno, guess it depends on if ya can have comp’ny down there.” He shrugs, shoulders rising and falling effortlessly. “Least if ya get yer ass kicked ya get t’go home. Get stuck ‘n the jail ya can still have visitors.” Perhaps that’s what made it different in his mind.
That and… Well, he knows Torchline. He doesn’t know the Greatwood. The thought of getting stuck in a pit in there of all places certainly sparks a bit of anxiety within the young smuggler. “’Sides, just stories that make it so we don’ go and fuck with ya when we’re young.” It’d done well to Milo – no urges to go anywhere else but Torchline except for a very good reason, such as this.
i ain't ever been away so long don't look back, those days are gone
Alina nodded at the man's questions that wasn't actually a question. "You can have company down there, yes." It wasn't exactly smiled upon, and getting up might be a problem, but it was allowed. She glanced at the man, wondering if that would change his opinion of her people in the slightest.
When he explained that there were just cautionary tales, however, she narrowed her eyes at him. "And what about the stories they tell of Torchline? That you're all pirates that would sell out your own mother for a chance at treasure, let alone an outsider?" She shook her head, trying to figure out how the Fae had gotten such a reputation (not that she minded) when they were no worse than those who lived in other lands.
i have seen what the darkness does say goodbye to who i was
“Then I ‘spose it’s no different then, huh?” Milo replies, flashing a crooked grin Alina’s way, even if she didn’t seem entirely too thrilled with the answers the smuggler had given. Regardless, he offers an attempt at smoothing it over, before her words reach him again and he continues to follow the tunnels with her.
A bark of laughter echoes off the walls of the tunnels at her question, shoulders and rising in a shrug. “No pirates. Tho, I do know’ve a couple people that’d prolly do that.” He offers with a brief bout of another chuckle leaving him. “Most’a th’time we’re just… Fishers ‘n shop keeps. Not much else t’do other than swim ‘n drink ‘n fuck, ‘less yer on a boat.” Though he supposes one could still do that. “Th’Ark goes out on season long trips.” Shrugging once again he flashes a smile her way as the tunnels open back up toward the entrance of the Climb.
i ain't ever been away so long don't look back, those days are gone
Seeing the man's grin, Alina just shook her head. "Maybe not too different, no." Better, she imagined, though she was wise enough not to say so, especially because she hadn't seen the prison he described.
She peered at him as he described life in Torchline. "Really? Just swimming and drinking and fucking?" Drumming her fingers on the shaft of her spear, she shrugged. "Perhaps the stories got both of our regions wrong." However, she'd actually been to the land of beaches and sun and smugglers, and so she knew it wasn't entirely full of fine upstanding folk like the stranger claimed.
Again, though, for the sake of keeping the peace she fell silent. She just made her way upwards, following the tunnel that led to the surface.
i have seen what the darkness does say goodbye to who i was
Likewise, all Milo has to go off of is the description from his childhood of what the Greatwood was like, what the pits were like too. Other than that, he’s got nothing else to add until her next question hits and he’s shrugging lightly while they continue to walk out into the open. “Could be.” He agrees quietly, a half smirk growing on his face as he considers it.
Though he hopes he hasn’t given some offense toward her, that maybe one day when he felt like he might be able to, he might have more of a thought to venture out toward the Greatwood if only to see for himself. But Milo wasn’t the adventuring type, and he hopes that perhaps one day that might change if only for the stories it could bring.
But they’ve reached the tunnel that leads back to Halo and he pauses to linger in the Climb a bit more, hoping to maybe spot Zeph before he heads back. “See ya around!” He rumbles to her, offering a small wave before he goes to sit and wait.
- FIN!
i ain't ever been away so long don't look back, those days are gone
