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!
Since his last meeting with Osozo had gone so wrong before it had gone right, Sam had been hesitant in reaching out to them for anything. Still, he was supposed to be mending broken bridges with his Ascended family, and he knew no one quite so devoted to the Voice as Osozo, who had been created from her originally, not transformed from another being; Sam wondered if he would find it easier to put aside his doubts about the Goddess if he too had been birthed from her wholesale.
Angel's end was oddly comforting, in a way, because the black and solid crust looked to be at least walkable, and there was a path that could be made between the more heated and active lava pockets. That didn't make it pleasant, of course, and Sam found himself wondering just why it was they wanted a portal here as he began to make his way over the surface, looking back to Osozo to make sure they were doing well. As he had been on his journey with Neron he was dressed in preparation, covered and protected as best as he could be; it had been up to the Demi God to procure their own protection.
"Are you doing alright?" Sam asked, never quite sure how to gauge Osozo.
It's filling up the empty and suddenly I see that All is new, all is new
They are prepared as best as they possibly can be, layers and layers 'borrowed' from a half-finished blacksmith shop, some project left unfinished for one reason or the other. Perhaps it's a touch overkill, their small form made awkward by layers upon layers, but if it keeps them from exploding, it will be worth it.
Honestly, the only reason Osozo is here is because they know it is necessary. They know the Voice requires it, and if their part can be constrained to this, a simple exploration, then all the better for them. There may be an endless curiosity within them, but there is also a very healthy self-preservation instinct, one that has been screaming and ignored since they arrived.
"It's... strange here. I think..." Osozo pauses, trying to make sense of the bright patches of colour their vision is currently swimming in, trying to run diagnostics, trying to figure out if this is anything. "I think something might be wrong with my vision though."
OSOZO
The touch and gaze of those to whom we are less than nothing
With Sam's paranoia about the trips to the Climb at an all time high, he could hardly criticise anyone else for choosing to hard on the protective gear. In fact, he was almost jealous, sure that if some lava-based horrific death was coming for them, that Osozo would fare better. Hopefully the Demi God would at least salvage his burnt body from the wreckage.
Anyway, he tried to pull his mind to slightly less grim topics and focus on what it was Osozo was saying, carefully watching where he put his feet as he listened, wanting to be sure he didn't step on anything too unsteady. "Wrong? Can you not see?" The words had hardly been the pleasant distraction he'd been hoping for and Sam turned to look at Osozo with concern, leaning in to look at their eyes.
It's filling up the empty and suddenly I see that All is new, all is new
Sam leans in, and Osozo leans back, hands coming up to maintain an amount of distance between them. ”If I couldn’t see I would have said that.” It’s not said with any real emotions, though the words have a snappish slant to them anyway. The world is a blotchy mess of of colours, nearly everything bright, though some are brighter than others. Sam makes up the darkest blotch in his vision, the only thing in the whole blasted landscape that could even remotely be described as cool. ”I’m seeing... differently, than usual. It’s fine, let’s keep going.” It is still not a grand description, but it’s something a touch more than what they’d said before.
Osozo pauses suddenly, eyes staring off into the distance. ”Wait, a moment?” There was something coming towards them, something lightening the world as it passed, and whether Sam is stopped or not, the Demi-god reaches out to grab the back of his clothing anyway, stopping him just as a hot wind whips across them, bringing with it the taste of ash. ”Why-“ They sputter, hair and eyes both turning dark as ash invades their mouth. Spitting a few times, Osozo tries again, a hand covering their mouth this time. ”Why are we here again?”
OSOZO
The touch and gaze of those to whom we are less than nothing
Sam sighed sharply, just about stopping himself from rolling his eyes; Osozo's literal meanings and odd thinking was hard to deal with sometimes, and the stress of being on top of a literal lava pool, separated only by some dried crust...well, it wasn't making him agreeable to it.
"Differently." He repeated, still unsure if this was a negative or positive; it seemed that Osozo was still alright to continue, but he tried to keep an eye out before them, to be sure they weren't about to blindly stumble into magma. "Just..let me know if you think it's going to be a problem. We can leave whenever we need to." Now that they'd seen Angel's End (ironic name, that), he hoped that was enough for the Voice.
Osozo asked him to wait and he did, looking back with concern as his shirt was grabbed; then ash was in his mouth and eyes and he coughed, wiping at his face and making an undignified noise of complaint. "The Voice asked me to explore the Climb, for...for a portal here." He said, between spits of ash.
It's filling up the empty and suddenly I see that All is new, all is new
"I'm perfectly fine, for the moment." There's a note of reassurance in their voice, the Demi-god absolutely seeming cheerful enough. Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that they weren't really seeing the world around them, the molten, bubbling danger that threatened at cracks in the path.
The hot burst washes over them, Osozo finally properly piecing together what it is they're seeing. "It's the heat! I can see it, I... oh.." They knew it was hot here yes, felt that static discomfort that was probably meant to invoke something like fear, but to see it, truly see it, was something else altogether. "I can't imagine why she would want a portal here. There's... nothing. Nothing whatsoever." Especially not for them.
Their limbs tuck in closer suddenly, nervous glances cast around at their surroundings, Osozo suddenly far more reserved. It might not be fear, but it is certainly worrying, considering the usual aloofness they keep wrapped around themself.
OSOZO
The touch and gaze of those to whom we are less than nothing
Osozo's chipper demeanour would have seemed absolutely insane, if Sam didn't know about their origins; he suppose the Voice could have simply chosen to program Osozo without fear, something that he could hardly imagine. His entire life had an undercurrent of paranoia, bubbling away in the background; right now it was considerably more present, as he stepped around cracks in the formed ground and prayed none of them would falter.
"You can see the heat?" Sam asked, considering if that was useful. In a place that was all heat, he wasn't sure, but at least Osozo might be able to warn if there was something truly terrible coming. "Well...the cure that didn't come from the Voice came from here, and I think there might be other important things hidden around. I've heard stories." He shrugged; it wasn't their place to question their Goddess.
It's filling up the empty and suddenly I see that All is new, all is new
The Demi god follows Sam dutifully, jumping over the same small fissures and avoiding the same gouts of heat. ”I assume that’s what it is.” Really, they’re not sure, but it makes the most sense, considering the difference between Halo’s tundras and thes emlten plains. ”It may... shift, randomly. Fix itself.”
”Stories?” Osozo’s head cocks to the side, a curious tilt to their head. ”What have you heard?” They’re about to ask more, mouth already open when a crackle flickers across their vision, and the violently warm colours shift into a far more natural palette, no cooler than the heat vision had been. ”My vision is normal again!” They announce almost eagerly? Before glancing around with no small amount of sudden trepidation.
OSOZO
The touch and gaze of those to whom we are less than nothing
"...Right." While they were both in possession of technological body parts provided by the Voice, Sam was glad in that moment that he still had some of his original pieces. They could absolutely fail, but it seemed that Osozo's body was especially prone to 'glitches' over time. Still, maybe it wasn't all so bad if the problems could be useful, like this heat vision.
As for what stories he'd heard of the Climb, Sam shrugged; there wasn't really much to say, the average adventurer not coming to share things with the Ascended bookseller. "I know they say Tanau lives here. And there's a ...church, or something like that, that people don't know the origins of." Of all the things in the Climb, that was the one Sam actually thought he might like to see; at least it wasn't a lava-filled death trap like all the rest.
Osozo mentioned that their vision had returned and upon seeing their face, Sam reflected on how he felt about being here too: not good. "You know...I think we've seen enough to get by with what we need. Let's head back." He decided, hoping the Demi God would just follow if he turned and began to head back to the tunnel.
{FIN}
It's filling up the empty and suddenly I see that All is new, all is new
