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!
Weak knees from the level, I’m sick from the treble, I’m your type of metal
While they hadn't exactly been her first stop, Hester certainly considered the Greatwood the true beginning of her journey. She could imagine a place like the Grounds, dull and drab even compared to the Longheats of Halo, when stubborn plants made their existence known. Perfectly opposite, stepping into the Greatwood was like stepping into another world entirely, a sudden dizzying sense of understanding blooming in the attuned's stomach for what the outlanders must feel.
Some part of her had been prepared enough to ask for advice travelling through the Greatwood before she actually saw them, so her slow advance was at least informed, Hester expecting the woods to turn her around almost immediately. If she were honest, it would be a relief.
Maybe that's why her steps only carry her deeper into the overwhelming tangle of colours and sound, both hands clenched in front of her protectively. At least the trees begin to grow blurred by mist, and deep red hues. The part of her that's relieved to be back in a mostly monochrome place devouring her fear like Cronus.
Lanterns begin to crop up, leading the way in a meandering, zig-zag pattern. It wasn't simply lanterns she was following, though it took a moment for Hester to notice the faint figure ahead of her. Whoever it was danced on the edge of familiar, and sent Hestr running, trying to catch up with them. "Hello? Wait!"
It was a strange compulsion that drew the alchemist's feet to a halt. In his current frame of mind he'd have been perfectly content with continuing his slow wander back toward the Wishing Wagon, but some latent and inescapable sense of politeness made him slow. Feathers flit through his curls as he was seized by unhappiness, not having the energy to either put on a brave face or a scowl. And so the face that turns toward the bard is unshaven and dirt-streaked. Much of his tan from Torchline is now gone, replaced by the marks of the Wood: scratches on his arms from the trees, moss and mud on his shirt, his bare feet darkened by the soil underneath.
"Hallo." His accent is thicker now; only speaking aloud to Mateo and mentally to Ianto has caused much of the smoothing that Remi normally puts into his words to be left rough. "Are you lost?" He assumes as much, given that the Greatwood is normally home only to the fae, one fox, two demigods, and a baby.
Now don't you look so grand, runnin'
Through the reds of my traffic lights
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Weak knees from the level, I’m sick from the treble, I’m your type of metal
Some part of Hester recoils as the figure actually stops, and turns to answer her. She hadn’t expected it to work, for some reason. Perhaps the woods putting her in a strange mood. ”Hello, I...” The girl just about stumbles over a root as she stumbles over her answer, her arms spreading out to try and catch herself. ”I’m not lost. I don’t think so, at least.” It hadn’t struck her until that very moment, but she does feel out of place, her newly steadied feet shuffling in the dirt.
She’s come here for a reason though. And no scruffy man is going to intimidate her away from it. ”These are um... they’re Ludo’s woods, aren’t they?” Her voice quavers, but Hester steps forward hesitantly. ”I have a task to complete here.” Her tough, independent facade falls away quickly, an addendum tacked on in a single breath. ”If that’s alright.”
Once he would have rushed forward to help right her. Would have had water or something else to offer her to ease her journey or simply to provide comfort. Now though, the Lullaby merely watches the woman as she steadies herself. Hard as Remi looks now, his green eyes are still kind enough. Or if not kind, they at least don't hint at the monster he can so easily become these days.
"They are." He agrees, before laughing under his breath and looking genuinely amused. "I'm not Ludo." Remi replies with a shrug, his hand opening and gesturing to the woods in a go on motion. "I only ask because these woods have a habit of...not being all that helpful to outsiders."
Now don't you look so grand, runnin'
Through the reds of my traffic lights
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Weak knees from the level, I’m sick from the treble, I’m your type of metal
There's a beat, a moment where Hester looks over Remi for something, anything to explain the way the back of her neck prickles, but there isn't anything there. He looks as harmless as she is. "No, I know you're not, I just..." She just what? Hester wasn't sure, so she let her mouth close tightly, a thin frown spreading over her lips as she knelt, opening her fiddle case and removing her instrument delicately.
Remi draws her attention back to him before she begins to play, Hester's brows pinched together as she considers his words, and the woods around them. "They must not be trying with me. I'm lost enough already." She offers no further explanation though, instead launching into a piece of music already memorized, Ludo's additions adding a mournful slant to the clear notes. Her eyes fall closed, leaning into the song that feels like a familiar friend.
