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!
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
The Greatwood is his second stop, and Finn can already feel the fingers of anxiety clawing at his neck, threatening to choke him. He has heard, of course, just who haunts these woods these days, and it's with no small amount of trepidation that he picks his way along the Stonesong where, eventually, the dust storms will block his way. He isn't expecting to see any Ascended here, knowing what he does about the woods, but it's still worth trying to take a look at the storms himself.
With hair lightly tousled, seemingly by a breeze, there's a touch of weariness about the Spyglass as he hops across a few rocks to the other side of the shore of the Stonesong. But, caution aside, he's in quite high spirits among the fiery leaves and crisp, Leafchange air. It's quiet here. Calm, almost, and it soothes him.
Even now, with the Fae scattered and weakened, they still had ways of finding out when outsiders stepped into their lands. So Alina headed towards the mighty Stonesong, bow gripped in her hands, quiver at her hip. Once she arrived, she kept to the trees, examining the intruder from above and trusting the Greatwood to keep her hidden. She simply watched as the man made his way along the water's edge.
Frowning, she groaned deep in her throat. Darting out from the canopy, she cleared her throat. "What brings you to the Greatwood?" Hovering above him, she didn't move to draw an arrow. However, her eyes narrowed as she watched him.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
Finn glances around at first, the roar and hum of the water disguising the origin of the voice, but eventually he peers up and shades his hand against the light. The woman above him is obviously Fae, and he relaxes a bit to see her. At least he might be pointed in the right direction from here. "I've come to research the dust storms that lay beyond the river," he calls up to her. "I heard that people have been trying to explore them."
Stepping back a bit so he doesn't have to crane his neck so sharply, the Spyglass offers a hopeful sort of smile. "Do you happen to know anyone who has been out there?" he asks. "And whether any Ascended have tried to get through the storms?" It's a long shot, here in the Greatwood, but it still might be the case.
Alina's eyebrows shot up her forehead at the man's words. "Another one?" Grimacing she shook her head, fingers tightening on her bow. "What's with the sudden interest? They've been there for years." She glanced in the direction of the storms. Brow furrowing as she frowned, she chewed on her lower lip.
Gaze snapping back to him as he continued, she snorted. "Yeah. Me. Why?" When he brought up Ascended, however, she actually growled a little. Descending towards the ground, she landed. Stalking towards him, she pressed her lips together. "Ascended are banned from the Greatwood. None of them have set foot in here without our permission for quite a while and none have braved the dust storms."
She tilted her head to one side. "Where are you from and why do you want to know all this?"
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
She glares, lands, grimaces, and even as she's stalking towards him, Finn is dropping back a step and raising his hands as if to demonstrate he doesn't mean any harm. "My name is Finn Rosencrantz - I work with an organisation called the Order. I'm researching these storms to try and discover why they are suddenly lessening in severity, and whether the Voice is involved," he explains, hoping that might dissuade her from shooting him with her bow.
That Ascended are banned is a reassurance and also explains why the Greatwood has been chosen for the purpose that it has. Then, of course, the reality of her words start to sink in, and Finn furrows his brow. "Wait, did you say that you had been out there? Would you mind if I asked you a few questions? As soon as I have what I need for my research, I will be out of the forest."
Whether or not Finn meant harm was immaterial to Alina: outsiders always seemed to screw things over for the Fae and the Greatwood. Still, she stopped a short distance away from him. "Another one of you?" she repeated. Scowling, she met his gaze. "Does the Order have designs for the Greatwood?"
Nodding at his explanation, she sighed. "Fine. Ask your questions. But I can't promise to answer." She lowered her weapon, though still kept it in one hand. "Though I'm not sure why you think the storms are decreasing in severity. When I was out there the sand was still bad enough to strip the flesh right off of me." She grimaced, rubbing her arm where the storm had done just that. There were the scars to back up her claims.
11-16-2020, 07:41 PM (This post was last modified: 11-16-2020, 08:20 PM by Finn.)
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
"Apologies - I wasn't aware that you had spoken to one of us before," he murmurs, slowly lowering his hands as it doesn't appear as though she's going to shoot him. "As far as I know, the Order has no designs on the Greatwood. I am just here to look at the storms. I have already researched the ones out at sea in Torchline, and I will be looking into the lightning storms beyond the Hollowed Grounds, and the jungles beyond Torchline after this," he explains.
Listening intently, Finn is already slipping a pencil from his pocket as well as a pad of paper, jotting something down in carefully printed shorthand for later perusal. "Well, prior to now, it was impossible to get even a small ways into the storms. But I'll take as little of your time as I can," he murmurs. "Can you tell me who else went out there with you, and what you saw?"
Narrowing her eyes at Finn's declaration that the Order had no designs on the Greatwood, Alina tilted her head to one side. She tapped a finger against the wood of her bow as she stared at the man. "Then what are your goals? Eradication of the Ascended?" Frowning, she continued to regard him, not letting her gaze slip away.
Shrugging, she shook her head. "We didn't see much." Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. "Delphia, the daughter of Mort, asked a group of us to go with her. Besides her and myself, Nephele, a fellow Fae and Ianto, an Attuned merchant and an Outlander were there. We met at the very edge of the storms." Pausing, she eyed the notes the Order member was taking.
"A landshark attacked us, at which point Nephele disappeared. Fled, most likely. Delphia did battle with the landshark, before disappearing as well." Grimacing, the huntress rubbed her arm again.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
"Eventually, yes," Finn says, his remarks surprisingly cool and easy to say that he's discussing the eventual eradication of an entire race. "I am personally of the opinion that it does not require a war to do so, but... I am not the Order. I speak only for myself." He falls quiet to listen, his eyes on the notepad and the shorthand he's writing. Alina speaks and Finn writes, the melody of her voice and the sound of pencil on paper intertwining for a time.
His eyebrows raise to hear that Delphia is involved, as though he ought to have thought about that previously, but he merely jots it down for later contemplation. "I'm sorry to hear about the landshark attack. I'm glad you appear to have gotten back safely, though." He smiles fleetingly. "So there was nothing out there, other than the sharks...?"
Scoffing at Finn's words, Alina put her free hand on her hip. "You are a member of the Order though. So how else, other than war? And what is different this time, when the Ascended were sealed away rather than destroyed?" She pressed her lips together, not quite glaring at him, but veering close to that territory.
Shrugging, she dropped her arm back to her side. "Not that I saw. When Delphia and Nephele disappeared, I risked entering the storms with Ianto, thinking they'd somehow gotten swallowed by the sand in the commotion. Immediately, it began tearing away my flesh." She shuddered at the memory. "Ianto suggested we land, so I did, and we went inside a wagon he owns. It's...mystical in some way, I suppose. It protected us from the wind and brought us out of the storm at least."
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
She becomes more insistent, more angry, and Finn isn't quite sure what to do with it. Like a deer caught in headlights, he clears his throat awkwardly and shakes his head to her. "I don't... that is to say, I have no say in the decisions," he mutters. "But if the Ascended retreated back into the Grounds... if the barrier came back up..." He shrugged. Perhaps there was no need for good people to die.
Luckily the conversation simmers back down to something a little more manageable, and Finn carefully jots down the information Alina has to give. Nodding, he eventually flips his notebook shut and slips it away back into his pockets. "So it sounds like while the storms are calming somewhat, they are still just as dangerous as they were before," he murmurs. "I think that's all I need. Thank you for answering my questions, miss. I'll be out of your woods now."
Snorting at Finn's hesitation, Alina lifted her chin. Though he was taller than her, she did her best to loom without actually lifting off the ground again. "Then tell your leaders that if they wish the Fae to ally with the Order, they should come speak with me. My name is Alina, and if you send a note to the Sidhe Village I will come." She inclined her head, which, again, looked weird given the height differential.
Nodding at his declaration that she'd answered his questions, she slid her bow onto her back. Taking off, she hovered before him again. "You're welcome. And if you have more questions, you know where to find me." With that, she turned to leave, though she'd hide in the trees to ensure he departed like he said he would.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
The offer is unexpected to say the least, and Finn tilts his head to Alina, nodding to her in understanding. The notepad comes back out, the Spyglass jotting down the details, and when he tucks it away again he seems much more relaxed. Perhaps it's because he knows that the Fae will help the Order's cause. Perhaps it's just because he gets to leave the Greatwood and her intimidating presence. Either way. "I'll pass on the information," he assures her, knowing that the rest of the Order will be happy with the connection.
"Thank you. I hope that your next adventure ends without landsharks." Whether or not that's out into the dust storms. Making sure he has everything, he offers the Fae a small wave as she flies up and into the air, before turning to head back the way he's come. His mind swims with the sort of knowledge he's obtained so far. It's looking promising.
