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!
and my hands aren't clean maybe they never will be
Aurelia nodded slowly, trying to understand how the experience must feel. To see an actual God, rather than just read or hear about them. She didn't know how she'd feel but, humbling seemed like a good word to use. Even though some stubborn part of her felt like she shouldn't, because she wasn't of this world. But the rules still applied to her no matter how much she wanted to deny it.
She raised her brows and cleared her throat sheepishly, "Ah, sorry. I keep messing that up. I'll try to remember better..."
However, when Gideon said that his experience with Ludo was personal, and didn't seem to want to share the details, Aurelia's lips pursed. It was fair; it was probably a very personal experience. Anyway, he mentioned it being related to the Ascended, and that piqued Aurelia's interest. She could probably try to guess what it was about, considering the nature of her last discussion with Gideon.
Her gaze turned darker and her lips fell into a straight, hardened line. She had more questions but, it was moreso about the Ascended - and Gideon seemed resistant to explain. So he still didn't fully trust her, then. Aurelia looked away, a burnt stick catching her eye. Soot covered it entirely, and an idea sprang into her mind.
Testing the stick for heat at first, she picked it up and began to rub the soot into the cloth for her Ludo doll, staining it a darker, ashier color.
"Whatever it is you plan on doing, you should be careful," Aurelia commented, a warning clear in her tone as she looked down at her project, "the people around here look out for each other, they stick together. Ascended or not. To them, it doesn't seem to matter much what you are or where you come from."
but they can still carry you home when you're ready to sleep
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
He held up a hand at her apologies; not necessary; she had not been in this world long and was still growing used to it. Gideon was often viewed as strict or overly dogmatic, and perhaps in some cases that was true, but he did also do his best to be as patient and informative for newcomers to Caido's faith as possible: It was the best way to convert more believers onto the right path, after all.
Watching curiously as she lifted the soot and began to apply it to her doll, Gideon smiled as he realised what she was doing - quite smart, really, and he hoped the God might appreciate her intiative.
Her warning, while kindly meant he supposed, was unnecessary. "You'd be surprised, Aurelia. Once we reveal what the true nature of these Ascended is...I think it's innate in the average man to be disgusted. A machine cannot replace our nature." Gideon seemed utterly confident in this, from the self-assured smile on his face to the steady tone of his voice. "Besides, I have the Gods behind me."
12-27-2020, 12:03 AM (This post was last modified: 12-27-2020, 12:06 AM by Aurelia.)
AURELIA
and my hands aren't clean maybe they never will be
Her hands paused in their work on the rag, the muscles along her fingers stiffening with tension. Aurelia felt something stir in her chest. Anger, maybe, at the surface, but deep down she... completely understood. Maybe that's why it angered her. It wasn't long ago that Aurelia felt the exact same way about people who delved into using magic. Ascended were a new concept to her, her mind still not sure whether she wanted to take one side or the other on the issue.
But if she had learned anything about mages and spellcasters, 'Abandoned', it was that they deserved just as much a chance as anybody else. So she wouldn't be so naive to outcast the Ascended. Not even if a few of them gave her a reason to. A whole race shouldn't be punished for an individual's actions, no matter how heinous. Her thoughts circulated back to Milo, how guilty she felt for everything she'd done when she was around him, and her teeth grit. Her jaw flexed with the movement, and she pressed so hard that it hurt.
She dropped the stick, letting it fall into the sand. Her gaze cast down at the ash that smothered her calloused hands.
(There's a metaphor there, somewhere, I'm sure.)
Lifting up her eyes, she stared across at Gideon with desperation. "I used to think like that, too," she said, starting off slow, not really sure where she was trying to go with it but she was sure to go anyway, "about.. Abandoned. I thought anyone that used magic was evil, a threat that needed to be eliminated. In reality, I was the threat. I was evil. The things I've done to people, Gideon..." she looked away sharply, her palms splayed across her lap in desertion, the pain of so many kills etched across her face. "People that were just trying to get away."
but they can still carry you home when you're ready to sleep
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
Gideon, a perceptive enough man (it helped, when one spent a lot of time evangelising, to know how people felt), picked up on the sudden tension in Aurelia, but mentioned nothing of it until she did, hoping it might find as she let reason take over from emotion. Once, he had been tempted to consider the Ascended as people too, to want to give them a chance; when Jonah's words had gotten to his head, but logic soon enough took him out.
He glanced at the dropped stick, keeping his eyes on it as she spoke. Her words were gentle; he could tell she was trying to be kind, but Gideon thought more than anything she showed her youth and inexperience.
"I assume you mean people in your old world." He said, speaking firmly but softly, looking up to meet her gaze. "You are in Caido now, and things are not always the same. The Ascended are not simply people with different abilities; they have goals, ideals in mind that are an affront to our natures and wellbeing. I wish it was as simple as deciding to forgive and forget, but then I would look up in ten years-" Gideon gestured around the beach, the sparkling ocean and the swaying trees. "-And all this would be replaced with machinery."
and my hands aren't clean maybe they never will be
Her countenance became shadowed, her mind darkening. She could feel herself closing off in that moment. To lay her truths so bare, only for him to dismiss them by justifying such evil actions. She said nothing, at first, until her ashy hand lifted up toward him, gesturing for her knife. "I need that, if you don't mind," the words left her blankly. It was true; she had much more to whittle away on the piece of driftwood before she could fasten the freshly-stained cloth to it. If he obliged she would set to it, working with care until it resembled a figure with a childlike, anonymous face.
Silence, all but for the sound of a blade cutting through wood, would take its place between them. Her mind, however, was anything but. It wasn't until her work was done that she looked at Gideon again.
"Machinery can destroy just as well as it can create, I've seen it with my own eyes in my own world," she pointed out, "but it's not machines that you should worry about. It's the ones running them, operating them, putting them into motion. Without someone to tell it what to do, a machine will sit and waste away - and nature will take back what belongs to it," memories of forgotten relics and ruins, sunk back into the earth, crossed through her mind. "The Voice is your problem, not the Ascended. Deep down, you must know that." Her gaze flickered, searching his face.
but they can still carry you home when you're ready to sleep
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
Gideon handed her back the knife easily, holding his piece and stroking it over with his thumb, just considering the work, half of his mind not even focused on that but on the conversation they were having, the grief he felt that so much of the world outside of Stormbreak was so uneducated, so ready to let the Ascended in and take over. The sounds of her knife cutting were all there was except the sea for a while, until she spoke again.
"I wish it was that simple, Aurelia." He said softly, shaking his head. "The Voice, when she takes people, changes them. Puts her machines into their blood and souls. Has them do her bidding." Had she even met any of them? He imagined any meeting would have shown her just how brainwashed and evil the Voice's followers were. "There is no reversing it. The moment she gets her claws in someone, they are beyond saving and must be destroyed. That's why we need to end this as soon as we can; to stop it spreading further."
01-07-2021, 05:24 AM (This post was last modified: 01-07-2021, 05:34 AM by Aurelia.)
AURELIA
and my hands aren't clean maybe they never will be
Aurelia would have it that Gideon was the one who didn't understand. Her hand, fixed around the hilt of her blade as she carved into the doll with intensive focus. Which might've revealed the upset this discussion had provoked. The beat of blade as it peeled away at the driftwood fastened in pace until, suddenly, she found that she was done, and that she had nicked herself on one of her fingers. Blood dribbled from the cut, although it was nothing remotely serious.
However, Gideon had an immediate retort and Aurelia found that even just his voice rising to the occasion squeezed and instigated her thinning patience. That was no way to look at it. She was trying her god damnedest (literally) to change, and his sentiments reminded her of the stain upon her own character, flung back in her face, a harsh reminder of who she really was. Her fingers clutched around the handle of her knife, her skin squishing against it until she forced herself to sheath it. She was done, anyway, shaking her head as he prattled on.
"It is that simple!" She snapped loudly, voice coming across harsher now, traveling across the sand and making a surprising amount of distance over it. "You complicate it, not the other way around. You are so stuck in the old ways, whatever-the-fuck those are, that you make no room for change - and you don't care if it's good or bad. Even normal people can be bad, can do evil things. And should we kill all of ourselves because of that?" She spat, sneered, eyes narrowing in a fury she could hardly contain. Perhaps, to him, she was not controlling it - oh, but she was. She sat there, stilled by her self-control despite the fire that fumed within her, that pushed and pulled at the literal fire in front of them. Despite the fact that all she really wanted to do was get up and walk away.
"All you know is that it's different, and that's so awful to you," Her words were practically growled out, hostile, and she suddenly sucked in a sharp breath through her nose. She glared at him but, steadied herself, voice quieting, "isn't it? You, Gideon, are afraid of the things you don't know." She scoffed, looking back down at the doll in her lap. Then, she pointed a finger to a spot at the center of her chest as she referred to herself, "You're a coward. I can see it because I was too. Was. Not anymore." She lifted her gaze back up at him, indignant.
"You don't fool me..." And as her rage subsided, as her temper calmed in its flare, she felt a pang of regret and her expression softened with this realization. However, she steeled against it. She looked away, resolved in knowing that she was right - and he was fucking wrong, damn it.
but they can still carry you home when you're ready to sleep
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
Gideon was used to debating theology or the Voice with people, but it was unusual for them to have quite so much passion for the topic, especially in the form of anger directed at him. As he listened to Aurelia his own irritation grew considerably; this child knew nothing she was speaking about. But yelling and screaming would do nothing, would not save her from this path she was going down - he had to be calm, be the bigger person.
Waiting until she had said all of it, he spoke, looking directly at her and purposefully making his voice slow and calm. "I've been fighting this fight, studying this world, and living in it my entire life. You have not even seen all of our seasons." How could she claim to know anything about how things worked? "Do you even know any details about the past, the war, that I haven't told you? Have you spoken to the Gods? Have you seen your friends taken and made into lifeless machinery? Become slaves?" As he spoke Gideon leaned in closer without thinking, his questions growing more intense. "You are putting your perceptions from your world onto this one, and that's a dangerous thing to do."
Maybe Outlanders were more trouble than they were worth, after all.
and my hands aren't clean maybe they never will be
He would sooner rub salt in an open wound than try to see the benefit of a different point of view. Sometimes that's what 'problems' need; a fresh take. Yeah, sure, the fact that she'd yelled at him a bit had probably not been helpful. Probably. Aurelia doesn't know how to be a diplomat, though. She's not good at this whole conversion, 'see things my way' bullcrap. All she knows is what she believes to be right or wrong, and that she feels pretty damn strongly about it - stronger than she ever has.
He leaned toward her, the intensity of his words growing as the space between them shrank, and suddenly Aurelia felt very small. She pursed her lips, muscles in her jaw feathering as her teeth clenched. Some sort of invisible walls were closing in around them. He wasn't going to be happy with them having different ideals, and neither was she; not when they were on such different sides of the spectrum. He wanted her to choose, for no other reason than he wanted her to side against the Ascended. And what the fuck would that even entail?
"What would you have me do, Gideon?" She seethed, gaze narrowing, voice so low and yet so full of rage that it was almost a growl, "Join a war that you're restarting? Risk it all just because you say?" She turns to face him more fully, placing a hand down in the sand, "I may not have been here for very long, but since I got here I've never felt like anything was inherently wrong with this world except when I'm around you, listening to you." And what did that say? She could only wonder! Her gaze looked him up and down with disdain before she reeled back, clarity returning to her tones, "I don't think I will anymore."
She gathered up her materials, Ludo Doll included, and got to her feet. She'd give him one last, unreadable look before she marched away, leaving him there to his own devices. She would make no meaningless threats, no empty promises, she wouldn't tell him to go back where he came from... but all of it roiled in her chest, a fire ignited that she couldn't just put out.
~fin.
but they can still carry you home when you're ready to sleep
