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!
she does not know what it's like not to have deep emotions
Trinity Temple.
Since her arrival in Stormbreak not so long before, Amalia has been told to visit the Temple. Since before, even- and to be sure, the Shield has wanted to. But busy as she's been kept by tasks from the Order, and anxious as she is to face more questions about her own uncertain role, the girl has skirted around the structure, fascinated yet hesitant, awed and overwhelmed.
She chooses a time when there are no services to slip between the imposing doors, swallowing down a gasp that surges immediately to her throat. The temple is beautiful, more than she could imagine. It makes the one she loves so dearly back in her homeland look pale and small, a caricature compared to the masterpiece the architects of Stormbreak have composed.
Dark eyes glitter with adoration and wonder as she begins to wander through the pews, bare feet padding softly on the dusty stone. Frequently Amalia pauses to admire a detail or work of art. It isn't until she reaches a statue of Safrin that the girl truly stops, reaching out with hesitant fingers as though to brush them over the smooth cheek of her goddess' facsimile, rapt and passionate ardor blooming into a crown of white and violet flowers, stark against her golden hair.
even when she feels nothing she feels it completely
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
Perhaps there were no services on at the moment, but Gideon's work in the temple never truly stopped. Between each sermon there were things to tidy, clean away and put out, prayers to make for his own soul, people to see, spiritual matters to guide on...his work was never really done.
He was headed back into the Temple after a journey to check on a regular that had not been at the morning sermon when he immediately noticed there was someone new. Spotting Amalia before the statue of Safrin, Gideon smiled (he had heard that Demi Gods were within the city now, but had not yet had the joy of seeing them) and at first tried to walk quietly to the altar, giving her her moment with her Goddess. He had a lot of practice moving silently on the floors of the temple and easily glided behind the pillars where shadows were dark and provided a good cover.
When he finally did reach the front of the temple, he looked back to her and cleared his throat loud enough for her to hear. "You're welcome to stay, but I am about to prepare for this evening's service, might get noisy."
she does not know what it's like not to have deep emotions
The sound of a voice startles Amalia; her head flies up almost violently, hand jerking back from the statue of Safrin. Bristling with chagrin and alarm, the Shield spins to face the Priest where he stands upon the dais, as comfortable and at home as she might have expected. Once again the girl feels strangely inferior, standing at a lower elevation, surprised and out of place. She considers fleeing, but keeps her footing, trying to appear composed.
"Noisy?" Tucking her hands into her pockets, the girl hovers uneasily between stepping towards Gideon and staying where she is. "Why would the preparation be noisy?" A brow has arched up in curiosity, and now she does take that ghostly step, drifting nearer the front of the church.
even when she feels nothing she feels it completely
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
Gideon couldn't help but chuckle at Amalia's shocked face as she spun around to see him; the moment did for a second flash him back to the Temple in the Hollowed Grounds, the wide eyes of the Ascended he had ended, but no regret came with the memory; just a simple connection. For a moment he thought she might run away, bizarrely; given her position as a Demi God, if she asked him to place her upon a silk bed and feed her grapes, he would do it, after all.
Probably not happily, but he would do it.
"I'm going to be moving around the candles and altar so that the congregation can queue to have their private prayers and consultations." Advice and promised messages carried across, a day in the life of the Temples priest. "On this stone floor, it's never quiet. If you don't mind that though, you can stay - maybe even help." Gideon raised his eyebrows, reaching out to grab one of the candelabras and take it to the edge of the hall.
she does not know what it's like not to have deep emotions
He's soothing for all the rough and annoying edges, and there's something in the straightforward way he answers that makes Amalia both comforted and uneasy. Perhaps it is the lack of any adult male figure in her youth that makes her feel so helplessly lost when dealing with the Priest; perhaps it is the way he treats her like something more than human, a fact Amalia has yet to properly embrace herself.
Whatever the reason, it keeps her standing tense and silent until he makes the suggestion she help. Conversation and interaction are difficult for the Shield, but work? Work is familiar. Work is easy. She likes to work, and so she nods gratefully, moving to grab a candelabra of her own and mirror Gideon's placement of the thing.
It's light (for her) and she scarcely has to strain to lift the large wrought-iron thing. As she works she finds her tongue loosening, questions rising once again to echo through the hall. "What sort of consultations?" the Shield wonders, double checking her placement against the Priest's. "Do you hear all of them? Everyone who wants to speak to you? What sort of things do people ask?"
even when she feels nothing she feels it completely
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
With the candelabra placed, Gideon went to one of the nearby lit candles and with a small match, transferred the flame onto it; he gave the match over to Amalia to do the same, sure to hand it over with plenty of wood left to burn down. Humming at a slightly bent arm on the metal frame, he focused on gently trying to adjust it back into place as Amalia spoke.
"All kinds of things. Who they should be praying to, if they've offended some God or another." The answer was usually no, mortals far more concerned with the Gods than the Gods with them, though he had had to say yes a few times. As for if he heard all of them, he nodded, looking over away from the arm for a moment. "Of course. Anyone queued up gets seen. I've been here late into the night talking to people sometimes. They come to learn and to respect the Gods, they deserve to be heard." Gideon was very sure of this, nodding to himself as he said it.
An idea occurred to him after he had explained, his eyes going to Amalia and this time staying there. "You know, there's actually something you could help me with that would mean a lot to the Gods. More than a candle."
she does not know what it's like not to have deep emotions
What would it have been like for her, to grow up in the shadow of someone who could assure her of her place in the regard of the gods? Part of her yearns for it, grieves the opportunities she might have had were she born elsewhere than in the Grounds. Would she have become this man's apprentice, working here, learning to pray and identify the desires of the deities she adored?
Or would she have been complacent, dependent on the words of another to assure her of her piety, rather than striving to reassure herself?
She lights the candles in pensive silence, thinking on these possibilities, on what it must be like. The match burns down quickly, and Amalia takes a candle to the others, trying not to look too closely at the memories that burn in the flames. When the lights are all illuminated the girl turns back to Gideon, tilting her head as he suggests that she aid him with a project. "Oh?" Her voice is guarded, not committing. She doesn't want to be asked again to speak to his congregation, and the idea of being placed on his pedestal makes her skin begin to crawl.
even when she feels nothing she feels it completely
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
Amalia's trepidation was palpable, but Gideon pretended he didn't notice, smiling anyway and going on to ask his question, presenting it casually as if he were asking her to bake cookies for the next service: "Ludo has provided me with a tool that will let me find the locations of Ascended shrines. Anywhere they have made a monument to their Voice, I can find it." Hidden in any caves, in corners...it didn't matter, he would find them and tease them out like spiders from under a rock.
"I am getting together a...team, of sorts, to come with me and see to it that these shrines get the treatment they deserve - that is, a hasty destruction. We could use someone with your Demi God power, your abilities....your devotion, Amalia." After all, even if they disagreed on some things, he could see and feel her love for Safrin (and the returned love Safrin had for her). "Help us do this, and we're a step closer to ending the Voice's influence over people's lives."
she does not know what it's like not to have deep emotions
Whatever anxiety Amalia felt fades quickly as Gideon makes his request, for here is something she can do, far easier than speaking to any mass of people. She cringes at the word shrine, remembering the one that defiled her Athenaeum, the Voice rising from it like a beacon of tragedy and despair.
The destruction of said shrines is something Amalia has long since yearned for. Morgan had promised to aid in it, once upon a time, and Ronin as well... but with Ronin busy and Morgan having changed her stance, here perhaps is a cause the Shield can take up. "I know where two are, in the Grounds," the girl says softly, almost confidentially, stepping closer to Gideon with eager thoughtfulness over her face. "Though those would be hard to get to. Wessex, and the other Ascended - I doubt they would take kindly to any interference."
Biting her lip, the girl turns away. "When? And who?"
even when she feels nothing she feels it completely
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
After his first conversation with Amalia about the Ascended, Gideon was not expecting such an eager response to this suggestion; he looked her over with a surprised, pleased smirk which became a grin (which some might have described as wicked) before he elaborated on the plans, now comfortable enough to be candid about the goals.
"We can't start in the Grounds; it's their base. Too many Ascended crawling about. No, we start elsewhere - Torchline, we were thinking." Wouldn't have to deal with the cold of Halo, and as far as he knew there weren't that many of the Voice's followers there. They could be in and out without too much trouble, and if they attacked during Longnight, the Voice herself couldn't stop them. "Myself and the other Order members can use our compasses to get there...you might need to ask the Gods for a way, because Ludo advised we attack at Longnight."
As for who - he wasn't sure how familiar Amalia was with members of the Order, but he had no problems telling her. "Myself, Finn and Sera. We would value the input and help of a Demi God above anyone else, obviously."
she does not know what it's like not to have deep emotions
She nods agreement at his decision to avoid the Grounds for now, thoughtful, oblivious to his wicked grin. "Sunjata would not take kindly to Torchline's being destroyed... though nor would Morgan to Halo's." Would Deimos help them? He might at least not interfere, more than can be said of Torchline's council. She begins to pace, still musing slightly, not sure the best way to approach this issue. "The portals to Halo are closed in Deepfrost, which would make it harder for Ascended to catch wind and come stop us." Though the cold does present an issue; Amalia has her leopard shift, but the others lack such protection.
The names of those who are joining is encouraging, to say the least. She glances back, surprised and pleased to hear Finn listed among them. "What about Ronin? Or Remi?" the girl asks, tilting her head in avian fashion. "They're both stronger than I am, and Remi is already in the Greatwood - he could get to Torchline easier. Might even know where the shrine is."
even when she feels nothing she feels it completely
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
"No one is going to take kindly to it. We don't act on our plans for approval, Amalia. We do them for justice. For what's right." Gideon was fully ready to take on criticism from whatever leader wanted to give it, not scared of the words of an Abandoned Warden or Ascended-fucking Governor. "That is true about Halo...The cold in the mountains might hinder us, though." Either way they still ran into the problem of Amalia being unable to access the shrine.
He paused when she asked why he didn't take Remi, thinking it over. "I don't know him that well, but if you think he'd be willing...and you aren't...it is an option." There was a clear judgement in his voice, Gideon still disappointed in her lack of bloodthirsty conviction for the Ascended, but he was actually thinking over what she said.
she does not know what it's like not to have deep emotions
For justice, maybe, but it doesn't change the fact that there are others who will not see it that way. She's seen seen Morgan's dedication to the Ascended, seen Jata's adoration for Nate - and she's seen how strong they both can be, knows from first hand experience how much of a fight they'll both put up if pressed. But once again the Priest appears to think he knows best, and Amalia finds herself faltering, balking, looking away and back at the row of pews.
Amalia's jaw sets stubbornly, the tension only increasing as Gideon suggests that she isn't willing to do this thing. "Of course I am," she replies almost petulantly, catching herself and inhaling sharply, her bare toes scuffing over the stone floor. "I just thought you might want more backup. Finn is hardly a fighter, Sera's an architect, and you..." Glancing the Priest up and down, Amalia raises a brow. "Have you ever fought an Ascended before? Or anyone, for that matter?"
even when she feels nothing she feels it completely
Give your heart and soul to charity 'Cause the rest of you
It actually made Gideon smile to see a little bit of passion in Amalia as she insisted she wanted to help. Finally, there was that Demi-God spirit he'd been looking for; a desire to squash the Ascended threat, to work towards what was good and correct for all of them. Without that, there was little point being given the God's blessings, in his opinion.
"You'd be surprised by their strength, and don't worry about me, Amalia." Gideon grinned, showing his teeth as memories of Evelyn's fluid on his hands crossed his mind. "I can handle myself, especially against Ascended. After all, we have the God's blessing. What could we be afraid of with that?" He had the utmost faith that if anything were to go disastrously wrong, the Gods would come to save them; it was their battle they were fighting. "So does this mean you're in?"
