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!
Like a Cheshire cat I think that you are just a grin
There were a lot of things involved in Mildew's practice; gathering and harvesting items from the local nature of the swamp, enchanting what she crafted, mixing concoctions and potions...but another, perhaps less obvious but no less important part of it all was time spent thinking and focusing, connecting with the earth beneath her feet and the trees that surrounded her every day.
She liked to come to the Hanging Tree to meditate. It was a place with a deep history of violence, yes, but that also mean it was interesting. Sat where she was, she knew she was in a place where there had been death, sorrow, joy...once, just plants and ground, before humans had had any part of it. Mildew placed her feet on the ground, closed her eyes and listened to the swamp as she had done millions of times, letting soft deep breaths leave her.
For a while she stayed like that, impossibly still - then an eye opened as she heard a noise that stood out. A footstep, not that of a creature, but of a person. For the moment she said nothing, just watched where the noise came from, waiting to see if anyone (or anything) would come through the trees.
It was good fortune that they were made to not be bothered by things like damp and stench, or by off putting colour palettes all but screaming danger to any creature with good sense. Though the latter is less of an issue when their vision is already so warped, the world a burst of deep blues and purples, with the occasional green to beak it up. If nothing else, the colours are a far sight more welcoming than the Climb had been.
Entirely unintentionally, their hair has shifted to match the cool palette Osozo sees, the colour more washed out than their usual vibrant preference. Their eyes follow the same trend, so pale the iris is barley visible.
A single shape rises up before them as they slog through the soggy landscape, discernable only because of the warmer yellows it’s shown in. Immediately the shape is recognized as a person, though without any other visual clue the Demi-god has no way of knowing how difficult it would be to see them without the tip off of heat. Stopping a good distance from the warm blob, Osozo clears their throat, and speaks in a warm rich voice. ”Hello!”
Like a Cheshire cat I think that you are just a grin
While she didn't have Osozo's heat vision, Mildew was deeply familiar with the swamp and all life within; she could tell by the sound of the footsteps how close Osozo was, and by the time they reached the clearing she was turned to face them, casually leaning back on one hand and watching them arrive. Some surprise did take over her features as they so easily greeted her, as if they had been expecting her too, but she didn't let it stay long.
"...Hello. You're quite chipper, aren't you, sweetheart? Most people who explore through these parts are exhausted by now." Tucking her legs underneath herself, Mildew looked Osozo up and down; they looked...odd, but she supposed she hadn't been in contact with the larger world for a while now. Fashion, genetics...it all could have changed in the literal hundreds of years she'd been distant. "Do you have a name?"
Their current sight gives away nothing on the womans face, hides away the moment of surprise, not that Osozo would have necessarily known what to do with it anyway. She answers their greeting, and she sounds friendly, though that doesn't necessarily mean much. "Should I be something else?" They question, head cocking. Chipper was best for meeting new people, they had thought, but it makes sense that it didn't necessarily work for everyone.
At the mention of exhaustion though, Osozo lets out a soft chuckle, their hand lifting to cover their mouth as they did "There's too much to see to think about getting exhausted." They point out, shaking their head as though the whole thing is a foreign concept to them. Which, to be entirely fair, it is. "My name is Osozo." As always, they buzz the consonants between their too sharp teeth, head cocking to the side as they look at the indistinct warm shape of the woman. "Do you have a name?"
Like a Cheshire cat I think that you are just a grin
"No, I'm just surprised." Mildew reassured, though she still had an odd feeling about this visitor that filled her with an apprehension she didn't quite understand. Most people would at least be a little out of breath, the way through the swamp inevitably involving wading or climbing, but Osozo seemed to be entirely together. She tried to put it from her mind for the moment, but it was hard to dismiss the instinctual feeling of something not right in her chest.
"Osozo. A name I haven't heard before." When you had been alive as long as Mildew had, that was a novelty. "I'm Mildew. What're you doing in my swamp, sweet? Is there something I can help you with?" Her voice was clear and friendly, Mildew making sure her expression matched; for the moment she was willing to help the newcomer, though she'd need to work out just what was wrong first. "Are you...an...they call them Outlanders, I believe?"
