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!
Aurelia stayed focused on Sunjata as he settled in to tell her everything he had to say. Night smoothed over the jungle around them as the sun nearly finished its descent. There was still a dim glow in the atmosphere, not true darkness.
The ambience around them seemed to come alive; muffled animal calls from far away places, the rising song of crickets and cicadas, the flap of landing wings, sounds of things moving through branches and leaves. Somehow, being beneath the canopy at dusk made the Wilds seem that much deeper.
She moved in closer to the fire, feeling the chill of her damp clothes mix with that of the night-time breeze. Her pondering gaze remained on the flames, silently strengthening their flare.
Sunjata's testimony, if it could be called that, didn't help make things any clearer. If anything, it conflicted her more. Her eyes peered up at Sunjata's daggers as they glinted in the firelight, reflecting it back at her. He's suddenly handing them to her, though, so she takes them.
"Who's Ronin, and Amalia?" She asked it quietly because he had more to say.
The dilemma of Nate and Safrin prompts a sympathetic smile, green eyes looking up at him from his twin set of daggers. She handed them back promptly. "These have any special powers or somethin'?"
"That woman, Mildew... she told me my future. Told me that I should choose my side wisely, uh, among other concerning things. I think I know what she was talking about now..." Aurelia shook her head, rubbing her temple for a moment in an attempt to ease the stress and confliction going on in her head. Dropping her hand, she finished, "she said I should offer myself to Safrin. Fuck if I know what I want, but.. I figured..." she shrugged. "You seem dedicated to Safrin, I thought you might have some advice on that front."
so put your faith in the devil and the deep blue sea put your trust in the light that you cannot see
Night creeps in and despite it all, it doesn’t bother Sunjata. Between Aurelia and Haai, he’s sure they’ll be able to make it back out in one piece. So he lounges, instead, offers his advice on the matter that Aurelia brings up even if it isn’t the advice she seeks. Her question takes him a bit by surprise, however, his head tilting as he regards her and tries to think about a time where the girl may have seen either of them. He comes up with nothing, however, realizing he’d met Aurelia after Ronin and Remi had left. So he sucks in a deep breath, a soft smile crossing his face. “Ronin’s Safrin’s Dark Star.” He begins, trying to figure out where to begin. “He died fighting a demon in the Grounds to remove the barrier. Safrin brought him back to life, turned him into her demigod.” He pauses here to consider it. “He is hers. She even had his child.” Though where Seren was, was anyone’s guess. He certainly didn’t know. “He and his husband Remi left shortly before you arrived. I miss him.” He pauses, letting his lips purse slightly as he considers it. Ronin is his best friend, after all. Sunjata never got to keep many of those.
“Anyway, Amalia is the Shield of Safrin." He doesn't know it has changed. "She follows Safrin and Vi the most, but… Safrin has graced her with many things as well. She’s one of Safrin’s chosen as well and I guess I just wanted to be a part of it all too. Ronin and I get along great, Amalia and I…” He makes the equivalent of an ‘ehhh’ sound before he continues. “We’re… Civil for the most part, I think? I fall in and out of Amalia’s graces quite often.” This brings a huff of a laugh to him, a shrug of a tattooed shoulder as he leans forward to peel the shirt from the stick that it had dried off on.
In the process he takes the daggers back, setting them on the ground beside him rather than in the bag. “They do. One does fire magic, the other does lightning.” His gaze lifts back to Aurelia’s face briefly. “I became something like her Blade that day. Though rumors have spread, calling me her assassin which is amusing but it’s not true. I’ve never killed anyone for her.” And nor would he, least of all the Ascended.
Aurelia, however, distracts him with talk of Mildew, Sunjata giving her his all to hear everything she has to say. “I am dedicated to Safrin. Doesn’t mean I have to agree with the things she does.” He offers as if it may help. “That being said… Out of the options? I’d choose her over and over again. She’s only ever rewarded me. I spread her name and work for her and she treats me well.” It goes unsaid how he doesn’t dare to learn what her bad side is. He doesn’t voice his fears of whether Safrin would make him have to choose, what would happen then.
there's a darkness up ahead i will see you where the shadow ends
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"You'd... you want to be a demigod, like them?" Aurelia's taken aback by all of this, by the premise of people becoming demigods. Her gaze narrows thoughtfully as she ponders it all. So, it's possible to become a god or godess' chosen few. There is, however, a small shrug of relief when Sunjata said he never killed anyone for her.
"That's one thing that makes me second guess it... I'd be picking a side in all of this. Given my specific set of skills... I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly what they'd ask of me," she swallowed, looking up at Sunjata as she continued, "to kill for them. Melita told me that Ludo's done that before. I don't want to be anywhere near the-the Herald of Death. I've worked too closely with death for too long." In a way, it felt like she had been a herald for death in her world, too. An agent, a deliverer of it. She'd spent so much time fighting, opposing, avenging, killing.
Now that she was able to settle... to find out and learn what was truly right, she realized how much of what she'd done was wrong. Mistaken. A way of life she'd only chosen because she hadn't known any better.
It left a bitter taste in her mouth and a weight on her conscience that could not simply be relieved by learning how to forgive herself.
"It's not about whether I want anything out of it... it's that I have to do so much to balance out what I've already done. I have to actually do things, though, not just say I'll be better. It's not enough," her gaze shimmered and her voice strained with the admittance. She swept her gaze away from him. She wasn't used to letting herself feel this. She looked around at the shadowy jungles and pursed her lips, pulling in an uneven breath. "So... Safrin, then. If she'll even have me."
so put your faith in the devil and the deep blue sea put your trust in the light that you cannot see
The question that Aurelia stumbles over has Sunjata stilling, immediately shaking his head to her with a quiet huff of a laugh. “Gods no.” He’d never wanted anything of that kind of responsibility. He had enough on his plate with Torchline, let alone doing the bidding of gods – at least this way, remaining attuned, helped him feel like he had some control over himself. “Just… Favored. Not a demigod but noticed, I suppose.” And he had been noticed.
So why didn’t he stop then before getting in too deep? Why did he decide after Maea’s death to go and throw himself at Safrin to become her puppet when his life would change in so many more ways than he ever had anticipated? Because he couldn’t see the end, couldn’t see how things were going to turn out, couldn’t see what was right in front of him even.
She tells him of the specific skillset, of choosing sides, and Sunjata knows that all too well. He nods to her, pausing as he fishes around in his bag for a jug of water to swig from before handing it to her. “Ludo has. Safrin… I don’t think she cares that much.” He offers quietly, even if it doesn’t soothe or balm his fears. “I don’t want to have to choose sides but I fear I will have to one day.” Or compromise or hide away. But he shakes his head, agreeing with her on the tail end of what she says, relating to it far more than he’d anticipated.
“Safrin and Vi are for life. I killed… A lot of people back home too. But it wasn’t ever something I wanted to do. So I chose to follow life.” It’s a quiet agreement with her statement, while his gaze fixates on the bonfire before them, before he’s taking a deep breath and tilting his head to the starry sky. “Given your newfound abilities, I hear it’ll be difficult getting in with the gods.” He pauses, lips pursing slightly before his steel gaze lands back on her, alight with the flicker of the flames that changes them into molten steel. “If you want company to her lighthouse to speak with her I will go with you if you want.” The offer is laid out, but he isn’t done yet. “Come with us when I go to turn in the monsoon protection quest, you’ll get to see her for yourself as well.”
there's a darkness up ahead i will see you where the shadow ends
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Aurelia's gaze relaxed from the incredulous look she was giving him about becoming a demigod. She nodded, frowning thoughtfully. Part of her wanted to be favored, as he so elegantly put it. But she's uncertain, and she likely won't be able to truly make up her mind about any of it until she can get some sort of answer... or guidance... apart from what she's already gotten, of course. Divine guidance, she supposes, but she feels her own tug of reluctance.
The jug of water doesn't really get noticed until it's being offered, until it's right there in front of her. Her mind clears, for a moment at least, and she takes a few swigs of it with a small 'thanks'. She holds onto it while he talks more about the Heralds, keeping it tucked against her stomach.
She nodded understandingly when he related to her, telling her that he chose Safrin and Vi for the same reasons. They knew these things about each other, which in part is what's nice about having this discussion. She doesn't have to explain much more than she already has... Sunjata just knows, understands, relates. Her gaze drifts downward at his declaration that the Gods won't take too kindly to her, given that she's an Abandoned.
"Unlucky," she wipes a bit of sweat from her brow, sighing softly into the dusk. But gently surprised eyes lift back up to him at his offer and invitation. She smiles. "Okay... Yeah, sure. I can do that."
But it's getting late, and it's probably time that they left. So she stands up on her feet, hands him back the jug of water, and works on snuffing out the fire in relative silence. There's not much else to tell him. Nothing of urgency, at least, except perhaps, "Thank you, Sunjata, for uh.. being here," she pauses and looks over at him, "I appreciate it."
"What do you say we head back? Think we'll get there by morning?" She cracks a chuckle. "You could always.. give me another lift," there's a playful smirk on her face.
fire in the ground between my teeth, we're dancing on the poison in their graves at the end of the night, we'd all seen better days
She can hold the jug of water for as long as she’d like, Sunjata too busy focusing on explaining how he’d managed to get wrapped up in the middle of things, what he thinks might happen, which gods are worse – and lastly, offering a way for Aurelia to decide for herself. That made it easier in the end, didn’t it? There’s a smile on her lips as she accepts the offer, Sunjata settling with it and offering her a smaller one back, before his hand strays to rub at Haai between the ears, letting the sound of the waterfall beside them and the creatures in the jungle be the background music while he debates adding more.
But she’s right, it is getting late, and his steel gaze lifts to her face as she stands and snuffs the fire out. “Thanks for inviting me.” He murmurs with a casual shrug, but appreciative of it all the same. He moves to stand as well, giving Haai a loud pat before he’s helping her snuff out the fire and making it appear as though they hadn’t been there. He adds everything back to his pack that he needed to, the shirt slipped back on now that it was dry aside from the humidity, and offers her a quiet laugh at her thoughts.
“Mm, I could. I won’t even drop you.” He teases her, flashing her an amused smirk. But he hands her the pack he’d brought, ties Haai’s back to her own spine, and nods in agreement. He decides to go with the Pegasus in the end, not the dragon, the smaller form easier to maneuver through the jungle’s twisting branches and latching vines. He gives himself enough room before peering back at her. “Ready?” And once she was, he’d shift back into that blue hued Pegasus, lowering a wing for her to hop onto his back, nickering to Haai who prepares to take flight with them.
And then they’re off, heading into the sky toward Torchline and Haulani once again – the wind and treetops moving beneath them with blurring speed.
- FIN <3
i know you tried, i know you're cursed, i know your best was still your worst
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
