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!
Cam nodded as Wessex gave the camera back, slinging it back around their neck. Even though they'd offered Wessex the camera, watching her fiddle with it had made them a bit nervous -- an anxiety they always felt when handing people their things, even back home. At least they didn't have to worry about Wessex going through the camera roll and finding something embarrassing. Not that Cam took particularly embarrassing pictures, anyway.
"So, if I wanted to ask the Voice about my camera, I could just ... pray to her?" People had mentioned that the gods were reachable here, but Cam still found it surreal. They'd been an atheist, before, and they had barely even adjusted to the idea that these gods were provably real, let alone that individuals could speak to them. "Wait, what do you mean 'gives us upgrades'?"
Cam would have snapped their fingers if they'd ever figured out how to do that reliably. Instead they nodded. "Accepted, that's the one. I thought that meant I couldn't do anything special, but we can ... channel the gods?"
That last bit was uncertain, and they shook their head a little, speaking almost to themself as they added, "I think I'd rather have magic or shape-shifting. I don't even know the gods."
cameron ?
"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
“Yeah,” she says, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “You go to the right shrine - and there are different ones for the Old Gods and the New Gods sometimes, and you tell them what you’d like to talk about. They don’t always show at first, but if you keep it up with, you can gain favor -” she looks at them with a slightly raised brow and an amused expression. “Your world didn’t have Gods, did it?”
As for the upgrades, she considers trying to explain that, but the answer is probably rather long and so Wessex comes to a quick conclusion, “Like this,” she offers, while holding her arms out and flexing her forearm muscles, sending three talons sliding out of each hand, shiny long blades erupting from between her knuckles. “There are all kinds of upgrades, but I hope you get the gist of it.”
Leaving them extended, she tries to figure out the best way to explain their abilities. “Yes and no. Spirits at first, then as you get older and stronger, heralds, and then Gods. Though I don’t know anyone who can channel the Gods themselves, now that I think of it.” Her sharp ears catch their quieter mutterings and she slides her head back and forth. “They’re… a mixed bag. All of them. Pros and cons, and look, I’m really biased. So I can tell you, but you should know…”
They will not get a neutral opinion from her.
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
Cam listened to Wessex in wonder, then shook their head with a rueful smile when she asked about their own world's gods. "No. I mean, we had lots of religions, lots of different gods that people believed in, but they didn't come out and speak to us. So I didn't believe in any of them. No proof that they existed, you know, and a lot of the time it felt like our religions were just ... made up to control people, to get them to think something because 'oh, God said you should do this,' when it was actually just selfish people."
Maybe they'd said too much, Cam realized. They probably didn't need to air their grievances against organized religion to Wessex. They added, "But, I mean, that was at home. We didn't have magic or shape-shifters or -- or any concept of other worlds at home, either. So if I'm here, all the rules are kind of out the window; I'm not going to go around telling people here that their gods don't exist. Not that I did much of that at home, either; it's rude."
When the blades popped out of Wessex's hands, Cam jumped. "Oh, wow. Wow! That is so cool. How does that work? Is it magic? Does it hurt?"
Cameron nodded to Wessex's description of channeling. It made sense that Accepted would be able to channel greater gods as they grew stronger, like leveling up in a game. As for Wessex's biases: "I mean, if you tell me you're biased, I can keep that in mind. I would like to hear what you think, even if I have to hold that knowledge, too."
cameron ?
"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
“You’re not the only one who’s said that about their world…” trailing off for a moment, Wessex pulls herself back to a conversation with Chulane, who told her more or less the same thing. Religion was made up with no evidence of their Gods (either that, or they were unable-slash-chose not to communicate with their followers) and that magic and such things didn’t exist.
It was a definite possibility that the portal could remain open. Though Cameron didn’t have the same accent as Chuy. “When Deepfrost melts the snow covering the portal in Halo, you might want to find a man named Chulane. I’m not assuming you’re from the same place, but I also wouldn’t rule it out.” She has no idea if that’s comforting to the Outlander, knowing that they’re not entirely alone in an unfamiliar world. If they are from the same world (Gods, why can’t she remember the name of it?), maybe Chulane could explain some things better and Cameron wouldn’t need to worry about being rude.
Not that Wessex is insulted. In fact, she’s smiling at their enthusiasm, because yeah, it is fucking cool. “No, it’s biomechanics. I flex to release and contract, and there’s no pain because we don’t feel pain anymore. Our insides are… different.” Now that is something she’s a little wary to start explaining, and luckily for her, someone comes walking up to the pair.
The Queen looks over her shoulder at the sound of footsteps and recognizes the person, waving them closer. They pass her a note and she reads it, something dark flitting briefly across her face before she starts to rise. “Sorry, Cameron, I have to go. It was nice to meet you, and I hope to see you after LongNight - ah, please do make sure you leave the Grounds by then. If you don’t you’ll probably die.”
There’s no better way to get someone to leave than by insinuating assured death. Still, she offers them a fanged smile and then heads off with the runner who came for her.
{Fin}
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
