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!
Maybe they were all in similar facets. Uncertain how to tread. What to say. How to capture what had been gone. How to enact alike passages and renderings, when there’d been so many swift alterations. Deimos strived, did his best, attempting to formulate where to best step, where to meander, what was safe, what was not. They’d lost and gained all within the same breadth, and still, he accepted her. He always had. The monolith had made that vow and promise, oath and assurance. It was everything else nestled and embedded in between that had them meandering in the unknown – ominous threads calling her to a war she didn’t want, had no voice within, or threats of other factions coiling behind that one. To survive one onslaught, and then likely to see another and another; wave upon wave.
Much like the rest.
They marched on to their beats of drums and hollowed surfaces, but gods, sometimes it was exhausting.
Her response concocted something else too; figments perhaps, of a world beyond, of a time and place where the chiseled glaciers were all they knew, where the hardened beasts learned to survive in a world that many would’ve perished within. He muffled a chuckle, because he understood some part of it, the weight of the intangible, the notions of fire no longer having a place in her soul (and that was a little heartbreaking too, but he wouldn’t admit it).
With a single nod, he called for the cool embrace of the water pooling in his veins. It concocted and swirled, came to fruition instantly, springing forth into the training grounds, hovering, contorting, until he commanded it to change elemental regimes and potential. It formed crystals of ice, daggers of embedded precision, before chiseling, sculpting, straight into the amulet – stored away for her use.
Then he handed it over to her, wordless, and waiting.
--
Deimos has made:
Magic Storing Amulet: An amulet capable of storing one Abandoned magic cast at it, allowing the user to cast and control the enchantments contained within. Will break after one use.
Fire had been all she’d known ever since she was a young girl. A fiery soul, a fiery tone, dedication to become the best and the strongest to be able to both protect and threaten. And she’d lost it all, become a shell of that person since she’d died, brought back with no more of the shifts in her skin, no more of the fire in her soul, she felt cold, empty, hollow. The only bright points that filled her now were others. It was Deimos and Chulane, there were friends here and there that she’d picked up, thought of, but in the end if left too long by herself? It was only her.
And even if it was hard and tough, she’d come back for a reason. One day she’d feel whole again. For now, though, it waits beyond a dark veil of LongNight, of being thrust away from home yet again for another onslaught of danger and fear. At least she wouldn’t be alone for it, the rest of the Ascended out having to slaughter and fix the wrong that had overcome the Grounds again.
So she focuses instead on the amulet that’s held within Deimos’ hands, watching as it’s filled with jagged and sharpened ice, wanting nothing more than to spear the life out of those terrible shadowed monsters of the Hollowed Grounds. But she bites down on her tongue, stepping forward to take the amulet and place it around her neck, iceberg gaze lifting to meet Deimos’ face, offering him about as much of a smile as she can muster. “Thank you.”
why do i fear becoming a river?
what mountain gave me such shame?
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
How did one fight an onslaught that wasn’t their own? Deimos couldn’t remember a time he’d done just that – eternally caught on maneuvers of his own kingdom, or orchestrating measures to defy others. Rage and wrath, contempt and abhorrence, had been his guide – soulless faith in intrepid, determined notions, bountiful precision in the state of his pernicious prowess. But what of a place where he’d been threaded into with no word, with no say? The beast regularly volunteered to fight monsters – had little to no care over his own wellbeing, walked into the realm of death and stared it right in the face. So he couldn’t imagine the nature of these gambles and games, not for an entity who didn’t want it. Who would have to face torture and torment because that was what others had decided.
A soldier, in a lot of ways, biding their time, striving to survive until the next orders were given out.
So all he could choke out, push down under the surface, amongst and amidst the myriad of a hundred other things bolstering upon his senses, was on a quiet rumble. “You are welcome.” Eternally; for as long as she needed him.
His eyes lifted back to the arrows, to the bow, to everything else nestled in between. “Is there anything else you want to practice?” Uncertain which form the demons would take, how they would orchestrate and demean, damage and obliterate – skills in an array of knowledge, sagacity, and muscle memory. It was all he could give her now.
The amulet is placed around her neck, her gratitude offered, before she’s tucking the bow around her shoulder and tearing her gaze away to scan the rest of the training ring, trying to feel for a part of her that wants to continue, to hone and sharpen her edges, even if that spot within her is mostly full of annoyance and upset. She inhales a breath she doesn’t need, feeling it expand in her chest but not quite offering the relief she seeks as she exhales in a sigh that isn’t seen by the coldness outside.
“No, I think I’m okay.” Her attention flickers back to Deimos then, readjusting the bow on her shoulder and offering him a small smile. “Chuy should be heading home soon I think, though. We could walk there together if you wanted.” The offer is extended, to walk home with her, where she could offer tea or snacks, something to help pay back for what he’s done for her in the little ways she knows how, even if she doesn’t get the same out of it anymore.
why do i fear becoming a river?
what mountain gave me such shame?
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
He had half a mind to argue with her. To say there were other nuances, other angles, other potential ranges of weapons to explore. Before it was too late. Before there were endless nights. Before there were screams of upheaval, and long, dastardly claws streaking from shadows. Before all potential could be gone.
But his head bowed, knowing there was no point when Kiada had already set it into her mind. That hours upon hours might not matter, when the world was breaking apart in the dusky hollows. But he wanted it too – he wanted her to be able to survive and dream and hope again.
And another portion of him wanted to refuse that small offer; to hide and peel away into the burrow of his apartment, to relinquish and suffer silently, quietly, in the dread, the doom, the gloom, the wakes and destruction he had no control over.
Except he’d been trying, so desperately hard, to not. To not fall back into those old habits. To not drift straight into anguish and despair, to not drown out the rest of the world in his agony. To snag at the present. To cherish things that he did have, while he had them – while they were in his grasp.
So while he could’ve just as easily slunk off, hushed and miserable with the ominous wake spreading out over them, the monolith pushed past it, nodding. “Sure. Let me put this away.” It’d give him a chance for everything to feel like it was peeling apart – marking the notes of a ghostly smile, placing the quivers, the bows, the targets back to where they were stored.
She doesn’t want to become a machine, even if she feels like she has. She doesn’t want to drone on and on over and over when exhaustion wouldn’t hit her, when the formation of calluses wouldn’t even stop her from continuing on. How did one know when to stop when your body could let you go forever? She didn’t want to test the theory, wanting nothing more than simplicity and the enjoyment of life before facing the possibility of not returning home again.
And so she offers it, the simplicity, her gaze finding Deimos again with it, watching and waiting to see whether he agrees or pushes her to practice more. She’d be lying if she said his agreement offers her some relief internally. So she nods as he tells her to wait until he’s put the training items away, Kiada shifting the bow on her shoulder to help him place them back where they were supposed to go, before they’re headed back out on the street, the snow covered cobblestones and the bright vibrant lights that illuminate the pathway. “Halo is beautiful. The longer I’m here the more it reminds me of the Basin.” She murmurs softly, angling her head a bit his way, turning her attention back to him.
why do i fear becoming a river?
what mountain gave me such shame?
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
Targets put away, weapons stored back in proper order and place, and then they could stop out into the cold. Just like ages and eons before, he lifted his head into its chilling embrace, not bowing, not backing down, but a part of its backdrop, its visage, its power, its mystique. Habitual, instinctual, to become another ether and addition to the mountainous region, to throw himself into the wake of its power and precision, its might and weight. Perhaps it was for her too, only different now; because she couldn’t feel the entanglements of the cold. Maybe the ardor, the moments, were still the same.
His march was steady, assured, long, sweeping strides under the cloak of night and the gently falling snow, pressing and flickering, a familiar haze along beams of lantern lights. Her comment pulled him along, further and further, as if they could’ve imagined the worlds were parallel, uniform, veiled and shrouded in the similar beacons. The Basin had been hope and perseverance and strength, rising from the gallows and refugee cataclysms, bringing them prosperity when there’d only been defeat. Halo was another chance. At what – he couldn’t be certain. Not within this instant.
Instead, a smile tucked its way in the corners of his mouth, and his gaze forged onward. “Mm. The unfreezing lake is like the Sea of Glass.” With the ice, with the surroundings, with the mystery and enigmas untangled in it. But they’d been birds above that surface, in times of yesteryear. “All we need are some hot springs.” He paused, reflecting on Hotaru’s once attempt towards some spa, sanctuary, and refuge. “And a secret tent.”
The smile on her face grows wider as Deimos begins the comparisons, her step growing easily quite like lollying around in comparison to Deimos’ steady march. “It is like the Sea of Glass.” She comments softly, a hand rising to tap at her chin as she considers it, the idea of hot springs next that has her sighing wistfully. “We truly do. Large hot springs to simply forget about everything within.” There’s a beam of excitement in her tone that she tries to clamp down on, her head tilting toward Deimos at the mention of a secret tent before she’s snickering lightly.
“A secret tent shouldn’t be hard to come across, should it?” She asks him, amusement lingering in her tone. “I’m sure there’s enough ursur and luxere pelts to whip one up, hold it somewhere in secret. All those roundtable meetings I was never invited to because I was a child. I was quite jealous of that, you know.” She informs him, almost matter of factly, unable to keep the childish smirk from her face. “Mother would come home and tell Zo and I about the things you all talked about – nothing ever in detail, of course, we just had an idea of what to expect. She’d always tell it like some grand story.”
why do i fear becoming a river?
what mountain gave me such shame?
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
Reflections of the past conjured and patterned to the present was far easier to convey than the other thoughts marooning and harpooning. Better, stronger still, were their ties to the mountains and expanse, to the whirlwinds of ice and snow, of bludgeonings and melees, strength and derision. There was half a moment where he nearly mentioned the hot springs contained within the Climb; but then that had a host of other ministrations, defeats, and deaths. He roamed around it instead, eyes on the horizon, smirk chiseled in the corners of his mouth. “To ease into after battle.” Which was what he’d used them primarily for; slowly sinking into the wounds, the lacerations, the scars, forgoing and forgetting them for a moment where the world soothed the beast who’d fought for it time and time again. The Sword did nothing to punish or override her excitement – compelling it instead, hoping for it to reach and stretch, widen and expand.
He snorted at the insistence of the secret tents as they turned around a corner, continuing along the main road. Pelts could be stitched together, certainly, even if he had to fight Aisha off the remaining ursur furs. Her insistence at not being permitted into the meetings held within the furtive stature made him snort, an extension of warm puffs of air, curling, contorting, into the evening. “We discussed war plans. It was not fitting for a child.” It likely wouldn’t have held her attention anyway; lines of movement across maps, gestures of irritation when one disagreed with the other, plans and plots set in motion to override another kingdom, to defend their own, snag more information from known sources.
Whether it was grand or not wasn’t something he was sure of; it was simply normal. Habitual. Routine, for the world they lived within.
There’s a nod and a hum of a laugh that leaves her throat, agreement that it had been perfect even if Kiada had never experienced what it was like after battle. No, she typically used them when she’d returned from recruiting, when her bones were tired from being so young and wandering half the continent in search of so many more to bring to their ranks. Oftentimes, it worked, a child was quite convincing. And sometimes? Sometimes they simply wanted to make sure she made it home alright, had managed to find a home within it anyway.
As for discussing war plans, she tosses her head a smidge, an unamused sigh leaving her as a smirk crosses her face. “Neither was recruiting out in the Threshold alone.” She hums, despite there being a lingering thread of pride in the tones of her voice. “And who did the best that year you held the contest?” To this, she turns her attention to him and flashes him a wicked grin.
It was her. And it was quite possibly her proudest moment.
why do i fear becoming a river?
what mountain gave me such shame?
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
He muffled a snort – some forbearing weight lifted off his shoulders for the moment, eyes turning down streets that had grown familiar, that had started to feel like some version of home. The visions brought back another segment of the ones before though, and he could nearly imagine an outline of a hot spring, nestled somewhere in the midst, where they gathered and laughed, where everything didn’t seem so bleak and misguided, so lost and profound. “Hotaru had started making a spa,” he mentioned, off-handedly; it had been ages and ages ago, back before deaths and oblivion and some other rotted, wrecked portion of the earth had thundered back into their notions.
And then he arched a brow, rolling his eyes at her smirk and snicker – equating the two seemed hardly fair. He’d done his fair share of asking others to join their ranks; though with his personality, he’d been far less successful. His talents went towards the battlefield, towards defense, towards armaments, towards savage intricacies and devilish demolition. “War and recruiting are not the same.” A shrug ran rampant through his shoulders; he’d given her credit where credit was due long before – shaking his head at her clawing, grasping hands for the semblance of pride and vindication all over again. “But they were a necessity there.”
“That’s right… She did.” For a moment Kiada’s brows pinch together and she wonders if perhaps she should write to the Valkyrie, to tell her that she’d come back. She doesn’t know where Hotaru is, if any of them know yet, but she needs to say it aloud – not realizing what had occurred after her death. As for the rest of the comments, of secret tents and war plans and recruitment, it does bring the spark of amusement back to her eyes, in the pride that’s reflected in the grin that spreads along her face.
“Of course not. But, I still won.” She chimes, giving a bit of a dance and a twirl along the path they take, the closer they get to her and Chulane’s home, before she’s settling back step in step with Deimos and offering him a quiet laugh. “It feels like forever ago, doesn’t it?” In a way, it had been forever. But she doesn’t say much more to that until they arrive at the door to her home, inviting Deimos in for some tea and chatter before letting the acting Warden move on with his night.
- FIN <3
why do i fear becoming a river?
what mountain gave me such shame?
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
