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!
He's never been to the Sleeping Steps, but he's been told by many that they are peaceful; a place of reverence and reflection and worship. And Ronin? He's here to worship.
Scorned by a goddess and devoid of any of his abilities, the Dark Star works by hand. And so as the stars come out and the moon rises, clear and crisp and cold, he meanders down the steps, lighting candles, placing them carefully on the edge of each one.
It takes almost two hours, by which time it is pitch black, but for the winking lights above and below. Bathed in the glow of the candles, Ronin stands back, carefully tracking the design. They're a constellation, one he knows well, but only possible to view properly from above. Still, it brings a smile to his lips.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
Throw them into the Falling.
It's where he intended to go, truly. But as much as Finn is trying to spook the demons out from beneath his bed, the Falling is too much, too soon. So his feet have taken him here instead; his recent meeting with Gideon and the others have reminded him all too well, how steep a drop there is over the side of the steps.
Steep enough into the pitching waves that a small parcel of guitar strings will hardly be noticed at all.
But as Finn steps out after dark - having been expecting, of course, for no one to be around - he is greeted by a swathe of tiny points of gold. The candles set his face aglow, and he finds himself smiling beneath his scarf as he stands at the top of the steps, merely watching, his hands buried in his coat pockets.
There is something peaceful about it, moreso than usual, and the darkness on either side means that he can almost imagine there is no cliff, no thrashing ocean. He does not see the man at the bottom of the very same stairway, dazzled as he is by the light.
Ronin only glances up by chance, and when he does he has to do a double take. It almost slips from his lips - Remi? - because silhouetted in the candlelight, the man who stands at the top of the Sleeping Steps looks exactly like his husband. But a closer look at the way he stands, the expression on his face... no. No, not Remi. "Hello, Finn."
Because this isn't the first time the Spyglass and the Star have met, but last time was a remarkably different set of circumstances. Ronin starts to climb the steps, picking his way around his candles to make sure that he's not going to kick any of them over. (Not really a great start to a Safrin tribute, after all).
"Are you here to visit someone? Sorry, I think I may have gotten carried away." He glances over his shoulder back down at the lights.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
Finn's reverie is broken by the sound of a voice, and he glances up sharply, wondering if he has intruded on some private ceremony of sorts. But the voice knows his name, and stormy eyes blink Ronin into focus as the demigod approaches up the steps. Without his glasses the man before him is entirely unremarkable, save for the obvious. (The obvious being that he's standing swathed in candles, on his own in the dark).
Then he remembers their previous meeting, and he swallows a sudden lump in his throat. "Good evening," he greets, stepping aside with care, ensuring his footing is stable but giving enough room for Ronin to pass. "To visit...? Oh - no. No, I don't have anyone here to visit."
His eyes wander back to the display on the steps. "Shaped like stars," he remarks.
Ronin pauses beside Finn at the top of the steps, turning to admire the tribute from this new vantage point. He's smiling even before the other man speaks, but as the Spyglass calls out the constellation in the work, he can't help but flash a grin in his direction - if he were still capable of it, the connection would have caused a pulse of starlight to shine out of him. "That's right," he says with a nod, leaning down to adjust one of the candles ever so slightly, that it might be out of the wind.
"I read once, about the constellations rumoured to be Safrin's favourites." If he'd known the other man better, he'd have made a joke about the fact that he does, indeed, know how to read. "I thought I would put a display out for her to see." He glances up at the sky, wondering if she does see. Already knowing that she does, in truth, and well able to imagine her with a scoreboard up there, tallying up his attempts to get back in her good books.
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
He smiles and Finn looks away almost on autopilot at this point. The Spyglass is not a man of charm and wit, and that's without taking into account the fact that Ronin is the Dark Star, someone who rides in Safrin's wake. He stands more like Ronin's shadow, in comparison, and the strings in his pocket (so light and so meaningless, in the large scale of things) feel very heavy all of a sudden. Would the lady of stars be paying attention, here, if he discards her gift under full view of her chosen?
"This one is one of her gowns, is it not?" he guesses, looking at the candles rather than at Ronin. "Do you often come out to leave her gifts like this?" He suspects not, given that he has been researching the likes of Ronin and his ilk for longer than they have known about Stormbreak. Even Finn knows, of course, not to mention something like that.
Ronin still can't help but compare the Spyglass to Remi, even knowing that they are different people. As Finn turns away, leaving him in the profile of starlight and candle flames, the Star can see his husband yet again, brooding over something, studying its intricacies or fine details. The smile doesn't leave his face, and he nods to Finn. "Yes, it is. You study stars?" he assumes, gazing up at the sky and chuckling at the notion that he does this a lot.
"Not as much as I ought to," he confesses, and though he feels it curl and twist within himself, like something rotten, he does what he's done for most of his life. He fakes it until he believes it. "I owe all that I am to Safrin. So it seems only right that I show her how grateful I am. I'd not be alive were it not for her."
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
The more Ronin speaks, the less Finn wants to be here, and not necessarily because he is uncomfortable standing in the man's presence. He has researched the Star enough to know that conversation comes naturally to him - Finn is swept along after him the same as many others have been, no doubt. But considering why he's here, and how he is not in the nature of lying, he doesn't wish to tarnish what is clearly a heartfelt gesture.
"Not exclusively," he says of studying stars. "I have read enough about them, though." Research is a broad stroke, and given how little he sleeps, Finn does enough of it. He shuffles his feet, feeling his shoulders hunch a bit more. "Please do not let me stop you, then. I would not want to intrude," he says, stepping back as if to leave Ronin to it.
But of course he missteps. Of course it knocks one of the candles. And, as he twists to try and stop it from falling over, of course Finn finds himself stepping on nothing but empty air. And away he tumbles, over the side of the Sleeping Steps.
"And how do they compare to the books?" Ronin asks with a smirk, gesturing to the glowing steps and remembering, vaguely, the little constellation diagram he'd read about. Honestly, even if Finn tells him it looks like a bent dog's leg, it's fine. The Spyglass was able to recognise Safrin's constellation in his attempt at flattery, and it's the thought that counts, right? Right, Safrin? See all this effort going on down here? Thinking about you, boo.
Oh, but Finn is falling to his death. More on how great Safrin is later.
Ronin has not been without his abilities for long enough yet not to act on instinct. And although the fall will certainly kill him if he ends up toppling over as well, although he has no ability to call down clouds or communicate to any Attuned nearby for help, he still moves faster than most men are capable.
The Star still has his strength, still has his agility, and his fuck, be careful! is more a warbled noise of panic as he scrabbles after the Spyglass. Sorry, Remi.
With a stroke of luck that's entirely due to the circumstances of this event taking place (hello, everyone, nice to see you here), Ronin manages to catch Finn by the scruff of the collar before he slips away into the screaming dark.
It isn't pretty, and it won't be comfortable (oh, if only Ronin could know how much so), but he yanks the other man back onto the safety of the steps, hoisting him against the safety of his side. "And that is about as good an advertisement for guard rails that I have ever seen. Gods, are you alright?"
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
He flies.
It's only for a second, but he does. The world tips up and there's just a blanket of stars and a hanging moon against the sweet, cold black. It really is beautiful, he muses, and perhaps he has been unfair to Safrin about her gift. And if he plays with these strings of hers, maybe he can recreate this moment in music. But he's going to die, and it's too late. A sorrow and a victory all rolled into one.
And this is what he meant, Finn thinks as he's thrown into the ink of night. This is what Remi meant--
A hand yanks at the back of his neck hard enough to cut off the air, and Finn chokes unceremonniously as a second hand snakes around him, hauling him back into the here and now. So startled is he at first, he doesn't fling himself away from Ronin so much as gently peel him off. Panting heavily, rubbing at his throat, he blinks at the other man and feels...
Cheated.
He feels cheated.
"I'm fine," he manages, a bit hoarsely. "I... thank you. I believe you just saved my life."
Ronin stares at Finn for a second, blinking at him, as if waiting for... something else. Something more than what just happened. "You are fine," he repeats, laughing a bit breathlessly. "Well good for you, man. I'm not." Hurling out another deep sigh, Ronin rakes his hands back through his unruly hair and hunkers down on the top step. "Yeah, I think I did too."
It takes a few moments more before he can rise to his feet again, before the adrenaline settles and Ronin's heart beats in something like a normal rhythm, and he reaches out to clap Finn on the shoulder. "Fuck," he says. "Don't know about you but I could use a strong drink after that. Sure you're okay?"
blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures
The clap to the shoulder is a jolt back to reality that Finn really doesn't appreciate, and he ruffles a hand back through his curls in an unintentional echo of the Star's gesture. He can still feel Ronin's hand even after it's left him, and his hands clench around guitar strings in his pockets. Swallowing hard, he's already backtracking - carefully, this time - towards the interior of the temple.
"Yes, I'm... I'll be alright. I just need to go. I'm so sorry - excuse me."
Finn all but flees the Star's presence, and constellations dance before his eyes whenever he closes them. He heads out of the Trinity Temple, out across the ice clad streets, up, and up, and up into the Tower.
And in the deep of the night, those who are awake will hear the soft sound of a guitar.
