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!
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
The grim destruction of the Grounds fails to mar the demigod’s satisfaction with LongNight. Trauma be damned, NPC deaths be damned, they did it. Homes can be rebuilt. if they didn’t eradicate them all, they took on the Monsters and survived with minimal unintentional deaths. She’s proud of her kin. Even if they hate her for this past week, she’s so goddamn fucking proud of them all for stepping and being (more or less) prepared.
But time doesn’t stop just because they did a BiG tHiNg. They couldn’t possibly be so lucky as to have the Order implode during the week, or the Heralds fall from sky. Blue eyes flash upwards before she enters the Temple and she knows it’s been too long since she’s spoken to her Lady.
For good reason. Neither of them can make more hours in the day or tell time to stop in its tracks. Deepfrost was for the Grounds. Flowerbirth is for the world.
The Wraith’s smooth hands run over the perfect marble of the Temple’s altar for a grateful moment. The Infernbow and her Leviathan scale clatter gently on the cold steps before her as she lays them down. “We live,” she murmurs quietly to the stone, knowing that the Voice will hear her good news and rejoice in her children, regardless of whether or not she chooses to appear. “Thank you for the upgrades. They saved our lives.”
Hadn’t the Wraith had faith that she would come through?
Of course she did. Even in her doubts about the newly returned, she knew they could do it.
"I only wish I could have been with you." The Voice replies, appearing in a wavering holographic shimmer of sparks. Despite the victory, like Wessex, she does not look as overjoyed as one might have expected.
She too expected there to be deaths. This was not a fight without consequence, and though both knew that going forward, still it is not a burden that's easy to bear.
"This was not easy...and though you will be blamed for much over which you had no control, over things that weren't your fault, I am proud of you, Wessex. " Reaching forward that she might lift the Queen's chin, meeting her eyes so that the Wraith can see her sincerity, the Voice softly smiles.
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
If Wessex could melt, she would. Is there anything quite so warm and fuzzy as being told you’ve done well by your (for all intents and purposes) surrogate mother figure? “Thank you,” she whispers, reverential and fervent. lifting her face up to the Voice. The faintest glimmer of tears pool in the corners of her own as the reality she’s been pushing away whilst riding this high comes prowling to the forefront.
“I know. Though I did make some mistakes, I can own that.” And try to make up for them. There’s a big ‘ol apology and how can I make it up to you? coming for Edy, Peter, and Neron, mark her words. “The rest…” Wessex pulls herself up, straightening into something more like her usual self with a flinty hint of resolve in the twitch of her lips. She shrugs. “They have to learn to help themselves before blaming me.”
“This, though,” she says with an indication towards the Infernbow. “This was just dumb. I can’t even try to explain my thinking behind it.”
"Thank you." The Voice replies, the halo of electricity around her growing all the brighter for her surge of pride.
"Everyone makes mistakes. Even me. That we can own them and let them shape us into the best versions of ourselves...it's what makes us bright. The Old Gods...they have been the same forever. A static trope long gone out of style. But they hold onto their mistakes and turn them into wars that they might never have to face what they did." Softly the Voice's finger moves with utmost precision to the corner of Wessex's eye, where her electric field might pull away the demigods tear.
"Were it not for what the Old Gods did, you would not have to endure the ire of our family. Every accusation against you is just misplaced."
Looking at the Infernbow, the Voice can only laugh. "I had to learn and experiment too, in the beginning." She says with a soft shrug. "I am working on our weaknesses when it comes to heat and sunlight." Dumb? Sure. But as she'd said, dumb and mistake-making is what kept them from the level of god that they were trying to avoid.
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
Just like that, her doubts begin to dissipate, diffused by the Voice’s light and easy understanding. Wessex nods, knowing that whatever anger might come her way, justified for not, she can deal with. She always has, wearing her survivor identity as an armor against fears and barbed words and wrapping these moments with her Lady around herself like a weighted blanket.
Reaching for the bow, Wessex brightens when she hears that the Voice is working on their volatility - arguably their biggest weakness. “I can already hear the Old Gods’ screams of rage when you solve it,” she offers as a vote of confidence, following it up with a fanged smile and tilting her head as if imagining the high-pitched screeches from Safrin. “I was wondering if you might be able to help me either better this experiment or make a new kind of weapon.” Lifting the Infernbow up first, she points out what Deimos made and where she thinks she went wrong. “This bow sets arrows on fire when I pull the trigger, but what if the fire magic moved to the arrows so they explode on contact instead?”
And then eagerly, she reaches for what is arguably her better, far more inventive idea. “And with this - do you think we could make something that can cut through spirits. Or astral projections? Ideally anything that isn’t… solid.” Flesh and blood lay on the tip of her tongue but that is such an antiquated term, now isn’t it?
The Voice nods approvingly. "A much better design I would think. It would also aid in stealth attempts; there's no point in walking around with a weapon that also serves as a beacon of your location." But apparently her Wraith has loftier ideas still, and the Voice pauses, her silence held by a wide and proud smile.
"I take it we're speaking of the abilities of some of your fellow demigods: Delphia, Remi, and Ronin?" Taping her finger to her chin and narrowing her eyes, the Voice suddenly appears like some skilled craftswoman, offered a deliciously difficult puzzle.
"As spirits, the two deathly demigods are invisible...how would you ever strike them? Unless you could first see them in the realm of spirits." As for astral projection? "If you had a piece of him—of Ronin—we might be able to tether a weapon to his precise biosignature. That way should you strike his astral self, the wound would be tethered back to him, just as his magic is tethered to the projection."
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
Her ideas are no more than sparks, potential solutions to the number of challenges she - or they, as a whole might face. And though she seems powerful, what she’s seen from the demigods on the other side makes her feel far, far too inadequate.
So she listens as the Voice outlines more than she knows about Delphia and Remi, frowning a bit. It remains throughout the explanation of how they might affect Ronin, and she takes her time responding. It would be a challenge to get something of Ronin’s, she thinks, and though she’s somewhat up for a challenge, perhaps her energy is better spent elsewhere. “I have no doubt that someday I’ll end up fighting them. Their powers - alone - scare me. Together? They’re…” Her eventual doom, though she’d likely never say it, instead settling for a little shrug.
“As much as I want to be able to say I’ve got this thing that can defeat ghostly manticores and astral projections, star explosions, or whatever, narrowing a weapons’ scope right now seems impractical.” Her fingers slide over the scale, rigid and sharp and waiting to be molded into something useful. She does love her clever tricks. And she is clever - sometimes to the point of over-complicating.
“There are a lot of ideas up here,” she says with a tap to her temple. “But I’m not sure which one is right for right now.”
The Voice nods her understanding. It isn't a fact that's escaped her purview either. "You will not be alone forever." The goddess says with a confident smile. "But all things in their time. The Old Gods have made the mistake time and time again of acting first and thinking later. We shall never be that. So while their demigods run about—doing what exactly?—we shall take our time and be clever about things."
Nodding, the Voice can only chuckle slightly at the thought process she can see gearing up behind Wessex's blue eyes. 'Star explosions and ghostly things might seem impressive, but in reality, they are no stronger than you. The only real advantage those two have—" Meaning Remi and Ronin. "—is how their abilities can work together. That does give them an edge. It is worth considering." But again, all in time. Wessex would need an ally, or allies?, before such a thing would be possible.
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
How they work together, - now there’s an idea.
Lifting her chin to gaze up at the Voice again, there’s a spark of something behind her eyes - as if the gears that were previously churning had worked up enough heat to light a fire.
“And we are stronger together.” Even if they hate her at the moment and teamwork is something they still need to learn, herself included. “We have a wide range of upgrades - and then there’s my magic and Azrael’s - could I be a conduit, of some sort?” A walking, talking wi-fi connection. A hot spot, if you will. “Even just in a certain radius. Where another Ascended and I could work together, with each other’s non-physical upgrades.”
“Like my biopulse. Or Sam’s force field.” The other upgrades are alteration-dependent and it’s obvious enough to her that they can’t just grow blades and talons like that. But their mental properties? Her magics? If they could share whenever they wanted to - that would be entirely unexpected.
'Well, as demigods certainly you and Azrael have abilities the others don't...but it's possible that, in time, with others like the two of you, that you might act as a connector that allows one demigods' abilities to be cast out and shared among all those near you." As for the upgrades of her ascended kin? 'Perhaps...a way where you could amplify their abilities for them.'
Looking at Wessex and allowing her to answer for herself rather than probe her mind, the Voice sits up slightly straighter. "It would mean that your role in various conflicts would be much more passive. To be such a hub of power would take nearly all of your focus." A general who provided only support to her soldiers.
But would Wessex even want such a thing for herself?
03-12-2021, 08:24 PM (This post was last modified: 03-12-2021, 08:24 PM by Wessex.)
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
Passive?
No, Wessex is anything but passive. She makes a face and sucks against her teeth, feeling like she’s spinning her wheels right now and going nowhere. The bit with Azrael is interesting, but in the long run, she has to admit, “That kind of focus doesn’t seem entirely wise either.” Keeping ideas running in the background, she opts to try and change the conversation a bit, hoping that maybe something more useful than a crossbow with explosive arrows will come to her.
“We’re mapping the Wilds, still trying to see an Order member’s compass or ring, rebuilding the Grounds…” It’s alot for the Ascended, she doesn’t really need to put more on their plate. “Is there anything I can help you with? Or should know about?” Perhaps some idea of the future might help her decide.
The Voice nods, having already seen the efforts her children have gone to, to begin mapping the Wilds. 'The Order will not be able to resist sniffing around...of that I'm sure.' She replies with a frown. The task set upon the Grounders to complete their Regional Quest was not an easy one, nor one which could be completed quickly. But should they succeed? Oh how the Order would be furious that something in the world existed beyond the scope of their reach.
"They are going to bring war to our doorstep and accuse us of having initiated it. You've seen what Ludo's herald is doing in the Greatwood, and soon, there will be efforts made to turn the remaining accepted and attuned to their side." This of course, left the abandoned. "Together our family is strong, but the numbers do not favour our cause...with your current abilities, having more abandoned around might be favourable...or at least, knowing that they are not against us. They are outsiders, just as we are, for no other reason than the fickleness of the Old Gods."
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
If the Order came to their doorstep, it might be easier to see a compass in action. A big if, but a possibility nonetheless. Either that, or she needs to get back out into the world.
As for Abandoned - the Launceleyns that are still around are almost all Ascended now - how that happened, she'll never know. “There are already some who have strong ties to Ascended.” She can think of three off the top of her head. “If we could encourage the rest to come see you instead of the heralds, do you think you might… show them a little favor? So they don’t feel so Abandoned?” It’s a bold ask and she knows it, but Wessex knows well how attached the Outlander Abandoned became to the heralds and how Natural Abandoned still feel resentment.
“Sometimes the first answer they get ends up swaying their minds entirely.” It's stupid, but it's true. Loyalty can be bought, sometimes for the very low price of an answered prayer. Hell, even Ascended feel that way sometimes.
"And what better way to show that the heralds are still assholes who are stuck in the past? While are for everyone, not just the Ascended."
See, she has been paying attention to the importance of making friends.
"I cannot alter them the way I can with our family. But they would be welcomed into our circle. There might even be ways of creating items for them to use...perhaps for those with lightning magic..." It was possible. It would take some doing of course, but to keep their family safe, the Voice would stop at nothing.
She hadn't yet.
"It's very true. Sadly the Old Gods have themselves and their heralds, while we have..." just me, the Voice's shrug seems to say. "It's why I rely on you all so heavily. But already, it seems Halo leans more toward our favour. I saw their warden stepped down entirely just to aid us during LongNight." Well, to aid Neron, but that was more of the same. "And with the Governor of Torchline married to Nate...I don't see him turning his back on our cause either." For his own sake, as much as for the ascended who lived on his sands.
