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!
Wearing their trusty new canteen as they started out down the ancient road had made Cam almost feel like a proper explorer, instead of some kid with too much time on their hands and too little understanding of the surrounding area. It wasn't like they'd brought a lot of supplies, just water and some nuts to snack on, but at least they were thinking ahead.
So their gait as they left the Hollowed Grounds might even be described as "purposeful," an uncharacteristic word for them. And in truth, they didn't know where they were going -- everyone they'd asked about the old road just said it led "nowhere."
Cam figured it might make a nice, low-key first adventure in Caido to find out.
cameron ?
"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Her scouting of the Wilds with Deimos was finished, the two having parted ways. Aisha was reluctant to leave the rolling green hills just yet, they reminded her of her home in the summer. The fertile farmland that surrounded Angchor, before the dragonlily's sprouted and the plains were wrought with vibrant yellow flowers. It was beautiful here, and if Halo wasn't the place she'd chosen, she might hope to settle here some day.
Halo was for the moment, not on her mind. She planned on finishing her tour of King's End before heading to Torchline, to spend some time there and place her notice for the guild. With a place selected back home, and a growing interest from friends and strangers alike, things were finally coming together. She was happy, despite all the destruction of the grounds and the general acrimony that weaved it's way through this world.
She'd switched to leopard paws, giving the bat's wings a break so she could stalk through the tall grass. Water could be heard up ahead, convenient given she'd left her pack back at a makeshift camp. The golden beast padded towards the river and lapped at the surface, quenching her thirst as she watched her surroundings. Footsteps behind her pulled her gaze, her ears flattened as she gave a warning snarl to whoever waited there.
Coming upon a leopard definitely was not an obstacle Cameron had anticipated, though they ought to have realized that they didn't know the fauna of Caido (certainly not well enough to realize that leopards were not endemic to the area and guess Aisha's Attuned nature). The presence of the ancient road had lulled them into a false sense of security, making them think that they were still in civilization and didn't have to worry about hostile wildlife. They should have remembered that, on that score, very few places in Caido counted as "civilization."
"Ohhkay," they said softly, going very still. What were you supposed to do with dangerous animals? Make yourself look bigger and shout to scare them off? But this leopard already seemed annoyed with Cam, and they didn't want to make it feel any more threatened. As a compromise, they spread their arms to look bigger but remained still and continued to talk quietly as they slowly, slowly backed away. "Hey there. I'm just going for a little walk, so I'll leave you be, if you'll be so kind as to return the favor. Wow, you are gorgeous, though."
They had no idea the animal could understand them -- they just had a habit of talking to animals like they were people, when they weren't baby-talking them.
cameron ?
"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
it's whatever you feel, it's whatever i want to do
It wasn't everyday that Aisha got to play the part of the predator, toying with people for her own amusement. And maybe it was cruel in a way, but she had to have fun sometimes, especially after all the work she'd been doing. She watched as the person went still, that rigidity resembling a deer who'd sighted it's hunter. Her ears folded back further, her lip curling up to snarl. She watched curiously as they spread their arms, maybe to look big, or maybe in surrender.
She might've tried to scare them a bit more if not for the flattery. Her ears picked up, a purr rumbling in her chest. In a flash she changed, wild hair flopping in her face before she pushed it back. "Thanks cutie," she replied, crouched by the stream. She didn't have her sword on her, but she didn't foresee needing it. There was always the leopard or bat should she need protecting or a quick escape.
Cam took an automatic step back as the leopard's lips twisted, kind of spoiling their whole "back away slowly" thing, but that didn't seem to be working anyway. Should they yell? Throw something? What if --
Then the leopard became a woman, to Cam's great surprise -- and relief. "Oh. Oh, thank God. Hi. Um, you're welcome."
This was now a socially awkward situation instead of a dangerous one, which was definitely better. Cam gave a nervous little laugh. "Wow, you scared me."
Which probably went without saying. It had been obvious, hadn't it? In hindsight, Cam felt sure that they'd looked ridiculous, but, well, they'd done their best. If she had been an actual leopard ... Maybe they should be more careful about wandering around alone.
cameron ?
"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
it's whatever you feel, it's whatever i want to do
The person had the bearings of an outlander, if not for the general look than the 'thank god' that they uttered. Here in Caido they'd most likely be asked which one, with a chorus of different opinions on what the right answer might be. Aisha personally, was pretty neutral. There was room to be swayed, but she was yet to have it so. Last time she'd been to a shrine she'd been cursed, other times she'd been visited by friendly talking cats or goddesses of starlight.
She glanced back to them at the simple statement, she couldn't help but snort, "That was the point," she replied, feeling rather sarcastic today, "sorry though. Was too funny not to." Cupping some water from the stream and sipping it, "I'm Aisha," she wiped the dribble that collected at her chin and returned her gaze to the spectacled person.
"That wasn't very nice," Cameron joked -- mostly -- when Aisha admitted to scaring them intentionally. They adopted an exaggerated pout. "Next thing you know I'll actually learn not to walk around the wilderness alone or something."
They couldn't help but feel like they should say something more, with the way the former leopard was looking at them, so they tried making conversation. "What are you doing out here? I'm just exploring. Curious to see where this old road goes -- I don't suppose you happen to know?"
Had they forgotten something? Oh, yeah, introductions. Should probably get those done at the beginning of the conversation, before it became awkward to do so. "I'm Cameron, by the way."
cameron ?
"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
it's whatever you feel, it's whatever i want to do
No, it wasn't that nice, but Aisha was nice all the time. Blame it on the leopard shift, but everyone and then she longed for a wild breath, a moment to mess around and be a little less than diligent. She took their joke with a friendly nod and chuckle, "Promise I won't do it again," she teased in response, standing from where she'd crouched by the running water.
Cameron introduced themself, asking what she was doing out here in the Wilds. "Same as you really, we didn't used to be able to come out here into this region because of the storms," she replied, recalling the wall of rippling smog and clouds. She hadn't dared try and pass it then, but now that it'd been whisked away, the Wilds were hers to conquer and hunt in. "Pretty isn't it?"
"I don't think it'd have the same effect a second time," Cam replied, tone light and half-joking. "Though I probably shouldn't get too used to encountering leopards on my walks -- the next one might not be you."
The mention of storms caught Cameron's interest; they hadn't been in Caido long enough to know anything about the permanent weather conditions that had once cut off Caido's settlements from the Wilds. "Storms? Are they seasonal, or ... ? When did they stop?"
They looked around, smiling at the green hills around them. The Wilds certainly had a leg up on the Hollowed Grounds, where everything seemed a bit run-down and sad. "It's really nice out here."
cameron ?
"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
it's whatever you feel, it's whatever i want to do
Aisha hummed in amusement at Cameron's reply, their friendly teasing. Though playful as it was, it was true and good advice. Here in Caido shapeshifting humans were just as common as monster's who would seek to gnaw and tear and gouge. They were right to be cautious, she nodded along in agreement.
Now the mention of storms, or more so the question about them did make Aisha feel a bit old. Not in an age sense, but in that she'd been in this world for more than a year now. How that'd happened she didn't know, it felt like a month ago that she was first stepping into the Grounds training yard and asking around for a general Deimos. Now she was a soldier for the Citadel, striving to build her own guild, and a part of various little families that'd formed through experience after experience.
"The storms used to surround the grounds and most every region, they were like huge dust storms kinda. Nobody could get through them," she answered, placing her hand on her hip, "Oh and they were always there. They went down somewhere around the end of Leafchange? Beginning of Deepfrost maybe?" She couldn't remember, she'd been locked away in the icy bubble for the whole season.
Aisha hummed lightly in agreement, the Wilds did have an untouched charm. "You headed anywhere specific? I'm going back to the grounds soon, we could walk together," she offered, the enjoy the beautiful foliage with some company.
"Huh. I wonder why the storms stopped." Cam looked at the green landscape around them: not what they would have expected a bunch of dust storms to leave behind. Then again, it had been a while since the storms stopped, right? But still, they would have expected something more barren, dirtier.
"I was just going to walk down to the end of this road, see where it goes," Cam replied. "We could definitely walk together."
Having Aisha around made them feel a bit safer, actually, than wandering around alone -- just meeting her leopard form had demonstrated why that wasn't such a great idea.
cameron ?
"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
it's whatever you feel, it's whatever i want to do
Aisha hadn't been a part of the de-storming process, but she knew it'd been a partially human effort, not all divine or natural. "I think there were some groups investigating it, not sure what they did exactly, but it was worth it," she replied with a smile, looking back to the verdant fields around them. It was almost as if Deepfrost in King's End had ended long ago, or never happened at all. Everything was so full of life, in such a mystical way.
A nod in response, Aisha was content to wander a bit more down the faded path. She stayed close to the stream as she walked, "So where'd you come from Cam?" It was a broad question, and she expected them to either answer; where they'd come from recently, the Grounds most likely, or what world they came from. It was nice having a fellow outlander around, they always had good stories to tell.
"Oh, cool." It hadn't occurred to Cam that people could actually get rid of the storms. But that was magic for you, they supposed, always doing the impossible. They should get used to the idea that people in Caido could affect their environment in unexpected ways. "It definitely was."
Cam smiled at Aisha's question, thinking along similar lines to Aisha -- that the question had a wide variety of answers. They chose one that wasn't so immediate as "The Hollowed Grounds." "I'm from Earth. Georgia, specifically, if that name's familiar to you. The state, not the country."
That last bit was kind of stupid, Cam realized as soon as it was out of their mouth. If Aisha wasn't from Earth, she wouldn't know that there were two Georgias; if she was, she could probably tell by Cam's accent that they were American, not from eastern Europe.
cameron ?
"Cameras" by Ennev is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
it's whatever you feel, it's whatever i want to do
Earth, Aisha was from Earth too. Or at least a form of Terra, Gaia, the mother planet. Her Earth divulged from that of Cam's, more reminiscent of Pangaea, if it'd never separated, if the humans there evolved different abilities. For a moment she lit up, assuming it was her Earth, but as they continued, Georgia did not sound familiar.
"Of the five kingdoms?" she asked, still a bit hopeful. Though she'd yet to meet anyone from her Earth, others like Bastien had claimed to be from such a place. His Earth had an Italy, some city with a V name, "Or the one with the Italy?" This was tacked on with a bit less excitement, the disappointing alternative. She glanced from the path of swaying grass and babbling brook to look their way.
