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!
She’s heard, of course, that Azrael had grown right after LongNight, and while it wasn’t pure curiosity that lead Wessex to ask her fellow demigod, she wouldn’t deny that it’s part of it.
Azrael had once mentioned that they wanted to build the Grounds anew, and Wessex thought it would be a good idea to get some foundational thoughts. She’s busy clearing a space for them in her meeting room, a big enough table and space so that they might draw - or whatever makes the most sense. It’s no Artist’s room, but there are various tools available for their use as well as the unbridled enthusiasm of an older sibling.
When Wessex wants something to happen, she’ll try her damnedest to make it happen. Especially something good, like making the Grounds more appealing to Ascended and non-Ascended alike.
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
do you like walking in the rain? when you think of love, do you think of pain?
It’s just after their conversation with their father, the one where they agree to go and venture out into the wild unknown with nothing but the idea of experience to lead them on. It’s exciting, albeit daunting, so when they get the news that Wessex wishes to meet with them on a plan they’d had merely a season ago (or had it been two?) they immediately show up to help.
The Theskyra house is familiar at this point to them, having helped stuff it with snowmoss and reinforce it from LongNight, a thought that they keep pushed very far away from their mind. A quiet knock is given to the door before they’re slipping in, ushered to the room where Wessex has laid out quite a good amount of things they might need for it. But Azrael’s come with things of their own, as well. A bag of full sketchbooks, of ideas of things they might be able to craft and help direct how to revamp the Grounds into something stunning, something welcoming for all.
“Hi Wessex.” They say, offering a bright fanged smile – suddenly realizing just how tall they’ve grown in comparison to how they were before. No longer do they look up to scan Wessex’s face, but… Down, a fraction, albeit not much. Their eyes have changed to a hint of more blue, kind and gentle as Bastien’s own ochre hues are, but vibrant with promise just as Rexanna’s had been.
They set their bag down on the end of the table, peering at the empty paper that’s strewn out – a place for them to perhaps map what ideas they had. So they look back up to Wessex, awaiting the okay to get started. “I brought my sketchbooks I’ve been working on most of last year so I can fill in some pieces much easier than doing it all by hand now.”
you can tell me what you see i will choose what i believe
“Azrael!” Wessex comes out from where she’s paused on the far side of the table, delighted and surprised (even though she shouldn’t be) to see the tall young Ascended in front of her. Even from there, she can see Rexanna in them - their hair might be all of Bastien’s curls, their skin bronzed and … well, wherever it is Bastien is from. But she can see their mother in their face, their brightness.
She reaches out to him without asking before catching herself and pulling back, hesitant. She’s never known quite where she stands with them (with any of them, now) and she’d rather err on the side of caution, keepin her emotions close to her chest. Instead, she smiles back and sigh-laughs. “Not to state the obvious, but - this is quite a growth spurt.”
Luckily for her, it’s straight to work and so she turns to the table and suddenly finds herself busy with making a space and simultaneously locating the list of ideas she’s come up with.
It’s a short list. The top of it reads: Rebuild the Barracks in stone, the rest just keywords and thoughts with questionmarks after them.
“Show me what you’ve got.” Leaning over the table, she’s happy to let Azrael drive this for awhile.
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
do you like walking in the rain? when you think of love, do you think of pain?
The chime and surprise in Wessex’s voice takes them by surprise – a welcome warmth spreading through them at the suddenness of it. But their smile never falters, and when Wessex closes the distance and reaches out for them, Azrael doesn’t hesitate to wrap their fellow demigod in a gentle hug – she is their other, after all. Not quite a sibling but not quite not a sibling, given their status. A cousin? An aunt?
They pull away after a moment to evaluate the table and the situation, a soft laugh leaving Azrael too as they bob their head. “Yes, I think I’m done now… Hopefully.” Their voice has changed ever so slightly, too, but they lift their gaze from the bag they produce and the books within it to flash a bright grin to her – so much like Rexanna in the way their nose wrinkles slightly.
A few books are pulled out, opened to the first few sketches they’d made before they peer at the ideas left behind. “Okay, so, we both know the Grounds are in a bit of… Disarray given LongNight which I think means a good time to re-evaluate what everything is made of.” To this, they point to the suggestion of stone for the Barracks. “This is a very good idea.” They agree, grabbing a pencil with a different color, something hued with the color of purple that they underline the suggestion with.
They soon turn their attention to their sketchbooks. “Most of my focus the last couple of seasons has been the Ruins. Since they’re already destroyed and nobody really… Lives there, we could take it all down and start over, make it appealing for people to come and live and make it like a little… City I think is what Papa called it.” Their gaze lifts to meet Wessex with that same excited smile.
you can tell me what you see i will choose what i believe
Wessex hums quiet approval in the back of her throat. Wood was easier before, but now that they know the devastation of fire, there’s no telling if the Sparkbird will return, and the very real fear that someone, somewhere, might use fire against them, it only makes sense to start to build using stone. At least in the Sanctuary and Settlement.
The only problem she sees is the distance. Potentially.
“What do you think of the Ruins being so far away from the Sanctuary? I’m not against expanding or distance, but I do wonder if we have the people to fill the space. Building there certainly makes more sense than carting stone to build in the Settlement or Sanctuary…” But it can be difficult to buck tradition, and perhaps convince the other Natives to move into their new 'neighborhood.'
Turning her attention to their sketchbooks, the Wraith peeks over, quite curious. “Do you have any… plans already drawn up?”
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
do you like walking in the rain? when you think of love, do you think of pain?
They tap their fingers along the table as they consider Wessex’s suggestion, their lips pursing slightly. “The Settlement is the part of the ruins that hasn’t been destroyed completely. Perhaps starting expansion there as a sort of means to rebuild the Settlement might make it more palatable?” Their gaze lifts to Wessex, a gleam of calculation and speculation flickers in their gaze before a fanged half smile crosses their face. “The Sanctuary needs to be reinforced anyway. The structure of the buildings there aren’t very strong.” But they could make them stronger.
That was the whole point of it, was it not?
Their head dips to the notebook they’d brought, pulling out a few leaflets in the back where they’d spread it out, pushing it over the makeshift table to form a map of sorts. It starts at the ruins, re-establishing the buildings there and connecting them to the Settlement, refinishing the roads and winding them into the Sanctuary, and a few other loose pieces that don’t entirely connect to the rest of it in a way that helps reinforce the Underground cave system and making it so the buildings above wouldn’t cave in. They step back, practically beaming with pride. “I made a few models to get a better idea and then mapped it out. I left those at home, though.”
you can tell me what you see i will choose what i believe
It’s beautiful, really - all of it - and the demigod takes it in with an appreciative eye, lingering and tracing the paper paths with a finger and an occasional pleased sound. She can see the vision Azrael has and while she’s torn about what the Grounds (and therefore, the Ascended) should prioritize, she cannot deny that they have the best interest of the Grounds and their kin at heart. In fact -
“Do you think it’d be possible to eventually modify the Underground and connect the buildings? Give us oh, an escape route, if it ever came to that?” Wessex asks with the slightest hesitation, not wanting to co-opt any of the design for anything other than aesthetic - but the War is ever looming in the front of her mind. It’s not a priority, but an idea to potentially be incorporated.
“I’m sure your father has told you, but this is something to be quite proud of.” Turning back to them, it’s clear Wessex is sold on it - all of it.
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
do you like walking in the rain? when you think of love, do you think of pain?
They’re silent while Wessex looks it over, watching curiously for any sort of idea of a reaction they might be able to glean from their fellow demigod. And when the question reaches them, they spend a few long moments staring at their papers, their designs, a hand rising to their lips – a very much inspired look of Bastien overcoming them as they calculate it out – before they’re grabbing a piece of charcoal and a new sheet of paper and creating a sort of wireframe, where they might be able to turn the underground into a bunker of sorts, where they could all connect.
“I don’t think it’s impossible. It would take a lot of work and a lot of time… Unless perhaps our goddess would be willing to help?” Their gaze lifts to Wessex with this, the charcoal tapping at the paper they’ve made. “We could turn the Underground entirely into a bunker, perhaps.” They also offer as another tidbit of information. Because they’re not completely unaware of what looms on the horizon for all of the Ascended.
As for their father, though, Azrael’s smile is bright and fanged, creasing the corners of their eyes as they peer back at Wessex. “He has told me.” They offer by means of confirmation. “But it still means a lot to hear it more than once, especially not from one’s parent.” They can’t help the soft laugh that leaves them – airing in almost a chime, so oddly similar to Rex’s despite having little to no memories of their mother.
you can tell me what you see i will choose what i believe
“And I’m sure I won’t be the last,” she says in assurance - not that they need reassuring - but because she can’t see how any of their kin could fail to see the skill in Azrael’s hands, the potential in how they see the world and its possibilities. .
Personally, she’s very glad to have been proven wrong about Rex and Bastien wanting a child. Even if she is visibly taken aback by the sound of their chuckle, as it manages to bring a ghost into the room. Wessex stares at them for a minute, an odd expression on her face before it turns a bit sad and she shakes it away.
“Would you mind drawing up plans for that at some point? Just in case?” Not for now, of course. But perhaps in the future, if they have enough warning, they might be able to pre-empt something.
If they can’t get the orbs to work, if they can’t fall back to the Grounds -
Wessex swallows needlessly and goes back to the originals. “I’d really like to make this happen. Unless you have something special in mind, we could start with the Barracks.” Which, as they all know, has been utterly destroyed. “A more Ascended-friendly building. Maybe an indoor training ring, shielded from the sun.”
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
do you like walking in the rain? when you think of love, do you think of pain?
The difference, they suppose, from being made versus having a life as a breathing human is in the way they respond to things. Wessex swallows hard, may sometimes take a breath she doesn’t need, may sometimes twitch and fidget in the way her human body might have once upon a time – but Azrael had never grown knowing how to do that. Sucking in breaths felt odd, remembering to blink had been something that had taken them a while to figure out. But laughter? Laughter was one of the things their father was sure there was no shortage of.
They don’t know why it surprises Wessex so much, but it doesn’t keep the grin from their face. “Of course.” They bob their curled head with agreement. “I plan on taking a trip into the wilds and get to know… Some new faces, hopefully, I’ll work on it while I’m out when I’m recharging.” Easy enough – out in the wilds with nobody else around that could spy on them.
Hopefully.
“If we make the curtains a bit thicker as well it can block out the light from the windows.” They offer the suggestion easily, breezing over to the papers they’d laid out. “Indoor training ring would be easy. It may need to be tall if there are magical items people are wielding.” This is contemplative, but they put a few notes down beneath the barracks to commit it to memory before they can go about the rest of everything.
you can tell me what you see i will choose what i believe
“That’s great,” an adventure into the Wilds? She remembers (and of course she should, it was only a season or two ago) when it opened, how she stared out into the greenery, past the barren line marking where the Barrier used to be.
“Be careful?” Said more like a question than a statement, it’s in Wessex’s nature to worry a bit about them - nearly grown as they are - but she tries to seem nonchalant about it. Every kid has to grow up. Everyone has to forge their own path. It’s Azrael’s turn now, and they deserve to know what they’re fighting for.
“Yeah, that sounds good. I really don’t think we need a dormitory in this new barracks, but a higher ceiling and a larger room, if at all possible, an armory, maybe a separate room if we every have a General, so they can have a place of their own.” Deimos had a good foundation, she thinks, but it was for a much bigger population, meant to house a militia - and Wessex has seen that the Ascended aren’t interested in that. So nix it.
She’d rather find a way to have them work on group maneuvers and have a place to practice it - again, if she could ever get enough like-minded kin in the same place.
It’s worth a try.
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
do you like walking in the rain? when you think of love, do you think of pain?
The question does draw a quiet raise of their brow as their gaze lifts back to Wessex – the broad fanged grin on their face never faltering. “I promised Papa I would check in regularly.” They announce, as if it may relieve Wessex of her worries. For now, though, they focus on their designs, on what way they may be able to better readjust the Barracks to suit them.
They list down the topics they have agreed on, the higher ceiling and a larger room, before they’re nodding eagerly. “Perhaps we can get rid of the rooms and use that to extend into the training room?” They suggest, pointing to the walls and the blueprints of how the Barracks looked. If they were to knock down a few of those walls, it would gather quite a bit of space – and as far as they can tell? They don’t seem to be supporting beams for the rest of the building.
Even if they are, they can certainly be readjusted and replaced.
you can tell me what you see i will choose what i believe
“Sounds great,” she says, mentally taking out some of the rooms and expanding the main one. The good thing is that the Barracks will likely need to be rebuilt from scratch, so they don’t necessarily need to follow any of the previous markers. In fact, it doesn’t need to look anything like the prior building, or even be at the prior location.
What would make it uniquely Ascended, other than someplace dark?
Ah, but there are still others here. Others she needs to think about. So the curtains are a good idea, and perhaps she need not go to such extremes. Once again trailing over the sketch, she bites her lip and… cannot think of anything else.
“Well. I think that’s it for me then. Any questions for me in the rest of this?”
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
do you like walking in the rain? when you think of love, do you think of pain?
It would be easy to do, to scavenge what they could, to clear out the world and bring a few new design choices in. They would be starting from scratch after all, and perhaps that would make it easier to connect the buildings to the barracks as well. But that’s perhaps a thought for later. The barracks still needed to be built, after all.
Still, they make all the notes and concerns that Wessex has both on the paper, and repeating it in their journal of sketches that they’ve been working on, in a chapter certainly dubbed ‘expanding and updating the Grounds’.
Silence overtakes them as they work, coming back to it when Wessex’s voice hits them and their head lifts toward the other demigod. “Hmm… I don’t think so. It should be pretty easy to work with. I can come and see you when I have more ideas down for how to connect the buildings, perhaps? For now though I think just gathering materials should be good… I’ll see if there’s anything out in my travels that may help.” They don’t know what’s out there, but maybe there’s something?
Their gaze lands on Wessex with excitement at the prospect, regardless.
you can tell me what you see i will choose what i believe
