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!
As night darkened into the midnight hours, the wind shifted. Blowing in from the south, it brought along a briney scent of salt and sea that mingled with the fragrance of spring in a heady combination that reminded Seren of Torchline. Breathing in deeply, she let out a soft sigh and turned to her father with a smile.
"It smells like home," she remarked, cheerful and content as they left the Celestine behind. Though a woman grown, she couldn't resist reaching for Ronin's hand; it had been far too long since they were able to be together. "I was supposed to have come here a long while ago, you know. But between the plague and Tanau..." She shrugged lightly. It sounded like excuses to her own ears; something was always happening in some corner of Caido, and safety was a relative concept.
I've got to make room for this feeling
SEREN
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"It does smell like home, doesn't it," Ronin says softly, his hand closing easily around Seren's as he offers his daughter a warm smile. They stroll together through the Celestine and out towards the empty, cobbled streets. The skies are clear and dazzle with the stars overhead - Safrin's work, he imagines, since there has been naught but rain as of late. "Were you...? I... yes. I wouldn't have wanted you to have come here when that was happening. It wasn't good for anyone."
Even remembering it has him wincing, Ronin giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "What brings you here now...?" He can't help but ask the question, wondering whether this would just be a visit bound to end sooner rather than later, or whether she was here to stay. Does hope leap in his chest at the prospect of her staying? Obviously.
Navigating with slightly more difficulty over cobbled stones, Seren kept pace with her father despite being barefoot. It was a simple thing to ease her own weight just enough to keep pebbles from digging too deep into soles, and done almost without thinking. The first few steps still served as a much needed reminder that she was back now, back on unforgiving soil where a misstep would bring both pain and blood. Safe... yes, she had been kept safe. Snug and warm and lacking for nothing in her mother's realm. Well, except one thing.
"You did," she replied simply. Squeezing his hand back, Seren glanced up at her father with a hint of a smile. "I wanted to spend time with you. And there are things I need to learn, that only you can teach me. Or so Mother says." As they walked, Seren gazed about curiously at the city around them. Her past stint in Stormbreak had been very brief, leaving no time to get acclimatized.
I've got to make room for this feeling
SEREN
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Ronin will realise that his daughter is in no state to be wandering around Stormbreak barefoot eventually - not just yet though, not when he's still so thoroughly distracted by having her back. "Me?" he repeats, offering her a bright grin and nudging his shoulder against her. "Your mother wants you to learn how to drink and gamble and fight, does she?" It's only half a joke, and when they finally reach a bench to sit down upon, Ronin gestures for Seren to take a seat.
"Well," he says. "...I live here, now, in Stormbreak. Remi lives here too, and so does your little brother, Mateo." His smile turns a little excitable, the idea of her being able to meet Mateo obviously a pleasant one. "I work here too, for the Order, and I help to train the Stormbreak Dragoons. So... if you'd like to spend time with me, you're welcome to join me at the barracks?" If she's even into that sort of thing.
The nudge sent her staggering off to the side in her lightened state, and she remained standing only by the virtue of the grip on his hand. Yet the girl only laughed and bounced back to nudge him right back. "Absolutely," she teased in return - and who knew, perhaps those really were skills worth cultivating. Of course, there was more to Ronin than that, or Safrin would not have chosen him.
"I would love to join the Dragoons," Seren replied and made herself comfortable on the bench, seating herself close. As much for warmth as for the simple pleasure of physical contact. "Remember how we used to play at the Slagveld? Now you'll be able to teach me how to do everything properly." It was something to look forward to, as much as meeting her brother.
"How is Mateo? What is he like? I never... I mean, I might have sneaked a peak at what you all were doing, occasionally. But it felt... lonely, to just watch from afar." Tucking a lock of hair behind an ear, Seren gave the surroundings a cursory glance before focusing her attention on Ronin.
I've got to make room for this feeling
SEREN
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"Excellent. Your first lesson will be in whiskey and blackjack," he informs her, though the twinkle in his eye says that he will absolutely not be doing that with Seren in the near future, however much of a woman grown she might be now. He lets his arm move around her to keep her warm as she settles on the bench with him, allowing himself to lean in and press a kiss against her dark curls, as if to cement the fact that she's really here.
His eyes widen to hear her say she wants to be a Dragoon with such certainty, and there's no way to stop the starlight that beams out of him. Clearing his throat, he tries (and fails) to stifle it, grinning down at Seren. "I remember," he says of the Slagveld. "And I would love to teach you. We have a few new recruits as well, and a few seasoned Dragoons who will teach you all they know as well. Would you like me to take you to the barracks? We can find you a place to call your own there - I'll be around in the morning."
Maybe he's jumping ahead a bit, but he's excited - what can he say? "Mateo is... wild..." His grin grows wider, if possible. "He's into plants, and he's very sweet. You'd like him, I think." Hugging her close for a moment, Ronin lets out a sigh. "You don't have to be lonely anymore."
If she pouted a little at the unspoken refusal to initiate her into the seedier parts of his life, it was gone again by the time the topic changed. Seren had contacts; should she really want to learn about drink and gamble she'd need go no further than her dear uncle Jata. There was no hurry though. Nestled in against her father's side, the promise of barracks and sparring, new friends and her brother was quite enough to satisfy even her hungry mind.
"In a bit," she nodded about the barracks, though seemed in no hurry to move again just yet. "If you train the Dragoons, does that mean you have joined the Order, too?" The description of the boy made her smile. It sounded quite a bit like herself, how she had been. How she still was, in many ways. "I think so too."
Leaning into the hug, Seren rested her head on Ronin's shoulder and sighed, long and deep in pure contentment. "I love you, dad. It's so good to be back, I hardly know where to begin. All these thoughts are zipping through my head... How is Remi, what have you both been up to, what about everyone back in Torchline... and, and, and!" She laughed at herself, amused by her own impatience. But when she glanced up to meet Ronin's gaze, there was a new kind of depth behind the blue in her eyes, and a gravity as she asked, "But most of all, how are you? Really?"
I've got to make room for this feeling
SEREN
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"In as long as you want," he confirms - even if Seren wanted to sit here all night, Ronin would find a way to make it work. He's sure Remi would understand, too. "And I was a part of the Dragoons when I first got here - joining the Order came after. It wasn't a requirement, but I thought with everything going on and with some advice from your mother... it would be best if I did become part of things." He smiles, clearly at peace with all of this by now.
Which is why, when Seren asks about everything, there's a lot to tell. He can answer her last question, at least, glancing down at her with his smile growing all the more warm. "I love you too, little star. And I have never been better. I mean that." For everything that is happening, inside and outside of Stormbreak, it's the truth. Ronin has never felt stronger, or more at home with his place in the world.
"As for the others... well. Strap yourself in - it's a ride," he says. "Remi and I only recently moved here. We were taking a break - everything between us seemed at polar opposites, with Ludo and Safrin and all of that. But we worked it out, and now Remi runs an alchemy shop here in the Pacifist Plaza, and I work in the Tower. Obviously we have duties to the gods as well, but everyone needs a life outside of their duty. Remember that, okay?"
She listened with rapt attention, pleased as she was relieved to hear - and see - that her father really was happy. In the perceptive way of most children it had not escaped her that his life was turbulent, and that she perhaps had not made it easier. The starlight shimmering about him now helped sooth the worries that perhaps her sudden re-appearance might make things... complicated. Adding new burdens onto a teetering stack, perhaps causing it to topple. But it seemed that in this case, Seren had been worrying needlessly.
"I am happy for you," she told him, soft and earnest. "For the both of you. Good times have finally caught up, and I can't think of any who deserve it more." Reaching up she touched pale, cool fingers to his cheek in an affectionate gesture. "And I'll keep that in mind, for when I figure out what my duty will be."
Straightening up slightly, her expression sobered and grew serious. "Is there going to be a war, father?" Seren asked quietly. "Can it still be avoided?"
I've got to make room for this feeling
SEREN
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"It doesn't matter what your duty will be. The life you have outside it will always be more important - but shhh, don't let anyone know that you know." Ronin winks, touching his fingertips to Seren's as they land against his cheek. "Thank you. It's about time everyone got a taste of happiness for a while." Especially given what was going on in the world.
Speaking of which, Seren wastes no time and asks the one question that Ronin is both able to answer and one that he doesn't particularly want to. He slips an arm around her to hug her close, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I'm afraid there very well might be," he says, sparing her the sugarcoating he might have provided were she still very young. "There are those who are trying to avoid it, but I don't know if it will be enough. We have to be prepared for the possibility."
Perhaps one day those words would save her. The Seren of this moment could only nod in acceptance, even though she did not fully comprehend the importance of this particular lesson. Too young, too inexperienced still... so caught up in the notion of being helpful that she would gladly leap into any situation without thought of the consequences. Shouldn't duty be the first consideration? For someone like her. For people like them.
Though, that still did not mean she had to be happy about what would surely become her role in this grand game. Her silence said as much, and the way she hugged her father back - tight, reluctant to let go - spoke of quiet fears, deep yet as of yet unvoiced. Then she sighed, and nodded. Grateful for the truth. For his trust that she was ready to hear it.
"Lets prepare, then. And hope for the best.
Speaking of preparations... do you think we will be able to visit Torchline anytime soon? You heard what Mother said. I could really use your help, and Sugar's, to find my dragon." Of course, with the seasons being what they were it might be difficult to reach the beaches until the monsoon season was over. Seren could wait, probably, but the pleading puppy eyes she leveled on Ronin suggested that it would be a lot more fun to do it soon. "How do the Dragoons normally find theirs?"
I've got to make room for this feeling
SEREN
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"Sometimes that is all we can do. And we will find ourselves thankful both for the preparation and for the optimism," Ronin says with a soft smile. He doesn't let Seren go, partially because he can't really believe she is here, but also he's just noticed she's not wearing shoes. "I'll add that to the list," he remarks to himself, before smiling back at her.
As for going to Torchline? Ronin laughs, nudging her gently and sitting back. "You are in luck," he says. "I am in the process of building a skyport to get from Torchline to Stormbreak and back. I can't go back to check on it until monsoon season is over, but once that happens, I'll be able to make a permanent travel route between here and there. It won't be long." He winks. As for the Dragoons? "...Well, it isn't something that is all that common, I suppose," he murmurs. "I know that once a Dragoon reaches a certain stage in training, they would go out into the Wilds to find one."
He grins at Seren. "I doubt you'll have to worry about that, though."
He could hold on however long he liked, Seren was not about to complain when it came to hugs. Still, as he straightened she sat upright herself and flashed a brilliant smile of delight at these most excellent news. A skyport, a trip, a dragon, all just in reach... and it wasn't terribly long to wait either. "Just say the word if you need help," she offered eagerly, practically wiggling with excitement at the notion of trying out one of the skyships. It combined several of her favorite things; being up high, sailing and... well, the thought of sky pirates just wasn't that far off, either. Taller she may be, but she wasn't that grown yet.
"I hope I'm not cheating," she mused. "I wouldn't want that... Dad, please promise you'll make me do everything just like everyone else? Or there won't be a point." No favoritism just because she was his daughter. Seren didn't think she could live with that.
I've got to make room for this feeling
SEREN
✰ Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
"Help would be more than appreciated. I have no idea what the skyport will look like when I get back to Torchline, so an extra pair of hands - or more - might be in order to put it back together. Shall we go, when Longheat comes?" Gods it feels good to make plans. Even better to make plans with his daughter - Ronin hasn't realised how much he has missed this, even though she is no longer the young woman who went up into the stars.
His hand pressing to his chest, he offers Seren a smile that is as earnest as it is amused. "I solemnly swear that I won't treat you differently to anyone else just because you're my daughter. But I don't think your dragon is cheating. You were already on a quest to get it before the Dragoons, right? We're just finishing that up." Giving her a nudge, he hopes that's enough to reassure her for now. "What else do we need to go before we can find this dragon of yours, anyway?"
