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!
Dark hair for catching the wind, not to veil the sight of a cold world
It was, perhaps, a touch unexpected that no response came upon mentioning her father. Seren had grown accustomed to the flash of recognition in people's eyes, the slight parting of lips in an unvoiced 'ah, him' as she flaunted her bloodline. But there was none of that here, and it was both liberating and lonely. A true indication of just how far away she had come from home.
But at least her offers were no longer rejected, and she had to settle for that. Smiling in her silent victory, she fell in along the new topic easily enough, as if she had never been stubborn about anything. "Stormbreak," she replied, not hesitating to share such personal information. "But I have to stop by Torchline first... I think dad will be waiting for me there. And it's a quicker route; if I use the portal, I can be home in a few days, as opposed to months." Her nose wrinkled in distaste as she mentioned the portal, sentiments clear even though she made no complaints. Any intentions she'd had of storming in to demand explanations of Noah for his decision to bring her all the way here had shriveled and died under his kind smiles and steaming tea.
But she did have some questions, still. "If you don't mind my asking... do you often visit the Wilds? It really was a lucky coincidence that you were there, that day."
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.
Noah took a sip of the tea before him, eyebrows lifted and glacier eyes looking at the girl over his mug. He swallowed and with it followed a note, a hum of understanding and also curiosity. "From the big city, then." Noah almost chuckled at the thought of it, but he had no real understanding of what Stormbreak was other than what he had heard in passing. He knew of the Order, and their anti-ascended stance, but he didn't truly understand the intricacy of the city and its role in the world. "How is it there? Quite different than Halo I imagine." At that, he did smile up at the girl again.
His lips came pursed together at her following question, and he shook his head as his mug thudded lightly against the table. "Only very recently." He swallowed again, though he had not taken another sip of tea. "I never had the desire to travel outside of Halo, even after the portal opened at the Fangs." He glanced over at Eira, and briefly up at Korbin, before looking back to Seren. "I've ventured to Torchline and the Hollowed Grounds now a number of times, and out into the wilds in an attempt to gain understanding of the flora and fauna there, to aid the Monster Hunter's Guild in their understanding of the world at large."
Dark hair for catching the wind, not to veil the sight of a cold world
Seren had to laugh, a quick chuckle that left a lingering smile even after the sound faded.
"Quite different," she agreed. "The buildings are made of stone, and most are designed along the lines of your Palace." Grand, towering, conveying power and endurance - built to withstand the tests of time. Walls against which enemies might break like the tide, only to be washed away. "The focus around daily life is different too. People are much more openly religious, and they display their faith like badges of honor. Visiting the Temple, praying at the shrines." Putting a hand beneath her chin, she leaned forward in a good imitation of serious scrutiny and looked Noah up and down. When she spoke again her voice had been turned down, forged into what might pass for an old man; "'And to which god do you belong, young man?'" It was a good impersonation of a cleric she had seen on the street, if Seren said so herself.
As for Noah's travels, it only brought home how lucky she had been, that he happened to be nearby. "Well, I'm glad you decided to travel this time," she chuckled. "Have you seen anything interesting so far? Aside from my glorious self, drifting like a swan down the river, of course." She made a self-depricating yet grandiose gesture over herself, and winked - no, she was not actually that impressed with herself.
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.
Noah made small humming noises of interest as the girl described Stormbreak to him. As he travelled in the last years, the differences in people had intrigued him. To be fair, they hadn't intrigued him more than the difference in flora and fauna, which took the precedence of his mind, but they did intrigue him still on some level. Had he taken another drink of his tea, he might have choked in it as he laughed at her interpretation of a cleric. While it was done in mocking, the hunter did not hesitate to answer. "Frey." He regarded the herald of nature with respect, which with his attuned nature was not hard to do.
He laughed again at her gesture, leaning back in his chair some. "Mostly I've just encountered the natural wildlife of the different places I've been." He could list almost everything he'd seen because his writer is collecting them for leveling because he had documented them well in the journal he kept on him nearly always. "I am a part of a guild that sees that information as critical, so honestly it has been the focus of my travels."
Dark hair for catching the wind, not to veil the sight of a cold world
Grinning back and clearly very pleased with herself for making the man laugh, Seren took a sip of her tea. "Mh, really? I guess I can see that," she replied, dropping the act as she tilted her head to regard Noah. Not that religion showed on the outside, but it made sense for a hunter to be close with the Herald of nature. "Have you met them, then? I haven't - not sure I would dare seek them out." Frey did have a, eh, reputation. Though perhaps her education on the matter had been a little skewed, as all the information came from Safrin.
"Oh! Do you mean the Hunter's Guild?" she asked, as he dropped hints that sounded very familiar. It made quite a lot more sense to be out exploring when there was a purpose behind it - even if Seren absolutely would be able to disappear into the Wilds for the fun of it.
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.
Noah had not imagined himself really following the deity, either. Phoebe had an influence on that -- the woman had told her of all the things Frey had done for her, and that its nature was above just sex and desire and reproduction. Nature and nurture bled from them and those were things that Noah valued. "I have. Not only has Frey met me at the shrines, Frey has been working with Halo to help bless its people."
The mention, by name, of the group he had now joined twice, made Noah's head tilt with curiosity. Eira perked up, too, wondering how the girl knew of the guild's existence. "It is, indeed." Noah's hand lifted to the griffin to scratch behind her ears idly. "What do you know of us?"
Dark hair for catching the wind, not to veil the sight of a cold world
Intrigued, Seren pulled out the chair she had been leaning against and sank down to sit.
"That's very kind... in what way has they helped Halo?" she reflected with a curious smile. "What are they like? I mean, really like... you hear the rumors, but is that anything like reality?" Absently sipping on the tea, the flavors reminded her of home. Tension was bleeding away as the conversation picked up, and Seren found that she was enjoying herself.
"I met Aisha the other day," she replied, suppressing a chuckle at Eira's curiosity. "Apparently my dad used to lead a guild similar to yours in the past, and she wanted to know how to contact him. And earlier I met Deimos, he talked about it too... the more I hear, the more I'm tempted to join myself. If Aisha will have me, of course." Offering a light shrug, she realized there were some obstacles to the idea. Stormbreak was a long way away, and there was no ready means of transport. If Halo was the base of operation, then she would always be a bit out of the loop.
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.
When prompted to talk about Halo had been fortified by the herald, Noah's seemingly perpetual smile continued to brighten his face. "Frey gave us protection over the cold for the season of Deepfrost. We have lost so many people in the past to the winter's hands, especially during Longnight. But for the cold to be stabilized as how the rest of the year is was amazing." He brought his mug back up, taking a few drinks of his now warm enough to gulp tea. "I suppose you are asking if Frey will appear naked before you, giving you the image of your wildest dreams and desires?" He lifted a brow, sucking his teeth clear of any tea droplets. "I...wouldn't know. Frey has been kind to me, and always appeared to me in their nature form."
Noah's head cocked slightly to the side, his chin lifting. "That's fascinating. I imagine they had quite a bit of work, especially before the barrier dropped. I joined first under the leadership of Kiada. After she died--" and came back Ascended "--there were some of us who still wanted to keep the guild. We want to learn about the world and keep it safe. Aisha started it up again, and I joined her and gave her all that I had gathered from what I knew of the world."
Dark hair for catching the wind, not to veil the sight of a cold world
Intrigued by the supposed protection from cold - this was not cold for the Halovians? - her mind drew parallells to a similar endeavor.
"Safrin helped us make canals through Torchline," she reflected cheerfully. "I'd say that you are more practical about your asks up here, though." She tried and fail not to blush at the comment of Frey appearing naked. "I'm glad you've been treated well, though. The Heralds really can be fickle sometimes... Frey really doesn't sound too bad." If only they could have some clothes on...
Nodding along as Noah explained his connection to the guild, Seren had to laugh, a little chuff of wry humor. "All the storied history, and I didn't even know it existed until coming here. Dad never told me about it either." She would have to talk to him about that. "Do you have anything going on right now? Or is everyone simply exploring and gathering information?"
If she could bring something interesting to share with the guild master... perhaps Aisha would let her join, despite being awkwardly located.
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.
Halo was generally more practical than anything. The people here knew how to survive, and they also knew that it was necessary above all else. Survival was everything. Whatever they could do to survive they would. He had seen it. Good and bad, ugly and beautiful. He had seen it. He had been a part of it. While he knew he was a part of the good and not the bad, he was still a part of the machine that was hell-bent on survival, against all odds it seemed at times. It was the way of Halo.
"I know that we don't have a lot of information from Stormbreak...if there are animals and plantlife there that we can't encounter in the other governed lands we've been to, that would be helpful for us." He smiled, leaning back in his chair. Eira picked up her head and trilled at him, standing finally and purring quite loudly. Noah laughed as the image of a hare on the tundra ran across his mind. "I think she's telling me it is time for us to go hunt."
Dark hair for catching the wind, not to veil the sight of a cold world
"Maybe I can do something about that," Seren mused, and smiled as her own thoughts were reflected in the hunter's words. Finishing the last dregs of tea from her cup, she had begun to search for something more to say when Eira drew the attention of them both.
Laughing softly, Seren put her cup aside and stood. "Then I will make that my cue to leave," she said easily. "Thank you so much for seeing me, Noah. I'm glad it was you who saved me, for what it's worth... I hope I'll see you again some time."
Leaning down to pet Eira goodbye, Seren slipped in and gave the taller man a quick hug, shy and a little awkward - there and gone again as she quickly retreated towards the door. Hopefully the roses on her cheeks were hidden by the relative dimness of the room... though she didn't count on it.
"Again, thank you! Good luck with your hunt." And with that the girl was gone, one small whirlwind passing through the front door with only bright smiles and an empty cup left behind to tell that she had been there at all.
- FIN
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.
