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!
Mabel had many misgivings about large crowds – mainly because she tended to keep to herself, preferring the platitudes of either no one or a few, close friends. However, after the festivities in the meadows, the breaking news upon war potential and other nuances, the girl had to draw the trepidation to a minimum. Suck in a breath she didn’t need. And rampage through the darkness, a rapid churning of eerie, enigmatic feet and daggers clenched tightly in her hands.
Without Wessex’s ability to broadcast announcements and information, the young Ascended was forced to coincide with the old-fashioned way – leaving notes and placing parchment upon the boards. Thereafter, she figured the Temple would be the best place – and then she waited for others to trickle in, having already set up some chairs.
And then, of course, she had to start. Willing her fingers to stop wheedling around one another, and wishing with a very mortal pang that her sister was here, she looked, glanced, summoned some manner of strength, and began. “I called you all here because of some news during the party in King’s End.” Another breath she didn’t need, but it stuck against her spine and gave her some resolve. “A voice arrived and said there would be eight more cycles of heat and snow, before war. The tools are ready, but the warriors are not.” Striving to remember all of it, she parsed through the other sanctions. “It also mentioned finding relics and preparing.”
Thereafter, she took a step back, presuming some manner of discussion would begin.
Let's go to war to make peace Let's be cold to create heat
We are only haunted by the things we refuse to accept -Bridgett Devoue
Seeing the numerous, often messy, but urgent notices, Nikolai headed to the temple. There were already many Ascended present and it felt a bit daunting. The new Ascended had only met a handful of the total it seemed. Still he put that aside and focused on the girl talking.
Nikolai's eyes widened as he heard the news, his brain scrambling to process. The rising tensions were only going to escalate? A war in eight cycles? Dread filled him, concern going immediately to his mom. He didn't want to lose her. On that note, the young man looked at all of the unfamiliar faces around him. All of the other Ascended, family that he'd yet to get to know. He didn't want to lose them either.
"Relics?" Nikolai whispered, and feeling a surge of determination, he spoke up. "I'll start combing the Atheneum for any mention of relics. Anyone is welcome to join me." There were a few nods of agreement, or simply acknowledgment to the idea. It made Nikolai lose the tension he'd been holding since speaking.
Resilience is born even when we feel like we are dying -Alex Elle
It's a lucky thing, that the Temple is so close to the infirmary, and Isla doesn't have far to come from her work to hear the news that Mabel is sharing. Leafchange is upon them and changes are already afoot (too many to count, so she doesn't look at them too closely), and this is very much a cherry on the top of a cake that's already way too high. "Eight seasons," she echoes. Longer than she'd expected, and a lot shorter too.
Chewing thoughtfully at the inside of her cheek, she raises her gaze as if she might see her fellow leader, or Wessex or Varus or any others she recognises. But ultimately, she has to make the decision to speak up. "Thank you," she tells Nikolai with a nod. "That sounds like a very good idea. I'd recommend hosting a meeting to discuss what this means for us and for the Hollowed Grounds, but I think we are pretty much doing that already. My ears are open for opinions and suggestions."
Well, he'd barely been in charge for five minutes before a major, terrifying announcement. Of course. Honestly though, Bastien found Mabel's words almost comforting, if only because he had expected to hear that the war would begin much sooner. It felt bizarre, to have a conflict scheduled and know of and not be discussing ways to prevent it, but...he felt it too, the inevitability of the clash between the Ascended and the Old Gods.
Arriving and standing next to Isla, he listened with a grim expression to the news. "It is in many ways a blessing to know how long we have...if that count is accurate. An unfortunate piece of news, but a helpful one. Did the voice say anything of how it would begin?" Not entirely sure why he was asking, perhaps some last spark of hope he could stop it somehow, Bastien gestured questionly at Mabel.
Slinking in silently as Edy once did often to many functions, she picks a corner of the room and skulks in it, comfortable as any shadow. Arms crossed over her chest, she'll bob her eyebrows either sensually or menacingly depending on who looked her way. Otherwise, the Rapacious will simply keep her mouth shut for the time being, because honestly? All of this is weird.
Edy has done war before.
Edy has done Wessex stepping down and making someone else Queen before.
Edy has fucked Bastien and tried to get into Isla's pants.
Edy has died already because of all this fucking nonsense.
So to be going through it again? She might be young, but fuck if she isn't too old for this bullshit.
He’s a bit late to arrive, but he still manages to slip through the doors of the Temple – slinking in so that he stands beside the rest of them, arms crossed, gaze watching Mabel as she explains what had occurred. He finds himself drifting a bit closer to Isla, head tilting toward her as she begins to speak – as Varus begins to process what information is said.
And all Varus has to offer over the news of the warriors not being ready, is to sigh quietly before his chin tilts up – his gaze finding Mabel and the rest of them, any who would choose to listen. “I will start working on more trainings. If anyone needs any tips or help preparing, you can come to me.” Perhaps it had been a good thing he’s been practicing so much, if this was how close war was to being on their doorstep again.
I pray to blades of grass
To find forgiveness in the weeds
An Ascended meeting to spread news...never a good sign. Sam had come from a sense of obligation and curiosity, but dreaded what he might hear when he arrived. What was it now? Another group of people determined to kill them? Another dangerous mission to be given to them? Perhaps he worried too much, but typically the Ascended didn't gather for good news.
As it went, well, it wasn't the worst news he'd ever heard. A time frame for something everyone had already been speaking about. Sam nodded solemnly, hands behind his back, and said nothing - he had little power to do anything about all of it. All he could hope for was that when the time came, he'd have the luck to stay safe.
The influx of people automatically had her yearning to retreat to deeper and deeper shadows, but somehow she remained, standing her ground, needling her hands together as questions and suggestions cycled through. Trainings. Searches for relics. Some remain much like she does perhaps, trying to summon the willpower to understand and assemble the information given. What to do with it? Where to go from here? Mabel knew and understood she was merely a conduit in this exchange – the one who’d heard.
Eventually though, only Bastien had pinpointed an inquiry towards her. “No.” No hows, no wheres, no plausibility other than the limited stretch of time. She opened her mouth for a moment, considering, then snapped it shut – before barreling onwards. “I’m sure…with all the chaos lately,” like Isla’s infirmary burning, like other encompassing means and measures Old Gods might be asserting, “it wouldn’t take much.”
But that couldn’t be what they wanted, right? Not when so many were so woefully unprepared?
Let's go to war to make peace Let's be cold to create heat
We are only haunted by the things we refuse to accept -Bridgett Devoue
Nikolai's mind is already whirling with ideas of where to start. Recalling how Wessex had mentioned hidden books from the old Lorekeepers laying hidden within the Atheneum, he'd been brainstorming how to find them. Books that old surely had something on these relics. If such knowledge was written down anywhere that was.
But Nikolai was pulled out of his thoughts at the offer made by Varus. "I'll take you up on that." He gives a nod towards the other Ascended. Hopefully with the assassins' help, Nikolai can go from simply being able to hold his own in a street fight, to an actually capable fighter.
Resilience is born even when we feel like we are dying -Alex Elle
After arriving, she listens quietly, trying to digest the information of two years or less, and suss out her new position amongst the family; it’s good to take a moment and not leap in. “Thanks Mabel,” the demigod says, flashing a small fanged smile towards the girl.
First things first, nodding to Varus, the Wraith tacks something on to his offer. “We’re going to build a new Barracks soon, to go with Cal’s guerilla-style training. The Voice is always saying we’re stronger together, and I think that if you’re interested in fighting - or even using upgrades defensively - how far does Sam’s barrier reach, for example, or how to use Bastien’s hoverboard to get away - it’d be smart to start to learn to work together.” A definitive change in tactics, moving from solo to group work. “Anyway, they can go hand in hand with Cal’s work.”
“I don’t know about Relics, but Sam and I can read some non-Common writing. If you find anything interesting, we might be able to decipher it. I wouldn’t be surprised to find them hidden in hard-to-reach places, but the Voice might be able to point us in the right direction.” Pausing, she runs through the things she’s done recently, until she lands on a hard, solid fact. “And you should know that the Governor of Torchline has said it’s for Safrin and the Old Gods. I know we have friends there, but - we also have enemies. Be careful, please.”
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
Bastien is the public speaker here, so Isla spends much of her time listening, watching for those who attend and stay silent, for those who offer their agreements and suggestions. She offers a nod to Mabel - a confirmation that there is nothing further from the Voice is just as important as anything else - and a smile to Wessex. ”Then it seems as though we have plenty to be getting on with,” she murmurs.
”I suggest we use the Notice Board as a common point of knowledge sharing where possible. Perhaps we can arrange another meeting soon in the Town Hall? Or,” and here she looks at Wessex again, ”if you wouldn’t mind, would we be able to use your abilities to broadcast any important updates to our brothers and sisters? That may be faster.”
Regardless, the wheels are set in motion, and war is on its way.
Isla need not even ask - though it was nice of her to do so. “Of course,” Wessex readily agrees. “Any time. Always.” It’s what she’s here for.
And then something she’d been pondering on since hearing of a Voice in King’s end, and the whole Prince thing in the Underground. “When we were in the Underground, I read something down there. There was a statue of a woman named Tallulah King, and it said: In Memory of Tallulah King, Rae's Champion. May the sacrifices she made never be in vain. May her soul find rest once her work in the court is done. May she once again be reunited with her Prince.” She pauses to let that sink in.
“And then there’s King’s End. I wonder if they’re connected. And there was an acidic river down there - bad enough to do damage if you were in it for a long time, but I wonder if it might lead somewhere - if we could find a way to use it? An acid-resistant boat? There’s also an empty space with something big in it underneath King’s End - at least it frightened some compelled animals. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
Making a face, Wessex sighs needlessly. “That’s all I’ve got. Just bits and pieces. But I think we ought to keep that all within the family.” If catch her drift.
there was a time that we were kind, but now don't write me, you're not fooling anyone
07-09-2021, 08:20 PM (This post was last modified: 07-11-2021, 03:37 AM by Nikolai.)
Nikolai
We are only haunted by the things we refuse to accept -Bridgett Devoue
Nikolai listened to Wessex's report with increasing interest. Clearly something drastic happened in the past at King's End. A champion, and possibly a place where she had met her end. An end possibly involving an acid river? Nikolai was sure that there was a legend hidden in what the General had found. But if such a legend had occurred, had once been known well enough for a statue to be made, what had changed? Why was the story of this King one that they'd never heard of?
The entire situation was bizarre and spoke of lost knowledge. Knowledge of history and culture that could be vital in the coming days. Nikolai's eyes narrowed in thought. "What if... these relics... They might not be weapons. What if instead, they're relics of the past related to major events? Events that we've lost knowledge of somehow? There might be a relic there at King's End, one connected to Tallulah King and her sacrifice." The young Ascended thought aloud, mind racing to the point that he forgot he was in a crowd.
Resilience is born even when we feel like we are dying -Alex Elle
“Good idea, Nikolai.” He rumbles quietly to the Ascended that sidles up beside him, flashing a crookedly fanged smirk, before his attention is brought up to Wessex speaking of the training grounds he’d created. He nods, agreeing that it’s a combination they should all pursue, to search for who worked better with one another and to better be prepared should said groups get split up.
He can help with that.
But he remains silent while they speak, until Wessex offers the information of Tallulah and the Prince, the mention of King’s End having gears spinning in his mind. “King’s End has always been rumored to be a burial ground for gods or the like.” He muses. “But the Barrows are an actual graveyard with tombs, I wonder if some of the relics might reside within there if we can get past the daemons which haunt them.” Taking a breath he absolutely doesn’t need, he reaches up to run his metal hand through his hair. “It’s dangerous, though, and there is always the rumor of the KingMaker.” He murmurs a bit quieter, flashing an apologetic grin to the rest of them.
