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!
Clearly he wasn't going to be much help on this. Maybe she should ask someone else like Mr. Sunjata. He had so many different shifts. Some of them were really big and maybe they wouldn't fit inside. Would his dragon fit inside? She didn't think so, but that was a problem for another time. "Well, I'm pretty good with my stick." Paige said with a shrug of her shoulders like her stick actually counted as a real weapon.
Sah started laughing and so did she, bright and bubbly giggles bubble up in her chest, filling the space between them as her free hand clutched her belly. Paige leaned against Lilly, burying her face in the scruff of the pups neck, still giggling as she turned to peek at him. "You should ask your friends! I bet they would say the same thing." She said matter of factly, snuggling close to the wolf, starting to warm up from her spill in the water.
This was completely new to her, something she didn't really think was actually real despite the fact that she'd heard as much before. Paige gasped, blue eyes bright and wide, "You weren't human? What were you?"
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Sah shook his head, still chuckling. "You know, my friends probably would. They seem to always find a way to tease me." Seren and Aino came to mind immediately. Deimos probably wouldn't tease him, but the sword might give a small chuckle at the notion. Lilly wagged, enjoying hearing her bonded and the other pup laugh. Snuggled up against Paige, the little wolf was perfectly content. She loved to cuddle and had no issues being used as a pillow.
Just as Sah had expected, Paige latched onto his words. He sat down to tell the story. It'd be a good distraction while the child waited to fully dry. "Well, believe it or not I was a magical beast. A giant wolf with wings who could control lighting and create storms." He began, his voice taking on that dramatic air that came with most stories told to children. "I was born in a world called Lunaria, and just like Caido, it was filled with all sort of magic, gods, creatures, and people."
Paige giggled again, settling on the rock cross legged, using Lilly as a little prop as she laid in the curve of her body. The wolf was nice and warm, happy to snuggle with her and Paige took full advantage of that, leaning heavily into her. Idly her fingers brush through Lilly's fur as Sah spoke, fully locked onto what he had to say, blue eyes bright.
"A wolf with wings? Like Mr. Sunjata's griffin! How did you make storms? Did you use your wings?" She asked, excitement and curiosity clear in her voice as she leaned forward, holding tightly to the blanket. "What kind of creatures? Did you have dragons too? What about Luxere? What kind of gods?" Of course the girl had so many questions to spout off, listing one after another after another, barely pausing to take a breath in between.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Sah let out a chuckle at the barrage of questions. He should have expected it but the Outlander was a little out of practice with dealing with pups. But he did his best to answer all of her questions in order. "I used magic instead of my wings. Casting spells to make the wind howl, the sky's grow cloudy, and for lighting to rain down." Sah gestured with his hands as he spoke, fully settling into a storytelling mode.
"All sorts of creatures, big and small. We did have dragons. And instead of luxere there were deer that had vines and flowers growing from their antlers. They would walk through the forest and were very rare. If you saw one, it was said to be a sign of good luck. As for the gods?" A slightly wistful smile came to his face, memories both fond and painful flashed through his mind. "There were many. More than there are in Caido. There were gods related to parts of the natural world and then there were gods of things like war, food, and luck. Different people and different beasts were loyal to different gods. My kind were loyal to the goddess of the moon. Her name was Mune and she was very kind."
It was official. Sah was the coolest! The awe and wonder was clear in her blue eyes, making them almost sparkle as she listened closely to his tale, completely enraptured by what he had to say. "Does that mean you can use magic now? Are you an, uhm, an..." She trailed off, brows drawing together as she tried to remember the word. What was it momma called them? Not Abandoned cause that word wasn't nice. The girl couldn't remember and she huffed out a breath of irritation.
Quickly distracted by deer who grew flowers from their antlers and dragons, she let the moment pass, focusing on this instead. "My Auntie Maeve has a dragon. So does her bestest friend Miss Seren. They found Auntie Maeve's dragon together. His name is Aidon and he blows fire." She told him, lifting her chin and apparently very proud that she knew not one, but two people with dragons, figuring he should be very impressed by her. Not only that, but she knew Mr. Sunjata and he could turn into a dragon. "Mune sounds like moon... Did you ever meet her? I haven't met any of the gods yet, but I'm going to meet Safrin with my friend Kamaria. That's her momma. It's Miss Seren's momma too."
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Paige's enthusiasm had Sah chuckling. "Am I an Abandoned? Yes. My magic is i weaker in Caido though I can still use lightning. I'm having to relearn it all which is frustrating. But I'll get there." His voice held a note of determination, the Abandoned refusing to let this setback get to him.
The child's clear pride had Sah's lips twitching. He let her have her moment. "You know two dragons? Wow. I only know one in Caido." Grinning he added, "I actually know Seren and Umbra too. Seren is a friend of mine." Sah hadn't met Maeve but he vaguely remembered hearing Seren mention here. Or maybe that was just his imagination? He'd sworn he'd heard the name Maeve somewhere before.
The questions of Mune had Sah humming and looking up at the sky. "Her name did mean moon so it's not too surprising that it sounds like it. And yes, I knew her well. She was a dear friend to me." He turned back to Paige as he spoke further about the goddess of his kind. "I'd known her since I was little and she was somewhat of a role-model to me."
Sah let the mention of meeting Safrin take the center of the conversation, not wanting to get lost in his memories. He forced a curious expression to replace his melancholy one. "You're going to meet Safrin with your friend? You mentioned Attuning, are you going to ask her to Attune you?" Sah didn't know exactly when in one's life Attuning could occur, or even how really.
One thing she really liked about Sah is that he didn't talk to her like she was a baby. They sat together on the large rock, his blanket around her shoulders, and Lilly wrapped around her body just talking. It was nice and made her feel like a big kid. Paige listened very closely to all he had to say, brows drawing together when he said that word. Abandoned. Miss Seren said that wasn't a nice word and she didn't like it very much. "I don't like that word. It's mean. I'm glad you still have your magic, though." She offered him a smile, still shivering a little bit from the dampness of her clothes and hard, but she was slowly starting to dry.
Paige nodded, "I do! Miss Seren is Auntie Maeve's bestest friend. I get to play with Umbra and Aidon whenever she comes over. It's a lot of fun." Did she already tell him that? Probably. Did she really care? No, she didn't.
"Well she sounds really nice." She reached out, giving his knee a little pat in a way that was likely meant to be comforting to the older boy. Paige knew she'd be really sad if she left her world and couldn't be with her god anymore. Not that she had a god yet, but still.
"Yeah, I think so. Kamaria said that she wanted me to meet her momma cause I'm her friend. I dunno if Lady Safrin is gonna Attune me, but I wanna be an Attuned." Her little shoulders lifted in a shrug as she fidgeted with the blanket, dropping her gaze for a moment, "I think I'd make a good Attuned.."
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Sah gave Paige a gentle smile. "I don't like that word either. But I am glad to have my magic still." He gave the child a wink. "And do you know what's even cooler? I have a new magic here in Caido that I never did before." In a small demonstration the Abandoned flicked his wrist and a little stone from the ground came up and flew over to rest on his palm "It's such a small ability but I was never able to do it before coming to Caido, so I love it."
The small comforting gesture had Sah's smile turning warm. "Thanks, she was." It was adorable that she'd tried to help. And it was appreciated, but Sah hoped he hadn't worried her. The further talk about Attuning was a good distraction from the past and he was grateful for it. The child's insecurity, an even stronger distraction. One that had Sah reaching over to tap her forehead to get Paige's eyes off the ground. "You'll make an amazing Attuned." He stated with conviction and no room for argument.
Sah nodded towards Lilly as he spoke to Paige. "Lilly was a wild wolf before she became my companion. And she's already warmed up to you. Someone who can befriend a creature of the wild that easily for sure will make a great one themselves. I have no doubt that you'll be a great Attuned. And who knows? Maybe one day you'll be the one with a dragon shift." There was no way that Sah was going to sit there and let Paige doubt herself.
"Miss Seren says there is another name to call them, but I don't remember what it is." Paige said softly, sighing as her shoulders slumped a touch, clearly bothered by that fact. At least Sah seemed okay with the fact that that's what he was. At least he still had his magic. She looked up, brows pinching together, head cocking to the side at the mention of a new magic. Before she could even ask what it is, he's showing her, bringing a stone out of the water to land in his palm. It's shiny and pretty and purple in color. She reached for it, eyes wide, "Ooh! You can move rocks!"
But she wilted a touch as she worried over whether or not she'd actually make a good Attuned. If she would know what to do or not. His fingers pressing against her forehead, lifting her head up made her giggle, swatting at his hand as she cheeks flushed. "What kind of dragon do you think I'd be?" She asked curiously, bolstered by the idea that he thought she could actually be a dragon.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
"The Abandoned used to be called Acquired if I remember what Seren said correctly." Sah offered, seeing how Paige was struggling to remember. At the child's wide eyes, he handed her the stone with a chuckle. "Actually I can move anything if it's small and light enough. It's a magic called telekinesis." He doubted she'd be able to pronounce it but at least she'd likely recognize the name in the future. It was important for little ones to learn new words, right?
The Outlander let his hand be swatted away, pleased to see that he at least cheered her up. At the question, he hummed, tapping is chin in dramatized contemplation. "Well, you're pretty brave and seem to have a good memory. And you seem very nice. So a dragon that's smart, strong, and kind. I think that'd be one of those dragons that breathes fire, right? As for color, maybe you'd be whatever your favorite color is? I've head dragons can be just about any color in Caido." Sah knew that there was a wide variety of dragons in the world, but he couldn't recall any specific ones except for the Black and White dragons. And neither's personality fit the energetic little girl in front of him.
"Oh! That's the word!" Paige exclaimed, nodding as if to confirm that he got it right. Telekinesis. That was definitely a hard word. She furrowed her brows, lips pressing into a line before giving it a try. "Tellynesis... That's a silly word." Silly and hard pretty much meant the same thing to her at this point. Especially with a word like telekinesis.
The little girl wasn't sure what determined the breath of a dragon. Aidon was smart and nice. So was Umbra, but Miss Seren said that he good be cranky sometimes. She could be cranky too when she didn't get a nap. That's what momma said anyway. "I really like the color orange, but also purple." Paige hadn't ever really seen a purple dragon or an orange one. Except for Aidon's wings, but she didn't know if that actually counted.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
The Abandoned was in full agreement with Paige. Acquired was a far nicer word for sure. Maybe one day it'd be in use again. But with the war coming, Sah doubted it'd be anytime soon. Likely not even in his lifetime. But those were deliberations for another time. Right now words and dragons were the focus.
"Tele-kin-esis. It is a silly word, isn't it? It means to move things with your mind." Sah corrected lightly. "It took me a while to be able to pronounce it. I had to practice." That wasn't a lie. When he was a pup he'd often speak too fast to properly pronounce longer words, lacking the patience to take the time to do so.
"Orange or purple huh? I've heard that there are dragons in Caido like that. Who knows, maybe you'll have a shift that's a purple and orange dragon?" Sah gave the child a playful grin. "What would you do if you could? Would you go exploring through Caido? If I could be a dragon, that's what I'd do." He had a feeling that Paige was the adventurous type. After all, she was wandering out here alone, apparently of her volition.
Sah pronounced the word for her again, sounding it out and everything so that she might better understand. The girl gave it another go, "Telly-can-nisis" It's closer, but definitely not right. She'll work on it. Even still, Paige gave him a big grin after saying it, thinking she did a pretty good job with it. "Could you move me with your mind or is your brain not big enough?" The girl asked, an almost sympathetic look on her face as if she feared that his brain might actually be too small.
Paige nodded eagerly, eyes lighting up, "I wanna be the best explorer ever! I'm going to go everywhere and I'm going to find Caido! Everyone says that he's gone forever, but I think he's just hiding really good." She told him conspiratorially, dropping her voice to a whisper as if someone might actually be listening to them out here.
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind They count me out time and time again
Sah chuckled slightly. "Almost! You'll get there in no time." Her question though has him blinking before a snort of laugher escapes. "Thankfully it doesn't work based on the size of my brain. It's a practice thing too. The more I work at it, the heavier the things I'll be able to lift. Right now since it's still new to me, I can only move small objects. But eventually with some more training I will be able to lift you." He explains, a wide grin on his face at the child's interpretation. "My brain is plenty big enough." Sah insisted, still smiling, an exaggerated scowl in place.
Paige's enthusiasm is easy to listen to and Sah enjoys hearing her go on about her future goals. He can definetly see her as an adventurer. The mention of Caido though has his brow furrowing. "Caido is the god of gods, right? Am I remembering that correctly?" He asked curiously. That particular deity wasn't mentioned very often so Sah was struggling to place them.
