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!
07-02-2021, 02:22 PM (This post was last modified: 07-02-2021, 02:23 PM by Cian.)
THE EYE
The long table in the meeting room has been set, and careful eyes might notice that each chair is precisely the same distance from those at its side. It's a mathematical triumph, not that anyone will likely know or appreciate. Though Longheat has come and gone, Cian has kept open one of his windows that a breeze might enter the room and clear away the lingering stuffiness that has gathered in the corners and beneath the couches.
Relics? and 8 seasons? have been whispered throughout the halls, and while some are taking the oracle's warning more seriously than others, it is time for everyone to be on the same page. So with notes sent out to Finn, October, Falke, Ronin, Seraphina, and Gideon, the Eye waits for the members of the Order to arrive with his hands clasped tightly behind his back.
"Cian." Ronin gives only a small nod of greeting to the Eye as he sidles in through the doors to the meeting room and goes to take his seat. He doesn't notice the precise configuration of the chairs, but he does check to make sure little icons haven't been carved in the back of them to denote their titles. A good thing, really, because any chair with a tiny dragon carved on the back of it is going home with Ronin.
Speaking of dragons, Sugar is curled around his shoulders like a sassy, clawed scarf, and as Ronin takes his seat, he slips a couple of crackers out of his pocket. One for her, one for him. "I have a feeling I know what this might be about. But I'll do my best not to ruin the surprise." Not that this news is the kind you want someone to give while throwing confetti and yelling.
Arriving with a baby in her arms and her hair haphazardly tied on the top of her head, unlike Ronin, Tobi just tugs at the nearest chair and plops into it. Despite the bags under her eyes, she's still chipper and sunny in a way that new mothers have absolutely no right to be. "He isn't an Order member, but I promise he won't say anything." The doctor chuckles just as Ever predictably opens his mouth to cackle.
With a smile for Ronin, Tobi adjusts Ever in her arms, mentally willing him to fall asleep immediately. In all liklihood, he'll remain awake the entire meeting, cooing and interrupting whatever VEry ImPoRtAnT thing Cian has to say with adorable baby sounds.
And you know what? It's hard being a working mother, so Cian can just deal.
Gideon arrived dressed in his best vestments and with his hair newly pressed back, having returned from his brief excursion into the wilds. Taking a break was all well and good and sometimes necessary, but it was also important to know when to return, ready to get back on with their work. And when it came to the Order, their work was very necessary.
He entered to find Ronin and October had already arrived, as well as Octobers new 'member'. Gideon gave a brief smile at them, but he'd never really been one for babies; hoping he wouldn't be asked to hold or give it any kind of praise, he sat down in a chair carefully in the middle of the table layout and leaned forward with his fingers laced, ready to hear what this meeting would be about.
Cian would not just deal, he's pretty sure. He's said that to Tobi - twice - but ultimately if she decides that Ever is coming with them, he is not going to say no to her. Finn steps into the room only a moment after the doctor, having been caught in conversation (horrors) just at the end of the corridor. Looking just as tired as Doctor Hart, though that is admittedly much more a part of Finn's look, he moves to sit into the seat just beside her.
Ever receives a small smile, because the boy is absolutely his weakness and he isn't afraid to admit it, and then he's glancing up at Cian to see what fresh news will befall them. And if, under the table, his hand slips across to rest on Tobi's knee? That's between he and the doctor.
Not quite the last to arrive, the Fixer nonetheless hurries through the door, caneless and obviously fully recovered from the last time Cian saw him for any extended period of time. Making for a seat, he is momentarily distracted by Tobi and Everest choosing to take the long way around the table just so he could pass by the boy.
“Hi, Ever,” he coos over Tobi’s shoulder, a gentle touch to the Doctor on the shoulder to say hello as well. He is a doting uncle figure on the boy, happy to take him whenever the Spyglass and Doctor need a break. Often found babbling back at the boy, it’s obvious the Fixer is quite fond of the newest Order addition. And then he slips into one of the last two open seats, notebook and pen out, eyes expectantly on the Eye himself.
Cian's steady blue gaze reveals nothing about whether or not Ronin's assumptions are correct, as he nods stiffly in the Star's direction. His smile is tightlipped at Tobi's joke, though if he is upset about Ever's presence or how exhausted his parents appear to be, he gives no indication either. With a final nod toward Gideon and Falke as they enter, the Eye calls the meeting to a start by pulling out his chair at the head of the table, and heavily sinking into it.
'I thought we had more time than this.' He mutters, sounding uncharacteristically tired as he swipes his thumb and middle finger across his brow bone. Letting his hand wipe down his face, Cian sighs loudly as he leans back, fixing each member of the Order with a silent and long look.
'By now many of you will have heard of the oracle's prophecy, either because you were there, or were told. The artifacts are of course those of the god's previous champions...that they held any sort of lingering abilities was something we had speculated about but was never confirmed." He looks toward Finn, probably the only member of the Order who had done any research into this area of their history, before glancing back to the table at large. "Until now."
Seeing Cian break his ice-cold demeanour, even for a second, was interesting; Gideon watched from the corner of his eye, staying still and mostly looking somewhere near the middle of the table. He found it disturbing that the Gods had not prepared them before anyone else, that they had not assisted their servants in the front lines prior to the Ascended.
That was, assuming the announcement about the war came from them at all.
"If the Ascended were to find these relics, would they be able to use them?" Gideon asked, also looking to Finn; he knew there were some things that could detect their unique bodies and block them out. If these relics were of the Old Gods, once held by champions that had fought for them, maybe those that worked for the Voice wouldn't be able to manipulate their power.
// down by the river i was drawn by your grace, into tempest of oblivion and to the lover's place i was stuck in a puddle, full of tears and unwise, dark doings now i know, that we've paid unlike //
She’s so fucking late (MY BAD I FORGOT ABOUT THE PING FOR THIS). She’ll absolutely blame it on the fact she’d just been in Torchline, having whisked herself back to Stormbreak via her compass specifically when the letter had finally reached her. And still, she was still a fraction too late.
She tries to arrive quietly, slipping through the doors and mouthing her apology to Cian as she enters and takes her seat, clutching her blueprints to her lap as she tries to catch her breath – because you’re damn right, she ran the rest of the way here – and lets her dark gaze scan over Cian to hear what it is he’s called them for.
“Is there a way for us to attain them before the Ascended have a chance to?” She asks, once she’s regained enough of her breath. A quiet way of saying ‘do we know where they are or do we need divine intervention’.
Ronin appreciates Cian's candidness, though he is careful not to look at the Eye in too much detail here and now. He's a dab hand at recognising burnout, having been through it plenty of times himself, but there simply isn't any room on his dance card today to wonder about the state of their glorious leader. So he merely listens, as Cian speaks, the Star chewing at the inside of his cheek.
"If we know where they are, I have no qualms in leading expeditions to find and recover them," he offers, not that he has the faintest idea about where to begin. He knows who might, though. "I can also speak to Safrin, to see if she might offer any assistance."
"They would." The Eye confirms with a stiff nod as he turns to Gideon. "Just as we would be able to use relics that once belonged to the champions of the Voice and the Core."
Seraphina 's lateness does not go unnoticed, but there are far more pressing matters at hand just now, and so he merely flashes a blue stare in her direction before answering her. "They have long been lost. To both history as well as to Caido." He murmurs, widening his gaze to include Ronin as well.
"There are 8 artefacts in all. Whether that ties into the 8 seasons we've been given, I don't know. As for where they are? No one knows. Truly. Not even the gods at this point. But ask Safrin. Ask all of them." Rubbing at the bridge of his nose and then sweeping his hand up into his hair to slick it back, Cian sits heavily in his chair, regarding those at the table.
"If our enemies find the artefacts, all is not lost. We may be able to steal them. But keep the information you hold close. Spread misinformation if you like, but know this: those artefacts are the key to all of this. Should too many fall to the ascended, they will become stronger than you can imagine. That cannot happen."
Rather than overload with questions, Falke remains quiet and writes down what’s asked. He had indeed heard for the unseen, yet terribly ominous voice in King’s End and the timeline it gave. Personally, he feels more like support personnel than someone on the front lines, and what he can do will depend largely on what others decide is the best course of action.
However, at the top of his page is CIAN, underlined and in capital letters - a reminder to seek the Eye out after this and quietly inquire if he might be of service. It’s the one thing he can immediately do.
“Could our library - or Halo's - hold any long-lost hints to where they’ve been hidden?” he asks quietly, knowing that their stacks are vast and even books can get lost sometimes. “Or any place to start looking - names of past champions, perhaps?”
Ronin doesn't have need of notes - he understands Cian in the way of one soldier understanding another, lifting his orders from the other man's cues as if they were standing on a battlefield. And they are, sort of, the Star nodding and rising to his feet. "I'll make as many inquiries as I can," he murmurs, tucking his chair in and glancing around at the rest of the table.
"The offer is still there for anyone who needs training," he advises the Order, even as he's making his leave. "And if anyone needs anything in the meantime, you can find me at the Dragon's Nest. Be careful out there." The smile he shoots them is carefree, but it doesn't nearly reach his eyes, and in a few short steps the Star is gone.
It washes over him, this news of imminent peril, but there isn't truly a change there; the Spyglass has often been able to minimise the larger issues in lieu of personal tortures. This time, though, it's his family that has his attention, up until Cian pierces him with his gaze and renders Finn silent and attentive. He does, indeed, know a few stories and tales from his life holed up researching, nodding between the Eye and Fixer as they remark on it.
"I will focus on the library here," he says quietly. "My office will be open for anyone who wishes to visit and see if I have any other information." Much as it causes him to practically wince as he says it. "If I am able to help with locating these relics, I will do my best."
