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!
Both relieved for and regretting the loosened grip, the complicated little sigh that slipped unbidden from Seren expressed more than words her conflicting emotions. Sah's assurance that he would train reflected her thoughts to an almost eerie degree and she wanted to just be happy about that, and express her belief in his ability to solve this problem.
But his quiet laughter in her ear sealed her throat shut, until she could only shake her head in a vague refusal of the apology. What did he have to be sorry for? She was the one being ridiculous. Freaking out all on her own, getting snappy with her friends when they pointed out things she wasn't ready to hear.
It took every ounce of will she possessed to unglue her tongue from the roof of her mouth. To squeeze her arms around his middle just a little bit, and not immediately freak out from the mute indication that she did not actually want to leave.
"We're good," she repeated meekly, thoroughly embarrassed. She wished she could laugh at this too. That it wasn't something to scare her stiff. "I'm sorry. I keep making everything weird..."
Is it anything and everything you hoped for?
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.
Seren couldn't see it, but a gentle and warm smile came upon the Outlander's face. Though that warmth was clear in his voice as well as he spoke. "You're not. At least, not in my opinion." The small smile became a slight grin when the Demi-god tightened her grip. It reassured him immensely that things weren't over, that he hadn't destroyed their still new bond. A bond that Sah needed to come to terms with and understand better.
But holding Seren, Sah let out a heavy sigh. Hiding his face in her hair, he worked up the nerve to speak. "Last time we spoke, you weren't the only one who had something difficult to discuss. I...my plans to send a letter failed." He started, voice tentative almost. "I did send one, but the response was pretty much the same as all of the previous interactions. If I wanted answers, I'd have to go myself." Sah paused for a moment, a bit nervous of Seren's reaction. "So I went. And... she answered. I met the Voice."
Warmth. Comfort. That smile in his voice that she both heard and felt - it all reassured Seren far more than anything anyone else might have said. In the end, what mattered was Sah's opinion, and if he wasn't bothered by her, then... perhaps things really were fine. For now.
Some of the tension bled away from her in a slow breath, and the raven haired girl settled in a little better against her friend. Draconic amusement curled around her thoughts, a mere brush of dark wings and scales through the companion bond; then Umbra too settled in to make himself comfortable. The tip of his tail twitched back and forth, expressing contentment with the wolf beneath his wing and the small sliver of peace that settled over his ward's frazzled emotions.
One small moment of relief. A gulp of air before the waves rose up to swallow her again. It seemed they would have no breaks tonight, no chances to settle and recover before plunging into the deep waters of the next stormsurge. Sah changed the topic, and where she leaned against him the demi-goddess grew very still, holding her breath as the realization sank in.
"What... what happened?" She hardly dared to ask. Surely he would not still be here, now, like this, if he had been swayed to that side. Surely not. And yet... the sudden prick of uncertainty within Seren was such a hateful thing.
He would never hurt her.
Is it anything and everything you hoped for?
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.
Sah could practically hear Seren's concern, and he gave her a gentle squeeze before jumping into it. "She seemed just as genuinely perplexed as I was that her Ascended refused to tell me themselves. And she too, refused to tell me." The Abandoned's brow furrowed. "She told me to look at the present situation, to ignore the ancient past. And that apart from that, I should make my own choice. That she wouldn't tell me because she, and I quote, 'could tell me and convince me of whatever she wanted'"
Sah sighed. "She's clever. Manipulative too. Trying to give me the illusion of power over my own fate. That and deflecting me from the so called ancient past when it's still happening and influencing the present. Claiming to let me make my own decision while also nudging me towards where the evidence points her and the Ascended as victims. Instead of acknowledging all the harm she's done that's led to it."
The Abandoned hummed. "But even so, The Voice wasn't what I expected. She was cool but not cold. And although I was afraid at first, I wasn't when we started speaking. I even found her presence oddly soothing. There is also no doubt that she is a Goddess,. She may not have started out that way, but she is now. And I apparently made quite an impression on her as well. Because she offered to Ascend me, if I ever did choose that path. The Voice then left before I could give any answer."
Sah then pulled back one hand under Seren's chin so that their eyes met. "And Seren? That answer to her offer? It would have been, and still is, no. I will never willingly Ascend."
There was a lot to take in. Certain parts alarmed her more than others, but the gist seemed to be that the meeting had left Sah without the answers he had so wanted.
"The presence of power can be very appealing," she murmured, voicing thoughts on one of the things she had stumbled on. "If you were to meet Frey or Ludo, or Safrin, the air about them would probably affect you in various ways, too. Each according to what they want you to see when gazing at them." She worried at her lip - then remembered his once close ties with Mune. He must know this already. "In a way, I can agree that looking at the present is a good way to form an opinion. But... if you simply stare at a milling anthill with no idea what the activity is about, it will only look like chaos. The present is a direct result of the past... you can't just cut that out and pretend it never happened."
Finding her cheek cupped and lifted, Seren sat up a bit and met Sah's gaze. He looked so serious, so earnest, clearly concerned with what she might think of the offer. It was true that her heart had skipped a beat at the thought, and that the very thought of her friend among the ranks of the Voice was the stuff of nightmares... but he quelled those fears immediately.
A soft smile touched her lips, warmth blooming in her chest... and perhaps a little in the cheeks too from having his face so close, but she pretended not to notice that. "I believe you," she told him. "You do have a choice, Sah. And control over your own fate. There are always options, if you just allow yourself to see them."
She reached up to touch his wrist with soft fingertips. "Is that it, then? They just... told you to think for yourself and left?" Seren was concerned. Troubled over the manipulative nature of this encounter, over the threads she feared might be attempting to latch onto him. To play with his pride and sense of honor and make him go where they wished.
Is it anything and everything you hoped for?
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.
Sah's lips twitched into a gentle smile. "I know I do. It's just not through the means they were trying to lead me." Seren's question was reasonable and the Abandoned sighed. "The Voice also said that I should speak to her Ascended, and hear about what they have to deal with. The one who went with me offered to take me to the Hollowed Grounds. The meeting ended before I could get a word in."
Sah shook his head slightly. "Although I'm aware of the oppression and mistreatment the Ascended have been subjected to, continue to be subjected to, that doesn't... using that alone to decide would be cutting out the past as you say. And if the Voice and her people refuse to tell me their past? Then I can only assume that it either matches or is worse then what I've already been told. That the Voice has committed heinous crimes, and no matter how innocent some Ascended are, they are incapable of escaping her grip."
The Abandoned's brow furrowed. "She called me 'young light' too. Which felt weird. Almost like she was already seeing me as one of hers, as if she was so sure that I'd come back to her to Ascend." Sah shook his head, the look on his face mildly disgusted. "I hate it. She seemed so convinced that this method would work, that I'd be hers."
Letting out a breath, the small smile returned, a lightness coming to his shoulders. "But I'm glad that I went. I learned some vital things, even if I didn't learn what I set out to." Sah's eyes on the Demi-god were warm. "And I think I've finally figured out where I'll be. I'll admit that I don't like any of Caido's gods, both those I've met and those I haven't. I find them all equally manipulative honestly. But I realized that I've been thinking about this war wrong. I initially thought that choosing a side meant choosing a god. But that's not the case. Or at least, I won't let that define it for me. "
Sah grinned, eyes bright and determined. Fiercely protective and ready for the coming storm. "I chose my people. The ones who I care for. Aino, Deimos, Cordelia, you, all of them. Where you all are, I'll fight for. And given that nearly all of you right now are, and most likely will remain, for the Old Gods? Or at the very least are neutral but leaning towards the Old? I think it's clear where my place is for the foreseeable future."
The grin grew into a playful smirk as Sah winked at Seren. "Well Demi-god? Willing to accept a still kind of feral Abandoned Outlander into your ranks?"
The wind was picking up, and grew steadily colder. In the night dark sky above, clouds were gathering up again. Tattered and jagged they raced in towards land, across the sea where the moon had become half submerged and no longer seemed quite as big, or quite as scarlet as before. In the strange, hazy light, Seren kept gazing with earnest attention upon her friend as he spoke, absorbing his views and opinions as though it was the most important thing in the world that she remember this.
And perhaps it was. Especially as Sah seemed to be building up to something. Especially when that something turned out to be a choice, monumental and so very simple that it was hard to believe he had been agonizing over it for almost an entire year. Blue reflecting the stars above grew wide, suddenly brimming all over again with pure relief. Seren leaned back in and squeezed Sah fiercely, too emotional to say anything for a long while. When her voice no longer threatened to break, she nodded emphatically with her cheek pressed to his.
"Of course! Always. For as long as you find us worthy." The Old Gods were far from faultless, nor burdened with morals or scruples. But that did not mean that their followers had to be cruel.
"I don't want this war, Sah. I would much rather have a world where everyone gets along. But since that seems out of the question... I want to at least make sure that the world we create become better than the one we have now." Sitting up, Seren gazed at her friend and shared with him something she had been keeping to herself so far. "I want to restore the reputation of the Abandoned in the eyes of the Old Gods. Show them that magic is beautiful and capable of so much more than destruction and strife. I want to see a day when magic users are referred to as Acquired again."
Even with her face lined with tears and blood and dusted with sand, the demigod's passion for this shone through. It was in her eyes, lit up from within by the light of hope, for better times to come.
"I... don't know how, or if it's even possible. But that's what I'll be fighting for, Sah. To make sure that the end of the Voice becomes the end of persecution of people who have committed no wrongs. Her rebellion is what cast this shadow over all of you... Maybe by you choosing to turn away from her, we can both begin to show my mother and all the other gods - and people like the Order - that there's no such thing as a hopeless case." A foolish hope, perhaps. Naive, willful and hopelessly innocent. But Safrin had told her that she could stay naive if it kept her bright, and if this made her a fool, then fool she would be.
Is it anything and everything you hoped for?
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.
Sah returned the hug just as fiercely. The choice was simple yes, but built on hours of agony. Of adapting to a new world, finding the balance between past morals and current applications. Applying old rules and beliefs to a new reality and finding which ones needed to be disregarded. It had been a rough year. But Sah was sure in his choice. To disregard the Gods in teh equation and focus on those he loved. Possibly a dangerous choice, but it was the one that was right for him.
Holding his friend tightly, Sah listened closely to Seren's thoughts. Her idea, her dream, had his eyes widening. "You want to redeem the Abandoned in the eyes of the Old Gods." The Abandoned's voice was filled with awe and clear pride. "I'll do whatever I can to aid that dream."
Sah bit his lip and grimaced slightly. "Someone actually sent me on a hunt with false information. I assume they wanted me dead, though I don't know why. And I haven't managed to track them down yet. If that kind of thing happened to me for no apparent reason, I imagine other Abandoned have dealt with similar things."
Determined eyes matched the Demi-gods. "If we lessen the prejudice, even a little, that'll make the every day life of the Abandoned just a bit easier. If we make their daily lives even a fraction safer, it'll be worth it." It very well may be a foolish dream built on naivety, but it was something to hold on to. A glimmer of hope for a better, brighter future.
Nodding in full agreement, Seren beamed quietly under his approval. It was far more than she ever thought she would have after revealing the atrocities committed in Stormbreak.
"This is why I was so keen to get involved with Halo's politics," she admitted. "With leaders aligned with my gods, I get more chances to influence things, by virtue of being a demigod. If mages could find and harness the mageglass, and use their powers in the name of the Old Gods, it might go a long way to mend the rift." Marvelous structures built by magic, artwork and enchanted items, sorcelled gardens abundant with food - all dedicated to the gods, crafted with care and to support their fellow humans... That was her dream. Halo with its secluded location and tough environment lent itself to creative solutions, and the mageglass opened up realms of possibilites that would be impossible elsewhere.
"I also really want to do something about Stormbreak. If Halo seems to be about to fall into the hands of the Voice, the Order might be tempted to step in and take over. That would be awful. They already have too much influence - their attitudes can't be allowed to spread to other regions. Nor can they be permitted to keep up their barbaric practices. I'm going to speak to Mother about it... and even if she won't help, I'm sure there's something I can do to improve things."
There had to be. Even if that something meant tearing the place down brick by brick until everyone could see what the organization at the head of her current home really looked like. Well... maybe. Hopefully things didn't have to get that dramatic.
Is it anything and everything you hoped for?
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.
Although Seren didn't describe her vision, Sah could see it. A Halo built on magic would flourish in the ice and snow. The image recalled an old story he'd heard as a pup. "That actually reminds me of one city I heard rumors of in my world. They were in the heart of a desert where rain didn't fall for years at a time. Yet they had beautiful gardens and plentiful food. All because the soil was infused with magic." If it had been done somehow in his world, perhaps there was truly a way to replicate it in Halo.
The mention of Stormbreak had a sharp tint coming to Sah's eyes. "Yes. Something does need to be done about Stormbreak. Especially if their Order sets their sights on Halo." A slight growl came from Lilly, echoing the emotions within her bonded. "If they implement those runes..." Sah shook his head, he would do anything he could to stop that from happening.
Seren's intolerance for the Order's policies endeared her to Sah more then she likely knew. "Whatever you need in that endeavor, don't hesitate to ask. I'll do whatever I can do to help take down the Order and stop them from expanding." Sah swore, but then paused.
Reaching a hand up, he wiped some of the blood from her cheek. "But before that. Would you please heal yourself already?" Seeing the blood on her was only a painful reminder of his lapse in control.
A dreamy smile came over her as visions of gleaming towers soaring over shimmering hot desert sands came alive in her mind. "That sounds amazing. I would love to see a place like that. Stormbreak could almost be it... It's very beautiful, and very advanced compared to the rest of the continent." Something Sah said made her laugh though, a quick huff of wry amusement. "I'm not sure we can or even should 'take down' the Order," she murmured. "They might prove vital in the war to come... But. That doesn't mean I won't do my utmost to change them. Dad will help if I ask. Other demigods might too. And I know some people who might be able to help... I just need some sort of idea on what is realistically possible to do."
Seren was so absorbed in the planning and imagery that she had all but forgotten her own injuries. Sah's touch to her cheek brought it back with a stinging intensity as the cut beneath her eye was agitated. It didn't bleed as much as it had, and red flakes crusted on her skin... but there was still a sizeable gash, not to mention the cut up state of her arms and hands.
"Oh," she mumbled sheepishly, wincing softly. "I forgot." At least the trembling had stopped. Her heart had found its rhythm again too... Likely it was just the shock. A glance towards the starlight bird had it hopping over to her own shoulder, and the warmth of healing spread slowly throughout her. One by one the cuts began to close up and fade, until only crimson stains on skin and clothes remained to tell of the incident.
"There," Seren said when it was done, smiling with renewed cheer at Sah. "All gone."
Though neither of them were likely to forget this day. It had been a very close call... and could not be allowed to repeat itself.
Is it anything and everything you hoped for?
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.
Sah grumbled, nearly pouting. "Seriously?" He sighed in a overexaggerated matter. "Fine. We'll try to reform them first." The Abandoned gave his friend a teasing wink. "But if that doesn't work, maybe another coup is in order?" New leadership in the Order would be difficult to establish most likely. Such a change would drastic indeed, but likely effective if successful.
It took a huge weight off of the Abandoned's lungs to see the wounds disappear. But his guilt remained. Running a gentle thumb over the now vanished cut, Sah frowned. "I'm so sorry. More then I can put into words." His eyes turned fierce. "I swear to you, I won't lose control of my magic and hurt you like that again. Never." He meant every word, the Abandoned's tone deadly serious. It tore him up that it had even happened. That he'd hurt Seren, someone who was pack.
Laughing quietly at his jests, Seren had to nod. "Alright. But only if everything else fails." She didn't feel like bursting his bubbles anymore today... and it wasn't as though she hadn't considered the thought herself. If only the task was not made so difficult by the limited number of allies that might actually enter the city... Sah would never come within eyesight of the walls, if she had anything to say about it.
The way he touched her cheek was so tender. Combined with the intensity of his gaze, it set something alive within her, a fluttering in the stomach as of many small butterflies. "I believe you," she murmured, accepting the vow as she leaned her cheek into his palm. "It was an accident... please don't beat yourself up about it so much." It was likely a futile request. The tone of his voice suggested as much, and though Sah likely would hate to realize it, she felt bad for being the cause of such troubled thoughts.
Acting purely on instinct, Seren reached up a hand and touched his cheek lightly. Mirroring his own gesture, wondering whether he would be as comforted by it as she was.
Is it anything and everything you hoped for?
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.
Sah accepts that as the best he's going to get and nods. "Alright." He knew the chances were slim, both of reform and any coup. But the Order could not remain the way it was. Despite their loyalty to the Old Gods, from what he could tell, the organization was also driving people away from them. Abandoned and hybrids, and maybe even sympathetic Attuned and Accepted. All of them likely were put off by the Order's fanaticism, and that might reflect badly on teh Old Gods themselves.
The Abandoned could hear the sincerity in the Demi-god's voice, but it would still be a long while before he forgave himself. But the fact that Seren was still willing to be near him, still willing to hug him and laugh with him, soothed him. Sah blinked in surprise when her hand came up to rest on his cheek. But soon he melted. Leaning into her hand, and eyes falling shut as the tension left his shoulders. Eyes opening he gave Seren a slightly rueful smile. "Fine. I'll try not to."
