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!
A thin layer of dust had covered everything inside of Delphia's yurt when she had finally returned to it - and given how cluttered it was that was a lot of things to dust, especially in the middle of Deepfrost when the chill of the outside wasn't the most pleasant thing to have whipping through the windows. Alas, it couldn't be helped, and the demigoddess spent days wiping grime from her various trinkets, books, knick-knacks, and talismans. When the work was finally done, all that was left was to clean the air itself, and the various spiritual energies that had settled amongst the nooks and cranies of her home.
And boy there were many who sought refuge in her home whilst she had been away! Silly spirits.
Lighting sage and cedar wood, Delphia allowed the smoke to cleanse her home, making sure not a single corner or crack was missed. Then, while the space re-warmed, she lit a large bonfire with cedar and sage to cleanse the larger area. It was a good way to ensure a fresh start on this next attempt at life.
Vai has never seen this yurt before, and yet she doesn't question its existence. The Greatwood leads her wherever she is meant to go - that's how it appears, anyway - and today, it seems, that place is here.
The huntress has actually been searching for snow moss and peppermint bark, following the game trails of the luxere who enjoy such things. But rather than a copse of poplar trees, or even a herd of the aforementioned luxere, Vai finds herself swathed in the scent of cedar and sage.
And so, with a soft smile on her lips, she tugs her scarf down below her mouth to let out a sigh that clouds the air before her, all the while stepping up to the entrance to the yurt. "Hello?" she calls out. "Is anyone at home?"
Inside the yurt, Vervain would find a great many things, some familiar, some not. Talismans hung from the ceiling in great clusters, books stacked in piles, vials of plants and essences and herbs - whoever inhabited the place surely had some grasp of witchcraft. If for the very specific purpose of cleansing dead energies based on the various accumulated items in and amongst a variety of useless knick knacks. But the first living creature the witch would see was not a person, but a creature, as Tishy popped up her head from behind a large stack of texts to look at Vervain with wide green eyes. Mewling the affirmative that a very alive soul stood in the doorway, Delphia's own visage was quick to follow, dark curls covered in a fine layer of dust.
"Welcome, stranger. Did you seek me out, or has the Greatwood blessed me with a friend for the day of its own accord?" she asked warmly, corners of her eyes crinkling as if with a smile.
Vai has never seen this place but she already decides that she likes it, her blue eyes taking in the talismans and herbs, the books and all other manner of things that she has never really seen yet. And then there's the cat; she hasn't met Tishy before, but it doesn't stop her from stooping into a crouch to offer her hand out for the feline to sniff. "Hello there," she greets it.
But then the (presumably) owner of the yurt to speak with, and Vai straightens back up to loosen her scarf from around her neck a bit and stop from getting too warm. "I think on this occasion we can blame the Greatwood," she says with a kind smile. "I didn't even know you were here to seek out, to be honest! My name is Vai. I live in a cottage nearby... or not so nearby, I suppose. Depends on how the woods feel."
The cat meowed loudly at Vai, as if to respond to her own greeting in a way she might understand. But of course, there was a much better translator around to help the cat convey her greetings.
"Blessed be the Greatwood. A surprise friend is always lovely." Delphia said as she stood from the spot she had been wiping grime from. A loose curl fell into her face and she brushed it aside, leaving a streak of dust upon her nose. "The wood does laugh in the face of distance and geography, does it not?" she said with a light laugh. "My name is Delphia. Often times the wood sends to me those who grieve the dead to give them solace of their peaceful rest. Your arrival is a most refreshing change." she said, now smiling in full.
"What is it you do here, Vai? Not many humans call the Greatwood home these days."
Straightening up so that she might greet Delphia properly, Vai can't help but smile to be referred to as a friend by this relative stranger, and she glances a second time around at the yurt as if just realising that it's in the process of a sort of spring clean, except obviously it's Deepfrost. "Oh, it certainly does that," she agrees with a chuckle. "It's nice to meet you, Delphia. I'm certainly not here for that - have I interrupted you, though?"
As for who she is and what she does, Vai smiles a bit. "Most call me a witch," she admits. "But I'm a huntress and a herbalist, I suppose, and I have the ability to heal. I've been in the Greatwood ever since the barrier around the Hollowed Grounds fell, apart from a short stint in Torchline."
"Interrupting what?" Delphia said, briefly confused if only because she was so easily distracted. Then, after a moment... "Oh! No, I was just cleaning. I had been away with Mort and am simply clearing the air. It had grown so stagnant and so many pesky little spirits had rooted themselves about." she said, brushing dust off her hands. But of course, the sage and cedar being burned inside and out was well at work shooing those pesky energies away.
"A witch?" she said, brightening up. "My mother was called that in her life as well. Had I known I would have visited." she said with a grin. Her mother had not been around long after Delphia was born, long enough only to ensure that the girl could survive on her own without a mother's care. "Oh, I think many have had a short stint in Torchline. The beaches call to the souls of many. But the wood is all the richer for your presence and I am glad for such a neighbor." she said, corners of her eyes wrinkling.
Your cleaning, Vai is about to say, before Delphia fills in the blanks for her and she offers the girl a small smile instead. "Spirits?" she queries, unashamedly curious. "Are they different to souls, then? How do you manage to clear them from the air...?" Vai knows of sage and cedar more in their cooking and medicinal properties, but as keen herbalist she is always on the lookout for new things she might do.
"Oh, another witch? What kind was she?" It's half a joke, something made obvious by the glitter in Vai's eyes, and the idea of a visitor to her cottage has her feeling even more as if she and Delphia were destined to meet. "I would like that, and so would my charges, I think. You're more than welcome to come and see me. Perhaps we could share herbs and recipes with one another."
"Some are. They have always existed in this form. Mort's realm is to them as Vi's is to you." she said. But of course the two overlapped in many ways. One just wasn't visible to most. "The smoke of cedar and sage has cleansing properties. It pushes spirits out of a space for a time. I'm not exactly sure how or why, but my mother passed this knowledge on to me." She said, eye corners crinkling with a smile.
"The very loved kind. But I am biased." Delphia said with a small grin. "She was the devout and chosen of Mort. It is her life and Mort's will that allow me to exist." she explained. Give and take, balance in all things. She lived only because her mother had died. It could not be any other way. "Your charges?" she asked, curious. She wasn't sure she knew exactly what that meant. Had she been in trouble with the law somewhere and she carried those transgressions with her somehow?
"I see," Vai murmurs, inhaling the sweet scents of the woodsmoke and smiling to herself. "I will have to cleanse my cottage every now and then, when I am feeling especially overwhelmed." Because of course she believes all of what Delphia is saying. There's no reason not to, especially given that the woman standing before her is a daughter of Mort. And her mother is - was - a witch, after all.
Her smile grows to hear more about Delphia's parentage, Vai glancing around and seeming somehow more at home in the glittering and cluttered yurt than when she had first stepped inside. "I daresay she was a wonderful woman," she murmurs. And as for her charges? "Ah. I take care of two children on behalf of my adopted son. They are twins, and they can be quite a handful," she explains with a crooked smirk. "They would probably love this place, actually."
"It is a good habit to make." Delphia said in agreement. Especially for those who could not see and sense the various energies clogging up the atmosphere in a place. It would be easy to become overwhelmed for seemingly no reason if such cleansings never took place. Really, it was a wonder to her how those without her senses managed to get through the day sometimes. "Surely a witch such as you already had her own tricks for such things though?" she said, curious as to what Vai knew. She had not had the opportunity to learn as much from her mother as she would have liked, and this woman struck her as similarly wise.
"Well they are more than welcome any time." Delphia said. Tishy took this opportunity to meow loudly, as if in agreeance or perhaps protest to having two little ones running amuck in her space. "Is it a habit for witches to live mostly alone then, save for their children?" she asked curiously, head tilting. Her mother had lived much the same. There had been some distant relatives, but they were just that, distant in near every sense of the word.
"Hmm...? Oh, I deal more with the physical realm," Vai explains with a soft smile. "So I suppose you are right - I do have my own rituals and tricks. But it's less to keep away spirits and more to help those with both feet in this world. I'm a healer, and a hunter. I can make plenty of medicines out of herbs, and I know my way around a wound." And there's always her magic to fall back on if she needs to.
Tishy's meow has Vai's smile growing, and she steps closer to the feline, tilting her head. "You aren't just a Sear Cat, are you?" she murmurs, evidently curious about Her Royal Fluffiness. "If I do bring them to visit, it might be good for you to find a nice, high shelf to watch from," she advises Tishy, before straightening up to face Delphia once more.
"Oh... I suppose it might be," Vai says slowly, not having thought of it in much detail before. "I have had a husband or two, and I was with someone when I lived in Torchline, but... it didn't work out," she explains. "So it's just the twins, and my son Felix, when he comes to visit."
She perked up a bit as Vai detailed the ways in which she used the various herbs and plants that made their home in the Greatwood. Delphia knew some of the most basic uses for healing, but had never delved too deeply into the practice. It seemed a bit counterintuitive for her purpose. But with a war coming on? Perhaps it was a good time to broaden her skillset. "I would love to learn from you, if you would be willing to teach me what you know." she said. Of course, Vai could say no, but she hoped she wouldn't.
"Tishy is a Cat Sith actually. She helps me collect lost souls so I can send them to my father." Delphia explained. Tishy in turn curved up into Vai's hand, very much enjoying the pets. The various shadows that made up her form pulsed and twisted around the witch's hand, not unlike very long soft fur. At the mention of the children, the cat merely trilled an elongated meow. She had her ways of avoiding the living if she wished or needed to.
"It sounds like a good and full life to me." Delphia said approvingly, a small smile curving her lips. She certainly would have many good stories for Mort when her time came - whenever that happened to be.
Vai will provide Tishy with as many scritches as she can handle, though the witch is careful not to overstep with any feline. She doesn't want a swat with a paw, especially from a Cat Sith, as it turns out. "That is amazing," she murmurs. "You must be quite an important part of Delphia's work, Tishy," she informs her with a soft smile, giving a final stroke of her shadowy fur before withdrawing.
And she lights up as well, to hear that Delphia would like to learn about her own methods of 'witchcraft', Vai nodding readily to her. "Well, perhaps I can help you finish cleaning, and then you could take a walk with me to my cottage? I have a herb garden, and plenty already stocked up. I'd be happy to walk you through a few of the basics."
Her smile fades somewhat, but is just as sweet at the girl's remarks, and Vai nods as well. "It has left me with a lot of stories to tell, put it that way," she says, unintentionally mimicking Delphia's thoughts about it.
