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!
Cian's office is large, grand, and currently quite dark owing to the lack of natural lighting. Candles have been placed strategically around the room such that the plush gold and red curtains that drape from floor to ceiling seem to swell with heat and luxury. The walls are lined with bookshelves which in turn are filled with books. The wealth of knowledge in the room is staggering, but then, so is the man for whom the room has been designed.
Peering out the massive window behind his desk, the Eye looks out onto the darkened street below as a mother might watch her children at play. With his hands clasped behind his back and dressed in an immaculate dress shirt and trousers, he looks not at all like the man for whom many terrible rumours circulate.
At the sound of movement outside of his door, Cian turns. Having given his receptionist the week off, there is no one to greet Noah save for an open door. "Come—" He calls, offering the new demigod a smile and makes his pale blue eyes glint warmly in the candlelight. 'A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Noah.'
I feel the pages turning, I see the candle burning down before my eyes
On par with the rest of Noah's life, it seemed that when he had found a rhythm to work within that everything changed and event after event happened within minutes of each other. He had nearly settled into what the normal was for the trio of friends in King's End before Vi swept him away, changed him, and turned his life in a different direction. Well, a different direction that he was moving on. A different direction than the whole trajectory of his life? That was debatable. It would make sense for the god to choose someone who's heart aligned with his purposes and goals, so Noah took confidence that, in some ways, he had been doing the right things.
Now he just needed to continue doing the right things.
Everyone in Stormbreak that he met instantly told him he would need to meet with Cian. Noah did just that, ascending the stairs and moving with confidence through the torch-lit tower. Finn had directed him here once before, and now that Noah knew where the office was, it was easy to find. the hunter found the door open, and Cian within. The man was looking out his window, and as Noah lifted his hand to knock on the doorframe, the Eye was already greeting him. Noah took a step in, watching as Cian's smile curved his lips and brightened his eyes in a way that the man did not expect. Noah moved to close the majority of the distance between them, before speaking. "Likewise, Cian."
For a moment the Eye regards the man before him, drinking him in like he was some new sculpture to be put on display, and he, Cian, the curator who had the final say. 'Drink?' Holding out one of his hands to direct the Sentinel's gaze toward a bronze and glass bar cart, the Eye smiles. "There is tea also if you would prefer that." His tone suggests that there would be no judgement one way or the other.
The Eye's desk is littered with architectural drawings and papers, and though it isn't cluttered—nothing about Cian can ever said to be cluttered—it seems reserved for some other purpose, such that the Eye moves out from behind it to fix himself a drink (and one for Noah should he wish it), before gesturing toward two crimson high-backed chairs perched near the hearth. "I'm sorry I was not able to meet with you before you left for the Peepholes." Cian says conversationally, sinking down into one of the chairs and crossing one leg over the other.
I feel the pages turning, I see the candle burning down before my eyes
"I'm fine." Noah says with a slight smile, lifting his hand palm up in regards to the drink offer. Noah was sure they would have much to discuss, and it was better to get straight to it. "I understand that Longnight and all the leads up to it is a busy time." Noah regarded in a forgiving tone, matching Cian as he took a seat in the opposing chair. "The endeavor went well. Though, you've probably heard that from Finn by now." Noah rested into the chair, though both of his feet stayed planted firmly before him. The light from the hearth danced over his rugged features, long shadows moving across his face, save for the grey-blue of his eyes that seemed as bright as ever in only the fire-lit darkness.
"What can I do for you, Cian? Where should we start?" All of Noah's words were confident, calm, and there was an honesty behind them that not all Halovians held. "I'm sure you have lots you want to cover." He lifted an eyebrow, his head tilting some as he looked upon the face of the Eye. It was bathed in the same firelight as his, which made the same shadows darken everything save for his bright eyes.
Inclining his head to indicate that yes, he had heard from Finn, still Cian listens with rapt blue eyes and a patient expression. The two men couldn't look more different as they sat and regarded one another. Cian, slender and impeccably dressed, his palms smooth and his eyes knowing. Then there was Noah; rugged and muscular, efficient in his style and taste level and confident despite the wealth of all he didn't know.
Next to Cian is a small ornate box, which his slender fingers move to open. Within is the amulet that Noah and Co helped to retrieve just days before. 'Tell me, Noah so that I don't repeat what you already know...how much do you know of the Order?' With his eyes on the new demigod, the Eye's finger curls around the amulet's chain, lifting it slowly out of the box where the serpentine shape could catch the firelight.
I feel the pages turning, I see the candle burning down before my eyes
Noah watched the way the Eye lifted the serpent from its home. He recognized it easily as the relic Deimos and the Taliesins had gathered. He knew what it could do, and who it had belonged to. It glinted in a sinister way with the firelight licking over it, and Noah's eyes moved from it back to Cian's cerulean eyes.
"I know that the Order is powerful, and watches over Stormbreak. I know it exists to stand against the Voice and all her wrongdoings, to keep her from gaining the power she had before. I know there are tiers of ranks, each member placed carefully to do precisely what they're tasked to do." He went on to explain more of what October had given him, specific titles and roles, before finishing with this: "And I know you wish to see the will of the gods done." He let his breathing settle, running his rough hands over the smooth leather of the chair, aware of the way it felt oddly cold even with its proximity to the roaring hearth.
10-29-2021, 05:48 PM (This post was last modified: 10-29-2021, 05:48 PM by Cian.)
Cian
On a gathering storm comes A tall handsome man
Nodding at Noah's description, a bit blunt in some places and dull in others, all in all it's an acceptable way to think of the group over which the Eye reigns. "The will of the gods, yes." He agrees. "But not every demigod is part of the Order. Only one, at this time. Some of have been asked, and others have been rejected from joining us." Cian continues. "Amalia for example, the demigoddess for Vi prior to you, was not...suitable for our purposes." Her penchant for simply doing what she wanted, for following her heart instead of her head; in short, all the things that made her problematic as a follower of Vi, also made her problematic for the Order.
"Then there are some for whom an invitation seems...obvious." Twisting the pendant so that the firelight would continue to bounce off of it, Cian turns his full attention to Noah. "You, for example." The Eye pauses. "And I would extend that invitation to you now, Noah Olsen. Never would you asked to do anything which counters the pledges you have already made to Vi, and nor would it mean you would have to stay here in Stormbreak...though of course you are welcome to. It would grant you the full resources of the Order, of which there are many." With a twitch of his finger, the amulet is raised slightly. "And I would gift you this, that you might not be so far behind your fellow demigods in turns of power."
10-29-2021, 08:08 PM (This post was last modified: 10-29-2021, 08:14 PM by Noah.)
noah
I feel the pages turning, I see the candle burning down before my eyes
"What was it that kept Amalia back, if you don't mind me asking?" He wasn't one to pry, but for him to fully understand he felt he needed to know. Vi had chosen him, but he had also chosen her. What of her actions were unsatisfactory to the Order, and to Vi. Noah was here, at the bottom of it, because of what Amalia couldn't offer. It was ignorant to think otherwise. Noah's eyes moved back again to the amulet and the formidable dance it seemed to do in the firelight. To say that Noah did not think about the power that amulet held being a useful took for him to have would be a lie. He did think about it.
"If I were to join the Order, where would you have me?" Noah asked candidly. He has not known for jumping into things headlong and without thought, and while Noah may have made up his mind inwardly, he needed to hear from Cian what it all entailed before he let on to any decision this way or that. "I will be honest with you when I say I do not intend to keep myself away from Halo forever. I have ever desire to free my people from the influence of the Voice." Noah's voice was serious in tone, but he felt that if he was asking Cian to be forthright, then he had some obligation to give as well.
"Amalia...did not have her priorities in order." Cian replies, his tone and words equally measured. "She confessed her love for an ascended, at one point. And though we might not always be able to control our feelings, what she did with those feelings was not acceptable." He adds with a small shrug. "She was willful, which, when one is a demigod of Vi, is not the positive attribute some think it is."
Tilting his head towards Noah as he voices his thoughts and concerns, Cian's denim blue stare, dusty and yet somehow warm, seems to flash with agreement. "For all that she says to the contrary, Morgan has long been a friend to the ascended. Neutrality has no place when lives are on the line. I would be happy to have you take Halo back if that is what you are looking to do." Whether or not it was Vi's will was not Cian's concern.
I feel the pages turning, I see the candle burning down before my eyes
Noah was surprised at what Cian had to say about Amalia. It was not something Noah would have guessed, or even made a wild accusation about. Noah knew that Deimos and Amalia had been married, that they had loved one another and fell apart within that. Noah had no idea that the woman would have betrayed Vi, or Deimos, or any of them in such a way. "Those that share their beds with her followers cannot be trusted." Noah said firmly, coldly. Noah did understand how the heart worked. Though he was Vi's chosen, a demigod to battle for the light, he understood how that could hurt. He remembered Elide, and even Kiada. Did he want to murder them? No. Did he believe they chose the wrong path and would have to suffer the consequences of that? Yes.
"If I were to take a position within the Order, it would have to be with the understanding that my decisions will be based on what Vi has directed me towards." And while Noah might not always know what that meant in the moment, he knew right now what it mean. He could hear Vi's voice clear as day within his mind, echoing what he told him before bringing him to Stormbreak: I would have you shine...I would have your light eliminate the shadows where the Ascended crawl. I would have you take it back, and I would have you take no prisoners. "The Voice cannot hold onto any more territory than she already does." Noah nodded in agreement to Cian's words -- for they had bene his own, for months.
'Not by me, anyway.' Cian agrees. Amalia had seeming had a change of heart not long after her infatuation with Adam, but the seed had already been planted and organizations like the Order were built on far more stable ground than that which the Archangel seemed to cultivate.
'Of course. I would expect nothing less of you. The Order was founded to keep the world safe from the Voice and her manipulations of Caido's people. In that there is no god with whom we are more fully aligned ideologically speaking, than Vi."
With a finger brushing the amulet that swirled in the firelight, the Eye tilts his head to the side slightly. 'You would be unable to go to the Hollowed Ground, of course. The ascended have erected a fatal barrier there, though I'm sure that wouldn't be much of a burden for you."
I feel the pages turning, I see the candle burning down before my eyes
Noah was not a man who was easily swayed. He could be as cold as the tundra in which he grew up on, as unyielding as the mountains that shielded the Citadel. He had a tendency to hold to what he believed in even if it meant death. He had been shown the truth. He had been chosen. He had decided to stay.
"I've been enough." The Sentinel had no intention of returning to the Hollowed Grounds. At least, not with the Voice in control of it. Hopefully, it would only be a matter of time. Noah had to have a confidence that the side he stood on was the side of victory. By destroying the power of the Voice, and of the ascended, the world would be again what it was.
The hunter watched as the firelight glinted from the basilisk amulet. He did not know what power lay within it like the likes of the Taliesins or Deimos knew. They had seen it, up close and personal. Noah had heard it, felt it shake the earth, but he hadn't seen it. But at this point, it didn't matter to him to have seen it.
"Then will you join us, Noah Olson? Will you help us keep the world safe from the ascended who threaten our very livelihood? Will you be Vi's representative here?" It's almost casually asked of him and though the gravity of the situation was immense for all that was to come, still Cian's posture is relaxed as he meets the other man's gaze. Cian was not one to beg, and for all the secrets he kept, there were times when he was quite ready to lay all of his cards on the table.
Just now though, there was one card held back. One card that spun in the firelight, unexplained. Noah would not be bribed and nor did Cian intend to bribe him.
I feel the pages turning, I see the candle burning down before my eyes
There was a few moments of silence between the two men after Cian's final questioning. The fire crackled in the hearth, having burned down the bright flames during their conversation. Now it was raging embers, waiting to be stoked and rekindled. Noah weighed his answer. There were too many unknowns at this time. Those who had been around Noah, who he had confided in and sough guidance from, had heard him say more than once he just needed to move toward the next right answer. Finally, Noah let his eyes slip back up to the cerulean of Cian's before answering. "I will." The hunter shifted in his chair, leaning forward slightly towards Cian anticipatorily.
