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!
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
With yet another to-do list echoing in her head as she leaves the infirmary, Wessex sends a mental note to Azrael, asking if it’s a good time to stop by, before dropping her items off at home before setting out for their place again. She walks boldly through the Grounds, enjoying the feeling of a night out - still a couple of days yet remain - in her own home. A safe week.
Rapping quietly on the de Rosieres door, Wessex takes a step back and waits for her youngest (and yet, quite beloved) sibling to answer the door. Once they open it, they might be hit with the bold, bright smell of wintergreen - unusual for this area of the Grounds. Out in the woods it might seem almost natural, but here it’s definitely noticeable.
// we stood, steady as the stars in the woods, so happy-hearted and the warmth rang true inside these bones, as the old pine fell we sang //
They aren’t really doing much, not after breaking their arm and having Isla set it and working on their healing. They’ve spent the time mostly at home, nestled in with their father, content to have a nice little LongNight where they don’t overdo themself and shut down based off of trying to take too much. So they’re quick to the door when Wessex arrives, opening up the door to a scent of something that even their dulled senses are shocked at with the amount of it.
“Hi Wessex.” They chime, nose wrinkling as a crooked fanged smile crosses their face. “You smell like a lot of trees… I think?” They wouldn’t know, they were never truly just a human before the shift – this is the brightest and sharpest sensation they’ve ever had so far. “Do you wanna come in or are we going for a walk?”
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
“Yeah, I know,” the General answers with a soft chuckle and wrinkled nose. “A weird furling got into the Temple earlier… but Isla said everything was okay.” And if the Remedy pronounced her in good health, Wessex believes her.
“Let’s take a walk. It’s turning out to be a beautiful LongNight.” And so it is, for them. There is silence and darkness aside from the sounds of the natural world. Truly peaceful, with lights in non-Ascended houses and everyone bundled up indoors. The world could be theirs right now. It could be. She walks with them quietly for a bit until they clear a bunch of houses and then takes a needless breath and begins on what she feels is the best course of action.
“Two things. First, I was hoping you would be able to do something for me. Something I think you’re actually very well suited for. Have you heard of the Prince? Sam’s been trying to find him for awhile and persuade him to… I don’t know, go to the Voice? Join us? I’m not really quite sure what the end goal is, but the Prince is an early Ascended and technically our brother and he’s in pain. From many things.” Here, she pauses for a moment to let them mull over those things. “Nate had a vision about where he is - and I need to go to Halo to do something else, I’m afraid. Would you go with Nate? I think… force and strength are not what’s needed with this one. We need compassion. And understanding. And you’re one of the nicest people I know.”
And in case they’re still worried, the Wraith adds, “And I’ll tell you all I know about him.”
// we stood, steady as the stars in the woods, so happy-hearted and the warmth rang true inside these bones, as the old pine fell we sang //
“Like those little ones that grew really big?” They ask with a hum of a laugh, a bright grin that spreads across their face. “I’m glad you’re okay. Isla took a look at me too!” They gesture toward their arm, toward the brace they were in the process of removing. It could wait though, given that they’re going for a walk and they grab quite the colorful scarf out of pure show and now because they necessarily need it, but they wrap it around their neck and hop off the steps after they’ve closed the door to join Wessex on a walk.
They hum their agreement of the season, though, nodding hard enough that their curls bounce around their head. “It’s much better than last year.” They agree, drawing silent as they slip through the snow covered town, by the homes full of people inside, content and relieved. They walk off of pure muscle memory at this point when Wessex begins speaking, captivating them with what it is she’s offering.
“The Prince?” They ask curiously, brows twitching together before they shake their head. They haven’t heard of him, no, but as Wessex goes on… Things start to make sense. “Is he… Like me and Osozo or like you?” Was it someone that had become Ascended? Or someone like the long lost demigod that had been made?
The compliment draws a small sheepish smile from them, their hands fidgeting together as they nod and scan the path they take as they think it over. “I like Nate.” They considered Nate an uncle of sorts, that and the memories of Nate and Bastien speaking in their language come to mind. “I can try!” And Nate would keep them safe if anything went wrong. “Tell me about the Prince?” They ask, pausing by a bench casting a glance toward Wessex in case she wanted to sit to explain it or if they should keep walking, though the destination is anyone’s guess.
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
Immediately chastising herself for not seeing Azrael’s brace, Wessex gestures towards it and asks, “That looks like a big deal. Are you okay?” She’s sure that they are, because they seem to be in high spirits and not at all worried about it - and she trusts their judgement.
When she gets through her pitch, there seems to be a few specific questions and then a general acceptance and curiosity about her request. Great. “No,” the Wraith says, going back to the Prince as she sits on the indicated bench. “He might be the first Ascended, but you’d never know it by the way he looks. I can talk to him, mentally, but can’t teleport him and the Voice doesn’t really call him one of her children. It’s very strange.” Settling in, the demigoddess tries to go back to the beginning, based on what she’s read and heard and what Sam’s told her.
“His name was Emyr King, and he was in love with Tallulah King, Rae’s champion in the first war. And I think she probably was with him. There was an inscription on a wall that said they'd hope to be together when the war was done and another on a statue about her and the sacrifice she made. Not sure what that was about though. Andhe more I think about it, the more I don’t wonder if he was… Attuned. Maybe had a frog or reptile shift? And maybe the Voice tried to Ascend him, but couldn’t. It’s all a guess, of course, but he has a very slimy, frog-like appearance. Covered in slime and pustules, actually.” Sighing, Wessex shakes her head. “He seems pretty traumatized and ashamed of his appearance. Very much like a child. Not great at interacting with people and sometimes can barely get his words out. But I guess that's what happens when you hide Underground for three hundred years. We couldn’t persuade him to come with us. Couldn’t force him to come with us either.”
And here’s where she grows a little serious, turning to Azrael with a look. "But make no mistake, he can be dangerous if provoked. So be careful." sending Az in to something like this doesn't sit completely right with her, but if they'd had hot-heads and warriors before and it hadn't done at good, might as well send in their best representatives.
"I'm wondering if I should ask Isla to go, too. No one can say no to her." Chuckling a bit, it's clearly said with affection
// we stood, steady as the stars in the woods, so happy-hearted and the warmth rang true inside these bones, as the old pine fell we sang //
“Yeah, I’m okay!” They confirm to Wessex, sinking into the bench contently and listening as she goes to answer all of their questions. It’s a lot, and they take it all in slowly, nodding to let Wessex continue. A few things they commit to memory, the name mostly, nodding at the mention of the Prince’s appearance – nothing that they’d shy away from, they don’t think. They imagine it must be hard enough as is let alone having people judge you.
The fact that he acts more like a child is something Azrael can relate to as well, the way that the Prince doesn’t like to do things people try to force him into. Perhaps it’s just a lingering teenage rebellion in Azrael that allows them to relate a small fraction. “Okay. I’ll be careful.” They assure Wessex again, flashing a small fanged smile as the gears work in their head, trying to piece things together.
They almost have a glazed look, a far off glimpse in their gaze before it snaps back up to Wessex with a nod. “Isla’s really nice! And maybe… Maybe I can heal the Prince and with Isla being a doctor for us…” Pieces start to fit together, their shoulders rising and falling in a small shrug, but a hopeful gaze lifts to Wessex’s face to see if she’s pieced it together the same.
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Wessex says quietly, nodding in agreement. They and Isla would probably make a very good team. “So just… maybe need to get him up to the top of the last step and then… make a wish? I don’t know.” Throwing her hands up in the air, she’s clearly a bit exasperated, but still leans back on the bench in relative good humor.
“Alright, that’s the nicer part of this conversation. The next… is not the happiest.” Swallowing needlessly, the demigoddess shifts forward restlessly so that her elbows are on her knees. “You know who’s made their home in the Greatwood, right? Remi and Ronin, the herald’s demigods? Well they’re working on something… to hurt us. And they need demigod fluid.”
She’s sure they can draw their own conclusions from that.
// we stood, steady as the stars in the woods, so happy-hearted and the warmth rang true inside these bones, as the old pine fell we sang //
They practically beam when Wessex agrees with them – their thought process aligning. “Maybe.” They agree with a small hiccup of a chimed laughter as she throws her hands into the air and leans back. But the conversation grows a bit more somber, their head snapping away from the falling snow toward their fellow demigod when she begins to bring up a not so happy conversation.
Dark brows pinch together and their head tilts slightly, curls bouncing along their shoulder. Their hands twist together in a small show of anxiety, of needing something to do while they process it. And after a brief moment, they frown. “Did you tell Nate?” They ask curiously before they look down to their hands from Wessex. “Do you think they’ll try to take it from me?” Or from Wessex or Nate with force in order to get what they wanted?
It didn’t sit well and they feel their wish to travel more of Caido growing smaller and smaller by the day.
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
Out of the corner of her eye she sees their hand-wringing and a guilty wave washes over Wessex, because even though she knows she’s only telling them so they can be safe, part of her feels like every time they talk, she chips away a little more at their childhood. She’s become a sort of harbinger, a bearer of ill news, and even though Azrael’s never done anything but take it in stride, there is something truly depressing about her role in the family.
“Isla did,” Wessex confirms. “She’s the one who told me.” And to their next question, she shakes her head and shrugs. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if they know you’re a demigod. That’s the best case scenario.” Here she forces a smile, because there’s still a chance that Az is safe for a while longer.
“But I think we need to prepare for the worst case scenario.” Which is that they know, and they come for them because they’re the easiest target. “So I have to ask… have you ever bitten anyone? Do you know what it’s like to use someone else’s abilities?” Because she has plenty of them, and she would gladly share to keep the Voice's brightest safe.
// we stood, steady as the stars in the woods, so happy-hearted and the warmth rang true inside these bones, as the old pine fell we sang //
“That’s good…” They admit, feeling some amount of relief that Nate knew about it, that it wouldn’t be a surprise. After all, they know enough about Nate to know that if anyone had a close relationship out of them with any of the old gods followers, it was him. Still, their brows furrow and their head shoots up to scan Wessex with confusion gleaming over their face. “Wouldn’t they have to know? I mean… Mama and Papa were Ascended when they got me. And it doesn’t… Work like that.” They look away as the thoughts race through their head, gears turning. “Doesn’t everyone know I was made?” They assumed so. Deimos knew, after all.
As for preparing for the worst case scenario, they continue to wring their wrists a little as they consider the next option, chewing at the inside of their cheek as they shake their head. “I haven’t. Aamu said I should do it when I’m really comfortable with someone.” They drop their gaze to stare at a pebble at their feet at the bench. “He said it would be really overwhelming for me since… I don’t know what it’s like.” They certainly don’t know what anything was like before the numbed senses of Ascension.
And truthfully, they’re a bit frightened of it, but they don’t want to admit that bit.
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
They ask some very good questions, ones Wessex hadn’t really thought of herself. “Made? Yes…” Slowing down, she looks very thoughtful for a moment and then takes a needless breath. “But even I didn’t know how special you were until I saw you as a toddler.” Until like recognized like. Until she knew and could see the light in them. “They may not realize that you weren’t made like the rest of us were made. And I’m not about to tell them.” Someone else might, either on purpose or by accident, but the General is quite dedicated to keeping some things about the Ascended secret.
And that, apparently, now includes that Azrael is more than they seem to be.
The mention of Aamu sends a little pang through her. The fair-haired man had been an interesting character and one she wished she’d gotten to know more - he seemed like he might hold some answers for her about the Theskyras of old, so she can’t help the wistful tone that creeps in. “He’s right, of course. It can be overwhelming. It can be intimate. But it can also be… none of those things. It can be a tool. A means to an end. A way to help. Our Lady makes it nice, but not so overwhelming as to be limiting.”
Her gaze turns straight ahead, and as Wessex looks into a darkness that is as clear as day for them, she offers up a solution to their fears. “If you wanted a way to keep yourself safe, I would give you my teleportation. If something were to happen, you could leave the situation and go anywhere you’ve already been.” And yes, it might be weird and awkward drinking from Wessex, but the Wraith is nothing but pragmatic when it comes to these kinds of things. She likes to think Azrael could be, too.
// we stood, steady as the stars in the woods, so happy-hearted and the warmth rang true inside these bones, as the old pine fell we sang //
They watch as Wessex goes to answer their number of questions, gaze lifting to focus on her as she takes a needless breath – still one thing that Azrael hasn’t picked up on, a stillness with no real need to try and inflate artificial lungs. They haven’t needed to appear anything less than themself this entire time. They did pick up on some nervous tics, though, the wringing of their wrists and the slight way they swallow hard. “So I should stay in the Grounds, then?” They ask in a roundabout way of saying ‘am I a secret? Am I supposed to remain that way?’
As for the rest of it, with the mention of Aamu, their anxiety only grows a fraction, head dropping toward the ground as they stare at the stones beneath their feet, the way the edges of their placements random and uneven in places. They’re not sure where to begin, a part of them wanting to ask further on it, a sort of urgency overcoming them as if they’re trying to decide whether or not to try and explain the fact that they’ve never truly felt much in the way everyone explains the bite. Not just the intimacy, but the overwhelming sense.
They think of their fellow Ascended and the bites stolen and the way they seem to move on without an issue. But they think part of that is due to the change, the way they were truly fully functioning humans before.
Their aunt’s offer has them more nervous, because on one hand it sounds really nice to have that option. On the other hand? They’re terrified. And they can’t help the way they draw their knees up to their chin, wrapping a braced arm and their healthy arm around their calves as they contemplate it. They’re silent for a lot longer than they mean to as they mull it over. “It sounds really nice to be able to do that.” They admit quietly, frowning slightly. “I don’t know if I’m ready for it yet though.” This comes out far quieter, though they’re sure Wessex will be able to hear it with their goddess given enhanced hearing.
empires fall when we move the unmovable, so tell me all of my secrets, tell me all of my lies,
It would be silly to pretend that Wessex isn’t disappointed to hear Azrael say they aren’t ready for it; nevertheless, she tries her best to hide it with an understanding nod and a gentle, hopefully reassuring pat to their nearest elbow. “Okay,” she says simply. “I can respect that.” Which is to acknowledge that she inherently disagrees with the choice, but love and everything else demands the elder demigod to play nice and not push it.
They’re still young, she reminds herself. And maybe fate will be kind and Ronin and Remi won’t think of Azrael. Maybe it will all work out.
“If you change your mind, the offer stands.” Then she remembers their question about the Grounds and thinks for a minute. “But I don’t think you need to stay in the Grounds, no. Don’t let them take your ability to live your life the way you want to.” Maybe that would work in their favor, too, if they were unable to be found.
// we stood, steady as the stars in the woods, so happy-hearted and the warmth rang true inside these bones, as the old pine fell we sang //
“Okay.” They breathe, a hint of relief and completely unaware of the disagreement Wessex feels inside at their denial. Still, having the option is nice, but they’re fairly positive the first time they bite from someone they’re going to want nothing more than to run away and hide and never see that person again if they could help it.
They perk up a small amount when Wessex extends the offer, bobbing their head so that the curls bounce briefly around their head. “Thank you.” They say with every ounce of meaning – because it was a big deal to them and they’re not going to deny that the offer was grand, it’s just… They’re too worried and awkward about it to do it right this second. And as for not remaining here, they purse their lips a second before their brows lift to look up at Wessex. “I want to explore but I’m…” They trail off, their hands moving in a sort of helpless gesture. “The more I hear about everything outside of the Grounds, the more scared I am to go.” And they don’t want to put that extra stress on their father, too.
