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!
we follow our own steps while our shadows keeps watching us
After their training and sudden meet in the Undergrove, Noah and Sah made their way back towards Torchline. The Sentinel sent Eira ahead to gather the others and bring them back out into the shadow of the volcano, where they could meet in private. There was so much for them to cover and plan, and they all needed to be on the same page moving forward. Together, Noah and Sah picked a place that would be quiet and private, tucked away in the undergrowth of Apopo. "They'll be here soon." Noah said, the lingering feeling of Eira's presence in his mind growing louder and louder as she brought Cordelia and Deimos to them.
the wrong steps would be not to start this exodus.
It didn’t take long for Eira to find them – cast about beside waves, staring over the surf and swell. Relenting and relinquishing to memories long since passed, occupying a space and time in his mind of another world and another life. The griffin’s presence caused a brief snort (and some wild, chaotic screech from Belial), assuring to send a message along to Cordelia, and they could be off to meet up once more.
Swift changes and alterations, with the unknown basking over them once more. They could make plans all they wanted, but until information (and ensuring Sah was still well) was extended, there was no telling what had occurred over the stretch and span of Deepfrost and its accompanying LongNight. Flowerbirth had always been a herald of alterations in some regards; the Sword expected no different in this interval.
They threaded and wound their way alongside the volcano and its ashen depiction – a furrowing of his brows to glance upwards at it, and then dismissing the notions entirely when he spotted Noah and Sah further ahead. With companions dutifully at his side, his stride extended, and they joined the small gathering soon thereafter; with a nod and a studying, scrutinizing glance towards the Halovian. "Sah," with a nod, and a content grin to follow suit.
Out of sight and out of mind
Make everything alright
So let the sky and sea collide
Just not in our lifetime
Sah returned Deimos' grin as the man arrived. "Deimos. Glad to see you're still in one piece." Lilly raced forward, yipping in excitement. Her second favorite person was back and the now fully grown wolf was ecstatic. Sah vaguely realized after he'd sent his letter to the man, that he probably should have given him better context. The whole, 'citadel was attacked and I'll be delayed, but no one died" bit wasn't his best work. But in his defense, Sah had been in a rush.
As Lilly demanded affection, Sah debated the pros of going in for a hug. Given how the Sword had never done so before, the Abandoned refrained. Damn, Noah hugging him now had the Outlander craving another hug from someone.
As they waited for Cordelia, Sah grew excited. He'd missed his cousin horribly. They might not know each other too well just yet, but she was family. Leaving her behind in Torchline while he went back to Halo had been incredibly difficult. The Abandoned was looking forward to seeing her again and making sure that she was ok.
11-07-2021, 12:33 AM (This post was last modified: 11-07-2021, 12:33 AM by Cordelia.)
Cordelia
There were things that kept her distracted. Preparations to be made, stolen moments with Noah, and talks of the future now that they had made some sort of decision. The summoning from Noah's companion has her nervous, unsure of what this could mean, but hoping it was something good for once. It isn't until she presses into the room, seeing them all gathered that it clicks and she rushes inside, seizing her cousin into the fiercest hug that she can mange. "Thank the gods you're okay. I've missed you." She draws back, holding his face between her hands, looking him over as her brows knit and eyes narrow. There are many questions she wants to ask, but for now she'll start with the basics.
"How is my family? Anju? You kept an eye on them right? Kept them safe?" She doesn't know of the attack on the citadel or the monster, but she'll likely find out soon enough. Cordelia draws back if only to drift towards Noah instead, finding her way to his side and pressing into his warmth, wrapping an arm loosely around him.
And nothing hurts anymore, I feel kinda free We're still the kids we used to be
11-09-2021, 03:11 PM (This post was last modified: 11-10-2021, 12:01 AM by Noah.)
Noah
we follow our own steps while our shadows keeps watching us
For the first time in months, Noah felt some semblance of wholeness as the four of them reunited. He knew there was a lot to cover, and there would be a giant mess of roaring emotion, but he did not rush them forward. They needed the time to regroup and take the time to know they still all cared for each other and loved each other deeply. As Cordelia closed the distance between them, his arm wrapped around her shoulder.
"Sah gave me a brief of what has been happening in Halo the last few months. You will all be interested to hear it, but I think we should settle in." And what Noah meant was, you will want to be sitting when you hear this. It had made the Sentinel feel as though he wanted to set everything on fire, to storm into Halo himself and draw Morgan's life from her lungs on his own. It was a thought he had never wrestled with before. He had ended lives, had killed cannibals on the tundra that endangered those he loved, but he had never wanted to. Not before he learned about what Morgan was letting happen in their home.
The destruction she brought with her decisions.
So Noah sat in the underbrush, his hand sliding down Cordelia's arm to invite her to be near him, waiting for the others to join him as Eira settled down at his side.
the wrong steps would be not to start this exodus.
The Sword crouched before Lilly, the touches of his companion and Attuned abilities sweeping through the fringes, bestowing his own portions of affection for the wolf. You have grown rumbled through him in a proud way, as if the beast she be content and satisfied with her manner of strength and power; grinning as he scratched at her ears. His gaze swept back towards Sah for a moment, permitting a light smile to remain. At ease, for the moment – not so guarded, not so reticent, not so drawn back into himself. “For now,” as if it could alter and change within an instant; as things did so often here. Unaware the Abandoned would even want a hug or some contact, Deimos continued to indulge the wolf – though his eyes did detect the way Cordelia came around, and the movements along the Sentinel.
He stopped himself from laughing or teasing. That could come later.
With only an arch of his brow, and the air that he was deliberately pretending not to see it, he tilted his head, towards Noah, and then sunk lower, along the ground and soil. Belial landed soon thereafter, blending in amongst the void at his back, and eventually Deimos strived to settle into whatever was coming. “All right. What happened?”
Out of sight and out of mind
Make everything alright
So let the sky and sea collide
Just not in our lifetime
Sah returns Cordelia's hug just as fiercely, ignoring the twinge it causes in his still healing shoulder. When she pulls back Sah can't help the grumble that leaves him, pulling her back for another quick but equally fierce hug. As Cordelia eyes him for injuries, Sah does the same. It's only when it becomes clear that she's unharmed, Sah finally relaxes. "I've missed you too. Everyone is ok, I promise. I've kept them safe. We miss you." Even fought a Longnight monster for them, but that'll come later.
Lilly's joy at seeing Deimos brings a smile to the Abandoned's face. A smile that quickly morphs into a smirk and a raised brow at Noah and Cordelia's interaction. That was new. Sah cann't help the rush of protectiveness he feels but he manages to refrain from acting. Cordelia was strong and if Noah hurt her? Sah knew that he'd have to get in line. Because it was certain that Cordelia would fuck the man up before Sah even got the chance.
At Noah's prompting, Sah sits down with his back to one of the trees. Lilly walks over and curls up into his side, offering the comfort she knows her bonded will need for this conversation. The Outlander lets out a long sigh, "The last season has been insane in Halo. There was a failed attempt on the Sea of Glass and then..." Sah grits his teeth, subconsciously running a hand over his new scar. "A Longnight monster attacked the citadel. Morgan, Kiada, Neron and I managed to kill it. Thankfully there weren't any casualties either but there was a bit of a clean up."
The Outlander growls slightly, "That fucker was hard to kill. Nearly took us all out." Sah would never forget the feeling of those teeth in his shoulder. In his neck. Or the horror of seeing the same be done to others. Of seeing his own magic turned on him and his allies.
Cordelia shifts to sit beside Noah in the brush, drawing her knees up to her chest, arms wrapping loosely around the tops of them as she settles against the demigod's side. Once they're all in position, Sah presses forward into his recount, reassuring her that her family is in fact safe. She falls quiet as she listens, taking it all in, but it's the mention of the monster that has her brows pinching together and unease spreading through her stomach. "There was another attack?" Not by the Ascended themselves, but still an attack nonetheless.
"Morgan helped?" Cordelia asks with an arched brow, disbelief clear in her voice, a snarl curling on her lips. It was maybe wrong of her to doubt that the supposed leader of Halo would actually do something to protect its people after she blatantly staged an attack against them, but Cordelia wasn't one to forget.
And nothing hurts anymore, I feel kinda free We're still the kids we used to be
we follow our own steps while our shadows keeps watching us
"Halo is at too much risk with her in power." Noah said, leaning against Cordelia some. "We all agree on that." His voice was even and calm, and full of worry. At his core, he was only a ball of worry and concern for his people. The hunter put his hand on Cordelia's knee as she responded, the shock in her voice and the sneer behind it as close to the feeling of disgust he felt, too. "She may have helped but it is only because of her that this creature was a threat to Halo." Morgan kept the reaches of the Voice in the land, with her obvious alliance to her and the ascended despite what words she chose to speak.
"I think we need to talk about how we want to move forward." The hunter finished his thought, and Eira pressed into him as well. The toiling emotions within him were only for her to see, he closed himself down over the attuned bond and he kept his intonation even and void of emotion.
the wrong steps would be not to start this exodus.
His eyes narrowed immediately – a dashing of thoughts molding, melding, blending, blurring in between the stark lines he’d begun to draw. Failed attempts on the Sea of Glass (for which, fortunately or unfortunately, he was grateful), and the LongNight monster, which rang more than a few alarm bells in his brain. “I do not understand. The Ascended and Morgan supposedly took care of them last LongNight.” Which was why they had asked him for weapons. Which was why he’d snarled and sneered at Wessex. Which was why he’d been left as Warden when Morgan had bounced and flounced off with Neron.
All for nothing.
There was a particular clench to his jaw that seemingly seared and smoldered over the rest of his frame, even while sitting on the ground. Belial placed his head in his lap, but he’d already begun easing deeper, longer breaths into the fray. “How did it get in?” The portal? Hadn’t it always been frozen over, not accessible? Were they now smart enough to adhere to those proportions too? Were all the other lands now at jeopardy each and every frozen season?
And while Noah seemed eager and ready to steer the conversation away, Deimos wasn’t as relenting. His eyes went to Sah again, without the panic, without the apprehension, but needing to know regardless. “Kiada is all right?”
Then he tucked away the notions, striving to set the course to information and divisions in his own mind. “Something needs to be done. We have little more than a year now.” And with no visions of violence, of upheaval, of turmoil, he didn’t have much else to go on – their stalemate being one of the few overtures. His glance remained solely for the Abandoned. “Have you seen or heard of her making any other plans?”
Out of sight and out of mind
Make everything alright
So let the sky and sea collide
Just not in our lifetime
"Apparently they missed at least one." The portal was the most likely point of entry, but Sah didn't know for sure how the creature had found its way in. The existence of a few stragglers didn't surprise the Abandoned too much but the fact that it had made it all the way to Halo was concerning. And he disagreed that it was the result of Morgan's doing but he kept that to himself.
Deimos' concerned question had Sah nodding his head firmly, "Kiada was injured but she is fine. I promise." The Ascended had survived and would heal, just as Sah would.
The last question drew a grimace from the Abandoned. "I haven't been told anything." He was on the council yet if Morgan was working on something, Sah was none the wiser.
we follow our own steps while our shadows keeps watching us
Noah wasn't surprised that Sah didn't know anything. Morgan was not one to share or to trust anyone (except, it seemed, the ascended). He himself had been left in the dark. Perhaps if he had known more, if Morgan had been willing to share, none of them would be sitting in this spot because Noah could have -- would have -- stopped this a long time ago. But not was the time to dwell on regrets. "You need to find out how she wants to move forward for Halo. Surely she will want a quest -- which god will she seek out and what will she request?" Noah knew that Morgan herself was not blessed by any of the gods and they disregarded her presence, which made his skin crawl with the idea that their home's next endeavor could be under the eye and command of the Voice. Noah almost grimaced, and surely his feelings of it all were clear over the bond.
"There is little time left. We need to get our people safe." Noah nearly growled, his jaw feathering.
the wrong steps would be not to start this exodus.
And if they missed one, how many others had been ignored, misplaced, or unseen? The notion let his blood run cold, but he took the notions in a cobbled state, resisting the urge to paint the situation into anything else. They had time well before the next LongNight – and the war thereafter.
Sah’s insistence about Kiada’s state wasn’t as assuaging as the Sword would’ve liked, but he gave a firm nod, committed to sending her a letter regardless. Best to go right to the source, gauge sentiments and emotions, even if they were only in bits and pieces of paper and parchment. It was all he had at the moment.
With Noah’s discussion and stipulations towards the other Abandoned, Deimos turned inward, reflecting, striving, trying to see where else they could go from here. “We will keep working,” which had to be something. Together – pledged and aligned in the same goal.
From there, they could whittle away the hours with other placating opportunities, the machinations just a thought underneath the surface.
{FIN}
Out of sight and out of mind
Make everything alright
So let the sky and sea collide
Just not in our lifetime
