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!
It's a futuristic modern world but things aren't what they seem Someday you'd better wake up from this stupid fantasy
Now, it's very important for people to know that Nate does not know that Bart is here. He'd probably be incredibly pissed if he did, and so a little duplicity is necessary to avoid the general headache of all of...that. As such he hadn't sent a letter asking for Wessex to meet him until he'd already crossed into the Grounds, so she has admittedly had little time to prepare. Bart - with nothing to do with his days except babysit and wait for Mel to visit his sad sack of a self - doesn't particularly understand how difficult that might be for the General.
Regardless, here he is shadowing her doorstep on a wet spring day, rapping his knuckles on the front door before shoving his hand back into the leather jacket he's never found without. They've yet to meet, so he won't be surprised if he gets the normal reception; that is, the person thinking he's Nate and reacting with either delight or irritation. It's like the world's best kind of game, and it's always fifty-fifty. Why? Because when it comes to the Wren brothers, you either love them or hate them. There's simply no in between.
It’s Bart’s lucky day because he might have been knocking on the door for awhile, what with Isla trapped in KQ hell some other dimension and Bastien no longer the Overseer. Theskyra House wasn’t used much anymore, but then no one had told anyone outside the Grounds that.
Wessex just happens to be walking by the building while the stranger stands there, looking half-sketchy and half- don’t know, she can’t quite put her finger on it. Not dangerous or sinister, but familiar? In a ‘someone else I know holds themselves this way’ kind of thing. Coming to a halt behind him, Wessex swings her arms in front of her so her hands clap together, then release and repeat, and calls out nonchalantly, “You need something?”
The only people knocking on that door these days are those who need something. Not medical attention, they’d go straight to the infirmary for that, but something government related. And in lieu of Isla, Wessex is the next best thing.
WESSEX
come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here
It's a futuristic modern world but things aren't what they seem Someday you'd better wake up from this stupid fantasy
The clap of hands behind him has broad shoulders hiking up, reactive, but the voice that calls out has a dark tousled head turning to investigate. The General stands behind him, and Bart shoves his hands in his pockets and spins on his heel to amble down towards her on long legs. Eyeing her up as he approaches, though his shoulders never relax, casting a flickering gaze down the road to ensure they are alone. Even in the Grounds there is no such thing as being too careful when it comes to what he is about to propose.
"Hey. Not sure if ya got my letter, 'm Nate's brother. Bartholomew." One hand emerges from his coat to offer itself to the woman, grip strong when met. Wishing he had a cigarette to play with but still holding strong against re-acquiring the habit (despite Nate making that so much harder), Bart sucks his cheek and tilts his head. "Got a proposition for ya, if yer up to utilizin' me in this war comin' up. So long as Nate knows nothin' about it." Brown eyes sharp and jaw jutting slightly, unwilling to budge on the matter before they discuss anything else.
“No, sorry, haven’t been in the Grounds much lately.” And it’s true, she’d been off in Halo, fighting monsters and other demigods, and courting seasonal spirits. She’d been in Kings End, and the Oerwoud, and everywhere but her home. And she doesn’t live in the Town Hall anymore, but that small fact doesn’t make it past her lips. His explanation of why he’s there is met with a considering silence as she is faced with something much larger than she’d expected today.
“You’ll have to forgive me if I’m hesitant. Nate’s never mentioned a brother.” Her mouth twists and turns as she works some things out in her head and then starts towards the door. “But I’m curious, so - come on.” She takes the lead back toward the door to the Town Hall and opens it without much of a to-do, gesturing for Bartholomew to come inside if he still wanted to talk.
WESSEX
come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here
It's a futuristic modern world but things aren't what they seem Someday you'd better wake up from this stupid fantasy
Cool, good for her. Admittedly Bart skims by the pleasantries and explanations - this is nerve wracking enough, and he’s not the most genial on the best of days. Nate has history with Wessex to smooth the bumps and edges of interactions with her. Bart distinctly does not.
Snorting, he shuffles one sleeve of his jacket off, baring the tattoo of Nate’s full name and birth and death dates. “Yeah - timelines kinda diverged for us. He died in mine, I died in his. Neither of us are really big talkers ‘bout shit like that.” And it would be a pretty damn big leap for someone to be dedicated enough to tattoo a random dude’s name and some dates just to get in with the General. Or so Bart hopes - maybe people in Caido really are that fuckin’ bonkers.
He wanders in after her as she leads the way, idly stomping his boots on the step to get the clods of dirt out and waiting until the door is closed before turning to look at Wessex. “Anywhere to sit? Being Accepted sucks, this place is huge and I’ve only got my own two feet.” No animal shifts or magic or fancy gadgets. Just a lot of fuckin’ hiking.
Only peripherally aware of how the worlds beyond and outside of Caido work (the diversity absolutely amazes her, she doesn’t pretend to understand how timelines can diverge, or even how to talk about it), Wessex nods and hums in the back of her throat. Interesting. It tracks in her head that Nate would be reticent to talk about that, knowing what she does (and that is, arguably, not a lot) about him. Her demigod brother has walls far higher than she does, and those battlements are armed with sarcasm and evasion, as opposed to hers, which are armed with responsibility and a low EQ.
Choosing her old sitting room, the General opens the curtains and indicates he can take any seat. “If you’d like a fire, feel free to light one.” She’s sure she doesn’t have to explain why she won’t be doing it, herself. But the way she settles in to a chair and crosses an ankle over her knee indicates that she is open and ready for a discussion; perhaps she even already believes that he’s Nate’s brother and that he speaks the truth. And maybe… she’s just fucking with him. Wessex has a great politely listening face. That’s what happens when you don’t have to fight adrenaline surges.
“Tell me more.”
WESSEX
come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here
It's a futuristic modern world but things aren't what they seem Someday you'd better wake up from this stupid fantasy
Things are far more formal here than his time. Place? It doesn’t really matter, but sometimes life in Caido seems more King Arthur meets…okay well there wasn’t a lot of sci-fi to compare this sort of magic to, but you get the idea. Still, it’s clear Bart is uncomfortable standing on performance of any kind, hands fisted in his jacket pockets and eyes shifting about the room like a wary cat exploring new territory.
Despite being a little chilled, he shrugs away the offer and sinks down into a chair, legs loose and askew - an intentional defense, broadcasting assurance and relaxation he doesn’t feel. “No point in pussyfootin’ around,” he grumbles and looks up at Wessex, gaze flinty and sure in contrast. “So I ain’t come through with any powers, far as I know that means I’m an Accepted. But Nate’s my twin, and he’s one’a you guys. I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about this war, I ain’t even met a god yet and don’t feel inclined to honestly.” He’d rather stay away from that drama and not risk his limbs and attachments - and sensations - the way Sunjata and Nate have. Pulling his hands from his pockets he leans forward, forearms bracing against his thighs. “I know there’s places I can go and shit I can do that you guys can’t. And I want you to use me how you see fit.” He can laud his capabilities later if she wants but first he has to get her on board with the idea; and with keeping it from Nate.
Huh. Okay. Twin sends her eyebrows to her hairline for a moment, but it kind of made more sense now, based on what she was feeling earlier and the way he’s acting about the whole thing. Heck, with limbs akimbo she can easily see the similarities, now that she knows.
Lounging back in her own chair, Wessex listens through to his declaration of wanting to be used and then another brow arches - just the singular this time, as she considers everything. “So… just to make sure I understand it correctly, you and Nate are twins and your timelines… diverged but you’re here now and want to help, but you don’t want him to know about it? Even though you’re only in it for him?” It doesn’t sit well with her, keeping something like this from Nate. That’s not how she wanted to build her team. The General frowns ever so slightly. “I can… work with those parameters if I have to, but why don’t you want him to know?”
WESSEX
come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here
It's a futuristic modern world but things aren't what they seem Someday you'd better wake up from this stupid fantasy
Okay so other people keep preaching to him how this whole dying-and-being-portaled thing is normal, but suddenly the Queen of Things Weird can't keep up? It's mostly misplaced nerves turning into annoyance, but Bart bites his tongue and tries to think more "Earth" than "Caido" to find some of that patience that has already vanished in his time spent in this strange place.
"Lady, you ever meet Nate?" he ventures, side eyeing her a little and wondering if maybe he was wrong about all this. The whole Ascended 'family' schtick. "Fucker is possessive, and if someone breaks his toys he breaks 'em back. You think after I went 'n died on him once that he'd let me be a spy in the enemy's camp without a fight?" And if Bart does get fucked over doing this, the more time they have before Nate goes nuclear and starts the war singlehandedly, the better. "I know 'm askin' a lot. But I know my brother. He'd bust a bolt if he found out what I was offerin' ya." Leaning forward he frowns severely at the Wraith, eyes intense and sure. "But I know ya need every advantage you can get. So we gotta work around that."
It’s not necessarily that the Queen of Things Weird can’t keep up (when has Wessex ever not been able to keep up?). It’s that not everything is as it seems, and the Wraith is content to sit and stew on the small revelations the newest Wren is able to give her. “I think it’s important for everyone to make their own choices, even if I disagree with them, and the only thing I’ll be asking Nate is whether or not he has a twin.” Pausing for a moment, Wessex’s lips purse together in calculation.
“And yeah, we need every advantage. But are you going to be able to keep your cool? A little faked stupidity just now and…” drifting pointedly off, the General meets his sure gaze. A little prodding and it seemed to provoke a reaction, albeit a small one. She needs stability, not two live wires to worry about.
WESSEX
come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here
It's a futuristic modern world but things aren't what they seem Someday you'd better wake up from this stupid fantasy
His chin ducks in satisfaction with the answer. She can mull over their agreement as long as she likes, so long as she doesn’t breathe a word to Nate in the interim. “Yeah, s’all good. I can just wait around till ya feel confident I ain’t lyin’.” At least she isn’t restricted to portals and a shit ton of walking - it’ll be a lot faster for her to verify his claims than it had been for him to send a letter and visit her.
Snorting a laugh, one leg rises to prop his heel on the edge of the cushion he’s sitting on. “Our old man was entrenched in all manner of illegal shit. If you’re lookin’ for an actor, a liar, a dancin’ monkey, I’m your dude.” As if to prove it he eyes her for a moment, then his entire body language changes - dropping his leg, shoulders hunching a tad to minimize his height, eyes darting around uncertainly. “I don’t know how to get to this Stormbreak place though, can you help me?” Accent swallowed back as if it had never been. He has the soft puppy face of their mother, and it makes it much easier to inspire sympathy and trust.
That’s twice now that he’s either mentioned Stormbreak or an enemy camp, and the General decides that if he wants to go there so badly, she’ll send him. “Alright.” Finally agreeing, Wessex leans forward a bit. “In order to get to Stormbreak, you’ll need to go to Torchline and take the Skyboats over. What you do after that is up to you, but I want you to find out where the Order works, lives, anything like that. I’m particularly interested in someone called The Eye, but I’ll settle for a map. Any information on the skyports would be great too.”
He’s on a need-to-know basis. That’s all he gets for now. It should be simple enough, right?
“Do you know what channeling is?” she suddenly adds, hoping that the answer is yes, but prepared to educate him on how to save his own ass, if need be.
WESSEX
come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here
12-29-2021, 08:09 PM (This post was last modified: 12-29-2021, 08:09 PM by Bartholomew.)
It's a futuristic modern world but things aren't what they seem Someday you'd better wake up from this stupid fantasy
He’s an attentive pupil at the very least, personality aside. Had to get through nursing school somehow. So as Wessex begins plying him with information, seemingly satisfied with his performance, Bart commits each piece to memory and listens with a grim set to his jawline. “Aight, I can do that.” Pretty basic information gathering. Testing the waters of who knows who, same as he would dance around any other illegal trading.
As for Channeling, well. “I know of it,” he responds, scowling a little with discomfort at the idea. “Gonna be honest I don’t fancy meetin’ any of the gods ‘round here so frankly I ain’t tried it.” Isn't sure how since praying isn’t something he’s done since Nate died alone and withered in a hospital bed. After that, Bartholomew had vowed he’d never pray again. Prayers don’t get answered, even the ones you pour your heart and soul into.
“Yeah, you said.” His emphasis on not liking Gods has been noted. Shrugging, Wessex finds that she doesn’t care what Bart’s personal feelings about the Gods are, so long as he’s on their side. “It might save your life, though, and keep Nate from asking questions, so don’t hesitate to use it if you get into a particularly shitty situation.” Hopefully the other Wren will find secrecy and/or his life a compelling enough reason to channel if need be.
And on to the next ask, before she sends him on his way. Leaning forward a bit and making no effort to hide whatever predatory imagery might pop up, the Wraith probes once more, “Have you ever been bitten by an Ascended before?”
WESSEX
come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here
