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!
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
She had been walking at Sunjata's side, of course, until the shrine came into view. It needn't be explained to her what it was; she knew the moment she laid her eyes on it there, in the setting sun. And she's overcome with the joy of seeing her mother again after so long that she takes off ahead of her father. "Mom!" Her feet patter across the cool soil, darting between the rocks and flowers to reach the top of the highest barrow. Her long, blonde hair whips behind her and she outstretches her arms to take on the wind as if she might grow wings and fly to the altar.
She comes to a halt at the foot of the shrine, gaze bright and dazzling - as if expecting to see her mother there. "Mama!" She exclaims breathlessly to the stone face before looking up toward the sky, where stars sprinkle the sunset; where her mother must be. Her smile is stubborn, though her lungs are winded. So winded, in fact, that she twirls around trying to catch her balance and... flops into the grass.
Kamaria is here (with Jata) to be Attuned and aged up to 16 plz <3
now take what i offer, straight up the nose, down the throat
it's a bearable bruise on your conscious
It was what she wanted to do and given that it was what Sunjata considers to be her birthday (has it been a year already?) he’s more than content to take her to the shrine to attune. It was the one constant thing she’s wanted since Safrin had brought her to him and they’d had many a conversation over what kind of shift she’d take. Would she take after him? Or would she find her own creatures in her soul, becoming something unlike anything Sunjata’d seen.
There’s pride settled in his chest, though, some quiet excitement to find out just what will happen, and he can’t help the amused smile that crosses his face when she lets the excitement come over her, getting out all of her energy until she plops down onto the grass. “Careful, liefie.” He rumbles to her, but his gaze drifts from her to the shrine, hands behind his back as he stands up straight.
But it isn’t really his place to call to Safrin and override what Kamaria already has within her heart that she’s set on, so all he can offer is a quietly amused “Safrin, Ria’s been very excited to come and see you.” He offers quietly, stepping back to let mother and daughter catch up.
Sunjata’s mostly just a figure in the back cuz he wasn’t gonna let little 5 year old Ria go to a shrine on her own LOL so just lemme know if you need him to respond!
but don't it feel good? don't you feel calmer?
i am the way and the life in the best looking truth
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
With a sound like laughter through silk, Safrin is suddenly there.
Dropping onto her knees, her elegant lace dress fluttering weightlessly around her, the goddess wraps her arms around her daughter's shoulders and tugs her down fully into the grass. Tugging the girl close, Safrin laughs against her pale hair, and as she does so, the stars above twinkle and shine brilliantly. Carelessly the goddess waves a hand towards Sunjata—this is more about their daughter, but, he has also left a rather important matter unresolved. For now though, her attention is on Kamaria.
"Hello my beautiful one." Safrin coos adoringly. "I'm so pleased to see you."
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
Sunjata's gentle reminder to be careful comes a bit late. The sentiment is heard, though, and she makes an effort to settle herself into the grass, chest heaving as she tries to settle her breath.
Almost immediately after arriving at the shrine, there's a palpable ripple in the atmosphere. The beautiful sound of laughter brightens the glimmer in the girl's eyes. Or maybe it's the intensifying of the stars above. But none of them could compare to the way her mother shines. Kamaria knew she would come.
She instantly leans into the embrace, a feeling she has sorely missed because there is nothing like a hug from your mom. "Oh, Mama, I missed you," she says, "I'm so happy to see you too!" She nuzzles into the lace of Safrin's dress, giggling sweetly.
Adjusting so she can lay in the grass beside Safrin and better look at her mother's face, she tells her, "I wanted to come and visit sooner. But I had school - and Dad was busy building our new house. Then it was LongNight..." she trails off, lips scrunching up thoughtfully, "Mama, how come I can't visit you or see your stars in LongNight?" She hadn't liked it, the days of total darkness. It was unnerving to think that it happened every year.
"I missed you more." The goddess counters, laughing brightly. Humming as she draws Kamaria to her, the goddess smoothes down her daughter's unruly golden hair and smiles into the top of her head. Releasing her reluctantly that they might both lay in the grass and observe the stars overhead, Safrin tilts her head to the side to gaze at her daughter. "LongNight is...impassible, for us." The goddess explains, frowning softly. "Like an ocean that rages such that you have to wait for it to calm before going out again. The world is like that for us, during LongNight. It becomes a vast distance that we're unable to cross." Reaching out a hand, Safrin gently smoothes her finger against Ria's cheek.
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
Kamaria looks up at the blanket of stars overhead, imagining them as a raging ocean, drowning the world in a bleak darkness. One that not even her mother, so bright and strong, could pass through. She'd seen the monsoons last year, and they would come again soon this year. She'd never admit it but they had been a bit frightening. Nobody had really wanted to go outside in it, let alone near the water.
She reaches up to cup her hand over Safrin's, bluish-green gaze flickering up to her mother's face again. "Do you ever get scared? Or lonely?" She asks empathetically, leaning her cheek into the goddess' soft hand. "Is there no way to stop it from happening?" Her gaze is tentatively hopeful as she stirs in the grass, but the look on her expression is filled with upset.
"Not because of LongNight." The goddess replies with a shake of her head. "Back when those I loved remained in the Grounds, I would send them spirits to keep them safe. That way I wouldn't have to worry about them." It had been years since any of Safirn's dream fish had swum through the darkness on LongNight, but it was the only way to ensure that those she cared for would be safe without her. "But I do miss you very much, when I can't just peep through the cosmos and see what you're doing." Safirn adds, leaning over to softly press a kiss to Kamaria's forehead.
"There might be a way...but it wouldn't be good for the world. Just like how I have to let some of my stars burn out to make way for new ones, and how at times the sea rages so strongly it seems like it might destroy everything it touches, so too do we have to let the darkness stay."
12-17-2021, 08:31 PM (This post was last modified: 12-17-2021, 08:32 PM by Kamaria.)
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
Kamaria's brows scrunch with confusion at the answer, that LongNight isn't what has made Safrin feel lonely or scared. The young girl hadn't been there in the Hollowed Grounds when it was closed off, but she'd learned about it at school. She'd not heard about her mother's spirits, though. "Spirits?" She echoes, curious gears turning behind her eyes, "What kind of spirits?"
The worry disappears from her face, kissed kindly away by her mother. She giggles softly in the calm air. Fireflies begin to slowly dot and fill up the hills around them, coaxed out by the setting of the sun.
As she listens to her mother's wisdom, she thinks that she gets it now, the necessity of LongNight and dark ocean storms. "Kind of like how flowers need rain to grow?" She hesitates, her cheer dimming for a split second and turning to longing, "Mama, I wish I could be with you and be here at the same time. I like it here, I do, and I'm glad you gave me to Dad so we could be together," she adds with insistence, not wanting her mother to misunderstand and think she is unhappy, "I had no idea how exciting all of this would be, or how much I could do.." again, she deflates, "..when I'm big enough."
"Ones like these—" With a wave of her hand, a school of illusory fish begin to swim through the stars overhead. With each flit and flap of their tails, their bodies go through subtly but gorgeous shivers of colour. "They would follow around those I cared for during LongNight, providing just enough light to keep the monsters at bay."
Listening to her child, Safirn nods with proud understanding. "Just like that, yes. Sometimes the world appears cruel or dark or sad, but it is only so that it can continue on." Smoothing down her daughter's hair, the goddess raises her eyebrows slightly to hear of her wanting to be big enough for all the things she might one day do. "I'm sure by now you've heard of the war...We've already spoken about Nate and the Voice, but there are lots of other people who will be involved as well. I have made it so that all the children of this world will be protected should the fighting find them, but...if you grow now my darling, you will be as vulnerable as anyone else."
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
Kamaria's eyes lift and her lips part in a gasp at the shimmering fish as they pop into existence above them. She didn't know spirits could be so pretty-looking. Stories she heard on the docks of Kaiholo were usually of frightening or trickster ghosts. Standing up, she watches them swim through the air and reaches out as if to touch one. "They're so, so cute!" she says warmly.
Her attention stays glued to them for only a short time, however. The warning her mother gives her is well-placed, she knows. Safrin wants to keep her protected, away from war. It breaks Kamaria's heart to turn to her mother and look into her starlit eyes, and yet in her own heart she still wants this so badly.
"But Mom.." she frets, dropping down to her knees in front of the goddess, pleading, "I can't help anyone if I'm... me. I want to help, please." Her brows raise hopefully. "Can't you make me like Dad?" She glances back toward him, where he waits for her, and then she turns to look at Safrin, "Attune me? Then I can be strong, like he is! Besides, everyone is my friend. Friends don't hurt each other. I won't get hurt, Mama, I promise." Her eyes search her mother's face for the answer she so desperately wants.
"Darling, war is just a few months away." Safrin points out, sitting up that she might properly regard her daughter. "Even were you to train every single day and spend a lot of MP, you would still be very weak compared to those the Voice has on her side."
With a glance toward Sunjata, Safrin pulls in a deep breath as she fixes her daughter with her gaze. "Can you really not wait until after? When the fighting begins I will not be able to protect you as I can now...are you sure this is truly what you want?"
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
She makes it sound real, promised. It would happen, very soon. Kamaria feels suddenly shrunken and small, her hands folding over her stomach. She hadn't known her mother made a way to protect all the children of Caido, and it's something she's glad for. Paige and kids like her, they'd all survive the war no matter what happened. But Kamaria had always known that one way or the other, her parents would try to keep her safe so long as she remained a fragile, small thing.
"That's not fair," she says quietly, shaking her head and looking down at her hands, "what good is it for me to hide and turn away when everyone else might be in danger? They all matter too. They're not any less important. Why should I be protected if they aren't? And what good would it be to stay safe if the world I come back to isn't even the same anymore... I wouldn't want to grow up then. I wouldn't need to..."
"Life isn't fair, my lovely one." Safrin replies sadly. "Children like you have no place in this war. They didn't cause it, and have not been around long enough to do anything about it. That is why I can protect them. It isn't that anyone else is less important, it's only that they have had the chance to change things before now..." Frowning softly as her daughter interjects, the goddess sighs.
"The world is going to be different no matter what, Kamaria. Young or old, in just a few months time, nothing will be recognizable." Stretching out a hand that she might take Ria's, the goddess does her best to pull her child in close.
"Are you so very sure, my love? This is what you want?" Desperately, willing her daughter to say no, but just as unwilling to force her hand, Safrin takes her child's face in her palms and peers deeply into her eyes.
the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul
Kamaria goes silent, falling into her thoughts. She's never felt so strongly about wanting to do something before, and in truth it had been all she could look forward to. She wants things, wants to do things. Things she couldn't now. It's always been "once you're older." Yet, she struggles to go against her mother. Like stardust against a whole sun. Would everything else only end up feeling like that, too?
Safrin's touch pulls her back from herself, and her green-blue eyes widen as she peers up at her mother, resting her weight into the hands of the one that breathed life into her.
It's a risk she wants to take. Has to.
"Mama, I love you, and I trust you, and I know that I should listen," her gaze clouds with tears, "But- I'm sorry, but- this is what I really, truly want." She swallows, trying not to cry.
