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!
Carried in an unassuming wagon led by an unassuming merchant, was the nearly-unconscious body of Mabel. Chained and bound with magical symbols that rendered her upgrades inert while she was within the box, the old man and his equally old mare trundled along the streets of Stormbreak just before dawn, thinking about what they would have for breakfast when this fetch-quest had been completed.
Awaiting their arrival at the docks was Cian, looking as calm and elegant as ever. With a cigarette hanging from the side of his mouth and his eyes trained on the pages of his notebook, the Eye studied something with silent contemplation as he awaited the arrival of the Priest and anyone else.
I'm the lesser of two evils
Or am I, am I tricking myself nice?
Did Gideon feel any guilt, knowing that the body of a young girl, barely alive and soon not to be at all, was on the same wagon as he was? No. In fact, he realised as he watched the scenery pass, he felt pride. Mabel had died a long time ago whenever the Voice had gotten ahold of her, had become an automaton to be puppeted around, a sick parody of whatever human had laid within the flesh originally.
They finally came to a halt and he thanked the driver, speaking as cordially and politely as if he had just paid for the movement of a box of vegetables. Stepping out onto the docks, the box coming out behind him, he looked to Cian with a grim smile in greeting. Before he let the wagon leave he checked to be sure he had everything - compass in his pocket, light staff on his back - then he approached.
"We should be as quick as we can about this business." He said lowly, leaning in close for a moment then parting, going to bend down to lift the edge of the box. "Even some of the people within Stormbreak lack a strong stomach about this part of it all."
If I'm a lesser of two evils
Who's this man, who's this act I hide behind?
Reaching out a hand to shake Gideon's, the Eye straightens and nods. "They do indeed. Luckily where we're headed strong stomachs, or a lack thereof, won't be a problem." He says in a low voice, sounding both pleased and confident.
' There are just a few more crates which need to be loaded, and then we'll be off. Have you ever been to the Cordillera before, Gideon?' Tapping the ash from his cigarette onto the ground, Cian's manner continues to seem casual even as he keeps a watchful eye on the workers who are adjusting and moving the assigned crates onto the skyship. Today there will be no other passengers other than just the two of them.
01-03-2022, 12:57 AM (This post was last modified: 01-03-2022, 01:00 AM by Wessex.)
Stormbreak isn’t the place for Wessex to make her stand. If she had been able to find Mabel earlier then maybe, maybe she could have smuggled her out of the city and carried her home. Cloaked in shadows and aided by illusions, the Wraith follows Gideon. He's got plans and she wants to know what they are. So Wessex will bide her time and wait. Listen. Learn. Plan a better means of attack.
Today she wears a different face and a different body from her previous Stormbreak-wanderer, this one stolen from a now-unconscious crew member as he’d come round the corner. "Where you goin', Izak?" someone yelled after him. "Gotta piss real quick afore we take off," he called back. "Two seconds." He’ll be fine. He didn’t even see her coming. She picks up a crate from the pile and carries it on the boat, then below deck. The truth is that she knows very little about being on the crew of a boat, let alone one that flies.
Either she’ll pick the crew’s duties up, have to hide, or blow her cover. Or maybe she’ll just mysteriously become violently ill while they’re flying. Too ill to work. Bad fish for breakfast? Man, shouldn’t have eaten that discounted eel at Pavel’s, huh? Whatever the case may end up being, Wessex continues to load another crate, then finds herself conveniently below deck, helping to strap the cargo in.
I'm still here, Mabel, she says to the girl, guilt-laden about the delayed rescue and yet still attempting to be optimistic.
Mabel was still here too; just not capable of doing much else. She could hear Wessex over the thrum of every other weakened nuance, a dull whimper threatening to fill the void, glimpsed and grasping on the edges. Okay she uttered through her mind, listening for the echoes, trying not to sear over in waves of panic at the mention of Cordillera.
Why? Why there?
The hope dashed away feebly – she’d heard all manners of stories on such a land from when she was little and her god-fearing parents took to their scriptures. She couldn’t imagine there’d be anything good for her there.
I want to go home she offered instead, the echo of a past refrain, her hands catching over the wooden box, nails incapable of prying herself out.
If you dig under my feet You will find things that you don't want to see
I'm the lesser of two evils
Or am I, am I tricking myself nice?
"Hm." Gideon agreed with a smile, keeping his eyes to the floor. He did trust Cian, more than most people in the Order (even if he thought the lad was a little self-important). He knew they could do what had to be done.
Unawares of any other passengers, watching the crates be loaded on, he shook his head. "Can't say I have. I'll be honest, after what I've heard about it, I'll be keeping my compass close. Dragons and so on." The tales had never made it seem like a nice place, to say the least. Gideon wasn't scared to go the distance he had to for their salvation, but he also thought, if things got bad, leaving Mabel on her own in a box in the Cordillera was as good of an ending as any other.
As soon as the ship was ready he'd march on, hands in his pockets, seeming entirely at ease and confident, hiding how inside he was actually thrilled, excited for what they were about to do, what they were setting right.
If I'm a lesser of two evils
Who's this man, who's this act I hide behind?
"Mmm." The Eye agrees at the mention of dragons. "But that's what we have them for." He murmurs, inclining his head slightly towards the various crates. As Wessex and likely Mabel were already aware, they weren't the only ascended who were boarding the skyboat at the moment. No, Cian had brought a handful of vagrant voice followers—and even a sassy attuned who had tried to swindle one of the Order members. (Allegedly).
'This war Gideon...if I'm right, we might be able to jump the queue, if you know what I mean.' Without so much as a glance toward 'Wessex', it's onto the boat where he takes a seat. "All this relic finding...it's all to get past what is in the Cordillera. But, there's no reason to think there isn't another way." A way which involved distracting dragons with the near-dead bodies of the ascended? Absolutely.
I'm the lesser of two evils
Or am I, am I tricking myself nice?
Gideon looked over the crates, slowing nodding as he thought the plan over. "I am a little worried the dragons won't be interested. Not like they're really alive." Would dragons want bodies so infected with cold machinery and fake blood? He had no idea how intelligent the creatures were, if they would even want to touch something so unnatural. "But it's probably enough for a few minutes of distraction at least, while they find out."
Sitting down and also looking right past Wessex's disguise, Gideon smiled into the distance. "It'd be amazing to see all their faces when we've jumped past their little relic hunt. To think, we could put an end to this before it's even begun." The war would be little more than an Ascended dream, the truth being more like the crushing of an insect.
If I'm a lesser of two evils
Who's this man, who's this act I hide behind?
"Have you ever known a dragon to be picky?" Cian counters with a sly and confident smile that seems to darken the denim shade of his eyes. With a sigh he waves his hand at Gideon's mention of the relics. Frowning into the distance as the boat lifts off through the clouds, Cian reaches into his pocket to find another cigarette.
"We were off to a good start...but Ludo's demigod has two of them now, did you know that? He won't give them back." Tutting, the Eye lights up before offering one to the Priest. "Something will have to be done about that. War or no war, he's already far too reckless to be given any more power. Perhaps you might have a word with Ronin about it?" The raise of his eyebrows suggests that this isn't as much of a request as it sounds. But Gideon was never one who needed the hard sell on much of anything.
Pulling out his notebook and looking at the words which magically appeared therein, the Eye nods to himself, before sitting back to enjoy the ride.
