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!
Listening attentively to Darkeyes ideas, Lilliane nodded along. "Sounds to me like you enjoy cooking." She looked at Darkeye with a smile. "I might try some of your ideas if I get the chance to. Though I don't even know if they have mead here. Might be worth asking the townsfolk." Within her mind, she was alread going through the logistics of cooking.
Refocusing on the situation as Darkeye continued to speak, Lilliane shrugged. "I'm not sure about that. Drunkenness is something physical, not mental. Would something like this transfer to the other parts of the hivemind? I have no idea, but my instinct is to say no."
"It doesn't sound cruel, it is cruel." Lilliane said, stepping over to where Darkeye has placed the bug on the stone, looking at Darkeye with brows furrowed in anger. "I'd understand if our survival hinged on it, but there's no reason to let anyone suffer for mere curiosity." Saying this, she intended to take the bug and bring it back into the shade.
say] "I like to cook but only to fill the stomach not to make it taste good," he said with a smile. "I don't have much time to learn it, other things a more important..." His mind went back to the time where he wanted to become a cook, an artist, or a smith. " If you can show me I willing to learn little one!"
He took a deep breath "My world has a lot of magic and beasts inside of it. Every time I ask you, about your world I have the feeling you try to evade the answer. Why is that so?"
Darkeye didn't stop her and watched as the bug got back into the safe shadow. "Sometimes we need to be cruel to learn what is happening in the world. You can not always save everyone." He had the feeling that he went too far but didn't want to back down.
"Sure. I'm no master cook myself, but I do work in the trade so I'm sure I can show you a bit. Plus, cooking together with others is always fun."
Lilliane looked at him with a surprised expression. "I actually thought you were evading my questions about your world to be honest. I didn't mean to evade anything, I merely thought you weren't specifically interested in the difference between chemistry and alchemy." She shrugged.
"I know that." A sad expression appeared on her face. Only for a moment, then it was gone, replaced by a stern expression. "But I can prevent unnecessary cruelty. Knowing whether these bugs truly die or experience pain when subjected to too much sunlight won't help us with anything. I don't see where this knowledge could ever become important in the future. If you're of a different opinion, I'm willing to listen. But I won't accept 'because I'm curious' as a reason."
He smiled."Yes, that could be fun to cook like a normal person and forget what is happing in this world."
He stroked his beard again before he answered. "In my world, most of the people that got a laboratory do cruel things. Making people suffer. Most of them are mages. In my world peace is always possible but then one mage does a bad thing and another war starts. That is why I dislike magic. My world has dwarfs, elves, goblins, dragons, and many more. The humans grow fast in number and so the place for the old races is lost. That is why one war after another starts. Even the gods there fight with each other only to have a better standing for the people. A cruel world."His gaze became unfocused.
First quiet but then louder and louder he started to talk. "The reason I need to know that is simple. I need to know if the water kills the bug, can you still drink it. If I have been dehydrated and find a corpse of that bug, can I eat it or is all the water gone? I need to survive in that world, at any cost. And if I need to be cruel, then I'm being cruel even if I don't like it, little one. You don't have an understanding of cruel!" His face got red after he talked himself into a rage with the memories of the rat child in his mind and all the people he lost because of it.
Lilliane smiles, although the smile does not reach her eyes and it seems like a rather sad smile. "It's always easier to blame someone else. Be it the mages in your world, or in this world the blame put on the Ascended. In my world, seventy million people died only because the people of one country decided to blame a certain ethnicity for all their problems." She makes a short pause. "Most people are selfish. There are always people who are assholes. Among the mages, the humans, the dwarves, and whatever else there is in your world. There are always good and bad. But taking the few who did bad things and using them as an excuse to blame all your problems on the group as a whole is not okay."
Listening to his rant about his survival, Lilliane was calm for the most time. Yet when he said his last sentence, there was a twitch of the eyebrows, barely enough to show a hint of anger. "I ask you not to judge people by their appearance. You do not know their past. Even more, their past might not seem significant to you, since you have different values than them. However, to everyone, their own suffering is very real and important."
She shook her head slightly. "Taking simple logic, it depends on how long the bug is dead. The longer he lies there dead, the more water will have evaporated. And if decomposition has started, the water won't be safe to drink anyway. Even if you test it now, there won't be any way to use it in a survival situation, since when you come across a dead bug, you won't know how long it had been there."
He took a deep breath."Sure it's easier but this is no excuse, to stand there and do nothing. Wait how many... WHAT!!!! Where were the gods to stop him or the heroes or someone... How did he do that?" he couldn't believe that something like this could happen. He had seen hundreds and hundreds of people die. That number sounded so surreal to him that it was hard to believe. But why should she lie? He took a long breath again. "What is an Ascended?" He learned many things from her. "The problem is power. If you give people that, they forget what they were and they are afraid to give it away. I saw sons try to kill their fathers, because of power. Mages can get massive power for a price. I don't like magic that is no group it's another name of power.
"Yes that is right in that view you are right. A boy that lost his beloved dog will suffer like a man that lost his father... I'm sorry. I can't tell what happened to you and you are right I got no right to judge you. But I can have my own opinion. I defend myself if I got the feeling I must. Sometimes suffering forms a person. That person learning a lesson for life." He crossed his arms.
"Chitin needs acid to decay. Sure, it's not healthy, but I need to know if bugs here decay the same way or what happens with the water. Are the other bugs trying to get it to save it for the Hive? The water can't get out of the Chitin it can't evaporate." he tried to find an argument for his behavior.
To his exclamation Lilliane raised an eyebrow. "From what I've heard the gods actually answer prayers in this world. Seems like yours is the same. Where I'm from, prayers are just wasted words. Of course the highest of the religions often claim that that one time, several hundred years ago, that something special happened was because of their god. And then they start new wars with other religions who claimed it was their god instead. In fact, however, prayers go unanswered." She shrugged. "I'm not sure what you mean by heroes. Of course there are always people trying to fight for the right thing. But It's not like they are special or chosen or something like that."
She seemed slightly surprised at his next question. "I don't know too much about it myself, but from what I understand the Ascended are the followers of the Voice. Most of them live here in the Hollowed Grounds. They have apparently been changed by the Voice to some extent."
"You are right, you can have your own opinion." She nods. "However, I think that it's possible to defend oneself without attacking someone else. Certainly while it's a discussion and not a physical fight."
"Chitin can also be dissolved by bacteria. Otherwise you'd see every dead bug lying around for decades. And to check on the decay of the corpse, you would have to kill it, then remain here for days on end and study the changes of the dead body. Do you intend to do that? Plus, the water got in somewhere, through the mouth. It could evaporate that way. When a creature dies, the muscles relax. Since they need to be able to consciously open and close that water area, it needs to use muscles. When they relax, it's likely that the water can get outside through the gullet."
01-05-2022, 03:13 PM (This post was last modified: 01-05-2022, 03:52 PM by Darkeye.)
Blackeye
Not the strongest win the battle —
"Yes, we know that gods are true we can see their work from time to time. But the other people must have seen what happened and must have tried to stop this madness. Prayers are never wasted words, they give you the power to form a wish that you would never have asked by yourself. In any religion, there comes the people factor... You are not chosen to be a hero, you chose the right thing that anyone else says is wrong. You do that what no other would do." In his head this sounded better. Now he felt that was wrong to say it out loud.
"Changed in what way? Do you follow the voice? Words can hurt people more than any other weapon could do. A discussion is different, but the problem is that you can hurt another person too. And never notice it."
"This is why you need ants, birds, and little animals to feed on them. Otherwise, yeah, you would be right. But sorry, what is bacteria? Is it poison or an illness? I don't know what that word means. I would take ten dead bugs and put them in a bottle. Each day I will cut one open and see what happened." When she talked about the muscles relaxing he said: "That could happen too. Good point little one. I was thinking that they can't control that. But this doesn't exclude the other..." He looked at the bugs and went over what they knew about them in his head.
"Better not even get started on how people can corrupt even the most well-meaning and inclusive religions." Lilliane said, nodding in agreement. "Anyway, with millions of people on each side of a war, one single person rarely amounts to much, even if they do something. Of course, everyone should try to do their best to stop it. So that all together, they can stop it. But unfortunately, that's not how most people are. They'd rather follow the one telling them he'll solve all their problems without wasting a second thought on whether what they are doing is good or bad."
With a thoughtful expression on her face, Lilliane shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. I know they get new abilities like being able to see in the dark. But on the other hand, they can't deal with the sun anymore." She shook her head. "I follow neither the old nor the new gods. Before I make I decision like that, I want to get to know both sides better."
Lilliane looked at Darkeye with surprise for a moment. Then, realizing that they probably hadn't discovered bacteria in his world yet, she explained: "To put it simply, bacteria are similar to animals. But they are so small that they can't be seen with the naked eye. You'd need a microscope – something like a very strong magnifying glass – to see them. Many things, one among them decay of corpses or the rotting of food, don't happen by themselves. In truth, it's caused by bacteria taking the nutrients they need out of the thing, slowly taking it apart, and leaving waste products behind. Basically, they eat it, we just don't see them doing it. But bacteria can be helpful too. There are some bacteria within our bodies, helping us to function."
She sighed. "Well, if you feel that's necessary to survive, I won't stop you. Though I still think it's not necessary. And with such a thing, you'd act just like the people doing cruel things in their laboratories. The ones you condemned a minute ago. Suddenly not so bad, when it's in your interest?"
"The problem is two people start a war and many die. If you cut off the head of the snake it's easier to save people, if you know what I mean. It's hard to believe that so many lost their lives... Bad is a question of perspective. The winners always tell the story differently, the war crimes just vanish and I can say in every war they appear on both sides. I was a war priest in my world. My task was to watch over wars and prevent any war crimes from happening. And when they did, I hunted down those who committed them. But then there was too much war and I had to stop the war in general. People follow those that say I can do it better and give them a scapegoat." Right now he felt he was in his element.
"Like a cursed one, a vampire or what? I truly hope that I'm not such a being. In that way, we are the same. I must first find out more. Then I know which side I choose."
"Like a compost or? Can you tell me more about this, it looks like you know about this. I would love to hear more about this and even learn if possible. I know that I'm being cruel right now. Do you eat meat? Do you know how the pigs get fed and fat for you so that you can eat it? Is that cruel or not? Do you think Nature is always fair? Only the strong or smart survive."
Lilliane thought for a moment before answering. "I agree that war crimes should be prevented. But first and foremost, wars should be prevented whenever possible. I'd prefer to work on changing the world so that war priests are not even necessary." She made a slight pause. "And I know it's unlikely to happen. But if everyone tells themselves it's impossible and no-one does anything, then nothing will change."
"I suppose the old gods would call them cursed. But I doubt they would deem themselves such. But why would you be an Ascended? From what I heard, it's something you decide voluntarily, it's not just forced on you."
"Kind of. What happens in compost is exactly that. Bacteria taking apart the things you put in the compost." She smiled slightly. "I can tell you what I know, but I'm no biologist or something. I only know the basics."
Upon answering the next questions, she seemed tired. "If you mind, could you stop treating me like a kid? I understand you're proud of your age and need to let everyone know they're younger than you. And you can call me young one or little one all you want, I don't mind. However, I am well aware that nature isn't always fair. I also know where the meat I use for cooking comes from and how it's produced. Where I worked, we made sure to check on the farms regularly, to make sure the animals are kept properly. But there is a big difference between killing out of necessity, as is common in nature, and which still applies to our food as well, since there is sustenance one can only reliably gain from animal products, and killing for unnecessary reasons. Unnecessary being everything from 'that piece of land looks nice, I want to have it' to 'I'm curious to see how this thing dies when placed in the sun'. As I said, feel free to conduct your experiment. I won't stop you. I am merely stating that in my opinion, the cruelty inflicted on these creatures outweighs the possible gain from your endeavors."
01-05-2022, 07:21 PM (This post was last modified: 01-05-2022, 07:22 PM by Darkeye.)
Blackeye
Not the strongest win the battle —
"The problem with war is it brings money and with money comes power, a Circle... Sure they need to be prevented if possible but I have the feeling that sometimes the urge in us wants us to fight another. The world will always need priests I think, most people need guidance in many things. I always tried to help other people first, then me. You can not always work this way. You got a good point there I will have to think about it." He goes deep inside of his heart and thought about how many people he helped.
" Okay I didn't know that thank you for that information. I was thinking the worst." He breathed out relieved.
"I would be thankful if you teach me your knowledge even if it's the basics." Again he smiled for the coming lessons.
" No Lilliane I don't have the intention to treat you like a child. But to find out how to help people we must cut open a body to understand it better. Most people die on that examination but we can help others with the knowledge of that body. Yes, it's cruel that we must do it but on the corpse, we can't see everything. But I drift away from your point. You know what, you are right, it was cruel to think about this. I must ask for an apology." Was he the cruel one or was his thirst for wisdom bringing him to a knifes edge.
"I agree that people will always seek guidance. However, priests are not the only ones who can give you that. In many cases, a counselor or a therapist might be able to give better advice. This is not to say that priests give bad advice. But each has their own areas they specialize in. I only wish someone specializing in war would not be necessary in this world. But I guess where there are people, there will always be conflict." she said, nodding in agreement to Darkeyes statements.
"Oh, you don't have to apologize. I'm glad that we had this conversation. It's always good to hear the opinion of others. And I try to remember them since even when I don't agree, I might find valuable lessons in them later on."
Taking another short look at the bugs, which by now started to disperse and disappear into different shady spots in the area, Lilliane shrugged. "Anyway, I think I'll head back to the Sanctuary for now. I'm not sure how long I'll stay there, but I'm sure we'll meet again. Maybe we can cook something together then." she said with a warm smile.
He thought about all the conversations that he had with her. She was a clever one. She would be a great Diplomat. But stubborn. It was hard to talk against her. Every time he thought he got a good argument, she thought first and then answered with a better argument. The next time he met her, he would try to make her speechless. "It would be my pleasure to meet you again. I hope we can cook and talk again. It was a fun afternoon." She could be a good ally and maybe they could support each other in this new world and drink some beer together. " Kor be with you Lilliane, have a nice day."
