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!
There was so much to do and so much to know. With the Knowtbook gone from their possession (not that Gideon had ever used it much), the more the Order could find about the nature of things, the better. The Priest liked to consider himself a learned man, someone who could be consulted on matters of the Gods and their history, but it was never a bad idea to refresh oneself.
So he had come to the Archive in order to spend a day in contemplation and study. Something he had not done for a quite a while, in truth. Selected tomes on the Gods and their roles in the creation and continued thriving of Caido and records of past skirmishes with Ascended littered the table before him, Gideon currently deep into a book chronicling the known times Frey had intervened with nature.
Each word filled his heart further with fevered passion for the Gods. How powerful, how wise - having recently seen Safrin for himself, it was hard for Gideon to press down the rising devotion in his chest. For a moment he left his hands on the pages and tilted his head up, taking a breath with his eyes closed and a clear smile on his face, just for a moment losing himself in the throes of worship and devotion.
Talk about being out of your element. Locke could barely read on a good day and now he was surrounded by books, scrolls, tomes, what-have-yous. But he was on a mission, if you could call it that. He had meant to find October first but had spotted Gideon while looking for books for Maeve and Edmund. (Side note: Why is he surrounded by nerds?)
Having effectively stalked the man through out the Archive, Locke was finally ready to approach him. Of all of his tasks, this felt the most daunting, despite not even knowing who Finn was. Maybe he'll find that out now. He tries to stamp down whatever nervousness he feels, wandering, meandering as casually as one can towards the Priest.
"Anythin' interestin'? Frey's the one who attuned me. Was pretty interestin'." See, same side. Same team. Nothing suss here. "You Gideon? Queen Maeve had some questions.. If you're willing to oblige us." Locke's learned the best cons are either short and sweet or long haul and he doesn't have the time to play the long game.
Crack a smile and cut your mouth and drown in alcohol
His peaceful, quiet meditation on the Gods was interrupted by a voice that was distinctly not anyone from Stormbreak. Gideon cracked open an eye, then tilted his head slightly in the direction of the sound. He recognised the man vaguely, some recollection about Torchline coming to mind, but not quite fully forming in his head. "Interesting. I'm sure it was."
While he made sure to sound rather unimpressed, it was clear this man wasn't going to go away, so Gideon leaned back on the table and nodded to confirm he was, indeed, himself.
"She did? For me?" It seemed like this conversation was about to actually get interesting; with a hand on his chest he looked to Locke. "And what could she want to ask me about? ...Yet, not enough to come herself?"
Ooh, he's incredulous. Locke loves it. Nerves melt away into something almost playful. It's been a minute or five since he's done this kind of thing but it's like riding a bicycle. He slips into the table across from Gideon, leaning on one hand. He examines the book like he cares. "Well, she's preparing Torchline for the war and with what happened to Cian, we can all agree it's likely not safe for her to be traveling. Being hand picked by Safrin and all of that." Locke looks up from the book, watching the Priest.
"And you, of course, because you're the closest thing to a de facto leader of the Order that I know of. Ronin and Remi fucked off to who knows where with Sera and that leaves you. I think." He pulls out a cigarette, "Mostly just wanna know what your plans are, how we can help. With Halo being so wishy washy, you're our closest ally in all of this."
"And what your plans are after the war. But that's me. Maeve's not really lookin' that far into the future of things. Too much on her plate and all of that."
Crack a smile and cut your mouth and drown in alcohol
Gideon watched Locke slip into the chair without moving his head, a single eyebrow cocking up at the reason for Maeve's absence. "She's flattering herself. Cian was only killed because he was actively working on important Order duty. The average follower of the Gods has nothing to fear from the Ascended." Because as much as the Ascended were a threat in the long run, as much as they were an affront to all that was natural...Gideon knew they wouldn't dare start the war themselves. Too small, too cowardly. Too much to lose.
"Don't smoke in here. I'm not leading - Finn is. You'll have to speak to him, if you can find him, but I wouldn't bank on him telling you anything." The Spyglass was notoriously difficult to pin down into a conversation, even for members of the Order.
He leaned forward on his elbows, responding with a question of his own: "So are you saying Torchline has declared itself for the true Gods? Last time I was there, the sentiment seemed distinctly...tolerant of the Ascended." His sermons in Stormbreak were always accepted as simple fact, but every time he attempted to preach in Torchline he had to leave before he was beaten out.
"She's hardly the average follower. She loves Safrin more than she loves anything or anyone else." Probably. He avoids that line of discussion when he can. It hurts and he's still not entirely sure why. "She's got a kid too. Lots on her plate and all of that." He waves his hand dismissively, tucking his unlit cigarette away.
His metaphorical ears perk up when Gideon mentions Finn. The Voice had told him that name but he hadn't had a clue who it was. At least he's got something now. Maybe October would know more about this Finn guy, she was next on his list of people to visit after all. "Was planning on looking for him. Heard his name before but didn't know who he was." Another shrug.
"Indeed. The Queens, jointly, had decided to be as neutral as possible but with the Fireheart.. you know.." His voice dips down, trailing off as he rolls his eyes. "Maeve realized the best way of keeping the most people safe was to side with the old gods. She spoke with Safrin recently about it. That said, there's been no outright attempt to oust anyone. You've seen how volatile Torchline can be.."
"Maybe the Order can help with that?"
Crack a smile and cut your mouth and drown in alcohol
"I see. And you? Do you share that love? I can't say the Gods seem to be particularly moved about you." When looking at Locke, all Gideon could feel through his ring was a great indifference. Not hate, but not any admiration either.
Finn getting visitors in this stressful time did make him smile, just a little, wry and sarcastic; Gideon was sure the Spyglass would just love his newfound popularity. "He used to be Cian's right hand. Weird man." Not much more to say, really.
"I'm afraid I don't know." He raised an eyebrow, silently asking for more information in regards to the 'Fireheart'. With everything happening in the Order at the moment, with his own prayers and devotion taking up so much of his time, Gideon hardly had the waking hours to keep up with outside politics. "Sounds like Maeve might be more sensible than I thought."
As to whether the Order could help...beginning to like the way this conversation was going, Gideon smiled and leaned on his hands, fingers interlaced together. "We definitely could, with the right kind of support on the ground there. Give me a decent list of names that would help and convince those they know, and I will be there with as many of my Order colleagues as I can."
His eyes narrow but only for a moment. "I'd say I'm a bit on the fence, as it were. But I love Maeve and if she wants to follow the old gods, then so will I. Our son is already a good little follower of Safrin. Maybe I'll take him to meet Frey one day." He kind of shrugs, "I ain't much for religion though, so you'll have to excuse me." Hell, the only reason he's helping the Voice is because he's worried what people like Gideon might do to the Abandoned once this is over.
He tucks away the information about Finn, hoping to be able to find the man at some point. Not that this is anything to find him off of but it's a start. "She can be, if you give her the chance. She's young and emotional but I think that's why Safrin likes her so much. Safrin seems to be pretty emotional too." The whole siccing Ronin on Sunjata thing comes to mind all too easily.
Locke tilts his head, playing like this line of thought isn't bothering him. "And what would you do with them after? Do you have a way to restrain them to keep the Voice from taking them over?" He's not even sure if something like that could exist but if anyone had it, it'd be the Order.
Crack a smile and cut your mouth and drown in alcohol
"Not much for religion? I wasn't aware it was a choice. The Gods are changing your life and molding you as we speak; it would do you well to be involved in that." Gideon said flatly, his tone one of something repeated many times, a part of his usual sermon for the non-worship inclined.
Still, he did quietly snort a little at the assessment of Safrin as emotional - it was hard to deny, even for the loyal priest. The Goddess had a reputation for her quick decisions and flippant mood that carried throughout most interactions with her. While Gideon had been delighted to see her last time he had prayed, he was glad his most close deity seemed to be Ludo.
As for the plans for the Ascended: this time he really did laugh out loud, shaking his head. "Why would we restrain them? To take out a blight you cut it out." The smile disappeared in an instant, intensity taking over Gideon's gaze as he met Locke's eyes and continued: "We will not know peace until the Ascended are gone. Not put away, not trapped. Gone."
