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!
Ronin arrives just as dawn is starting to break over Kaiholo Port, sending dazzling rays of amber across the water. He doesn't plan to stay for long - there is too much to do for that - but part of him craves the silence and tranquility of the ocean at this level. And besides which, he feels as though he needs to pay his respects to Mort and to Ludo, despite his own alignments. What happened in Stormbreak belongs more to death and his herald than anyone else, however you slice it.
And so the Huntsman settles himself by the statue of the aquatic man, his legs swinging over the deep water below, his offerings placed carefully around it. A white candle, a bag of jelly beans and a small, hand-sewn dolly. It's quiet, and though Leafchange brings a cool breeze on the air, the warmth of the sunshine is still enough for him to linger for a few moments more.
03-13-2022, 10:09 AM (This post was last modified: 03-13-2022, 10:10 AM by Chrysaora.)
CHRYS
Once again, Chrys was at the port to learn more about the land-dwellers. And maybe rope someone into running errands for her. But that could wait until later. There was still so much she was interested in. So much, in fact, that she didn't even know where to start. That was when she saw someone at the aquatic man. Something familiar yet new might be a good place to start.
She swam over to the shrine, stopping not far away, but hopefully far enough not to disturb the man in his prayer. A glance over the offerings revealed intriguing, to her unknown items. Once she deemed that he was probably finished with his prayer - whether he actually was or not - she swam closer and asked "What's that?" while pointing at the jelly beans and looking at the man inquisitively.
Ronin, whose eyes have been closed for a few moments to enjoy the solitude, blinks himself to attention at the sound of a voice. He glances around before he gazes down to spot the woman in the water, offering her a polite smile. "Hm, what's what?" he asks, following her finger to the bag of jelly beans. "Oh! Those are some candies for Ludo. It enjoys toys, sweets, that sort of thing. Have you ever tried jelly beans?"
Reaching into his coat pocket, Ronin withdraws a second bag of beans - because of course he got some for himself, have you met him? - and offers them down for her to take. "I don't know whether they will melt if they are left in the water for too long, so it's probably better to try them now. You're a Mer, right?"
"I haven't," was the simple reply to his question. Which, likely, obviously, would have been followed by asking more about them, had Ronin not preemptively offered her some. Eyeing the sweets curiously, she took one and inspected it, before eating it. Then she grinned. "That tastes funny!" Followed by a slight tilt of her head as she furrowed her brows. "But it's annoying landpeople food can't really be taken into the water."
Just a few seconds later, she was smiling again. "Yep, I am!" She paused for a moment, then she shrugged. "It's usually expected to ask a counter-question, right? But it's kind of obvious you're a landperson. What do you call yourselves, actually? I've heard many different words."
"A good funny or a bad funny?" Ronin asks, tilting his head and grinning. "The orange and red ones are my favourite - give those a try," he adds, nodding at the bag of jelly beans before furrowing his brow. She makes a good point, but unfortunately he has no say over what the leaders of Torchline decide to do. "Perhaps people could make little cubby holes on the underside of the docks, to store treats for the Merfolk," he suggests.
Swinging his legs a bit, the Huntsman can't help but enjoy her curiosity - it's a common trait among the Mer, in his experience. "Mm? Oh, well, that is because there are different sorts of landpeople, I suppose. There are Accepted, who can channel the gods, there are Attuned who can become animals, and there are Abandoned who can use magic." And then, because none of that really builds on the introduction he's made, he reaches down over the dock as if to offer his hand to shake.
"My name is Ronin, by the way. It's nice to meet you."
Chrys thought about the question for a moment, tilting her head slightly. "A good funny." And as per his suggestion, she takes one of the orange beans next to try. Listening to Ronin while she chewed the jelly bean, she then shrugged. "I don't think they would be used often." It wasn't like many of them were interested in landpeople food.
"Hmm..." Chrys furrowed her brows slightly, genuinely confused at the thought. "But we have people who can do different things too. And they're still all Mer."
As for the introductions, Chrys took Ronin's hand for a somewhat wet handshake. "I'm Chrys. Nice to meet you too."
Ronin smiles at that, glad to spread the jelly beany joy that only a bag of sugary candies can supply. "No? Well, it might still be worth building them. I suppose you wouldn't have to leave food, necessarily. It could be other things." Tools, medicines, other things to trade and so on.
She's got a good point, of course, about the Mer, and he nods to himself a bit. "I suppose we could all be called human," he says slowly. "But most would introduce themselves as one of those other terms." Not always for good reasons, either, but that seems to be the way of the world lately.
Giving her a soggy handshake, Ronin sits back on the dock again. "What brings you up to this shrine, Chrys? Did you want to leave an offering...?"
While she listened to Ronin, Chrys took another one of the jelly beans. Tilting her head, she then said: "Sounds interesting. I don't know who would be interested enough in building that though."
Shrugging off the talk about humans and Mer, Chrys looked at the shrine for a moment. "I was interested in what kind of offerings humans leave at shrines. I want to learn more about the people who live on land." As she said this, she gave Ronin a wide smile. "Oh, and I want to find someone to help me deliver something. What do humans usually want for a delivery?"
"Perhaps one of the sailors, or even one of the smugglers or pirates," Ronin suggests with a wink. He has lived in Torchline previously, and he knows better than to assume that everything is shiny and legal. (It absolutely isn't). "Either way, it's something to consider in the future, I suppose. If I ever come back to this shrine I'll leave an extra bag of jelly beans, just in case."
Glancing back at the various offerings, Ronin tilts his head. "It depends on the shrine and the god," he admits. "Ludo, for example, likes candies and toys, which is why I brought the beans." A delivery piques his interest, though, and he raises his eyebrows down at her. "What do you need delivering, and to where?" he asks. That will determine the trade, of course.
Nodding to herself, Chrys smirked. "That's a good idea. Maybe I'll try to convince some people." Though at Ronin's next proposal, Chrys shook her head. "I wouldn't take anything left as an offering for the gods. It's for them." After listening to Ronin's explanations about offerings, Chrys nodded. "So not that different from the offerings we leave."
Then she opened the seaweed satchel she was carrying along with her. Inside was something that looked like a translucent balloon filled with water. "I heard that people are bringing water to the flowerbirth deity. And thought water from the Oerwoud, where Rae and Frey are often, would be good. But I can't go there myself, so I need to get someone to deliver it."
"Oh, I'd of course leave a separate offering for Ludo," Ronin says with a grin. "But if you wanted some jelly beans, or anything else, maybe I could leave it... here?" he suggests, patting the space beside him; close enough to the water but far enough from the shrine. "What kind of offerings do you leave?" He wonders if there are any candies beneath the water.
Her wish to help Ghilio is both quaint and warming, and Ronin smiles a little and nods to her. "Of course. No trade needed - I'll be heading that way myself shortly. I'd be happy to deliver your water." He reaches out so she can hand him the balloon. "Every little helps, right?"
"That would be nice!" Chrys grinned. "I want to try a lot of things." As for his question, Chrys tilted her head slightly, thinking for a moment. "I think similar things to what you leave as offerings. Toys of all kinds. We don't have that many sweets, but there's sweet kelp, for example."
It seemed like she had been lucky to talk to Ronin. "Thanks!" she said, as she took the balloon out of her satchel and handed it to Ronin. "If everyone does a little thing, something big will come of it in the end. Were you planning to bring water to them as well?"
"There are plenty of things to try. I get around a bit, so perhaps next time I'll bring you something from outside of Torchline," Ronin suggests with a smile, clambering to his feet after accepting the balloon. "I don't think I have ever tried sweet kelp, honestly. But I'll try anything once." And ain't that the truth.
"That's right - I was planning to go out there in the next couple of days, so I'll make sure your water is delivered as well," he says. "It was good to meet you, Chrys. If we meet again, perhaps we could go for a swim?" It's been a long time since the Huntsman was able to feel the sun on his back and the sand between his toes. Too long.
