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!
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Despite the fact that the last time Amun had ventured into this maze, it had ended up in an encounter with a particularly ornery serpent, he was not deterred from his exploration. In fact, once he'd recovered from his last trek, he gathered up the usual supplies and set off again. This time, he was hoping to discover if the hedges concealed any other (hopefully more useful) secrets.
So he set off among the swaying branches. Every few minutes he'd initiate a scan, just to make sure he wasn't taken unawares again. Similarly, Zhanshi would pop out of the ground at every intersection and take a quick peek and flight to make sure they didn't get lost or run into something untoward again.
Despite those precautions, however, the potter turned a corner and found himself face to face with a very familiar fire. "You have got to be fucking kidding me," he muttered as he glared at it. Folding his arms, he jerked his chin at the blaze. "Well come on then. Out with it."
Noah had never been to the heart of King's End. When he stumbled upon the maze, finally, curiosity couldn't help but pull him in. The wide, arching, winding green hedges kept him wandering for what surely was hours. Eira flew overhead, careful to keep her eye out for danger. When a path would change, her golden eyes relayed the message to Noah. Hopefully, with her sky view, he would be able to find his way out at the end of this.
His quiver brushed against a hedge as he turned around to look behind him, the sound of earth and gravel shifting and moving catching his attention. He was quite a ways down the path, but the movement of another human walking by and the earth shifting in his wake made Noah's eyebrow lift. Carefully, he changed his intentions to follow the other man. As Noah followed behind him, he couldn't help but notice the confidence he walked with. Finally, the man stopped and Noah followed suit.
"What are you talking to?" The demigod asked, standing tentatively a few meters away, eyes moving between the stranger and the flickering fire.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Zhanshi alerted Amun to their pursuer from one of the landshark's aerial trips while the potter was still glaring at the fire. So when the stranger spoke up behind the Ascended, he turned to face the other man. Amun kept his arms loose as he stepped to one side, not wanting the flame behind him.
Shrugging at the stranger's question, the potter pointed with a thumb over his shoulder. "There's a spirit that lives in there that makes you think you're dying to see how you'll react." Snorting, he shook his head. "Not my favorite being, to say the least."
Arching an eyebrow, his gaze swept over the other man. "I don't think we've met. I'm Amun." The potter crossed his arms and tilted his head to one side. "Were you stalking me for any particular reason or just because I'm pretty?" Batting his eyelashes, he blew the stranger a kiss.
Even Noah's stoic, glacial features could not keep the curious curve of his brow or the winkle in his forehead at bay. "If it's not your favorite, why were you seeking it out?" He wondered if the stranger had come to try and kill the spirit, and there was something within Noah's breast that told him if that was the case he needed to try and protect it.
"Noah." He gave his name easily, and normally would have extended his hand out to greet the stranger, but given the distance between them it would not make sense to do so, and Noah wasn't comfortable with closing that distance just yet. "Curiosity, not desire." Noah clarified, the discomfort he felt at the man's question easy to see in the setting of his jaw.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Amun grunted and scuffed at the ground. Shaking his head at the other man, the potter arched an eyebrow. "Gee, I don't know, maybe I wasn't?" He gestured at the hedgerows all around them. "It's almost like this is a maze with a mind of its own that likes playing jokes on people." Letting out a huff of air he glared at the fire.
Rubbing the back of his head, he sighed. "Sorry. I was actively trying to avoid this spot and it still deposited me here, but that's not your fault." Taking a deep breath, he inclined his head to Noah. "It's nice to meet you Noah."
Chuckling, the Ascended waggled his eyebrows at the other man. "Oh, so you were stalking me? Can't say I blame you." Amun winked, before stepping to one side and putting some distance between himself and the fire. He gestured for Noah to walk into the clearing if the other man so chose. For the potter's part, he went to go lean against the nearest bush.
The tone with which Amun spoke was beginning to put Noah off. Eira bristled from her position in the sky, and dropped down before her bond mate. Her golden eyes snapped towards the ascended and made sure to stay between them. Her long tail flicked and wrapped around Noah’s calf. It only took a few minutes for Amun to change his tone and position, however. Noah lifted a brow, curious as to what was happening within this man.
”What were you doing in here, then, if not looking for the creature?” Noah himself was here only to explore and discover. After having been in Kings End for so long, he still had yet to venture in the maze and today seemed like a good of time as any. The demigod and his companion moved with Amun, though Eira was not one to ignore the man’s wink like Noah did. ”Stalking and stumbling upon are two quite different things.” the hunter chuckled.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
As the griffin dove, Amun watched the descent. Zhanshi surfaced to make a small circle around the potter's legs before the landshark dove underground again. However, the potter's companion made his presence known by the trembling earth as he tunneled around the Ascended's feet.
Shrugging, Amun scratched under his chin. "Since my last trip here got interrupted, I was just exploring the maze to see if I could discover anything of interest." Arching an eyebrow at Noah, the potter smirked. "Either way, today is your lucky day, blue eyes." He waggled his eyebrows. "Because you got to meet me, and I'm way better company than that spirit, trust me."
Nodding at the other man's companion, the Ascended smiled though he didn't open his lips, trying to hide his fangs. "And who is this fierce guardian of yours?" He held his hands up and out to show the griffin that Amun wasn't concealing anything.
The landshark was an interesting companion, Noah had to admit. He had not grown up with them as a threat like they did in the Hollowed Grounds. Halo's ice was too much for them. "Hmm, we'll have to see." Noah's own chuckle from before turned into a smirk at his words. If Amun was so confident in himself as better company, Noah would welcome the opportunity for him to prove himself. All in jest, anyway. "I really came to walk the maze to see if there was a shrine hidden within it."
When the ascended lifted his hands towards the griffin, as a sign of what was hopefully neutrality, the griffin inspected him with large, golden eyes, and clacked her beak. "This is Eira. I'd say she isn't as fierce as she makes herself appear...but that isn't really true since living here." It was true -- while they lived in Halo, Eira was a much more trusting and kind creature. Now, the instability of the wilds and Noah's new found tendency (and necessity) to travel from land to land brought her great unease. She displayed this in her more protective nature, more ready to defend her bondmate than to convince him another was a friend.
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Amun chuckled at Noah's response. Still grinning at the other man, the potter tilted his head to one side. "Don't worry blue eyes, you'll definitely see."
At the mention of a shrine, he glanced over at the fire at the center of the maze. "Well, like I said, there's a spirit that lives here, but I don't know if I would call it a shrine." He shrugged.
Smiling at the griffin, the Ascended slid his foot out to the side a bit. Zhanshi popped out of the ground again to nibble on Amun's boot. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Eira. This is Zhanshi." His eyes slid up to meet Noah's gaze. "I can't make promises on his behalf--he has an alarming habit of biting as a way of exploring the world--but I am no threat to her or you." The potter inclined his head to the other man's companion.
"Well, if it is a shrine, it's probably for Ludo. Given your description of the spirit, anyway. Which isn't as helpful for me." Noah shook his head some, reminded of all the stories and tales he had of Ludo the trickster herald of death. If that spirit existed only to see how you were in your last moments, certainly it worked within Mort's realm and under Ludo's jurisdiction. At least, that was Noah's conclusion. It would not always have been, but with the knowledge of the gods he gained over the last few years and the loyalty he pledged to Vi, it was his go-to assumption and way of understanding the world.
Noah smirked some as Amun's own companion was introduced. Having not known the terror for his own life, Noah learned about them from his travels and involvement in the Monster Hunter's Guild. "Landsharks pose quite a bit of threat I've heard." Noah crouched some, inspecting the creature as it nibbled at its bondmate's feet. "How did you manage to gain one as your companion?"
my whole life is mine, but whoever says so will deprive me,
for it is infinite.
Grimacing at the mention of Ludo, Amun took another step away from the shrine. However, he was already pressed against the hedge, so this put him just a little closer to the path leading out. "Me neither," he admitted with a laugh. Scratching under his chin, he hesitated. "It didn't necessarily feel like that, though. It's not like I prayed, or anything, and the spirit said it was really more of a test than anything else." Chuckling again, he added, "One that I failed."
Glancing down at Zhanshi, the potter shifted his weight and bit and lifted his boot just enough to press the little landshark back underground. The Ascended's companion gave one last nibble before tunneling down again. "There was a feeding frenzy around some luxere that had gotten separated from the herd. Once the sharks had eaten their fill, they departed, but left this little one behind." Smiling down in the direction Zhanshi was moving, Amun shook his head. "Gruesome, I know, but I wouldn't part with him for anything." Lookin up, he gestured at Eira. "How'd you meet her?" He inclined his head to the griffin.
