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!
As they worked on getting set up for the blast furnace, and as he brought in yet another pile of the supplies they'd need, Amun nodded at Darkeye's explanation. Eyes flicking over the other man, the potter looked for any obvious signs of the ascension Darkeye spoke of. "I see. And does Kor exist in this world? My old gods do not, so I had to find a new path."
Pausing, he grimaced. "Safrin and Ludo think the Voice and the Ascended are an aberration that must be wiped from the face of this world. They both act like children, picking favorites, throwing tantrums when they don't get their way, and playing with the lives and feelings of their followers with no thought to the consequences of their actions." The potter shrugged.
"One time, Ronin, the Huntsman, Safrin's chosen," he couldn't say that without an eyeroll, "went mad with grief. He started attacking everything and everyone around him, and when Safrin finally intervened it was to whisk him away to safety while leaving everyone else trapped in a collapsing building. Myself included. We got out, but not before one of my friends was paralyzed, and she was another devotee of Safrin and Vi."
Shrugging, he set another load of supplies down. "I've got a year, as I understand it. Enough time to mourn properly and find happiness." He glanced up from the work to gauge Darkeye's reaction.
Darkeye enjoyed building and planning again. He did not notice the look of Amun. The mark was not on the neck and it was not a mark as Amun probably knew it. It was the mark of Kor on the chest just above the heart of Darkeye. A tattoo in the shape of a triangle in which a sword was stuck. Unfortunately, it was not visible. Without turning around, Darkeye continued to work and spoke: "I don't know yet and I still have to find out. But I will act according to his will to the best of my knowledge. I've served him for over a hundred years, and you can't get that out of me in a hurry." Darkeye smiled at this statement.
Darkeye stopped his work and turned to Amun. A look of disappointment was visible. "The gods are still young and apparently do not know what is right and what is wrong. With Ludo, I understand playfulness. He has no easy task when he has to take care of the souls of the dead. But that doesn't excuse such a memorable act. As for Safrin, I don't even know what she does, to be honest. But you are not an anomaly in my eyes." Darkeye didn't want to be rude but he hoped to learn more.
Darkeye had become curious and was now looking at Amun. " What do you mean by crazy with grief what happened? " Darkeye wanted to know more. "She favors some of her believers, that's good to know. But that's not fair to the other believers." Darkeye wanted to ask Safrin about this. "Were you able to save your friend? Could she walk after that?"
Darkeye smiled at him. The smile disappeared again and he nodded. He went back to work and turned away from Amun. Darkeye thought that with the attack on Stormbreak, it wouldn't be a year before the war started.
They had gathered enough materials and sketched out enough of the dimensions that Amun began actual work on the furnace. He began by sketching out the dimensions properly in chalk. Then he began combining parts, using his metal manipulation upgrade to shape them and weld them together as needed. "But if he doesn't exist in this world, is it possible his will doesn't extend here either?" He frowned at the Darkeye's.
"Actually, they don't call them the old gods for no reason. They are as old as the world itself, as far as I know. So there is noe excuse for their bad behavior." Snorting, the potter shook his head. "She calls herself the herald of life, of Vi. And yet her followers are some of the most violent I've met. They don't call Ronin the Huntsman just because of his actions against Ascended. He used to run the Monster Hunter's Guild." At the last of the other man's words, the Ascended inclined his head. "Thank you."
Sighing, he shrugged. "His daughter was killed. There was a monster attack at a festival. One of the people fighting it erected a defense, but the monster broke it down and the debris rained down on the festival grounds and struck her. Afterwards, he attacked the Temple and everyone inside it, managing to bring it down eventually. He even struck Safrin when she finally deigned to appear." Scowling, he narrowed his eyes. "She regained use of her legs eventually. But it was a long, hard recovery." He sighed as he wondered where Amalia had ended up.
"I am his will. I am his hand eyes and ears. I act in his name with the best of consciences." For Darkeye, there was no doubt about this. An oath was an oath whether in this world or the old. He looked over Amun's shoulder and tried to help, correcting his drawing a little.
"That doesn't answer my question, or is it life itself?" Darleye was getting impatient he felt like he had to pull everything out of his nose. "They are not war gods they don't know what they are getting into. War costs lives, yes. But it doesn't and Ludo will have a lot to do. The gods shouldn't get involved in something they don't understand. "Darekeye nodded at Amun's last comment.
Darkeye looked sadly to the ground. "A father who loses his daughter has the right to not act quite sensibly." Darkeye now looked at Amun reproachfully. "No father should bury his child..." Darkeye clenched his fists."I'm not saying it's okay that he acted that way but it's understandable. Who was assigned to protect him? What kind of monster was it and where did it come from?" So many questions that demanded answers.
Amun paused in his construction. Holding up a piece he was trying to affix to the wall, he activated his upgrade to drill it and nail it in place while he spoke. "And if Kor's will contradicts the will of the gods of this world, how will you reconcile that?" He tilted his head and stared at Darkeye.
"She is supposed to preserve life in all its forms, supposedly. Except for Ascended." Grunting, the potter shook his head. Pressing his lips together, he bent down for another piece of the furnace. "This is not the first war, you know that. The old gods opposed the Voice's Ascension and waged war on her and her followers. But they couldn't kill her, just imprison her. She broke out and, well, here we are again." Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand.
"And yet, when I lost someone I cared for deeply, a member of my family and the man I loved, to murder no less, you expected me to be totally sane?" He arched an eyebrow at the other man. "What do you mean, assigned to protect him? As for the monster, it was a giant golem made of sentient mud that just...appeared. No idea where it came from. Presumably the earth itself. The mud is supposedly animated by Rae, the god of nature, but we'd only seen it in smaller quantities before then." Shrugging, he made sure his latest addition to the furnace was in place.
"Then I will do what is necessary, such as preventing the extinction of humans by any means necessary," he said. "He is a Peacekeeper on one side of the coin. But on the other a god of war. War is my craft Amun. I am a good smith. Also a good stonecutter. But I am a soldier through and through." Darkeye was no longer smiling his look was serious. If Amun were to speak ill of Kor, the conversation would go in a different direction.
Darkeye wrote down much of their conversation and wanted to ask others if they could confirm it. "Then I wonder why you are acting this way, I will have to ask the gods and all of them..."
Darkeye shook his head. "Was it your child? Sam was killed by Gideon, and that's cruel, yes. But that doesn't give you the right to attack a town of innocent people. You put innocent people in danger. You had to travel there and you did it consciously - these are two different things. You condemn him, but you are no better than him." Darkeye tried to remain calm. "Who was in charge of protecting the wall?" Darkeye looked at the open and nodded."Good work Amun."
Amun nodded at Darkeye's explanation. "I'm a merchant and artist first and foremost. But I'll fight for my life, my freedom, and my family." Most of the potter's attention was taken up by putting the top on the furnace. He had to wrestle it into place with his whole body. Brow furrowing in concentration, he made sure there was a proper path for air to flow before using his upgrade to install it. "Is there anything Kor doesn't cover then?"
Shrugging, he patted the top before releasing it fully. "I'm just trying to survive. As for Safrin, your guess is as good as mine." Bending down, he hoisted up another piece with a grunt.
"Actually, I agree. I'm simply asking you to judge his actions in the same light as mine. Because he had to travel too, though less a distance I'll admit. Still, we asked him to stop, offered to help him through his grief, and he tried to kill us." He closed his eyes for a long moment and shuddered.
Opening his eyes again, the Ascended stared at the other man with narrowed eyes. "Define innocent. That Tower was the Order's headquarters. Everyone who lived and worked there supported their war effort in some way, shape, or form. They may not be combatants, but they weren't fully innocent too, since they made the tools of war, or gathered information, or spun propaganda to further their cause."
Glancing at the progress they'd made, Amun inclined his head to Darkeye. "Thanks." He fitted the latest part into the structure.
"Kor covers war and peace. The rest is mine." Darkeye smiled and tried to help Amun where he could. It was a sweaty job, but Darkeye was glad to help.
"What do you bring to Voice when you want to bring her a gift to talk to her Amun?" He asked Amun
"There were guaranteed family women and children who were raised that way but still couldn't help living in the city. Injured people recovering from hardships that had nothing to do with you, yes, there were innocent people too, you can't just condemn them for living there. I know that Gideon was an Accepted like me. Does that make me like him? No, so stop sweeping everyone under the same rug. I will also stop you if you want to harm innocent people. Even if I don't want to do it. I'll probably fail too, but I'm not afraid to die for the right cause." Darkeye looked at Amun with the same look. His gaze was hard and determined to follow his words with action.
"Then let's unite him and see if we've done everything right, or if we haven't, we have another problem. Then he flies around our ears and we die quickly." Darkeye started the fire and gave the fire proper food.
Growling at a particularly heavy and tricky piece, Amun managed to lever it into place with Darkeye's help. "Well, doesn't war and peace cover pretty much everything?" The potter's words had a distracted tone to them, since he was making sure everything was correctly installed so far.
Shrugging at the question, he scratched under his chin. "I don't. If you asking me what you should bring, though, anything made of crystal, metal, or rock is usually a safe better. The more intricate the better."
Finally turning to face the other man, the Ascended put his hands on his hips. "Well, the Temple contains an Infirmary, but that didn't stop Ronin from his attacks. As for the Tower, you don't know who or what was inside, you're assuming. All I know for sure is that it was the Order's headquarters. As for my part, all I did was surface damage, and that was unintentional when one of my attacks missed. I fought Ronin and fled, that's about it."
Tilting his head to one side, he narrowed his eyes at Darkeye. "And what about the innocent Ascended that have been murdered? I can give you their names. How are you going to stop more of my family, the members who haven't done anything wrong, from being killed in the future? "
As the other man started the fire, the potter stepped back. He grabbed a few buckets of sand and water and set them nearby, just in case. Eying the furnace, he made sure to keep out of the way of any stray embers.
"War and peace are two aspecte not so much I think. Life joy dead and everything besides belongs to other gods. Kor only reflects war in all its glory. Just as peace, unfortunately, I can not explain it otherwise without telling you my faith now completely. But I don't think you want to hear that." Darkeye wanted to tell about his God, but not if the person was not interested.
"Thank you for that advice. I will make something nice and try to talk to her." Darkeye nodded at Amun.
"Just like you are doing. You didn't know how the tower was built. But you knew about the infirmary. That's a crime attacking injured people who can't defend themselves is weak and only a coward justifies others doing the same. I didn't think of you as a coward until just now, but that has changed. I take back what I said at the training ground. YOU ARE WEAK! If you always compare yourself with others and stand in their shadow, you will always remain weak." Darkeye was furious and only later realized that he had shouted. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, but you attacked innocent people and that's not forgivable. Who was in the attack besides you and Wessex. Who was there defending themselves besides Ronin." Darkeye tried to steer the topic in another direction, believing that he would not get many answers now.
Darkeye boozed out. "As I said I will try to find out what happened there and I would be grateful for the names. Yes, I will also try to do that, as I said. I don't like to repeat myself. I say it clearly. I try to defend all innocent people regardless of race, color, or sex." Darkeye looked Amun in the eye again without averting his gaze.
The chamber was so hot after a few minutes that sweat was pouring out of Darkeye's pores. "If there are no cracks now, we've done everything right," he shouted against the fire.
Amun frowned at Darkeye. Keeping one eye on the blast furnace, the potter tilted his head to one side. "I do want to learn more. What makes you think I don't?"
The frown deepened as the other man started berating the Ascended, which ended up as yelling. Holding up his hand palm out, he narrowed his eyes. "I have no idea exactly what was inside the Tower. As for comparisons, the only reason I keep bringing them up is because the Ascended as a whole are judged far more harshly while the followers of the old gods are given a free pass."
Sighing, he shook his head. "It was just Ronin defending. I only attacked him. Wessex and Nate were there, as was Edrei, but Edrei is dead. Nate and Wessex also only attacked Ronin from what I saw. Edrei was the only one actively focusing on the Tower" He shrugged.
"Sam, Mabel, Clemente, Robin, Evelyn, Lily. All of them murdered over the years. You can ask Wessex for more details."
As the heat built, he tugged on his collar. Stepping back, he eyed the furnace for any sign of cracks. "Seems good to me, but I'll keep an eye on it." He rubbed his hands together.
"Because I don't think you need this knowledge you don't serve Voice Kor what good would knowledge of my God do you?. You said yourself that he is not in this world." Darkeyse was no longer sure if he should share the knowledge with Amun.
"Do I look like I'm measuring deeds by race or by people's beliefs. Do you think I am so inferior that I have to hide behind such prejudices? I judge the deed by who did it and for what reasons no more no less. You don't need to do that with me, you're not twelve anymore you can say but the other one has to take responsibility for your actions. You knew about the infirmary that alone is a tremendous crime." Darkeye tried to remain calm and not raise his voice again, but it was obvious that the subject was making him angry.
Darkeye's look turned sad. "I'm sorry for your family and friends you lost, I'll pray for them. You could have stopped your people, even if you 'only' fought Ronin, that's still no excuse. Ronin had no choice but to kill you to protect the people of the city. I'm not saying that's right, but try walking in his shoes." Darkeye tried to reason. Whether Amun was still possible when it came to this topic.
"Can't let any moisture get to it from the outside inside shouldn't be a problem. Keep an eye on it the next ten times after that it should be fine." Darkeye was happy about the joint work and the result.
Amun tilted his head to one side. Staring at Darkeye, the potter arched an eyebrow. "How do you know the Voice's goals and Kor's goals are incompatible?"
Holding up his hand again palm out, he took a deep breath. "I'm going to say this one more time because I think there's been a misunderstanding. I have no idea what or who, exactly, was inside the Tower. The only thing I know for sure about it was that it was the headquarters of the Order." Pressing his lips together, he narrowed his eyes at Darkeye. "As for judgment, everyone outside of the Ascended that I've spoken to has condemned us for any mistake while giving the followers of the old gods a free pass for the most heinous of atrocities, so you'll have to forgive me for assuming you would do the same." The Ascended shook his head.
Scowling, he crossed his arms. "I'm not blaming Ronin for defending the Tower." Looking down and away, he gritted his teeth. Nodding at the other man's instructions, Amun sighed. "Thanks. I'll keep an eye on it."
Darkeye had to stifle a loud laugh. "Simple. Kor wants peace, not for his own benefit Amun but because he knows that life is precious. And if he should go to war, all that remains is a sea of blood. So where is the common ground? Where is the same goal? There is none. You want peace but at the same time, you attack. That is not peace." Darkeye had to restrain himself from becoming loud again. "But I'll only tell you if you really want to know about Kor, and that comes at a price." Darkeye looked resolute.
Darkeye had made his point. Strombreak was a topic he didn't want to discuss with Amun for the time being. He shook his head and tried to steer the conversation in a different direction: "I listen to all sides before I form a judgment and most of the time I just don't like people who have told me bullshit. That's why I don't start to judge a faith group or a race. We are all one whether the gods want to accept it or not." Darkeye now tried to smile to lift the mood.
Darkeye just nodded and added a good load of wood."Let's get a good fire going and get the blast furnace up to a good temperature."
