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!
03-11-2022, 10:47 PM (This post was last modified: 04-14-2022, 02:36 AM by Amun.)
Said to follow any dream Be a puppet on a string
Wessex had returned, or so Amun had heard. Although he'd waited for her to seek him out, she probably had more important matters to attend to, oh, like putting out the literal fire they'd started in Stormbreak if that was even possible. Eventually, he'd sent her a note asking her to meet him in Queen's Gambit.
He stood at the one of the entrances to the hedge maze, Zhanshi at the potter's feet. Occasionally the Ascended would toss little cubes of meat to the landshark, who would jump from the ground, snatch them from the air, and then tunnel down again.
When the Wraith finally arrived, Amun would nod at her. Then he'd rub one gauntlet clad hand along the back of his head. "Hey. I'm...I'm sorry I got swept away in the moment." He sighed and shook his head.
She’s not even sure what to say to that. On one hand, the Wraith agreed with the sentiments that exploded over Sam’s body. On the other hand, she knew better and in not saying no, she essentially gave a passive blessing.
“Well…” Wessex finally begins after a long silence where she’s mostly looking at the ground. “Now you know what we’re really up against. You think Ronin is bad, Remi is twice as strong. They’ve got crazy shifts coming out their asses, and…” shrugging, her face turns towards the night sky as if she’s trying to find absolution in the darkness. “I probably did a lot more damage after you left.”
And in the end, he left. He kept himself safe, and there’s not much more she can ask for. “You’re okay, right?”
Groaning at Wessex's words, Amun scrubbed his face. "I regret saying they're only two people now," he grumbled. Lowering his hands, he shook his head. "I've asked the Voice for something that might help us but...I don't know how much good it will actually do." He shrugged one shoulder.
Sighing, he slipped his hands into his pockets. "Physically? Fine. Better than ever actually." Pressing his lips together, he let his silence tell her all she really needed to know about his mental state. "How are you? As for damage, well, since I barely did any, that doesn't surprise me in the slightest." He let out a huff of laughter but his expression remained unchanged.
Nodding absently at first, the demigod is peripherally comforted by Amun’s proactiveness. This is why she could count on him - even if he made bad decisions, he was always trying to better their place in the world.
But when he asks how she is, she surprises herself with a short, bitter laugh. “Physically? Fine. I’m usually fine. It was really close this time, though.” It’s the first time she’s said that out loud and the start realization that they’d almost lost both Nate and herself is difficult to stomach. Wessex looks away, fighting the guilt that rises with stone cold silence. When she can talk again, everything sounds weary. “Mentally, I’m scrambling. Very aware of the consequences and eyes turned on us. Isla has her work cut out for her, I’m afraid and -”
Shrugging, the Wraith lets that stream of thought die. She has the utmost faith in Isla. If anyone can claw something back, it’s her.
“I’m going to lay low for a while. Other than a trip to the Draig. Did you know there's a dragon that can steal all your shit with just a touch? It's fucking nuts.”
Eying Wessex as she revealed that the fight had been brutal, Amun frowned. His gaze swept over her looking for obvious signs of damage but nothing jumped out at him. "What happened after I left?" Sighing, he scratched his chin.
"I talked to Isla and it seems like she's got it as under control, at least, as much as she can." Grimacing, he twisted his gauntlet around his forearm. "I'm going to lay low too. Use my cloth to alter my appearance outside the Ground."
Arching an eyebrow as she brought up the dragon, he snorted. "No I did not. And better you than me." Rolling his shoulders, he cocked his head to one side. "Well, since you won't be around as much, it was alarmingly obvious that I wasn't much use in that fight, as ill-advised as it might've been. So I was wondering if you'd want to put me through my paces." He flicked a finger at the metal he wore then rested his hand on the hilt of his cutlass.
After Amun had left… Gods, that was so early, Wessex realizes she has to recount the whole thing now. “Ah… After you left, Ronin was able to call on Safrin and she was able to shut our upgrades down for a bit. So I disguised Nate and I and we snuck around while Ronin used his astral projection to keep our attention more or less in two spots. After a while, we were able to use our upgrades again… and Ronin kept going for Nate. Assume he knows about the backsplash upgrade… more or less.” Which will likely prove quite a conundrum in battles to come, but that’s a future Wessex problem.
“Nate wouldn’t leave. I thought it was just because Ronin’s been a dick to him for a while now and our last encounter while looking for the Flowerbirth deity was infuriating… but I guess it goes a lot deeper than that.” Sunjata’s got a messy life here and Nate had taken all that on. Enough to die for it, apparently. “Anyway, Nate went full dragon and by the time he tried to get back to me so we could leave, he was on his last legs. Ronin killed him. And then I snapped and set the Tower on fire.”
She doesn’t regret it. Not one bit. Whatever emotion might have risen when talking about Nate was gone when she moved on, replaced with grey-blue flashes of steel and the faintest glimpse of a snarl. “Ronin’s fast. And he knew he could keep me at bay in his phoenix shift. So we attacked and yelled at each other for a bit until the Tower showed signs of collapsing. We were both caught in the fire and that - that was the problem. It hurt me more than it hurt him, he threw a Supernova and then - I don’t know, drank something? And seemed to gain a second wind.” Shaking her head, Wessex recalls the clarion alarms as her sensors screamed at her, the fire and smoke and no place seemed safe, except in the air and that definitely wasn’t safe either. “I decided I couldn’t die there, too. But I had to leave while I could and Nate’s body had been buried in the rubble, so I had to leave him.”
The last sentence is her confession, her penance as yet unwritten and left empty before her while the guilt builds like the fire inside Apopo. “And now… we wait.” She leaves out her conversation with their Goddess and Isla and Sunjata because all of that makes a too-long story much longer. They don’t seem to hate her and she’s grateul for that.
She’s also grateful Amun changes the subject, and nods a quick acceptance. “Always. And I’ll be here, just not - out here.” Gesturing vaguely to everything outside them, Wessex takes a few preparatory steps back. “Whatcha wanna work on?”
Amun fell silent as Wessex recounted what had apparently turned into quite a saga. Frowning, he didn't comment on anything going on until the very end. "I don't blame you. The Order struck first and we were entirely within our rights to retaliate." His nostrils flared.
Cocking his head to one side, he grimaced. "As for Nate...I'm sorry for his loss. Once things cool down, I can help you retrieve the body if they refuse to part with it." Bowing his head, he fell quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Next time, we'll be ready for him. And Safrin. We can at least make sure there's no fire to contend with."
Snorting, he flexed his hands. "The usual. Try not to let you kill me." With that, he activated his metal manipulation upgrade; the gauntlets on his arms morphed into a chain that he swung at her to try and tangle her up and prevent her from hitting him right away.
“I don’t think anyone who’s walked in our shoes really will. The rest of the world, though…” she shrugs. “The nuances, the provocation, the fact that Ronin could have focused on saving people instead of fighting and prevented more death… could have bought more time by not shooting starbolts at the fucking building -” scoffing heavily and shaking her head, Wessex’s eyes darken again. “Edy once said I was the monster the Voice unleashed on the world and half of me wants to be.”
It wouldn’t help anything. And it wouldn’t create a better world at the end of the war, but fuck it would be satisfying to no longer hold back.
But now is not the time to dwell on that, else Amun might actually get really hurt. “Thanks. I think Isla is going to come up with something a bit more diplomatic, if she can.” As for whether or not they’d be ready for Safrin, the demigod can’t comment on that, nor does she want to tear down any optimism her brother still has. So she just forces a tight smile and nods, reaching back to her spine to find the splashback upgrade and taking it out, then putting it securely away.
“There. So you won’t actually die.”
He’s quick to attack, she’ll give him that, and with a sudden, feral grin, Wessex ducks under the flying chain and puts an arm up to purposefully entangle herself. Regardless of how close Amun is or isn’t, she’ll shoot a biopulse towards him.
Grimacing, Amun shook his head. "Yeah, somehow the Huntsman always comes out smelling like roses no matter how much shit he flings or wades through. Funny how that works." Sighing, he rubbed his forehead.
"I met this woman, Lena. She's from Stormbreak. Her sister died in the attack." Looking down, he scuffed one foot against the ground. "I told her that the pain, rage, and loss she's feeling is how we've felt for years. Don't think she listened, though."
Glancing up, he met Wessex's gaze squarely. "You're not a monster. Unless protecting the ones you love makes you a monster, in which case, sign me up." He reached out to clasp her shoulder.
Nodding at the mention of Isla, the potter let out a huff of laughter. "Good luck with that. She'll need it, considering it requires people to be reasonable." Snorting, he rolled his eyes at the very idea of anyone involved in this cluster fuck being rational or reasonable.
"Gee, thanks," he drawled as the Wraith took something or other out. "Now I'm just likely to get stabbed again, right?" As the chain wrapped around her arm, his eyes narrowed. Not wanting to get into a tug of war he'd definitely lose, he released his end. Retreating backwards, he shuddered as the edge of the biopulse rolled through him.
Groaning through the pain, he felt his back hit the hedges as he stumbled back from the upgrade's effects. "And here I thought you were going to go easy on me." With that he activated his newest upgrade. As he phased through the bush behind him and into the maze behind by basically falling backwards, he attempted to raise his hand and fired off his flashbang at the General.
That, at least, makes her laugh, though the sound feels odd and hollow in her ears. “No one else is going to go easy on you!” she quips back, just before Amun surprises the fuck out of her.
Gods, it’s good to be surprised. She’s caught holding a limp chain while her brother literally walks through the hedge - but not before firing his flashbang in her face. That makes her move again, reflexively covering her eyes against the brightness and allowing Amun to effectively “escape.”
For now. So what’s a demigod to do when her prey victim is nowhere to be seen? She most definitely does not light the hedge on fire. That would be irresponsible. Instead, she sends three talking squirrels scurrying through the greenery to find the Ascended, while she starts to climb the hedge so she can follow their tiny squeeks of Over here! and Found him!
Pouting and batting his eyes at Wessex, Amun sighed. "But I'm too pretty to get roughed up." Winking at her right before he disappeared through the hedge, it was his turn to be surprised as speaking squirrels, of all things, appeared.
"Fuck off," he growled even as he took off at a sprint in a random direction. Pivoting his upper body, he raised his palm and took aim at the nearest squirrel. Firing an energy bolt at one, Zhanshi erupted from the ground and aimed for another, trying to bite down on it. That still left one, of course, but the potter was pretty sure the Wraith didn't actually need rodents to help chase him down.
Type: Offensive | Level: Basic
Energy Upgrade | Can shoot a pulse of electricity from his palms, up to 10ft.
It doesn’t take much to get rid of the Squeaking Squirrels, littlest HP that they have. Amun’s energy blast does away with two and the disappear in a puff of smoke, while Zhanshi eats another one. Is it an actual mouthful? Or does it, too, disappear as soon as the landshark’s chompers pierce its skin? The world - and Wessex - may never know.
She’s made it up to the top of the hedge by now and is able to see the potter’s heels as they disappear around a corner. The Wraith jumps across the span and lands on in a crouch on the next hedge over, twigs and greenery digging into her hands, but she doesn’t feel a thing. “Hey have you been to Hak Etme?” she yells out, “To see the Flowerbirth deity?”
Some might find it an odd time for a perfectly inane conversation, but here in Caido, it’s always the right time to talk about Gods. There’s no hiding where she is - instead, the Wraith chooses to wait and see what her brother will do next.
Amun knew, since Zhanshi reported his supreme displeasure through the bond that the morsel he'd chomped down on had disappeared. Since the landshark was in the air, he was able to spot Wessex and convey the Wraith's location to the potter. Cupping one hand over his mouth to try and disguise the exact direction of his voice. "Yeah, that's where I saw Lena."
With that he tried to keep his momentum while activating his upgrade again, which had recharged. Passing through the hedge wall farthest from her, as he moved he aimed an energy blast in her direction. It was less an attempt to hit her and more an attempt to distract and buy him a few moments.
Ah, that makes sense. After the incident, she can’t imagine a Stormbreaker willingly seeking out an Ascended other than for some kind of restitution. “Still kind of blows my mind,” she continues good-naturedly, “How he got himself out there from the Oerwoud.”
Anyway, back to the true matter at hand - putting Amun through his paces. Wessex summons a mech bird, telling it to chase the Ascended from on high and shoot a feather at him if it gets a good shot. Amun’s energy blast pushes her from her post on top of the hedge, but she’s counting on her bird to be able to strike for her anyway. Two can play at the distraction game.
