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!
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
The entrance to the cave had become all but lost behind a snarl of evergreen vines. In the earliest hours of morning as the mist lay thick over the western reaches of King's End, it would have been entirely hidden, had it not been for the faint draft that pushed the swirling mass out of shape. Of course, the blink hare did not need such visual cues. It was drawn in by a curious scent emanating from somewhere within the dark depths. Something foreign and metallic, that did not entirely belong. One cautious hop at a time it slipped between the creepers and disappeared.
For a time, all was quiet. Then a sudden rustle broke the stillness, and birds fell silent as the hare came shooting back out, leaping in erratic bursts in such a frenzy that wilting leaves and browning grasses were trampled in its path.
Whatever it had found within had clearly not been to its liking.
And soon you are forgotten A whisper within a sigh
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun was on his treks of King's End. As usual, these days, he wore his illusory cloth plastered on his face, using it to disguise his features. Making his way across the uneven ground, he glanced up but the mist obscured the sky from view. Sighing, he shook his head and just maneuvered around another rocky outcrop.
Just as he was rounding the other side, a blink hare shot across his path. It gave a squeak before disappearing, no doubt teleporting somewhere into the mist. Frowning, he looked in the direction it had come from. The fog muffled sound, but even he could tell it was unnaturally silent. At the potter's feet, Zhanshi emerged from the ground. Tugging on the Ascended's pants leg, the landshark pulled Amun in the direction the hare had fled from.
Groaning, he turned towards it. Nudging his companion back underground, the potter nudged his companion back underground. Shuffling along the trail of broken greenery, he kept all his senses alert for any sign of danger. He even sniffed the air, which is why he caught the faint scent that didn't belong. Ascended's smell was weak at the best of times, though, so he couldn't place it.
Raising both hands, he aimed a palm ahead of him even as the metal gauntlet on his other arm crawled down his wrist and formed a shield. "Hello? Who's there?" His voice echoed oddly in the mist as he continued moving forward.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
Only silence answered the call. The echo traveled off into the mist as though washed down by some giant's stony throat, bouncing curiously before ultimately dying down. For a time, the stillness was complete. Then a bird chirped somewhere, soon answered by another, and like a sigh being let out after withholding for too long, the unease caused by the fleeing hare dissipated.
The fog curled and broke apart from another gentle draft, just enough to reveal a boulder thrown into the dirt - some gargantuan pebble thrown by a hand unfathomably large, some monolith tossed aside and sunken into the ground. Overgrown and weathered by time, it looked no different from other pieces of odd rocks strewn about the area.
Except, perhaps, for the crack that ran down the face of it. Deep and enlarged by the gnawing tooth of seasons, it had all but split the rock apart. Beneath the evergreens, the darkness remained undisturbed.
And soon you are forgotten A whisper within a sigh
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Well that was anticlimactic. Amun continued creeping ahead, but the tension slowly bled out of his shoulders. Still, he didn't lower either hand. Eventually he came upon a boulder with a crack. Eying it, he frowned. Zhanshi tunneled beneath the potter's feet before the landshark emerged again. Flying between the Ascended and the rock, the companion gripped Amun's free hand and pulled him towards it.
However, he froze. For a moment, his mind was cast elsewhere, to another rock, one that had trapped him until he literally clawed his way out. He couldn't say how long he stood there before Zhanshi's tugging broke the potter out of his terror.
Shaking his head, he rubbed his eyes. Then with a groan, he moved forward. Putting his eye against the crack for a moment, he'd tried to scope out anything beyond the hole. Regardless of what he'd see, he would activate his new phasing upgrade to move through the rock itself. The landshark would follow underneath.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
To anyone else, the bowels of the monolith would appear as no more than pitch darkness, an unfathomable black blur untouched by the slowly rising sun. But Ascended eyes pierced the veil, through that narrow sliver where weathered rock turned jagged, dripping with moisture and laden with liches and cobweb. Only an armslength in the space appeared to widen, into a narrow space where something had piled up in a nook glistening with damp. A lumpy bundle of rags, covered in dust and cobwebs. A musty smell of mildew and damp permeated the space, and the faintest of drafts suggested that the crack continued onwards, further back - too small for any person to pass through.
All was still. All was silent.
The wafting breeze caught on a tangled strands of something silver that sprawled across the cavern floor. Made them stir, glint in the darkness - then settle again.
And soon you are forgotten A whisper within a sigh
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun's eyes spied the pile of rags. Although it would normally give him pause, given he was halfway through a rock when he spotted it, he forged ahead. Managing to make it through the boulder, he stopped when he was through it. His scan told him his upgrade needed time to recharge before he could leave. Fighting off the panicky feel of being trapped again, he took a step forward.
Then he froze again, staring at the figure. It was Zhanshi who forged ahead. The landshark reported through their bond that there was the tangy smell of fluid in the air. Frowning, the potter walked to the side of what was apparently an Ascended of some kind. As Amun's companion tried to pull some of the rags away from the figure's body, the potter reached out to try and brush off some hair to see if he could identify whoever (or whatever) this Ascended was.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
Dark cloth, thick and rank from too much time spent in moisture, came away under the ministrations of the landshark and exposed a hand. The skin was pale and puckered, like wax that had half melted and then solidified again, and the fingertips seemed rather brittle. Pale too was the face that appeared from under the tangles of matted hair, too white for the youthful semblance of the features.
It was a girl.
White lashes rested unmoving against cheeks streaked with dirt and dust - it was clear that this person had never been on good terms with the sun, even at the best of times.
She did not move. She did not breathe. Maea appeared in every way dead to the world.
And soon you are forgotten A whisper within a sigh
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
It was a girl. Moreover, it was a girl Amun recognized. He froze again, though this time it was from shock. "Maea." Basically falling forward, he placed his free hand on her shoulder and gave it a shake. "Maea!" Zhanshi dove underground again as the potter continued to try and get a response from the woman.
Well, appearances could be deceiving and dead for Ascended wasn't quite the same thing as dead for everyone else. Or at least, it wasn't always. Cursing under his breath, he raised the knife he held in his free hand. Without hesitation this time, he sliced his wrist. Dropping the blade, he cupped her cheek with one free hand as he pressed his now fluid-seeping wrist to her lips. "Come on, come on, come on, drink damn it, drink."
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
Irridescent liquid spilled over wan lips and dyed them like an oilspill, like mother of pearl. At first nothing happened. But a trickle must have made it past, perhaps only a small drop - and where blood had done nothing but prolong this dormancy, the fluid set off a spark. Reflexively her mouth opened and latched on to the proffered wrist, sharp fangs piercing deep into tissue entirely without thought. Instinct or some programming that came very close to it took over and began to greedily drain away what was needed to reboot the system.
Slowly, Maea's eyes came open. Hazy and unfocused, it took some time before her gaze settled on Amun.
And soon you are forgotten A whisper within a sigh
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
As Maea's mouth opened, Amun breathed a sigh of relief, not that he needed to breath. However, as her fangs sank into him, he shuddered. Letting out a moan, his head lolled back and his eyes closed as pleasure coursed through him. He made no move to pull his wrist away, though. In fact, he pressed it closer to her mouth.
"Maea," he whispered. As he felt another, much smaller set of fangs sink into his ankle courtesy of Zhanshi the potter tried to claw some semblance of coherency and focus back. Managing at least to open his eyes, he found himself staring into hers. As he met her gaze, his lips slowly twisted into a smile. "Thank the Voice."
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
Thought was a struggle. Like wading through marshy bogs where every step was a battle against gravity. Fireworks of inescapable sensation flared against a backdrop of charcoal numbness, to the point where she could not tell if it was pleasure or pain. At this point, it was just overwhelming.
The face that loomed over her was familiar. A voice spoke her name, and the familiarity of it sent off a cascade of memories - snow, ice, trudging through snow, flaring bonfire lights and clay-coated hands turning soil into art, the taste of blackberry wine and whispered confidences. She had no fluid to waste on tears, but the ruined fingers that labourously rose to touch the back of Amun's hand trembled with more than just fatigue.
She recognized him.
And soon you are forgotten A whisper within a sigh
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
As Maea tapped the back of Amun's hand, he rocked forward. Shivering from the heady cocktail that was half pleasure, half lingering shock, and half relief (he was vaguely aware that was three halves and even more aware he didn't care), he kept his wrist pressed to her. However, he free hand slid from her cheek, along her neck, before finally gripping her hand.
Giving her a squeeze, he moaned out what few words he could manage. "That's it, Maea, thank the Voice, come back to me." It was a babble of mostly incoherent words, but he kept his gaze squarely trained on her, trying to capture her eyes with his own.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
Gradually, with each swallow of life-bringing fluid, things began to make sense again. Her limbs, while numb and unweildy, were still there. The void was a grainy stone ceiling over her head. The inside of her mouth had grown slick - it was, on the whole, a good thing that she couldn't taste much. Amun was babbling something incoherent; she wanted to argue but forgot about what, too lost in the shufting hues of her brother's eyes. Who would have thought that brown could have so many colors? Or that their conversation about saving each other's lives so long ago would end up being fulfilled in a situation like this...
At some point, this was going to become awkward.
But even as the thought flitted through her mind, her jaw clamped down harder on his wrist. Her hand under his hand closed into an iron grip that would probably have hurt like all hells. It was, on the whole, a good thing he couldn't feel much.
Heels scrabbled feebly against the ground as she tried to push herself up to sit, to inch closer. If it had been anyone else... but this was fine. If it was for Amun, she could try.
And soon you are forgotten A whisper within a sigh
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun couldn't feel much (well, besides the pleasure coursing through him) but his senses were working just fine. In overdrive, even. So when Maea increased the pressure on his wrist he gasped. Closing his eyes again, his head lolled to one side.
However, the pinprick of fangs on his ankle again caught his attention. Some concern from his bond with Zhanshi pierced the cloud in the potter's mind. He managed to initiate a scan to check his fluid levels. Reaching out with his free hand, he rested it on her cheek. "M-Maea," he managed to moan out. "Enough." His fingers would press against her jaw, though not with any real force.
