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
Enough? What was enougn? Not her fluids, at least. Not even close. So many systems were still shut down, in need of repair. The touch to her face registered but only faintly, the meaning of the words simultaneously clear and yet somehow inconsequential. A thick streak of self preservation warred against blooming concern for someone else - oh, that was rare - and if she'd had a true heartbeat, several would have passed before she moved an inch.
When she finally did let go, it was a slow thing, reluctant - a motion screaming that this was against better judgement. The system demanded. But brother. But functionality.
But nothing.
Maea bit down on her own hand instead. Not that it would do anything. Just a safety measure, until she mastered herself. Blinking like a drunkard in the gloom of the rocky shelter, the surge of sensation began to die down. Turning her head around, she gazed more fully at Amun. Still not quite sure this wasn't a figment of her imagination.
"A-Amun?" She sounded rusty. Hoarse like one who hadn't spoken in years. It felt like years. "You... are really here?"
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 found he couldn't pull his hand away from Maea. Staring at her, he began to tilt to one side as he lost himself in a haze of pleasure and diminishing fluid. Eventually, though, he registered that she'd released him. Blinking down at her, he shifted from kneeling into a cross-legged position.
Not responding for a moment, he just swayed back and forth where he sat. When he spoke, it was still in that breathy whisper. "In the flesh, sis." He let out a rattling chuckle. Putting some pressure against his wrist, he narrowed his eyes. "What...how? You're...you're alive." He leaned forward and twisted a bit so his side was resting against her, though without putting any pressure on her.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
The contact was welcome. Grounded her, more than the ground ever could. As long as she felt him there, this was real. Maea let her head slump down to rest on his shoulder, and closed her eyes. Real. In the flesh. She was... still alive. She shied away from delving into what she really felt about that. It could wait.
"The Voice," she mumbled, like it explained everything. And in a way it did. "She... opened a way back. And I - well. I thought I had reason enough to take any chance I could." The bitterness was automatic by now, laced through her tone even without the wry twist of the mouth. She had been wrong.
"What of you? Where... were you?" She had missed 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 ♦
When Maea's head came up to rest on Amun's shoulder, he reached up with his uninjured hand to slip it around her shoulders. Zhanshi finally released the potter's ankle. After flying in a circle over her, the landshark dove underground again. Amun snorted as she told him the Voice had brought her back. "Right. Wessex told me. I just hadn't realized..." his words trailed off, but the meaning was clear: he hadn't known the woman in his arms had been resurrected.
Blinking at her question he barked out a laugh. "I'm having the worst and weirdest case of deja vu, because I was trapped in a cave in the Wilds basically just like this." Turning so he could see her better, he frowned. "Do you remember how you ended up here?"
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
She shrugged lightly. How could he have known? She had stayed in the shadows for most of the time, avoiding everything and everyone she had once known. Not bothering to reach out for the few connections that still remained. The guilt only grew when she realized that he must have been lying prone somewhere while she was roaming aimlessly, too busy feeling sorry for herself to spare a thought to anyone else.
"I'm glad you're here now," she said softly. "Wish I could have been there when you came to..." A quick glance around at the cramped, damp, unsightly space drew an actual shudder from her. To be alone in such a place. What had possessed her?
Well. Maea actually knew exactly why. But she shook her head and pressed her lips together around the truth. "It's... all a blur. I was just roaming. I suppose I was hiding from the sun..? Then I couldn't get out." Too drained to teleport out. Lacking in both strength and motivation to try other means. "Guess I fell asleep."
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 let out a huff of laughter and shook his head. Nudging Maea with his side, he smiled. "You're here now, and I'm here too. That's all that matters." He let his head tilt so he could rest it against hers.
Sighing at the tale she told, he nodded. For a moment, he became motionless, transported to the cave that had trapped him. Then he felt Zhanshi tugging on his ankle. Looking down at the landshark, the potter arched an eyebrow at his companion. "Thanks for keeping me focused, little guy."
Scooting over, Amun narrowed his eyes at her. "Teleport? Are you strong enough to do that now?" He looked over at the boulder and rubbed the metal gauntlets he'd taken to wearing at all times.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
"Mhm. You're right." Letting her eyes drop to the thing that had been flitting in and out of her vision, Maea blinked slowly at the sight of the landshark. She had never seen such a small one before, and its presence here meant only one thing. "Did I know you had a companion?"
The question brought her attention back to Amun. Turning inward for a moment, she reluctantly paid attention to the ticking, whirring construct of her vessel, and shook her head. "No. I'd need... a shrine." There was no mistaking the reluctance there, even without the faint grimace. "How did you get in?" The gauntlets were given a brief study - mostly because he flaunted them. Like she was supposed to ask.
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 ♦
When Maea started talking about him, Zhanshi surfaced. Poking his head out of the ground, he gnashed his teeth at her before diving underground again. He tunneled over to the boulder blocking the entrance and began making holes in it. Amun tracked his companion for a moment before returning his attention to her. Shaking his head at her question, he smiled. "No, I don't think so. We've got a lot to catch up on. That can wait, though."
Nodding, he pushed himself to his feet. "You're not the only one with upgrades." Swaying back and forth a few times, he activated his metal manipulation upgrade. The gauntlets began to ripple and flow, taking the shape of a pickaxe in his hands. "I can walk through objects, kind of, but it only works on me. I think I can get us out of here anyway, though, I just need you to sit tight." His eyes tracked over her, looking for any signs of damage he might've missed in his frantic rush to revive her.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
It was cute, sort of. For a shark. Maea did not reach her hand out for it, though, like she had so many times before. No reason to tempt fate - her hands were damaged enough as it was. "I see."
Remaining seated, she straightened a bit and crossed her legs beneath herself before gazed up at her brother as he stood. Hands aside, and save for a certain distance in her eyes the girl was uninjured. Disheveled, certainly, and decidedly worse for wear - but conscious, and mobile enough.
"This is the second time you're saving me," Maea remarked as she waited to see what he would do. "Do what you have to. I'll... be here."
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 ♦
For once, Zhanshi didn't try to bite a new acquaintance. Maea's hands were safe: the landshark continued his efforts to try and tunnel through the boulder blocking their path. Amun left his companion to work as the potter continued his inspection of her. Finally, he nodded.
Arching an eyebrow as she sat up, he reached out a hand to steady her. "That isn't exactly what I had in mind when I said sit tight," he scolded. Still, he shook his head at her comment. "You don't need to keep score. We help each other out, now more than ever." Flashing her a smile, he made his way back to the front of the cave. Hoisting up his pickaxe, he began to swing it at the crack in the boulder with all the strength he could muster.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
"But I always keep score. How else would I know when you owe me?" A faint smile tugged at her lips. Already they were falling back into familiar patterns. Lightly bickering, almost arguing. The taste of nostalgia was thick as rancid honey on her tongue. Sickly sweet and nauseating.
As the sound of the pickaxe started up and made it difficult to speak, Maea picked at the frayed cuffs of her sleeves. A lump digging into her hip made her shift; rummaging into a pocket she found the obsidian compass and pulled it out. Gazing at the needle, she began to slowly twist the device, noting how it kept facing the same direction. Unwavering. She held back an impulse to hurl the thing into the wall.
"Amun. What's the world like, these days? I don't know... how much I've missed." Maybe she had slept for a century, and the war was over. Was that too much to hope for?
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 chuckled at Maea’s comment. ”Well in the interest of avoiding crushing debt to you we could just promise to be there when the other needs it.” Glancing over his shoulder, he flashed her a grin.
It faltered when she asked about current affairs. Sighing, he faced ahead and swung the pickaxe a few times before responding. Zhanshi continued to nibble at the edges of the boulder as well, tunneling through as best the landshark could. ”I don’t know what, exactly, you last remember. It’s probably both the same and different.
The potter paused his efforts for a moment. ”The old gods and their followers continue to push for our eradication. We…retaliated recently, in a big way. There have been a lot of losses on our side, and war is going to be inevitable.” He didn’t look at her as he said all this, not wanting to see her reaction.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
Maea pouted, a fleeting expression that was there and gone again but left behind an emotion that could almost be kindred to amusement. "Boring... but fine. It's a promise."
Placing the compass on the ground before her feet, she kept her gaze fixed on the now unmoving needle. Avoided looking at Amun as much as he didn't look at her. Not that it would have mattered; in the long seasons that passed since they last met, when she was still mortal and happy, the young woman had become very good at masking her emotions. Her face remained impassive, the slight frame unnaturally still and void of all the restless plucking and flicking of fingers that had once been a trademark.
"... I can't seem to get used to it," she breathed eventually, in a pretend sigh. "The 'we'. 'Our', 'us'. There didn't use to be sides. And when they formed, I thought I knew which one I was on. But now..." Her jaw worked, but no words came. She couldn't phrase the conflicting toughts in a way that made sense - and after a while, Maea stopped trying. "Suppose everyone has the reason they were waiting for, now."
Maybe it had always been inevitable. Gods knew - and they did - that she had done nothing to prevent it. Quite the opposite.
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 ♦
Shooting another grin over his shoulder at Maea, Amun winked at her. "You know me. Boring to a fault." Barking out a laugh, he moved to get a better angle for the crack in the boulder he and Zhanshi were trying to widen.
The potter was mining their exit as she interacted with the compass. So he missed that, and her reaction to it. However, he couldn't miss her words as she spoke up again. Stilling, he became completely motionless for a long moment. When he resumed his swings, he pressed his lips together, back still to her. "It's not like the barrier sprang up by accident," he reminded her.
In between swings, he spoke, tone short and clipped. "There were always sides, they were just less apparent. And less violent, easier to ignore, if you were one of the privileged few that could ignore them. But that doesn't mean they didn't exist."
