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
Ah. Right. Maea looked up and fixed her eyes on a spot between Amun's shoulderblades when the rhythm of hus efforts faltered. Right. Friends or not, brother or not... they had always been of different minds when it came to the theology of the world. He'd always managed to make her doubt her stance, too. Turning hatred and fear of what she didn't understand into a flaw in herself, not the object of her dislike. In the past, that had been a good thing.
Now... Maea wasn't sure she had the guts to examine her opinions again. Looking away, she pulled her knees up and his her face away against the dank cloth if the coat.
"I'm sorry" she muttered.
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 ♦
Shrugging a shoulder, Amun swung his pickaxe again. It caused a chunk of the boulder to crack off. Bending down, he scooped it up and set it aside. Turning to face Maea, he shook his head. "Don't be sorry for how you were raised. Just try to remember that what you were taught had a bias, just as what I think and say is biased."
Resuming his digging, he sighed. "I know this was...is, a difficult transition for you. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you through it." Pausing, he reassured her, "But I'm here now." Hopefully once they'd gotten out of this hole and had their fluids restored she'd feel better about the whole situation.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
No keeping score. No apologies. To be there for one another. Peering up from the dark folds, Maea hummed a wordless acknowledgement and returned to watching Amun as he worked. Scrutinizing the man, as if not sure what she was really looking at. It came down to trust, in the end, something she had been in terribly short supply of for a long time. Ever since her family died, really. It had been so easy to slap the tag of brother, friend and family on people, but to actually be all that again... it was not easy. And she had been burned, by offering herself up too quickly and too free.
It did speak for itself though, how this person kept hacking away at rock to get her out. How easy it would have been to just leave her and disappear. But he stayed. And by the sound of it, Amun had no intention of going anywhere.
"Thank you. Truly. I'm glad it's you, who found me." Pawing at her eyes and smudging dirt across the face in the process, Maea leaned back against the jagged rock. Wishing she could help - but the orders to stay put were reinforced by a numbness in her limbs that did not invite recklessness.
"How have you been, anyway?"
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 ♦
Wiping some of the dust from the boulder off of his forehead, Amun glanced over at Zhanshi. The little landshark was still chomping away at the edges of the crack. The potter reached into a belt pouch and pulled out a chunk of meat. Tossing it to his companion, Amun hefted the pickaxe again. "I'm glad you were found as well. That it was me is just a bonus."
Starting up with his mining operation again, he sighed. "I'm...eh. I lost someone recently. Sam. He was murdered by an Order member. We were kind of sort of seeing each other." Hesitating for a moment, he shook his head. "I got mad, and me and a group of others assaulted the Tower in Stormbreak, the Order's headquarters. Edrei was killed by Ronin, I almost died to him and then I fled..." Voice trailing off, he gritted his teeth.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
Maea blinked. Sam was dead? That... hurt. Surprisingly, but also not. He was of the Grounds. The old Grounds, under the barrier, before freedom when the only war they knew of was that against monsters and starvation. Evie's brother. Her friend.
That he and Amun had been involved was the least shocking in all of this, honestly. But at least she understood the anger. The reckless lack of concern for consequences.
"I'm so sorry, Amun." For the first time, Maea's voice warmed and almost resembled her old self again. "I don't blame you. I've done... something similar, myself. But far pettier, probably."
Untangling her limbs, the girl pushed herself up to her feet. Unsteady and with a hand to the wall for support, she staggered over and reached out for Amun, meaning to pull him into a half-hug. If her legs held up, and he allowed it.
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 ♦
Still chipping away at the rock, Amun eyed the gap. They'd made progress, and he stared at it. Then he smacked himself in the forehead, since he'd forgotten it only needed to be large enough for Maea. He was turning to face her when she started speaking. Shrugging, he sighed. "One person's petty is another person's righteous."
Narrowing his eyes as he saw she had stood up, he opened his mouth again. However, she was by his side before he could speak. Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he gave her a squeeze. Then he guided her to face the gap he and Zhanshi had made. "Can you fit through?" The potter looked down at her to try and gauge the answer for himself.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
She would have to stand eventually, and walk - unless he planned on carrying her. Disregarding any attempts at coddling, she offered him a faint smile and assessed the crack. "It will be a squeeze," she admitted, "but it should work. If I get stuck, you'll know."
Easing away from Amun, she turned sideways and measured her shoulder against the gap. Considering, she slipped off the heavy coat and handed it to her brother, then tried again. It took some time, and left behind both torn skin and strands of hair on the walls, but with a final push from her, Maea toppled out into the open. The mist had thinned, gradually burned off by the rising sun; she squinted against the light and shrank back from it, wary of its effect on her in this weakened state.
"I'm out," she called back, as if it wasn't already obvious.
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 ♦
Nodding at Maea's words, Amun stepped back. Zhanshi tunneled outside and reported back that all was clear. "Alright, go ahead." The potter gripped the pickaxe as she attempted to squeeze through. Frowning as she took off her coat, he took it and slung it over a shoulder.
When she started to scrape against the rock, he gritted his teeth. Resisting the urge to surge forward, he breathed a sigh of relief once she was through, he activated his metal manipulation upgrade to turn the pickaxe back into gauntlets.
Then he activated his other upgrade and phased through the rock. As soon as he was through, he tossed her coat back over her. Shading his own eyes for a moment, he held out his arms to her. "Come on, up you go."
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
"That's eerie," she noted upon seeing him come phasing through the rock. Slipping her arms through the sleeves, she flipped the hood up over her head and gave Amun a long look as he held out his arms towards her.
"Weren't you staggering and about as depleted as I a moment ago? I can walk." It wasn't stubbornness. Well, not entirely. "And where are we even headed, anyway?" Just as one part of her resisted the idea of being a burden, another dreaded the inevitable answer. The compass had spoken louder than any words of where she had left to go... and she hated it.
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 commented on how strange it appeared when he walked through solid rock, Amun glanced at the boulder in question. Zhanshi nibbled the toe of the potter's boot as he shrugged and faced her again. "I'll have to take your word for it," he responded with a laugh.
Narrowing his eyes at her, he turned his palms and gestured for her to step closer. "I was reaching a new equilibrium and recovering from the shock of pleasure, not staggering from depletion. Even if I was, I am stronger and faster than you, so we will get back to the nearest shrine to the Voice more quickly if I carry you. Which I'm going to do no matter how much you protest." Pausing, he cocked his head to one side. "So I think what you meant to say was, 'Thank the gods for your help, Amun.'" He waggled his eyebrows at her.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
Try as she might, Maea could not find any good arguments against any of that. Struggling all the same against the inevitable for a few seconds, she finally heaved a very heartfelt sigh and teetered forward until gravity gave her no choice but to move her feet. "I hate it when you're right," she grumbled. He wouldn't be getting any more thank you's today - any inclination she might have harbored just vanished like water in the desert - but the arms that slipped around his neck might have squeezed a little bit extra. Just a little bit.
It was better than being stuck in the cave for the rest of existence. Even she had to admit as much.
"Do you know where to go?" Her compass could only lead them to the Grounds, and even Amun would take time to get there - no matter how strong and fast he was. Surely.
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 grinned at Maea's response. Nudging Zhanshi back under the ground, the potter scooped her up in his arms. "You must be full of hate then." Letting out a chuckle, he shifted so he could carry her without discomfort to either of them, not that they could really feel it.
Nodding in the direction that he'd come from (the trail of plants was still broken and bent) he snorted. "Vaguely that a way until we reach something I recognize." With that, he set off. His companion, much better at directions than the potter, tunneled ahead, marking their path with the slight trembling of the earth as the little landshark swam through it.
And time it waits for no one It heals them when you die
Well, he was not wrong. But this was not the right time to have that conversation - she'd literally just woken up - and so for the time being she simply snorted and made herself comfortable. "Lead the way then, I suppose. Oh mighty saviour, ye wise one." If only pinching would do anything.
For a time the scenery was allowed to roll by in silence. For all that the sunlight was faint and the air cool Maea still found it uncomfortable. Nestling as deep into the folds of her coat as she could, she struggled to pick up the threads of where she had left off before the shutdown. What had she been doing? Where had she been headed? There were vague recollections of encounters, of faces and exchanges, but all that really stood out was an overarching numbness, that persisted even now.
Attempting to distract herself from it, she focused on the cadence of Amun's steps, the gentle sway back and forth, back and forth of a rolling horizon. "Do you still stay in the Grounds these days?" she asked, breaking the silence when she couldn't stand it anymore.
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 grinned at Maea's comment. "Finally. The respect and adoration I so clearly deserve." Winking down at her, he followed Zhanshi's lead as they set off towards the distant horizon. The potter focused on just putting one foot in front of the other. Thankfully, breath was not a problem for the Ascended, otherwise he would have been gasping for air, even though she was frighteningly light.
After cresting only the Voice knew how many hills and crossing the gods only knew how many fields, she spoke up again. Nodding at her question, Amun sucked in a breath. "Of course." Hesitating, he added, "Even if my life and friends weren't there...we're not that welcome elsewhere these days." He sighed.
