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!
"You make it sound like a pet project of some sort," she responded, with a downward twist of her lips. Looking down, she folded a dog-ear on the corner of a page. "Like you count on leaving, too." Hypothetical and supposedly about this desk, she still couldn't help but take it personally. Some things were still too fragile to joke about.
His renewed interest made her own spirits rise however, and Maea gazed up at him from her seat. "Well there has to be something, doesn't it? A bottom to the gorge, something below the mist. The Kappa - it's a creature. Supposedly it has a cave or nest of some sort down there. You see it fly around sometimes, though never close enough to make it out properly. I've never seen it at all - I was never allowed on the Bridge." Rising to her feet she hastened out to the room beyond, and returned with a volume in hand. Flipping it open, she extended it to Amun; it was a children's book, full of crudely inked illustrations and worn from many sticky hands turning the pages. Spread out on one page was a creature; some ugly mixture of turtle, bird and frog, half obscured by swirling fog.
"There are stories about it, but no one really knows what it is, or why it's there."
Only wake each morning to remember that you're gone
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Reaching up with both hands, Amun made a frame around Maea's neck and head. Grinning, he cocked his head to one side. "I mean, you would look good with a leash." Winking at her, he reached out to clasp her shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere, understood? I was just explaining a life philosophy of mine, that's all."
Listening to her explanation, he rubbed his eyes. Examining the picture in the book she brought over, he glanced back at the list she'd been studying earlier. "Does there have to be anything under the Bone Bridge? Stranger things have existed than a bottomless pit filled with fog." He shrugged. "It's worth checking out," he admitted. "I just don't know where we'd start with that." Scratching the back of his head, he went back to his drawer.
Her mouth dropped open in a gasp of outrage. "A leash!? Do you really mean to say I'm not following you closely enough already?" It was meant to be serious, but his grin was infectious and her mouth twitched in response. Still, in the midst of the jest her hand came up and pinched hold of his sleeve by the elbow. Like some child forlorn, aware of its dependency and somewhat embarrassed to be caught in it. She was rather disinclined to let go, and only did so reluctantly when he went back to work.
"I can't really think of anything as strange, or stranger," she countered. "I think you'd need ropes, or maybe some way to fly... Maybe steal a sky-ship, who knows. It's just an idea, anyway. In case the Library turns out to be a miss."
That said, Maea set the story book aside, and turned to survey the room. Spotting a chest in a corner, she headed over to it and crouched down before pushing the lid open. More books waited inside, and she fell silent, engrossed in the tedious yet somehow intriguing process of combing for clues on the dry pages.
Only wake each morning to remember that you're gone
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Grinning, Amun shook his head at Maea's response. "Nope! I need to keep you closer. Besides, with a leash you can go running off willy nilly and if you go too far you'll just bounce back." Reaching out, he gathered a handful of hair and gave it the gentlest of pulls. "Plus, I can tug on you. What's not to like?" Letting go of her, he threw back his head and laughed.
His latest drawer contained, of all things, crop reports. He scanned the lines of numbers that recorded the yield of the various fields over the years before setting them down. "How many books is too many books?"
Nodding at her suggestion, he closed the drawer and bent to open the next one. "It's definitely worth checking out. Wessex can fly, so that would work." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Why don't we present our ideas to Wessex and Isla and see what they think." Smiling, he rattled the desk drawer, which was locked again. This time, though, it was rusted shut and he grunted as he examined it.
Trying for a stern glare, it was spoiled by a small and slightly too happy smile that simply wouldn't be suppressed. "If you worry that much about me straying too far away, you could always talk to The Voice. I'm sure she could device some means for us to stay connected, wherever we are." She laughed, and playfully swatted away his hand from her hair.
"No such thing as too many books," came her distracted response, a beat too late. She set a book aside, and picked up the next. "Why not. If you think it has merit, we can talk to them about it." Again, there was a long silence. Not until she had reached the bottom of the chest did she look up again, and looked around the room with a sigh.
"I do admit that it's a lot to go through. Even if there are clues, it's very easy to miss things like this." Rising to stretch her back, she watched Amun struggle with the drawer. "What are you questing for, by the way?" Maybe he had told her already, and she just forgot.
Only wake each morning to remember that you're gone
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
"Orrrrr," Amun responded with a drawl, "We could put a leash on you." Reaching out, he pinched Maea's nose with his knuckles then held his arm up as high as he could. "Maybe the Voice would give you a collar with some way to track you." Smirking, he chuckled at her.
Looking around at the space they were in, he arched an eyebrow. Snorting, he shook his head. "I'll have to take your word for it." Nodding at her agreement, he rifled through the second drawer, which held rather detailed notes about how the animals and plants of the Hollowed Ground had changed during their time in the barrier. Humming as he read, he placed that book with the book of stories and history from earlier.
Grunting, he pressed his lips together. "This is worse than a needle in a haystack," he agreed. "At least those are fundamentally different objects." Picking up a random book from the desk, he leafed through it. It was an account of the trees in the woodland. Sighing, he turned it upside and shook it as if to see if there were hidden pages. Spoiler: there weren't. "Hm? Oh, an upgrade to prevent opponents from moving or even teleporting."
The girl issued a half groan, half growl as her nose was pinched shut. She pushed at his hand to make him let go and glared at Amun. "Or, and here me out; you could simply trust me. But you already do, right, because this is just a joke." Right? She simply had to make sure. Sometimes he made things sound very real and serious in the middle of a jest, and she fell for it. Not this time though, right?
Digging her way down to the bottom of the chest, Maea hummed agreement. "Like a needle in a pile of needles." Removing a final book, she realized that the entire bottom of the chest was covered in loose paper. There was a sound of something tearing as she lifted a sheaf, and suddenly the air was a buzz around her. Big wasps erupted from the chest, and she instinctively backed away, shielding her face despite everything Amun just said about poison immunity.
"Close the door - hurry!" she snapped, and slammed the lid to the coffer shut. It helped some, but the dark of the room was still full of darting, flitting creatures.
Only wake each morning to remember that you're gone
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Grinning Amun cocked his head to one side. Letting Maea bat his hands away, he brought them to frame her head and neck again. "Am I?" Whistling a few notes, he winked at her.
Nodding at her much more apt metaphor, he moved on to the final desk drawer. It had, unfortunately, fallen prey to some critter or another: all the pages had been chewed or clawed beyond recognition. Grimacing, he slid it shut just as his eyes picked up the sound of buzzing.
That was closely followed by his sister's shriek. Sighing, he dashed over to the door to the study and shoved it closed. "Teleport to the other side of the door." With that, he activated his phasing upgrade and slid through it.
For once she did as she was told. Unamused by the idea of being left alone in the dark room now swarming with wasps, Maea activated her upgrade and appeared by the empty fireplace in the room beyond. Hurrying back to meet up with Amun, she had a peeved look about her and gave the closed door a hard glare.
"Oh that's great," she snarked, and rested her hands on the hips. "Now what do we do..." Maybe Amun was nonchalant enough about the critters, but she would not be able to concentrate with the pests buzzing about her ears. Not to mention, if they opened the door again, they might spread to the rest of the Atheneum - endangering both visitors and the books alike.
"Don't suppose you're able to - oh, I don't know - make smoke? Or sing stuff into a trance?" Shooting Amun a glance, she raised a brow at him. Hoping for some bright idea that might salvage the situation.
Only wake each morning to remember that you're gone
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun looked at the hands Maea placed on her hips before his gaze trailed up to her face. Shrugging, he scratched his chin. "I don't suppose leaving them in there is an option?" However, he sighed as she went on to ask if he had any abilities that might help them subdue the wasps.
Reaching out he rested his hand on the door, spreading out his fingers. "Do you even know if they have regular senses?" Grimacing, he shook his head. "I have my flashbang. I can phase through and shoot it and you can teleport right after. It might knock them out for a moment, but we'd have to move swiftly to get them back in the chest." He looked over at her and arched an eyebrow.
The shake of her head was firm. No, definitely not an option. "What if someone walked in there? They would get a face full of the things, and even if we are safe from the poison, other's may not be."
Waiting for Amun to finish thinking, Maea considered his suggestion. There was something very earnest and faintly amusing about how he tackled every problem she seemed to throw at him, and it brightened her mood to watch.
"I have no idea," she admitted cheefully about the wasp senses. "But it's worth a try. Let me just recharge, I need some time before teleporting again." Heading back to the fireplace, she picked up a shovel and sweep and returned with the items in hand. "For sweeping up the wasps when you've stunned them," she explained. Shifting both items to one hand, she reached up to pat her brother on the cheek.
"Don't look so glum. At least you get a break from reading, yeah?" She smiled sweetly at him, and very successfully managed not to laugh at him.
Only wake each morning to remember that you're gone
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun's gaze slid over to Maea as he gave her some side eye. Clearing his through, he jerked his chin at the floors above them in the direction of the Settlement. "I hate to break it to you, sis, but most of the people in the Hollowed Ground are Ascended these days." Reaching out he gave her shoulder a little squeeze.
Rolling his shoulders a few times, he nodded as she asked for more time and collected her weapons of choice. "Let me know when you're ready." As they waited, he activated his metal manipulation upgrade. The metal gauntlets he wore trickled down his arms and formed into a finely woven iron net. He let it dangle from one hand and flexed the fingers of the other.
"Gee thanks." Snorting, he nudged her hip with his. "Don't even pretend this is some kind of gift." He stuck out his tongue at her before looking at the door. "Ready whenever you are."
The look she returned to him took on a grave and rather sad note. While she didn't avoid his touch, for once she didn't become cheered or swayed by it. "I know. But as long as even one person calls this place home who is not, considerations should be given. Especially if the Grounds is to remain a region where everyone is welcome. Isn't that supposed to be the whole difference between us and, say, Stormbreak?" According to the narrative she had been fed lately, at least.
Armed with her shovel, she nodded and searched inward for a cue. Amun's hip bumped her a step aside, and she measured a playful kick at him in retaliation; if it even reached him it would be nothing more than a gentle nudge, grand in gesture and nothing else. "What, you don't like wasps? Alright, I'm good. You first." With a grand gesture she presented the door to him, and waited expectantly for him to make the first move.
Only wake each morning to remember that you're gone
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Amun raised his hands, palm out, towards Maea. Smiling, he inclined his head to her. "I absolutely agree. I just meant that the chance of someone immediately being in danger is slim, that's all." He cocked his head to one side.
As her kick hit his shin he yelped. Pouting at her, he sighed. "So violent. What happened to my sweet tempered little sister?" Sighing, he winked at her.
Then he faced the door again. Taking a breath, he raised his left palm. Then he activated his phasing upgrade and moved through the door. As soon as he had vision, he saw the wasps speeding towards him. Glaring at them, he fired his flashbang and squeezed his eyes shut. The sound and light in the enclosed space were enough to make him stagger and slam his now tangible back against the door. Still he tossed his net in front of him, hoping to catch at least some of the swarm under it.
