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!
Yeah, it's that simple. Neron figures it should be that way, since, y'know, he ran the Kraai really fucking successfully longer than anyone else had. And given the whole Morgan-dead-Noah-Warden-fuck-you-Neron situation that's developed in Halo, the Hailstorm is very hopeful that he might be able to pick up here where he left off.
Is he looking for something to occupy his time so he doesn't have to think about anything serious?
Well, yeah, and what's it to you? It's as good a job as any, and call him a lazy fuck a creature of habit, but he's sort of in the mood for something easy. Something he already knows how to do. Something... oh, you know, not likely to start a war.
now i'm afraid to sleep at night, those who love me never felt the light
Truthfully, Sunjata’s just barely awake – groggy and exhausted from the rush and bustle of everything that the question takes him a bit by surprise, as well as the man that it comes from. Wasn’t he in Halo? Or had he been so caught up with everything going on with himself (and between his sheets) to notice what else happened around him? “Oh, thanks.” He responds to the latter half, brows pinching as he looks up from the other side of the bar where he’d started occupying his time to remain closer to Nate now that he’s woken up.
“What about the Kraai?” Why the fuck aren’t you in Halo? “Not like it’s bad to see you here, I’m just surprised.” He gestures to the other side of the bar for Neron to arrive – knowing the ex-warden turned bartender would find it familiar. Notes in a similar space, written in a similar hand, only truthfully there’s a fuckton more wine spiders in this bar than there ever had been in Halo.
Probably because of the cold, or something like that.
haunted by the darkest sky
tell me, who the hell am i? tell me, who the hell am i?
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Sidling behind the bar like an old hand - because he is, at this point, and his eldest brother would be very proud - Neron sheds his coat and scarf and hangs them up on a nearby hook, rolling his shoulders to the elbow and leaning against the counter. "Gods, Sunjata, keep up with the times," he drawls, knocking on the bar as if to ask the other man what he wants at barely-awake o'clock.
"Morgan is dead. Got killed by Remi Taliesin, not that the Old Gods crew will have you believe it, but I saw it with my own eyes." And he'll fucking stand by that lie for as long as he lives. "Noah and Deimos wasted no time in taking over Halo. They kicked me out under pain of arrest, though I don't know what they thought I could have done wrong this time." What, indeed.
"So here I am, a pretty little face for a pretty little bar. Aren't you lucky?"
now i'm afraid to sleep at night, those who love me never felt the light
There’s something about the way Neron just snaps to it that shakes him out of his exhaustion, his head cocking to the side slightly as his brows pinch – silent while he waits for the tale to weave itself out of the ex-warden. “Oh fuck.” It’s eloquent, of course, as he nods his head for just his usual drink – one that Neron would know. “My condolences.” He offers, because there’s still that streak of Korofi royalty that drives within him, even if he doesn’t look the part so much these days. Thanks dad.
“And here I thought I was the only one with plenty of drama these days.” He admits, to try and make the conversation a little lighter, shrugging as he props his head up on his hand, elbow to the scarred top of the bar as he regards the Ascended. “I suppose I am lucky, huh? I’d like it if you could, actually.” He admits, before he leans in a little as if he’s about to tell Neron a secret. “It seems like I’m only welcome in the Grounds and the Wilds these days, so, I’d prefer to have someone I know running this place.”
haunted by the darkest sky
tell me, who the hell am i? tell me, who the hell am i?
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
Neron pours a drink for them both, because why the fuck not, and even though it does absolutely nothing for him in terms of taste or social lubricant, it's still a companionable thing to do, right? Sliding a tumbler that's already iced over from his magic to Sunjata, he hums his agreement with the eloquent first response. "Thank you," he replies, just as politely, the Launceleyn streak running as deeply in him as Korofi runs in the Flood.
"You? Drama? Perish the thought," he drawls, clinking his glass with Sunjata's and taking a sip. "What is it this time, apart from everything?" With a fanged grin, he leans in as well, prepared to share in this conspiracy that Jata's so helpfully sharing. Steel blue eyes widen, Neron tilting his head and leaning further against the counter.
"A regular little rebel, aren't you," he says. "I thought you were in the Old Gods' pockets. What changed?"
now i'm afraid to sleep at night, those who love me never felt the light
Oh how he rolls his eyes, lighthearted enough now that Nate’s back to find it in himself to snort in response. If only it were so easy to perish the drama, to push it aside. He’s lived under a rock since then, kept to himself mostly, kept in others beds – which he supposes is certainly not something Frey would complain about. Regardless, he takes a deep sip of the cooled drink, hissing lightly as it slides down his throat.
“A lot, actually.” He admits, drawing up to sit a little straighter, cradling the cold glass in his hand. “Do you remember a few seasons ago when all the stars went out of the sky in Flowerbirth of all seasons?” He poses the question, solely prepared to answer immediately, even if he knows or doesn’t know. “That was me. Sort of. I pissed Safrin off a great deal and she almost killed me.” It had been later, of course, because in that time he doesn’t know how long he’d spent in Frey’s reality fringes to burn the goddess of the stars from his soul, to scrub him clean.
And because he’s dramatic, he waves a hand - the arm one that used to be covered nearly completely with tattoos of waves, now barren and lightning scarred, creating little droplets of water that begin to spin like diamonds in the reflection of the pale light that filters in behind the curtains. “I’m Frey’s man now.”
haunted by the darkest sky
tell me, who the hell am i? tell me, who the hell am i?
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"Oh, that was you? We thought it was a mini Longnight. Everyone in the Kraai got hammered just in case another Longnight monster slipped through and killed everyone. Good times," Neron murmurs, sipping at his drink and looking Sunjata over with fresh eyes as if just this moment noticing the differences, both subtle and not. "Have I ever told you that I think you rival me when it comes to pissing off deities, and that's saying something."
Still, Neron has lived in Halo - Halo the neutral, until very recently - so to hear that Sunjata is a Frey man now is of no consequence to the Hailstorm. "You seem happier for it," he remarks, waving a dramatic hand right back to freeze the water droplets and make them clatter to the bar. "To Frey, then," he suggests, raising his glass. "And to the VlamVloed. I imagine there's no glorious return of the Devil's Advocates, so maybe we'll just have to start a new spy network."
now i'm afraid to sleep at night, those who love me never felt the light
“Well I’m glad that didn’t happen.” Sunjata offers, finally managing to spark a crooked smile, one that tugs on the scar on his cheek. “And no, you’ve never said. Though I suppose it’s nice to have some competition these days, huh?” It’s a joke, of course, because who the fuck in their right mind wanted to piss off the higher powers that be – let alone compete in it.
As for the rest, the seeming happier, he nods and looks away from Neron to his drink. “Easier to be on the side of a god that doesn’t care you’re married to an Ascended, let alone actively suggests bridging the gap between them and the Voice.” A little secret here, one that not many know aside from Nate and Isla these days.
But he lifts his glass as the ice clatters to the bar top, the Flood toasting with the Hailstorm. “To Frey and the VlamVloed. And may the Kraai and Morgan rest in peace.” A wink accompanies it as he goes to take a deep sip, exhaling as it burns his throat on the way down. “The Advocates has been dead quite some time. This is basically all that’s left of it now.” The room below them. The room that had started it all.
haunted by the darkest sky
tell me, who the hell am i? tell me, who the hell am i?
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
From the corner of the room a massive wine-spider scurries. Running toward you, it tries its best to crawl up your leg, hovering against you for warmth. Clearly something has startled it. Poor thing.
This is not a RE nor a rare creature. It cannot be used for levelling.
Wine Spider: These friendly arachnids can grow up to the size of a small housecat. With fuzzy bodies and spindly legs, they are often found lurking around wine racks or kegs of beer. They are almost always drunk, hiccuping and stumbling about. It is said that finding a baby wine spider in your drink is a lucky omen!
"It certainly spices things up," Neron reasons, though like Sunjata, he'd have likely preferred it if his dealings with deities remained relatively bland. At least he seems to be in the Voice's good books these days, though he puts that down to managing to survive this long as much as anything else. The mageglass he contributed probably helped, too.
Raising his eyebrows to hear that Frey might be just a little on their side, for lack of a better term for it, Neron clinks his glass with Sunjata's a second time. "Careful," he drawls, "if people hear you talking of something peaceful they might lose their minds."
Knocking back the rest of his drink given that it does absolutely nothing for him, Neron places his glass down just in time to see the wine spider scuttling up his leg. "What the fuck," he snaps, instinctively trying to swat it away. "You didn't say there were fucking monsters in here." The Advocates are forgotten for now, in lieu of his drunken, hairy passenger.
now i'm afraid to sleep at night, those who love me never felt the light
A rumbling laugh does leave him, something surprisingly light in the face of the conspirators conversation. “You’re one of the four who know.” But he trusts Neron to use that Sekrit Spy characteristic of his to keep it under wraps. After all, no use in getting everyone’s hopes up if it doesn’t pan out.
He takes a sip of the chilled liquor again, however, at precisely the time that the wine spider shows and the conversation’s cut off, setting his glass down to scoop up the wine spider away from Neron’s swatting hands. “Hey they’ve been here longer than I have.” He remarks, cradling the spider as he moves to set it on the bar, giving it a little dish to pour some wine into and let the spider drink from it. “Came from the Rathskeller, the old bar. Surely a few made it to Halo with the shipments.” Probably didn’t live through the trip, but they were likely there at some point.
haunted by the darkest sky
tell me, who the hell am i? tell me, who the hell am i?
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"I'll keep it to myself, then, but I'll feel very smug about it," Neron informs Sunjata with a smirk. One of four isn't bad, especially when it comes to this sort of information, and the Hailstorm reminds himself to start keeping tabs on things in the same way as he had done with the Kraai.
It's regrettable that he can't keep up this easy sleazy act, Neron busy stepping back and away from the bar to watch as Sunjata treats the wine spider like a fucking pet. "If it has been here longer than you have, you don't suppose you ought to have done something about it?" he inquires, wrinkling his nose, though as the drunken arachnid slurps at its saucer of wine, Neron concedes that it isn't nearly as bad as he thought.
"I never saw anything when the shipments arrived. Rats probably had them," he mutters. "Anyway. Perhaps we can try to bring the Devil's Advocates back to life, mm? I'm sure we could persuade some people to join."
now i'm afraid to sleep at night, those who love me never felt the light
Neron shouldn’t find too many things unfamiliar with how the VlamVloed is run in comparison to the Kraai. The Halovian bar had been modeled after this one, after all. Long nights spent with Weaver going over different things here and there – only instead of receiving orders from the sister location, Neron would be receiving them from the start.
“Oh come on, stop being sour. They’re kind of cute.” He huffs a laugh, looking back toward the content spider, sipping down the saucer of wine, before it lifts its head full of beady eyes and hiccups before diving back into the liquid.
Back on track, however, Sunjata hums in thought, head cocking to the side slightly, sending his earrings dancing over his shoulder. “Perhaps. Would it continue to be a spy ring if the only location is here? Or would we want to shift it into something else?” Because it’s likely Sunjata wouldn’t be around once the war started. It would have to fall onto someone else’s shoulders. Perhaps the one sitting beside him.
haunted by the darkest sky
tell me, who the hell am i? tell me, who the hell am i?
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"That is like saying that a drunk slumped over a bar is kind of cute," Neron points out airily, watching the wine spider and its saucer of booze with a weary sort of acceptance. Yet another difference between Halo and the Hollowed Grounds - a lot more bugs. Huffing out a needless breath through his nose, Neron nods to Sunjata as if to ask if he'd like a refill, before their conversation returns to the maybe-resurrection of a guild.
"A spy ring doesn't necessarily need to be in multiple locations, does it? It's just the spies that need to move around." With a catlike smile, Neron rolls his shoulders in a shrug. "Depending on who decides to join and how crazy they are, they might be more than happy to use the portals and hunt out information for us. If not that, I imagine there's something else we can do with the place. Thieves, assassins, mercenaries... it's all a living, right?"
