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!
After the nightmare of the old house, Amun had returned to the Hollowed Ground in a veritable whirlwind of activity. Still clutching his chains (like he would pearls in another universe entirely), he'd teleported directly to the Temple. Dashing home, he'd collected Maea with a promise that all would be explained shortly, he'd dragged her to the Shrine in the Underground.
Laying the chains down in front of the statue of the woman, he took a deep breath. "I did what you asked, the Voice. And, more importantly, I acquired information about a relic in Stormbreak from a spirit. I am here to see if you can provide any additional insight for us."
Questions crowded in her mind all the way down the dripping tunnels until they reached the Shrine, but she held her tongue and merely followed after Amun. This was not a place she was familiar with; truth be told she hadn't even known there was a shrine here.
Keeping herself behind Amun, she listened with widening eyes as he addressed The Voice. Looking between the shrine and her brother, she inched a few steps closer, until she could sneak a hold of his sleeve. Not even the mention of relics and a growing suspicion that he was about to throw himself headlong into danger could quite override her own trepidation for this encounter.
Last time she spoke to the goddess, she had said some fairy rude things, after all.
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
The Underground sings with blue light as the Voice appears from a patch of shadow atop her shrine. Smiling down at Amun, her blue gaze shifts to Maea that she might nod and acknowledge the girl's presence, before returning to the potter. This was about him, after all.
"Well done, Amun." She beams, stretching out her hands to indicate that he should take them. When he does, his internal scans will register a new upgrade that has been installed in his fingers. Straightening, the Voice waggles her own fingers with a triumphant grin.
As for the Spirit? "Tell me." She encourages with a nod.
Amun has received
Electric Coils (Basic) | Shot out from the user's fingers, this upgrade creates coils of electricity that burn and bind. If there is a difference of 30+ between the user's STR and their opponent, they are grappled for 1 turn. Less than 30 requires a STR roll.
05-12-2022, 03:10 PM (This post was last modified: 05-12-2022, 03:39 PM by Amun.)
my love affair with water runs deep into my soul,
the serenity as intense as the tides ebb and flow
Grinning as the Voice appeared, Amun took her hands. He couldn't resist giving them a squeeze as she bestowed her gift. Activating a scan, his smile widened as he realized exactly how the new upgrade worked. "Thank you." He inclined his head.
When she asked him what happened, he glanced at Maea for a moment. However, his gaze was immediately drawn back to their goddess. "There was a house out in the Mistbanks. A...creature in the form of a woman invited me and some others inside to deal with some wayward spirits. After trying to figure out what was going on, we managed to defeat the spirits. The woman deposited us outside and told us that the spirits had been disturbed because they wanted to seek out something that could turn the coming conflict. Which I assume is a relic."
He frowned. "This particular one could be found by searching..." Here he paused and his brow furrowed. "The place where storms shatter." he finally declared.
The attention granted her by the goddess was brief, before focus shifted to Amun. And that was honestly a good thing, because Maea needed all the time she could get to calm herself.
Listening to Amun's tale was a welcome reprieve, as was seeing the easy way he interacted with The Voice. So many years had been spent agonizing over the past... it was not easy to adjust the mindset to this new reality. So she merely watched, and listened. Quiet and unobtrusive, until she was adressed.
lay your hands on me
one last time
MAEA
♦ Violence, magic, thievery is permitted with Maea at all times. DM me if you have any ideas ♦
Listening with intense stillness, the Voice moves only as Amun finishes his tale. "That certainly sounds like Stormbreak." She muses, not that Amun hadn't already pieced that much together. Slowly though, the Voice shakes her head. "It has been centuries since I have properly been there. If there is indeed a relic in Stormbreak, it must be hidden somewhere even the likes of Cian and the former Order were ignorant of."
Narrowing her eyes, the Voice searches the vastness of her mind. "Not a place of lock and key I would not think...that would be the sort of place Cian would have known of. Unless of course it was placed there so long before his rise to power and those before him, that the information was lost?" This was all just to say the relic would not be hidden in some chest or back room.
Amun narrowed his eyes at the mention of the former Order. Grimacing, he rubbed the back of his head. "I've only been there the one time. Somehow I doubt it's in the ruins of the Tower, though." Humming a low note, he tapped his foot. Below, Zhanshi tunneled up from the earth, careful not to disturb the shrine. The landshark launched into the air to circle the Voice, before brushing against the potter.
Blinking, his frown deepened. "I thought...wasn't the Order formed after the last war ended? If it was hidden before then..." Voice trailing off, he looked between Maea and the Voice.
"The only other place in Stormbreak I know anything about is something called the Celestine. The Caretaker there says that it's overseen by Frey, so maybe there? It's a long shot."
He cocked his head to the side. "Short of going to Stormbreak, is there any way we can get more information?" Sighing, he shrugged a shoulder. "I know that some people from there ended up in Halo and Torchline. They probably don't know either, unfortunately, if it's as hidden as you say, but maybe I can try to talk to them." Taking out his illusory cloth, he placed it over his face and blurred his features.
"No, the relics were present during the last war, so it would have been shortly after. That is when they were scattered." The Voice explains as she stretches out a hand towards the landshark. "The Celestine is able to reshape itself to suit whatever creature is within any given enclosure. It's possible it could be there...Though with Safrin and Frey's oversight, I would have expected them to know of it. But this wouldn't be the first time something has slipped past their notice." She adds with a small and cruel smile.
As for asking around? "By all means. It is probably safer than wandering into Stormbreak, though I am not sure how successful you will be."
As the Voice explained both about the relics and the Celestine, Amun nodded along. However, he couldn't help but grimace. Rubbing Zhanshi's side, the potter shook his head. "We'll have to move swiftly. Wessex mentioned that they were working on a defense to keep out Ascended. I don't know how that would work, exactly, or how close they are to finishing."
Taking a deep breath, he released his companion and stood up straight. "Isla, Wessex, and I are willing to go to Stormbreak." Hesitating, he glanced at Maea. "In disguise. If we went, is there any assistance you could provide us? And, although it has been many years, do you know anything about the city's layout?"
'They are not so close that you need to be immediately worried.' The Voice remarks, before shaking her head. "What assistance would you need? Unless you are planning on breaking the truce agreed upon during Isla and Wessex's last visit, I would assume this is meant to be an unremarkable adventure."
Nodding, the Voice stretches out her hands, palms up. Light crackles from her white skin as it sings through the air and into Amun. "There." In the potter's mind is a representation of the city.
Amun now has knowledge of all of SB's boards and subboards.
Amun breathed out a sigh as the Voice informed them they weren't in immediate danger of being locked out (or worse) of Stormbreak. As she asked what he was worried about, though, he grimaced. "I have no plans to break the truce. But I cannot imagine our enemies will sit idly by, and unfortunately, they are forewarned. The others I was with are followers of the old gods, and they no doubt spread the word. I'm pretty sure we should be expecting resistance."
Lifting his own hands again, he grinned as the light crackled between them and the knowledge filled his mind. "Thank you. For everything. I will go immediately." Bowing his head, he looked over at Maea.
'Well...from what I recall Ronin never said you could not enter Stormbreak...that is his oversight." The Voice points out with a smile. "I have every faith in you. Perhaps you might borrow a rather innocuous shift from someone before you go. No one would take notice of a cat or dog trundling through the streets, now would they?"
Before the pair departs, the Voice offers herself to them that they might replenish their fluid. Once they have, she disappears in a static shower of blue.
