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!
Darkeye was about to look around to see if it was a good idea to build a road towards there great woods to facilitate trade with his future village or the Grounds. After that, everything became fuzzy he had stepped on something or something had bitten him. Something was wrong with him, he saw everything twice. Earlier he had been immune as a dwarf against most of the poisons of creatures, but that apparently did not affect this world. He thought about where he should hang Isla was the first thing that came to his mind, so he walked as fast and as safely as he could towards the infirmary. Sweat beaded from his face as if he had been standing in the forge for days. He saw everything threefold now and he was getting more and more tired. He knew he must not fall asleep. Running was difficult. He braced himself with his last ounce of strength and called out, "Isla, I need help." He didn't know how bad it was, but he was afraid that he could die from the poison.
The infirmary isn't too busy today, luckily, and a light snow is falling by the time Darkeye reaches the entrance. Popping her head around the doorway, her eyebrows raise at the sight of the stout man looking so unwell. "Hold on, let's get you sitting down," she says quickly, motioning for a couple of the nurses who had been helping her out to assist Darkeye into one of the treatment rooms.
Gesturing for him to sit or lay down on the bed - whatever is the most comfortable for him - Isla engages her optical upgrade to look him over, checking for broken bones or other obvious injuries. "Are you able to tell me what happened?" she asks, while the nurses prepare some equipment behind her.
Darkeye has sweat all over him and is also trailing a trail of blood. He is having a hard time sitting down and is shaking all over. He misses twice before he can sit down. His gaze is glazed and his mouth is very dry.
The objector will find that he has crow's feet in his foot, and then some. Either from the poison or the adrenaline or the shock, he didn't realize he had anything in his foot and his running didn't make it any better. With a trembling voice, he tries to recount the events. "I was... out and about... " His breathing was shallow, apparently the poison was getting to him. "Towards Greatwood... wanted to scout the area... Then I became .... bitten or hit by something and I .... don't know what..." he tried to say.maybe it was also a bad heart from Voice.
Taking over from the nurses, Isla's team help to guide Darkeye into laying down on the bed, one of them mopping the sweat from his brow while the other examines his foot. Blinking to disengage her optical upgrade, the Remedy hisses out a curse as he manages to tell her the circumstances surrounding his current state. "By the border between the Grounds and the Greatwood? ...Fuck. Fuck, okay. I know what this is, hang on."
Isla gives calm orders for the nurses to clean out and bandage his wounds, in the meantime sweeping out of the treatment room to fetch something. When she returns, it's with an assortment of herbs and a tonic. "I am so sorry, Darkeye. There are caltrops out on the Grounds borders. They're a defence mechanism. There are meant to be tangleweeds to dissuade people from going out there..."
He let the treatment wash over him he didn't really notice much it was all scummy and he wasn't sure what they were doing to him but he was busy with the fever and seeing double. He could only take the treatment and clenched his teeth to keep from crying out.
Darkey didn't quite know if he understood it all but apparently someone had laid traps for defense.... He hadn't seen them and had no idea what he had missed .He didn't seem to know his way around very well. "I... thought it... are all... welcome... Why the.. Traps. " He was angry but now galling to get well for the first time .His inability annoyed him.
"We placed them out there, in preparation for the war. All are certainly not welcome if they come from the Greatwood seeking to harm those who live in the Grounds. It was how Sam died, if I remember correctly," Isla mutters, though the words slip through her lips almost on autopilot. She has turned away to tinker with her tinctures, grinding herbs and mixing them with water and some of the tonic she's brought.
When she turns back it's with a remedy prepared, Isla nodding for her team to help Darkeye sit up enough to take the medicine. "Here - hopefully this doesn't taste too bad. If you drink this, your symptoms should subside in the next few minutes. Hopefully, anyway." She had made the hallucinogens so she should absolutely be able to cure them.
Didn't Sam die because of someone from the order? And the people who can be dangerous to them won't stop this from falling, he thought to himself. He wanted to say it, but he had the feeling that not everything would come out if he tried to say it. His head was still too confused.
Darkeye tried to sit up, but still needed the team's help. "Medics... must... taste... bitter..." He said, trying to grin. He tried to swallow it and let himself fall back slowly and would rest for the time being. He would wait until the Drugs will help. After that there was time to talk.
"One of the advantages of being Ascended is I don't get to notice that any more," Isla says warmly, offering him a small smile. Bitter or sweet, it's all just compounds and medicines to her these days. She does do her best to make her cures palatable, though, for those who do have tastebuds.
Nodding encouragingly as her team of nurses get him settled back down, she ensures that he's drank enough of the tincture and checks his pulse and other vital signs, before stepping back. "Rest for a while," she says. "I'll return shortly to check on you."
Exiting to check on her other patients and to debrief with the other nurses, it's about thirty minutes before Isla comes back to see Darkeye. "How are you feeling now?" she asks?
Darkeye was lying in bed thinking about what to say he has the book on his lap and he seems to have been reading it recently. "I'm better, thank you for your quick help and for the help of your people and teams." He said in a friendly tone.
But it is not long before he takes a deep breath and starts to speak. "But the traps will not protect you. I understand why you set them up. But I'm disappointed because it doesn't reflect what we talked about. Sam died at the hands of the Order, not the Greatwood according to my records. I'm happy to be corrected on that. The traps would not have saved Sam. Nor will they protect you from the coming war. I thought you understood what I was trying to do here," he says as he looks down at his hands, which still feel a little strange.
Then he looks at her with a sad look, "Every time I try to help you, something happens that tries to stop me. The conversation with Voice. The trap that nearly knocked me out. Neron supposedly killed his beloved. I will try to save the one I can. But it's harder to help you than I thought." He said with a grin on his face. "I will have to think a lot Isla. I am grateful for what you have done for me. I'm going to get some rest and then leave later." He closes his book and puts it aside. He doesn't know if the conversation is over for him or if she has something to say back. He would be happy if she had something to say.
"You're welcome. It's what we are here for," Isla says with a smile, nodding to Darkeye. Unfortunately, the rest of their conversation is not destined to be so pleasant. "Just because I understand what you are trying to do, it doesn't mean I won't listen to the Ascended who want to feel safe. With respect, they live here permanently. You do not," she murmurs.
"And Sam died because someone from the Order came through the Greatwood and waited on the outskirts of the Grounds, before attacking him. Perhaps if they had been caught on those traps, he would still be alive," she points out, though there is no point losing her temper over it.
Forcing her shoulders to relax, Isla straightens up. "I don't know anything about Neron killing anyone. He has neither been accused nor arrested as far as I'm aware. You can stay as long as you like - the Infirmary is open to anyone who needs it."
Darkey looked at her in surprise. "Even though I don't live here permanently, I do my part here and try to help," he said."I see myself as a part of this community. Your words were very hurtful." he said coldly and indignantly.
"Sam's death can't be undone. You rethinking it and rethinking it doesn't bring him back. Not everyone is lucky enough to be like Nate. The Traps won't help, but do what you think is right," he says in a neutral tone.
"According to my reports, he killed the leader of Halo and fled when they tried to arrest him for it. I think letters will be coming soon to confirm my statement. He has been accused of the crime. He made it look like a griffin did it. He is playing his game. He wanted to foment war between Halo and the Greatwood. I have yet to find out what that was, but these accusations are serious." He says with an almost threatening tone. You can feel the anger coming from him. Even if not everything is true. He would have to find out the truth. Even if Deimos meant that this should not yet take any steps.
"I didn't meant to cause offence," Isla says though her tone remains neutral. "I merely meant to say that I can't take your preferences for how things ought to be done over those who are most at risk. You are Accepted, you are welcome in all regions. We don't have that privilege, and I will see the people of the Grounds protected."
She furrows her brow at his remark about Sam, though she chooses not to say anything regarding it. Working to prevent a similar danger isn't the same as rethinking things, in her opinion. But she doesn't want to argue with him.
The remarks about Neron though - they are serious, and she tilts her head at Darkeye. "And what evidence is there that he did these awful things, other than hearsay? No one has approached me regarding him. He came because he was persecuted, that much I know, but those who have taken over Halo are known to have a hatred of the Ascended." Shaking her head, Isla lets the matter drop. "I will wait for the letters, then."
Darkeye still looks struck by the words. "I understand Isla, I know what you want to say. We both try to find a solution to protect the people who are important to us. That's fine too. But we just have different approaches." He said in a neutral tone.
He looks surprised. "I talked to the people there and they didn't say that the Ascended aren't welcome there. But I know what you mean Noah is difficult to assess and I don't know if Deimos can hold his own against him. Deimos tries to steer the whole thing in a reasonable direction. I trust him. With Noah I am cautious. That it should only be hearsay, but the steps that were taken seemed very radical. He is supposed to have fled. But I was not there and can not say much about it. But such accusations are not just pulled out of the hair or? Such accusations would be very radical. And unfortunately, I must confess that at the time when it should have happened I was with Remi. It is in my book. So this statement is already a lie Isla. I am the alibi for Remi." He said and opened the page where the conversation with Remi took place. It was on the same date. It could not have been Remi. Unless he could be in two places at once.
05-28-2022, 07:35 PM (This post was last modified: 05-28-2022, 07:35 PM by Isla.)
when it's just the two of us, only the two of us
Isla hums her agreement and nods, though her gaze drops to the floor. Things are always going to be difficult, but she has to take her role as Overseer seriously if nothing else. "I do not trust either of them," she admits, regarding Deimos and Noah. "They were responsible for a coup on Halo prior to any of this happening. They are as bad as any Ascended they try to blame. And it is still hearsay, radical accusations or not."
Mention of Remi, however, seems to strike her like a physical blow, and Isla inhales deeply even though she doesn't need the breath any longer. "Then I suggest you speak to Neron, perhaps. Not that speaking to him will change anything. If there is trouble from Halo on its way, I will wait for it to arrive via their leadership," she mumbles. "...I am quite busy, Darkeye. I'm sorry to cut this short, but I will need to be on my way."
