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!
Any fictional grandson of hers would likely have a far better sense of humor than she, in that, they are agreed. Thanking the shopkeeper for their information, Wessex turns and continues on her way. Can’t hurt to wander that way. You might as well see what happened to the Tower. Dry as the wood in the building that lit under her eyes, the Wraith turns to where the Order’s homebase used to stand and moseys on that-a-ways.
But as there is nothing left but rubble (or tidied up rubble), on the ground, she eventually turns to another, unmissable attraction. A spire like their own, open at the top, but glittering and bright. Huh… the demigod murmurs mentally to her sister. This is… interesting.
Continuing together-but-separately, Isla and the Prince walk through the cleared pathways of rubble, and there's no hiding the soft frown on the Remedy's face as she takes in all the destruction. All this just makes me want to hole up in the Grounds forever, she admits, smiling sadly at a marker or two left in remembrance of someone long gone. We're already making it into quite a fortress, and we could...
Drifting off as Wessex notices something overhead, Isla glances up (and up and up) at the Needle. Her frown takes on a markedly different nature, and she swallows hard. It certainly is, she agrees softly. What do you think it is used for? Summoning heralds?
It’s a line of thought the Wraith has ventured down once or twice, and each time, she came to the same conclusion. Never again.
Make it back into a bubble? she finishes, quiet even for a mental whisper. Is life worth living if you’re in a cage again? Even a big one? Not to get all deep and philosophical in what might be the most dour place in Stormbreak, but punishment… a cage…? It’s kind of appropriate.
Falling quiet as she stares up at the Needle, it takes a moment to respond.Dunno. Ours was meant to hold and punish. Looking around for a door of some kind, she finds she rather perversely wants to go up and investigate.
Isla winces at that enough that she has to pretend, for a moment, that she has a small pebble in her shoe, and she sighs when she and the Prince finally pick up their pace once more. When you put it like that it does sound dire, she agrees. I suppose the only difference this time is that we would be keeping people out, rather than them trying to keep us in. A cage seems more like a house with a locked door, that way. But Wessex is right, and however she slices it, the decision could not be made alone regardless.
Meandering closer, it's with a sense of unease that Isla realises that there are a lot of guards and dragoons about, and she hums her agreement to Wessex. This one doesn't seem so different, she agrees. The actual Needle has no door; an almost decorative structure, it stands like a shard of mirror reflecting back the faces of those who would be punished. All around it are cells and buildings, though, even if not as many appear to be in use as perhaps when the Order was around.
Sorry, she adds belatedly. It’d be my first choice if we didn’t just spend three hundred odd years stuck there. And if they didn’t know any better? Then she’d be the first to say hell yeah, bring the walls up. Let them batter themselves to death on defenses while their family creates their own little paradise.
Taking the time to circle it again, Wessex has to chuckle to herself as an intrusive thought worms its way in. They could have at least tried to be a little more creative, huh? I mean, two Spires with punishment vibes? That’s just lazy. It only serves to illustrate what the demigod is firmly convinced of. And innovation is one of the things our Lady isn’t lacking. If there are echoes of superiority in her tone, it’s because yes, Wessex is physically turning her nose up at the Stormbreak building as she starts to wander away.
Let me know if you want to take the lead, I’m happy to mosey on behind you two. Which is to say - where to next?
That's a pretty good point as well, Isla adds with the mental equivalent of a smile. With any luck it won't come to that, whether in the Hollowed Grounds or anywhere else... And if they're very lucky, the alternative won't be death either. That seems like pushing it these days, though.
While Wessex makes her circuit around the Needle and no relic jumps out to say hello - not as far as Isla can see anyway - the medic and the Prince linger before the structure, shielding their eyes against the mirrored surface. It's either lazy or they didn't see a point in fixing something that wasn't broken, she mutters, not particularly liking the idea either way.
I saw a sign for something called the Sleeping Steps back behind the Temple... perhaps we can try there, if it's connected to the place? Worth a shot, anyway.
