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!
Time was running out. War was almost upon them and Tal could feel it breathing down his neck. Sooner, not later, their world would shift and crack apart at the seams.
And everything would change.
And maybe not everyone would survive.
He wasn't in Torchline often, but he was here to kill two birds with one stone... and since he was in the area, well, it only made sense to pay his respects. So it was that as twilight draped the coast and the first stars began to shine overhead Tal climbed the lighthouse, fingers trailing reverently along the stone walls as he spiraled to the top and the altar there. It was a pilgrimage to more than just Safrin, but he couldn't put into words just what it meant to look out over the wild, unfrozen Arclight ocean for long moments before he turned to lay out his glass rose, clear as ice but forever unmelting, on the altar with finicky precision. "Safrin? I just... wanted to say 'thanks' for all the help. I really appreciate it. An' I hope I'll see you again on... on the other side of all this. So, um. Take care of yourself, please." It was an awkward whisper of a prayer for an awkward young man.
A pale dragon, tall as a wolfhound but as muscular as a mastiff, guarded the stairs to ensure her companion wasn't disturbed in his prayers. Not, at least, without ample warning from the scaly guardian.
Phoebe climbed the light tower, accompanied by her own companions. Branbast lay curled around her shoulders like a scarf and Pim clambered up the steps alongside her. She had just finished dropping Jude off at his father's home, and in her melancholy decided she ought bring Safrin an offering. It had gone horribly wrong last time, and Harper was more devoted to the goddess than to Frey.
As she reached the top, a carving of the night sky in her hands, she was stopped by a dragon. Clearly a companion based on size. Pim growled a warning, as if to tell the other dragon to move out of the way. Branbast opened one eye and sighed dramatically. "Bothersome pesky dragons" he grumbled.
Boreal was a very fierce guard dragon. She regarded the woman and her companions with reptilian thoughtfulness, tilting her head curiously at Pim's growl and then lowering it to whuff a warm, friendly breath towards Branbast, scaly tail wagging a laid-back greeting in sinuous sweeps across the stones of the light house floor.
Behind her, Tal heard the noise and got the message that he wasn't alone anymore. The courier scrambled to his feet and dusted his knees off, walking back to the entrance of the beacon/altar room and resting a hand on Boreal's shoulder. "Are you here to-- yeah, stupid question," he stopped himself with a grimace, reaching up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm uh. Just finishin' up. Can y'give me just two more minutes?"
Phoebe was about ready to chide Pim when she heard movement from the altar room. Looking up she watched the young man appear and place his hand on the other dragon's shoulder. Ah, so this was his companion then. Pim grumbled a moody growl and Branbast simply sighed again - this was all putting a real damper on his nap.
She smiled warmly as the young man stumbled over his words. "Of course, take your time." she said, not at all concerned with him wanting privacy. That was simply the way some people were with their worship. "My name is Phoebe, by the way." she said, introducing herself. "And this is Pim and Branbast." she added, gesturing to each in kind.
Boreal crooned a genial greeting to all involved and Tal obediently scratched the base of her horns as he spoke to Phoebe. Or at least, to her knees. It wasn't until she introduced herself that he brought his gaze up, pale eyes of grey with just a ghost of blue looking out from behind shaggy black hair.
He flashed a brief, relieved grin at her patience and nodded to the two companions. "Nice t'meet you, Phoebe. I'm Tal and this is Boreal." The dragon gave a pleased basso warble at her name and his grin widened. 'Um-- just-- just two seconds--" He hurried back to the altar and looked it over for a moment, trying to figure out...
If he moved the candles over there he could put the glass rose here and get it out of the way of the altar's center so there'd be room for other offerings...
It was just under two minutes when he scampered back and bobbed his head at Phoebe apologetically. "Thanks for waitin'. I like your dragon," he added impulsively as Boreal shuffled out of the way of traffic with an amused snort.
Pim grumbled and settled next to Phoebe, watching the other dragon from behind her skirts. Maybe they weren't so bad after all. He let out a puff of smoke from beneath his lips. Maybe. Branbast merely closed his one eye. People and their talking and dragons and their growling. Bothersome.
Phoebe waited patiently as Tal did his shuffling about the altar. She didn't know how long it had been other than being awfully quick by the time he reappeared. "Not a problem at all. I like your dragon too." she said with a soft laugh. "Did Safrin give her to you?" she asked, curious if he was a Safrin devotee or if he was here like her, praying on behalf of someone else.
The way to Tal's heart was through his dragon, and he flashed a brief grin at Phoebe at her approval. Feeling her companion's pride, Boreal straightened up a little and gave a little croon as if to tell him 'see? I told you so!'
"Nah, I found her egg out on th'Sea of Glass," Tal explained, tugging one of the dragon's horns playfully. "Um... I think it was... mebbe six years ago now?" He looked down at Boreal for confirmation and she looked back at him and blew a helpful puff of smoke through her nostrils.
Dragons were not always very good at math, it turned out. At least, this one wasn't.
"Did you get yours from a god?" he turned the curious question back on her with a scrub of his fingers over the big dragon's head as she leaned into the scritches with a contented rumble.
Phoebe smiled back at Tal's grin. He seemed an awfully nervous but kind fellow. As he explained how he found Boreal, she turned her smile to the white dragonling. "How lucky!" she said brightly. To just find a dragon egg out like that? He had to be a lucky fellow. But it seemed he was here to pray for something other than asking Safrin for something.
She then glanced at Pim and patted his head. "Frey gave his egg to me so I would have a protector. I'm not sure how many years its been since then." she said. As if to show his ferocity, Pim roared loudly, making Branbast bristle in irritation.
Luck had a lot to do with how Tal was still alive, even if he didn't want to admit it. He just ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to the lady's enthusiasm.
It was much easier to admire her dragon. He could deal with animals. People were hard to understand a lot of the time, but animals usually made sense, once you figured out what they wanted.
But-- "Frey?" he repeated with interest. "Frey's helped me out, too! An' Safrin, o'course," he added hurriedly with a glance back at the shrine. Pim's mighty roar brought Tal's attention back and he grinned at the dragon while Boreal echoed a slightly quieter croon to the fierce little companion's clarion call. "He takes his job pretty seriously, huh?"
Phoebe smiled at Tal's interest in Frey - pleasant interest no less! "They've helped me a lot too. I think many underestimate Frey's willingness to help if asked correctly." she said. And which aspect mattered as well. The interests of both intersected but were not always the same. Like how all rectangles were squares but not all squares were rectangles. It made sense to her anyways.
Pim puffed up his chest, smoke pluming from his nostrils. "Oh yes, he takes it very seriously. Branbast here on the otherhand..." she started, gesturing to the seer cat upon her shoulders. But the cat interrupted. "Cannot be bothered. Frivolous." Phoebe just laughed a little at the cat's antics. "He picks and chooses when he likes to be helpful."
"Really? They've been pretty popular in Halo," Tal agreed easily. "They've done a lot for us!" But maybe she meant Frey's other side? Either way, the courier had found the god of nature to be a patient and kindly figure. He'd only called on one of Their aspects, but a god associated with weather was a useful ally in Halo's bitter cold.
Boreal was clearly quite taken with the small guardian, a happy, smoky rumble emerging from her chest. Her attention shifted to the cat as Tal's did and she seemed just as curious and amused by him as by his scaly associate, though Tal looked more amused. "Definitely a cat," he agreed, giving his dragon a reassuring pat. 'I'm more of a dog person, myself. They're always helpful! Even when y'don't want 'em to be," he added ruefully.
Phoebe nodded her head to confirm her words. "As Frey's demigod, I usually just hear people talk about their sexual aspect and orgasms and things of that sort." she said with a small sigh. There was a whole other half to Frey that so many seemed to forget! "I am glad to hear they have been helping Halo though." Halo was a rough place to live and certainly Frey was happy to make it more comfortable - with a little work from the citizens of course. Frey rarely handed anything out for free.
"I like dogs too. But I think two companions are enough for me." she said with a grin. One more and they would be over ruling her regularly! Pim trilled back at the other dragon, becoming more at ease with her and the male-human Phoebe was talking to.
"That, uh, seems like a l-- wait, Demigod??" He'd been doing pretty good until Phoebe casually dropped that little tidbit into the conversation and Tal's eyes widened in shock. He lost the thread of their conversation as he tried to shift gears and process this new information, swallowing hard.
"Whoa... does... does that mean you're goin' t'the Draig with Deimos?" It was hard to imagine this gentle young woman going into battle beside the stoic Sword, but maybe looks were deceiving?
Boreal cocked her head at Pim's trill, pleased at the little dragon's welcome, but after a moment's peace she bumped Tal's hip lightly with her head, a grumble of reminder in her throat. "Yeah, I know, girl," he murmured distractedly down at her. "We'll go in just a minute!"
Phoebe just smiled and nodded. Indeed, a demigod she was. But she regularly forgot that even with her glamour magic, many people didn't make the connection between the two.
As for the Draig..."No. Frey has bid that I stay out of the war in the safe haven." she said. A bit of guilt welled up in her gut though as she said the words. Why Frey wished her not to join her fellow demigods was a mystery to her, and frankly she was too afraid to ask for fear they would change their mind. The thought of fighting in the war chilled her to her bones.
But Boreal seemed impatient, and she smiled a bit at the little dragon. "My apologies. I shouldn't have kept you." she said, giving him a way out of the conversation.
