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!
He took one deep breath. "From my world, I know this race. Whether it is the same I do not know. But the Horned Ones wiped out entire cultures and civilizations. I am correct. All ascended beings seem to turn to it. It is questionable. I prefer to be prepared. But maybe that's just a feeling." He said calmly. The images of that time reappeared in his eyes. He wiped his eye. "I lost my eye as well as my clan to these beings. Demons are horrible creatures. I hope they are not Deimos. I hope not. Now that we've gotten rid of Voice, I don't want to see it replaced by another evil," he says with clenched fists.
He pulled out the map and showed it to Deimos. "I have made a map of the ground, which seems to be very fertile. The labyrinth still has its fertility. There are also many rivers. But what seems most important to me are wood, stone, and iron. We can build walls and other things. This is a good way to trade. The good stone can be processed and other cities can be made safe. I don't think that there will be peace like that. The year was for us to catch our breath, but I do not think it is over."he said and it seemed that he had made plans again. But how much of it had hand and foot was questionable.
A muffled sigh lingered, coming to fumble around his mug, billowing around the plumes of heat. From what he already understood about the Ancients, limited as it was, the option to shifting into an Ancient had come from another god – and with Ascendeds already limited without the Voice, he could see why they would’ve turned towards the next upcoming deity. With nowhere else to turn, they’d been backed into a corner once more. Habitually, his jaw clenched, taking a quick sip of tea to brandish any of the further apprehension away. “And how did they wipe out cultures and civilizations?” One world’s demons were not another’s – but he’d ask, regardless.
His piercing, studious eyes went to the map, trying to memorize it for Evie, and many others’ sakes. The Grounds had morphed and altered into a variety of islands, with some familiarity in his heart for the Glade, for pockets and pieces of the wood that had kept their restless entities at bay. Even the press of fields laden with lightning, pondering if it was the same they had once dug beneath and rescued unicorns within, left him with bits and pieces of nostalgia, melancholy. “The Grounds deserves cultivating,” and he nodded, one finger tracing pathways around the makeshift isles. “And you can build bigger boats for transportation of goods,” especially along the rivers, where they intertwined and intersected, ensuring citizens snagged what they needed for survival. “There is always more to be done,” for the same could be said about Halo too.
He groped over his eyepatch and took a breath. "There are different ones like the humans. They infiltrated them. They've taken high office. Or, like assassins, they have killed off the faction and replaced them with doppelgangers. Again, there were those who could fight with tremendous power. One did not know who was friend and foe. That's why I was so shocked when you told me about the LongNight monster. It was like a flashback for me from my world. I'm just tense about this subject, I have a hard time staying neutral about it. Maybe they just have similarities. I don't know. Future will tell," he said as he clenched his fists so that a cracking sound could be heard from his knuckles. He needed to gather more information. Then he could be sure
Darkeye already lied a second to it. "That's why it took so long to come by. Deimos I had to watch the land with. One is for you. I trust you and then you know what is going on on the grounds. I need allies for this. But first I have to become the leader of the grounds. I also need to improve the reputation. Which will probably be the most difficult task. I need your advice. Maybe we can work out a good plan on how to do that. "he said with a smile.
His brow arched, fingers still grasping at the resin of the mug. Doppelgangers had sounded more like capabilities associated with the Ascended, or anyone with Illusion incantations here, and from the sounds of it, Kiada had yet to gain anything of such stature. But with so many new proportions, renewals, resurgences, and simply the notions of staying alive at the back of their minds constantly, Deimos couldn’t begrudge Darkeye any of the apprehension. “Thank you for letting me know. We will keep an eye out, regardless.” At least in Halo, as far as he was aware, the danger wasn’t too vast – not with the chill.
At being handed a map of the Hollowed Grounds, his eyes widened. “Thank you.” His notions were immediately for sharing it with Evie, once they found a time and opportunity, but in the present, he had to navigate these other regards. “Halo will always come first for us,” as expected. “But let me know what you need if you do become leader.” He paused, wiles always considering. "Are there many citizens left?"
He nodded curtly. The wars the blood that was ankle high at the battles. The images were back. He remembered exactly how bad the first demon battle was. Where friends became enemies. Where everyone was just fighting for their naked survival. The high ideals were thrown overboard. Everyone who tried to escape was killed. Where he had to kill his friends or at least the people who had stolen their faces. That this could happen here made Darkeye angry. He wanted to put this behind him. Kor helped him to pick up his weapon again and not go crazy. The trembling was gone. But he had seen too many good people die. He wanted to prevent that on Caido and for him, Deimos was one of them. "Maybe I'm just thinking too much here, but thank you for your understanding," he said with a curt nod of his head.
He just nodded and grinned. "I expected nothing less from you. There aren't many. I've written letters to those who are still registered in the Ground. But so far I haven't gotten many replies. I'm afraid it will remain with the farmers. But even with that, I have enough to do. Should I become a leader? What I will need? People who help me. People with whom I can exchange ideas. If I can get your advice from time to time I would be grateful. " he said with another nod. "I think I'll be on my way soon though, I've already taken up too much of your time," he said and finished his cup.
Thinking too much had always been something of his own prowess too – and he began to wonder if he was being too lenient, or less inclined to jump towards another round of predilections and treachery, because of Kiada. Or that he, like so many others, wanted to desperately recover and repair their land before something disastrous and monstrous came headlong for them again. “It is good to be prepared. We will keep an eye out.”
Finishing on his own dregs of tea, he cast another glance back to Darkeye. “Of course.” Like a majority at the helms, they all had their work cut out for them – and perhaps the cleric more so, given the potential for many to have gone elsewhere. “It sounds like the Grounds needs to become appealing for some to journey back to.” In the past, it had been all they’d known of Caido, until barriers fell, until pieces began to fall into place, until lands and worlds opened again. And then it had gone to the Ascended, and the reputation had snuck in.
He nodded at the notions of departure, for he had many things to do as well. “Thank you for stopping by.”
Darkeye would be careful. He would have to talk to some of the Ancient. He needed to inform them about the new deity. The void left by the Voice could not be filled so easily. At least that's how Darkeye saw it. He had never been a friend of the Voice, and he made no secret of that. But he had fought for their children. But so had people for Deimos. He nodded curtly to show Deimos silently that he would keep it that way.
"I think it's a beautiful place. With a lot of potentials. Unfortunately, however, it still has a lot of negative connotations from Voice. I think a sky port should be built as soon as possible. You could do a lot with that. But how exactly do I get people to come to the Grounds, that remains to be seen? I'll come up with something. It was good to see you. I'll write to you about how it went. Maybe I'll write you when I'm the leader." He said with a smile. He nodded to his two companions and told Mahariel that he was leaving. The big cat stood up and followed Darkeye after one stretch. "Until our next meeting, Deimos," he bowed and walked back out into the cold.
