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!
Hadama floated serenely in the cloud-currents, quietly enjoying the pleasant sensations of the more-than-dream and the chance to bask in Safrin's light. He didn't know most of those gathered; Maeve and Ronin, yes, and he recognized Jack as a member of Maeve's council, but the rest were strangers to him. He took note as they were healed, these Warriors who had fought gods and ghosts, if the stories swirling about that battle had even a grain of truth, and inclined his head in silent respect to each for their valor.
It was something to think about, that battle. That War, of which only one echo had been fought within Torchline. The Voice, they said, was gone, but...
"How enduring are the islands which now float above the sea?" Given how Haulani had built to accommodate the new topography, it would be disastrous if the islands fell. And not just for the humans who lived on them; the impacts would cause underwater waves and tsunamis which could cause just as much harm to the nearby mer and their homes.
Unspoken was the willingness to do whatever it took to prevent that from happening.
Like Hadama, Jack has been enjoying this whole dream schtick; he hadn't done anything up at the Cordillera (and that was a shit show from what he's heard, too), so he sits by to watch the others get their pats on the head from Safrin. He's lit a dream cigarette by the time the star spangled goddess's attention returns to them, Jack exhaling a stream of starlight and glancing to the mer-manta before considering his own questions.
"What now?" he asks, and it sounds very small considering the possibilities. "Torchline is still yours, far as I'm aware. The Ark is yours to command." And it's not something he'd ever utter lightly, but given how he's tethered and tattooed and bound to the goddess now, that's exactly how it is.
full speed ahead 'til i'm dead
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret:
Magic: Passive Telepathy | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
Also branded with a small star tattoo beneath his left eye.
When beckoned Sah took a step forward, staying silent as the others asked their questions. The mer's concern for his region was admirable and the question that the other man asked was one that the Abandoned shared. But there was one other thing that had caught his attention. Whispers and rumors about other changes that had resulted from the war. He had no idea what was true, or what was just people's interpretations of the events.
As such when it was his turn he voiced his concerns, "Thank you Safrin. Beyond the physical changes to the regions and the emergence of new flora fauna, have there been any other changes we should be aware of? Or things we should keep an eye on?" Sah's goal remained unchanged. The safety of his loved ones and region was all that mattered outside of serving the Goddess in front of him. If there was anything that had the potential to effect that mission, he'd rather know beforehand.
Turning to Hadama, the goddess smiles her pleasure. He has been a good servant of the sea and a better king than the Mer have seen in decades. "I believe they will remain that way until the next time Caido and Rae decide to shake things about." She explains, offering him a small and apologetic shrug. "You may as well as how long anything will remain the way it is. But if you are wondering about the safety of the islands for those both above and below the sea, I think you will find them quite stable."
Looking to Jack, the goddess's smile turns a good deal more wry. 'What would you see become of Torchline?" She wonders, raising an eyebrow. "Would you see the Ark become a fleet? Would you see Torchline home to more smugglers? Would you see her become the most powerful jewel in all of Caido?"
Next she turns to Sah with a dazzling smile. "Let no one make the mistake of thinking that the ancients are like the ascended...they are not an enemy, but more like a distant ancestor. I have no doubt that some will leave the climb and seek other places to live, though Halo will prove quite inhospitable to them." Glancing toward Deimos as she says this, she continues. "You could make it so they are protected, but that is entirely up to you. The world is open to them as it always has been; avoiding one little snowy island should not be too much of a difficulty."
He bowed his head deeply in acceptance of Safrin's reassurance. She could not make promises for other gods, but the comfort she offered was welcome. If elder gods did decide to remake Torchline's coastline again, he hoped it wouldn't be in a mortal's span of time. Though mention of those gods had him thinking...
Thoughts he was left to mull over as Jack asked his question and the mermanta considered the odd stick in the human's mouth. Safrin's answer to that was certainly an interesting one, and his own eyes gleamed at the possibility of making Torchline shine even brighter among the world's people.
One of the strangers asked an even vaguer question, but his answer was more specific, and Hadama's webbed ears perked up at the mention of this new race. Ancestors...?
By then his slow, steady contemplation had wrapped around a new question and he regarded his goddess with serious emerald eyes. "Caido... will He sleep again, now that the threat is past?" A peaceful sleep, one hoped, without further shaking of islands and continents.
'Caido is not a he." Safrin says with a smile, her correction gentle. There were no pronouns with which to group the god into. Caido was simply All. 'One can never quite say when it comes to Caido though. After so long under the influence of the Core it might be that Caido has plans. Or, it might be that a vacation is in order." She explains with a small shrug of her shoulders.
"With the reappearance of Dygra, Caido might either take her presence as a reason to keep watch, or as a release from duty..." Again, Safrin can only shrug.
Safrin's words released a tension in Sah he hadn't been aware of holding. The rumors of a newly returned race, Ancients, were true. But they weren't an enemy at least not as a whole. The Abandoned nodded, a small smile coming to his face, "Understood. Thank you."
The mer's next question was intriguing and Sah hadn't been expecting to hear so much about Caido today, but he filed the information away for later. There were many unknowns apparently. What route would Caido take? How would the world look under Caido or Dygra? But the uncertainty of it all was rather worrisome. Even if there seemed to be nothing that they could do at the moment in regard to it.
The talk of Dygra and Ancients goes in the bank for later, because Jack had only thought they were rumours up until now. Really, he ought to have known better when it came to weird shit in Caido. But less about that - more about him, and Safrin, and Torchline.
He isn't one for a fleet, no, and he's the only smuggler the islands need. But the other thing? The jewel in all of Caido thing? Blue eyes light up, and he glances across at Maeve, because presumably that's going to be her purview as well.
With your stars behind us? We'd never fail, he purrs, opting to think rather than speak.
full speed ahead 'til i'm dead
Jack being an Abandoned is common knowledge these days, however his Telepathy remains a well-kept secret:
Magic: Passive Telepathy | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 30ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
Type: Grey | Rank: Mastered
Also branded with a small star tattoo beneath his left eye.
Jack was right in Maeve’s interests being piqued by the idea of Torchline being the crown jewel of Caido. There was nothing stopping them from making it so. Nothing at all. The Queen glances towards the smuggler, a smile already playing on her lips as an ease that hasn’t been present for some time settles over the Nightshade and she rolls her shoulders back. ”Perhaps it’s time that we make more of a mark for ourselves. Torchline has always been a melting pot and a beacon for many, but given how many have been displaced and are looking for somewhere to call home, our shores should be a good choice. Especially given how looked after they are by you, my lady.”
There were surely improvements to be made, but Maeve had no doubt they were capable. ”Do you think peace will last long enough for us to focus on such a task?”
We're lost in the space between
who we are and all that we're trying to be
Unaware of what had caused Safrin’s smile in his direction, he took it nonetheless as some form of encouragement and approval, spine straightening as she obliged his brief request. Gilded light took over the corroded circuitry previously worn into his skin, immediately contorting it with aspects of constellations, faint, as if it had never scorched or blemished him at all. The sigh of relief was kept largely contained in his lungs, but the slightest of grins etched its way into the corner of his mouth. “Thank you.”
And then in his usual, residual silence, the Sword listened to the questions brought forth – of islands floating above seas, of where to go from here, of Sah’s inquiry towards the everything new (and his sudden apprehension over whether those of Ancient distinction would now be the incoming targets in the absence of the Voice).
To hear the response was another sentiment of consolation he hadn’t expected amidst the vivid dream – but it was there just the same, in the wake of breaths no longer held. Kiada wouldn’t be framed as another common adversary simply by the nature of her choice to survive. Even if Halo was inhospitable to them, at the very least she’d be allowed to live her life.
His head tilted at Maeve’s notions – for Torchline had become that for many, but then the semblances of peace flickered into the space, and the uncertainy lingered upon him again. They’d been preparing for war for years – and it was difficult to rid himself of the semblances, despite the changes and cycles all over again. So his rumble followed suit, pondering over the barest turn of phrase. “Is that where we are now? At peace?”
DEIMOS
Stop trying to show how to save our souls
It takes dying to know
How to live as ghosts
Safrin rewards Jack 's thoughts with a swirl of karmic heat that would ignite through his bones, rising up from his toes.
"I'm so pleased you think so." The goddess murmurs out loud, turning towards the Nightshade. "For some time, I should think. After the war it seems everyone is quite keen to keep to themselves, though that never lasts. Inevitably there will be conflicts that arise, though I don't foresee them being on a divine level." She replies with a small shrug. "And I am quite confident that both you and Torchline can handle anyone who might try and come to bully their way onto the sands."
With a glance towards Deimos, Safrin spares the sword a reassuring smile and instead offers him a level and honest stare. "It might be naive to think so, but I think yes. At least for now, we are."
So saying, Safrin draws in a breath that has the stars around them pulsing softly. "Stay here as long as you like. Know that each of you holds a special place in my skies." Perriwinkle convalesces around the goddess as she gives each of those gathered a final smile and nod, before she winks out and leaves her chosen ones to dream the remainder of their dreams.
