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!
Snow had begun to sprinkle down from the clouds a bit like the icing sugar your mama might have let you dust on her cookies when you were just small. It wasn't a lot, and that was probably a good thing in terms of snow and not sugar. This early in the season the ponies hadn't fluffed up hardly at all yet, nor had Morgen found the time to dig out one of his warmer coats. So it was that this grey-sky afternoon found the unicorn wrangle wearing a coat the no-colour of long wear with the collar turned up and his hat pulled down.
Though King's End sprawled around him, the cowboy was content to keep his herd grazing in a small portion of the valley where the hills of the Mourn cut down the wind and where the youngsters couldn't fuck off and get themselves into too much trouble.
it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going
Sohalia was growing weary. She'd wandered through the Greatwood for some time now, and yet she felt no more settled than she had when she'd started out. It was a restlessness she couldn't quite describe, and had no interest in analyzing for fear of what it might uncover. And so she simply continued wandering. But all that travel was exhausting, and she found herself wishing for a place to lay her head, if even for a short while.
She mostly walked from place to place, perhaps hitching a ride on a wagon from time to time. But she had never ridden a horse, and so when she found herself in King's End, confronted with a band of beautiful ponies, she was a tad bit nervous. They were so much bigger than she'd realized, and she was just one young woman.
So preoccupied with the horses roaming towards her was she that she didn't notice the man riding the unicorn. If she had, she might have hoped that he wouldn't gore her with the unicorn's horn. As it was, she merely gaped at the ponies, afraid to move for fear of moving the wrong way somehow, and afraid to stay still for fear of being in the way.
and when it's dark out, no one's around; it keeps glowing
Though most of the herd kept their noses down, snorfeling about in the dead grasses for some shoots that were still green, a few—mostly the youngsters—took instant notice of the woman wandering through the valley. With pricked ears and flared nostrils they danced towards her, all curled necks and high knees like she might be some strange predator that they wanted to impress.
Catching notice of the movements of the herd rather than Sohalia herself, Morgen turned his gaze towards the disruption. Giving his mare an immediate nudge forward, the wrangler put his fingertips between his lips and whistled sharply. 'Absolutely not.' He called, though his words were directed towards the unicorns rather than the young woman.
'Mind yourself ma'am, they haven't quite figured out where their horns are." A few of the colts raised their noses in defiance to see if Morgen meant business. He did, though it was the mare he rode who made all the difference: pinning her ears and reaching out her neck to give one of them a nip, the group sulkily moved a few paces back from Sohalia.
it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going
Though entranced by the youngsters' flashy movements, Sohalia was decidedly not prepared to deal with them. She froze in her tracks, an almost inaudible squeak tumbling from her lips. She would have been happy to admire the herd from afar, but to find herself stuck amongst the troublesome teenagers of the group... well, that was more than she'd bargained for today.
"Absolutely not," called a voice, and Sohalia jumped, swallowing a squeal of embarrassment. "I'm sorry -" she started, but quickly realized that the voice was not talking to her. She blushed, looking down, her hands clasped before her to keep from fidgeting.
Still, her savior rode nearer, and Sohalia snuck a look up at the man on unicorn-back. He was older than her, a hat as rugged as he was perched atop his head. "I'm terribly sorry," the young woman said nervously. "I didn't mean to be in the way."
and when it's dark out, no one's around; it keeps glowing
04-16-2023, 01:28 PM (This post was last modified: 04-16-2023, 01:28 PM by Morgen.)
MORGEN
Come down from your fences
Though Morgan’s voice had been stern, the expression on his face was defiantly gentle. “Ain’t nothin’ to apologize for.” He replied, voice rough but not unkind. Tugging at the brim of his hat in proper greeting now that the youngsters had found some other fuckery to draw their attention, the wrangler slid one leg over the back of his saddle, dismounting with the sort of ease that spoke of many long years in the saddle.
“Name’s Morgen.” The man mumbled as he turned, loosening the reins and giving his mare a pat on the shoulder. Placing the finger of one gloved hand into his mouth, he bit down and pulled, removing the glove before offering it out to Sohalia.
“Y’lost or just makin’ yer way through?” Though Morgan’s accent was rough around the edges just as he was, there was nothing unintelligent in his tone nor the spark in his denim-blue stare.
it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going
Whatever Sohalia had expected, Morgen was certainly not it. Where he'd been stern and firm with the unicorns, his voice turned gentle and his eyes turned kind when he shifted his attention to her. As the unicorns moved away, Soh began to relax. The man dismounted from his mare with the ease of long practice, turned to her, tugged off a glove, and offered a hand. Soh took it shyly. "I'm Sohalia," she said. "Sohalia Lumaris, but my friends call me Soh!"
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. Morgen was older and wiser than her (clearly) and she wasn't sure that that was the way that one should introduce themselves to someone like that. Besides, it was far too early in the conversation to call them acquaintances, let alone friends. Soh was slightly flustered when Morgen asked his next question - so much so that she nearly missed it altogether. "Oh - I don't... think I'm lost," she told him, which was about as clear as mud. "What I mean to say is, I'm just exploring!"
and when it's dark out, no one's around; it keeps glowing
Though the creases alongside Morgan's eyes deepened for a moment, the way a trusty pair of blue jeans might when you hunker down in them, his smile remained. A younger iteration of this man might have asked if calling her Soh would imply that they were friends, but this version, roughened and rather conversationally stunted by happenstance, merely nodded politely. "Pleasure t'meet you, ma'am."
I don't..think I'm lost struck the wrangler as particularly funny, the words cracking a smile on one side of his lips that rounded one cheek as he hrrphed under his breath.
"Well, ain't much to see compared to some places, but there's beauty here if y'know where t'look." Tugging his glove back on, Morgen eyed his mare for a moment before turning back to Soh. "There's a refuge made by a demigod back in them hills. Magic n'abilities don't work inside, but it's a nice enough place. Think he's even got some sort of magic brothel, if.." Pausing, and perhaps realizing that saying such to a woman, and one as young as Soh was the sort of thing his momma might have flogged him for when she was alive, had the wrangler blushing and abruptly halting the sentence with a cough.
"..and the burial mounds and whatnot." He added lamely.
it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going
It was strange to hear herself referred to as 'ma'am,' and she couldn't help the pleading look of confusion that crossed her face. "Just Soh, please," she nearly begged. She was hardly old enough to be called a woman, and 'ma'am,' was reserved for her older, wiser counterparts.
When Morgen began to describe the area, Soh hung onto every word, soaking up the knowledge that someone familiar with the area could impart - until he mentioned a brothel, at which point her cheeks promptly reddened and her gaze immediately fell to the ground. She wasn't particularly comfortable with the notion of intimacy, and it was painfully obvious from her reaction. She was relieved when Morgen quickly skirted past the topic. "Burial mounds?" she asked, peering at the man from beneath her lashes. "What can you tell me about those?"
and when it's dark out, no one's around; it keeps glowing
Glad to latch onto a topic both familiar and safe, the wrangler sighed with weary relief. "Well, it's hard to know which came first, really. Some say that all them mounds 'got bodies buried beneath 'em, but if you ask me--" And really, she was asking him. "--I think that's just what gave 'em the idea." Gesturing out toward where the snow-covered vista rose and fell, the wrangler gives a small shrug before looking back to Sohalia.
"It's almost always misty, which is both good n'bad. Gives folks who're mourning a bit of privacy, but it also lets things hide in it." Assuming Soh's next question would be, what sorts of things? Morgen politely fills in the blanks. " Ain't nothin' too bad though. Mostly it's the Enenra y'gotta watch out for. They're like banshees only worse, and they scream somethin' awful. Mostly it's the Villi you'll see, and they ain't nothin' more than ghosts." Another shrug.
So it was that the wrangler answered Sohalia's questions just as long as she felt like askin' 'em, before tugging at the brim of his hat and remounting his mare.
