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!
The inclusion of their efforts towards the skyport made traversing to the Hollowed Grounds far easier. Years before, he wouldn’t have bothered embarking there for any multitude of reasons – and in keeping clear of the living areas, Deimos found himself more inclined to explore the vast, new regions. Those portions had no embittered, rancorous memories, blood spattered upon the ground, or vast reaches of nefarious intricacies layered or laden within their terrain. Too fresh, too new, too wild, too foreign; all brought him to foundations of curiosity, especially to the rise of the little knoll.
For the Grounds didn’t have mountains – he could recall flattened fields and murky woods, low glades and underground warrens, labyrinths with their spirals and complexities. “Have you been here much?” was an inquiry for Sah, uncertain just how far the fellow Outlander had traveled in the span of time and space.
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Sah shook his head, "I've only ever been to the Grounds once before this." That had been soon after he'd arrived in Caido. The tensions had risen quickly and after choosing where he stood, the Abandoned had avoided entering the Grounds, lest he find himself in a confrontation. He'd traversed much of the Wilds and some of Torchline and the Greatwood. But otherwise, there was still much of Caido he'd yet to see. "What about you?" Sah imagined that his friend had seen far more of the Grounds then he had.
The Wild Thunder found himself observing the area around with curious eyes as they walked, "It's beautiful here." There was lush new growth as far as the eye could see. Peaking out from the soil at random intervals were wildflowers and other foliage. As a breeze stirred the grass around them, Sah sighed. It was peaceful.
Something stirred as he looked below – towards the labyrinth, with the outline of vines and ability to see into its warren sanction. He might have laughed in another time or place, but the space didn’t provide him much comfort – brows furrowed slightly at the inquiry. “Used to live here,” and his jaw jutted down towards the village. He imagined his old home must have been decimated in the interim of years before; perhaps in all the pending disasters, or in the Sparkbird’s surefire demolition. “When the Voice pulled us in, we had no choice. Before the barrier fell.” And all the other sentiments behind it.
And they’d tried to scrape something together out of a world they knew nothing about. He huffed some self-deprecating chuckle, before advancing further, taking long strides to unwind up the hill, striving to ease the tension away from his soul. As for its beauty, maybe it was a welcome alteration – a shift in the earth, in the absent dwelling, where so many events had lacquered and taken place. “It is a nice change from what it used to be.”
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Sah nodded as Deimos spoke, recalling the fact that the Grounds were where Outlanders used to appear before the barrier broke. He'd forgotten that Deimos had been one of the first. The man was such an intrinsic part of Halo that it was sometimes easy to forget the time before then. A time years before the Wild Thunder had ever set foot into Caido.
Hating the pain in his friend's voice, Sah dropped the topic. Instead, he continued to regard the land around them. It was as he opened his mouth to speak that a scent reached him. Over the smell of overturned earth, fallen stone, and fresh greenery, there was something sweet. Brow pinched, the Abandoned turned, taking a deep breath to try and pinpoint what it was. Confused, he turned to Deimos, "Is it just me, or do you smell something sweet?"
Some days it was easy to forget. But the Grounds had been foundation lines of so many things, from Ascended platitudes, Outlander attitudes, heartache and loss, to the way sedition spurned in his bones at the mere mention of some long-gone dictators. His eyes swept away from the arches and vines of the labyrinth, scaling upwards towards the hill, in some urge to simply strive above and gaze at other things, grateful Sah didn’t ask any more. Reliving past traumas hadn’t been on his mind for activities today.
But the inquiry gave him pause, and he stopped to lift his head higher, taking it in. “Perhaps. Give me a moment.” And seconds later, after placing his bag down, the hybrid shifted to his hellhound reaches, nose to the wind, far more keen at scents than any human form. Snagging at his satchel so it’d be held in his teeth, he rampaged forward, intending to give chase to the particular aroma.
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Sah watched as Deimos shifted, wondering if another form would pinpoint it immediately. Sure enough, the hellhound that emerged quickly took off. Tightening his grip on his own bag, the younger Abandoned ran to catch up with his friend. The hound was far swifter, but the Wild Thunder never strayed far behind.
As they ran, the sweet smell grew stronger, saturating the air around them. The scent began to remind him vanilla and Sah's brow furrowed with confusion. He couldn't imagine why he'd be smelling vanilla all the way out here. Driven by his curiosity, Sah picked up the pace until he was just behind Deimos.
The hellhound penchant for unfurling speed, avarice, and chasing down maelstroms surged through his form instantly. They were rapacious, carnivorous edges, always underneath the surface, and brought forth far more eagerly the moment his predacious forms were allowed to contort and coil. With a purpose, rather than an extended run, it kept his mind occupied, even if the sudden need to expel copious amounts of energy, surge over the hill, and rampage along the knoll, twisted its way through his long limbs.
His ears flicked back occasionally to hear Sah’s running, keeping his pace to a minimum instead of something he’d release across the tundra – no wild abandon, no reckless endeavors. Nose to the ground, he continued to catch the same sweet smells, following, tracing, pondering over the particulars – reminded of a Hollowed Grounds’ bakery, and something in his heart lurched, before he shut it down completely.
Because he’d pinpointed the aroma’s center, and stared curiously at a entangled bout of grass, barking at it for emphasis.
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Sah pulled up to a stop beside Deimos and looked at the grass. At first, he was puzzled but he took a knee and ran a hand over it. The movement made the scent of vanilla waft in the air. Picking a leaf, the Abandoned held it up to his nose and cautiously sniffed it. "It's just like vanilla, weird."
There was one section of the grass that looked nearly brittle. It was on rockier terrain and Sah wondered if perhaps it wasn't getting enough water. Calling upon his recently mastered water magic, he conjured a small bubble of water. Using his air magic to float it over to the dried portion, he let it gently rain down onto the grass. It wasn't much but maybe it would help the grass last until the next rainstorm.
The aroma beckoned and snagged at his nose, and despite his association with Earth elements and Evie’s philosophy around plantlife, he had no information, knowledge, sagacity, or wisdom tied to the flora. Shifting back to his natural form, crouching in front of the dominion, he gave it a careful perusal and study – plainer affecting, though perhaps it was due to the alterations and changes in spring, and it hadn’t been granted everything it required yet.
Sah had the right idea, and where he implemented water incantations, Deimos unfurled connotations with the ground, soil, and terrain. Unfurling and uncoiling the features of earthen fixtures back into the terrain. They were instantly replenished with what they’d been denied: a softer, rain-soaked loam, a tangible grasp towards the sky, a turning and shifting towards the sun.
Ceasing for a moment, and tilting his head in more scrutinizing factions, he aimed to twist his connotations away from the murky doldrums and echoes of the past, calling for renewal, the present. A cheeky grin settled itself on his features, before his eyes flickered back to Sah. “We could probably use some of this in Halo.”
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Sah watched with satisfaction as Deimos added his own magic to the mix. The struggling patch of grass already looked better, replenished and renewed. Running a hand over the green stems, he noted small buds. Grinning, he nodded at Deimos, "We should. Then we can see what's blooming from it."
Maybe Evie or another citizen knowledgeable of plants could identify it. Sah wondered if it tasted as nice as it smelled. "Would you be willing to make a pot or something similar for us to carry it back in?" Sah asked as he began to gently dig around the base of one of the clumps. He knew Deimos was capable of such a thing, but it was always best to ask.
And someone with a better eye and knowledge of the plants could figure out its foundations, structure, and if it would be worth utilizing – he certainly didn’t want to expand notions of poisonous things embedded in the greenhouse. “Can have someone look at it, at the very least.”
Fully intending to simply pocket a few or shove them in his bag, he obliged Sah with a snort, for that semblance of forethought would forego an inevitable crushing within the satchel. “Sure.” He’d created jars for this singular purpose before, and thoughts briefly flickered to Jigano, until they wound back into concentration and efforts necessary for the task. Perhaps the Grounds simply forced nostalgia into his mind.
Bringing his palms close together, then widening them outwards, they began to glow and concoct the viable, tangible threads of glass and lids, thin enough to hold the stalks upward, rather than folding or breaking stems apart. Thereafter, he held the container out, for Sah to place the clumps within.
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
"Definitely." Sah agreed. Learning about the plant was a success in itself. The Wild Thunder then sent Deimos a look of mock-offense at the Sword's snort. "What? We want the plant alive, don't we?" Snickering he watched quietly as his fellow Abandoned crafted a pot out of thin air. The Wild Thunder felt the familiar tang of determination and slight envy. Yes, he'd been right to make his goal for the year to learn how to create such things with magic. Just one more element and creation magic. He was so close to his goal.
With the pot created, Sah finished digging out a few clumps and carefully transferred them over. Rearranging the roots and soil within, he finally nodded with satisfaction. "I think they're ready." He knew little about plants, but they seemed secure in their temporary abode and that was enough for him.
The Sword cast an indifferent shrug, but a half-formed grin simultaneously, permitting his own humor to flicker through. Unaware of Sah’s other notions and thoughts towards the creation magic, once the plant was placed within, he contorted and conjured further implementations: some dampened soil, a little rush of further earthen enchantments to ensure the grass made it home. Once he placed the lid on top, complete with holes in case the vegetation felt the need to spread itself further, he rose from his crouched position, drawn back to full height.
Eyes glancing towards the rise of the hill, and in some idle curiosity, his jaw jutted in its direction. “Want to keep going?” They’d been distracted from any other musings with the aroma of vanilla, and his inquiring, restless mind had every intention to at least explore landscapes easily within reach.
we exhume our enemy's bones we are battling, hungry beasts
Cargo secured, Sah stood up as well, brushing the worst of the dirt off of his clothes. His eyes followed Deimos' towards the rise ahead of them. "Sure." With a nod, the Abandoned continued on their prior path. It took a few moments for the scent of vanilla to begin to fade, but it was eventually replaced with the scent of lush grass and sunlight. Distant laughter chimed through the air from children playing nearby.
There was something truly peaceful about this place and it had tension bleeding out of Sah's shoulders. "I should bring the twins here sometime." He could picture Soleil and Luka happily running through the grass under the watchful eye of his companions. Maybe Sah could even bring some food and they could have a picnic?
