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!
If she could look past the anxiety produced by Deimos's flames, Alys had to admit that it was beautiful to watch. Nine-tailed foxes pranced around her, accompanied by unicorns of fire. She was almost as distracted by watching the firestorm dancing around her as she was by the fear that it would consume her. But she managed to persevere, beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead as she forced herself to concentrate, and soon enough, she received the signal from Deimos to let her bird evaporate.
The flames disappeared alongside her cardinal, and Alys watched Deimos, panting. She half expected him to ask her to do it again - repetition, after all, would be key in learning to strengthen her magic, just as it had been in strengthening her intuition and Sight. To her surprise - and relief - he merely offered praise and instructions to continue practicing. Unsure what to say or do, now that her training appeared to be over (for now), Alys crossed her arms over her chest. "Thank you," she said, and it wasn't as gruff as she'd started the day. She really was grateful, after all.
Maybe she would be able to make something of her magic, after all.
There’d been times where the beast had been purposefully intimidating – through his mass and bulk, through his power and prowess. But nowadays he didn’t stalk through the Citadel with a scowl, or some other nefarious property adorning his features – much less taut and rigid, unyielding and unbending.
So when he’d said Alys had nothing to fear, he’d meant it – through flames, shards, or rocks. Perhaps, eventually, she was at ease, and only just long enough to pierce through basic maneuvers of a magic that had plenty of potential. With everything else withdrawn, for he figured pushing her to do another round would only culminate in limitations readily and blisteringly apparent in her figure, he simply nodded. “You are welcome.” As most magic users were, to his expertise and instruction, striving to uphold the considerations of the many. His eyes wandered back to the range of the training hall before them, glancing at the rest of his comrades as they persisted through warmups and skirmishes. “Do you need anything else?”
Alys followed Deimos's gaze to the soldiers scattered around the area, watching them for a moment as they trained in their own ways. "Do many of your soldiers have magic?" she asked curiously. How many times had he assisted others just as he had her? It was clear from their training that this was not his first time acting as a mentor or a guide. It wasn't really a surprise: he may have been stoic and measured in his countenance, but he was also patient and kind, at least in Alys's view.
Now that she knew what to do, she could and would continue to train on her own. But was there more to her training than simply to stretch her magic? Would she be able to hone her skills with illusions, maintain them longer, make them stronger, without also strengthening her body as well? "Should I be trying to get stronger physically, too? Will that help my magic?"
In no hurry to relinquish another portion of his afternoon to pending paperwork, he caught the snags of her curiosity, and promptly muffled another chuckle. “Some,” and his gaze flickered back – watching as those individuals sought out the very same enchanting properties, dueling and jousting amongst one another in rallies and relays of ice shards and pebbles, or wind blistering around makeshift frays. “But we also have Accepted and Attuned here.” Once, they’d had Ascended too, but with the war, alterations and changes happened quickly, swiftly, and they were left wary and guarded with each other. They lacked Ancient as well, though that was only due to the climate.
Tilting his head a fraction again, his eyes narrowed in speculation at her inquiry. Especially since he’d seen her earlier attempts, and there’d be a long way to go in that regard. “It would not hurt.” He didn’t extend the same offers he might have done with his comrades below, considering she’d made it very clear about her standing in those regards. “Weights, running, wall climbing,” and on the last one he gave her a wry grin. “Along with other means of endurance could be beneficial.”
His soft chuckle didn't offend Alys this time, her curiosity piqued and her defenses crumbling in its wake. Past her grumpy - and perhaps a bit haughty - exterior, an inquisitive and eager soul lay dormant. It unfurled now from its slumber, and she forgot to be offended.
Alys followed his gaze to find those Abandoned soldiers practicing their craft and watched hungrily as they sparred. It was fascinating to see others wield their power with such ease and finesse. What would it be like, she wondered, to have more than just illusions at her fingertips? If she continued to hone her craft, would her abilities expand, too?
She made a face at Deimos's teasing. It was an interesting shift from her earlier glares and glowering, but she was tired and contented with her work earlier, and it seemed too much effort to be irritable when Deimos's amusement had been earned. "I'll keep that in mind," she said wryly. Then she hesitated. "Could... could I come back and try again sometime?"
Musing, he watched some of his soldiers and guards switch their abilities, countering one another in machinations and discoveries, and he smiled a little, content with the way their practices had advanced. “I think you will find the more you wield your power, the more others grow.” Life drain had always been his initial birthright, a collected shadow and contortion lingering below the surface, but then others followed suit: creation, fire, water, earth, air, flowing together in an assortment of elements that left him ready, willing, and able to combat varieties of foes and obstacles. As if something had been unlocked, unfurled and unrepentant, giving over and over and over again until he could command them all within a breath.
She could make her faces all she wanted though, for he gave them no mind. Instead, he tilted his head back her way, perhaps an indication of the feline and canine shifts lurking in his soul too, a warm chuckle following. “I suppose,” and he wrinkled his nose, drawing the syllables out as if they were painful to admit. “As long as you practice on your own too.”
Alys liked the idea of other abilities coming to life as she practiced. Illusion magic had always seemed a bit silly to her, but she could easily see the appeal of something like fire magic. There were more magical abilities, as well; she wondered if she would get to choose how her magic developed, or if it would be a surprise to her. She certainly couldn't remember having chosen to pursue illusion magic.
She nodded eagerly at Deimos's condition. "I will," she promised. "It's no use to only practice once in a while." She knew that lesson well. When she'd first picked up tarot, she was often discouraged and would stop using her cards for weeks or months at a time. It was only when she had developed a daily practice that her skill and intuition had grown. "I'm going to visit the Academy, too. Could you remind me how to get there?" She may as well take advantage of her time in Halo.
Magic wasn’t always forthright in its use; some were more obvious, overt, and detrimental, while others would come to the surface, brim over, when they were necessary. In these times of peace, maybe illusion was amongst the latter, for Deimos could think of any number of things he would’ve done to utilize such incantations during the war. Trickery, deceit, furtive imbalances, could’ve played straight into disaster and ruin for enemies; rogue manners of duplicity eagerly distorted.
But for now, trying things out amidst repose wasn’t a bad thing either. Experience in wielding, in trying could be enough, as they all grew and prospered.
He nodded at her agreement, silently intending to hold her to it the next time she came to train. As for the Academy, he jutted his jawline in its general direction. “Difficult to miss. Large structure by the Palace.” Last time he’d been there he’d only meandered around to find Ru’s nearest window and land a snowball on it; otherwise he’d never set foot in its confines.
It said a great deal about Alys's past, that she'd never had to consider more sinister uses for her magic. In fact, her childhood was wholly unremarkable, save for the fact that she'd been an Abandoned (and who wanted to be that, when it meant the gods had turned their faces from you?) and a Seer (and who needed that sort of judgment?) and had spent most of her early life more or less alone. She couldn't say that she'd had a perfect youth, but neither had it been terrible. It had simply been. Perhaps that was why she wanted more now - she was tired of just existing. She wanted to do something more.
But Deimos kindly pointed out the direction to the Academy, and Alys committed it to memory. She really did plan to seek out - oh, what was the leader's name again? - and ask for admittance. Deimos had been a patient mentor, but he seemed to have quite enough going on without adding Alys's training to the list. Better to spend her time among others looking to learn and grow, in a place meant to enable them to do just that. "You know the head of the Academy, don't you? I think you told me before. What's she like?"
It likely said a great deal about his too, if his machinations immediately pinpointed on besting opponents. But that was how he’d lived a majority of his lives; pushing past barriers and breaking down fortresses, and clambering for liberation. How he’d been raised – to be swift, strong, and clever, to not be clouded by whims of judgement so quickly.
But there were opportunities for more than just that; and so he arched his brow at her next question. “She is like a sister to me,” maybe as a warning, that they were either vastly similar to one another, or that the close bond meant he was seeing her through rose-colored glasses. They’d seen one another through some very dark days, and so he wouldn’t comment on the aspects of heartache and melancholy, of loss and anguish, of bitterness and rancor. But his rumble took on a distinctly mischievous undertone, with a juvenile, boyish grin to match. “Ru is a woman of many facets. A hybrid, like myself.” They might’ve been the few left to hold the term. “Loyal, kind, devoted to her friends and family.” A shrug of his shoulders followed, as if all the sentimentality felt wrong. “Mercurial and capricious at times, but I think you would enjoy her teaching.”
Alys listened closely as Deimos spoke of Hotaru. She sounded like a fascinating woman, and certainly one from whom Alys could learn a great deal. "She sounds interesting," said the young woman, pondering just what Deimos could have meant by 'mercurial.' Of course, Alys herself was quite familiar with shifting moods and a certain volatility in one's nature.
She looked out over the training grounds again, her dark eyes shifting from one sparring group to another, taking mental notes on some of the more physical aspects of their training. She'd need to focus on both her physical wellbeing and her magical abilities in order to grow; of that, she was now quite sure. The only thing that remained was to see how.
In any case, she'd taken up quite enough of Deimos's time. "Thank you again for today," she said, half shyly and half gruffly. "I'm sure I'll see you around, if I stay in Halo for a while."
Interesting was a mild sentiment to be placed upon Ru – but Alys would see that for herself, eventually. As for all the other semblances, the Sword gave a nod, inwardly acknowledging he’d have to attend back to paperwork and letters waiting for him within offices now anyway; he’d avoided it long enough. “You are welcome,” came with an arched brow, as he began to maneuver long strides over to the arched portions of the climbing wall, a clear path towards the rest of the training grounds. “Good luck,” rumbled along with another wave of his hand, before he too, had shifted into the world of warriors and duels again.
