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!
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
Longheat had to be Eleftheria’s favorite season. They gasped as they stepped through the border of thicket along the Oasis, the sparkling water revealing itself. The view was beautiful and picturesque, with the midday sun glinting into their eyes and making all the greenery around so, so vibrant.
The pressurized heat of frustration within them began to melt away as they took in the sight, just standing there. They had spent most of the morning trying to hunt with nothing to show for it, and the clawing hunger in their stomach didn’t help them feel or perform any better. They had only ventured into the Glade a handful of times before this, since only recently did they pluck up the courage to do so. This Oasis felt like a gift, somehow, unexpected and pleasant.
El crouched beside the water and stuck a hand in tentatively, finding it cool and clear, then ducked down on their hands to have a much-needed drink. They could feel sweat beading down their spine and sticking some hairs to their forehead, so, after a moment’s hesitation, they dunked their entire head under before throwing it back and wiping the excess water from their eyes. For a time, they sat there on their knees, eyes closed, face towards the sun, allowing it to evaporate the water on their skin. They took a deep breath in through their nostrils and willed the frustration away. It would do them no good to get so worked up that their bow disintegrated. Then what would they have to hunt with? Not that they were having much luck with hunting today anyway.
”Fuck, I’m hungry,” they said to themselves, trying not to get too caught up in self-pity. Not for the first time, they felt the empty ache that came whenever they missed their father. He had been such a good hunter.
"Hungry," comes a voice from the Oasis, out in the still, deep waters. And then another joins in, and another, and another. "Hungry! Food here. A picnic! Such a lovely day." A cacophony of voices makes it sound as though there might be a veritable party going on, though the source is unclear - perhaps on the other side of the shore? All El would need to do is swim across, and they might be able to sample some of the food that is surely abundant for everyone to share.
Such would be the case, of course, were any of the voices real. Alas, Fox has heard them call to people from all across the Oasis, from beneath some of the Bone Bridges and even in the water towards the Outer Islands. He's not there to hunt Echo Sharks (aka the source of the noise) - he's merely passing through, in truth - but the way they pipe up with such vigour does trouble him a little.
"Don't listen," he rumbles out in a warning to the stranger by the water - he doesn't know if they have any intention of doing just that, but it's better to be safe than sorry. "You're more likely to end up as food than to find any."
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
The voices that pipe up after El's makes them jump, head whipping back and forth to find the source. There's no one to be found, however, not that El would have trusted a random voice to give them food anyway. Maybe they could steal some, though, if the picnic group got distracted enough...
Just as El began to stand and search for the party of picnic-goers, they hear another voice, this one different from the ones before and definitely coming from behind. They turn to look and find a man there, rough-looking, and they bend down to snatch up their bow after a moment of hesitation. The man did just give some advice, but it was always better to have some type of defense.
"Who said that, then?" they ask, genuinely curious and simultaneously skeptical. For all they knew, this man could be trying to make El food too. He could be in on the whole thing. Gods be damned, El was hungry.
They snatch up their bow and Fox is already dropping to one knee at the shoreline, his bag slipping from his shoulder so he might unbuckle and rifle through it. Dressed in a sleeveless shirt and pants that have seen better days, he's nonetheless deft as he searches for what will turn out to be bait, the Ancient withdrawing a wrapped paper parcel. Glancing up at the stranger in time to see them with their weapon, he instinctively raises his free hand.
"I don't mean any harm," he assures them. "I hunt monsters - it's my job. The noise you heard, it's the sound that Echo Sharks make. They're like... a small species of shark, they swim in packs. They make those noises to try and lure you into the water." Unwrapping the parcel and revealing a few chunks of bloody red meat, Fox grabs a couple and throws them towards the deeper parts of the Oasis.
Immediately, a flurry of movement and teeth heralds the movement of the sharks, and he winces. "See?"
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
The demonstration has El both puzzled and interested. They never met a monster hunter before, and after he literally gets on his knees to throw meat in the water, El figures that he isn't a threat. If he is, he doesn't have much of a sense of self-preservation. Besides, the Echo Sharks were now taking up most of El's attention anyway. They thrashed and writhed, teeth flashing, blood diluting into the rippling water.
"Damn. And I was thinking it would've been nice to swim in there," they say, feeling disappointed but also relieved. If this guy hadn't come along, who knows what might have happened?
"So, you're a monster hunter? Did you decide to hunt Echo Sharks today? How do you even do that? Does this sort of thing make money?" El cannot stop themselves from asking all the questions that come to them. They are struck with curiosity about everything a monster hunter does and knows. Also, this guy has meat, so perhaps befriending him will lead to food.
"I'm Hawke, by the way." They decide to use their family name, just in case this hunter has heard anything about an Abandoned monster who disintegrates things uncontrollably.
Huffing out a breath of laughter, Fox nods to El. "It is a nice swim, when they're not around," he concedes. "I get calls sometimes to try and move them on from lakes and rivers where people fish. I try to corral them away, but they're a decent meal in themselves if you can catch them." Folding the bait away and replacing it in his bag, Fox rises to his feet and keeps his eyes mostly on the pack of sharks still churning the waters in the near distance.
Their flurry of questions has him taken aback, at first - not used to being social at the best of times, Fox ends up awkwardly ruffling a hand back through his hair, revealing for a moment the small, bony protrusions that count as his horns. "I didn't decide to, no," he says with a shake of his head. "I was actually just passing through on the way to town. But it didn't feel right to leave you without a warning..."
Hoisting his pack over his shoulder, he nods a friendly enough greeting. "I'm Fox," he introduces, and there's a joke to be made about animal names, if he were a more charming man. "I usually take jobs from farmers or others who are having trouble with monsters. They pay in food, supplies, sometimes a couple of valuables, that sort of thing."
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
Despite this Fox's apparent good nature -- he didn't have to warn El, after all -- it seemed that he was a bit uncomfortable answering all their questions. Well, that's how people usually reacted. Or they just ignored them. He seemed to be ready to move on, hoisting the bag he held over his shoulder. Though he hadn't started to walk away just yet. They caught a glimpse of some little nubs on his head as he ran his hand through his hair. He definitely wasn't just your average Accepted, then. This only gave them more questions to ask.
"Thanks, I guess," El says, in an awkward attempt to show gratitude. This is what you did when people did kind things for you, yes? It was really just an attempt to add a pause between more of their questions, however. So they didn't become too overwhelming. "You're not hunting right now, so...do you normally walk around with raw meat as bait? Just in case? Wouldn't that draw monsters to you? You must get a lot of business around here, with the Hollowed Grounds being so, so," they were having trouble thinking of the right words. "Messed up, I suppose."
They wanted him to stick around, or at least be okay with El sticking around, so they felt the need to keep talking. A way of saying "don't go" without saying "don't go." Gods be damned, they were pitiful. "How do you become a monster hunter? Did someone teach you? You must be blessed by the Gods in some way." Not that El wanted to know all his business, but...they wanted to know all his business. It's not like they'd been very busy before this man showed up. Maybe at some point they could ask him for the meat.
"You're welcome." They're right, and Fox is absolutely ready to move on, but Hawke's apparent curiosity pairs with his politeness (and lack of social contact) and cements his feet in their place on the shoreline. "Oh, er... that was actually going to be lunch," he explains sheepishly, of the paper parcel he'd removed. "I was passing through on my way home."
Granted, 'home' is still a ways off, but it's not too much trouble to camp out given the weather. "Though you're right, I do sometimes carry it around as bait, too. It can draw some monsters in, but usually only when I want them to appear." At least, that's been his experience so far, but Hawke's remark definitely gives him something else to worry think about.
Nodding in resigned agreement about the Grounds, he shifts the bag on his shoulder again. "It's less messed up than it used to be, but... yeah. Plenty of business, especially for people trying to work the land."
Unable to help but scoff at the idea of being blessed by any god, Fox shakes his head. "It's just what I've always done, I suppose. Back when the barrier was up there wasn't really much choice of career, right?" He shrugs. "That is, assuming you're from the Grounds...?" They could be only visiting, after all; Fox has run into a few 'tourists' lately, for lack of a better word.
"I used to be an Ascended, believe it or not. So blessed isn't my experience," he admits.
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
El gets disappointed, then darkly amused as they realize Fox threw some of the only food he had to some Echo Sharks for a demonstration. They can't help but laugh; the man must not realize that they're so hungry. They cannot allow themselves to be annoyed or bothered by Fox, otherwise they might do something they don't mean to do, but this is habitual for them, easy. Their sarcastic, huffed laughter at meeting someone who so easily throws away food is a numbing balm.
They have a hard time believing that he isn't blessed, while he goes on about how he only allows monsters to go near him and has plenty of business, until the moment he calls himself Ascended. Eleftheria's entire body stiffens.
"You're one of those, then, huh? Must've been nice before the war, at least." They know they're being unkind, but bitterness takes them over. It catches in the back of their throat like the smoke from the fires. "Yeah, I'm a Grounder. From a farming family." They know this will be enough. Their hand grips and flexes on their bow, an expression of tension drawn taut across their features.
It's true that there is a lot that Fox doesn't realise, though the tell-tale hostility that overtakes Hawke's features and body language is something he knows very well, and the hunter holds up his hands in a placating gesture. "Nice isn't the word I'd use," he says quietly. "Listen, you have every right to be angry - I am, too. Some of the first monsters I ever hunted were Ascended, believe it or not." Now it's his turn for something bitter to cross his expression, Fox biting at the inside of his cheek and lowering his gaze to the ground.
"Joining the Voice was something I considered a mistake very early on, but... there was nothing I could do to reverse it once it was done, you know?" Forcing the tension out of his shoulders, it's with a quiet effort that he raises his eyes back to Hawke's face. "And now I spend a lot of my time helping out farming families. I know it doesn't change the past, but I'm still sorry."
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
El watches Fox carefully as he responds, searching his eyes for deception or insincerity. He seems nothing but sincere, however, and El can even detect some bitterness which mirrors their own. They're a little shocked at this; they hadn't realized that not all Ascended were loyal to one another and to the Voice. The hostility in them softens once they consider that Fox had no obligation to explain himself to them, but did so anyway, and with an apology at that.
"I thought all Ascended were the same. Throwing their weight around as favored of the Voice and not caring if regular people get hurt. But I guess you're proving me wrong," they said all this with a rueful smile, leaning over on one foot, then the other. "You really don't feel any loyalty to them? Then why join them at all?" It was only after they asked the questions that they realized they were prying and remembered this man was a stranger to them. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's probably hard to talk about."
His smile matches theirs, rueful and a touch self-deprecating, Fox shrugging his shoulders and slowly lowering his hands again. "Some of us regretted our choices, but we were mostly overshadowed by those in support of the Voice," he says softly. "And I joined them because it felt like a better life. Not having to be hungry, not having to get tired... in a place like the Grounds, it's easy not to want to worry about that kind of thing."
He doesn't mind talking about it, especially given that it's in the past now, and hopefully as time goes on people will forget the Ascended ever existed at all. "I don't mind answering, especially if it's to make sure you don't think I'm a monster like they were," he adds with a small smile.
About to say something else, Fox is interrupted by another skirmish out in the Oasis; he thinks it's more Echo Sharks at first, and he isn't entirely wrong, but the churning and foaming of the water suggests there's something a lot bigger in there, too. Furrowing his brow, especially as the water starts to stain red and a line of ripples begins to head straight for them, the hunter beckons Hawke away from the shoreline. "Quick, up onto the bank...!"
i reach out to my lifeline, the angels laugh in paradise
As he continues speaking, Hawke understands him better and calms down. Shit, if they had known becoming Ascended would make your life so great, they might have joined up too. They look at his small smile, and theirs turns more genuine in return. Perhaps this man isn't too bad.
He seems distracted by something behind El, though they only notice right before he yells for them to get away from the shoreline. El turns without thinking, trying to see what he was so afraid of, before a massive set of jaws open themselves not five feet away from them. They jolt backwards in fear at the strange reptilian creature, realizing too late that they dropped their bow. A part of them knows it's foolish to go back for it, but another part of them refuses to lose it.
They dive to the ground, arm outstretched to grab their weapon, and the creature knows what's coming. It snaps at El's arm, making them scream in pain, but they won't let go of the bow. Instead, they try in vain to wrest their arm from the creature's mouth.
"Allogator," Fox calls by way of an explanation, though he hasn't ever seen the strange reptiles in the Oasis before. That being said, he's never seen so many Echo Sharks here either, so perhaps it's just a domino effect. He's halfway up the bank by the time Hawke's cry of pain pierces the air, the hunter whipping around to see her arm captured in the jaws of the creature. He doesn't swear (out loud) for which he should probably be grateful, lest he draw the allogator's attention himself, but he does skirt to the side of the bank.
"Try and get free," he shouts, but there's little time to waste on words before it undoubtedly tries to drag her into the water. Fox is already shifting, his body warping into something vaguely canid, heavy armour plating covering his flanks and shoulders, until there's a fyrhund standing where a man once was.
Snarling at the allogator, Fox lunges forward and attempts to clamp its jaws around the creature's head; he can't risk introducing fire into the mix just yet, not with Hawke so close to the action.
