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!
Fox hadn't gotten much of a chance to take in Torchline on his way up to the Climb; he'd been trying so hard to reach the apparent homeland of the Ancients that he'd not allowed himself to be wowed by the eclectic city and all of its sights, sounds and wonders. Now, though? With a skyship that goes to the Hollowed Grounds - and who knew? - leaving at the end of the day, the hunter is able to enjoy the islands for what they are.
He's sitting next to one of the canals on the landbound side of Haulani, legs crossed, bare shoulders pink against the midday heat. The sunburn might bother him later but the temperature doesn't affect him now, and besides, he's too busy concentrating to care. In his lap sits a cloth filled with shards of obsidian, carefully chipped from the Burrows in the Climb. He's painstaking filing their edges to dull them, intending to make... well, something from the smooth pieces. He has no idea what yet, though.
Who used the Bubblestream? Hadama used the Bubblestream!
It certainly made his commute between the Underwater City and the Court of Stars far easier and he appreciated the reminder of how all of Torchline had come together to make it happen.
Though he shared the leadership now he still enjoyed seeing how the human side of the land was getting on, and he surfaced often while he swam into the canals to nod in greeting to those he recognized.
But there was one person he did not recognize... a man with horns and a spade tail, like those he had seen at the impromptu beach party recently. Curiosity drew him close enough to see the man working with stone and file and professional interest inspired him to speak up. "Hello," he rumbled, drifting to the edge of the canal. "Are you new to Torchline?"
Actually, no. What he actually says can't be fairly called words at all, because as something pops up from the edge of the canal, it's with a yelp and a brief fumble that he drops the file into the water. "Gods, I reckon you just took a year off my life," he blurts when he finally realises it's a someone rather than a thing, the hunter tilting his head at Hadama and checking he's not lost any obsidian in his surprise.
"Yeah, this is my first time stopping in the city," he says - and his first time ever meeting a Mer, but more on that later. "Are you just... going for a swim, or...?" He tilts his head, blissfully unaware of the manta that lurks beneath the surface of the canal.
Well. Never mind. He stretched out a hand beneath the water without thinking, judging the file's tumble with the ease of long experience and catching it neatly. "My apologies," he rumbled, contrite as he offered the tool back up to its owner.
He was frankly curious about the stranger as he looked back at him, and he gave a slow nod as the man confirmed his guess. At the question in return, however, he tilted his head to the side, considering several responses. Not realizing that the Ancient hadn't realized the truth yet he settled on: "Yes." Resting his arms on the edge of the canal, his tail mostly hidden beneath him in the shadows, he offered the stranger a courteous nod. "I am Hadama. It is nice to meet you."
"It's alright, I was just surprised," Fox says, trying hard for a smooth recovery with arguably mixed results. Even so, he gratefully accepts the file back and sets down the shards of obsidian with it, not wanting to risk spilling everything into the water. (Who knew if other swimmers weren't about to pop up and say hello, after all).
He supposes it's not uncommon for people to use the canals to travel around or swim in either, given how many spider through the Torchline streets. And perhaps if he'd visited the islands even a couple more times, the name Hadama might have meant something; alas, all he can offer is a polite smile and a stretch of a hand to shake.
"Fox," he introduces. "Is it always this hot here around Longheat?" He ought to have visited before now, if so.
The (mer)man inclined his head, accepting Fox's recovery regardless of whether it was smooth or rough. His attention was drawn to the shards of obsidian but he was content to wait for the ritual of introduction to be complete, and he was not disappointed. As he took Fox's hand the other man might notice that not only was Hadama's hand wet from the canal water, there was also a slick, translucent webbing between the fingers that wrapped gently but firmly around his own.
"Indeed. Some days it is hotter," he agreed. "Many choose to visit the Underwater City this season. It is much cooler there." Not knowing that the Ancient preferred the heat - and the oxygen - over the cool, dark waters below the Arclight.
Nodding to the obsidian and the file at hand, Hadama tilted his head curiously at his new acquaintance. "What are you making?"
Ah, right. Cool. Gross. Fox does indeed notice, doing his best not to stare as he takes his hand back, opting to set them in his lap so he can't put them anywhere unexpectedly webbed for the foreseeable. People have partial shifts, he tells himself, and he needs to stop being so weird about it. "Hotter than this?" Tilting his head up towards the cloudless sky, he's never expected to feel pleased about so much light and heat, and yet here they are.
"The what?" Attention snapping back, Fox directs his gaze once more into the water, as if he might be able to see what Hadama means. "Did you say an Underwater City?" he wasn't aware that Torchline covered, sky, land and sea so thoroughly. "How big is the region?"
As for what he's making, he glances back to the smooth obsidian shards and tilts his head. "I was going to make a bracelet out of the pieces," he says. "I brought some twine along, so I can thread them when I'm happy."
"Indeed," the dark-skinned man agreed solemnly, unaware of the discomfort his fishy grip may have caused the Ancient. Though he had certainly noticed that Fox's fingers lacked webbing, he was to polite to bring attention to the lack.
And again: "Yes." He inclined his head in confirmation of what he'd said. "It is where the Merfolk live. Torchline is the largest region of Caido." If the maps of the skyship sailors were to be believed, and Hadama saw no reason to doubt them.
The explanation of the project at hand brought a thoughtful look into the Tidebreaker's emerald eyes and he reached into his pouch to pull out two nubs of polished obsidian, roughly the size and shape of his thumbs. "I have a piece to work on as well. May I join you?" There was nothing pressing requiring his immediate attention in the Court today, and if he didn't make time to work on his jewelry for the gathering he would never get around to it.
Merfolk finally chimes something in place in Fox's mind, the hunter attaining a sudden, dawning expression of understanding, and he gives a nod of almost relief. "That's right. I had heard Mer lived out in the Arclight. I never realised they were in Torchline, though," he confesses, offering Hadama a bashful sort of smile. "I don't get out of the Grounds much, can you tell?"
Yes, Fox, everyone can definitely tell.
Regardless, at least he's got manners enough not to straight up ask are you a MerfolkDanta, and his presence can't have caused much offence if Hadama is offering to stay a while and become... he doesn't know the technical term for jewellery-making-buddies. "Of course not. Here, I have a few more tools, if you want to use them."
Reaching for his bag beside him, he opens it to withdraw the aforementioned twine, another, smaller file, a hammer and small chisel, and some copper wire.
"Mmn," Hadama replied politely. Whether or not Fox got out much, he couldn't say... but the Ancient did seem to be new to Torchline. Which was neither good nor bad; it simply was. "The canals were created for us. A kindness from the local humans." And one that had allowed a new era for the region, which was definitely good.
He nodded his thanks and gave a slow undulation of his tail to push himself up out of the water so he could rest his forearms more comfortably on the edge of the canal. Taking the small file he began to work at one of the pieces of obsidian in his possession, beginning to shape a long, delicate equine nose from the narrow end of the stone as they spoke. His large hands were deft and experienced at working with the small tool, and his movements were confident and efficient. "Thank you. I have not been to the Grounds. What are the waters there like?"
For the moment he kept his questions on the Ancients behind his serene stoicism, but just because they were silent didn't mean they didn't exist.
"That is kind," Fox echoes with a smile like a bandaid over a deeper cut; he can't imagine a world where people are considerate and generous to other races just because, even when shown evidence of it right before his eyes. And so as Hadama pushes himself up to join him in the impromptu jewellery workshop, the hunter takes up his file and his obsidian shards again, carefully smoothing out any barbs or sharper edges that might nick at the skin.
He can't help but notice, of course, how his new acquaintance works with deft familiarity for the tools, Fox tilting his head to watch for a few moments. "Are you a craftsman?" he asks. "It's already looking better than my efforts." If anyone asks, he'll tell them he's going for a rustic look. You know - like it's on purpose.
"Well, there's a lot more water there than previously. The war split the grounds into a few different isles - they're connected by bridges," he explains. "Depending on where you are, the waters can be calm or dangerous. Right now we're having trouble with ROUS and allogators - er, big rats and crocodiles, if you haven't heard of them."
Indeed it was a kindness, laying a foundation that Hadama had done his best to preserve and build on in his time as-- Ah, but Fox didn't know that part yet. So it was that the mermanta simply nodded his acknowledgment and settled in to work beside his new artisanally-inclined acquaintance for awhile.
Lifting the slowly-emerging hippocampus head to blow away the stone dust and examine the details with a critical eye, Hadama tilted his head in confirmation of Fox's question. "Yes. Before I became King I trained as a smith," he said, without any warning or fanfare, as matter-of-factly as if they were discussing the weather. "In my mother's forge."
And then the conversation took a turn for the timey wimey. Whoops? So in order to prevent too much conversation splitting, Hadama simply gave a thoughtful nod to Fox's information and took some time to consider what he'd just been told about this distant land water on the opposite side of Caido before he asked further questions.
Hadama's obvious skill with the tools has inspired something of a challenge in Fox to do his best, and so as the Mer continues his work, the hunter follows suit, watching with a mix of curiosity and envy as the hippocampus head begins to take shape. His shards of obsidian are still just that, alas, but they are very smooth shards, and once he polishes them up and threads them on the twine, they'll end up being something he's quite fond of. (Not that he knows that yet).
Oh, and then Hadama says he's a king. "Ah, I see," Fox says conversationally, in that way that people do when they're concentrating too hard to have paid complete attention to the actual words that have been said; cue the doubletake a few seconds later. "Wait, I'm sorry?" He blinks at the Tidebreaker, his hands sitting uselessly in his lap. "I swear I just heard you say you were a king."
Once the first head was roughed out in the obsidian Hadama began to work on the second, using the first as a reference as he tried to make the two nubs of black stone mirror each other as closely as the tools and his skills allowed. He was debating on the level of detail that he wanted to impart on his carvings: something intricate? Or a simple suggestion of an equine head and webbed mane? Hmmm, decisions, decisions...
He let the companionable silence stretch until Fox spoke up again, and the mermanta inclined his head in distracted confirmation, eyes focused on the task in his hands. "Mmn. Since the eve of the War, yes." A suggestion, he decided, running the smaller file lightly over the stone to etch a few subtle lines into the second hippocampus head to hint at scales before going back to make sure the first matched it. "What is the leader of the Hollowed Grounds called?"
