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!
Eternum sat alone on a park bench, enjoying the coolness of the evening. His fingers danced lightly in the air, summoning tiny sparks which crackled and fizzed with raw energy.
"You know, I could light up the whole world."
He gazed at the sparks with a tranquil smile. The soft glow played off his face, reflecting the raw power he held. Yet, he controlled it, contained it, shaping it to his whims.
"But what good is light without shadows to appreciate it?"
The sparks darted and twirled between his fingers, each one a miniature light source. Eternum's control was evident, his gentle mastery apparent in each spark's formation and dissolution.
"Balance is the essence of existence, after all."
Observing his spectacle, he felt the tranquility of the park envelop him. It was moments like these that reminded Eternum of the beauty in power, and the power in restraint.
Sohalia wandered the park, Tal's cuff on her wrist allowing her to enjoy the coolness of the evening without being too cold. It was a beautiful night, and she was more than happy to get out of Tal's hair for a while. She was due to return home soon, and it seemed a shame to leave without having explored more of Halo.
As she meandered, she realized that she wasn't alone - there was a man sitting on a bench, sparks dancing through his fingers, and Soh stopped to admire the spectacle for a moment without really realizing what she was doing. She was reluctant to approach - she was alone, and it was evening, and she really didn't want to be caught unaware by someone with magic - but curiosity, as they say, killed the cat.
So, settling a hand briefly on the dagger at her waist - just in case it was needed, she took a deep breath and walked hesitantly forward, dropping her hands to clasp them behind her back. "Hello," she said to the stranger. "Your sparks are beautiful."
Eternum sat there, entranced in his sparks, until the sound of a gentle voice caught his attention. The voice belonged to a woman, Sohalia, who approached with caution. Yet, her curiosity spoke louder than her hesitance.
"Good evening, traveler"
Eternum smiled, his eyes glinting with curiosity.
He looked at her appreciatively, his sparks still flickering around his fingers. She seemed intrigued by his display, something he found rare in passersby. He let the sparks die down, taming the elemental energy at his command.
"Thank you for your kind words. Lightning, after all, can create quite a spectacle."
He watched her closely, noticing the cuff on her wrist and the hand that had briefly rested on her dagger. He knew better than to mess with someone who could fight because he was barely able to cause minor shocks with his offensive ability.
That Sohalia was someone who could fight was, perhaps, laughable - she was more bark than bite, but she'd learned to be wary after having been attacked back home in Stormbreak. She'd been working with a trainer on how to use weapons properly, but she was far from an expert. She mostly carried a weapon on her person as a deterrent - people were less likely to attack an armed person, after all.
"You're welcome," Soh said with a smile. "I'm just visiting; I leave to go back to Stormbreak tomorrow, so I'm just enjoying one last evening before I go. I'm Sohalia, by the way," she added belatedly, always a stickler for manners and introductions. "What are you doing out here? Practicing magic?"
"Stormbreak, I must admit I’ve never been. It costs money to travel and alas, I am not yet skillful enough to make much money from these mere sparkles. I was simply enjoying the tranquility of the park. Not necessarily practicing magic, though it’s always a good way to entertain oneself. "
He stopped, looking at Sohalia with a thoughtful expression.
"Nice to meet you Sohalia. I am Eternum.”
He had nearly forgotten she’d introduced herself as he’d been talking so much.
“Are you a wielder of magic yourself, or does your interest lie elsewhere?”
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Soh responded with a friendly smile. Eternum seemed nice enough, and she was glad that she had trusted her gut instinct to say hello. Being from Stormbreak, she didn't see many Abandoned, yet she had always been curious about magic. It seemed to her like the Abandoned had so many interesting abilities, and that they had a lot to offer the world. She had never understood the fear surrounding them.
"No, I'm not," she told him. "I'm Attuned." Her snowy owl shift would be right at home in the tundra surrounding them. "And a cartographer. I'm actually here on a mapping expedition."
06-15-2023, 12:27 AM (This post was last modified: 06-15-2023, 12:28 AM by Eternum.)
Eternum listened as Soh spoke, a sense of intrigue growing within him. While meeting an attuned wasn’t exactly surprising, he was appreciative of the opportunity to speak to one in this setting.
"Interesting. I suppose being able to shift into an animal may make the cold more bearable."
His curiosity piqued at her revelation of being a cartographer, an occupation he held in high regard. Somebody had to make the maps and it generally required lots of arduous travel. The idea of mapping unfamiliar landscapes, venturing into uncharted territories stirred an adventurous spirit in him.
"Anything in particular you’re trying to map in detail? Or is that kind of information too sensitive to disclose?"
"It does when your shift is a snowy owl," she agreed with a small laugh. She only had the one shift at present, though she knew other Attuned, and even a demigod, with multiple shifts. She could only hope that one day she might be counted among them.
Well, maybe not the demigod. She wasn't sure she wanted that kind of responsibility.
Her attention shifted to her cartography, and she smiled. "No, it's not a secret. They're just general maps, nothing too sensitive." She fumbled for her bag, pulling out a worn journal that was filled to the brim with notes, sketches, and pieces of maps. She flipped open to a page that held a section of Halo and held it out to him. "Here, feel free to take a look. I'm trying to put together an atlas of sorts. I'd like to map all of Caido one day."
The idea of Soh exploring the tundra as a snowy owl left Eternum filled with a sense of wonder. It was indeed fitting for an Attuned with such a magnificent shift to be a cartographer. He found himself contemplating what it would be like to fly high above the land, mapping from a bird's eye view.
"Must be a sight to see from the skies."
Eternum found himself drawn to her worn journal, a treasure trove of knowledge and exploration. His fingers traced over the sketches and notes and he held it in his hands when she offered it to him. He admired the dedication that each page conveyed.
"Remarkable work."
Eternum peered at the map of Halo. Each line, every contour, it was proof of her commitment to her ambition.
"Do you work alone? Or are there others that take part in this expedition?"
It was always thrilling to take to the skies; even though Soh had been Attuned when she was quite young, she never got over that sense of wonder from riding the currents and sailing through the open blue heavens. "It is," she agreed.
As Eternum looked through her journal, Soh watched eagerly, always pleased to share her work with a new friend. She smiled at his praise and offered a quiet word of thanks. "I work alone," she confirmed. "Sometimes I travel with a friend, but the mapping is all down to me. I do have one friend who's trying to learn, though." She thought of Everest and his mapping attempts. She was trying to teach him, and he was improving.
As Soh described her process and experiences, Eternum smiled. It wasn’t often that one found someone who was doing something they loved for a living.
"Ah, I see. Do you ever get lonely out working on your own, I mean when you’re not with your friend? I think I would die if I spent long periods of time with nobody but myself for company. I’m the sort of person people come to if they need general information around town, so you can imagine that I spend a lot of time socializing."
He chuckled. The fact that he was sitting here talking to this stranger was probably proof enough of that.
Soh smiled as Eternum spoke. She was used to being on her own, but she did love company - perhaps evidenced by how talkative she was with a perfect stranger.
"It can get lonely, but you'd be surprised how often people turn up, even out in the Wilds," she told him. "I'm rarely lonely for long, and these days, I have friends all over." It was true: she had friends in every major region and even some who lived in the Wilds.
"What about you? Do you live here, or are you just visiting?"
Eternum thought that those who preferred being away from others as being a little weird. Not because he thought they were bad people, but because he couldn’t understand their choice.
“Oh I live around here. I’m trying to scrounge up enough coin to start up a business but it’s harder than it sounds. My parents always tell me to start using my magic to make money but there’s only so much I can do at the moment. I really ought to train my powers but it’s easier said than done when work is so taxing.”
06-16-2023, 09:28 PM (This post was last modified: 06-16-2023, 09:29 PM by Sohalia.)
Sohalia
She listened to Eternum politely, nodding in all the right places. He sounded like a busy man. She didn't know much about magic, but what little she did know, it sounded like a muscle - the more one used it, the stronger one became. It had to be like any other skill, right? Practice makes perfect, and all that.
"I'm sure you'll get there," she said encouragingly. "What kind of business are you trying to start?" As a business owner herself, perhaps that, at least, was something that she could offer some sort of assistance for. After all, she'd been alone when she'd started her business, had been forced to do everything herself, and she liked to think that she'd been successful. She certainly wasn't hurting for money, at any rate, and she truly loved her job.
