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 ocean does not apologize for its depth and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
Public forums could always be an interesting matter at hand. Deimos was no stranger to them – often inhabiting the shadows, observing, watching, waiting, absorbing the information gathered and given freely. To be the one instigating it still left his spine taut and straight, and though he wasn’t alone in the endeavor, the level of discomfort never quite faded away.
Standing before the citizens as they arrived, he glanced at Evie, and Noah, and then the rest as they settled and sat amongst the arranged chairs, or mingled along the refreshments. “Welcome,” he began, a deep rumble amidst his familiar tones. “With our quest for Nature Frey nearing its end, we were hoping to discuss what Halo wanted next – in regards to deities, growth, and plans.” Taking another breath, he persisted and continued. “Safrin has expressed an interest, and ideas, for being involved in the next quest. But we will leave that up to you.” The people, who’d always had a hand in the development of the summit, the mountains, and the tundra.
From there, he turned to his constituents, waiting for their input.
--
This is a mini event to discuss Halo's next regional quest, potential switching of deity's focus (or not), and to eventually hold a vote! Please come on in and have your characters interact!
"Frey has been a blessing to these lands, easing away the at the hardships and frozen deadliness that Eirachi's breath has left." Their history was well known, after all. The people used to ask the Deepfrost goddess for help, and each time her grip on the land was stronger and stronger. Now, though, the people had taken help from the likes of the nature deity to be able to make the land a partner to its people and no longer an enemy.
"Now that we have plentiful food grown within the greenhouse, a shield from the harshest of winters, and a soon to be healing hotspring, I suggest we do something for Halo's strength." He didn't go into detail yet, but he was sure he would catch Deimos' attention with that idea. "In the past, Halo has been hard to strike. But the world around us is getting stronger every day, and I want Halo to continue to be as safe a place as it can be for all of us to live."
i'd fashioned my own cross been crushed by its weight there's no stronger message than dirt in your face
With both men at her side, Evie stands before their citizens with a far warmer expression in comparison. Seeing all of them together once more when it has been some time is always a heartening feeling. Though she is perhaps the most religiously neutral among them, stating it out loud doesn't scare her for once.
"Of course remember there is no need to declare allegiance now, or perhaps ever. Neutrality was previously used as a weapon - it had a clear meaning in a world narrowing down to war." That being pro-Ascended cloaked in neutrality. Utilizing Frey for their open-mindedness and no other heralds. "Now, we are free to make our choices without that shadow on our shoulders. So do not be afraid to speak openly - your individual allegiances are as important as your thoughts on how Halo should align." Because they may be contrasting ideals. Evie loves Frey, but she is open to working with Safrin as well, maybe even long-term. Citizens in the crowd may feel similarly.
I'll be with you each and every night Chasing that horizon in your eyes
If there is a meeting then of course the Valkyrie will be there. Not up on the metaphorical stage, but one of the first to accumulate in the crowd. Normally the topics at hand are boring and she merely spends the evening people-watching and listening in on conversations, but heralds? Well, given she knows both Noah and Deimos are men of Safrin (yuck) it's only her rightful duty to muddy the waters right?
Let's just say this time she's taking a page out of Flora's book. Give her daughter the benefit of the credit.
"Frey is arguably still the best deity for Halo," her sweet tone and old, elegant style of speech is unmistakable as she speaks up first. "As the herald of nature, who best to know the delicate balance of a land like Halo? Too much change and the ecosystem will be off-balance as a tundra, to the opposite side of the pendulum as what Eirachi did." Glancing around at those surrounding her - no familiar faces yet, damn - Hotaru shrugs gracefully. Well Frey, you've got me if nobody else. "All of the heralds are powerful, yes. But would you go to Safrin or Ludo for something that would preserve life?" Safrin, clearly. Gag. But being nice on the surface will surely only make her point stronger. "In terms of allegiance as well, Torchline is devoted to Safrin and the others have yet to state their alignment. I feel it is only fair for the balance of the regions to consider Frey not just for the moment, but long-term." Crossing her arms delicately, Hotaru awaits any other voices from the crowd or from their leaders, not even having the grace to be apologetic. All three of them up there knew she was a little shit, what more did they expect?
Sad and angry, can't learn how to behave Still won't know how in the darkness of the grave
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
As one of the newer residents of Halo, Alys went to the meeting if only to get a feel for the land she'd become a part of. Spotting Hotaru in the crowd, she made her way over to stand near her friend, murmuring a hello as she settled nearby. Deimos, Evie, and Noah stood in front, and before long, they began to speak.
She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but a debate about which herald to serve wasn't quite it. Well, that left Alys quite out of her comfort zone. She served exactly none of the heralds, and wasn't entirely sure what her stance on the gods was anymore. Still, she couldn't deny the benefits they had given Halo. But if each herald had their benefits - and their downfalls - then why choose between them?
Still, Alys wasn't comfortable speaking out in quite that manner, particularly about the gods, so for now, she remained a silent observer.
gather 'round, here's how to get what you want introduce a new religion of feeling like a boss
Minor powerplay allowed without permission.
Feel free to use force/magic on Alys.
Eternum entered the public forum which was an odd move for him. Anything that was said would no doubt travel through word of mouth and he’d hear what had been talked about one way or another. Such was the benefit of being an information broker. He was generally neutral and ordinarily wouldn’t care about the outcome of these sorts of decisions… but he was trying to be a business owner in the near future which would require him to take a side.
“I agree, I think Frey is best. Our area is largely defined by its climate. I wouldn’t want to mess with it needlessly.”
He hadn’t thought he’d find a chance to speak up but he’d done it. Now to see if he had made a fool of himself…
the ocean does not apologize for its depth and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
Political maneuvers tended to leave the Sword, and the Reaper in the past, with a looming headache and insurmountable dread. Nodding to his constituents, for he knew where they lingered, he only arched a brow at the Sentinel – curious to his calls for strength. What those possibly entailed would have to wait, however, as Hotaru spoke.
Her opinion was unsurprising as well, but he gave a grin, content to verbally spar with her if need be. Her stances were understandable, coming from one whose loyalty ran primarily to Frey. While she may begrudge him for his allegiances, he wouldn’t do the same to her. Instead, his calm, cool demeanor reigned, a funneling in his bones from days long since past. “From my understanding, there was never an official declaration towards Frey.” He glanced to Noah, uncertain of the parameters or how it coincided. It had simply been done over and over again because Morgan, and Neron, had few options, and tradition took over. Elemental figments were justifiable stances, and they’d completed those. His head tilted vaguely at the Valkyrie’s assumptions of balances, and the ecosystem itself. “Do you believe that will all come undone if we ask another deity for something else?”
The mention of the Eirachi ordinarily would’ve made his nose wrinkle, but they were in the presence of their people, and so he remained stoic. “The Eirachi’s power over Halo comes from deals made. Poorly.” He hadn’t known anyone else, in the past few years anyway, going out of their way to be granted something from the fringes of winter. But since Ru had thrown the distinctions out there, he’d do the same for her, and anyone else still craving the singular path. “If we were to continue with Frey, how would you like to proceed with the next quest? What are you looking for?”
But Deimos noticed the others too – silent, uncertain, probably uncomfortable with the entire exchange. They had enough Abandoned in this world, and he gave a quick look to Alys, and the other man yielding an echo to Frey, pondering over other possibilities. “I do wonder if we could not reach a compromise – a rotation of heralds to ask, if most of you are uncomfortable with the thought of picking only one.”
The meeting has devolved mostly to her and Deimos, which Hotaru is not in the least surprised by given their looooonggg history of exactly this. Still, as Alys comes to her side, Ru spares her a warm and encouraging smile, noting her silence. Another speaks up in agreement, and Hotaru smiles warmly at Eternum for it, though they have yet to get to know one another. Support from any angle is appreciated.
Unafraid to debate Deimos even in a public forum (and if there were not so many other Attuned who might feel it, he would certainly feel the curl of her amusement and fondness) Hotaru takes up his questions readily.
"Is it not equally insulting to have courted their favor so continuously without true dedication and declaration of fealty? Frey may be notoriously understanding, but snubbing a herald is no small act." Hotaru doubts Frey would truly care, but that doesn't mean she isn't willing to wield her words like a weapon, making people think and doubt and wonder.
"Speaking of snubbing - if Safrin has expressed a desire to aid us this next time, I'm not suggesting we decline. There is no rush to declare our allegiance, and pleasing her would not lose us anything." No matter how much it utterly kills her inside to say it given her own feelings for the Goddess. "And certainly we could alternate our requests, but I propose we seek Safrin next season and then cement our dedication to Frey." And, just to prove she has not forgotten the other question Deimos had asked, she continues. "I do not believe the environmental balance will come undone if we ally with another, but if any herald is most equipped to deal with the tangled, magically-charged environmental history of our region, it is Frey."
Sad and angry, can't learn how to behave Still won't know how in the darkness of the grave
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
He still wasn't comfortable in these large meetings, and Tal shifted restlessly from foot to foot as sweet words and reasonable doubts and all manner of genteel political maneuvering danced through the air. He gravitated towards Alys and Hotaru eventually, nose wrinkling as he scowled thoughtfully down at his feet, mostly content to listen and add his presence to the Valkyrie's opinion.
But if they were going to ask Safrin for one favor anyways...
"Stars!" he blurted out, then ducked his head, scowling harder as an embarrassed flush crawled up the back of his neck. "I mean... Could Safrin make it so th'stars'd be visible even when it's cloudy or snowin'? Like... I dunno... havin' th'constellations shinin' off the bottom o'the clouds, so travelers can still take their bearin's, even in stormy or snowy weather?"
Which wasn't the topic everyone else was talking about just then, but hail, who had the short-lived balls to tell Safrin 'nah, we'll pass' when the goddess had expressed a specific interest in helping out?
the ocean does not apologize for its depth and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
He remained stoic, if a little amused, the small smile tucked within one corner of his mouth, as Hotaru persisted in their verbal sparring. “I am not one to designate how a deity feels,” based on whether Frey would feel snubbed or not – his consensus would lean towards not at all, but again, he couldn’t make such broad-based presumptions. “We can ask them when we finish our tasks.”
Ru’s tune had altered somewhat on the notions of Safrin, and he tilted his head, listening. Leaving her suggestion to hang in the air, for others to respond to, he merely nodded, and angled his attention towards Talyson – an inquiry, and statement, for everyone else to listen to as well. “Safrin suggested something similar – for the dark months on the tundra, perhaps small fires made of stars for any caught in the cold, or constellations overhead to ensure no one is lost.”
Eternum waited for a lul in the conversation and spoke up again, though he didn’t think it added much to the discussion.
“I for one don’t want to deal with the consequences if Frey gets angry at us picking another.”
Being inexperienced in the ways of these sorts of politics he figured he might as well have these fine people help educate him if he was mistaken. He felt odd even being a part of this conversation given he was an Abandoned and all. If things were up to him there would be no gods but he recognized there was no choice but to accept their existence and power.
Noah was a little surprised, in all honesty, that Deimos didn't latch on to his idea for strengthening Halo. While he hadn't given any specifics (though he had some in mind), it was unusual for the Sword not to dive headfirst into his militaristic thinking. So, Noah stayed quiet and listened to the people as they went back and forth.
After the arguing seemed to settle, Noah lifted his chin. "I believe that any fealty a region may declare could be...interesting." Red: dangerous. "We've all seen the way that Eirachi kept her grip here through Halo's historical biddings with her. While I firmly believe in the old gods and their care for this world, I'm not sure I see any true reason why we must pledge ourselves to just one." And -- if Noah had any personal say in it -- he wanted it to be Vi. Safrin was the next best option, of course, but his true and strong alignment held with the deity of life himself.
i'd fashioned my own cross been crushed by its weight there's no stronger message than dirt in your face
the ocean does not apologize for its depth and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
Deimos had fully intended to round back to Noah’s statements, but with every other discussion following through, there hadn’t been much opportunity, and as a Warden, he needed to listen to everyone. Arching his brow again at the Sentinel’s statements, the Sword was left to ponder the potentials. He only knew of Torchline, and Safrin’s notions, that had dedicated themselves to her cause. Individually, a number of them had pled their allegiance to numerous Old Gods.
“We should vote on that first then,” and his eyes went to Evie, to Noah, and the rest. “Do we want to declare allegiance to any of them, or not, and visit the Old Gods as a whole?” Hence his earlier notions of compromises. Already, he began creating slips of paper, maneuvering over to place them on the table.
Not to be ignored, while he began sorting categories, the deep rumble of his vocals persisted to their advisor. “What were your ideas for strength?"
Thereafter, he moved aside, heading back to where he stood initially amidst his brethren. "You may choose yes or no towards allegiance. If yes, please write down which deity you would prefer."
--
The first round of voting will begin! Remember, this is IC voting - so think about what your character would prefer. We'll first be voting whether or not to pledge allegiance to any specific herald.
Your options are:
Yes (and if so, please write down which herald)
No
DM Time your vote via Discord! You have 48 hours and then we'll move ahead with the results!
While the Halovians waited for Deimos to send around the slips, and took their votes, Noah then detailed what he was thinking. ”From what I understand, the light weapon did a great job defending the Citadel when it was used during the war. But it is still limited. I have a few ideas, including either amplifying that weapon or creating a second one.”
Noah let his eyes move from Deimos to Evie, then around to the crowd as they cast their votes and began sending their papers his way. ”But I also think that we could benefit from a cell of sorts — a holding place for people who commit crimes against the Citadel that nullify their abilities.” His eyes settled on Deimos, then, and if he could project a memory he would project the memory of Neron teleporting out of the Citadel when confronted with Morgan’s murder.
Noah let what he said settle in. When all of the papers were gathered, the Sentinel took the time to read them and place them in their respective “yay or nay” piles. Clearing his throat, he stood. ”The majority votes that Halo does not align with any particular deity at this time.” Noah said.
i'd fashioned my own cross been crushed by its weight there's no stronger message than dirt in your face
