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!
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to say goodbye
The Eye of the Storm was, perhaps, one of Sohalia's favorite places in Stormbreak. While most of the region was home to a sprawling city, she was glad that there were some natural areas, and she tended to frequent them when she needed time to think. And these days, she could really use some time to think.
Dressed today in a simple navy dress and with her hair in a loose braid down her back, Soh made her way to the Eye with a bag of sketching supplies on one shoulder. On the other, she wore a leather pauldron-like shield of sorts upon which Tarak perched imperiously. The griffin was growing - slowly - but she estimated that he would be no bigger than a house cat when fully grown. As it was now, he was the size of a kitten and flightless. Her shoulder was his favorite place to be, where he could observe the world around him from on high (or, at least, from higher than the ground), but his claws were sharp, and though his balance was improving, it was far from perfect. The pauldron allowed him access to her shoulder without scratching her to pieces, and she was pleased that she had thought of it and found a leatherworker who could help her put her idea into practice.
Upon arriving at the Eye, Soh settled herself on a bench gracefully, pausing before pulling out her sketching supplies in favor of just existing for a moment. Tarak leaped down from her shoulder to sit on the bench beside her, where he began to preen the feathers of his wing. And for a moment, she could pretend that she was still just another citizen, drawn to the natural beauty of the Eye and content to do no more than sketch her day away.
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to die
I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes
In an effort to make himself more known in the world, Ronin has finally plucked up the courage to revisit Stormbreak. He's glad in more than one way, that the place is both changed and unchanged - for all the familiar places, it has still yeeted itself into the sky, and there are some locations that are now altogether new.
Such as the Eye of the Storm.
The Supernova has seen his fair share of hotsprings and natural beauty spots, it's true, but he's never experienced one that acts as a literal window into the world below, and he spends a while adrift in the waters, peering down and out of the floating region. Overhead, Sugar circles and trills her opinion of the various flora and fauna; the pale dragon is well into her adult years now, but - like Tarak will eventually become - she has never exceeded the size of a small housecat.
It makes her no less grumpy for it, though.
Speaking of which, it's as Sugar spies the Luminary and her companion on a bench that she calls out what might be a greeting or a warning, and Ronin barely has time to surface and shout for her when she's diving for Sohalia to land on the back of her bench. Shifting and settling her wings, she huffs out a cold breath, as if to tell Soh that she is the one intruding.
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to say goodbye
Sohalia was sitting there, minding her own business, happily (or at least not unhappily) meditating on her new roles and responsibilities and how she was going to live her life around them, when a sudden shriek rent the air around her. Something that she couldn't identify hurtled from the sky towards the back of the bench, startling the girl and drawing a hiss from the griffin, whose feathers and fur fluffed out in what was supposed to be threatening but really only looked adorable.
Her new friend was a dragon, no larger than a house cat, and it seemed a bit irritated as it huffed out a cold breath. Soh shifted on the bench, twisting to face the dragon. "Hello," she said cautiously, but politely. "And who might you be?" She looked around; she'd only ever seen dragons with a human companion, and so she assumed that someone else had to be somewhere nearby. Spotting a man in the water, Soh waved uncertainly. "Excuse me," she called. "Is this your dragon?"
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to die
I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes
Too late to stop Sugar from shooing away anyone else who wants to use the hot springs making new friends, Ronin winces internally and swims towards the bank and the girl his companion is bothering. "For my sins, she absolutely is," he apologises with a lopsided smile, hefting himself out of the steaming water and sweeping dark, damp hair back out of his face.
"Git," he tells Sugar with an expectant raise of his eyebrows. For his trouble, the Supernova receives an indignant trill from his dragon, but she does soar away towards the canopy of trees where she can judge them in peace. "I hope she didn't bother your... er, griffin?" Tilting his head, he thinks that's what it is. Maybe it's just an ugly cat.
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to say goodbye
From her spot on the bench, Soh regarded the stranger in the hot springs with curiosity. While she was normally wary of strangers these days - especially male strangers - it was difficult to be standoffish when someone was swimming innocently. Besides, his dragon put her at ease - the other dragons she'd met had perfectly lovely human counterparts, and so her flawed logic was that this stranger must therefore be perfectly lovely as well.
"Oh, no - Tarak can just be a little, um... prickly." Her griffin glared at her, his gaze wounded, and grumbled softly as he settled, his feathers and fur smoothing as he returned to innocently preening as though nothing had happened. "I hope we aren't intruding," she continued, returning her silver gaze to the stranger. "It's just that this is the best place in Stormbreak to come to think."
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to die
I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes
"So can Sugar," Ronin says, grinning up at the dragon who chirps something he's sure is an insult back at him. "But please accept my apology on her behalf, Tarak." Getting to his feet, he glances over his shoulder and realises how far away his clothes and belongings are, and settles on an alternative. "You aren't intruding at all - we're the ones who interrupted you," he assures her.
A flurry of gold and crimson feathers shiver down his neck and across his shoulders to dry him off; as if in response, where once he was standing all but naked (he was wearing shorts to swim in, ok), Ronin is soon clad in dark leather, constellations twinkling on it through the haze. "It's the first time I've visited this part of Stormbreak," he confesses. "But I can see the appeal. I'm Ronin, by the way - it's nice to meet you."
Ronin's using this:
Type: Light | Style: Defensive | Level: Basic
Phoenix Armour | Encased within an invisible pendant, when Ronin shifts or partially shifts into a phoenix, the pendant will activate. Dark fire-proof leather will replace his clothing, inlaid with golden strands of starlight that perfectly fits his body and is extremely easy to move in. In the dark it will appear nearly black, while in the light it will have a golden sheen to it. Constellations of the Warrior shine on the front and back.
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to say goodbye
So he wasn't a resident, then - or so she assumed. It had been long enough that she'd have thought that most of the city had been to the Eye before. She herself was a frequent visitor, and some days it seemed that half of Stormbreak was there with her. In any case, a visitor to Stormbreak would normally be welcomed by the Luminary as a resident, but as the region's Heart, she felt even more pressure to make a guest feel accepted. "I'm Sohalia," she said by way of introduction. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ronin."
Somewhere in the back of her mind, recognition flared, but she was so distracted by the man's intriguing armor that she ignored the feeling - along with his prior near-nakedness. Where that would normally have her blushing, the conundrum of the dark leather that covered Ronin's body presented something more interesting to consider. "That's very unique armor," she commented, her eyes alight with curiosity. "I've never seen anything like it. If you don't mind my asking, was it a blessing from one of the heralds?"
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to die
I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes
Rolling his shoulders and allowing a smattering of feathers to remain along them to keep the armour in place, Ronin steps away from the hotsprings proper and gestures to the bench, as if to ask if she minds him sitting down beside her. (Or more accurately, he supposes, if Tarak minds). He's about to make the usual small talk - about what a lovely name she has, how hot the weather is even up on the floating isle - but Sohalia has questions of her own, and Ronin at least has the decency to look sheepish.
"Ah," he says, gazing down at the armour. "Yes, it was. From Safrin," he explains. "She and I are..." Taking a deep breath - because even after all this time, he still finds it awkward saying things like I'm her ChOsEn OnE and whatnot - Ronin reminds himself of why his goddess has sent him out into the world again, and squashes the discomfort underfoot.
"I'm her demigod," he explains with a soft smile. "The armour comes from a pendant she gave me, so that my clothes don't burn off when I shift." He gestures to the smouldering phoenix feathers for clarification.
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to say goodbye
The name Ronin, the knowledge that he was Safrin's demigod, memories of Stormbreak's history, a recent discussion with Mateo about his fathers... all the information was there in her mind, but she still didn't quite put it together. If she had, she might have had even more questions than those she posed about his armor. Had he really led Stormbreak? Did he have any advice? Which of Mateo's fathers was he? Was he the one she had to thank for taking care of her attacker - whatever that meant?
As it was, she took the information that he presented in stride. He was not, after all, the first demigod she had met, and what she had learned so far was that they were just as human as the rest of Caido - well, mostly. What did take her aback was his dedication to Safrin. As the only herald that Soh had specifically been warned away from, she viewed the goddess with a certain level of respectful suspicion. Still, Flora had been honest with her about Safrin's nature, as far as she could tell, and there were always two sides to any story. Jata might not have fared so well with the herald, but that didn't mean she would smite everyone - right?
"I see," Soh said, still more intrigued than anything else. She gestured for Ronin to join her, picking up a suddenly squalling Tarak and settling him on her lap, where she quieted him with a scratch beneath his beak. "So what brings Safrin's demigod to Stormbreak?" she wanted to know. "Or have you lived here all this time without me realizing?" This last was said in a joking tone, her head tilting to one side. She thought she would have heard by now if a demigod lived within the bounds of her region, but she didn't know everyone.
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to die
I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes
Offering a murmured apology for the squalling griffin, Ronin settles himself down on the bench beside Sohalia, companionable but with enough distance that she won't risk getting singed by his feathers. He can't help himself at her questions, the Supernova letting a boyish grin spread across his face as he regards the girl next to him. "Not all this time," he admits, "just mostly. I left after the war, when I stepped down as Commander of the Storm."
Now it's his turn to assume that she's new to the region, not that Ronin has any stake in Stormbreak any more - honestly, since it started floating around in the sky, it may as well be a completely different place to the one he once ruled. "I've been on vacation, I suppose you could say. But I thought I should come and see what's changed with the place. And visit my son - he lives here as well."
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to say goodbye
Soh continued to stroke her griffin, who purred in her lap, blessedly content for the moment to accept his bonded's pets. She reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear, nodding when he mentioned leaving after the war. It seemed like a lot of things had changed after that - people and lands moving here and there. She herself had been one of them, leaving the Grounds in favor of exploration and new discoveries - not that she would be doing as much of that now, she realized ruefully.
Then her brows snapped together. Commander of the Storm? Wait - what?
Pieces clicked together in her mind, and she gasped. "Oh! You're - of course you are, I just didn't put two and two together," she said apologetically. She was suddenly nervous. She hadn't heard any bad accounts of Ronin's rule, and to be sitting here on a park bench with the prior leader of Stormbreak, as it's new (and young, and inexperienced, and naive) ruler was a bit much to take in. "I've heard good things about you," she told him honestly. "You're Mateo's father, aren't you?" It was easier to talk about her friend than her leadership, in any case, even if she had to wonder which father this one was.
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to die
I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes
Letting out a chuckle, Ronin relaxes against the bench and regards Sohalia properly, itching at the stubble on his chin. "It's alright - it's been almost two years since I was around," he says, waving off her compliment with a bashful sort of smile. "I've done both good and bad in my time," he murmurs. "But I did my best with Stormbreak." Not that it had been easy, in the turbulent time before the war.
Talk of his son is much easier for them both, apparently, the Supernova's blue eyes growing warmer as he nods. "That's right - do you know him?" he asks, before clarifying with a sudden laugh, "And if you do know him and he has scorned you in any way, I'm very sorry on his behalf." He's never sure if knowing Mateo means someone is a firm friend of the botanist's, or whether he's thrown up in their sink on a night out.
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to say goodbye
That's right - it has been some time since he'd been around, and in that time, Stormbreak had been leaderless. She didn't blame him - it wasn't in her nature to judge - but it was strange to be sitting here with the man whose shoes she was trying to fill. She wondered if he would be open to giving advice, if he could offer any help to her as she embarked on this new journey, but she was too shy to ask. Mateo was an easier topic.
"Oh," she laughed, amused by the idea of Mateo having done anything wrong. "No, of course not. He's a very dear friend," she assured Ronin. Then her voice softened. "He's done a lot for me." Mateo may like to party, but she'd discovered that he was a kind and loyal friend. She felt very fortunate to have met him, and that he had been the one to help her when she was at her lowest. Indeed, sometimes she envied him his lack of inhibition - something that, now more than ever, she would never be able to emulate.
Everyone wants to see heaven But no one wants to die
I shouldn't laugh, but I know I'm a failure in your eyes
Instantly seeming to relax as he hears that Mateo is in Sohalia's good books (and incidentally perhaps that means he would be as well), Ronin settles once more and nods to her. "He's got a good heart," he agrees. "And a sharp mind, even if I do wonder where his common sense gets to, sometimes." Alas, he has no idea that he's speaking to the very girl who had been the subject of a letter sent to the Taliesins up in the Cordillera, otherwise yet more pieces might have fallen into place.
"Have you been in Stormbreak very long?" he says conversationally. "I flew around a little before I settled on landing in the hot springs - a few things have changed since it started to... er, fly?" His brow furrows, wondering if that's the right word for it. "Like that big lighthouse thing." He means the Spyglass, of course, but it hadn't existed when he'd been Commander.
