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!
They settle into a silence that's about as comfortable as it's going to get, between two Ancients, and Danta's eyes flit between the sky and the road ahead so he can scout for a ship and also make sure he doesn't trip over the cart. "Mm?" Drawn from his concentration by Edmund's question, he scoffs and shrugs his shoulders.
"Depends on who you ask," he says. "For me it was fairly simple, I suppose. I prefer things now." It isn't often that the ever-talkative Ancient sounds like he's trying to shut down a conversation, but the sudden set of Danta's shoulders suggests he'd quite like to change the subject.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
Edmund catches on immediately and glances away with a nod, "Ok." He wants to ask more, or at the very least what Danta's favorite thing about the new world is. But that might also make the other Ancient uncomfortable. Fiddling with the hem of his jacket, the younger wonders what about the past has Danta shutting down. Or maybe it's grief over something lost to stasis?
They crest a hill, and the temple begins to come into sight. Edmund finds himself picking up his pace, tail flicking excitedly. "Do you think Mother prefers specific types of blood?" He hopes he isn't annoying Danta with all of his questions, but the young Ancient's curiosity is too strong. He wants to know everything that he can about Mother and the Ancients overall and there are so few opportunities to ask.
Their walking continues, and the Ancient similarly smiles at the distant sight of the Temple - and a skyboat docking nearby, too. "Come on," he tells Edmund, picking up his pace as well with the cart so they can board the vessel and save themselves the last leg of their journey. As it happens, the skyboat is flying right over towards the Temple too, so it doesn't take much persuasion (and the promise of a favour) to buy them passage.
Rumbling the cart on board and taking a seat, Danta rolls his shoulders, glad for the rest. "Hm? She has never expressed a preference, but I imagine she likes ours best," he says with a crooked smile. "We're her children after all, right?"
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
Edmund perks up at the sight of the skyboat, eagerly boarding beside Danta. The young Ancient sits down, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee and leaning back into his seat. Edmund returns the grin, "That we are." One of the things that the former Abandoned hadn't expected upon turning was the unity of the Ancients.
The Ascended had been a family and the Ancients clearly had something similar going on. Now that he's earned the acceptance of some of his kin, it's a pleasant sensation. Not quite what he feels for his brother Jude, but it's a warmth. One that flickers in his chest alongside the ever-present fire of his magic.
Settling quite comfortably aboard the skyship as the pilot prepares to take flight, it probably won't be of much surprise to Edmund that Danta falls into a dead snooze as soon as they're in the air. It will take a few hours to get to the Inner Quarter after all, and he doesn't feel like wasting a second. (Call it multitasking, hey?)
Regardless, eventually they are able to disembark before the Temple, and the bleary eyed Ancient rumbles his handcart off the ship with a drawl of thanks to their good captain. "End of the road," he says with a grin to Edmund. "Come on, then." Once they get their allogator and deer inside and bled, they can eat the rest probably. Dygra, he imagines, will be very impressed either way.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
Edmund easily settles into the silence, watching the world go by as Danta sleeps. His thoughts race, overtaking the brief moment of respite. His family, his quest, the guild he will later form, and Mother. The young Ancient has many plans for the future, but they all seem to be focused on two goals. To protect his family, and to prove himself to Mother. She'd been generous enough to open her stone and fire to him, despite the stars formerly in his blood. To let him be reborn as her son. Edmund refuses to do anything that might make her regret it. He can't disappoint her.
Danta pulls Edmund from his brooding upon waking and the two disembark from the ship. "I hope this pleases Mother." He gives the older Ancient a slight grin as he pulls the deer, "Maybe we should make this a regular thing. Filling the offering bowls here and in the Climb with blood that is."
"I don't see why it wouldn't," Danta says cheerfully enough, flashing a fanged smile over his shoulder at Edmund as they approach the Temple. "And I agree. There's always bloodletting to do, whatever region we find ourselves in." Rumbling the handcart in through the doors, it's with eager anticipation of finishing their journey that he approaches the large firebowl, still smouldering with the embers of their last offering.
"Alright, let's fill 'er up." It'll take two of them for each of the animals, given how substantial they are, and Danta already has his knife ready to puncture the allogator's underbelly to let the blood flow. "You think you'll stick around here?" he asks, as if just realising he has no idea where Edmund bases himself.
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
Edmund flashes Danta an equally fanged grin as he grabs one of the offering bowls and positions himself to collect the allogator's blood. Not a drop would go to waste on his watch. As the older Ancient starts the flow, Edmund pauses to adjust the bowl before responding, "No. I plan to stay in Torchline and the Climb for the moment." Both were home for different reasons.
A slightly wicked look enters the young Ancient's eyes, "Apopo seems the like perfect place to extend Mother's influence into Torchline. I plan to ask her soon about her thoughts of me building a shrine there." Turning the bowl to catch a stray drop he continues, It's similar to the Climb now. It should belong to Mother." Apopo was a place of lava and stone since the war and there were those in Torchline who were curious about Mother. Building a shrine there is an excellent opportunity.
"Ugh, boring," Danta drawls with a fanged smirk, though he's hardly anyone to tell another person where they should and shouldn't go. Still, can Edmund not see the wonderful shenanigans they're getting up to here in the Grounds? (Danta assumes he can, given their current situation). "I suppose you do make a good point about Apopo, though."
Once the allogator is suitably drained of blood, Danta follows the same process with the deer until the firebowl is brimming and the offering bowls and full as well. "I suppose it would give other people a chance to get to know her as well," he continues, stepping back and wiping his hands on his pants. "Before I took that very long nap, it would have been unusual for people not to have heard of her."
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
Edmund let out a small huff, lips curling into a small smile, "Don't worry. I'll visit often and help out whenever there's work to do." Dantalion had all but claimed the Grounds for Mother with his rise to Theocrat. The young Ancient would support his success in any way. With the Maverick in the Grounds and himself in Torchline, they could make progress on two fronts.
The blood offerings are soon complete and Edmund eyes them with deep satisfaction. The shrine was far worthier of Mother now that it was filled with blood.
Danta's words give him pause, "Really?" Curiosity brimming but cautious of bringing up anything painful for Dantalion, he carefully raises a question. "Were there Ancient strongholds outside of the Climb?" If there were other lands that once belonged to Mother, then they needed to be reclaimed.
"Mm, I appreciate that," Danta murmurs, casually licking a streak of blood from the back of his hand as he admires their handiwork as well. The scent of blood adds to the bouquet of fire and incense in the Temple, and the Ancient would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. Very much planning to tear into the bloodless flesh of the deer and allogator, he at least has the decency to start dragging them back outside first.
"Of course. Dygra is as important as Caido," he drawls, raising his eyebrows over his shoulder at Edmund. "The Climb has always been her demesne though. I don't know if there were any other 'strongholds', given the way the seasons change. I could be wrong, though - this is my first time so far away from the Climb."
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
It sends a surge of pride through the young Ancient to have confirmation of Mother's powerful history. He knows very well that she's important and hearing that once upon a time all of the world knew is satisfying. Tail swishing, Edmund grins, "We'll have to remind the rest of the regions about that fact. Before her return, none of us knew about Mother." Except the gods of course.
They exit the temple and the young Ancient eagerly turns to their kills. Taking a knife, he begins to enjoy the deer as he listens to Dantalion, "I see." He needs to explore further beyond home as well. "What made you settle here instead of continuing to roam?"
"Mm, that seems more like a task for an ambitious young adventurer like yourself," Danta says with an indulgent smirk, hunkering down with a knife from his own boot to start tearing into both allogator and deer. He feasts, and on what he doesn't want, he cuts strips of flesh for later, wrapping them in deer hide to take with him.
Sitting back on his heels, he licks the blood from his fingers and lifts his gaze to his fellow Ancient, shrugging a bit. "No one wanted this place," he says. "Easy to make something of nothing. Harder to take it from someone who wants it." And if no one could see the potential the Grounds held, that's their fucking problem, in his opinion.
"Anyway, this has been thrilling, but I better head off. Get in touch if you need anything."
if we're in love or if we're in pain?
Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!
Horns: Diamond - they look very similar to #2 in this image.
11-01-2023, 08:39 PM (This post was last modified: 11-01-2023, 08:39 PM by Edmund.)
Edmund gives a fanged grin, "Are you calling yourself old?" Between the two Ancients, the kills are soon either devoured or packed away for later. Securing the tie on his bag of meat, the younger Ancient considers Danta's words. "I see." It made sense. From what he recalls, the Grounds had been all but abandoned after the war. The Sparkbird had decimated the region with few survivors. It was no wonder that outsiders had been wary of settling there.
Danta prepares to leave, and Edmund does the same. "I will. You do so as well." The Grounds were in a precarious position at the moment and Edmund was trying to establish a hold in Torchline. There was much to do to further the collective strength of the Ancients and Mother.
