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!
Enigma walked in reverently. He recognized a shrine to the gods when he saw one. The others didn't seem to know how special these places were. As he walked around the temple, he even saw a makeshift tavern. Disrespectful.
He looked around, trying to identify which god it belonged to. It didn't look like any he knew. Was it a new god? A forgotten god? He knelt down, shovel in his lap.
"I humbly pray thee hello," he whispered, his throat needing a bit more time to adjust to making noises again, "I do not recognize your shrine, and would like to know more."
11-07-2018, 07:47 PM (This post was last modified: 11-07-2018, 07:47 PM by Random Event.)
Nothing happened. It was rather anticlimactic, actually, at first at least. Indeed, whatever Enigma had been hoping to accomplish here, discovering a lost god, talking to a rediscovered deity, convening with the divine, it clearly wasn't working. A long moment passed without any sign, any manifestation, anything at all of note happening. Then, finally, the kneeling man might notice a change. He probably wouldn't like it, as it seemed more a curse than a blessing.
It started with the smell of rotten eggs. It was faint, at first, but quickly grew to a level that would make Enigma nauseous. Simultaneously, a yellowish smoke began billowing in from the corners of the room, rushing towards the man. If he didn't move, it would quickly surround him in a cloying cloud, stinging his eyes and skin, entirely disorienting. Regardless of whether he escaped, for quite a while he'd carry this awful smell with him.
Seemed that Enigma wasn't the only riddle in this place.
That was all that went through Enigma's head as the room began filling with... Whatever that was. It smelled awful and made his eyes water, and his stomach roll. Whatever this shrine was attached to must not have liked him.
"What have I done to warrant this?" he asked allowed. ""All I said was hello. I bear no ill intent. I just want to know what is going on. Everyone that just appeared does. If it is your doing, you owe us at least an explanation." He pleaded.
"We cannot do what is asked of us until we are told."
“I wouldn’t advise staying there” Dee shot a withering glance into the shrine, her nose wrinkling at the smell as she leaned against the wall, all the while picking the dirt out from under her nails with a small, roughly made, arrow. The plan had been to pick up some supplies from around the ruins and eventually find her way back to the makeshift home Faolan had left her inside the Domiciles. Except, the ruins weren’t as empty as they used to be. Some strange folk had arrived from… somewhere. Though Gods only knows how, so far as Dee knew, outlanders were almost unheard of. Almost. That the ruins no longer looked deserted made Dee feel uneasy, she had spent her life inside this bubble—who were these folk? Who came seemingly out of nowhere, making noise and… decorating.
She rubbed at her neck, putting the arrow back and regarded the stranger.
“Maybe they don’t like what you’ve done with the place” she shrugged, her voice echoing, whilst gesturing with her hand to mean the Temple. If they were looking for the Old Gods, well, they’d be a while. So far as Dee knew, Vi, Mort and Rae hadn’t been seen in a good long while, but that didn’t mean they weren’t here. Perhaps these outsiders were a signal for change, that, or the Hollowed Grounds were about to get a lot more crowded.
Shifting off the wall, adjusting the straps of her small pack strewn across her back, she made to leave, but thought better of it. Curiosity defeating the indifference she normally felt. She couldn’t really see the person she was talking to, though he looked tall and his boots were fur lined. It couldn’t hurt to ask, right?
“Who are you?” she rather blurted, only to start coughing on the vile smell.
nobody teaches you how to reminisce, nobody teaches you to hurt like this
11-15-2018, 01:42 AM (This post was last modified: 11-15-2018, 01:45 AM by Enigma.)
The man in the cloak turned to look at the newcomer, his eyes begining to glow through the darkness provided by his hood. She had a bow. Braids. Brown hair. She totally had the look of the Goddess of Fauna where he was from, which he found intriguing.
"I haven't done any of this decorating you speak of." he said as he stood. "I simply wanted to be respectful to the god or gods this shrine belonged to."
The man continued to watch the woman as she couldn't decide to stay or go, much like a cat. Fitting for a huntress. "You may call me whatever you wish. I forsake my name long ago. Enigma seems to be popular these days, however."
With just a few steps, Enigma closed the gap between them. "You must be a native, right? You don't look as lost as the others."
The smell was so bad, Dee was already regretting her decision to linger longer than she intended; would her clothes smell like this forever? She shivered at the thought. No point moaning about it now. She would have to wash her clothes later. Instead, her attention was catered solely towards this… fellow. His hood covered any feature that might identify him and all she could remotely make out were some glowing eyes in the darkness. One hand now covering her mouth to try detract from the odour, brows creased in discomfort, she listened to his answers, her eyes glimmering in quiet surprise. She had never really prayed to any God, Faolan had hardly ever mentioned them and she had never felt like she needed to speak to one particularly. Not that one would answer. Rumour had it they weren’t answering. Or maybe they stank the place out whenever anyone tried to contact them.
“Your respect is wasted on them” she said quietly, almost apologetically, before removing the hand from her face.
She watched him as he watched her, two strangers in a smelly shrine, surrounded by a bubble they couldn’t escape, he had arrived in a prison—she almost pitied him. Almost. He offered a name, or kind of a name, Enigma was what the folks who knew him called him and Dee, taking in his shadowy appearance, thought she understood a little of why. She looked at him with amusement, but only nodded her acknowledgement and soon he was closing the gap between them.
A flash of alarm crossed her face, she didn’t converse with other dwellers all that often, let alone outlanders, and suddenly the walls around her felt a lot crowded than they did before. She took in all his height, he was taller than she first thought… Quite a bit taller.
“You mean, was I born in this squalor? Yes” she paused, Dee had never really thought about other worlds, if there could be other worlds. Where did these outlanders come from? She had never really cared, but now stood in front of one, it felt silly not to ask.
“There aren’t usually many—“ she gestured to him with her hand “outlanders. What are you doing here?” why would anyone come here she thought at the same time.
nobody teaches you how to reminisce, nobody teaches you to hurt like this
That look of fear on her face. It was all too familiar. He couldn't help but sigh and slump his shoulders at the sight. "I won't hurt you," he said, taking a few steps backward.
"I am not sure why I am here. I was at my wife's grave and was about to head over to the graves of my daughters when I suddenly appeared here. And judging by listening to the others, the others just appeared too. nobody knows why." He told the girl.
"Usually I can figure out stuff like this... But it seems like something is suppressing my gifts from my own Gods that would allow me to do so. It feels so... weird." he stated. "I was hoping the deities here would be helpful. But apparently, they are all just A BUNCH OF JERKS. No wonder why this place seems run down." he said grumpily.
"I guess I will have to learn things the old-fashioned way."
