The peace that formerly reigned in Terra Nova has eroded, now little more than a memory. War ravages the continent. Disputes divide kingdoms; ideals divide families. The quest for power consumes absolutely and indiscriminately. None are immune to its allure.
Who will rise and who will fall? Only time—and ambition—will tell.
UPDATES
05.26.2023
2 month character creation hold for all existing members begins 6/5/2023. Ended 8/5/2023.
10.29.2023
Change in how times flows. Was 4 IC seasons, now only 2 IC seasons per 1 OOC year.
5 whole years of Heir Apparent goodness! When I started the site, I knew I was hunkering down for the long haul, but I never could have predicted the numerous twists and turns this roleplay site has seen. Hundreds of plots, characters, and members have come and gone, all leaving marks on the site. I am so very thankful for those who have invested. Because you keep coming back, keep getting on, and keep writing, Heir Apparent has the legacy it does today. Three cheers to us!
"Well I'm not sure. I mean I got some steady ass right now when I want it but then again, we're going ta fuckin war. Shippin me ta Cambria of all places! Angry giant chicks with magic and me just another dumb guy with no magic at all and no partner.." Raff laughed bitterly, as always the male soldiers sent out to be slaughtered when it was a hundred percent magic and witches that should be doing this shit! With no partner, he was less than useless.
"I dunno Van Zant. Maybe I'll be lucky and die drunk before I send out any more innocent useless meat shield guys against huge magic chicks..."
"Octavius said Cambria was a pretty good gig. Maybe it won't be too bad?" Pretty much all the assurance she could offer. Oh well, actually. "And the princess Odina, she's not half bad, I can put in a good word if you stop being a lump on a log." Grinning, that was just about the closest Kat was going to get to an apology for acting like an ass.
Which wasn't a good one in the slightest. "Or you could walk off a pier like Fabian. Easy was out." Drinking from the flask would be close enough for now.
Raff purposely grabbed her bottle of far more expensive whiskey and took a long swallow and set it back down before replying.
"A good word with a giant angry magic chick-so I'll get a quick death then? Sounds like the fairest deal I'll get. And yea so what if I'm feelin lazy?" he laughed at the mere idea of going up to a Cambrian Princess and saying well yea but I got this good word from Van Zant before you kill me!
Hmm. There was one big fat topic right there. He took another long swallow of whiskey and set it down.
"Fabian was a dick to be that way to ya and a coward fer walkin. Yer the tough one fer stickin things out no matter how bad it gets. And if nothing else, Kasper is great entertainment fer ya when he eats, am I right?!"
He was! Kasper was the only guy Raff knew that could out eat him, any time any where! That had to be worth at least a smirk.
"Why are you acting like you're going there to die. I heard a few Nevermere soldiers ended up wifing up over there." Octavius had said it was easy, and while Faylin and Kasper had seemed to be dancing around some big secret. So maybe there was something she just didn't know. But she wasn't about to start guessing at what she didn't know.
Shrugging her shoulders she snapped her fingers. "We could snap over there if I had been there before. Alas." No such luck. So her portals were frustratingly useful. For now.
"Nope. He's off to Coheed. So just me." Literally. Everyone else was going.
Raff turned pale at the term 'wifing up' and took a few larger swallows at that. Did they even take husbands there? He highly doubted it.
"Firstly, as far I know, it's pro-men in Coheed and pro-women in Cambria. Women means more magic right?" He set down the bottle again, finding it too tempting to just keep drinking at that moment.
"Secondly, I ain't never been ta war solo before. No partner. Hell not even a woman in our group to go with us. It's not the best outlook, honestly." the blue eyed man just looked at her for a few minutes.
So her twin was off to Coheed and she was stranded here alone to grieve? That didn't bode well for anyone, all around. But Kasper was paired, so that was a solid obligation but he was her twin which left her solidly out of any support. No wonder she was here.
With Merk dead, neither he nor Van Zant had someone around. She'd made it clear that he was no friend, so Raff guessed he must be her last resort if she was here talking to him. He needed to put aside his own bitching if that was the case. A possible quick death in war was the best outcome a non-paired soldier could hope for.
"Well damn that sucks."
Last Edit: May 15, 2023 19:51:03 GMT -5 by Deleted
Kat certainly wasn't debating that most in Cambria looked down on men, but she also knew that there were now houses built in Cambria. And that some soldiers had asked for extensions on their planned time over there. Maybe wifing was the wrong term, but they were definitely getting it.
His second part had her coughing on the sip she was taking. "War? What the hell are you talking about Raff. Are you guys going there to fight something?" She hadn't heard of any trouble in Cambria, so this was news to her, and would be to just about any soldier in Nevermere.
"Well guess I've gotta live my life as a fuck you to him."
"There's no way they're sending us out ta hold hands and kiss boo-boos. I'm just lookin fer the why of it Van Zant. Yer tellin me that sending out mass troops ta either side of this kingdom at the -same time- is a humanitarian mission?" He snorted in total disbelief. "I highly fuckin doubt it. Deploying soldiers north and south from here could be to clear a path directly to the east which leads to a strategic pincer movement for which place....?"
Raff knew that the witch was more of a here and now kinda person, but when he had circumstances like this, it always made him look for the bigger picture.
"They ain't sending us outta Nevermere right and left without a solid reason why. We just ain't been told that yet."
He watched as she spoke and nodded,
"Yep. Live it up good Van Zant, that's the best way."
Last Edit: May 17, 2023 12:20:32 GMT -5 by Deleted
"Mass deployment? Since when is that happening?" Had Kat been paying a lot of attention to the orders that had been going on lately? No. She had what she was concerned with, and what her brother was concerned with. That was plenty, but apparently she had missed a couple of things along the way. "We've had troops in both places for years, and Nevermere hasn't been one for unprovoked offense..." In some ways it made sense, but in others, it was more than frustrating. The king had shown no interest in tracking down attacks inside of Nevermere, so why spread thin to attack now?
It would make sense that they hadn't been told of course. Secrets and sending you out to fight a battle you would never understand. Totally added up with how the King acted. Collecting kingdoms and then caring not what happened after. Now she didn't even have an insider to find out information from.
Fuck.
"They could totally fake something though. Another war for another kingdom to add to the collection. Great." Taking a long sip from her flask, Kat was annoyed and glad she would be staying in Nevermere. Maybe a better chance to figure out facts from fiction.
Raff shrugged and took another swig of whiskey before setting it down again.
"Hell if I know. I just go where they send me and do what they tell me. If I'm supposed to know, they'll say so." he answered fatalistically. It didn't really matter did it? When you signed up to be a soldier, you followed orders and that was that. If they wanted him to know, they'd tell him. Yea, he had a lot of reservations about being deployed solo for the first time ever but there was nothing to be done for it. He wasn't Paired anymore and he'd just have to suck it up like everyone else.
"No idea what the brass has planned but we'll know when we know right? At least ya can kick back in a place that ya know and that's familiar, so that's at least one good point fer ya. "
Kat sighed and laid down on the floor, not sure what she had thought she was doing re-enlisting. It had been to protect her family, but now it seemed like maybe she just should have stayed a criminal. Her brother was getting sent off, her other siblings pulled all over the place. And now she had to add her three kids to the mix.
"I think the last thing I'm going to be able to do is relax. All you are leaving me to deal with the staff duty bullshit kids. They are going to be a nightmare Raff." Pinching the bridge of her nose, Kat wasn't sure if going off to another kingdom with a strong team or staying with the B-team was better.
Not that she had a choice in the matter. "Look if you're Red ever needs help with her magic, send her my way yah. Free practice for me to teach magic sense apparently that's what the higher-ups want me to do. Sauce-box Abbott said him and Woody Woodward need to make sure I'm good enough for the job." Probably just wanted her to fail. Bunch of arseholes.
Raff smiled as he watched her slide down to the floor and stretch out to talk. Now there was progress. The many moods of Van Zant right there. When she could finally let herself relax enough to physically let go, it was another step. Her long dark hair spread out along the floor, framing her face and relaxing as much as Kat was.
When she finally spoke, he heard the heartache, frustration, sadness, rage and a tinge of almost despair that crept into her tone. She didn't show her true feelings for everyone to see. Kat was a tough woman who took the hard road, on her own, every time, regardless of whoever judged her. No matter how much she hurt, it was no one's business and she'd not show weakness to anyone. That was the root of exactly how they connected wordlessly. She needed this more than anyone else he knew. She knew she was always free to be that Kat around him, and he'd never condemn her for it. She was real and if others didn't like it, too bad.
Raff kept his voice quiet as he replied with a gentle laugh,
"Ya got a point there. I didn't know they were puttin ya on diaper duty. Hell, that's gonna be a least a half dozen Article 15 slap downs a week-all while yer wipin noses and asses."
His blue eyes darkened and he realized it had gotten dark out now. He listened quietly as he stretched out an arm and lit the lantern to set it over on his right, outta the way.
"That's a damn good offer of ya. I think she'd really appreciate the help. I know she ain't got any other witches around ta help her with that kinda stuff. Red's really strong at magic-she just needs someone to teach her how to channel it all."
A movement in the window caught his attention and he glared at Cady and Ewan trying to peek in the window. Raff made a throat slitting gesture at them and mouthed the words 'go to Alan' at them before they took the hint and left.
"Yer more than good enough Van Zant. Don't let no one tell ya different."
Kat snorted and rolled her eyes. Hopefully she'd get wrapped up in this side project of Commander Ushers. The rangers program seemed more her speed then teaching witches magic. She liked to work with already handled clay. Teaching someone how to make a healing potion seemed like torture.
"Dear goddess, I hope not. Maybe they'll on give me the post-mandatory cases. I can crack some heads." That was plenty obvious to anyone who saw her fight. But then again, if she was training teenagers that could also probably work just fine. Sometimes they needed a good knock or two, especially the ones with egos. Those had always been the best to mess with, but she wasn't sure she could do that in a power position. Something to think about.
Kat rolled her flask between her hands. "Well just pass it along." It's not like she knew who or where to find the chick, witch, gal, whatever. She just figured Raff liked the girl and was leaving. Olive branches and such.
"Well duh." Laughing she took a breath, feeling right at home on the floor with a few sticky spots, some boards worn worse than others based on if they squeaked. It was like home. Something she had been missing in the Winters Estate for a long time.
Raff sipped at the whiskey and agreed with Van Zant,
"Yeah that whole baby sittin teacher job sucks. I mean, yea we like the money of a promotion, but the shove into a central role? No thanks."
She got it-she always did. Neither of them wanted to be shoved under a spotlight to stand on a stage with crowds of soldiers staring at them and expecting orders. It wasn't that they couldn't lead. Both he and Kat were smart enough to lead-they'd both been through extensive partner training which was demanding and taught how to lead and follow to the extreme. But that was exclusive and private with a comfortable audience of exactly two.
There were 4 kinds of types in the army. The leaders that were ambitious and wanted that role so they took, asked for more and relished every bit of it. The second kind were more like that Stormcrest guy. Stay a head down soldier on the outskirts, floating nearby the crowd but making sure to avoid any attention at all costs. Him and Kat were the 3rd kind which had their own solo agendas and preferences. They could take a leadership role as it was part of the promotion line, but they kept rank and military mindsets on the clock. Commanding was a job, a heavy responsibly that was gladly shed when they were off the clock. 4th were the parent types that actually enjoyed their teaching roles. Weird.
"How's that Ranger training going? I hear it's some interesting work-at least ya don't git bored."
Raff leaned forward and picked out a wayward leaf from Kat's hair, knowing the floor was fairly clean enough. But it was still a floor. He reached behind him to the cot and pulled down a pillow, offering her something for her head.
Laughing she smiled and looked over at Raff, gesturing around. "We already have enough babysitting in our lives, don't need to add more." Especially since she was pretty shit at it. She didn't know how to kiss a booboo to make it better, certainly not how to cook but luckily that duty was saved for the staff duty folks in the military.
But she was probably going to have to step up in some ways. Annoying. She was already spending too much time training, and now she had to raise her kids alone, and raise kids in the military. It was a bit of bull, and she just planned to push all that onto someone else. Unfortunately not her twin, but she'd find someone.
"So far just getting some extra training, especially with my magic. Still haven't gotten the specifics of what I'm doing. Not sure I ever will."
Raff made a mistake offering her a pillow. And she quickly smacked him with it, cackling. She had needed this, no responsibilities and drinking.
"Yea I'm drippin with kids here at home and even more of 'em at work. At least Alan moved out, while Brent's mostly moved out and engaged, so that still leaves Cady, Denzul and Ewan."
He tapped her leg with the edge of his boot at her words.
"C'mon it ain't that bad."
The much needed downtime was nice and working up a little buzz helped too so he could finally just rela--THWAP!
A pillow slapped him across the chest and face and feathers sprayed out everywhere on impact! Raff grabbed the other pillow with his left hand to upper cut her with it and laughed loudly,
"You evil WTICH! Dammit Van Zant!"
For a few minutes it was just a sheer blizzard of flying white feathers everywhere and nothing but all out laughter.