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!
Post by Kimora Llewellyn on Mar 12, 2022 3:19:06 GMT -5
It wasn't commonplace for the queen to make such journeys. Generally, the Minister of the Exterior was the one who would have been tasked with such a job or even one of his underlings. As it was however, the man was detained at the wall, busy overseeing some of the catapults and other artillery pieces that were being installed and would have had to postpone the duty for at least a few days until his schedule permitted it. So it was, that Kimora, finding herself uncommonly free of all other requirements, had decided to go along instead.
She waited for @calliope to make an appearance in the city barracks. She had been informed roughly about what to expect, some of the long promised new equipment was finally ready for the arynnite military to begin using in day to day life.
Naturally the monarch wasn't alone. She stood alongside a couple of peacekeepers, as well as two of the kingdom's greater (and more trusted) enchanters. They had with them four large enchanted chests which carried themselves. That in itself was neither new nor particularly noteworthy in Arynn Frey, it was what they contained that should have been of interest. Adding themselves to their number were Camus and his massive dyr, the elephant Mercy. The blacksmith had been, along with a couple of his dresmondi counterparts, responsible for the production of a good deal of what was contained within and so, keen to ensure that their nation's newest residents didn't feel left out, he had been invited along.
Camus wasn't particularly one for this sort of thing. He had been two things prior to the whole debacle with the medallion: a fighter and then a blacksmith (with some fatherhood thrown in for good measure). Briefly, he had been the One, something he still bore some scars from. Now, here he was a senator. That in itself didn't particularly bother him. His sole responsibility was to make sure that the voice of his people was heard at the occasional Cabinet meeting. Simple. Especially when he had two other senators to rely upon.
This was one of those things that he could happily have passed up.
He didn't know what he was supposed to do. Stand around and look pretty? He'd made what the queen had asked for, hammered away in the forge built into his caravan for months. He could only suppose that this was supposed to make him feel "integrated". All the Dresmondi could do was stand around, wait and try not to linger too long on the fact that he'd left his two monkeys, now teenage, children unattended at the wall...
Calliope had been anticipating the new equipment, initially circumspect about the Dresmondi blacksmiths involved but ultimately figured that their being involved in the process meant that their work was of good quality. Good enough to work alongside Arynn Frey's own enchanters as well. She doubted that the queen would let the military receive anything under high quality as well, so that was a reassurance in the back of her mind.
Entering the barracks with her two hands Harbin and Darmund, the trio gave their proper respects to the queen, an unexpected visitor, as well as an acknowledgement of respect to the Dresmondi senator. "Good day, Your Majesty and Senator Camus." While there were all in their more formal uniforms, they were certainly not the dress uniform that Calliope and her assistants would have worn had they been aware of the Queen attending to this visit as well.
Post by Kimora Llewellyn on Mar 18, 2022 4:33:19 GMT -5
Kimora would greet the lieutenant with a polite smile. She treated this as if it was little more than a formality. Promises had been made and now it was time to keep them. "Good day to you too lieutenant." The queen bowed her head in recognition of the other woman. A small gesture but given that it wasn't all that long ago that her own status had been elevated to that of an absolute monarch, some humility and recognition of good work was required. The queen turned towards the four sizeable chests. "I believe that it's time to deliver on all of those promises that were made, don't you?"
The chests would open themselves revealing their contents: rings, bracers, truncheons and necklaces. "Protection against magic, physical attacks, communication and a way of disabling troublemakers. The cabinet agreed that it would look better if our peacekeepers didn't carry a blade, at leas in the street. Fortunately, with such equipment, they won't need to." The queen paused for a moment, waiting to judge the younger lieutenant's reaction. "Have their uses been explained to you?"
Camus had little to say or add. He recognized the lieutenant with a nod of the head. Otherwise, he was inclined to hang back and let the Arynnites do the talking. He didn't know what else he could possibly add to the situation so settled with just watching. He glanced briefly towards Mercy. "With luck, they will never have to use any of these." The elephant dyr spoke to him through their link. Camus didn't respond audibly, agreeing silently with his partner. It had dawned on him that if the Arynnites could find a way to neglect magic, then there was little to nothing that the Dresmondi could ever do to oppose them.
Calliope had been barely involved in the discussions held by the cabinetin regards to the new equipment. She was also very aware that the Cabinet very much looking to improve appearances, so when the Minister of Internal Affairs had summoned her, he had sought her opinion on what would possibly be effective for her men and then took that to the cabinet. Later, she had been given assurances and promises of equipment that met both her standards as well as the desires of the Cabinet.
As the chests were opened and contents confirmed, she eyed each with a sharp and calculating gaze. Plans for testing and training were already beginning to form as they spoke. "I have been informed of their general uses, though any information on the particulars would not be unwelcome." More information going in meant that she knew where some of the boundaries were set and where they weren't.
Post by Kimora Llewellyn on Mar 28, 2022 2:15:08 GMT -5
Kimora nodded her head understandingly. Whilst she trusted the lieutenant purely because the Minister of war did, the queen still felt that some explanations so as to ensure that there were no mishaps or confusion where the new toys were concerned. "Of course... I'm certain a demonstration wouldn't go a miss. Camus, perhaps you would care to oblige?" Who better than a Dresmondi blacksmith to demonstrate the enchantments. True, he did have some combat experience behind him but was less familiar with Arynnite magic. In short, if he could use them properly then notionally any of their peacemakers should have been able to.
After some confusion from the man and an uncertain and decidedly nervous look towards his dyr, he would step forwards and accept the enchanted items.
Camus stepped forwards somewhat nervously. He was happy enough with Dresmondi magic and seeing Arynnites use their enchantments was most certainly impressive but he'd never before felt a particularly burning desire to get his hands dirty with it himself. Since the queen asked however, he wasn't about to refuse.
The rings and bracers adapted themselves to the size of his fingers and wrist, ensuring that they were too tight to possibly slip off or even be removed by force. He slipped the necklace on and took the truncheon in his hand like a man who had never before held one. He stood there, looking around for any indication as to just what he was supposed to do now.
Calliope had a few of her fresh recruits bring in some of the older training equipment that had been replaced with newer pieces when she'd assumed her place as Infantry Head. Some had become project pieces for some who liked to see how they could make it go boom. (Sometimes, she didn't want to know but as long as they gave her a report after, she was usually fine with it.) The ones that she'd had brought in before the meeting were sturdy pieces that she'd already copied the enchantment matrices so if need be, she can have new ones made.
Her eyes tracked the pieces as Camus put them on, noting how they resized and fit, and when he was done she gestured to the training equipment. The pieces were set up a little further away in the room. Enough for range of motion and to account for a possibly neeeding space depending on how the enchantments interacted.
Post by Kimora Llewellyn on May 19, 2022 2:07:14 GMT -5
The queen watched both parties prepare. Of course, she already knew what was going to happen. This wasn't the first time that she'd witnessed a demonstration and the enchantments had been tested very thoroughly prior to being mess produced. This show was very much for the others, Arynnites and Dresmondi alike.
She herself had very little time for violence. At least when it was committed in front of her. That being said, she could see the usefulness of it at times and wanted to ensure that there was no more trouble on her streets.
"There's no need to go to extremes." The queen cautioned with a smile. "A simple demonstration will suffice."
Camus shifted around, trying to get used to his new apparel and beginning to regret agreeing to the queen's request. It had to be done however and backing out now, he reasoned would make him seem like a coward or worse, someone untrusting of the queen and those who worked for her. He glanced towards Mercy, the dyr didn't seem to be terribly concerned. A comfort in itself. Taking a discrete breath of air, he readied himself.
After a few moments, the necklace would glow green and a woman's voice could be heard:
"Senator Camus? Are you there?" "You need to hold the pendant to answer." Kimora would inform him. "Um..." The man obliged. "Yes. I guess so." "Okay." Came the voice from the other side. "Be ready."
Camus raised his eyes towards @calliope, awaiting her to give her men the order to proceed.
Calliope observed the pendant on the necklace that Camus was wearing, watched as it took on a green glow and then died down again. With a gesture of her hand, Harbin moved forward to activate the training mechanism. She wanted to see what the senator did to the training equipment before either of her lieutenants would step in.
"The floor is yours, Senator Camus." Harbin's voice rumbled as he motioned to the training post before stepping away.
Camus knew that he should have been a little more confident, relieved and honored right now, as it was, he wasn't entirely comfortable. It wasn't that he didn't trust the enchantments he'd been given but rather that he was keen not to make a fool of himself here and now or worse yet, give off the impression that they didn't work properly.
Having already demonstrated the communication ability from the necklace, he stood ready although not entirely sure what to expect.
One of the guards would step forwards. They raised a staff from which would surge forwards a beam of concussive energy. Had it made contact, it likely wouldn't have killed but only knocked the man off his feet. As it was, before the beam could reach him, a bubble would form around the man. It was a shield, one which ensured that the attack would seemingly just fade into nothingness, becoming utterly inert (to the senator's relief).
Post by Kimora Llewellyn on Jun 10, 2022 2:31:12 GMT -5
Kimora couldn't help but watch the display with a bemused self-satisfaction.
Camus' surprise and uneasy worked - to her mind at least - in their favor. After all, if a bumbling dresmondi could use the enchantments, then it shouldn't have been an issue for the arynnite troops.
For the next part of the demonstration, a soldier would step forwards. They were heavily armored, more so than was necessary. He would raise up a club, moving quickly so that Camus didn't have time to panic before bringing it down on his skull. About an inch or so before it hit, the weapon would bounce back, as if it had just been brought down against rubber or jelly. It was enough to knock the peacemaker off balance and cause them to stumble backwards.
"I think we'll forgo the truncheon-" Kimora suggested, keen to ensure that nobody needed to be brought home in some form of an ambulance. "-but if it makes contact, it will instantly render the other person unconscious."
She would turn towards Calliope with a sincere smile. "I hope these will suit your needs."
Calliope watched the display with a critical eye, taking in all the details. That the Dresmondi senator was capable of handling the enchantments had her of two minds. On the one hand, the fact that he could weild their enchantments easily. But on the other hand, that implied that someone not versed in enchanting could possibly wield them as well. And that any Arynnite could work them as well.
"Thank you, your majesty, for your graciousness." Gracious for not doing severe harm to her men, for the new equipment. "I believe these will suit perfectly."