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!
Calliope, for all that she joked (well, half-joked) that all she was good for was hitting things in comparison to her brothers, could be sneaky when she wanted to be. She'd known that her brother had been gone more often than not, and suspected he'd not actually been present at all in the last five years unless she was missing him in passing. Which, given that she'd strung up a little enchantment to alert her when he was home more than three days in a row, she doubted that.
If anything, she'd wager that in the same way that Cyrus had given her a goal to start working with Cambria in regards to their little Nevermeran problem, that he'd given Keion a similar goal. Except with him not being as public anymore, he could get away with being gone for longer than she could. So when her enchantment tripped, she gave it another day as she grabbed a couple bottles of spirits and various foods that she knew her brother loved before heading over to his home. Goods tucked away in a bag for food and drink carrying, she made her way to her brother's home on the outskirts.
With a big shit-eating grin, she reached up to pound on his door. "Kei! I know you're home and I brought goodies!"
Keion had quite happily decided his mission in Lorendale was complete. After five years, he felt he had contributed all he could as a single person to pushing the kingdom into war. He felt confident it would continue to snowball on its own accord and he didn't want to be in the kingdom when it hit it's breaking point.
So he had packed up the few things he had and left for home. Wanting a bit of time to himself to decompress, and to relish in having working plumbing again, he had snuck back into Arynn Frey without telling any of his family. So it was to his great surprise when after a few days of peace, there came a banging on his door followed by the unmistakable shouting of his sister.
He looked up from the book that was balanced on his lap, his eyebrow raising as he cast a glance at his door. He snapped the book closed and discarded it onto the couch before going to the door. He opened it, leaning against the door jam and crossing his arms across his chest as he took in the sight of his sister standing on the other side with a bag full of something. "Are you spying on me, sister?" he asked with feign hurt, his eyebrows knitting together.
She raised an eyebrow at the feigned hurt on her brother's face when he opened the door. Had they been younger, she might've tackled him in a hug but now, she first wanted to actually see her brother that she hadn't been able to see lately. "Me? Spying on you? Noooo, don't know what you mean in the slightest." Obviously, her shit eating grin and tone said the opposite of her words.
Lifting up the bag before him, she tilted her head a little as her grin softened even though the teasing lilt didn't leave her tone. "But I definitely did not go grab some of your favorites just in case." Sure, they were on the edge of their 70s but that meant nothing when they still had near a century left to live, give or take a decade, and she wasn't going to let a number like that dictate how she acted out of uniform in any way as used her foot to start poking at Keion's shin.
Keion returned the raised eyebrow, eyeing the bag that Calliope held up in front of him. He was having to work hard to keep a grin from crossing his face. He found, with Calli here on his doorstep, that he had missed his family more than he thought. Finally unable to keep the smile from his face, he chuckled and rolled his eyes, pushing his door open wide so that she could enter.
"Whatever enchantment you have on my home, do remove it please. I will be staying home now so you won't have to spy on me anymore." He plopped down on his couch, tossing the forgotten book onto a side table as he waited for Calli to take her seat. "So," he began, eyeing the bag in her hands, "What goodies did you bring me? And what has been going on here in Arynn Frey while I've been gone?"
Calliope nodded, knowing full well that now that her brother knew she had a way of knowing that he had returned that he would find the enchantment if she didn't remove it herself. Not that she was going to leave it now that it looked like he was going to be home to stay for a while. "I'll take it with me when I go, promise."
Making herself comfy on her brother's couch, she proceeded to pull out the good stuff. His favorite alcohol, some pastries, and then a small selection of foods and a bottle of alcohol that she'd taken a liking to during her visits to Cambria. "Well, I made a new friend of my own while you've been busy and the Queen gave me some delightful new toys."
His gaze swept across the goods laid out on his table and he immediately reached for one of the pastries, taking a bite of it and closing his eyes to revel in the taste. There was so much lacking about Lorendale, including the food. He had missed home so much.
Opening his eyes, he searched the table once more, his gaze hovering on the unfamiliar foods and alcohol. With a raised eyebrow he turned back to Calli. "A new friend? And who would this new friend be?" He waved a hand at the food and then towards her. "Do explain all of it. And spare no detail." He shifted, leaning towards her to encourage the conversation.
Calliope popped one of the Cambrian fruit tarts in her mouth before she popped open the bottle of mead. A honey berry blend that was just absolutely a delight and so smooth. She smirked at her brother.
"Assuming that Cy had you out and about on business for him?" She poured herself a glass as she spoke. "Well he asked me to pop on over to Cambria, see how they were feeling about things. And delightfully, they are of like mind to us. Mind, I didn't step down so I've been visiting uere and there but that is where my new friend is."
This time she put emphasis on friend as she blushed a slightly with a wide grin. "She's taller than I am when we're both barefoot!" And wasn't that a pain to find here in Arryn Frey, a woman close to her stature that she wouldn't worry about snapping like a toothpick.
Taking the bottle of alcohol from Calli, he sniffed at the liquid and took a small sip from the bottle, surprised at how good it was. He filled a glass for himself before settling back against the couch, one arm dangling over the side, the other slowly swirling the liquid in the glass.
"Cyrus did indeed have me off handling some business. It's good to know he has had all of us busy recently. Though I must admit that I am very surprised to hear Cambria shares our sentiments."
He took another sip of alcohol, watching his sister over the rim of the glass as she spoke of her new 'friend' she had made in Cambria. Sniffing and clearing his throat, a spark of mischief lit in his eyes. "A new friend, eh? Do I need to meet this new friend? Put her through her paces, see if she is proper Blackwood material?"
She was tempted to ask Keion what he had been up to but his response had been vague enough thay she wasn't giing to push it. So instead Calliope gestured her glass at Keion in agreement. "Me too. Thought it would be a lot of harder sell but no, they was them out and gone and not coming back to their lands. Very independent women, that they are."
At the teasing she snorted. "Oh she would kick your ass, Kei. Definitely kicked mine." She took a long drink. "But she'd turn it down, very much dedicated to her people and her duties. Which I absolutely respect that." Just because she'd come to terms with it, didn't mean that she wasn't still a little wistful.
He nodded his head, the reasoning making sense to him now. Of course, women who broke away from control of one kingdom would not want another encroaching on it. "Well, it is good to know we have a few tricks up our sleeves if the time ever comes."
He offered his sister a sad smile, noting the look on her face when talking about the other woman. "She sounds like an intelligent woman. I can understand her sentiment. Well, there is certainly still time for you to find someone else here in our kingdom." He tipped his glass towards her with a raised eyebrow. There were certainly those among the family that would find the idea of a Blackwood partnering with someone from Cambria rather distasteful, but Keion couldn't really bring himself to care. There was too much else on his plate.
"So, what of these new toys you say the Queen gave you? What did you do to earn such favor?"
As much as she did enjoy her time with Isolde, her brother did have a point. However, now was not the time for those thoughts, not when she hadn't really met anyone lately in the kingdom that didn't take her at face value beyond close family and her better soldiers. She didn't need a woman who could snap her in half with her pinkie, though that was pretty nice, but someone she could at least have an equal partnership with. And who knew, maybe something would work out with her and Isolde, maybe not.
Either way, she was glad for the change of topic when he asked about the new toys. "The goodies are new enchanted items, as determined by the new Minister of the Exterior. Items for, in their words,'Protection against magic, physical attacks, communication and a way of disabling troublemakers without carrying swords around.'"[/b] She refilled her glass and took a sip. "In other words, it's all about appearances for the Cabinet, who had suggested it in the first place."
Keion's eyes lit up as Calliope described the items and he raised a hand, absently rubbing it through the stubble on his chin. "How very interesting. That means there is something they are worried about, enough that they think they'll need subterfuge prepared to handle whatever it is and keep it away from the public eye."
He looked back to his sister, "I don't suppose you have any inside military information about whatever threat they're preparing against, do you?" There were a few options that he entertained as possibilities, but none that stood out for certain.
Calliope nodded with her brother's assessment. There was certainly something going on behind the scenes that she didn't know about and was yet being tasked with something to 'keep up appearances' for otherwise. A thoughtful frown pulled at her lips as she thought about it.
"It was important enough that the queen herself came to present the new equipment along with one of the Dresmondi senators. Camus, I believe. The one with the elephant."
Keion frowned in turn at the details Calli offered him. "She included one of the Dresmondis? Hm. That just makes me believe it is an issue with Dresmond we should be expecting."
Certainly not his first thought as to what they would need subterfuge for, but interesting none the less. He sighed and leaned back into the couch. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you to keep your ears open for further information."
She nodded at her brother's observation, one that she had been considering herself since the meeting. It had her curious, had her suspicious, had her wanting to know what the heck was going on. But she still didn't know the depths of the enchantments on the new items she was given.
"I will. I might can talk to Camus the Dresmondi senator at some point. I plan on testing the limits of the enchanted items too. See what the true limits and capabilities are beyond what they said they were." She popped another morsel into her mouth as she poked her brother with the tip of her foot.
"Now. I told you bout my fun. What about you? Did you meet anyone?" She was carefully not asking about what he did for Cyrus.