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 Hiram Eldouir on Jun 30, 2022 15:09:01 GMT -5
[ Made for @adeline ]
Myla had just left Hiram in his room. She'd walked and presented a figure of calm, but she'd been raging. He had felt it in the air and heard it in the sarcasm on her voice. Hiram had told her she wouldn't be joining the group in their coming adventures, and he meant it. He also decided that it was time to stop pretending that she and Elena were queens. He had thought it would empower them and drive them to be greater than they were, but it had actually imprisoned them in slothfulness. Neither had grown, neither had progressed, and neither had made Dresmond a hair better than it had been the day they claimed it.
So Hiram was done with them. That is, he was done pretending they were queens. They weren't. They were effective killing machines, a good fuck, and little more. Granted, that was everything when you were an Eldouir, but he wasn't going to pretend anymore.
He had set his sights somewhere else. To his new favorite, you might say. She was younger, more beautiful, and had a powerful gift to boot. It was arguably not as powerful as Elena or Myla, but he had high hopes for what she could become if given the opportunity. If led. If challenged and pushed. He'd done some of that early on in Dresmond, but of late he'd lost interest. Well, the interest was piqued again.
"Adeline!" He called her name loudly as he moved down the hall of the Eldouir Estate, assuming she was close and could hear. He might be wrong, but he tried anyway.
When everyone had dispersed from the throne room, Adeline had as well. She figured they were all going to discuss some sort of important Dresmond business that required the Queens and no one else, so she had been in the process of donning her training gear: leggings and a tunic. Quite different from the skirts she usually wore, but she often found that the extra fabric of her usual attire only got in the way.
She had just pulled said leggings and tunic on when she heard her name echo down the hallway. Hiram's voice was unmistakable and she moved into the hallway, just outside of her door, where she braced one hip against the wall and crossed her arms. "Yes, Hiram?" she called back, just as loudly as he had shouted her name.
Post by Hiram Eldouir on Jul 1, 2022 13:30:50 GMT -5
Hiram snapped his head towards Adeline as she appeared. She didn't have to call back to him, but she chose to, and he narrowed his eyes over a smile.
"There you are." More unnecessary words. She made a nice figure, leaned against the doorframe that way. He snaked a hand out to slide across her back and side if she didn't stop him, but otherwise kept walking.
She only blinked at him as he came to her and slid his hand across her, turning her head to watch him over her shoulder as he kept walking. She hadn't trained with Hiram in quite some time and the idea of it excited her. He was a true opponent, not like the weak soldiers she had to baby and walk step by step through every drill.
There was no hesitation as she turned and followed him, eyes sparkling. "Anything in particular?" she asked from just a step behind him.
Post by Hiram Eldouir on Jul 5, 2022 13:13:16 GMT -5
Adeline had always been a sport. And she wasn't as mouthy as Myla, which was a bonus. As she followed after him he informed her,
"Yes. Your ice magic." He wouldn't leave an Eldouir to their own devices, especially not when they had something of such great use. If he was going to take her to face dangerous enemies with him, he had to be sure she would be using her power appropriately. What better way than to train her in the way he would use it if he had it?
Magic training was her favorite. Sure, she could also use swords as good as the next soldier, but using her abilities made her feel alive and powerful. It reminded her of who she was, of the family behind her and how strong the rest of them were. She knew there would be water waiting on the training ground, both for her and the other ice magic users among the Dresmondi for their training.
Entering the training grounds, she would immediately find one of those sources of water and freeze a chunk of ice from it, bringing it with her to stand across from Hiram. She tossed it up and down in her hand, tilting her head to the side and waiting for Hiram to either make a move or a command.
Post by Hiram Eldouir on Jul 7, 2022 15:01:54 GMT -5
Magic training wasn't Hiram's favorite, but it was necessary. He had pushed many a gifted, especially Eldouirs, to new limits with their magic through his methods. Apparently word had gotten out about it, which was surely why Honora had sought him out. Just thinking of the woman brought a foul taste to his mouth, and he spat as he walked to rid himself of it. He was done--at least for now--with the Allemeade. His focus would be on his own. On Eldouir and none other.
"When we start to fight," Hiram began, his voice quiet for no other reason than for her to heed his words, "we will face all kinds of enemies. Men with weapons. Enhanced men with weapons. Women who can speak and make magic. Men and women with objects that produce magic themselves..." She had been schooled like all Eldouir, and surely knew which kingdom they fell into.
"It is critical for you to use your magic to give you an advantage." Reaching the training yard, he turned on Adeline and looked at her intently. "When we're out fighting, you don't play fair; if you play fair, you die. Understood?"
She listened intently, soaking up his every word like a sponge. Of course she knew he referred to all the magic types across Terra Nova. She was one of the more scholarly Eldouirs and had taken her studies quite seriously. Her head tilted slightly as he continued to speak, pushing her about not fighting fair.
She flashed him a small grin, "Since when have the Eldouirs ever fought fairly?" And then she immediately tossed her cube of ice into the air and it split into two. One half grew wildly towards Hiram, seeking to wrap around him and encase him in ice. The other grew towards Adeline, wrapping around her arm to create a shield.
Post by Hiram Eldouir on Jul 8, 2022 14:05:29 GMT -5
Hiram smirked, agreeing with her assessment of the family, not finding the point one that sullied their reputation but instead a point of pride. They were survivors. They were victors. They didn't do it following the rules or playing at loyalty; they did it by kicking friends between the knees if they needed to. That is, they were loyal to none except Eldouirs. Sometimes, as Hiram had found in his personal life, you had to seem disloyal to the family in order to truly be loyal to them. Didn't make sense? Hiram often didn't.
Adeline tossed her cubes into the air and he had an instinctive feeling that she was about to try to attack him. He reached inwardly, magically, for her blood and found it. So fresh. So ripe. So willing to do as he pleased. All of his enemies were impregnated with his greatest ally. Her eyes grabbed hold of his body, but he had seized upon her existence. She'd find herself unable to move her limbs, and a pain would begin blossoming in her stomach.
"You know what I am capable of, yet you simply encased me?" Hiram called loudly. She should have sought the kill immediately. The Eldouirs did not need mercy. They had no use for toying with their enemies. But, as it was, Hiram wasn't the enemy, thus practicing her magic this way was not helpful. After his point was made he would release her limbs, though the pain in her stomach would remain.
"I will give you situations I want you to respond to."
She felt the moment his magic took ahold and instantly knew her mistake. She might have even frozen on her own accord before he truly took control of her blood. When the pain in her stomach started, she bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from shouting out if it became too much.
As he spoke and held her in place, her eyes slowing heated with a cold fury. Mostly from her own mistakes, but also from being contained and controlled. She stared at him, managing a slight nod to confirm that she understood what he meant.
When he released her, she slid the ice away from his body and brought it to a side where it sat in a chunk, ready for use if she needed it.
Post by Hiram Eldouir on Jul 15, 2022 13:25:39 GMT -5
Hiram didn't care if Adeline was humiliated. When he was finished with her, she'd be capable of so much. She'd be a well-trained weapon ready to point and shoot. He'd be pleased and confident with her at his side.
The gifted began to pace in a wide circle around the ice elementalist, giving her room to think and act as he spoke.
"You are surrounded by ten enemies. Each is armed with a weapon and all are closing in on you, intending to strike you down at once. There are more enemies beyond them as well. What do you do?"
Adeline didn't watch Hiram as he paced around her, she only stared forward and focused on his words so that she could respond to them to the best of her ability. She took only a moment to think before she responded to his scenario.
Taking command of the ice at her feet, she created a circular wave of ice around her and pushed it outward quickly in all directions. "The ice would fill their noses and mouths, freezing them shut so they could not breath and they would suffocate to death, or drown if the ice melted within their bodies. And the ones behind them would be swept up in the ice and dead bodies of their friends."
Post by Hiram Eldouir on Jul 19, 2022 13:55:54 GMT -5
Hiram pursed his lips as his eyes jumped to their corners to observe the magic that she did. He nodded.
"Good. Effective to quell the immediate attacks. That would, however, use more energy than entirely necessary. What if, rather than an entire wave, you simply break the ice apart into shards that penetrate the chests of those around you. They are killed, and if you can follow the ice through then you can possible kill another row of men beyond them. Then, when you reclaim the ice," he raised a hand and closed his fist, as if he himself were doing the deed, "whatever ice still lingers in the bodies rips them apart to return to you." It was a personal favorite tactic with blood. Seemed ice and blood had more in common.
"Next," he said without waiting for her to respond or to try what he narrated, "you stand alone and a witch and male soldier of Nevermere stand just twenty yards away. You do not know whether they are friend or foe."
Adeline raised her hand the same way Hiram did, squeezing it in a fist, her eyes shining as she glanced between her and Hiram. It was a particularly gruesome maneuver, one that she had not thought of before. But it sounded deliciously effective and she filed it away for future use. Looking at Hiram, she nodded slightly, waiting for his next scenario.
Her brows knit together as she contemplated his scenario, quite uncertain about it. She knew of the witches and their paired male soldiers which could be turned into werewolves. Her extensive studies and constant reading allowed her to learn of the other kingdoms without having traveled there.
"I remain on my guard, but wait for them to make the first move. If they are friend, there is no reason to expend energy beginning a fight. If they are foe, and they attack, I will first cover the witches mouth with ice so that she cannot speak and therefore not use any of her magic." Her lips quirked up, "I will then root them both in place so they cannot assist each other and the witch cannot throw any potions. Then I would grow the ice up their bodies, and..." She raised her fist and clenched it, mimicking what Hiram had done previously.
Post by Hiram Eldouir on Jul 28, 2022 14:52:00 GMT -5
"No!" Hiram snapped, breaking from his pacing to close in on Adeline. "Wrong. Wrong!" He was furious, and abruptly so. It was not atypical for him. He was a man of chaos down to his very core, a force of nature in his words, emotions, and actions. He would seek to grab her by her shoulders, not a painful hold necessarily, but an urgent one.
"You wait for them to make the move first," his eyes searched her face, willing her with everything that she was to understand what he was saying, "and you die. Do you hear me?" He gave her shoulders a slight shake. "You die. Nevermere is the enemy." How did she not know this? Why did she not think it? He released her with a sense of abandonment and stalked away.
"You never hesitate. You are the apex predator in this world, Adeline. You make the move first." He could already see her speared through by a witch who had the opportunity to do her magic first. He was quiet for a beat and then he opened his mouth to yell, to practically scream at her,