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!
Faylin was very bad at staying idle. As the small party from Nevermere had been so readily dismissed by the blonde Cambrian that had met them, her skin had already started to itch. It seemed they were meant to just sit around while they waited for the Governor here to deign to meet with them. Faylin disagreed with this notion.
While she understood the need to remain lowkey, she was also a soldier. And soldiers needed to train. If she was able to observe anything while others thought she was too preoccupied? Even better. So she spoke with some of the soldiers that had been stationed here for some time and they directed her to the plot of land that they used, or perhaps didn't use, judging by the lack of other soldiers in the area.
Rolling her eyes and making a mental note to throw her title around a bit later, she took a long, deep breath and began stretching out her muscles before she would pull her sword from its sheath and begin her normal routine. She refrained from using magic, instead using that part of her mind to focus on listening and watching her surroundings.
Revna was watching the Nevermere troup. Well part of it anyways. The witch, and not the main fancy one. No one of the soldiers, and she had set out to train. Certainly a surprising trait among those sent to Cambria. The patch of dirt was a sorry excuse for a training ground, although if anyone actually used it she would be glad to laugh at them from a top the mountain view.
So she kept her distancing, although able to look with her special eyes. Enhanced sight had it's perks. But she got bored of watching after what one might consider an alarmingly short amount of time. And so she made her way down, a smile on her face, figuring the soldier would notice her, without having to announce herself. "Whatcha doin?"
Faylin had indeed noticed the Cambrian approaching her. She didn't stop her motions of slashing and parrying invisible enemies until the woman was standing nearby and had voiced her question. Even then, Faylin continued on until she felt ready to stop, leaving a considerable amount of silence to stretch between them.
Finally turning to her visitor, she sheathed her sword and started stretching out her limbs, cooling down her muscles. "I'm training. Is that a foreign concept here?"
Revna smiled, this woman was certainly fresh to Cambria. She didn't need to have seen her step out of the magical portal to have known that. After a week or so most of the soldiers became complacent, thought there was no threat, and chased after her misguided sisters.
"I don't know the last time I saw someone actually use this area. Really use it." Her and her fellow Valkyries had their own place to train. Away from the prying eyes of any passing Neveremere soldiers. Not that they would be doing anything but oggling anyways. Some of the women soldiers lasted a little longer, but this was considered an easy post. Or at least it had been, her priestess would see them away from any posting, Revna was sure of it.
Tilting her head she thought the soldier's fighting wasn't half-bad, but she was also fighting air, anyone could beat air. "I'm Revna by the way." Keep your friends close and your enemies closer right?
Faylin grimaced, her concerns on the lack of training confirmed by the Cambrian. She would have to talk to Kasper when she got back to camp about running the soldiers stationed here through drills tomorrow. She looked forward to watching them struggle and suffer for their lack of discipline. Perhaps when she got back to Nevermere she would have to ask about having someone of higher rank stationed here.
With a small huff she turned her attention back to the woman who was introducing herself. Faylin inclined her head slightly in greeting. "I'm Faylin. It's nice to meet you." She did a once over of Revna, attempting to discern any useful information, or perhaps find one of the brands. She waved a hand vaguely at the land around them.
Not finding anything of note, she pushed on with the conversation. "Well, I'm sorry if I disturbed you somehow. But I would expect to find more soldiers making use of this area over the next few days. After I've had a word with them."
Faylin. Certainly a name to report to her priestess. She was different than the others, clearly had a pair of balls if she planned to get the rest of the soldiers to join in. That would take some serious effort. Complacency was obvious among the current soldiers, there was a reason they had managed what they had without pushback. Well until now.
"Oh not at all I found it fascinating, we don't often get to see how you witches fight anymore." It had been years since any real fighting, and Revna was intrigued. For all the wrong reasons of course, but all the same. It was interesting and she was curious. "I'd love to see it by the way, whip them into shape that is." Women in power, now that's something she could always get behind.
You witches. They were certainly not friendly words, at least not in the way they sounded to Faylin. She had never considered what the citizens of the kingdoms Nevermere occupied thought of their presence. She knew Coheed had seemed to take to it just fine, but Cambria... Well, it was becoming blaringly obvious they wanted them out of their territory.
But Faylin wasn't here to stir the pot. She was meant to blend in with the other soldiers and to observe all she could. So she offered a small smile and said, "Trust me, they will know better than to question me. They'll be running drills on their own in no time."
Then she shrugged, "And that was just a small training session, something to keep my muscles in shape while I'm away from Nevermere."
Drills. Cambrians didn't use such silly things like practicing forms or fighting an invisible enemy. That was useless, and Revna felt bad for the woman that she thought it had any bearing on a real fight. But that was the Nevermere way it seemed. Do useless things and get in the way of Cambrian progress.
"We'll see. It's not like they have a reason to anyways. Most of them seem to think being here means getting laid as well." Snickering she kept a smile on her face despite wanting to vomit at the thought. Sex was annoying enough, but add onto it Nevermere men being involved? Hard pass.
Stepping lightly onto the training area she smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Mind if I take a lesson then?"
Faylin offered an eyeroll in response to Revna's comment. Since they were there to discover why women were being branded, Revna's snickering felt a bit strange, but Faylin didn't know who Revna was or her place within the kingdom, so she thought perhaps she didn't know about the brandings.
Still, the eye roll was mostly genuine. Even without the brandings going on, the baser needs that always seemed to run rampant in the opposite sex always irked her. There were so many more important things in life.
But that was quickly forgotten as Revna asked for a lesson, and Faylin's eyes lit up at the idea of having a sparring partner. She nodded, waving toward the open space and pulling her sword, giving it a few twirls to warm her wrist and arm up again. "It would be my pleasure."
Revna smiled, knowing that men were always going to be something women could bond over. They were annoying and really pretty much unnecessary. Well except for the whole keeping the population going. Maybe someday even that would be unnecessary, and that would be amazing.
"Perfect! Learning something new is always awesome." Skipping towards the center of the training area she pulled her trident off the strap on her back, unclipping the belt that held a variety of throwing weapons. Normally she had a bow and arrow as well, but she had loaded herself lightly today. "Hope it's okay I don't have a sword on me?"
Faylin eyed the long weapon Revna brandished. She wasn't sure she had ever seen or fought against one before and the three prongs definitely threw her off a bit. But she offered a small nod towards Revna, "Of course, it's fine. As you said, learning something new is always fun."
Dropping into her fighting stance, Faylin paced a few steps to the side, eyeing up the weapon. She would take the fight step by step and learn as she went and come out better for it.
Revna was used to fighting her sisters. Fighting against Cambrian's for practice, and the occasional Coheedsman during the festival. Since most Nevermere soldiers were content to act like their swords were a decoration, this would be fun and interesting. And she liked sizing up the competition.
"Perfect!" And so Revna dove in, rushing forward with her trident, light on her feet as always. "What do you think of Cambria then Faylin?"
As Revna charged towards her with the trident, Faylin dodged to the side and attempted a slash at one of Revna's hands. She felt like one of the only ways she could outwit a trident with a sword was to disarm Revna of it. She thought briefly of her Naginata which she left in her tent and wished she had it, for polearm to polearm would have been much more interesting of a fight.
"It's quite beautiful here in the mountains, I have to admit. Much different from the coasts of Nevermere."
Revna moved with a usual fluid ease, moving away from the slashing sword. She wished the other woman had something more interesting than a sword, but it would help her because surely it was all Nevermereans were good at. It was all she had seen besides their interesting magic.
"Beautiful, yes. I am so glad to call it home, the natural beauty, unmarked." Well as long as you pretended the ridiculous stone homes weren't there. "Have you traveled to all the kingdoms then Faylin?" She twisted the trident around, readying for another attack unless her sparing partner went first.
Revna was going to be a proper opponent, she could tell. She was deft in her movements and clearly a very skilled fighter. Taking a moment to evaluate her next move, Faylin used the question to give herself time to think. "Oh no, hardly. I've remained in Nevermere for most of my life, except for a short time spent in Lorendale a long time ago and now I've been here, to Cambria."
Still testing Revna out, Faylin darted in towards her, wanting to eliminate the edge of distance Revna had on her. Putting herself closer to the woman, she cut sideways with her sword, aiming for Revna's shoulder.
"And you? Have you seen much of Terra Nova outside of Cambria?"