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!
Wren's voice reverberated through her skull, bouncing around as if Wren had shouted their questioning to the skies for all to hear. But Viveka couldn't bring herself to care enough about Wren's echoing words.
Her eyes widened slowly as the embers burned blood red, the fire building even as Saelphira reared behind it. Viveka began to shake, her eyes locking with Sael's and she knew the truth. "It is true..." she whispered, her mouth hanging open with a mixture of dread and awe, too mushroom-addled to keep her normal stoic composure.
Last Edit: Sept 15, 2022 19:24:56 GMT -5 by Deleted
Post by Willa Wren on Sept 15, 2022 13:04:26 GMT -5
It was too much. It was all too much for Wren. She tried to keep up, tried to focus on the faces, to see their fates. If she could see it then she could stop it. No power could match hers. No enemy could break her. But there they were anyway, dead.
"No." She whimpered the word, lurching towards the fire to grab, to save, but she could hold nothing. The fire did not burn her hand, and she could not grasp the faces.
Then she heard the words. She heard them but she did not understand them.
"It is true." She whispered as well, only seconds after Viveka. Her frown deepened. "What--" but then there were the men and the smiling women. There was Isolde. It was too much. Familiar faces, unfamiliar acts, waves, fire. The intensity was like a tornado, and Wren wanted to throw her arms over her face and be shielded from it all. From the truth that she could not understand.
When the thunder broke, she finally did. It was instinct that had her defending herself, arms in front of her face, eyes peering past the sliver of sight they allowed. In the wake of the chaos, Wren finds that she and the mare are doing the same thing: waiting. Feeling the moment ending, the opportunity slipping, Wren lowers her arms. Her eyes fix on the mare, and she is far less fearful and confused than she was only seconds before.
The words were loud, not in an audible way but in an all-consuming, all-being manner. Viveka doubled over, clapping her hands against her ears as if that could shield her from the sound coming from within her own mind. The fire flashed so bright she was forced to close her eyes and she curled in on herself even more, overwhelmed and overstimulated.
Then, silence. Viveka cautiously opened her eyes but was met with a red nothingness. The fire and Saelphira were gone, and she was alone. Only for a moment though, and then the voice shrieked in her mind again, cause Viveka to cringe away. "WHAT IS TRUE?"
The red splits, and she spins in a quick circle as she finds herself within a small wooden hut. The red slips from the walls to the floor, flowing like blood, washing out the door... Which opens as Wren bounds in, a grin on her face, her laughter echoing through the hut. A small smile comes to Viveka's face as she forgets everything except that Wren is home and safe, and everything is right with the world.
She moves to embrace Wren, but before she can the door bangs open and Isolde appears. Confused, Viveka glances between the two women until Wren screams, her arm held against her body. Wide-eyed, Viveka stares at the angry brand that has appeared on Wren's arm, and her blood begins to boil.
Viveka turns on Isolde, who is staring at Wren, no emotion to be found in her features. And Viveka knows. She bares her teeth and takes a step forward, instinctually reaching for one of her axes. "You will pay for this..." Viveka hisses as the floor turns to quicksand and begins to suck both her and Wren into it. Still she struggles forward, intent on reaching Isolde and enacting justice for the crimes committed.
Somewhere in the hut, Wren shrieks again and the voice booms through Viveka's head once more. "WHAT IS TRUE?"
"SHE'S A TRAITOR!" Viveka screams the answer at the voice, at Isolde, as the quicksand sucks her further and further within.
Last Edit: Sept 15, 2022 19:23:13 GMT -5 by Deleted
Post by Willa Wren on Sept 20, 2022 13:10:04 GMT -5
Wren collapsed to her knees as Viveka's words rang out into the open air, and at once Wren knew them to be true. She saw the truth of them, felt it, too. The Priestess had betrayed the All Mother, and in doing so had betrayed Cambria. What agenda she had Wren could not know, but in that instant she knew that she could no longer stand behind the woman, and the grief overwhelmed her.
For the first time in many years--in fact, for the first time since birthing her only child and discovering that it was male--Wren buried her hands into her face and wept bitterly.
She struggled until the bitter end, clawing at the sand, desperately trying to get to Isolde. But it only pulled her further down until... suddenly there was nothing.
Everything slowly melted away. The wooden walls, the red, the sand. All of it replaced by her actual surroundings. She blinked slowly, then a few more times, trying to clear her vision and bring everything back into focus.
She felt empty, as if the vision had stripped her very soul. Her limbs were heavy and her throat raw from screaming. That combined with her blurry vision had her swaying unsteadily on her feet.
When her vision finally cleared, she was able to stand steadily and she finally, truly saw Wren, collapsed on the ground crying.
A small sound of grief escaped Viveka as she fell to her knees next to Wren, reaching out to wrap her arms around her. She had no words of comfort and so she simply clung to her friend, her own tears running down her face.
Post by Willa Wren on Sept 21, 2022 12:29:47 GMT -5
After some minutes sitting in her grief, in her loss, Wren slowly raised her head, eyes rimmed in red and hair matted to her cheeks.
“Why?” She asked softly, hopelessly. Chieftess after Chieftess has betrayed them, and now the Priestess, too? It was too much. All Wren wanted was someone to follow, someone she could trust.
She searched Viveka’s eyes for something—anything.
As Wren raised her head, Viveka scooted back a bit, crossing her legs and laying her hands in her lap, staring down at them. Slowly she shook her head back and forth.
"I do not know. The power always seems to go to their minds. Perhaps we should have known from the beginning, when she remained both our Witch Doctor and our Priestess. She has been hoarding power from the beginning."
Anger began to unfurl within her, all of it directed at Isolde. It would be one thing to refuse to give up power and to over reach at times. But to use that to brand their own people? To harm them, and make them outcasts?
That anger sparked in her eyes as she raised her gaze to match Wren's. "We must do something. We must show her for what she is. And then we must do something to ensure our people can never be taken for granted again."
Post by Willa Wren on Sept 23, 2022 12:36:45 GMT -5
Wren felt lost. Lost and a little bit broken. Isolde was the only one who knew all that Wren was. She knew the truth about her. She had accepted her with open arms. She had restored Wren to Cambria. To think that she had now betrayed them all was…well, it was unthinkable. It hurt.
The woman never would have cried in front of anyone other than Viveka, but she knew her friend was well aware of her strength. Tears were often mistaken for weakness, but surely Viveka would see them for what they were: sorrow. Because Wren knew exactly what she needed to do. For Cambria.
Viveka gazed down in the direction of their village, thinking of all the women who were unaware of the plight of their village. She thought of the branded women who had been made to think they'd fallen from the All Mothers grace. And she thought of the other Valkyires who looked to them for guidance, but who would surely see them as crazy if they spoke out against Isolde.
"Certainly not. I'm not sure we can even let our own people know." She looked to Wren, exhaustion slowly creeping into her limbs.
Post by Willa Wren on Sept 28, 2022 12:57:55 GMT -5
Wren followed Viveka's gaze to the village. To their people. The women that she loved and fought for; the ones she would die for. They needed liberation. Not just from Nevermere, not just from Isolde, but from any power that would seek to oppress them. The women of Cambria were wise and benevolent. They didn't need a governor. They simply needed room to breathe and to be.
"But we do need help." Wren said, as much to herself as to Viveka.
She looked to Wren, her brows knitting together as she contemplated the statement. They had been trying so hard to make Cambria independent, to remove Nevermere especially. She came up a bit blank on possibilities of who could help them. Surely no one within Cambria.
Post by Willa Wren on Sept 29, 2022 19:30:14 GMT -5
Wren had a face or two in mind but she loathed them and didn't dare speak their names. Instead she blew air out between her lips, puffing out her cheeks for a beat, before saying,
"I don't know yet. We need to be on alert for an opportunity."
Viveka shifted and stood, pacing a bit away from the fire and gazing off into the distance. Waiting and watching was not something she enjoyed doing. She wanted to act, wanted to do some tangible.
"So we just wait until she makes a mistake? Is that it?" She asked without turning around. She grimaced, "I don't like it, but I suppose it is the only thing we can do without appearing as the traitors."
Post by Willa Wren on Oct 11, 2022 13:09:27 GMT -5
Wren's eyes followed Viveka's movements. She pressed her lips together thoughtfully, giving it a moment before speaking again.
"Maybe. But not necessarily. Not just a mistake...we also need an opportunity. I have no doubt that the Valkyries know us well enough to trust us...but Cambria is divided." Some of them loved Nevermere, some of them hated it. Some of them were loyal to the kingdom, some set their loyalty in the person of Isolde.
"I don't want to do anything I'll regret." The unspoken 'Again' hung in the air between them.
Viveka released a breath of air, her head dipping down in a slow nod, "I wish it were not so. That we were the strong, united kingdom we say we were."
She turned then, walking over and offering a hand to help Wren up. "We shall wait for our opportunity then. Let us return before our absence is noticed."