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 Grant Delaney on Sept 12, 2022 22:10:35 GMT -5
[thread for @kezia]
Grant was having a series of days.
They had gone into Dresmond as cover operatives, the lone (still) Ranger and the King's Witch. They made some 'friends' in native Dresmondi, before they passed that meeting and gathered some travellers with them, heading back to Nevermere.
Fortunately the Dresmondi seemed acquainted with rough living, which was a blessing and a shame. If Grant had time he'd feel bad for them--but now they were on the move and his Ranger training kicked in. They had to make due with whatever they could. Alys and he still took shifts at night, keeping their eyes peeled for threats. Zevran and Kezia were allies, but they weren't Nevermere-capable.
And the dyrs were... weird enough. Grant barely understood it, but he'd been quizzing the both of their new friends on the minutiae of Dresmond's culture--or, former culture--while they traveled, interested in it for more than just intel. They wouldn't last very long if they knew nothing. The Tribute was one thing, but it was very likely they'd go back into Dresmond and have to pose as if they were 'normal folk', whatever exactly that meant. It depended on how the King viewed Zevran and Kezia's request.
He glanced around in the dark and then returned his gaze to the fire, prodding at it with a thin stick.
Just like Alys and Grant had taken up shifts, so did Kezia and Zevran. The two of them seemed more than content on switching off. While these two claimed that they'd help, while she recognized the one, she didn't also trust them fully. Not enough for them to both sleep at the same time. Geb and Raiden had eventually made themselves both known. She. knew she wouldn't be able to keep them wrapped up the whole trip, it was long as it was already.
Which meant the little pangolin was currently curled up around the genet, his long tail keeping them close together. And Kezia, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, as she pulled herself up from the spot on the ground. Her eyes moving around to the others, where Zevran seemed to be sleeping with his dyr and the curly haired witch, Alys, was resting with her back against a tree. Both asleep so it seemed. So she knew it was her turn, looking for the mountain of a Nevermeran.
Landing eyes on Grant, she slowly got up, walking to his side and sitting down where he poked at the fire. Leaning back on her palms, she didn't say anything at first, instead listening to the creatures of the night for a moment before she actually spoke. "Have you gotten any sleep?"
Post by Grant Delaney on Sept 17, 2022 22:32:03 GMT -5
Grant looked over and smiled, bracingly, nodding at the Dresmondi and resumed going over the little flame.
"Got some," affirmed Grant. Him and Alys had been on the road, so to speak, for... a while, now. It got easier to accept sleep when you got a chance at it, especially when they were so exposed all of the time. And, well, he couldn't control her summoning. Which was just as good since it was a horrible thing from elsewhere and on a base level he was scared of it, but after training for years with one particular witch (and her imagination), he'd gotten kind of used to the casual horror.
"How about you?" he asked, quiet. "I figure you've probably been living like this a little bit longer, huh?"
A little, but not a lot. She shifted a bit more, sitting up so she could stare up at him a little easier. Because his next question had her letting out a huff of laughter. Quiet, and making her shake her head a little. “Most my life, but I’ve been spoiled the past five or so years.” She admitted, taking a small stick from beside her and tossing it into his fire, giving it a bit more to burn.
“I was in Arynn Frey for a while, and Lorendale just before it.” she picked at a piece of grass beside her. “I came back to Dresmond not too long ago. To try and help,” the smile slowly fading from her face. “I hope you two can really bring the help we need here.”
Post by Grant Delaney on Sept 18, 2022 21:31:20 GMT -5
Grant smirked a little. At least the friendly Dresmondi came with them instead of the mouthy one.
"Huh," said Grant. "Arynn Frey?" Grant knew very little about them besides old people with weird magical items, such as the portkey that the King had. He nodded a little. "I was also in Lorendale for half a year, until after the Eldouir trial." He made a face and glanced back towards where they'd come from, looking to Kezia again.
"Our King sent us here to find information. If there's anyone who can help, it would be him."
Grant wasn't sure if Cassian wanted to help, precisely, but Cassian would at least want to get rid of the Eldouirs, which was right next door to helping the Dresmondi, if nothing else.
She smiled as he did. Though she didn’t know why he smiled, it was nice to see a face that was there to help instead of her needing to run and hide from it. At least, she hoped he wasn’t someone she should be questioning. Him and Alys had plenty of time since they had left to hurt them if they wanted.
“I was in Nevermere once. A long time ago. But not enough to know… is Nevermere like Lorendale? With the bowing and the titles of Count and Marchioness and the steps in dances?” She asked, these were easier questions.
His comment on their king had her looking down at her lap. “He sounds powerful.” She let her gaze flicker to Geb and Raiden, both now awake and staring at the two humans. “I’m not sure how your magic works… are you gifted? Can you do what she does?” She nodded towards Alys’ sleeping figure.
Post by Grant Delaney on Sept 18, 2022 22:34:58 GMT -5
"Uh, sort of," Grant said. "We're not like Lorendale totally, but we have Lords and Ladies and a King. We don't have like, half-Lords or Counts or Dukes or whatever," he said, "But, yeah, bowing to nobles is a thing Or, can be." He thought. "Dancing isn't so weird but I try to avoid it," he said. At least, formal.
Grant looked at those strange little fellows she had, then nodded. "He's the King, he is powerful," he said.
He gave a bracing smile and glanced over at Alys, then back at Kezia. "I don't have any magic," he said. "Just the women of Nevermere. They're witches. They can do a lot more than Gifted."
Lords and Ladies instead of Count and Duke and all the others. "I suppose that makes it easier," She mused, though she let out a soft, breathy laugh. "The dancing wasn't so horrid." She commented, remembering some of the steps when she really thought about it. "But I was never... stiff enough for it." She arched her back slightly as if she could mimic the pose she should have been in but with her current position, she was sure she looked more ridiculous than anything else.
Just the women. Interesting. Her dark eyes moved to look at Alys' resting form. Watching how she breathed steadily and her lips parted slightly as she took deep breaths. "Then do you fight?" She wasn't sure how it worked, or why there were men in the military than if all the women were capable of what she had seen the witch do. "Are there more women than men in your military?"
Post by Grant Delaney on Sept 21, 2022 19:32:26 GMT -5
Grant laughed a little. "Dancing isn't too bad, compared to the rest of it," he agreed with a nod, smiling at her posture. Stiff was a word for it. "It's not so hard to learn if you have a lot of time on your hands," he said, "or a good teacher."
Being a noble meant both of these were in great supply when Grant was growing up, so he was pretty accomplished at dancing. Which reminded him that he'd probably be getting thrown Fun Stuff like parties when they inevitably made it back to Nevermere, courtesy of Brenna Delaney.
Hell.
"I do fight, yeah," said Grant, with a nod, gesturing at his sword. "Just, you know. Without magic. She does the magic, I do the stabbing," he said, gesturing at his aunt. "But luckily I didn't have to do any of that with you guys, though for a little bit there I was pretty sure I was gonna get blasted with some of your crazy magic."
A lot of it, really, but Kezia was the friendly one. She probably wouldn't have cursed him or blasted him with fire or whatever the hell Dresmondi did.
"Can all of you folks do magic?" he countered, tilting his head a little at her.
"And did you? Have good teachers to teach you?" her head tilted all the way to the side as she looked up at him. Making sure she stayed within his peripheral as he worked at the fire. "I only learned a few that were most popular... to blend in more than anything else." She raised a hand and briefly touched over her throat, remembering how any dances that required a hand at the back of her neck were off the table for her. At least at the time.
She did follow his gesture towards his sword, letting herself look it over before she glanced back towards Alys. "Crazy magic?" She asked, looking back to him with inquisitive eyes. "You say we have crazy magic yet I've seen those creatures your witches can produce." She remembered being in Lorendale, catching sight of the terrifying things flying after another horrifying sight. She didn't know that had been Alys that had summoned such a thing.
Kezia shook her head. "Only those with dyrs." She told him, her hands reaching for Raiden and Geb, and the two, so in sync with their Dresmondi, came over and wrapped themselves into her arms. Raiden pressing his furry head to her neck as Geb wrapped his tail around her waist and burrowed against her side. "We... are the last of our kind," her eyes moved towards Zevran's sleeping form, "Unless the medallion is found. Our children will grow up nameless and without their other halves." She turned towards Raiden a bit, before she looked up to Grant. "Just another reason we need the Eldouir's out..." she admitted softly.
Post by Grant Delaney on Sept 29, 2022 19:44:31 GMT -5
Grant made a face. "A lot of good teachers," he said, some trace of lament in his voice. At least footwork was important in swordsmanship, but most of the dancing teachers he'd had were convinced that the most useful thing to come of it was a wedding and many babies.
Those creatures. Grant made a face and scratched at his chin, which was far past scruffy from being out in the field for so long. "Okay, fair, he said, nodding. You never really got used to summonings, but after a while you became desensitized to the abject horror and eldritch other-ness of them. Or at least he was, by now.
He looked down at the weird little critters and made a note to not kill anything that looked like them on the way back to Nevermere. They sure seemed friendly enough, though.
He looked over at Zevran as well, for a moment, thinking of how to parse what he did know about dyrs. "There are a lot of reasons to get rid of the Eldouirs," he started with, nodding and looking at Kezia. "How do your dyrs work, then?"
His face prompted a small snort to come from her as she quipped, "What's that look for?" She asked, her fingers running along the scales of Geb and the other hand along the soft fur of Raiden. "Do you not like them?" She asked, as if slightly bewildered on why he would seem so... off put by the two dyrs. Or perhaps it was the summonings he was not exactly fond of.
She grinned at his question though. Surely he had been talking about what she had seen Alys produce. "When we turn of age, we are brought to a special cave," a soft sadness leaked onto her face as she remembered what it was now. But she pressed on. "And The One who held the medallion would hold a ceremony where we were buried in the ground if we chose to try and make it through the ceremony... once completely buried... we'd have to find out dyr. If we didn't... we'd return to the earth." One hand fell and brushed the grass under them.
"But if we do," Raiden chattered his teeth towards Grant, "Then when we rise from the dirt, they are with us. Our other halves. They name us, and we live together hopefully for rest of our days." Geb was something new though... he had been the newest to join her and she was definitely past the age where they were usually buried. "Dyrs cannot live without their Dresmondi... but Dresmondi can live without their dyrs in a sense... One I never want to know." The collar had been bad enough, being torn from Raiden in a way that she begged and sobbed for them to give her him back. That she'd behave. She'd do anything to feel him once again.
Post by Grant Delaney on Sept 30, 2022 20:06:23 GMT -5
"Oh they're cute," said Grant, regarding her dyrs. "Never seen anything like them, but cute. The, uh, other things," he said, tone changing. "Not quite so cute. Then again almost never see the same Thing twice, either, so." Sometimes. Deimos was one, technically, and he wasn't made of horrible tentacles or drooling ichor or anything.
He listened to her explanation and blinked. "So," he said, brain working in reverse to try and sort out how all that worked. Being buried alive until your magic pet saves you and names you sounded slightly far-fetched, even for a man who burst into a werewolf when a woman said some funny words at him.
"I see," he said, trying to put it together, "So the One is the only way you can have more Dresmondi? Or. Dyrs?"
So whatever the One was and the medallion were intimately connected to the Dresmondi. Which meant that there was only a limited supply of bodies here, no matter what the Eldouir did. And Grant assumed they weren't too kind to their more gentle toys. Putting it in much more objective terms made it easier for his brain on survival mode to conceptualize.
"So the dyr keep you from dying when you're buried?" he asked, after a few moments. "Or do they save you, since you're them and they're you?"
”Do you know where they come from? Is there a land they are summoned from? For you to never have seen the same one again?” She was an inquisitive one… she laughed and gave him an almost apologetic look.
“If you ask many, we wouldn’t feel like Dresmondi unless we have dyrs. We have no names until they name us. And,” she flicked a piece of dirt off her knee. “I suppose, they save us? Each of us has a different dream. Raiden and Geb called to me. With Raiden I didn’t know he was calling my name, as I didn’t know it. But I followed because it felt like it was for me.”
Geb slipped closer to Grant, his nose twitching as he sniffed at him.
Post by Grant Delaney on Oct 15, 2022 22:45:04 GMT -5
Grant thought about it. He didn't really know how to explain this one. "I dunno,"[/n] he began, not for the first nor for the last time. He listened to her talking about the dyrs, and looked down at Geb. Hm!
"I guess they don't really talk," he said. Which was technically true. Or, uh. Deimos talked, but he wasn't just a horrible creature from another realm, he was a friend.
"At least they don't usually talk to us guys, just witches," he said. "I think you can manage to summon the same thing twice if you try, but I can't do much magic, so!" he said, brightly, sticking his hand out for Geb to sniff.
This was certainly a creature he was unfamiliar with but it didn't seem like a horrible tentacled beast.