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!
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
It was only days since they had nearly brawled in front of the cabin, and already so much had changed. With her wolf form came a new development in their relationship; a connection. With it, Cassian was privately reaffirmed of his choice, pleased to have been right about the potential he had seen in Regan. Her control of the wolf? Haphazard at best. But with time, with practice, he had confidence that she could be as well-oiled a machine as Alys. Perhaps moreso, considering their differences. Where Alys always reached for more, never settling for good, always wanting better, Regan was much more easily content. That was a trait Cassian found himself easily compatible with. Most people surrounding a king were discontent in one way or another. It was refreshing to have someone with her disposition close by.
Speaking of being close, she'd developed a strange habit of walking very close to Cassian. He was certain the warm breeze on the back of his neck was not summer blowing him a kiss, but Regan's excited pant making the hairs rise. Rather than glancing back at her, he pushed the key quickly and headed through the door.
They were in the forest again, outside of the cabin that was becoming familiar to Regan by now, to be sure. Cassian didn't do things with her in the castle, as he might have with Alys. Regan was too...fiery. He knew to take the danger away.
Today was different than usual. He was armed with his claymore, black from the tip of its blade to the butt of the handle. He had told her to come prepared to spar. It would be their first time since she had joined him in his curse.
Cassian wasted no time. He walked to where he intended to start, turned, and said,
Post by Regan Lassiter on Oct 28, 2022 20:20:00 GMT -5
Regan was, indeed, walking very close. She wasn’t aware of it most of the time. It was a gentle drift that accumulated one step after another until she was so close she was breathing Cassian in. Wherever Cassian went, the wolf followed, and Regan’s interest in both him and her new form was to the exclusion of everything else.
She was vibrating with excitement as the walked through the door. Regan’s wolf whined, pawing the ground, eager to be set free. Regan breathed, just as she’d been told.
She raised her long sword, a new acquisition, forgoing the axe and fashioning herself after Cassian instead. Regan resolved to wait, eyes jumping from Cassian’s face, to his stance, to his weapon, ready to counter whatever came.
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on Oct 28, 2022 20:20:04 GMT -5
Cassian’s human frame was built for speed and dexterity, but the methods used with the two-handed blade required power and dexterity instead. He shifted his hands on the long hilt as Regan took her place, and then he moved in, advancing on careful yet sure feet. He would not hold back as he swung his blade, trusting her training.
Post by Regan Lassiter on Oct 28, 2022 20:20:22 GMT -5
As soon as Cassian moved for her, Regan stepped in quickly to meet him; to close as much distance between them as possible so that the force of his swing might be slowed. However close she came, she'd block with the flat of her blade. Regan resisted the urge to reach for her animal strength to push back. Instead, she'd seek to circle the tip to break the lock and lunge forward with her blade to force him off balance.
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on Oct 28, 2022 20:20:29 GMT -5
Regan’s parry was successful, and her lunge was met with a block. Cassian was naturally faster than strong, and even with a weighty blade it showed. His block attempted to force her weapon sideways, and then the king would raise a boot to go for a kick to the stomach.
He wanted to make her mad, after all, and though he was sure it would happen eventually as he bested her, he was keen on pushing harder, forcing her to battle herself sooner. If she had a similar experience to him, she’d find that holding down the inner wolf was crippling at moments, her entire body tending as it fought against the urge to rip open.
Post by Regan Lassiter on Oct 28, 2022 20:20:45 GMT -5
Cassian’s kick landed, soliciting a feral growl from Regan. The copper veins in her eyes surged for a moment before retreating into blackness. Regan launched back at Cassian. She, as always, valued power over speed. Regan tried to quiet her mind—putting strategy over instinct—but as she continued to break through Cassian’s defenses the desire to reach for the wolf became more and more tempting.
In her every waking moment, Regan wanted it more than anything: her stronger, faster form. The one that was more powerful, more beautiful than her human form could ever be. The one that had brought her close to Cassian. That had freed her.
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on Oct 28, 2022 20:20:56 GMT -5
It was still a discipline for Cassian, too, but one he had had more time to master and many more tools. After all, Cassian's entire life was a discipline of self-control. You didn't have a chiseled expression that held in the midst of the stupidest noble exchanges like his and not have a firm grasp on all your other facilities.
Regan was competent as a fighter, and the two found themselves mostly matched. They pushed back and forth, forcing retreat, taking advantage of opportunities to rush forward, both working to best their opponent while besting themselves, keeping the rising wolf from ripping out. A particularly good strike from Regan that sent jolts of pain down Cassian's arms had his upper lip pulling back in a hiss. A stiffness entered his back at once, and the temptation to hunch and give in to the breaking rushed through him. He resisted it. Numbers filled his mind.
1...2...3...
It was a technique he had taught Regan at one time, and even now he used it himself, ascribing an action to each number, calmly stepping back on one and two, and then adjusting his sword on three.
Post by Regan Lassiter on Oct 28, 2022 20:21:09 GMT -5
Regan’s strength was not her skill; it was her endurance. Her relentless pursuit of her enemy while pushing pain and weakness to the side. Her Achilles heel was her restlessness, her ever-burning fury that made her impatient for victory. That tendency made her wolf form so difficult to resist. She was obsessed by its perfection, its superiority, its beauty. The newness of it all made the hunger worse. Her swings became more powerful and desperate as she tried to keep the wolf at bay. She counted in her head as Cassian did, but the numbers started to lose their rhythm.
Regan snarled, stepping back as her bones started to crack.
“One…two…three…”
Regan started to count out loud in a grumbling voice as she reentered the fray.
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on Oct 28, 2022 20:21:19 GMT -5
If an opportunity presented itself, especially when her body was trying to force her to shift, Cassian would attempt to land a blow that would knock her to the ground. This was a practice, yes, but it was also a competition. He wanted to make her break, even while he wanted her to succeed.
Post by Regan Lassiter on Oct 28, 2022 20:21:28 GMT -5
“One—“ Regan narrowly missed the full smack of Cassian’s blow, rolling to the side and falling into a crouch.
“Two—“ Regan would swing wildly, using wolf-propelled force while sacrificing accuracy. If it connected, Cassian would be thrust back, potentially losing his sword. If he blocked or evaded, Regan would come back at him on—
“Three—“ Regan growled, swiping with her sword but following with a clawed hand. She’d try to grab Cassian by the shirt and bring him to the ground.
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on Oct 28, 2022 20:21:41 GMT -5
Regan’s initial, wild attack was deftly outmaneuvered, Cassian’s general demeanor one of calm, his movements gracefully following. The anger and desire to shift rest beneath the surface, restless, but controlled—for now.
Her sword swipe was blocked but the hand took a firm hold of his shirt. Cassian’s own reached up to grip hers just a millisecond before she sought to bring him to the ground. If he was falling, she was falling. London bridge, sucker.
Post by Regan Lassiter on Oct 28, 2022 20:22:03 GMT -5
Calm had left Regan. What she held to now was a tenuous thread of restraint that kept the wolf beneath her skin.
They both fell. Regan snarled as she came down next to Cassian. The desire for her own body to transform mingled with another. She wanted Cassian to shift too. Partially shifted, she could smell him. And that made the thread start to fray.
Regan would try to pin him—rolling herself on top of him with his front flat against the ground.
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on Oct 28, 2022 20:22:08 GMT -5
With Regan in her human form and Cassian in his, his male strength was greater than hers. The momentum she used to roll atop him was easily taken advantage of, and Cassian would attempt to keep them rolling, putting him on the top rather than Regan.
Post by Regan Lassiter on Oct 28, 2022 20:22:23 GMT -5
Cassian was successful. Regan looked up at him with a strange mixture of wildness and rage and longing. She writhed for a moment as her bones started to crack. With a desperate growl, Regan snapped at him with her half-shifted fangs, trying to startle him into a retreat.
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on Oct 28, 2022 20:22:36 GMT -5
Cassian didn’t sit above her for long. He had not intention of teasing this small victory. It lasted one seconds, but somehow the seconds felt long. With Regan pinned beneath him, he drilled into her gaze with his own, the wild rage of his beat dancing in the hazel of his irises. The man felt no sexual attraction to the woman, but the creature within howled to tear out of the king and take the woman up on what only her eyes were offering.
The snap served its purpose well, drawing Cassian away from whatever temptation might have seen to the effective ruining of his clothes and her virtue, and he jumped up to his feet and shuffled back, assuming she did nothing to attempt to stop his retreat.