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!
Unfortunately for the Dresmondi, Adeline seemed to have taken a more hands-on approach to ruling them than her predecessor. She decided that the incident at Tribute, regardless of how harmless it had been, had been a sign that something was going on in the populace. If there was one brave enough to attempt an attack in front of everybody at Tribute, surely there were more, and that would just not do for their future plans.
She made it a habit now to wander Elderkeep, small vials of water hung from her belt just in case. This morning she made a side stop to check on the progress of the dog that had been given to them at Tribute. It had been far too friendly and soft. In order for it to be made useful, she had turned it over to some of their most trusted military members to break and raise up into a properly useful creature.
It would take time, but seeing the dog this morning had given her an idea of where to go today. She set off in search of the man who had given them the dog in the first place.
Since Tribute, there had been an increase in redhead sightings around Elderkeep, and it set Embric on edge. He had his suspicions as to why, but he could not think long about that day or anything that had happened on that day without feeling the particularly potent desire to scream and commit murder. But he could do neither of those, not if he wanted to stay alive and in one piece, so instead he shoved those thoughts into the pile of experiences that haunted him and tried to carry on as best he could. For Kasni and for Xan. He did what he had always done when faced with Elderkeep’s newest threat: adapt and let Aine keep watch from the skies while he kept his head down and covered by the hood of his cloak.
He wanted to be forgettable, just another Dresmondi in the crowd. To avoid catching the attention of anyone who might do him harm, which, in a place like this, included just about everyone. For the most part, that task was easy enough to accomplish. Even if most of the other individuals in the street hadn’t also been trying to slip by unnoticed, he had the additional benefit of a set of eyes in the sky.
“Embric.” Aine’s voice caught his attention from where she circled high above.
Yes?
“One of the queens is nearby. Take that street to your right, and you can avoid her.”
With a quiet word of gratitude and a reminder for her to stay safe, he did just that. The last time he had personally seen any of the red headed monsters had been at Tribute, and he wanted very much to keep it that way.
Adeline had no idea where to find the specific Dresmondi, nor what his name was. She checked the places she knew were common gathering areas for the Dresmondi such as the tavern and even looked in work areas such as the blacksmiths, but she never ran into the man she sought.
Getting a bit annoyed, she finally stopped a few Dresmondi along the road and questioned them. "The Dresmondi who gave the dog at Tribute, where will I find him?" She assumed that would be enough of a description, because surely every Dresmondi attended the Tribute. But the ones in front of her only offered wide, frightful eyes in response. One of them shook his head back and forth very slightly.
"You don't know who he is or you don't know where to find him? Speak." She barked the last word as a command, her frustration unfurling into anger and her hands going to her hips. One of them finally mumbled something about not knowing who he was nor where to find him, earning a sneer from Adeline. "Well, I want to see him, so somebody better assist me in finding him, and soon." Her words were loud, almost a shout, and carried to many other listening ears.
While Adeline roamed the streets and terrorized some other unfortunate Dresmondi, Embric carried on, not overly concerned about the redhead’s relative proximity now that he was headed safely away from her. He had long since lost track of the number of times he’d ducked down one street or another to avoid unwanted company, so this particular instance was of no particular note. His path had carried him to the tiny little hut of an older gentleman and his cervid dyr. Previously, he had patched a hole in one of the walls, but payment - a tiny little sweet fruit with which he planned to surprise his daughter, Kasni - had been delayed until now. Knocking politely on the wooden frame of the hut, he ducked inside, pulled down his hood, and greeted the other man with a small smile.
With distance and relatively sturdy walls between them and distracted by his conversation with the gentleman, Embric did not hear Adeline’s demands of the Dresmondi around her, but Aine did.
“She’s looking for you.”
It took a moment for Embric to remember who the gyrfalcon could have been referencing. The queen?
“Yes.”
A cold wave of apprehension washed over him, which he did his best to mask by telling his companion, “This has been a lovely conversation, but I’m afraid I must leave you now.” The fruit exchanged hands and was slipped into a pocket for safekeeping. Embric paused by the door, glancing back at the older man as he raised his cowl again. “Stay hidden,” He suggested quietly, for both their sakes, and tapped a finger to the side of his head to refer to the mental connection he shared with Aine. “It’s dangerous out there.” Then, after a confirmation of safety from his dyr, he was gone.
Why is she looking for me?
“She didn’t say, but - no, take that other road - but she’s getting impatient.”
A grim smugness tugged at the corners of his lips at disrupting the plans of an Eldouir, regardless of how unintentional it may have been. Where is she now? He listened to Aine’s answer, drawing up his mental map of Elderkeep and plotting a circuitous path to his home that would allow him to avoid her entirely. Then, after checking his hood one last time, he set off. Let’s get out of here. Kasni will want her surprise.
Adeline was not getting what she wanted and that would have to change. She stared down the original couple she had been speaking to, both of them keeping their gazes dutifully downcast. Clearly they would be of no help to her. She turned on her heel with a hmph and looked around the area, catching the gaze of another unfortunate Dresmondi.
"You," she spat, marching over to them. "Somebody must know him or at least where to find him." Still nothing. The new Dresmondi who was earning her wrath was also just looking down and remaining quiet. With a noise of frustration, Adeline's hand shot out and grabbed the arm of the Dresmondi, flipping it over to expose a fresh brand on their inner arm.
"You were at Tribute, you know who I speak of." Her eyes flashed dangerously, hand gripping tightly on the Dresmondi's arm. "You will tell me." The Dresmondi yelped in pain as his fingertips started turning dark red, signaling the beginning stages of frostbite. Adeline did nothing but raise her eyebrow at him.
“Embric, she’s hurting other people to find you.” The words were colored with reproach, and he chose to believe that it was directed at the queen for her sadistic methods rather than him for his unwillingness to prevent them from happening.
She’s an Eldouir, Aine. That’s what she does. He shoved aside the guilt that settled deep in his gut every time he prioritized his own well-being over that of a stranger. In the past, he would have offered assistance without hesitation, but Elderkeep had long since destroyed that habit. Compassion had no use here; it only put him in danger and made the inevitable heartache even more painful. If it wasn’t for this reason, it would be for another one. You know how they are.
His statements were met with silence that felt more hopeless than judgmental. The gyrfalcon knew as well as he did how to survive in Elderkeep.
Where is she now? Aine told him, and he adjusted his route accordingly. Thank you, Aine. Keep an eye on her. And let me know if anyone talks. There were certain benefits to having a dyr with superior vision and hearing, but even as Aine preened from the compliment, Embric’s thoughts did not linger there. He had a singular goal in mind: make it home unnoticed. Once he arrived, he knew he could stay there until the metaphorical storm blew over.
The unfortunate Dresmondi whom Embric had left to Adeline’s unforgiving clutches didn’t know the name of the man who had given her the dog, nor much about him at all. His name was Nobuti, and he had thought the worst was over after presenting his gift at Tribute. He hadn’t meant to earn the frustrated queen’s attention, and he cowered back as she latched onto his arm. Sheer terror kept him speechless - until a sharp pain his fingers had him yelping and instinctively trying to pull his arm away. “I- I- I- don’t know!” He gasped, eyes wide and desperate. “Please! He walks around sometimes, but I never - I don’t know who he is or where he goes!”
Adeline held tightly to the man's arm for a bit longer after he finally spoke, eyes narrowing as the tips of his fingers slowly froze a bit more.
Then she scoffed, releasing his arm and flinging it back at him simultaneously. "Useless. Get out of my sight." She spun away, expecting the Dresmondi to flee. At this point Adeline was at full on temper tantrum mode. A very dangerous temper tantrum.
"He said he walks around sometimes, which means all of you have seen him in the area. Someone better tell me where to find him in the next thirty seconds." She called the words out, slowly meeting the gaze of any Dresmondi who dared to meet hers, and noting those that didn't. She reached down to one of the vials of water on her belt, working a bit of ice from the water inside.
She tossed it up and down in her palm, counting the seconds down with each toss. At this point, Adeline had convinced herself these people were hiding him for a reason and she was going to figure out why, one way or another.
When Adeline released him, Nobuti did not hesitate to scamper away. Not all of the surrounding Dresmondi were so lucky; most had frozen with fear, their prey instinct convincing them that if they remained perfectly still, the predator’s eyes might pass over them. On account of being movement against a backdrop of stillness, the young woman’s approach might have already garnered her the attention of the queen, but if that wasn’t enough, what came out of her mouth after a brief exchange with the Dresmondi closest to her likely was.
“I saw the man you’re lookin’ for, Your Highness,” She volunteered without hesitation. “Skinny guy, ‘bout this tall?” She held her hand up to approximate the missing Dresmondi’s height. “Saw him leaving Old Man Ben’s house, not too long ago. Went thatta way.” She gestured in the general direction the man had gone, which was away from both the old man’s house and Adeline’s general position. From where they were standing, no roads led directly toward that part of the city. It had been pure chance that she’s noticed the other Dresmondi at all: unfortunate for him, certainly, but perhaps beneficial to her? She had no qualms about giving up her fellow Dresmondi if she thought doing so would benefit her. “Don’t know his name though.” Indeed, she didn’t know anything else other than that he had passed through the area today.
By necessity, Elderkeep was a large and rather sprawling network of streets. Given that it housed almost the entirety of Dresmond’s albeit reduced population, the size was not a particular surprise, and it was something that Embric often used to his advantage. After all, larger crowds made it easier to hide. But now he cursed its size. The path he was walking may have been the safest one back to his wagon, but it was not the shortest. Avoiding the main roads that all looped back around each other and were all too easy for her to access had forced him more toward the outskirts of the city, where fewer people roamed. The relative solitude felt safer; if only a few random people saw him, only a few random people could tell her where he was.
“She’s heading your way.”
By chance?
“I don’t think so.”
Shit.
Where is she? He thought quickly. There was still some distance - some time - between them, but not enough that he thought he could make it back home without leading the monster right to his doorstep; he had done that once already, because he had been caught unprepared, and he was not keen to repeat the experience with a beast even more dangerous than Tazmin. If the queen caught up with him on these empty side streets, it wouldn’t take her long to find him through sheer process of elimination. But if he found his way back to more travelled streets, perhaps the crowd would shield him from her attention. Aine, picking up on his thoughts, directed him down the maze of side roads that kept him away from the queen but eventually spilled onto the main street. Faced with the bustle of Dresmondi going about their day, he paused.
What was it she had noticed about him at Tribute? Oh yes, that he hadn’t had a dyr. Aine, stay close to me. She landed on his outstretched arm and repositioned herself on his shoulder. After checking the position of his hood for the umpteenth time, he added, And please do the face thing. They had discovered many years previously that, as a light elemental, she could create minor illusions, and obligingly, she did that now. Anyone who happened to glance beneath the cowl of his cloak would find a beardless man with light hair, one whose face bore no resemblance to the Dresmondi who had stood before the queens and given up his dog. And years of poverty and starvation meant that his skinny frame was one of many.
Taking Aine out of the sky was a risk. He felt blind now, but if she was onto him, the gamble could pay off. She knew his face, and she had picked up on Aine’s absence and not been interested in seeing her. Embric had changed his face as best he could, and he very clearly had a dyr now, one he knew she wouldn’t recognize. If one ignored his racing heart and sweaty palms, he was just another Dresmondi walking through the market.
The girl moving forward did indeed catch Adeline's attention. She turned toward her as she approached, eyes raking the girl as she spoke. A moment of silence followed after she spoke, Adeline simply staring at the girl. Then her face cracked into a smile, "See? That was not so hard."
The small cube of ice in her hand transformed into a rough 'A' which she tossed at the girl, expecting her to catch it. "Take this to the estate gates, tell them Queen Adeline orders them to give you extra rations." She paused, then her head tilted to the side a bit, "I would hurry, before it melts."
Then she turned on her heel and strode off in the direction they had pointed her in. The problem was, Adeline didn't really know how to navigate Elderkeep. She knew how to get to a few places closer to the estate and how to get to Ermir's tavern, but the further away from the estate she got, the less she knew how to get to where she needed to go. She marched down random streets, seeming to be moving with a purpose but actually getting horribly lost in the maze.
She finally stormed out onto a mostly empty road, stopping with her hands on her hips and glaring around. In truth she had gone just about the right direction to reach the Dresmondi's house, she just needed someone to point her the rest of the way. But she had no way of knowing how close she was and her temper was flaring again. She grabbed the nearest Dresmondi, fists clamping into either side of their shirt.
"I am looking for the home of the Dresmondi who gave me the dog at Tribute. I was told he was seeing leaving some old man's house and that his home was that direction." She released the Dresmondi just enough to motion over her shoulder with a thumb before her hand fisted in their shirt again. "I have had a very difficult time finding him, so I suggest you tell me where he is right now and not make me wait any longer."
Disguised as he was, Embric allowed himself to be caught up in the flow of Dresmondi meandering through the market. Movement was slow as individuals paused here and there to check what limited wares were for trade. Most of it was useful in a practical sense - food grown by plant dyrs, metals harvested by ore dyrs - but to the discerning eye, a few objects held value in not what they could do but how they could make one feel. Little animal figurines carved from wood, small bits of fabric sewed together, and other tiny trinkets that bore the suggestion of happier times.
Dresmond may not have been ready to fight the Eldouir, not like Zevran, Ermir, Luka, or himself, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t quietly miss it.
Anything? Embric’s gaze lingered on a small canine figurine for a moment before exchanging a quick word with the woodcarver, pocketing it, and moving on. He resisted the urge to glance over his shoulder as he walked; that was what Aine, who had responded with a negative, was for. Not having her in the sky made him antsy. He liked the advantage of seeing the big picture, of knowing what was going on, and where the pieces sat on the proverbial chessboard. Had he pulled Aine too quickly?
A flash of light to his left caught his attention, and heart jolting, he turned to see a fire blazing in a small pit near one of the stalls that looked like it dealt in bits of metal. After letting out a quiet breath, he turned away, moving down to ostensibly peruse the wares of a nearby stall to his right. No, Aine needed to be with him so he could blend in with everyone else. All he had to do was keep his nerve, and he’d be fine. Pretend this was no different than any other day. He knew how to hide, how to stay hidden: cleverness and a bit of luck.
Luck that was not in the young woman’s favor as she was suddenly accosted by an irate Eldouir queen while leaving a friend’s home. A surprised squeal escaped her before she cut it off. Between struggling to find enough food and medicine to care for her elderly guardians while also avoiding starvation herself, she had had nothing to offer at Tribute and so quietly decided not to attend. Given the current circumstances, it seemed unwise to reveal the depths of her ignorance, but she had no idea who the poor bastard was who’d given Adeline the dog nor where to find him. Terror caused her mind to blank, and she could only stare as—
“Merith? Are you—“ A male voice, coming from the depths of the rundown home she had just exited. The speaker froze at the sight of the woman in the hands of the Eldouir queen, the question dying in his throat.
“I’m sorry! I don’t know about any dog,” Merith was saying frantically, stumbling slightly as she tried to keep her balance. “I haven’t seen anyone on this road today!”
“A dog?” It was the young man, who had recovered quickly from the initial shock and assessed the situation. “Are you lookin’ for a dog, Your Highness? Folks down that way have one - or I dunno, I see them around there sometimes, but there’s nothing down that way except some old wagon parts.” As he spoke, he gestured in a direction that was close but not quite the same as the one which Adeline had indicated. Then he shrugged, wiping sweaty palms on his pants. “Sometimes it’s a man - don’t know his name, doesn’t talk to a lot of people - but more often there’s a girl.” His gaze drifted to Merith, who had frozen like a rabbit caught in the jaws of a wolf. He carried on. “Last I saw her with the dog was before Tribute. She’s a kid, got one eye, and the dog was— I wanna say, black? Brown?”
Adeline's hands remained firmly grasped in the girl's shirt, even when the boy appeared behind her. Adeline glared over the girl's head at him, contemplating the usefulness of his words before she finally released the girl with a huff, turning on her heel and striding away in the direction she'd been pointed, without so much as a thank you. She was starting to think searching for this specific Dresmondi wasn't worth all the struggle.
The direction she'd been directed in would take her to the little market where she would get thoroughly sidetracked by the little trinkets various Dresmondi had out. Some of them jumped at the chance for their Queen to have one of their little wooden statues, while others cowered in fear as Adeline helped herself to perusing their goods. Perhaps not all of her time had been wasted today, after all now she knew of this little market.
Her distraction would certainly give her target more time to slip away.
To know when an Eldouir appeared, one need only watch the crowd. Their presence had a way of muting even the liveliest of conversations as heads turned to watch the metaphorical lioness walking amongst her prey. Embric knew when the queen appeared at the end of the road without looking, but still he followed the motions of those around him and cast a quick glance in her direction. Turning away from her as if to peer at the array of merchandise in front of him, he barely dared to breathe as she made her way down the street, trusting Aine to be his eyes and ears while he faced away.
“She passed you,” The gyrfalcon reported after a long moment.
With a quiet exhale, he turned in the direction from whence the queen had come and forced himself to casually stroll down the street, pausing occasionally as if considering the wares presented to him. He noted, with no small amount of concern, that this direction coincided with one of the more direct routes to his home. Once he had rounded the corner and slipped away from the market, back into the quieter side streets of Elderkeep, Embric let out another ragged breath and directed his steps homeward. After a mental request, the illusion fell from his face, and Aine lifted into the air once more, staying low among the roofs before climbing into the sky far enough away that if someone saw her ascent, they wouldn’t immediately trace it back to Embric’s location.
On the ground, the man in question felt some of the tension ease in his shoulders. She had walked right by him. And home was right around the corner.
Adeline came to a stop at a stand with what appeared to be some apples available for trade. The Dresmondi had no money, and the Eldouirs had not seen fit to create any sort of coin system for them. But still, there was no better way to try to scrape together what you needed with the bit of extra you could offer others.
She came across a stand with some crudely crafted jewelry. Rings and bracelets made from what little ore could be pulled from the depths of the ground of Elderkeep. Adeline picked up a ring, turning it in her fingers and smiling a bit as it caught some of the sunlight. 'Oh, Queen Adeline, if I may. I have some higher quality items stashed away that would be much more fitting for you.'
As the Dresmondi hurried to dig out their better quality items, Adeline's gaze traveled the market. This almost reminded her of the marketplace back in Lorendale. Obviously that one had been much busier with much better items, but still. The atmosphere of a crowd of people all searching for something to take home was the same. The Dresmondi hurried back to her with a couple pieces, both quite nice in their own regard, considering where they came from.
'Whichever piece you like most you may just have. Or if you like both, you can have both, of course.' Adeline looked between the two items and then up to the man, deciding to give her original goal one more shot. "If you can answer my question, you can keep both of them to trade for something better. Do you know the Dresmondi who gave the dog at Tribute and apparently lives with a girl with one eye?"
“Do you know the Dresmondi who gave the dog at Tribute and apparently lives with a girl with one eye?”
Buoyed by his success, the man in question was trying not to feel too triumphant as he strode down the familiar side streets. He wasn’t home yet, but he was close - far closer than he thought he might have ever gotten when Aine first warned him that an Eldouir queen had decided to seek him out. It had been the true test of his efforts to maintain a certain level of anonymity around Elderkeep, and he was tentatively hopeful that he had passed.
“The Dresmondi with the dog and a girl with one eye, my Queen? As a matter of fact, I think I do.”
According to Aine, the queen was still in the marketplace, perusing the merchandise. She had stopped to talk with the merchant who crafted bits of jewelry, one whose stall the cloaked Dresmondi occasionally stopped by. He hoped the queen didn’t harm the helpful merchant; Kasni liked to look at the rings and bracelets.
“I don’t know his name, but I think he and the girl live just over yonder. They come here often enough. Way he dotes on her, reckon she’s his daughter.”
With his wagon in sight, he couldn’t help but speed up his pace, already anticipating the relief of putting space and a solid door between him and the queen who had come way too close for comfort. The gyrfalcon swooped low and landed with practiced ease on his outstretched arm right as he reached the door to the humble wagon he called home. Turned away from the road, he did not see the redhead that Aine saw, but he felt and heard the starburst of alarm and resounding shout in his head:
Just over yonder. Adeline smiled gratefully at the Dresmondi, bobbing her head at him. "Thank you so much. Those pieces are very lovely, but please do keep them to use for yourself."
As she turned away and marched off in the direction she had been pointed in, she filed away all of the information she had inadvertently gathered today. First, that this Dresmondi was hard to find and even those that knew of him did not know his name. It came across as very odd to her, and she was just paranoid enough to believe there was a specific reason behind it rather than assuming the people she spoke to today just didn't know him all that well.
Then there was the matter of the girl. A younger girl, by the sounds of it. Perhaps a daughter, and with only one eye. She would be good leverage to use in order to learn more information and find out what was going on with this man.
As she neared the location she had been told she could find his home, she spotted a figure moving very quickly towards the door of the wagon. She watched as a great bird swooped down and landed on his arm, bringing a bit of a frown to her face. She didn't remember a bird being with him at Tribute, just that the dog had not been his dyr. She increased her pace, wanting to catch him before he could slip inside.
"Excuse me!" she called out, closing the remaining distance. "If you are who I'm searching for, you are one incredibly difficult person to find." She came to a stop, crossing her arms across her chest as she stared at the back of his head.