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 Ravin Tracey on Feb 22, 2023 20:32:51 GMT -5
The creature shrieked again, though this time it seemed to be one of grim celebration. It was so loud it made the shingles of the roof where he perched quiver. The sound was loud enough that those present would do well to cover their ears lest they be deafened by the sound.
With a massive woosh of its wings, Malsumis came down to the ground. He dropped Ravin just before he landed as if he were nothing but a doll. The man rolled off to the side with a groan, limply lying on the ground.
Malsumis would stand before Norah, looking down at him in all his horrific splendor.
“No-rah.”
The smell would be almost unbearable. He’d slowly reach a clawed hand toward her, as if asking for hers in return.
When Temperance grabbed his arm as he started to move after Malsumis, Ber paused and looked back at her. When she told him that, if something happened, she wanted him and Winters to leave them behind and run for the castle for reinforcements, he frowned. “I’m not going to leave you with Malsumis,” He argued, knowing full well that doing so would very likely be a death sentence. “Winters can go alone.”
As if summoned by name, the other man entered the yard with a witch, presumably Norah, in tow, and interrupted whatever stand off might have started. Sword still clenched in his hand, Ber watched Temperance as she hurried over to greet them before turning his attention back to the shadowed creature perched on the roof of the cottage. Norah addressed Malsumis, who let out another screech, and swooped to the ground to stand before her. The soldier watched as it discarded Ravin, who rolled to the side, and using the monster as a distraction, Ber quietly made his way to kneel beside the fallen man.
“Ravin?” He said, glancing back at Malsumis warily. “Can you hear me? Are you okay?” He would wait for confirmation before continuing, voice growing firm with conviction. “Malsumis can’t stay out like this. He was inside you before. How do we put him back?”
She couldn't help but give Ber the slightest smile. He was determined to be with her through this, and she appreciated it, even if all she wanted was for him to leave so he would be safe.
The understanding of what was happening seemed to be all over Norah's face. None of the rest of them really understood, but she did. So Temperance simply stood back, moving aside as she walked forward to speak to Malsumis.
The creature's screech had her covering her eyes with her fingers, eyes squinting. When it flew down, dropping Ravin, she was about to move toward him but paused as Ber went to him first. So instead, Temperance took a few slow, careful steps up toward Norah's side. She didn't get too close, and her lips parted to allow her to breathe through her mouth instead of her nose. The smell seemed even worse the second time Malsumis had gotten closer, but she didn't want to draw her hands up and make him think she was going to attack. No sudden movements still seemed the best way to go.
With Fabian there, able to run and get help if they needed it, Ber there to get Ravin out of the way, and Norah here to address Malsumis directly, all Temperance could do was keep her hands loose by the dagger that she held on her hip and ready herself to give Norah aid should she need it.
Her hands flew to her ears as it screamed, flinching slightly as she pressed hard to keep her ears from ringing after. It was only when she didn't feel the ache of the scream that she lowered her hands, flinching again as she watched Ravin be released as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. Norah steeled herself as the summoning landed close to her, lips parting so she could breathe though she swore she could taste the decay on her tongue. "Malsumis," her tone almost scolding as his hand started to extend to her.
"You can't treat him like that." Her eyes darted back to Ravin, then to it. But with her unsure of what exactly it wanted from her, she was hesitant to reach for that hand. "What do you want?" She asked, her tone a bit softer as she felt the witch at her sides presence, the hair on the back of her neck rising as she swore she could feel Deimos' presence slid in the shadows behind her. She knew him well enough to know he was doing everything he could to suppress the growl from sounding.
It was only knowing that Deimos was close by that had her reach her hand to his. If he wanted her, then she'd try and see why.
Post by Ravin Tracey on Mar 13, 2023 12:28:23 GMT -5
Malsumis’s focus was entirely on Norah. Though he was distantly aware of Ber and Temperance, he was far more interested in the witch he’d called for. Ravin whimpered, raising his head a little as his eyes tried to focus on Ber. The soldier’s voice sounded as if he were speaking from underwater.
“I don’t know,” Ravin said, “He has to decide. I can’t…I can’t…” The metaphorical door was open, and Ravin could only lock it when it was closed. “I’m the portal,” he whispered, “Killing me locks him in this world or his own. Once I’m gone…it’s one or the other.”
Malsumis, meanwhile, clicked and rumbled when Norah chastised him. His wings spread a little, as he were making his size and power known—a creature puffing itself up as a warning. When Norah reached out her hand, the summoning’s hand snatched closed around it like a trap set by a hunter. It’s grip would be difficult to break.
“Mine.”
The word sounded like crackling flames, like it was coming from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Malsumis’s other clawed hand would snatch Norah entirely around the waist, pulling her closer.
“MINE.”
"Norah no..." Ravin protested, trying to get up and get to her.
Last Edit: Mar 13, 2023 12:29:14 GMT -5 by Ravin Tracey
I’m the portal. Killing me locks him in this world or his own. Once I’m gone…it’s one or the other.
Letting out a quiet breath as the knowledge settled within him, Ber cast a glance back at Malsumis again before turning back to the man on the ground before him. Ravin couldn’t control the creature whom he had somehow let through to this world. If Malsumis was going to return to where he came from, it would have to be of his own accord. Winters had brought him Norah. Perhaps that would—
The crackle of Malsumis’s voice interrupted Ber’s thoughts and had his grip tightening reflexively on his sword as he turned in time to see the winged beast scoop up Norah. From beside him, Ravin’s objection caught his attention and sent a new shiver of warning down his spine, but he didn’t look away from the creature. Making up his mind and also wanting her further away from the summoning in case he snatched her up too, Ber hissed, “Temperance!” and silently gestured the witch over to them. If she joined them, he would explain quickly, “Malsumis has to decide to go back on his own. We need to find a way to convince him to do that.” His head tipped slightly toward Norah. “Or maybe she does.” A pause before he addressed Ravin again. “What does he want with her?”
Last Edit: Mar 13, 2023 13:00:13 GMT -5 by Deleted
Temperance watched Norah as she slowly reached her hand forward to touch it with Malsumis'. But that didn't seem good enough for the beast. He grabbed onto her with yet another hand, the two claws nearly swallowing her, and making Temperance stumble backward somewhat in surprise. For a moment she only stared, then Ber called out to her and she turned to see him calling her over. She moved as slowly, taking careful steps, her eyes still on the beast, until she reached Ber's side and knelt down to look over Ravin.
"Now that he's got her, what reason does he have to go back?" Temperance whispered, her eyes jumping from Ber, to Ravin, and then to Malsumis and Norah. "And even if we can get him to go back into Ravin, we still don't know how to keep him away."
Malsumis was intimidating and powerful, she had known this and had fought him once before. Her eyes closed briefly as he made himself larger but she didn’t step away. Not her, not a Prowze. Her chin ticked higher as if to prove to him that she wasn’t going to back down from him when he suddenly gripped her so tightly her bones ached. But it was only when his second hand caught her waist did she make a sound; gasping in surprise.
She swore she heard Ravin’s voice, heard him call for her. She remembered how cold he felt, how empty the Midnight House was when she found him. She would never stop loving Ravin… but what was his life when he was tied to Malsumis? Her dark eyes set upon him, Deimos shifting in anticipation behind them. “You can’t have me without him.” She was stern in her voice. “And you’ve been hurting him…”
Something dark shifted in Norah… and she knew that without Malsumis at this point… would she even still have Ravin? Selfishly she wanted to put Malsumis back, but the memory of his cold hands and lips on her tore at something deeper. “What do you want from the Prowze’s?” From her? Could she even hope for an answer?
Post by Ravin Tracey on Mar 22, 2023 9:51:20 GMT -5
“Power.” That was Ravin’s croaking reply—the best he could offer. How could he know the mind of the beast? What it wanted, what it hungered for? Ravin watched Norah caught up in its grasp, helpless to stop him. Malsumis clicked and croaked—consdiering Norah—before finally saying in a stone-scratching whisper:
“Life.”
He’d start to grip her more tightly. Norah would feel the strain on her bones as if he intended to break her.
Ber looked from Ravin to Temperance to where Malsumis held Norah in his massive, skeletal hand. In the darkness, the soldier couldn’t see that the monster’s grip had tightened on the witch, but the request for life sent a chill down his spine. Had Malsumis wanted Norah so he could kill her? In trying to help, had they inadvertently brought a stranger to her death? There was a way he thought he might be able to get the creature’s attention away from Norah, but then what? He would still be trapped on their side of the portal and even more dangerous than before for having been provoked into a fight.
“There is a way to keep Malsumis away,” He heard himself telling Temperance, eyes still fixed on the monster before them. Perhaps she would notice the way his fingers unconsciously flexed on the grip of his sword as he spoke. “If we can get him to go back into Ravin. But we’ve only got one shot, and we have to send him back before doing it or else he’ll be stuck here.” After all, a man, even one who was somehow a portal to a different world, could only be killed once.
Ber swallowed. He didn’t want to send Temperance back closer to Malsumis, but he also didn’t want to leave her with Ravin, to force her to make the decision he had already made and was trying to keep from her lest she try to stop him. And if something changed immediately, if Malsumis agreed to return, then there was no time for hesitation when it came to slamming and locking the metaphorical door behind him. The soldier tore his gaze away from the scene before them to look at the witch beside him. “Do you think you can tell Norah she needs to convince Malsumis to go back? I don’t know if he’ll listen to anyone except her or if she would think to send him back on her own.” If Temperance made to leave, he would follow his request with a worried “Be careful.”
The goosebumps that crawled up and down Temperance's arms, legs, and spine had her nearly trembling under the admission from both Ravin and Malsumis. Her own guilt crept into her chest. If she had demanded Ravin tell her who Norah was, if she had insisted on fixing this when he'd first come to her, maybe they could have stopped all of this from happening. Instead she had let him go, and now not only was he in danger, but Ber and Norah were as well.
Her eyes darted back to Ber's as he said he might know a way to lock Malsumis inside of Ravin. "What way? What..." though he avoided telling her how, she had a creeping suspicion. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good, and Ber wasn't magic. There was really only one thing he could do, short of just knocking Ravin out.
Instead of saying anything, she looked down at Ravin. He was suffering. He really had only clung to life this long because Malsumis had forced him to. There had to be another way, but they couldn't even think of other ways until Malsumis was tucked safely away again.
"I can try," Temperance said with a shaky breath, and nodded to him as he asked her to be careful.
Standing up, she inched her way over to where Malsumis held onto Norah, getting as close as she could manage. "Malsumis, have you searched for her all this time just to kill her now?" Temperance shouted as a distraction, hoping that he would answer the question as she turned quickly to say to Norah, as quietly as she could so the woman would hear but the beast would not: "We have to get him back into Ravin. It's the only way. Can you convince him?"
A sharp inhale happened as his claws started to tighten, only for a groan of pain to leave her as her hands pushed at his clawed ones. Her heart started to truly race in her chest. Her brows furrowed and it seemed that she easily forgot about the others… especially as she started to realize this was what had been keeping Ravin from her since she was able to change him back. Temperance’s voice broke through to her. And while the witch tried to plead for Norah’s life… it was the man behind them that she was mostly worried for.
“Life?” She gritted her teeth. “I cannot give you life… but I can give him life.” She raised a hand to point at Ravin. “Which in turn gives you another life to live… long after I’m gone…” a child. She could give Ravin a child and in turn give Malsumis a new host when her and Ravin are called back to the Goddess’ side. “But you are killing him. If you return to him, you cannot do what you’ve done before.” Her mind was racing, preparing to pluck the right curse or incantation should he respond negatively to her words.
Post by Ravin Tracey on Mar 26, 2023 18:05:01 GMT -5
Malsumis stilled. The horrible, otherworldly clicking noises of consideration echoed through the air—seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. The creature was doing the calculus of survival, looking from the wolf, to the witch, to the others. Malsumis tilted his head, looking at Norah one way and then the other. Then, after a long moment, Malsumis dropped her.
Heal him.
The words sounded even different than before, like a softly creaking door.
Or I will kill you both.
And with that, Malsumis retreated back into the limp figure of Ravin in a cloud of black smoke. Ravin whimpered.
Last Edit: Mar 26, 2023 18:05:13 GMT -5 by Ravin Tracey
Temperance left without protest, and Ber watched her anxiously, praying that he hadn’t sent her to get killed by Malsumis. Crouched beside Ravin, he watched the exchange between the two witches and silently prayed that Norah would think of something that would convince the creature to release her and return to Ravin. For a long moment, the monster stood still, then with a command and a promise, he disappeared without warning.
That was his cue. Heart pounding in his chest, Ber followed the black smoke as it disappeared into the limp body beside him, and just as he’d been preparing to do since learning that Ravin was the door and the lock to the other world, the soldier raised his sword and—
Hesitated.
The whimper drew his attention to Ravin, and Ber couldn’t help but see the man rather than the implicit threat. He saw the way Ravin struggled to reach for Norah even though he could barely move and thought of the devotion he’d seen between Temperance and Thom. He saw the life in his eyes, tired and dull though they were, and knew that he couldn’t be the one to look a man in the face and steal that away. Even if it was the smart thing to do, surely the right thing to do.
Swearing loudly, Ber pushed himself to his feet and away from Ravin. “Don’t let him back out,” He said, likely unnecessarily, and in a tone made all the harsher by his frustration at his own inability to do what needed to be done. He was a soldier who would inevitably be expected to march off to war. How could he be a soldier, how could he survive a war, if he couldn’t even kill a single man? Turning to face the two witches, he marched over, sword in hand, and addressed Norah. “Is Malsumis going to stay in there on his own?”
That was likely the look on Temperance's face. A look of horror. And it wasn't even directed at the horrifying creature that threatened them all. It was directed as Norah. Was she just making empty promises to buy them time, or did she mean it? Would she really offer an innocent child to such a beast and condemn that child to the same terrifying, disgusting pain that Ravin had been carrying with him for seasons now?
Witches had given up more, she guessed. The natural darkness inside did make them selfish. Temperance was selfish, too. When she turned and found Ber lifting his sword, she only watched. She wasn't going to stop him. Because Ravin was already so close to death. The man had suffered enough. It would be a kindness to put him out of his misery, and a kindness to spare him the loss of his future children. But Ber couldn't do it. And selfish still, Temperance was glad he couldn't. It wasn't his mess to clean up. His soul he needed to sully.
Releasing a breath she'd been holding, she stepped toward him as he approached them and rubbed his arm, a common but weak attempt at comfort. "Only Norah can know right now." She passed by him, moving to Ravin and getting down on her knees where the man laid on the ground. She rested her head against his chest and listened for a moment, then touched his face, looking into his eyes. "Malsumis or not, Ravin's still near death," she said, looking up toward Norah. "It's going to take him a while to recover from this. Healing potions can't fix malnutrition. I might have something for sleep, if any of my stored potions are left."
There was anger in her voice as she stood up, fists clenched, and disappeared into her greenhouse, stepping over and on top of broken glass carefully. "It's going to take me forever to fix all of this." She grumbled to herself. A few minutes later she returned with a small, cracked vial, she offered it to Norah. "Here. It's best he sleeps for now, but he needs to eat soon. Not too much at a time, he won't be able to take it. Lots of water. I can help tend to him if the two of you plan on staying in Skia." She looked back at Ravin, and once again to Norah. She spoke quietly. "Do you really intend to give that beast an innocent child?"