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!
After being chased away from their bear by a pack of wolves, Othello and Zarha exited the woods and returned to camp. While Othello chose not to continue hunting, his partner returned to the woods for what was left of the daylight. Though she was at a disadvantage, her trap paid off. In the end, it might have taken her a little longer to find her way back. She would arrived shortly after the other group, just after nightfall, guided by the light of the campfires.
The group of four entered the forest with a solid plan in mind. It worked as they'd hoped. While Elletta prepared her bow for each shot, the three men would search for and frighten the birds into the open, making them easy to pick off. As it grew darker, Tor and Ber each found one group of roosting birds to pick off. As the group headed back toward camp, Elletta caught sight of a young buck and attempted to claim it for her group. However, just as she was making the shot, another of her group stepped on a brittle stick, which cracked and frightened the buck. It dashed off, the arrow narrowly missing.
When everyone was back to the campsite, they would compare their catches. Even without her partner, Zarha Sliva was able to catch 9 pheasants and 2 hares. @elletta's quick shooting caught her group 6 pheasants. @berengar found a group of pheasants roosting on the ground and caught 4. On the way back, just before dark, @torsten stumbled upon a pair and managed to catch 1 of them.
In total, Zarha returned with 10 points, and the group of four returned with 11, making them the winners. According to their deal, Othello Allemeade and Zarha Sliva would be required to carry the packs of the winning team for the following days hike.
Despite the failed attempt at getting the deer, Ber felt pretty confident about their odds of winning. The plan had worked as intended, and they’d all managed to successfully down some pheasants. Haider, truly, had been indispensable with her hunting prowess, and as they neared camp, the soldier voiced his thoughts. “The deer would’ve been nice,” He mused to the group as a whole. ”But I think we’ve got enough to win anyway. Couldn’t have done it without you, Haider.” Ber himself was satisfied with the four pheasants that he’d managed to catch, especially considering this was the first time he’d ever hunted them in his life.
A strange sight awaited them as they returned to camp and made their way over to the fire with their pheasants in hand. Spotting Othello Allemeade first, Ber made his way over with the rest of his group to the man seated by the fire, where he registered a few different oddities at once. First, despite Othello’s presence, there was neither hide nor hair of Zarha Sliva , even though the two were supposed to have been a team. Second, Othello was in the process of washing blood off himself. Third, both Regan and Woodwick were now at their fire - or had Othello moved to theirs? Ber couldn’t remember, but he was still only pleased to see one of the officers there.
His gaze flicked between the three of them - it seemed like he might have interrupted something vaguely uncomfortable, but he couldn’t tell for sure - as he approached with his catch before his attention settled on Othello. “What happened to you?” He asked, gesturing toward the blood and the water. “And where’d Sliva go?” Then he looked around for any pheasants and seeing none, shot a grin toward @elletta , @torsten , and @cyrus .
The primary application of his Gift, which is Metalkinesis, is the mental control over magnetism and the manipulation of both ferrous and nonferrous metal.
Level 10; Arynnite ship with the ability to both fly and submerge fully under water. THE DROWNED CANARY.*Temporarily deactivated*
Post by Othello Allemeade on Feb 9, 2023 15:07:11 GMT -5
Othello grinned at the man as he stood to his full height wiping away blood on his hands, "She must have went back out to hunt," when he looked at the returning soldiers Othello was still grinning staring at Regan before flicking his eyes toward Ber, "Killed a bear, but the wolves came. We came back and," he indicated the blood he was covered in, "thought it was wise to stay and not draw the little fuckers back here, keep you all safe and sound," he shrugged, "she should be back soon, she's resilient I suppose but I wouldn't have gone back out with that pack looming about."
Tor agreed with Ber's comment to Haider and set down the bird near the cleaning area. His dark eyed gaze roamed the camp but he didn't see Miss Sliva anywhere. When Othello's comment came out, it took a moment for Tor to digest it all in one bite. So he left his teammate to go out alone? Deserted her in the forest at night?! Not much of a Champion if that's how he treats another soldier.
Othello hadn't cleaned up his bloody self with snow away from here *before* he dragged his highly scented self directly back to camp with wolves nearby, yet he was still bloody! The man had left a direct blood trail back to camp and had no problem with his teammate taking off for places unknown?! Tor had a difficult time trying to make sense of what the guy said. He knew he was covererd in blood and that it woudl dangerously draw predators so he--went bloody straight back to everyone? Had Miss Sliva told him she was going out alone after dark in a forest? That was begging for trouble to do that. Were they both at fault here? It seemed like it. Had she simply left on her own in ignorance? The bloodied man didn't seem to be all that bothered about it.
Torsten turned an ebony gaze on Othello and stated quietly, "So your teammate is out roaming the forest after dark alone right now? I have to wonder if a couple of us should be out looking for your teammate right now."
Post by Zarha Sliva on Feb 9, 2023 16:29:39 GMT -5
Zarha did alright for somebody on her own but she wished that she had Othello with her, but what was she suppose to do, she already was told not to give up. So she wasn't going to win either way. It was dark by the time she arrived thankfully the fire was already pre lit when they left, she noticed as she entered that everybody was there.
She was nervous however she going to have to face them all at one point. Taking a deep breath she walked closer with her kill her 9 pheasants and 2 hares in hand. She looked at the group as she place the food down and nodded before looking at Regan Lassiter and @warren "Huntsman, Lieutenant, I know I shouldn't of gone off into the woods alone, I should of stayed with my team mate I wanted to make sure that the Champion was safe."
Looking at Regan, "A wise person told me that I shouldn't back down till i get knocked down or use all my resources. Neither of which happened. So if anybody to blame it me."
The primary application of his Gift, which is Metalkinesis, is the mental control over magnetism and the manipulation of both ferrous and nonferrous metal.
Level 10; Arynnite ship with the ability to both fly and submerge fully under water. THE DROWNED CANARY.*Temporarily deactivated*
Post by Othello Allemeade on Feb 10, 2023 8:29:31 GMT -5
Othello stood when the boy was confronting him dropping the rag covered in blood and was about to argue when little Zarha came sheepishly back to the group, a wolf like grin formed on his face as he pushed past the boy and slung a arm over her shoulder clapping it once or twice pretty rough, "look and behold little worry warts, she's resilient and tough, stop counting chickens before they hatch people," he looked at little Zarha and her kills, "good job Zarha! We lost but you proved the lesson I was wanting to teach today....never give up...unless you're covered in blood and there are wolves....but..but never do that again okay sugar because wolves."
Post by Regan Lassiter on Feb 10, 2023 9:16:32 GMT -5
Regan accepted Othello’s explanation without much thought or objection. Zarha had decided to go back out, as was her prerogative. There was no creature in these woods that should be able to best a trained witch. But @torsten was immediately incensed, which rather than giving Regan cause to discipline him, only gave her cause to roll her eyes.
“I’m sure she’s—”
As if on cue, Zarha entered the clearing. The witch apologized, which Regan thought was unnecessary given it was simply woods they were talking about—not the heat of battle. She’d arrived with enough pheasants to make her trip worth it. When it came to the wise person Zarha spoke of, though she was looking at Regan, Regan didn’t compute that she was speaking about her. She was still a little drunk, and though she was no longer hot in the firey sense she was still very much bothered. All of that combined did not lend itself to critical thinking.
“No need for blame,” Regan grumbled, shrugging, “It’s just the woods we’re talking about. Everyone keep their shirts on.” She chuckled to herself, glancing at Warren to see if she heard her little joke before sighing, “We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Get someone who can start breaking down that meat so the lot of you can get to bed sometime before dawn.”
Othello's whole story was...well, by the looks of the man, he shouldn't have been surprised by the attempt to kill a bear rather than the initial aim of the hunt, pheasants. He explained that Zarha must have gone back out to hunt, and Warren didn't care too much for the idea. Not because he was worried about wolves, or the witch getting hurt, but because those who hadn't been in the forest could easily get lost and the last thing he wanted to do was spend the night searching for her.
The back and forth between the group, and Mosse getting a little worked up, left Warren rubbing his face. The man wasn't exactly wrong, it wasn't ideal to let ones partner go off alone, but before any of them could really worry, Zarha turned up. He was not surprised to see her hauling a decent catch, given her general attitude toward duty and competition, but the way Othello had tried to make it into a 'lesson' was, in a way, comical.
Warren's eyes widened at Regan's comment, his hand moving to his mouth to cover up his own laugh with a fake cough and a clearing of his throat. He worked to quickly reclaim his neutral expression as he nodded, agreeing with her. "Ms. Lassiter's right. You've all got a lot of plucking to do. Keep the feathers, we can use them for fletching."
With the groups all back safely, Warren stood back up. "I'm going to check on everyone else," he said, more to Regan than anyone, and began making his rounds of the camp to make sure all of the other soldiers were settling in for the night and that everyone was accounted for.
When Othello Allemeade stood and answered his questions, Ber stared at him for a moment - “You killed a bear?” - before letting out a disbelieving breath and shaking his head. He was grinning, though, impressed despite himself. @torsten seemed significantly less pleased with the explanation, and as he voiced his objections, Ber only found himself shrugging. Given the way Zarha Sliva trained, he figured she would have to mess up very badly to be seriously wounded, and anyway, it was her decision to wander off on her own in the growing darkness. She was an adult who could make her own questionable decisions; Ber wouldn’t have stopped her either. Besides - “It’s Sliva,” He began, the words blending with Regan’s as she spoke up simultaneously. “She’ll be—”
The witch in question couldn’t have timed her arrival better. Ber watched as she made her way over to the fire, Othello rushing over to welcome her, with - naturally, because it was Sliva - a ridiculous amount of pheasants plus two hares. That checked out entirely. Pheasants, however, had been the deal, and a quick count had him grinning at Mosse, @elletta , and @cyrus .
Regan Lassiter ’s words in response to Sliva’s apology caught his attention, but as he glanced over at her, he was distracted by the weird thing @warren ’s face was doing, even though the lieutenant recovered shortly after and agreed with the Huntsman. Eyes narrowed slightly, Ber glanced between him and Regan before turning to look at Othello, who had been the only other person at the fire when he’d arrived. As Woodwick made himself wonderfully scarce, the soldier sat down by the fire with his pheasants. Though he was far from a master at it, Ber took a moment to begin plucking one of the birds before he paused, looked up, and called out to the losing team: “So, have you two figured out how you’ll be carrying all our packs yet?”
Torsten stood for a long moment looking between each of them in surprise. He opened his mouth, all set to scold again but stopped and sat down on one of the overturned logs. As usual, he was consumed by his doubts and worries, but it was clearly better left unsaid. Yes, he worried. A lot. About people and way too many other random things. His lifelong habit wasn't something he could instantly turn off at will, but the other soldiers and superiors had made it clear that he should shut his mouth.
Othello was a Champion and Lassiter was enough to make anyone piss themself at her wrath. Haider, Ber and Sliva could more than hold their own and Woodwick was a reliable superior officer. But the worry for others would stay prevalent because that was a strong part of Tor's nature.
They'd all done an outstanding job at the hunting, and he himself had done the least and worst. Tor's face flushed red as he bent his head down in silence and looked through his pack to have something to do with his hands.
Last Edit: Feb 10, 2023 13:09:55 GMT -5 by Deleted
Post by Zarha Sliva on Feb 10, 2023 13:38:54 GMT -5
Sugar? Did Othello just call her sugar? Which made her laugh a bit. As she accepted his strong tap to the shoulder she smiled at him. "Sure lesson. But that arrow in the bears head was pretty awesome. We work well as a team, Old man.Plus it berry girl" in a playful tone, for people who knew her long enough a playful tone was a strong sight to see, but maybe she relaxing a bit.
made by the wonderful Lyla
Last Edit: Feb 14, 2023 13:20:17 GMT -5 by Zarha Sliva
At their apparent win, Elletta had grinned at the boys because it was most definitely a group effort. And fresh pheasant wasn't a bad thing to have to eat. In fact, it could be tasty with the right herbs in her opinion. Long as it wasn't overcooked or outright burnt. So she was quite looking forward to it. 'Course the mood had dived when they'd all realized that Zarha Sliva had not been at the camp even though Othello Allemeade was back so while everyone had been talking, she'd been scanning the edge of the clearing for her arrival. And possible wolves but mostly the witch
To which, the younger witch did return and she'd have a conversation with her later. Mainly to make sure she was alright, which she probably was given the catch she came back with on her own. "Not a bad haul, Silva." She grinned at the other witch though the change in @torsten's body language out of the corner of her eye caught her eye as well.
So she stepped back and knocked her shoulder with his while @berengar asked about the pack carrying part of the bet. "Hey. You's alright, Mosse?"
Both Sliva and Othello had unquestionably done the most successful hunting outing. They'd taken out a BEAR and she'd come back with plenty of birds, so Mosse firmly believed that they were the group that had actually won. He could easily carry his own pack and probably a couple others before he noticed any burden from it.
Would it again make him the awkward outsider for simply carrying his own pack? It seemed trivial to dump his own easily carried things onto someone else--those someone elses who had killed a frikken bear! It didn't seem right to him. Mosse tried to stop overthinking but it was his nature.
Othello had killed a bear like it was nothing and now he only looked upset that he didn't officially win a bet. What was his secret to that kind of calm coolness? Mosse wished he could be that casual all the time and not look like a nagging mother hen about everything. Stormcrest as usual, didn't seem bothered in the slightest and could probably take a punch to the head in stride without even blinking. Both Regan and Warren looked disheveled coming out of the woods so.. yea he wasn't going to finish that thought, but it was clear why they were distracted. Sliva had brought back a good amount of birds and Haider had saved their group with her archery skills.
With clumsy hands, he started plucking the stupidly solitary pheasant, and suddenly realized Haider nearby.
"I'm fine, thank you Haider. Good work back there, you really stepped up for the team." Mosse answered quietly, trying not to say something stupid out loud anymore.
Last Edit: Feb 20, 2023 14:25:22 GMT -5 by Deleted
Now that everyone had found their places around the fire and begun to clean the fruits of their labor, soldiers all over the camp settled in for the night. While the wind picked up, the rain did not come as predicted. Shortly after nightfall, many soldiers made their way into their tents to sleep.
The following morning, camp would be packed up once more. Othello Allemeade would carry @elletta's pack throughout the next days trek, while Zarha Sliva would carry @berengar's. @torsten had decided to carry his own, and no one would blame him for it. The Champion of Nevermere had successfully killed a bear! Even if it hadn't been attributed to the competition, it truly was an impressive feat, of which many soldiers told the tale around their campfires the night prior.
That wasn't the only story spoken of. Throughout the second days hike, soldiers whispered about seeing Regan Lassiter and @warren sneaking out of the woods with red faces and ruffled clothes. It would surely get around, but neither acknowledged such rumors, either during the hike or after.
The second day went well, but the night was rough. The rains and winds came, which made hunting difficult. Many were thankful that the competition had been held the night before. Pheasants and hare's were shared across many campfires.
The third day was the hike back to the castle was done in mud, but every soldier who had gone arrived back to the military wing in one piece, hurrying to tell their cohorts of the work ahead of them as the next group set out to leave.