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!
Kat had just finished a training session with Octavius, she thought it had gone well, but all the same she was exhausted. There was no rest for the wicked, or in this case a Van Zant, so she was on her way to wrangle a couple of her siblings for family dinner. With her naginata over her shoulder and sweat rolling down her brow, she looked every part the dutiful soldier. Sure it was mostly a means to an end, but honestly, this was where she thrived.
Rounding a corner she did notice someone she hadn't seen since she had first been paired back in aestas. "Bex?" Sure it was Lieutenant Brekker, but Kat thought she was absolutely bad ass. Of course she had thought the same of Regan at one point so she was just waiting to be disappointed. But for now the short haired brunette and her partner had thus far been a great pair to look up to.
With a grin on her face, Kat bounded over to the lieutenant. "I haven't seen you and Maximo in training since I got back. Too good for us?"
Bex had been busy with the thoughts in her head and had not been paying too much attention to the people around her beyond her typical alertness to any sort of troublemakers. This wasn't entirely abnormal, Bex wasn't much the type to eagerly engage in chit chat and she have very few people that would call her a 'friend'. Her focus on her career and impatience for those with lack of intelligence or motivation left her a fairly lonely person. Not that she minded. Or at least no one could tell if she did.
She looked up when she heard her name and though there was always an unnerving quality of darkness in her eyes, a small whisper of a smile did crack her lips to see Katerina again. The girl had always had a grit that Bex appreciated. What she hadn't expected was for the girl to mention her late partner. Any hint of the smile in her face faded to be replaced with just a touch of the loss she felt. She had been doing well in hiding it but when the subject came up unexpectedly, well, it was hard to hide all of it.
"Oh, well, actually Maximo passed while you were away. Not too long ago actually," she explained, her tone was at least mostly lacking expression in that same uncomfortable darkness that bothered even the most practiced of witches. "Suicide they're saying."
Watching the Lieutenants face change was slightly awkward, mostly because she wasn't sure why. She hadn't seen that expression on the woman's face before, but she didn't have to wait long to figure out why.
Dead. It happened of course, especially when it came to magic. They worked with dark magic, and it changed all of them, Kat thought for the better to make them stronger, but not everyone could take it. But apparently that had led to Maximo... killing himself? That came as a shock, and it showed in her wrinkled brow.
"Suicide? When did this happen?" First Mina had been killed, then Rosamere had gone missing, now this? Witches and soldiers didn't just die and go missing. Things were happening, and that had to be why she had been sent out to Coheed and her twin to Cambria. Of course she only barely remember to be courteous. "Oh, I mean sorry for your loss."
Bex waved away the curtsey. It was unnecessary and Bex wasn't one to be pitied. "It was a few weeks ago. It happens. We move on." Of course it had been a challenge to lose someone you're so close to and most paired soldiers had a special kind of bond with their partner. This was true for even Bex, but she couldn't linger on the past.
"Anyway, how was Coheed?" she asked. Having learned that she'd be heading there this spring, something that was not yet news to anyone else, she was naturally interested in learning about other's experiences.
Kat wasn't good at relating on a personal level with people. It had taken her long enough and some strenuous cursing to eventually start to get close with her pair. And one was enough, no need for any other close colleagues, let alone a superior. Luckily it didn't seem like Bex cared for any such pleasantries though. Perfect.
So she moved right along. "Moving right along, Coheed was busy, as you know. But beyond that debacle, some of the woman aren't half bad. The Parabolti have some badass bitches amongst them. Heard the name @catrin thrown around a lot. She tried to go against Captain Delaney's orders during the whole thing but don't know much about her otherwise."
Bex was her lieutenant so there was no need to keep the information from her. Woman probably knew more about the whole thing than she did. Not that Kat expected her to share. Would have been nice to know how Lassiter had fucked the entire place up.
Hadrian had specifically mentioned speaking to Katerina and her partner Octavius about Coheed. Now that Katerina was conveniently right in front of her, she figured now was as good a time as any. She took note of everything that Katerina had said so far. She had heard about the woman warriors that had been allowed to be created. It was progress and Bex was sure she'd get along with them far more than any of the Coheedsman. She definitely took note of the name Catrin, it might be someone she'd have to deal with herself when she arrived.
"Hmmm," she hummed thoughtfully. "Hey, what are you doing right now? What do you say to going to get a drink and talking more about your experiences there?" she asked. "I have a lot of questions."
Kat, was in no way a suck up. But she also had a healthy dose of respect for Bex. She was a good Lieutenant, and so the soldier had no problems falling into line with her. Especially since it apparently meant free drinks at the tavern. Wet Wood Warren would have never.
"Of course, whatever you gotta know." This was easier than writing and dumb report. And honestly, Commander Usher didn't seem the easiest guy to talk to. But, even though her superior officer was intimidating in her own right, she up until recently had been a pair like her. So she was cool.
Figuring the walk there wasn't the right time to talk about Coheed, Kat thought asking some questions of her own wouldn't be totally out of bounds. "Did you share everything with your pair?" This whole trust people thing was not something she was used to, maybe Bex could help a little.
It was almost a relief to Bex when Kat agreed to join her. Bex knew that she didn't exactly have a reputation for being particularly friendly so it wouldn't have been a surprise for Kat to decide she didn't want to spend more time than necessary in her company. Luckily, that wasn't the case and the two fell in step with one another on their way to the tavern.
The question that the woman posed came as a surprise to Bex and she didn't hide that expression, looking over to the woman with a raised brow in curiosity of why she was asking. After a brief pause Bex answered. "Not at all," she stated rather matter-of-factly. "Why?"
Kat nodded her head slightly assured on the matter. Bex and her partner had been a force of nature on the training grounds, and if they had separate lives it would surely be fine for her and Octavius. "We did a lot of sharing when we started since we had to bond quickly for Coheed. Just good to know some separation won't effect me and Octavius on the battlefield." Like the whole sneaking around and trying to get Rosamere back since no one in the entirety of fucking Neveremere apparently wanted to.
"Because we are, right? Going to the battlefield? Valeria Delany told me there are some red headed problems in Dresmond or something?" One of the reasons she had stayed away from the military when she left for her family was the idea that Nevermere didn't deserve her sacrifice. But then she had realized her family was on the line, and Mina had died because of it. So she wasn't afraid anymore.
Bex shook her head. "It never affected Maximo and I," she stated. It felt a little odd to say his name. It still felt odd not to have him around sometimes but there was also a bit of sense of freedom to it that she would never admit aloud. "We knew how to work well together and we genuinely cared about the safety of the other, but we managed to keep things from getting too personal." Maybe it helped that Bex was incredibly gay and had absolutely no interest in her partner romantically or sexually no matter how good of friends they had become.
"Yes, there is war on the horizon," Bex confirmed. She had never been explicitly told this but she was very intelligent. Besides, it didn't take a genius to notice the increase in recruitment and training lately. Something was coming. "The question is when, not if, but I suspect it will be soon." Only the commander and the king truly knew all the details but she wasn't about to tell a fellow solider that she 'didn't know'.
"Good." With another witch, Kat might feel like she was being cruel or pushing the line. But in this case she thought that Bex could handle things. She was a veteran in paired matters, and it seemed as though the woman wasn't prone to hysterical emotions like some. "Did you... Ever feel like you needed to protect him as much as he did you?"
Nodding her head Kat was satisfied with her answer, and also glad to have someone so realistic and truthful as a leader. Goddess she couldn't pull that off. And luckily she didn't have to.
Opening the door of the tavern she nodded her head. "After you then!"
Bex thought about the question for a moment, genuinally pondering if she ever felt that need. "Maybe once or twice. The shift can be really trying on them and over time it's natural to start feeling some sympathy over that." Though Bex felt far less sympathy than many witches. Her feelings for witch superiority as well as that she felt men deserved to be cursed and under their thumb made it hard for her to feel too much on their behalf, even when she cared about them on a more personal left.
"But the whole idea is that they protect us so we can continue to use our magic when in combat, giving us time to use more effective spells," she didn't need to explain this to Kat, she knew that she already was aware of all of this, "so I usually focused on that and let him do the protecting." Though perhaps he'd truly been the one to need protecting in the end.
The reached the tavern and Bex nodded as Kat opened the door and stepped inside the room. Luckily there were still a few tables left and Bex chose a small one against one of the walls and sat down.
"Mhmmm." Kat was glad to know that it was normal to feel a little protective of her pair. His life was always in her hands as much as hers was in his paws. But she knew finding a balance there was important so she could be the best paired witch she could be.
Either way, it had been nice to get some answers.
"So, where should I start?" Settling into the table that Bex had picked, Kat wasn't sure how many details and of what she wanted.
Bex was eager for all she could learn from Kat. They had always got along, as well as Bex could get along with anyone anyway. A barmaid approached and Bex ordered a simple one, and a weak one at that. She wasn't looking for a buzz but more the warmth that came from such a drink on a cold Hiems evening.
"How about what the men there are really like? I know there is a movement to give the women more than just being wives and mothers but how are the men actually taking to such a change?" she asked.
Kat ordered a strong drink, but in fairness, it was what she was used to. Drinking whiskey was as easy as ale, and she liked the firey taste a lot better. "I mostly worked with the women, but they weren't shy with their looks. It didn't seem like all of them were on board. And a few of the women said some men weren't letting their sisters come." Of course some of the women had been just as difficult. "But I'm not so sure, it seemed a lot of the women didn't really want to be their either so who knows if it was just an excuse." Weak sauce.