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!
He was unable to contain the giggles that spilled over after Temperance smacked him in the arm. He waved a hand at Ber, "Oh come on, he looks ridiculous. You're gonna have to cut half the fabric off of that for it to fit him. You might even be able to make a second suit from it." He was still grinning as Temperance dumped her selections into his arms and wandered off.
He shuffled through the clothing items, eyeing each one and shrugged at Ber's question. "I've learned it's best to not question women. They just... do things. Much better than us men ever could."
He eyed Ber as he stepped towards the dressing room, quite obviously running his gaze up and down the other man. "If this is a competition, I'm afraid you've already lost, my friend." Rune would remain outside with Ber, taking a seat next to him and peering up at the soldier with just as much judgement in her gaze as her human had.
Zevran stepped out a bit later, having first chosen the black tunic and vest combination. He raised his arms and spun in a circle, "Well?"
Temperance came back shortly with the seamstress, who gave Ber more of a pitiful look than a humored one. She shook her head. "We really will have to take off quite a bit, ma'am."
"Oh, that's alright. We're not concerned, and you can keep the scraps if you have any use of them," she assured the woman. With a nod, she started on the side of Ber opposite that Rune was standing. She pulled the shirts tight, rolled up the sleeves and pants legs, and stuck her finger in the boys waistband to check the slack on his pants. She marked each point with a safety pin. "There will be no tailoring Thomas's shoes to fit you," Temperance said as she watched the seamstress fit Ber into the suit. "So you'll have to wear your dress uniform shoes, but they'll match."
When Zevran finally stepped out, Temperance gasped just slightly and tilted her head to look him over. "Goodness, black looks great on you," she said, but as she stepped up to look at him closer, she shook her head. "But this is a bit too dark. This vest is quite nice, I like the accented chain that goes across." She turned, looking at the seamstress as the woman finished marking Ber's suit. "What do you think, ma'am? The white tunic underneath?"
"Yes, I think so. And...perhaps another layer. Just a moment." The woman disappeared but came back quickly, handing Zevran a light gray waistcoat with black buttons. "The tunic, then this waistcoat, and then the vest. Try that." She turned back to Ber once more. "And this one is done, I just need the clothes from him."
"Thank you," Temperance smiled. "Ber, try not to mess with the pins as you come out of them?"
When Zevran assessed him, Ber couldn’t help but glance down at himself and do the same. His friend might have had a point, he conceded after a moment, eyeing the rolled up cuffs of the too-long pants - not to mention the way he still held them up with one hand. He didn’t have to admit to to Zevran though. “Hey,” The soldier shot back, albeit somewhat weakly. “You don’t know that for sure.” As the Dresmondi disappeared into the dressing room, his dyr took up the mantle of judging Ber. He looked back down at her. “You too?”
Even the seamstress seemed to share their sentiments. Not quite sure what she expected of him, Ber watched her as she drew close, obligingly holding fabric in place as she brought in the suit to fit him better. He nodded his understanding over at Temperance as she commented on his footwear, silently agreeing with Zevran that maybe women - or at least Temperance - did just do things better than he ever could. What he would wear for shoes had never even crossed his mind.
And, chased away by Zevran’s return, the thought left his mind as quickly as it arrived. Temperance was right: black suited him nicely. More importantly - and unfortunately - the Dresmondi wasn’t swimming in his outfit like Ber had been. Still, like the good friend he was, the soldier took the entirely unsurprising loss with good grace and offered the other man a smile and a nod… just in time for the two women to voice their own critiques and solutions. Well, that showed what he knew.
Even though only safety pins held the fabric in place, Thom’s suit felt far more comfortable now that it didn’t hang so loosely off of him. With a nod at Temperance, Ber slowly made his way over to the dressing room, and after a few minutes, he emerged, dressed in his other clothes and carefully carrying the suit. “I don’t think I messed up anything,” He told the seamstress as he handed it over, following up the sentence a moment later with a polite, “Thanks.”
Rune only blinked at Ber's accusation, because of course she was judging, and would continue to do so until Zevran emerged from the dressing room again. Her ears pricked forward towards him, seeming to echo everyone's sentiments that her human did, indeed, look good in black.
Zevran beamed under the attention, looking down at himself a pulling at the fabric a bit. If they all liked this then it seemed it was settled, and he turned to go back into the room to swap his clothes around again when Temperance once again found something at fault. He stopped, blinking between her and the seamstress as the other woman went off to find even more layers while Ber took his turn in the dressing room.
He took the new pieces and stared down at them. "You want me to wear al; of this? Together?" He shook his head a bit incredulously before stepping back into the room to swap the tunic around. He would never get used to Nevermere's insistence on always having more.
But he had to admit, as he stepped out of the room once more, that they certainly knew how to dress. Still, he felt a bit... uncomfortable. The clothing wasn't really the most comfortable. It was stiff and scratchy, and he continued to play with the layers as he looked to the women for their opinion.
"No worries, dear," the woman said, though she hesitated before leaving, resting with her free hand on her hip as Zevran went back in to try on the new set of clothes. Temperance couldn't help but quirk a smile, clearly the woman wanted to see the end result of her practice. Or was it just that she wanted another peak at Zevran before heading off to do her work.
"You'll look quite nice as well, Berengar," Temperance commented as a nearby rack of ties caught her eye. "Once that suit fits you, you'll be just as dapper as Zevran. Thomas is a fine dresser as well, you know." Patting him on the arm, she walked just behind him to look through the ties. She took two of them in her hands, lips pursing as she considered. One was a solid color, another striped. Both would match the colors they'd given Zevran to wear.
When he came out, both women's eyes snapped toward him and they smiled simultaneously. The seamstresses eyes lingered over him for a bit, then she nodded. "Yes, I think it looks just right." Cheeks turning pink, she slipped away to begin her work, though she looked back once or twice.
Temperance walked back over to Zevan and did a little circle around him, nodding as she did. "I agree, you're very handsome. And look, black and grey, just like you, Rune," she smiled down at the fox, then lifted one tie up toward his neck, then the other, then the first one. "I think this will be the final touch." Handing the solid colored tie off to Ber to hold temporarily, she wrapped the tie around Zevran's neck. "You'll have to find someone to tie this for you, I presume? I don't suppose you can do it, Berengar?" She asked, tightening it as it should be, and stepped back to look at him again with her arms on her hips.
"Well, I'm not sure who you'll be taking to the ball, but she won't be disappointed. Oh, do you both have dates? Berengar?"
For lack of something better to do, Ber turned to peruse the rack of ties that had caught Temperance’s attention, making an even noise of acknowledgement. “He is,” The soldier agreed, running his fingers along the fabric at random before he glanced at the witch beside him. His next questions were quiet. “You’re sure he doesn’t mind this one being tailored to fit me?” Ber had never worn much less owned a suit of his own before. Though hadn’t expected to wear anything other than his dress uniform to the ball, he couldn’t deny the little spark of joy that had flickered to life in his chest when Temperance had revealed the contents of her bag. It was the tentative happiness of one who had learned to expect very little. “And it won’t cost too much?”
Trailing after Temperance as she returned to Zevran’s side, Ber noted that two women seemed satisfied with his friend’s appearance, obligingly taking the extra tie when the witch held it out to him. The soldier watched as she looped the fabric around Zevran’s neck and glanced down at the one in his hand when she directed the question at him. “Uh, no,” Ber confirmed, unsurprisingly gleaning no further understanding from the tie that he held. “I can tie knots though,” He added helpfully. Without any opportunity to attend an event for which his dress uniform had not sufficed, Ber had never had any reason - or, really, anyone to show him - how to properly tie a tie.
Temperance’s other question had him grinning over at his friend. “Zevran is,” Ber volunteered, choosing to ignore the fact that it was addressed to him as well. “He’s bringing someone named Alys. Or she’s bringing him?” He glanced at Zevran as his words turned questioning; after all, he had said that she had asked him.
Recognizing the seamstress's gaze for what it was, Zevran turned the full strength of his crooked grin on her, watching her as she slipped away with color on her cheeks. "Thank you for your help!" he called after her, the grin falling to a smirk as he turned his attention back to his companions, only to have Temperance walk to him with some more fabric in her hands.
"What is that?" he asked, brows furrowing as he looked down at what Temperance called a tie. He stood still as she looped it around his neck, eyes widening when she tightened it. She stepped away and his hands immediately lifted to it, feeling around it but doing all he could to not ruin the work she'd done. "Is it... supposed to be this tight?" he asked, looking to Ber for confirmation.
He could feel amusement radiating from Rune and he cast an annoyed glance at her while Temperance saw to Ber. He looked back to the same rack that Temperance had pulled the ties from, spying something else on the other side of it. With a wicked grin, he walked over and began perusing was was a selection of bow ties.
"She's bringing me," he confirmed as he picked a smaller white bow off the rack. "I'm not Nevermeran so I don't think I would be going otherwise," he mused as he walked to Rune, already warning her not to misbehave as he knelt in front of her and tied the small bow around her neck.
Standing, he tilted his head to the side as the fox glowered up at him before nodding in approval. "If you're going to judge me, you're going to join me," he voiced out loud for the others to hear. A quiet growl was Rune's only response.
Temperance eyed Ber, not surprised by his worry but quickly waving it away. "I'm sure. I wouldn't just take his suit without asking, you know. We're not married yet." She scrunched her nose up at him, smirking. "And no, it won't cost much at all. I'll take care of it, consider it my name-day gift to you." She had remembered Ber mentioning that his day of birth fell somewhere within Hiems, and though she didn't know when, she didn't need any special day to gift him something.
The small apothecary smirked and rolled her eyes at Zevran's response to the seamstress. "Does he do this everywhere he goes, Rune?" She asked, looking down momentarily at the fox before she began to tie the tie for him.
"It's a necktie. It's really just meant for decoration, but I think it covers the buttons nicely." Turning to look at Ber as her hands still worked, she rolled her eyes again. "Tying knots is not helpful, it's not just a knot." She snickered at the phrase 'not just a knot' and finished, not surprised by Zevran's reaction to it. "It is, but once the pageantry of the ball is done with, you can loosen it. A loosened tie is quite attractive," she said thoughtfully, a lifted eyebrow. For a moment she thought of Thomas, then shook her head.
"Alys, I should have guessed you would have already found someone to tag along with, Zevran. Well it's a pretty name, at least. I hope you're a good dance partner." She wasn't quite ready to let Ber off the hook, though. Instead, she turned and watched Zevran look at the bowties. "You didn't answer, though, Berengar. You don't have a date?"
Once the bowtie was on Rune, Temperance squatted down to look at her properly. "I'm sure it's not very comfortable, but if it's any consolation, Rune, you look wonderful."
Temperance’s reassurance had a small, pleased smile tugging at the corners of his lips. It only grew when she revealed that she would take care of the cost as well. Swallowing around the sudden knot in his throat, he nodded before finding his voice again to say sincerely, “Thank you, Temperance. That really means a lot.”
Belatedly realizing that maybe he ought to be watching the witch in order to learn how to tie his own tie, Ber stepped up to her side to try to make sense of the confusing strip of fabric. Temperance was, however, too fast with her hands, and he had missed the beginning anyway. Dark eyes met hers as she protested his words before peering dubiously at the tie that now sat tight around Zevran’s neck. “It kinda looks like a knot,” He pointed out, turning to watch his friend begin to peruse the rack from which Temperance had found the two ties. That reminded him of the one he still held, and when Temperance asked him again about whether he had a date, the soldier decided that returning it to its home gave him a good excuse to quite literally walk away from the conversation after offering a casual, “Nope. And I should probably go put this back.”
He took his time, and when a glance over his shoulder showed the witch thoroughly distracted by Rune, Ber meandered back. Coming to a stop beside Zevran, he nodded his agreement with the Dresmondi’s words - “That’s only fair” - and grinned at the fox. “Looks good, Rune. I think you should wear it to the ball.” After spending a few more moments in quiet amusement, Ber glanced around at Zev before turning to Temperance. “We’ve got a suit and tie and Rune’s bow tie. Is there anything else?”
Rune was thoroughly unamused with the turn of events, though with a small huff she trotted over to a nearby mirror, one low enough so that she could look at herself, and seemingly examined the bow and what she looked like with it, her head tilting to the side. After a moment she seemed to puff up a bit and walked back to the humans, sitting in front of Zevran and looking up at him.
He only groaned in response, "You weren't supposed to like the bow tie." He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, the movement reminding him of the tie still around his own neck. "How do you take it off?" he asked Temperance, pulling at it again. Hopefully there would be some kind of alcohol at this ball that would help him forget he was wearing such a thing.
He turned his attention to Ber and the questions Temperance had been asking him, "You know, I could probably help you find someone to take. All you need is a bit of guidance and you'll be wooing the ladies in no time." He wiggled his eyebrows, tossing a cheeky smirk at his friend.
When he thanked her, Temperance beamed. She reached for his arm and squeezed it gently, then gave him a slight nod. "Of course. Did you think I would forget? It may not be a particularly exciting gift, but you can wear a good suit for years, so you won't have to go through all of this again for a while."
His obvious attempt at ignoring the question yet again had her smirking and rolling her eyes. Rune was preening in the mirror and under the attention, and Zevran was already wanting to have the tie undone. Between the three of them, she couldn't help but grin at them. "I can't think of anything else," she said, answering Ber's question as she stepped back up to Zevran to remove the tie she'd only just tied around neck. "A pair of shoes to go with his suit, perhaps, but a simple pair of black or brown boots will do. I believe there's a shop just a few down that would have some."
Reaching up to pull the loosened tie loop from around Zevran's neck, she handed it to him, and then straightened his collar out once more, pursing her lips. "You're going to teach him all sorts of improper things, aren't you?" She said with a shake of her head. "You both better behave yourselves at that ball. Stars and stones, I wonder what I'll hear when it's all over."
Stepping back, she glanced outside and sighed. "I need to get back to work, but I think the two of you can handle it from here? Berengar, I'll speak with the seamstress on the way out, I'll pick the suit up when it's done. Don't forget to pick up some shoes, Zevran."
She took one more look at them and smiled, and then waved. "I'll see you three again soon. Keep them in line, please, Rune," with a little wink toward the fox, Temperance was headed up to speak with the seamstress, before exiting the shop onto the street and heading back toward her cottage.
Though Ber hadn’t given his birthday much thought one way or another, the fact that she had caused the knot in his throat to grow. Birthday gifts were something that had always happened to other people, not him, so he hadn’t thought she’d forgotten as much as never expected anything in the first place. When she squeezed his arm and allowed that it might not have been the most exciting gift, he shook his head in denial of her concerns. “No, it’s perfect,” He said earnestly. “Thank you.”
As Temperance stepped up to take the tie off Zevran, he nodded at her answer to his question. Shoes would probably be important, but the thought was soon chased from his mind by his friend’s offer. “A bit of guidance, huh?” He shot back, grinning. “Alright, then teach me your ways, oh wise—” Temperance’s words to Zevran and then to both of them finally registered, and Ber interrupted himself to look at her. “Hey, we’ve never misbehaved at a ball before, so what makes you think it will happen this time?” Though, of course, they’d never behaved at a ball before either.
Soon enough, however, Temperance was taking her leave. Ber nodded his understanding of the arrangement with picking up the tailored suit and agreed that they could probably handle purchasing Zevran’s outfit and buying him shoes on their own. After thanking her again and saying his farewells, the soldier turned back to the Dresmondi. “Guess if you take all that off we can head over to buy it? Your bow tie, too, Rune.”
Zevran's lips were already quirking up in a smirk at the playful insult Ber was about to throw his way, but he ended up turning that smirk on Temperance instead. Unlike Ber, he was more than willing to accept that there would be mischief afoot at the ball. When wasn't there among a drunken crowd?
Then Temperance swept away and left the two of them alone in the store again. He stooped down to untie the bow from Rune's neck before stepping back into the dressing room, more than happy to remove the layers of clothing for his comfortable attire. He emerged with everything back on its hangar and thrown over his arm.
"This has surely been an experience I won't forget," he remarked as he started for the desk where they would pay for the clothing.
Ber grinned as Zevran returned, the suit and Rune’s bowtie in hand. “You can say that again,” He agreed easily as they made their way over to pay for the clothing. Admittedly, Ber’s wallet was significantly less happy than its owner as they left the shop, and it was even less happy when they left the shoe store three doors down. However, the expense was for a good cause, and with the way the three of them made their way back to the castle with the newly purchased clothing, one wouldn’t think it any hardship at all.