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!
Using his muddy wet slippery right hand to ensure his left arm was too slick for her to hold, Raff slapped down onto Red's clutching hand like a hammer to dislodge her fingers. He stepped back swiftly and wasn't smiling anymore. But he was glad she was learning.
Post by Rhedara Shannon on Apr 5, 2023 18:44:21 GMT -5
Rhedara hit the ground, landing on her right hip , the unslapped hand reaching out to soften her fall landed painfully before it too slipped and made her hand slide out until she was bracing her weight over her forearm, "Damn it!" he hissed at the cold seeping through her clothes.
Well that plan did not work at all.
She shifted until she was kneeling and wiped the mud off her face with her sleeve. She wasn’t too happy about the mud on her face, but it’d wash…she just hoped it wasn’t in her hair. That would take longer to clean before she went on duty for the day.
She stood back up after she could see again, “Well that didn’t work.”
"No? Why wouldn't a short woman charging at the stomach of a tall guy while running over snow and mud not possibly work?" Raff didn't sound real happy this time.
"Less than five minutes ago, what'd I say? :Now do you continue on? Wait for me to move? Or talk your way through it? Find the best opening and use it."
He wiped his hands and arms on his pants to scrape the mud off and watched her with piercing blue eyes. Raff put his hands in his pockets as he frowned down at Red.
"What special easy clues might you have taken from what I said before that might have helped you not make this bad decision?"
He loved the enthusiasm, but not mistakes that could be easily avoided. Raff had literally offered her two solutions that she'd not listened to at all. Was he too soft on her? Had he encouraged her at the wrong times?
Post by Rhedara Shannon on Apr 5, 2023 19:54:57 GMT -5
She winced. When he put it like that, it was pretty dumb.
She thought back to what he’d said to her earlier. Something about her being short…no new comment there…something about visual differences and range…
Oh.
She actually slapped her own face with her hand, putting the mud right back on it, “Oh Terra Nova!” She dropped her hand and gestured toward his feet, “I was too busy looking down. I shouldn’t have moved at all, right? Let you come to me instead so you’re closer before I tried anything?”
You're a Lieutenant! Have some discipline! Raff thought, trying to rein in his temper. But when Red slapped her own face with mud and snow, making it squelch loudly, he couldn't hold back the laughter. How could an adult be so damn adorable?! He threw back his head and laughed, unable to hold it back any longer.
"Yes partly." He nodded, affirming her answer but it wasn't complete. "My left hand was out to look at so you paused, moved to the right and then paused again. You had literally three opportunities to change strategies and confuse me before approaching. You weren't sneaky enough--fightin dirty when someone least expects it could save yer life."
"You can make a person react to you--you're dynamic Red. Whether someone loves or hates you--use that mouth and talk your way through to control a situation. Yer not stupid-not by a fuckin long shot!"
Raff moved his long frame over to where Red had started and made a bunch of waving gestures. From his distance, he explained,
"Ya coulda gestured me over at any time--forcing me ta move forward to control the situation." He then moved to her spot to the right and stopped, and looked at her.
"Ya coudla popped in low kicking at my legs-not ma stomach and knocked me out in the mud."
He then moved to where Red landed in the mud.
"Ya coulda landed in the mud, with yer feet up and still got ma shins or worse! Get it now?"
Post by Rhedara Shannon on Apr 6, 2023 21:14:15 GMT -5
The laughter was a good sign. Maybe. At least he didn’t seem mad at her anymore.
“Fighting dirty,” she nodded, liking the sound of that. Wasn’t something she’d ever really thought about doing too much, but maybe that was the result of the things they taught during training. Teach everyone to fight fair and maybe they’ll learn to fight dirty. That could work for her. She’d despaired of her size for years, but if she could turn the tables in her favor…the idea was so delicious she could have drooled.
She could make people react to her because she was dynamic? It was an appealing word, but she wasn’t quite sure if she got it, “So I’m versatile? Provoke whoever it is by using however they feel about me against them?” She thought of the night she met him at the tavern, but her mind didn’t go straight to the happenings of the alley. He’d just sat there and she’d practically thrown herself at him because she wanted to get a reaction out of him. Interesting. She’d have to see if she could use that at a later point on him during more…pleasant things than combat training.
“Yeah I got it. I should be more opportunistic,” now that he’d pointed all the things she could have done, she’d seen how uncreative she’d been.
He waited until she had fully talked it out and got it completely worked through.
"Precisely. Think back to a certain night not so long ago, and how he might have made you come to him... It's all about power plays. When you let someone manipulate you once, they'll keep doing it just because they can." Raff said, giving Red something to really think about.
He turned to look over at the sun's position and saw the other soldiers leaving in pairs and trios, putting away their practice weapons as they moved by the rack.
"Ya ready ta get cleaned up and have breakfast now? Or did ya wanna wear even more mud before shift?"
Post by Rhedara Shannon on Apr 7, 2023 19:25:02 GMT -5
“I was just thinking about that actually,” she raised an eyebrow, “Interesting how some tactics can be used when the goal isn’t to fight.” He’d certainly been the one in control that night…not that it had ended in a way she disliked in any definition of the word. The last thing that he said probably should have bothered her. Was he saying he’d keep manipulating her? If the result of him manipulating her was being able to spend time with him or to do wicked things with him in various states of undress, then she wasn’t about to complain. She liked being around him…despite the cold mud he’d thrown in her face.
“I want to keep going but,” she also looked at the retreating soldiers then looked at all the mud that was splattered on her, “I can’t meet with my superior looking like this either,” he’d probably have her clean the whole castle with a paintbrush.
Raff could practically hear the wheels spinning in Red's brain at his casual comments. So she figured things out.
"Making people come to you instead of chasing them around, keeps things balanced, in all forms of power. Does a Captain chase around his or her underlings? No. They come to him or her, because that's how true power works. Did ya run screaming and chasing me through the tavern? Nope. There's an old saying that a person forced against their will is of their own opinion still. Ya can guide people with teaching, but ya prove that it's not a hundred percent. Ya did what ya wanted out in the yard here, because ya have free will. That applies in all aspects of life Red. Now let's get cleaned up and get some grub huh?"