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!
“We found each other,” Kester said, following his gaze the river otter, who paused in his play and peered back at them, head tilted. After waving a hand to tell him to continue entertaining himself, she turned back toward the Arynnite beside her. His curiosity about Walnut and dyrs in general was hardly surprising, if only because he was of Arynn Frey and a thirst for knowledge bound these people as tightly together as the companionship of a dyr did for Dresmondi. The problem, however, was that the magic that made dyrs what they were was rooted in souls - and Arynnites were weird about souls.
Kaveri, in a typical show of poor drunken decision-making, had already told one Arynnite - a girl named Blackwood - more than she needed to know about how closely the dyrs and Dresmondi were bound. Kester was not about to do the same, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t answer at least a few questions. He had, after all, brought them to the beach. So she offered Clovis a smile and said, “Don’t say that too loud or Walnut will get a big head.”
A little piece of ice, flung from the ocean, thunked her harmlessly in the side of the head. “I heard that!”
Glancing toward the waves, Kester rolled her eyes before turning back to Clovis. “What do you want to know?”
He loved to learn more about the Dresmondi's culture, and he was flattered that she shared a bit of it by telling him something about her dyr. He guessed there was much more behind it, but it was understandable that she didn't just straight up share every bit of knowledge. And perhaps she couldn't, even if she wanted to. She had been speaking a lot for someone who stated out with signlanguage, and he didn't want to force her to use her voice more than was comfortable for her. He laughed when she said it would go to his head, but he was surprised when I've flew from the sea. He knew they had some sort of element they wielded, but this was the first time he had seen it in action.
He looked at her when she asked what he wanted to know. "Whatever you want to tell me, really. I'm fascinated by dyrs, but of course it's something we're just not familiar with. He can manipulate water, then?"
Whatever she wanted to tell him. There was certainly a lot she could tell him, but she didn’t know how much she really wanted to reveal. It was easier to answer questions than to volunteer information herself. Luckily, however, he provided an easy opportunity for venturing down a harmless line of conversation.
Walnut, can you come here for a moment?
The river otter poked his head above the waves, peering over at them. “Sure, Kes!” Surrounded by water, he froze some into ice, then manipulated it into a path before him, which he ran and slid down until he reached the pair of humans. “What’s up?” He stood up on his back legs, curiously looking between the two of them.
A moment later, the ice that had formed his slippery path shattered into pieces that rose up into the air. They packed together tightly into a ragged sphere of ice before Walnut smoothed out the rough edges and briefly melted and refroze the shards into a single unit. Then the chiseling began - and it didn’t stop until a tiny, smiling otter head appeared. As the answer to what element Walnut controlled, the otter would offer it to Clovis with a grin.
Clovis looked at the sea when Walnut created a slide out of ice that he used to run/slide their way. So ice was his element. The man's face didn't show it, but he was impressed by the way the dyr manipulated the water, or well, ice. Once he reached them, he stood up on his hind legs and looked at them.
Clovis cringed physically (not the award kind but the physical reacting to something unexpected kind) when the ice shattered. He chuckled sheepishly, and felt a bit embarrassed that the shattering of the ice had spooked him. Then, the otter focussed on the ice and manipulated it into a little ice sculpture of an otter. He bend down and took the sculpture from Walnut, who had offered it to him.
"This is beautiful", he said, first looking at Walnut and then at Kester. "I wish I could keep it forever." He laughed for a moment before looking at the statue, which was already slowly starting to melt due to the heath of his hands. "It's very impressive what you're capable of, Walnut."
Walnut, of course, preened at the praise while Kester met Clovis’ laugh with a smile of her own. His awe reminded her of his cousin’s childlike wonder at similar displays of elemental magic, and now that his own face had brightened up with joy, she could more easily see the family resemblance. Since the suspicion with which she regarded Bowen did not so heavily cloud her perspective of Clovis, she found his amazement at what age considered mundane rather endearing.
The river otter refroze what had started to melt before approximating a bow.
“Could your people not do something similar?” She asked curiously, head tilted slightly to the side. “You have done so much else with your enchantments that freezing water into ice doesn’t seem like it would be that hard.”
"We could, yes, but Walnut's magic is different because it's a part of him, while er have to enchant items for it", he responded with a half-smile. Those dyr were magical creatures in itself. He didn't quite understand how they were different from the magic in Arynn Frey, but they were.
Clovis and Kester would stay at the beach a little longer, before he would excuse himself. He still had some business to attend to, after all.