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!
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on Apr 4, 2023 15:15:16 GMT -5
[ Made for @alys ]
The throne room ordeal was finished. The culprit of the largest crime was exposed and killed. It was a sloppy way to wrap up the situation, but at least it was wrapped.
Cassian, accompanied by the squad of witches, left the commotion and went to his study, sending one of them back to retrieve Alys.
Nothing like this had happened in Nevermere before. It was, quite frankly, embarrassing. Cassian didn’t know who to blame, but if nothing changed then he could only blame himself.
With Bex handled, the next place he looked to take care of was the roles closest to him. His witch didn’t occupy the same capacity as the one before her had. Alys had always chosen to do more. Now, however, Cassian deduced that more wasn’t what she needed.
He would be at his desk when she entered, something about that chunk of wood creating a very distinct separation between him and the woman who had once been…more. More to him. More in general. His expression was neutral with a hint of displeasure, one someone as familiar with him as Alys would surely detect.
Rather than waiting for her to initiate the conversation, Cassian would wait for her to approach his desk and then begin:
“What happened in the ballroom?” He wasn’t talking about the werewolf, of course. Surely she’d deduce that. There was a scene before the man was turned, and that was the one he expected an answer for.
Alys was still unsettled on the ending of what happened, she didn’t feel it was done. How did they know for sure it was only the now deceased captain? It made her shift uncomfortably. The guard who found her didn’t come by surprise, and she came almost immediately to the summons, like she usually did. But what was not usual was the tension of the air when she entered the room and the separation between them. Or perhaps she just hadn’t ever noticed it as much as she did now following this incident.
She greeted him as was expected, and it would be as she got closer that he started a question as she did, “How is she-,”. Alys came to a stop and took a moment to try and decide what part of the night he wanted her to explain. Thankfully, with all the adrenaline that had been pumping through her that night, the potion had mostly worn off.
“Regan approached our group and promptly told us of your wish that Zevran and Rune were immediately removed.” Because there had been no tact to her approach at all. “There was no politeness in the command, and both Zevran and the other soldier with us were not exactly happy with the demand and when Regan went to physically move Zevran, which would have effectively caused a larger scene, I went to step in. That was not the way to handle that. He could have been simply asked. Others found it within themselves to get involved and almost immediately, before much else could be defused, was when the other soldier was turned.”
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on Apr 6, 2023 12:36:46 GMT -5
Cassian listened, as stone faced as ever. It wasn’t an explanation, it was a defense, with an accusation riding just under the surface.
Cassian had been in the ballroom. Only one member of “her group,” as Alys chose to call it, had raised their voice, and it hadn’t been Regan. But clearly there was an investment here that transcended the actual happenings of the situation.
“And what is your involvement with Zevran and this group?” His eyes were fixed on hers.
“I was having conversation with Zevran and the soldier when we were approached. Zevran and Rune have been training with some of the soldiers, and he has been taking lessons with me on reading and writing, and some of the ways of Nevermere. He seems to have made some friends along the way with some of the soldiers.” This felt like an interrogation, and while it might have sounded like a defense, she had been the one face to face with the situation.
“Is she okay?” Clearly speaking about Regan. While the two were not close friends, not by a long shot, there was a protectiveness and almost possessiveness over Regan. Even if there had been a confrontation between her lack of trying to handle things in a quiet way and Alys perhaps over reacting a bit to the way Regan reached for Zevran, she still worried over the younger witch.
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on Apr 12, 2023 14:44:53 GMT -5
Cassian listened. That was all he could do. No, that was all he chose to do. There might have been something niggling in his brain, a follow up question or perhaps something else, but he ignored it. It hadn’t been considered, and Cassian rarely spoke things that hadn’t been churned in his mind for at least hours, if not days.
The only problem was, Cassian had been in the ballroom. More than that—he was the king. He had two eyes and two ears, he could witness things himself, and there were always reports or gossiping nobles who were more than happy to fill him in on the going ons in the kingdom. This wasn’t about what he knew so much as it was about what Alys would choose to tell him. And she’d chosen.
“We aren’t here to discuss Regan.” He said it calmly, but a storm brewed in his voice. “The Captain Commander approached me recently inquiring after your werewolf form.” It was a secret. At least, it was supposed to be. But she had told Logan. She had told Regan. And now, Cassian had come to find, she had told Hadrian. Who else? Who else had Alys taken Cassian’s secret to? Did she truly think it was hers to reveal?
“And after tonight, now all of Nevermere will know.” Did she care? Was she satisfied? An incantation would have taken care of the attacking werewolf, but instead she’d lost control—that was what he had to assume—and turned in the middle of a ballroom.
He hadn’t asked a question. He wanted to hear what she had to say.
Her head snapped back a little, as if Cassian had reached out and struck her with his words. “Not here to discuss her?” She couldn’t help the way her voice pitched. “I’m worried about her.” Alys felt her brows furrow slightly, only for her to suddenly understand what his focus was on, instead of the newest additional to them.
“You sound displeased.” She pointed out, “there was a time you told me that I shouldn’t hide, before I was your witch. That Nevermere should know what I am capable of. They don’t even know now the full capability.” Even her speechless witchcraft had never really come to light. “I went to meet the threat head on, not toss an uncontrollable incantation into a chaotic crowd. Or risk a curse causing more damage than needed.”
Alys tipped her chin slightly higher. “None of them know you were the reason behind my werewolf form. Regan didn’t until you showed her or told her yourself,” she wasn’t there. So she didn’t know how it happened. Hadn’t asked. Her eyes flashed to him, as if she was adding some equation in her head. “The Captain Commander wants more of us… witch werewolves.” She concluded in a lower voice.
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on May 11, 2023 8:14:56 GMT -5
Cassian felt as if he was seeing Alys for the first time. Had he let his attraction and the subsequent romance between them blind him? Or was it that a position of leadership exposed what was lacking? She had always executed her tasks well. They had been simple: stand guard. Protect. Be ready. But when faced with more, she had shown and was even now showing just what her weaknesses were.
Cassian felt a fool.
Alys spoke and he remained silent. The silence remained when she finished. There was little more hope for this conversation. Alys had chosen to lie, to argue, to be defiant, and for what?
Had her trip to Dresmond compromised her, Logan’s death, or the Dresmondi? Or had she always been…this?
The disappointment he was feeling didn’t show in his expression, but perhaps it softened his brow, a resignation.
“If it hadn’t been made clear before, allow me to make it clear now: you are not to, under any circumstances, discuss or entertain discussion about our werewolf forms with anyone.
She didn’t understand. She clearly remembered the day she was thrown into a spontaneous match with the previous King’s Witch. She remembered the words he spoke because they had echoed in her head for days and weeks… months afterwards. “...you are a different kind of witch, Miss Roggar. You turn into a wolf...and you can cast without words.” had she been so wrong at what he had actually meant? What her duel with Sabine had meant to be? Not her wolf… not her wordless casting…
The second emotional blow showed on her face, her eyes widening slightly at the tone… but mostly his look. Disappointment. His look always found a way to spear right through her at times. Her eyes pricked, and she found herself casting her eyes down in submission. She hadn’t felt more lost than now, cast aside in many ways, even with her trying to find ways back every day. Her attempts before Dresmond, after, full moon, and up on the wall with Regan… she swallowed and spoke. “Yes, my King.” She felt as if she had just been cursed to silence, as if she felt all the words she might have ever breathed about herself… her magic… get sucked away in an instant.
She wasn’t going to grovel, but she found a part of her weak as she let the next part out. “I’m sorry,” maybe she was more lost than she had realized. “I won’t speak on any of it again.” A part of her, perhaps the small wolf who prowled the edges of her, hung its head. She knew she couldn’t exactly erase the knowledge now, but she could remind quiet… she could lie and say that the wine or air had been cursed… yet she didn’t voice it. What she was scared of now… was the push she might get to be distanced from him again. She didn’t think she’d survive it this time.
“I want to make it up to you.” Her dark eyes raised to him. Determined. She had always wanted to help Cassian and his reign. Always. Even when it tore at her and Logan, even when it placed her in foreign lands. “Please.”
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on May 14, 2023 2:53:54 GMT -5
[blockquoteThere had certainly been a misunderstanding along the way. He did value her for all that she offered, and praised the accomplishments of the witch before him, but spurring her to be great and encouraging her to spill secrets were two different things. Cassian was a man with many secrets, a man of mystery, and there was a power in the unsaid.
Her shift from defensive to submissive was abrupt, like a pup that wasn’t exactly sure where to place its paws. Another day he might have felt something for her plight, but tonight was not a night for pity. Not after the layers of revelation that had unfolded in the ballroom, Alys’ very public display only one of many.
“For now,” he said, this time on the heels of her words, “lay low. Brew potions in your study and spend time with your children. Do not train, do not socialize. Give me time to fix…” he trailed off, because this wasn’t just about her. This was about the entirety of the military, which was, by extension, Nevermere. To fix Nevermere. Words he couldn’t even speak in the moment as his mouth snapped shut, his jaw clenched, and his eyes lowered from Alys to something behind her.
She knew she wouldn’t like the answer to how she could try and right things. No training, no socializing outside her children, stay in her room. Punishment, in a way. But a far better punishment than it could have been, or possibly could be later. She nodded but it was how his eyes fell from her and seemed to look off into the nothingness behind her. Or perhaps he was waiting for someone else to appear, which made her glance over her shoulder at the shut door before back to him.
“You aren’t alone,” she said it softly, almost under her breath. “Not when I’m here.” Too much, she knew it was, but damn her if she didn’t want to reach for him. So she tucked her hands behind her back and folded them there. “You know where to find me,” that wound be the rest of her words as she waited for dismissal, signaled by her silence though her eyes didn’t dart anywhere but him. If he had another task, he’d ask now. Or leave her to remain standing there if he wasn’t quite done.
In possession of a magical necklace that wards off offensive magic attacks against him, a ring that allows him to suppress magic, and can turn into werewolf at will.
Post by Cassian Rainecourt on May 26, 2023 12:52:18 GMT -5
Cassian felt as if he was drowning in the weight of the tasks set out before him. Before them—those that kept the cogs of Nevermere turning. Alys seemed to be least of his problems, though her proximity to him made her the first he had decided to tackle.
Her words had his eyes snapping up to her face. He understood what she meant, but he didn’t believe her. She had already left him in a profound way. He was king. He was always alone, even when surrounded in a room.
But rather than arguing it, he nodded, and because he didn’t have words anymore, he made the slightest gesture with his hand that served as his dismissal.
No more words left him, and even though it made her want to press, she only found herself letting out, “I-,” before she pressed her lips together and tucked her chin to her chest. Looking down at the borrowed clothing she had found along the way to the throne room where Bex had lost her life.
Her body dipped in a bow, skirting not something on her, which made her feel like a curtsy would feel ridiculous. Her eyes remaining downcasted for a moment more before she gave him one last look. Phrases and promises… so many unspoken words wrapping her tongue and crowding her throat. Swallowing hard, she decided to listen to him now, lay low, and go back to her office.