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!
"the women of Cambria are stronger than the men of Coheed, almost twenty times stronger than the normal man." The words echoed in his head and his expression was quiet and pensive. What Odina had politely omitted was saying normal man instead of you Nevermere guys. The strength of Coheed warriors were already legendary and bloodthirsty beyond belief! Raff struggled to accept and understand living breathing humans as existing at exceptional levels. And to persuade people that could easily dismiss you for being childishly weak in comparison?!
Not a sound or a single word came out of him at Odina's statement. While Stormcrest was getting some admirable details that had him feeling like a proud big brother, Raff fully recognized that this kind of deep planning and insider knowledge was leagues above his realm of experience. The best thing he could do right now was listen and try not to get overwhelmed at the intel, and just as importantly, not show it on his face.
If Odina was any example of the Cambrian society, Terach was impressed and admittedly in awe that such a race of people existed. Those kind of Goddess like powers that women already had with magic, and equally if not even more physical strength to match it. Objectively, he fully recognized them as a superior society that sounded like something out of a fairy tale! Immense magical and physical prowess to such a supreme degree was incredible and the Lieutenant tried to keep his awe to himself. If he'd ever heard of a perfect place to train as a soldier, it would be Cambria.
Eyes fixed on some blank spot of the table in front of him, Ber listened to the answers offered to each of the questions that he and Terach had asked. Division of the Priestess role into Witch Doctor and Chieftess - or rather, Governor, he supposed - remained a possible outcome of the transition from Isolde to Odina. He couldn’t help but wonder how they would do that. No doubt Woodwick and the Princess and the higher ranking officials in Nevermere would decide who to assign to what post, but he hoped they would all have the wherewithal to do so in such a way that wouldn’t incite a second fight.
The Princess’s explanation of every Cambrian’s naturally enhanced abilities and senses made him even more keen to avoid physical confrontation if possible. Initial disbelief turned to something like the shade of helpless despair Ber had felt those few times that he truly considered how outmatched he would be when fighting the Eldouir and their Dresmondi.
A werewolf had ten times the strength of a normal man. Never mind worrying about something stopping him should he go flying: a similar blow from a Cambrian would simply rip him in half before he even made it into the air. Healing potions couldn’t fix that.
As the Princess described the tattoos that she had noticed, Ber looked over at Woodwick, remembered a conversation across a different table, and let out a quiet breath. What did he know? Although a subset of Cambrians, including their current leader, would likely contest the Princess taking over as Governor, they weren’t actively fighting the women there. Cambria was already under Nevermere’s domain, and after years of constant military presence, the Cambrians would know what to expect from the Nevermerean contingent of soldiers that now included Ber. They would know the consequences of directly challenging Nevermerean authority, which offered its own form of protection to the soldiers representing it, so the likelihood of him actually having to truly face down someone with twenty times his strength would be slim.
And slimmer still, if they could pull off some sort of trick with the All-Mother to end any fight before it even began. Woodwick and the Princess seemed to have differing opinions as to the feasibility of such a ploy, though the latter’s compliment and upward quirk of the lips had the ghost of a satisfied smile flickering across Ber’s face as well. It wasn’t every day that someone like him received praise from royalty. The distraction chased away some of the apprehension that the captain’s little mental exercise hadn’t managed to settle. Her subsequent suggestion, a continuation of his own ideas, chased away the rest.
He glanced between Odina Ellis and @warren . “We don’t have any idea what they took? Or how? Or when?” Like before, the questions were genuine. “What’s it like traveling from Cambria to Coheed? Whatever they took would have to be small enough to carry, probably discreetly, from one kingdom to the other.” He couldn’t imagine any Cambrian would let such a key part of their important ritual go without a fight.
Warren looked between the three, his face focused once more on the discussion at hand. He nodded somewhat, acknowledgement that he was listening. Then leaned up against and this time, tapped the table idly with the tips of his fingers. "I wouldn't suggest introducing the all-mother to those who have chosen not to get involved in the religion. It may be far too easy for someone to use it against us again in the future, as Isolde may be doing. But if we can turn it around on those who already believe in it, it may help prevent physical conflict during the transition."
The Captain didn't particularly like making plans without knowing as many factors as possible. They would arrive as if they were merely replacement soldiers sent to patrol as the last ones had done. The Cambrians had no reason to think Warren or Raff were anything other than normal soldiers, and Odina could simply be returning after her time in Nevermere. Though they couldn't hide that they were arriving with a significant amount more soldiers than usual, it would still take some time for Isolde to prepare. In that time, Warren and the others could collect what information they needed to make their move.
"The item itself, whatever it is, couldn't be too large. If one woman is wielding it for the purpose of the ceremony, it's as you've said, Mr. Stormcrest, most likely something small enough to be carried by one person. It would be very sacred to them, so it's not surprising that we have no idea what the item itself is. They wouldn't let just anyone see it, or use it. But..." he tapped his fingers again, thinking. "As most recent witch doctor, Isolde was responsible for it. That she lost it, and has yet to regain it, should have weakened her status among the others. It's a failure that has prevented every Cambrian woman since from their first blood ceremony. Even if we aren't able to recover the item while there, we have the resources to find it. It's a promise that Isolde cannot make, but Princess Ellis can. If Isolde could go into Coheed territory to retrieve it, she would have done so by now."
At the very least, it was shaping up to a few options, better than walking in and slaughtering everyone who opposed them, at least. "It will take them a few days longer to arrive, but Segeants @faylin and Kasper Van Zant are being sent to Coheed. We can contact them about the item once they hit land, ask them to look into it for us. Even without utilizing the All-Mother, if the Princess is the one to bring the item back, it's likely that many would support her."
Post by Odina Ellis on Jun 9, 2023 21:36:54 GMT -5
She once again addressed Berengar, "The item was took before the arrival of Nevermere, before the mountains were moved, during the great invasions by Coheed. Bellamy Rowenson was chieftain of Coheed and he had sent the chief of Bantu Siri, Cyril Jaggason, to invade us with his sons Kaalim and Rian," Odina spilled it all out, "Cyril came for whatever it was in overwhelming force. They used a small pass that Cambria and Bantu Siri used for when the women and men...you know," she didn't blush, she was just being polite for their sake, "They came and went, the Coheed warriors left behind were the ones left behind to 'keep us in line' wete the same ones Nevermere fought upon their arrival."
Raff nodded his head subconsciously, taking in Odina's words and related to the small mention of some of the Coheed names. He remembered how too many of the Coheedsmen had treated woman badly and it made him angry just to think about it. At the time his Paired partner Merk, had gotten a lotta trouble just for being a woman which didn't sit right with him. Nevermere witches came outta the womb slinging magic and learning as much as the men. It made them doubly strong but the Coheed guys just looked at them like nothing more than mindless breeding cattle.
His blue eyed gaze watched around the room, making sure the soldiers were paying attention. This was the kind of thing that Nevermere army had promised to help with and lend their soldiers to aid. The customs and politics of another kingdom weren't something everyone got an insider's knowledge of so he was glad she'd mentioned the celebration because that was the exact season they were heading into, making things extra crowded. But it at least gave them good cover to roam without as much notice. Although at only six feet, Raff knew he was child sized next to both the Cambrians and Coheedsmen.
Since it sounded like Stormcrest was getting in some good questions, Raff kept his mouth shut and his ears open.
Last Edit: Jun 10, 2023 14:31:10 GMT -5 by Deleted
Of the individuals seated around the table, Ber was by far the youngest and, as he’d spent much of his life concerned with more pressing matters that directly impacted him, likely the most disconnected with Nevermerean politics and history alike, let alone that of other former kingdoms. The Princess spoke as if the events and people she listed would have been landmarks in the soldier’s mind - and perhaps they ought to have been - but he had barely started his mandatory six when Cambria joined Nevermere. Twelve to thirteen year old Berengar Stormcrest had cared even less, if possible, for the politics of the world than the twenty year old now discussing them with people nearly twice his age.
Still, with some effort, he managed to tease out the relevant details without getting too lost in the grander scale of events: Coheed’s chief had sent his men through a narrow mountain pass specifically to steal this small item from under Isolde’s nose, so like Woodwick said, anyone who should have gotten the tattoos in the past - how many years ago was that? - didn’t get them. That meant that, like with the werewolf curse, everyone under a certain age would be different than everyone above that age. Alas, Ber didn’t want to do that math himself - “How old are the youngest Cambrians who have gone through that ritual?” - so someone else could instead.
Sometimes being the person of whom no one expected any knowledge was useful.
Regardless, Ber now thought he had a decent understanding of the situation in Cambria. Their overarching goal was to replace Isolde as Governor with Princess Ellis, and ideally they would be able to do so with minimal hostility because most of the women were twenty times as strong as he was and trained warriors. Though Woodwick cautioned against doing so too broadly, invoking the All-Mother was a tentative possibility to accomplishing their task with minimal bloodshed, as was investigating the whereabouts and returning this sacred talisman that had been stolen by Coheed. Oh, and the Cambrians really didn’t like men. Couldn’t forget that.
With a quiet exhale, he leaned back in his seat and let the information settle in his mind. Right now, he could think of no other pertinent questions that demanded asking, though he had little doubt that they would make an appearance at far more inopportune times. Apart from the obvious implicit threats to his physical well-being, Ber wasn’t too concerned. Cambria would doubtlessly be different than Skia, but if he was good at one thing, it was rolling with the punches.
"Anyone around your age or younger, Mr. Stormcrest. The first blood ceremony is not given at a specific age, so it may vary from girl to girl. Usually it comes between the ages of eleven to thirteen, but can be earlier or later. So those around twenty, give or take a few years, could have been left without the ceremony." That didn't encourage him much. Most of the women who would pose the most threat to the Nevermeran soldiers were older, but regardless he was confident enough that they would be able to complete the task.
The remainder of the information that Hadrian had given him rested in the back of his mind. It wasn't information he could share, and wasn't pertinent to the task at hand. So instead, with no more questions spawning, he looked to the group once more. "The majority of the soldiers will act as they usually would while in Cambria. The more soldiers that know, the more likely Isolde will find out before we have a chance to assess the situation. So all information spoken here today has been told to you on a need to know basis, and right now, we're the only ones who need to know. Keep it to yourselves. Understood?"
Once he got an affirmative on that, he'd nod. "Then, do any of you have any more questions before you're dismissed? Princess Odina Ellis, do you have anything further you'd like to say?"
Last Edit: Jun 11, 2023 20:30:26 GMT -5 by Deleted
Post by Odina Ellis on Jun 12, 2023 20:17:47 GMT -5
"No questions Captain, but I would like to add that until I'm Governor, I will be just Odina, if that's fine with you all?" she looked from Woodwick, to Raff, and Berengar.
All Raff could do was continue to breath and nod, as he had no idea what to expect. His only experience out of Skia was Coheed so there were just some things that no one really thought to ask about because it's taken for granted. Like getting your palm sliced in Nevermere was a tradition that everybody just knew, though he hadn't heard of the same in Coheed. Terach remained silent but nodded to the Princess and then Warren.
Last Edit: Jun 20, 2023 14:59:30 GMT -5 by Deleted
Post by Vesper Delvaux on Jun 20, 2023 14:59:38 GMT -5
Vesper was not someone that could easily be impressed and this was no different. She couldn't say with certainty that this particular group of people were the best ones for the job but, though she wouldn't say it aloud, she was hopeful that they would be. If they came back having successfully instated Odina as Governor then it would certainly be something they could use to further along their careers and increase their standing and respect among their fellow soldiers. It was up to them now.
Woodwick’s answer and subsequent instructions earned the captain a nod of understanding. “Yes, sir.” Ber considered himself rather skilled at avoiding conversation about certain subjects; he did not anticipate any issue with keeping this to himself as well.
He did not have any other questions to add, nor did he have a particular problem referring to the Princess simply as Odina, provided the others agreed to it. Ber couldn’t see how they wouldn’t. No one could turn down the request of royalty, unconventional though it may have been.
With the meeting winding down to a close, he would look to Woodwick for further direction or a dismissal.
Warren looked to each one of them, and once it seemed clear that everyone had settled their questions, he nodded. "Good. Then everyone will be required to refer to Princess Ellis as Odina as soon as we step off the boats. If anything new comes up before our departure, I'll reach out to all of you. Otherwise, you're dismissed."
Standing, Warren would move to the door and open it for Odina and Vesper, then remain inside of the room until Raff and Ber walked out. Once everyone was gone, he would exit as well.