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!
Yrsa laughed, but cut it short as the motion of her belly moving still hurt, “Oh yes, a man,” she said, not quite getting Magda’s jest completely. She’d heard of women taking each other, although she’d only heard whispers. She herself had never felt drawn to another woman, “Maybe I’m being foolish but…I want him to earn my affection,” he voice got quieter as she ended her sentence, hardly believing she’d said such a thing out loud. Even so, she continued on, “I don’t like that I can just be handed over to a man simply because he wants me…I’d…like to choose…” like her new Parabolti friend had chosen her new husband.
Post by Magda Ivanova on Jun 10, 2024 18:51:40 GMT -5
“Not foolish, no,” Magda's voice was soft and sincere as she concluded her work, beginning to place gauze atop the ointment so it adhered, “Seeking change does not make one a fool. If that were the case, I’d say fools are the only ones to get anything done.” Magda chuckled at her own joke as she tugged down Yrsa’s blouse.
“Such a thing is more the custom among Nevermean men. While imperfect, there is much that Coheedsmen could learn from their ways…” Magda shrugged, “It’s worth consideration.”
Yrsa nodded to Magda’s words, clinging to them like a hungry man would cling to food. As a woman of Coheed, it was a difficult thing to be ambitious the way she wanted to be. That another woman would validate what she wanted…she only felt encouraged. She didn’t have to do only what her father wanted her to do.
“So that is how it is in Nevermere?” She asked, “Does that mean it’s better there? Or the men are better there than here?” She’d try to sit up, moving slowly.
Post by Magda Ivanova on Jun 14, 2024 13:52:15 GMT -5
Magda could see the look in the girl’s eyes. It’s one that she’d worn herself at that age—one of desperation for something else. Anything but the misery she’d had the misfortune to be born to. It made her smile.
“Better, yes. In many ways. As for the men…” Magda grinned, helping guide Yrsa to a sitting position, “Men are like wild dogs; ours are simply better domesticated than yours. More affectionate. Better behaved. But…” Magda sighed, “Dogs all the same.”
Magda considered Yrsa for a moment, pushing a strand of hair out of the girl’s face so long as she did not push her hand away. “I’d be willing to introduce you, if you like. I could use someone to assist me, someone with a feminine touch and not another military man. Stick close, and who knows…” Magda smiled, “Who knows who you might find.”
Men were dogs. That was an interesting way to put it, and it fit so well. From what she’d seen, men liked to rut, eat, and tussle. Just like dogs, “I like that comparison,” she laughed.
Yrsa considered Magda’s offer. It was so tempting. It would be an excellent opportunity, even she saw that. She’d be a fool not to take it—especially if she met someone who might get her out of there, or at least would treat her well. But then she thought of Imani’s offer to her so she could watch the Parabolti train without fear of her father interfering. Maybe there was a way to do both?
“I want to accept but,” how to word it? She was new to agreeing or rejecting things of her own will, “I’ve agreed to watch the children of the Parabolti while they train. Would I have time to do this while also being your, um,” what was the word she used, “assistant?”
Post by Magda Ivanova on Jun 18, 2024 10:02:35 GMT -5
Yrsa’s laugh was a sweet, tinkling sound that lightened Magda’s eyes. How had the rough hands of Coheed produced such a creature? It was a wonder. Magda watched Yrsa consider, eyes flickering to examine the lines of her face and the subtleties of her expression.
“There are other women who can serve as teachers and nursemaids,” Magda said with a flick of her hand. In fact, she had a few witches in mind to stand alongside their Coheedian counterparts, “This is better. This could give you more. But the real question is…” She tilted her head, “What is it you want, Yrsa?” Her name came from Magda’s lips gently, as if it were a delicate but beautiful thing to be handled with care.[/blockqutoe]
Yrsa was conflicted. She wanted so much to do both…how to choose? On one hand, if she did the job Imani asked her to do, she would be exposed to the Parabolti, and maybe even sneak in some training with them. On the other, working with Magda would open a lot of doors for her that she would not have been able to open on her own. She’d never had the power to actually choose which path she wanted before.
It was overwhelming.
“I…” Yrsa’s eyes fell to her hands. What did she want? No one had asked her so plainly before. Had she been asked that at all? What a heartbreakingly foreign concept, “I don’t know. I’ve never…” she rolled her lips together, “Can I think about it?” She looked up toward Magda, her face bunching up in a wince, knowing how insulting that question could be, “I-I want to give you an answer, but…I want to think on it for a few days.”
Post by Magda Ivanova on Jun 23, 2024 15:56:29 GMT -5
Magda had never fancied herself a collector, but seeing the pretty thing before her, she decided for one reason or another she would have her as her own. Perhaps she didn’t see her potential, but Magda did. The girl was a blank slate. She could be molded into whatever she needed to be, so long as the right potter’s hands were shaping the clay. Magda reached forward, laying a hand on the woman’s cheek and stroking it with her thumb.
“Of course…” Magda said, dropping her hand and placing it on Yrsa’s, “Take the time you need. And regardless of what you decide,” She smiled kindly, “You are welcome here. Always.”
Yrsa eyed the hand on her cheek. It felt like an affectionate gesture, one that a woman would give to her daughter, or a younger sister. Being the youngest child in her family, it was a role Yrsa was used to. The familiarity of the gesture soothed some of the uncertainty of the choices ahead of her.
The fact that she would not be shunned if she picked Imani’s offer over Magda’s was comforting. She offered a tentative smile, “Thank you. Even you offering me this means a lot to me.”
Post by Magda Ivanova on Jun 30, 2024 18:08:05 GMT -5
Magda had already made up her mind. From that moment on, whatever Yrsa wanted would cease to matter. Magda knew what she wanted; and she was determined to make her own. But still, Magda smiled. She batted her eyelashes demurely as she ran her thumb over the back of Yrsa’s palm.
“You and I are not so different, I think,” Magda said softly, “Both women made to adapt in a word made by men. Some women are broken by such a thing, others made into something stronger.” She tilted her head, looking Yrsa up and down, “I believe I’ve learned to tell one from the other.”
Yrsa had not been given so much attention before. That someone like Magda thought that Yrsa was anything like her…she simply could not fathom it. She was always meant to fade into the background and be a part of a warrior’s harem. She’d never liked being shoved into that particular corner, wanting more than being like one of many rugs to be passed from one owner to the next, “You really think I can be strong?” She thought of how the men from before had viciously kicked her and how she could do nothing more than stab one in the ankle, “I am not so sure. I am so small,” most people towered over her, “and I could only manage to puncture that man’s ankle…” she paused and remembered something about her knife, “Oh…” it had been a brief thought earlier, but through all the fuss, she’d forgotten…forgotten that she may have coated that blade in juice of nightshade berries, “That man…I’ve never actually….” She swallowed, “my knife may have been coated with nightshade…” her voice worked its way down to a whisper. She expected a reprimand despite how Magda seemed to have viewed the men’s behavior before.
Post by Magda Ivanova on Jul 6, 2024 12:49:46 GMT -5
Magda smiled at the girl’s confession with genuine delight. “Then he will have gotten what he deserved,” She shrugged, chuckling a little as if the man’s fate were a funny development rather than a possible death sentence, “But it will never be traced to you, I’ll be sure of it. As for you…” She held Yrsa’s chin, gaze leveling with hers.
“There is more than one kind of strength. I could never best someone with a sword, but true power will ensure you never have to.” Magda grew serious for a moment, laying a hand gently on the bruises that peppered Yrsa’s arm, “Your mind will always be your greatest weapon. There is nothing more dangerous than a clever woman…for the men hardly ever see them coming.” She rose, holding out a hand to Yrsa.
That Magda would see that Yrsa would not be implicated in a murder warmed her core. It was also interesting that she didn’t seem to see that man’s possible death as a bad thing. This pleased Yrsa, which surprised her, and yet it didn’t. She’d never liked that a man could just do with her as he pleased with no consequences. If those men had decided to force themselves on her, her father likely would have married her to one of them. She shivered at the thought.
Yrsa would hold Magda’s gaze as the other woman explained a different sort of strength to her. The sort of strength she described appealed to her greatly. Despite the shaky acceptance of the Parabolti, Yrsa wasn’t truly sure if she’d fit in with those women. She was small and meek, and did far better using her knives to cut plants and fauna instead of wielding a sword or axe against a foe. Instantly, Yrsa saw the door that Magda opened for her, saw what lay beyond the threshold. It made her hungry for it.
“Teach me,” she heard herself breathe, Imani’s offer to be part of the creche temporarily forgotten, “Teach me how to be a snake beneath the flowers.”
Post by Magda Ivanova on Jul 12, 2024 18:03:30 GMT -5
Magda would take Yrsa’s hand if she had not already and lift her upward to stand. She’d pull her close, fingers dragging along the woman’s cheek as if she were something incredibly precious. Desirable, to perhaps the most desired woman in Terra Nova.
“I will,” Magda whispered back with a grin, black eyes glittering, “And so much more.” She would lean in and kiss Yrsa on the forehead as if sealing a promise never to be broken. The moment passed, Magda would step back so that the door was open to her.
“If you are serious about my offer,” Magda said in a velvety voice, “Then return to me tomorrow…and our work will begin.”
Yrsa would stand when Magda tugged at her arm, although she would try to take a step back at the proximity of the other woman. Yrsa wasn’t sure what to think of the way Magda looked at her, being unable to read the motivation behind that certain amount of pleasure in her eyes. In a manner of speaking, it was like how a lot of the men looked at her, on the other hand, Yrsa felt as though Magda thought that she could be someone…someone important and worthy.
Magda kissed her forehead, and Yrsa almost felt as if some contract between the two. The young blonde wasn’t sure if such a gesture was something Nevermerans did after an agreement was made, or something that was purely Magda’s way of dealing with things. She couldn’t imagine any of the Coheed men being alright with a forehead kiss from another man.
She giggled.
“I am serious,” she nodded eagerly, “I’ll be here,” it was probably foolish to jump in without knowing exactly what her work would entail, but it had to be worth it if it meant that she could move in the shadows and have her own sort of power. She strode to the door, her injuries feeling much better than they had when she had hobbled in earlier. She paused at the doorway and turned around, “Until tomorrow then,” she hesitated, not sure if she was supposed to do something after that, but without any reference on the witch’s customs, she simply turned around and left for home.