wcnderingsovls is a dependent rpg blog for nocturniafm lovingly penned byย em !
aeliana elarion: twenty-nine years old & lady of moira castle [ intro / dash / visage / musings ]
rhyaenna caldrithen: twenty-seven years old & lady of celembron [ intro / dash / visage / musings ]
lorencio almara: forty-nine years old & ruling lord of crowreach [ intro / dash / visage / musings ]
setting: somewhere near the grounds of elaris keep
featuring: aeliana elarion & lukesh tenelith @brntsgld
the sands in heliophra seemed to stretch for miles, and even as the sun set over the horizon, it retained its heat long after it had passed. aeliana had no need for a cloak in this weather, so she had shimmied into her lightest-weight dress and set out for a walk near elaris keep. she enjoyed re-connecting with her most favorite ladies of the court, but she could not stay inside for one moment longer when the outside beckoned her.
she followed the paths, having learned her lesson from straying too far, and it led her towards the mouth of a lake. she squealed in delight, unabashed, as she appeared to be the only one there, and made quick work of taking off her shoes. aeliana bunched the skirt of her dress in her hands before dipping her feet into the glistening water. she expected to yelp at the cold, but it was tepid, welcoming. she stepped further in, up to her ankles, but an unexpected wave appeared suddenly and splashed her dress.
aeliana uttered a... minor expletive that she would not otherwise say in the presence of agreeable company, but she quickly forgave the water for its treachery. from the corner of her eye, she noticed the sudden presence of another and a blush bloomed across her cheeks. embarrassed, she tried to regain her air of regality by squaring her shoulders and raising her head high, but it proved rather unconvincing when she appeared as she did.
"i don't know what you heard, but i can assure you it wasn't me." if she had more time, she surely could've come up with a better lie. "i think it was a seagull. i heard they have recently developed speech." aeliana shrugged like it was common knowledge, saying, "the wonders of nature are truly extraordinary." just as she said it, another wave crashed into her and she uttered the curse word again, this time even louder.
once she managed to regain her bearings, she sneaked a sheepish glance towards lukesh. "okay, so it was me." she stepped closer to the shore and the sand warmed her between her toes. "what will it take to have this stay between you and me, milord?"
setting: the greenroom within elaris keep
featuring: aeliana elarion & ophelia verathorm @celcstine
flowers could be tempestuous things. they required the proper sunlight, water, and soil to grow. luckily, there was more than enough sunlight in heliophra. it illuminated everything it came across, and while aeliana could not withstand the sunshine as she was not borne with the ability to walk in the sun, she could delight in the fruit of its labor. the plants that grew here blossomed in the humidity that clung to the air, and the heat saturated through every article of clothing aeliana wore, even when the moon had risen to take the sun's place. that was why aeliana found herself in the small sunroom attached to the castle, near its gardens. there was where the other flowers bloomed, the ones who required more attention, needed extra care, and a loving hand.
she was gently caressing the waxy leaves of a plant that grew along a trellis when she heard footsteps behind her. aeliana turned her head to meet their gaze. when her teal eyes settled upon ophelia, she could not help the small grin at being in her presence. it was instinctive, as easy to her as breathing. what was it about lady verathorm and flowers? it seemed whenever they came across one another, it was when they were surrounded by them. two of her favorite things: flora and ophelia. ophelia and flora. she would not choose one over the other, as they were both dear to her, but if pressed, aeliana knew which would win. she tried not to think on why at that very moment.
"to what do i owe a visit from the future crownwearer of nocturnia?" it was not said in jest, nor with malice; she held nothing but respect and admiration for the older woman's ambitions, if a touch of worry. ophelia could withstand anything that came her way, but it did not mean aeliana would not have concern for her wellbeing.
setting: a terrace within elaris keep
featuring: aeliana elarion & cai elarion @springscngs
the heliophran air was warm, but not oppressive. it enveloped all the velkynar in its embrace. it was unlike anything aeliana had ever experienced, but she graciously welcomed the change in scenery heliophra afforded. being back in morkhul had not settled her nerves as she had hoped. rather, it stirred more questions that she had yet to find answers for. it seemed like she was not alone in that respect.
as they sat on a terrace and enjoyed the balmy evening, aeliana's eyes danced between her brother and the book on her lap. she had long ago stopped reading and only kept up the farce to allow for a few moments of quiet while she figured out how she wished to broach the subject. something weighed on cai's mind and he bore the weight of it all on his own. she had not prodded when they were home because she had her own thoughts to wrestle, but now that they were in heliophra, whatever was bothering cai had followed him to this hollow. what could it be?
a maid of house altinsoy broke the seal surrounding the elarion siblings to set a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses before them. as she went to fill the glasses, aeliana spoke up. "that is alright. we can take it from here." she offered the lady a kind smile, "thank you so much." the other bowed before leaving them as they were. aeliana closed her book and set it on the table. she set a glass in front of cai and then herself, serving him his drink first. after all, he was still her baby brother. she would always dote on him like this so long as he let her.
"it is lovely here, isn't it?" she commented idly. it would not make for fruitful conversation, but it was a start. "so unlike home - but maybe that is for the best. you seemed like a beast in a cage when we were all sent back to our own hollows." aeliana finished pouring him the lemonade and then focused on serving herself. "i didn't know you had grown so fond of vallarion." after all, that was where they were stationed prior to being in morkhul. "or... was it someone in vallarion?"
placing the pitcher down, she raised her glass and took a small sip. it was sweet and tart; a perfect lemonade. her gaze rose to meet cai's expectantly. "well, brother?"
he knew its length and the silken-smooth texture of it like the back of his own hand, by now -- slipping it betwixt the pads of his thumb and forefinger, as if the feel of it could give shape to all it represented. a mere ribbon, used to contain glossy locks -- not to mention, other, creative uses -- and like a zealot, a madman, he had taken to worshipping it in recent weeks. had she noticed it was missing? a part of him found the notion ludicrous, of course she had. a quieter, timid voice, cautioned that his opinion was entirely too high of himself, as it had always been, and that rhyaenna caldrithen would have spared no thought to a single silken ribbon missing from her collection. when he approached her one balmy afternoon, heliophrian air rippling with something he could not quite place -- he had displayed the ribbon for her to see, without abashment. "it kept me company in morkhul." his voice was flatter than what irksome charm he usually adopted. weighted, again, by tragedy. "but it has served its purpose, now. it no longer smells of your hair." he proffered it, unsure if she would care to take it back. "what compelled you to enlist your name?" the question landed abruptly, without guile. "i do not doubt your capability. i only seek to understand. i have never... grasped the pull of the crown. not when the price strikes me as one's own agency -- what little we all possess thereof."
rhyaenna did not care for much in this world. she cared for herself and for her mother, and that was enough. it had always been enough. however, many things at once dawned on her as she set foot on heliophran ground again. the first: her life had not been entirely her own. until now, she had lived with one sole purpose in mind. she would succeed in what her mother could not. she would raise them both from the ashes of obscurity that being a second-born shrouded the elder caldrithen in. but -- rhyaenna had not always wanted that, had she? she could not think of a time when she hadn't been working towards their common goal. it was embedded into her earliest memories - the rigidity in structure she was raised. there may have been love, but most of all, there was control. she learned how to walk and talk and act in the way that would attract the most worthy candidate for her hand, and so long as they had a reputable name and a title to inherit, they would serve in her mother's bigger purpose. rhyaenna was never meant to be the one with power; she was always meant to fall in line behind someone else: either her mother or her spouse.
the second, and larger, thing to dawn on her: it had not always been just she and sloane. no, there had once been rรฉn jiรฉ. and he loved them. he loved them as if they had set the stars in the sky themselves. in the warmth of heliophra, she could feel his embrace around her. if she closed her eyes, she swore she could smell the cloves and sandalwood that had always clung to his person. all around her, there he was. i am here. i am here, yue. but then she would open her eyes and she would wake all on her own. he was not here and had not been since that night two years ago when the darkness had taken him swiftly and suddenly. the last time she was in heliophra, they had woken early to watch the sun set over the horizon. they loved to look upon the clear night sky afterwards. he would name each star and the constellations they made up before pointing to the moon. he would say, and that one is you, my little moon. you are bigger than all the stars in this sky. you will be the one to guide us when we are lost. you will always be there. and so will i.
and yet when she was here, he was nowhere to be seen. it shouldn't have surprised rhyaenna that he lied to her. he was a man, after all.
that entire time she was lost in thought, she held tightly onto the ring she wore around her neck, held in place by a thin silver chain. it did not belong to lady rhyaenna, but it could have just as well with how she hadn't removed it since she had 'borrowed' it from its original owner. when her fingers traced the familiar engraving, what remained of her heart settled, no longer a hummingbird flapping its wings, but a calming sea that ebbed and flowed and crashed against the heliophran sand. there was no threat to bare her teeth towards. she could simply be. even as the owner in question stepped before her and revealed to her the ribbon she thought she had lost, she did not snap. she did not pounce. she simply let her eyes roam over the man who had broken her heart appear before her like a vision she could only conjure in her mind.
she reached for the offering and did not flinch when she felt her fingers skim against his own. his palms were smooth, warm. strong, too. she remembered how they had once worshipped her body like a temple, but cai had alluded to those days being long behind them. and now he had admitted to taking a piece of her to keep just for himself. she didn't know what it meant. was he finally coming to pray before her altar? rhyaenna should have smiled, for she was victorious in the end. she had wanted him to care once. she wanted proof that he had been as affected by her as she was him, but now that it finally stood before her, it felt hollow. this all did. "that is where you and i differ. you see it as constricting of my agency," she said as she met his gaze only for a moment before settling it back onto the horizon. "i see it as finally setting me free." rhyaenna did not elaborate. she took the ribbon into her hand and thought of how cai had kept it all this time. for the briefest moment, she had wondered, hoped even, that he was the reason for its disappearance, but she hadn't thought of what she would do if it had been true.
"is that all?" she asked plainly. with her free hand, she rested it over her chest. underneath her palm she felt the indent of the ring. she couldn't think of what she did next, lest she lose her nerve. with one sharp tug, rhyaenna broke the chain. a hummingbird fluttered its wings against her ribcage. "are you here for this?" she asked as she held the chain high enough for him to see his signet ring, the very one she had taken in her library what seemed like a lifetime ago now. she wanted to close her fist around it. she wanted to hold onto it tightly so he could not pry it out of her grasp. she wanted to wear it always so that a part of him would stay near her heart, but she did not taunt him by keeping it out of reach. instead, she held it out to him like an offering. like an ending.
Heliophra had been a favorite place to wander to outside of his own hollow, and Evandris decided he would not allow much to dim his demeanor when he was there. His father had decided long ago how the Elarions were to act in regards to the crownwearer โ with a loyalty and reverence that Evandris felt only suited those he truly felt at ease with. And those were a few hand picked by the young lord himself, not candidates who were chosen by ruling lieges who scarcely knew the true natures of those they deemed worthy, or a motley crew who put their own names out there for some ill fated grab for glory. Regardless, House Elarion were the stalwart companions of a throne with an ever changing face. It hadnโt mattered who sat upon it, Aether swore allegiance to that individual and swore his family had just as staunch a devotion to them.
Evandris never quite enjoyed this farce.
He had been known for a small personal jest, of jovially greeting the crownwearer as cousin. Once as a child he tried to curry their favor with dulcet singing and his cherubic charms, of wanting them to be just as much of his family as the rest of House Elarion. Now as an adult, he just endured their presence until they met an untimely death and the whole process happened again. Until a new โcousinโ was crowned and paraded upon that gilded throne, and then met a gruesome demise. And then the process would commence again. Cousin after cousin after cousin. What a wearisome cycle, one that felt ridiculous. For months now Moira had sat empty, and they were the sole stewards. The ruling family in their coveted castle, wielding a power that was not solely theirโs. Even if the council, which House Elarion held a seat upon, pulled at the strings attached to the new unfortunate soul to find such a burden upon their head as the mantle of crownwearer, it did not change the fact that House Elarionโs keep belonged to another.
If he had given himself the proper time to think and reflect upon his melancholy, maybe he would have understood that the wanderlust that lead him to the warm hearth of taverns and inns across the land was a result of trying to seek some home for himself somewhere beyond Moira and the politics of court. But Evandris Elarion was never one for self reflection. If he saw himself beyond that shallow glimpse of his visage upon a mirror, then he would likely go crazy at his own insecurities being brought to light. Or how dreadfully unhappy his courtly life made him. Instead he could pretend that he found an endless peace and happiness at the bottom of a pint or between the sheets of anotherโs bed.
It was on such a thought that he had been at that particular inn, instead of in the chambers assigned to House Elarion, seeking a corner of this world to have just for himself for one splendid night. Before decisions were made, before the sodding parade continued. With his lute in hand, and the loveliest tenor heard throughout the hollows, he had corralled a drunken group in a winsome song, until their words were too slurred and they turned from melodies to poetry and inevitably to jests that would not suit the crowd he was normally rubbing elbows with. His mother would blanch at the foul innuendos escaping his lips then, which only spurned him on in amusement. And he had convinced himself, in a buzzed stupor, that this was happiness. Right then, he was at his most happy.
Their merriment was interrupted by another boisterous voice, a round of drinks falling into the hands of a lordly fellow. Cheers erupted across the ale room, as any drunkard would delight at not having to spare a coin for their next drink. Evandris had been sober enough to not just catch the brief toast, but the meaning behind the words. That ever changing visage of crownwearer. Heโd known it quite well. A small sound, half amused and half dejected, fell from him, but it was drowned out in another drunk melody as his crew came full circle to singing again. He did not accompany their warbles, slinking away from the group to get a fresh drink from the burly velkynar manning the bar.
When his eyes had caught Lord Almara, it was with a bow of recognition that he greeted the other, awaiting a frothy mug to be set before him. โ Iโm here making friends, โ he said, a nod of his head back towards the drunk singers. The lyrics were unrecognizable, a jumbled mess of syllables and sounds. โ I do not think their future lies in being minstrels but entertainment they do provide. And what brings you here, sir? Your speech leaves little by ways of โcelebrationโ. Unless you are truly so morbid. โ A flash of understanding flashed through cornflower eyes as he accepted a drink and took a hearty sip.
lorencio did not glance back towards the drunkards in the corner of the room singing off-tune to songs they were surely butchering. while any other moment he would delight in their company, not often did he have the company of an elarion, let alone the heir to morkhul castle himself. lorencio had spoken with evandris' father in passing once or twice, but their conversations strictly consisted of lord almara telling the elder elarion where exactly he could stick himself, the council, and all their unfounded glory.
but lorencio had not extended the ire towards his children; at least he hadn't yet. they seemed to fall in line with their father, but the elder almara knew it was to be expected within families such as theirs. they were never allowed to form an opinion outside of what was positioned for them, but he had heard of the rebellious streak of the eldest elarion. taking his lute and singing all around different hollows, bedding anything with a pulse; it was not suitable for someone of his reputation.
try as the young boy did, he would never be able to outrun his name. it was his burden to bear. so he could act the part of bard with no worries in the world, but once the council had found a new ass to warm the seat in morkhul, evandris would have to come home and fall in line. it was almost enough for lorencio to pity him. almost. "did i offend, lord elarion?" he asked as he turned to face him. "you, of everyone, must be overjoyed that the end is in sight." lorencio added, "soon, your home will no longer be yours but that of the crownwearer's once more." he smiled, but it was not kind. mocking, more like.
"what affection you elarions have for the seat. your father must be so proud."
while the lady caldrithen had looked poised and collected on the outside, internally she was a wreck. it had been nothing but silence between she and her daughter since their confrontation in the gardens, and she suspected the silence would only grow. sloane could not own up to her mistakes regarding rhyaenna, nor would she accept anything less then an apology from how the girl acted while they were hosting the nobility of nocturnia.
and so, silence. separate carriage rides to heliophra. as well as separate sleeping arrangements. all of that paired with her daughters almost childish decision to put herself in the running for crownwearer - a decision sloane was convinced was made out of spite - had the woman unable to sleep.
she would blame it on a new environment, but as she walked the familiar halls of elaris keep, sloane knew it was something deeper. before she could name it, she came upon a man she knew too well. one she kept at arms length when in public. but now they were alone. she would not be so childish to assume no one was watching, not after how she instructed her own staff. his statement had her frowning. partially due to his mouthful, but also at the reminder of her child. feeling another wave of frustration run through her, she snatched the unbitten roll out of his hand and tore into it. "interesting how you can look upon that opportunity and recognize it for what it is, a death sentence, and yet she claims to be old enough to make her own decisions, and yet cannot do the same."
she too a bite and then commented, "you look as though you've not slept in days." it was not an insult, simply an observation. what had he been up to?
at any other moment, this would have been the most opportune time to make a jest at sloane's expense, but she seemed on the verge of biting someone's head off. lorencio would do everything in his power to ensure it was not his own. he did not often voice his opinion where it pertained to sloane's only daughter for he knew fuck-all when it came to parenting. even being the eldest, he often thought of his siblings having raised him. but she was confiding in him about rhyaenna, and he knew she meant the absolute world to sloane. therefore, he would help. he would crawl on his knees until they were bloodied, if it would ease her worry. "when you are young, you are careless," he reminded her. "you don't even want to know what i was getting up to at her age," lorencio shook his head. in fairness, he did not remember very much from that age, but that was a sign in itself, was it not?
"the council has yet to say how they will choose. for all we know, there is a way to get her dropped from the race." after all, public opinion would likely sway the council's favor. if rhyaenna was unfit to be crownwearer, then they would have to disqualify her. all it would mean was sloane betraying her own daughter, but if she wished for someone else to pierce the knife to rhyaenna's back, then lorencio knew any number of people who could do so with only a subtle reminder of what he held over them. "what can i do?" loren asked as he stepped closer to sloane. it was far closer than she would ever allow under the public eye, but no one was in sight. he set the roll he forgot he had been holding on the table and took his free hands to rest at her waist.
her question made him chuckle as he murmured, "you haven't forgotten how to sweet talk me." he wished to press closer, but she would catch the stale liquor on his breath. "and here i thought after a month apart, you would have forgotten all about me." it was part jest, but also part truth. they had never stated that they would stay true to one another even while apart. for all he knew, she had found someone back home in vallarion who was ever the respectful lord and would make an honest woman of her. being with lorencio, freely in the open, there would never be anything honest about her, not when his reputation preceded him.
tarvens were perhaps single handedly one of the best places to get information. call cavit biased, but he had always been able to find more details about the new places around him simply by getting a drink with an unknowing towns folk. he didnโt always needed the pomp and circumstance, not when it came to gathering information. the call it heliophra had been, of interest to him. of course, he knew those that had put their names forward for the throne werenโt going to have peace for long.
but wasnโt he counting on something as such?
taking a drink from his goblet, he found himself mirroring a half toast that the almara tossed around to the room, the first set of eyes that had fallen upon him the whole night that held recognition. it wasnโt just the fire, dance or the little time before. they had crossed paths once or twice in cavitโs wish to understand just who was in the world that he was constantly up against. like a beast in him, his hunger needed to be satiated.
the other man hadnโt complained then, he wondered if he would now. โwhere there is good drink i am happy to be,โ he murmured in greeting, a smile curving the edge of his lips as he looked the other man over. โi feel as if we should toast more to the soon to be dead if the last few months have been anything to go by,โ there was a dark humor in his words as he took a second drink and watched the other manโฆย
lorencio and cavit were bonded not by blood but by tragedy. it cleaved them open suddenly and swiftly, like an axe to the head. the deaths of their siblings during the dance of the chosen was not one lorencio would soon forget, and especially not forgive, and in cavit, he thought him a kindred spirit. or at least he thought so, until cavit would be traitorous enough as to submit his name for the seat of crownwearer. it went against everything that lorencio thought of the younger man, but when his anger settled, an understanding sat in its place.
rarely did cavit speak so plainly as to say what was on his mind. in fact, up until now, he and other lord hadn't done much talking at all; there were things better understood than what lies rested on one's lips. "ah, and here i thought you merely wanted to see my pretty face," lorencio said with a pointed frown. it only lasted so long. the barkeep served him his next drink and he took a hearty gulp before settling back in his chair to look upon his companion. "now, what do you think i should share first once you become crownwearer?" he mused as he tapped the rim of his glass with his pointer finger, adorned with the ring he was rarely seen without. carved into the silver was the crest of his home.
"how long your cock is, or how you like to take it up the ass?" he paused for a moment. "wait, no, that last one was me." lorencio shrugged like it was all the same. "though it seems like soon enough it will be the council giving it and you taking it." he could not hide his disappointment, but within it laid his curiosity as well. he and lorencio knew each other enough for him to ask outright: "what possessed you?"
setting: the dining hall of elaris keep
featuring: lorencio almara & sloane caldrithen @moonvcils
lorencio had not slept so much as a wink. he was a creature of habit, and it did not matter if he was back home in crowreach, nor if he was tucked away in elaris keep. where there was wine, there loren would be, suckling on that sweet grape juice until he and his newfound friends (strangers he had met that very night) had depleted the inventory of the local inn. he had already arranged for a large shipment of wine from crowreach to be delivered the next evening, courtesy of his connections with the local merchants at the trading hub.
now it was finally the wee hours of the evening, and he could safely depart from the inn back towards elaris keep to fall into bed in the chambers the altinsoys so graciously offered the nobility of heliophra. truth be told, he did not think he would be there at all if not for one crucial detail -- she was here. and so he would find her when he had slept and looked ever the well-kept lord. in the meantime, he needed sustenance. he would nab a fresh roll of bread on his way to his chambers, and no one would be the wiser.
at least that was his plan. he had bit into one roll while holding another when sloane happened upon him in his current state. lorencio couldn't even feign nonchalance. he had taken too big of a bite. he would have to be utterly uncouth and hope she would be charmed, anyway. (she likely wouldn't be.) "my condolences on your daughter," was the first thing he thought to say, but it was almost entirely muffled by the food in his mouth, so it sounded more like: "mffy condolenches on yer daughder."
setting: an inn in the town nearby elaris keep
featuring: lorencio almara & open ( 3 / 3 )
their lives, it seemed, were no more than a joke to the council. they did not care who lived or died, so long as the seat of crownwearer did not grow cold for long. in fact, all pretense had fallen and no longer did they need to decide as a hollow who best represented them to choose amongst. no -- step right up, lords and ladies, for you too could die a meaningless death at the hands of a group of outdated velkynar who cared not for what who sat upon the throne, but rather what the person sitting on the throne could do for them.
and to bring them all to heliophra, no less. it was cause for celebration.
"a round on me for everyone!" lorencio shouted to the barkeep. the inn was more lively than usual with everyone who had come in from other hollows. it was a nicer establishment than the ones he himself liked to frequent in crowreach, but it was no matter. ale was ale. he held his half-drunken goblet high in the air as he offered a toast to anyone who would listen, for those in the running for crownwearer. "to those who will soon depart us!" as in โ depart from the land of the living.
well, he never claimed to be a good with speeches.
with that said, he downed the other half skillfully, a sign of a man who had endured and even enjoyed spirits much stronger than these. he slammed it down against the wooden bar, and the barkeep made quick work of refilling his refreshment. lorencio turned his head and caught the gaze of someone who had been an onlooker of what some called his theatrics. he grinned lazily as he spoke, "are you here celebrating as well?"
aeliana did not expect the defense that lady ophelia raised on her own behalf. she tried not to inflate its weight in her mind; perhaps it had less to do with the young elarion than it did with the notion of love altogether. she did not know where the other stood when it came to something as seemingly frivolous as romance. it made her wonder if ophelia had ever fallen in love. she paid no mind to the way something in her chest tugged at the idea; it was mere curiosity, that was all. "i do not see it as being a weakness but a strength," aeliana said. "what greater force in the world is there than love?" she spoke of it like a dear friend.
"take my parents, for example. they are stronger together. they know they can rely on one another. they will have their dearest companion and greatest friend by their side for the rest of their lives, should the fates allow." she smiled as she spoke of them, wishing to emulate their relationship since she was a small girl. "it is my belief that all things in this life can be endured if you allow love in." aeliana shrugged her shoulders, sheepish. "i would like to marry someday. it would be my greatest honor to be a wife and, someday, maybe even a mother. given my family's involvement with the council and the crownwearer, i know i should be striving for more, but a woman is allowed at least one fanciful wish in her life, is she not?"
all she hoped was that it was not too fanciful. aeliana grinned at ophelia's request and nodded as she said, "then i shall play music for you. i will happily accept any song request your heart desires." and then she added, "i know i am always safe with you, lady ophelia, whether at the moonlake or on the outskirts of morkhul beside a tavern that has seen better days." she laughed gently and gestured towards the tavern in question. "should we indulge in a drink before we retire for the evening?"
Something quieter settled across valkanโs expression as she spoke, though whether it was disagreement or recognition remained difficult to place. his gaze stayed fixed outward at first, toward the distant lights scattered across morkhul like dying stars. only at her question did his attention shift briefly back toward her, thoughtful now in a way that lacked the sharpness from before. โperhaps,โ he admitted after a moment, voice low beneath the wind. โor perhaps comfort has simply always seemed temporary to me.โ a faint breath left him through his nose, not quite amusement this time. โpeople promise permanence far more easily than the world allows them to keep it.โ
her words lingered between them afterward, softer yet far harder to ignore. valkanโs fingers stilled entirely against the railing, his attention narrowing slightly as though caught somewhere between instinct and memory. when she sighed, his gaze finally lifted fully toward her again, quieter now beneath the dim balcony light. โyou make it sound very simple,โ he said evenly, though the edge in his voice had dulled into something far more restrained. โtrusting someone enough to let them catch you after the fall.โ a small silence settled before the corner of his mouth curved faintly once more, thinner now, touched by something almost weary. โiโm not certain iโve ever been particularly good at falling gracefully.โ
aeliana's lips pursed in thought. she would not press valkan for any further details. they had only just arrived home, and it still seemed like they required time to settle back in, though it seemed he left part of himself elsewhere. vallarion, perhaps? it may be that her cousin would not feel at ease until the gates re-opened and until then, he needed this time to think on what ailed him. she only hoped he knew he could come to her with any of his troubles or misgivings and she would hold them within the palms of her hands carefully, like a small creature she did not wish to startle, lest they run and hid. "i know what it is like when no one is there to catch you," she admitted quietly. "it hurts." she did not wish to elaborate on that point, not now. it was not about aeliana. "what i have learned is you can rise again, however." she smiled as she looked to valkan. "and you know you will always have your family if all else fails." she rested her hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "you will always have me."
at the change in her daughter's expression, sloane's own posture became more stiff. her back straightened, her chin raised slightly, as if to already build up a defense against the accusations. as if to tell herself she was not the one who had done something wrong here, and had been within her right as a ruling member of this house and her mother to ensure the staff reported back to her with any information that may be of importance.
"i have told the staff to bring me any information, about anyone under celembron's roof, that may be of importance to me. that includes you, my siblings, my parents, as well as the numerous guests we just entertained," of course she had stressed the importance to them of keeping an eye on rhyaenna, but sloane was not going to disclose that right now.
of course the pain in her own daughter's voice was not easy to hear, and quickly sloane softened as she stepped forward and reached out for her. "oh yue, it is not you that i do not trust. it is everyone else," after years of writing down everyone in nocturnia's history, their scandals and lies and political moves, she had learned it was not their words you could trust, but their actions. and the choices people made in public were much different then those they made when they thought no one was watching. she straightened her spine once more. "so tell me, is there someone else i should be worried about? this world will not protect you rhyaenna, it will chew you up and spit you out if you let it. i know you are strong but that does not mean you cannot be blinded by those you deem trustworthy."
rhyaenna did not believe sloane even for a moment. her mother must have forgotten the kind of daughter she raised. she knew by the way her posture went rigid and her lip stiff that she had lied. the younger caldrithen was raised to understand every nuance in one's body language: when they were fearful. when they were weary. when they were piss-poor liars. she was not safe from prying eyes in her own home, but it was no matter. celembron had only been her hers in name. it did not belong to her and it certainly did not belong to sloane. one more push, and she would remind her mother of the very same.
she turned her had just as sloane reached for her, so her fingers would only skim her skin. her touch burned like treacherous flames. it made rhyaenna take a step back so she could not do it again. her mother was her heart, but right now, it was pierced by her deception, splintered into jagged, little pieces. she breathed evenly, tempering her anger underneath a cool glare. "you say that you trust me, but even now you stand here and tell me of the world like i am still only a girl. you do not see me for the woman that you raised." she clasped her hands behind her back so sloane would not see how they shook.
"blinded?" she repeated the word with a small scoff. rhyaenna could not bite back her next words. it was like an acidic bile along her tongue. "you mean like when you sent me a letter only after papa passed?" she could not look away from her sloane if she tried. so alike they were: the slopes of their nose, and the colors of their eyes. but so much of rhyaenna was her father's as well: the purse of her lips and the raven of her hair. what did sloane see when she looked upon her? her own reflection or that of her deceased husband's? "i would say i was blinded by someone i trusted then."
seren was uncertain what to expect when it came to lady rhyaenna caldrithen. she was new to the hollow, and while seren knew her mother due to the years she spent in and out of the citadel, lady sloane had never been very forth coming in regard to her personal life. in fact, seren could not even remember if she knew the woman had a daughter prior to their return to vallarion.
lady rhyaenna seemed welcoming enough, and if anything they seemed to share an interest in knowledge. she had heard that many young woman of their age often tended to read books on romance in their spare time, or study polite society, so at the mention of ancient texts, seren's eyes seemed to light up. it was not often she spoke to someone, outside of her family or the other vallarion elders, that was interested in more academic and research based texts. "oh?" the brunette asked, eyes shining as she took a step forward in excitement. "i am sure celembron has some extensive and insightful reads then, considering your family's trade." seren had seen the library but not spent much time within it, at least not recently.
"as for my favorite subject, i find i often am drawn to those that study human behavior." perhaps because she had spent many years alone, she struggled to learn to read people like most of her fellow members at court. "it is interesting to learn why people do what they do. and often when i read those i also turn to read historical texts. about the past political climate... sadly the knowledge only goes back so far." looking back into the large library, seren asked, "i can do my best to help you find some ancient texts. but our collection is not as full as it once had been." the fire had been a mystery when she was younger, but now she wonders just how much relevant information was lost. and how many answers they could have received.
rhyaenna's eyes did not waver from the young woman before her, noting the way seren immediately brightened at the mention of what the other enjoyed perusing in her spare time. so, it was history that intrigued lady tenelith. at least rhyaenna would not have to feign her own interest. "the documents in my family's archive are well-kept records of history from long ago. it is with great honor we keep record of every family in almost every hollow, so even when they are no longer of this mortal plane, we can look back and see where we were as velkynar at the time," she elaborated with a grin, a tinge of pride in between every word. "if you are ever curious, you may come by on a night i am unoccupied. it would be my pleasure to give you a tour."
a wicked gleam sparkled in her eyes as she thought to how she could welcome her into her home. and to your left, you'll see where cai and i kissed one another while you were bedridden in my infirmary ward. she smoothed the smirk threatening to overtake her face into something sweeter, like they were no more than two girls bonding over a shared interest. not one girl none the wiser of how the other had contemplated smothering her with a pillow while she had slept in that very infirmary. it was not like as if rhyaenna had actually gone through with that plan. after all, there would be no satisfaction in the kill. too easy.
seeing seren before her now, it would be much more rewarding to build her up and then break her like a doll she had tired of.
she listened to seren and hummed in acknowledgement, nodding. it would figure that the young woman would pore over human behavior when she seemed so naive to the worlds outside of her precious library. seren was sweet. pure. untouched by cruelty except for what had come to her family in past generations. perhaps that was why lord elarion liked her. her chest tightened for a moment, but if it affected her otherwise, it did not show. this woman was not better than her. no more deserving of anything in this life than lady rhyaenna. that was what she reminded herself.
"it is a tragedy that the fires came to the citadel and took every ounce of knowledge up to that point with it," rhyaenna lamented, sincere this time. she did not dismiss the privilege of knowing one's history, understanding the power it wielded. "it makes one wonder..." she mused aloud. "with the fire at house tethalune perpetrated by those hooded figures, do you think those who set vynetwist aflame may be the same?" it was a question that had come up when she had spoken with her uncle and had been nagging her like fly she could not rid of, buzzing incessantly in her ear. "of course, it was so long ago, they may not be the very same. but..." she looked to seren. "a group of likeminded individuals"
โ ( โขโขรทย [ ย PEDRO PASCAL ย , ย CISMAN ย , ย HE/HIM ย ] ย inย theย darknessย youย arriveย ,ย ย it ย seems ย LORENCIOย ALMARAย hasย emergedย fromย malrithsย embrace. ย the ย RULING LORD OFย CROWREACH, ย bringsย withย themย suchย passionย inย theirย wakeย andย theyย areย knownย forย beingย CHARISMATICย butย alsoย DECEITFUL. theย bloodmoonย shinesย whenย theย FORTY-NINEย yearย oldย joinsย theย war.ย whatย songsย wouldย beย sungย inย theirย nameย ?ย [ย TREN AL SUR ย + ย LOS PRISIONEROS ย ]ย forย inย theย decadesย toย comeย theyย willย speakย ofย :ย watchful eyes that make one wonder if they are truly safe in his company, a charming smile concealed behind a goblet of the finest wine, the scent of tobacco lingering in every room he visits .ย mayย yourย journeyย bringย fruit ,ย welcomeย to nocturniaย forgottenย one. รทโขโข ) โ
background.
name: lorencio almara
nickname(s): loren
age / birthdate: 49, august 4th
pronouns: he / him
sexual orientation: pansexual
relationship status: wouldn't you like to know, weather boy?
residence: crowreach
positive: charismatic, ebullient, resourceful
negative: deceitful, egocentric, hedonistic
glimpses of the past.
it is often said that lorencio almara has an allegiance to no one but himself. to that, he would tip his head back and laugh, for it would not be entirely wrong. his family had long ago dismissed their interest in politics, so they shifted their sights onto the lawless land they oversaw and all that came through it: money, maidens, and merchants; and that was precisely how he would align his values. except - lorencio would be remiss not to include his own family on that list. where exactly they ranked would depend on the day, of course.
losing his sibling during their visit to morkhul had been utterly devastating to lorencio. it was the only time the eldest almara was found with no remark, nor gallant smile to accompany his quick wit. he already had reason to question the council, but any chance of getting him to comply with their orders withered with the corpse of his rotting sibling. he decided then he would sooner cut off his own legs than bend at the knee before them. however, he knew it would never come to that for loren had something even greater to leverage.
while crowreach was a hub for trade and festivities, it also dealt in one particularly crucial import: secrets. the almaras saw and heard all that came through crowreach, from lands near and far. it took a discerning ear to sift through the rabble and find a jewel among the chatter. what they learned was even more precious than gold, and lorencio kept each piece stowed away until the time came someday to show his hand. until then, he delighted in each new piece of information he could add to his collection, each secret more damning than the last.
while lorencio could often be seen with a glass of wine in hand and a smile donning his handsome features, he was not one to provoke. rumors have it that the last person to speak ill of the ruling lord of crowreach was run out of town overnight when the names of their mistresses began appearing in whispers across the city. he appeared ever the affable fool, but just underneath the surface lay a man who knew where the bodies were buried and would not hesitate to shove someone in after them.
wanted dynamics.
show me yours โ secrets, secrets are so fun and lorencio delights in learning them and stowing them away for later use. have a secret your muse wants no one to know? feel free to share with the class (me) and we can come up with how he learned about it, if he will ever use it against them, if it's something he can use at some point in the near future, or if he will simply lord it over your muse like the worst kind of reminder, slowly driving them mad. ( open to all, indefinitely )
and i'll show you mine โ your muse has known lorencio for a long time now, and they have been able to look through his clever veneer to see the man underneath. whether they enjoy what they see and form a kinship or they think he's absolutely mad, we can figure out together! ( open to muses in a similar age range )
