"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Taiga was a wide, sloping territory building up in height the farther north you traveled. Wolfbane assumed that was for the sake of Nerine and how she rose into the sky on her stilt-like cliffs that sank into a gray, unforgiving ocean. The northern Kingdom was one he was highly familiar with since his youth, but Taiga? Her woods and quiet nights still seemed like a great mystery to be solved. Bane enjoyed the idea of getting to know her.
Never trailing too far from his wife, the newly ascended ruler lead his family (or those who had followed) through the heart of the great redwoods to a clearing that still smelled of many gatherings. This place, dead center in the map of their new home, had been one for larger meetings and that was exactly how he intended to use it today.
Eyas, his youngest daughter, trailed off to the side and wove through the daytime shadows of the woods. Watching, listening. Pteron his son had been here and would join them, he was sure of it. Marni, his eldest daughter, seemed eager to trot ahead of their troupe to the large hill that was mostly earth-covered but showed lichen rich boulders and slabs of stone near its base. The only one missing was Tiercel…
Smiling, Wolfbane leaned across the short distance between himself and Lepis to plant a tender, appreciative kiss into the crook of her jaw. He was patient as they continued, and matched her stride for stride when the two stepped forward to take their rightful place on one of the risen stone slabs. As they settled the treetops began to sway and the light from a clear autumn day filtered through, dashing both with a bright ray of sun and illuminating the hints of gold and the glimmering blue of their coats.
Bane turned his eyes out to the woods and felt his chest fill with air before he called out for any who might hear him, fully expecting Aten and perhaps a few others to arrive. The sound of his voice was potent and unusually loud, echoing.
It was time that Taiga awoke from her slumber.
Even though Lethia's return a few suns ago, with her presence serving to quell the fire in his angered heart, Aten could not deny the dash of rage that flooded his veins when the heard Wolfbane's call. The golden one had been grazing peacefully near the edge of Taiga's trees, close to the kingdom's border with the ocean, preferring the peace and tranquility such an environment offered for one who was feeling as he was.
But then that stallion had to go and ruin it, a peaceful day, one that Aten was trying to use to keep calm until he felt ready to face the two of those horses without spitting on their hooves. His hopes were dashed, and for the briefest of moments, he almost considered not going. The golden one felt as if he were walking on thin ice right now, even if Wolfbane and Lepis had promised him a deal in exchange for stepping down from his throne.
He couldn't afford to fall through now; the icy waters of the conflict would swallow him up like the fire did to Taiga's forest so many moons ago. Aten had a promise to keep - a promise to himself, his loved ones, his friends - and he would not go back on it whatsoever.
Even if it meant throwing out the rest of his pride.
A chill in the autumn wind carried the stallion's scent toward the trees as he turned and began to head inland, content to keep his pace at a languid walk. He was in no hurry; let those two wait, and rot for all he cared. Aten carefully picked his way up the craggy rocks that separated Taiga's redwoods from the sandy beach that lay just above the kingdom border for Hyaline, his sturdy hooves and legs carrying him over each cropping with precise practice and certainty.
Once his hooves felt the tranquil grass beneath them, the stallion picked up his pace to a trot, for he did enjoy moving at a faster gait through the trees. Something about them, the way they stretched up to the sky, moved above him as if the gale winds at the coast were actually thinking they'd be enough to tip them over. They were as old as the forest itself, flora filled with a sturdiness and wisdom that even the wisest of horses would be jealous of.
That assessment would almost sound silly to one not native to Taiga's forests, but not the golden one. He'd learned to listen to the trees, to the sounds of the forests. And not just because he could now communicate with a falcon. He'd been doing it long before the Reckoning and Taiga's previous destruction. He was in his element here, his home...
A series of chatters above his head slowed Aten back down to a walk, tilting his own up to see up into the thickly woven tree branches. Visible as ever with his bright white black-speckled feathers, Turul flapped his wings in greeting.
Aten rolled his eyes as he kept walking, "I can hear you just fine if you talk to me. You don't need to make those calls."
Not seeing Turul roll his eyes in return, the stallion and falcon pair made their way to Taiga's meeting ground with minimal conversation passing between them in their limited tongues. Most of it came from Turul, who's crass mouth and vocabulary had a few not-so-nice things to say about Wolfbane and Lepis. Aten tried to push that out of his mind, knowing he might end up inadverdently repeating it later if the two named horses pushed his buttons once he arrived.
The autumn sunlight gave the Taigan meadow an etheral glow, Aten briefly noticed, as he reached the edge of the tree line to where Wolfbane called out. He couldn't quite yet see the one weaving through the trees, a filly, but Turul's keen eyesight informed him of it since she wasn't far enough to not be seen by the bird of prey. Aten thanked his friend for the heads up, not quite in the mood to deal with a filly he knew had links to Wolfbane.
Whether it was a child, one he'd taken in, or just some fanatic who followed, the fact that she was here when Wolfbane took Aten's throne was not a coincidence.
The golden one slowed his walk pace even further the close he got to the small stone slab that Wolfbane and Lepis had decided to perch themselves on. Aten rolled his eyes, knowing they wouldn't be able to tell. They really had the audacity to show such a display? Turul said something about a soapbox plus another crass word, but Aten wasn't really listening at this point.
When he was within a few yards of the stone slab where Wolfbane and Lepis were, he stopped, standing tall and proud as he'd done the day he met them. The autumn winds brushed the stallion's mane against the left side of his neck and underneath it, his forelock being pushed up against his right ear. He could see the treetops swaying in the distance, giving his head a brief shake in the hopes that somehow that would quell the weather so it would stop blowing his mane every which way.
His golden coat reflected it's own brilliant shine in the sunlight, almost as if a test against the shimmer of Wolfbane and Lepis' coats. His eyes were slightly dark while he was still a good distance from the two of them, anger and rage creeping to the front of his heart.
Turul flew down from the trees unexpectedly, surprising the golden one when the falcon landed on his withers. Aten briefly glanced back, questioning his friend. Turul gave the excuse that he was simply here to keep the stallion calm until Lethia arrived. Aten's face dropped to a deadpan as he questioned the falcon how exactly his language would be helpful in keeping the already angered stallion calm.
Quipping that was a good point, and innocently turning away to preen his feathers for a moment, Aten turned away from his friend and watched Wolfbane and Lepis to see what they had to say regarding their call, Turul doing the same, his white black-speckled feathers ruffled by the wind but looking no less majestic than when he was in flight.
@[Izora Lethia] tagged since she's a resident here
Looking out from their spot, the first place Aten had showed her, she watched as the water moved with out thought closer towards the impending edge. It did not question where it was going only that it needed to follow the bends and turns of the river. As it crossed the ledge she watched as it tumbled down gracefully, or so it seemed, until it came to a crashing end. It pummeled the rocks below frothing and foaming at the mouth, but only for a minute until it found its place once again and continued on.
Aten had taken over Taiga following in his predecessor's hoof steps, staying true to his promise and Taiga's needs. She had followed him and stood by him as she learned this land. It had been like breathing air, simple compared to the recent events of her life in Beqanna.
The rise of Wolfbane and Lepis had tossed them over a rhetorical ledge, forcing their lives to change abruptly once again. She was determined to fall with Aten, to stay by his side until the currents smoothed out and there after.
The Autum breeze ruffled her thick forelock bringing with it the call of Wolfbane from down stream of the river behind her. She gave an irritated huff as she turned slowly. She did not want to amuse Wolfbane or Lepis with her presence but knowing that Aten, now champion of Taiga, would need to be there out of duty if anything pulled her back down the sloping hill her and Aten had traversed many times together.
She followed the water, listening to the currents move in the opposite direction wishing she could of stayed a moment longer at the waterfall before entering the lions den. The giant redwoods began to shroud her from the crisp blue sky's eyes, and not much longer she pulled up as the meadow's clearing came to view.
She could see Wolfbane and Lepis standing in the center perched above all as if they were the true nobility of Taiga. Lethy let out a frustrated grunt at this thought, but her amethyst eyes trailed to the golden form standing below them, Aten.
A sympathetic smile traced her lips. She knew how upsetting this current situation must be for him. He had been struggling the last few days with his decision to stand down to Wolfbane and Lepis and stay on as Taiga's champion. She did not look at him in disappointment though, if anything she looked at him with more respect then the day he had saved her. How much strength must he have to stay on as Taiga's champion? He would always be Taiga's protector, he would always be her protector.
She moved from the cover of the redwoods and made her way across the meadow coming up from behind. As she came up to Aten and Turul she settled in next to him. Her shoulder brushed his and her muzzle gently found his neck for a brief moment. She came to rest next to him shoulder to shoulder. Hoping her touch would be a comfort to him. Her purple eyes searched his face, and then turned to the scene before her. She was here to make known that she was apart of Taiga, but also here for Aten.
Lepis is a creature raised on the cliffs, and to open her eyes and feel small is a sensation she is still learning. The redwoods stretch toward the sky not unlike the stone of her rugged birthland, but there is no perch for her there, and so her golden wings often remain tucked tightly to her sides. They are there today and she winds through the woods beside her husband, breathing deep of the fog-and-salt air. Pteron is overhead, she suspects, the wingbeats barely audible and his form entirely invisible. For a moment she pictures him as a foal again, small and pale, and she smiles. She’d been so frightened when he disappeared moments after being born, and now she accepts his gift as easily as she does the way her youngest girl can change her vision.
(With a long-suffering sigh and a mother’s patience for her children’s tricks).
Marni is ahead of them, weaving in and out of the russet trunks, and the dun mare glances over at her husband who once again wears his blue stripes. He holds himself with confidence, and Lepis smiles, feeling that at last things might be turning out the way that she wants them. There is no changing the past, but they have proven that they can shape the future. They will success, she is certain of it. The dun pegasus rolls her scarred shoulders and resettles her long navy mane across them with a shake of her head. While showing the Taigans her history of struggles with her scars might serve to intimidate them, it is for her own benefit that she hides them (and suppresses the memories of them as well).
One memory that she has not surpressed is that of the violet-eyed mare that comes to stand beside Aten.
“Lethy!” She says with a sudden smile, recalling the mare’s arrival in Loess and request to see the land. Lepis had been happy to show her, and it has never occurred to her that she might find the buckskin mare in the Taiga. Izora Lethia had mentioned Kensa, after all, and the pegasus had been under the impression that the other mare called Hyaline home. More things than the leadership of Taiga have changed in the last six months, it would seem.
“It’s good to see you again. You live in Taiga now?” The question probably isn’t necessary, as the mare smells of the woods as strongly as Aten, but Lepis does her best to be polite. She knows that Aten is probably not of the same opinion, but after their initial – and only – meeting, she will not blame the champagne stallion. Some things are necessary for the greater good though, and that comes before politeness.
“I’m not sure if Aten has told you yet,” (and she addresses this to any others who have gathered, though her attention for now is on the mare with the amethyst eyes), “but my husband Wolfbane and I have taken control of Taiga. Aten is remaining as the protector and champion, and we are both grateful, as his knowledge of the woods and its people is invaluable.” She pauses here to look at Aten. She cannot read the thoughts behind his steely gaze – nor those of his feathered companion – but she offers him a nod of acknowledgment.
“We have plans for the woods, and bring with us ties to other lands, including the protection of alliances. We value the input of all residents of the woods, and would ask that you freely voice any concerns or suggestions you might have. Understand that while we our ascension was sudden that we are not dictators – merely driven.” Lepis falls silent, taking a breath to replenish what she has lost in her speech. It has been some time since she made such an address, and she has forgotten how good it felt.
Spotting the dun mare well before his friend, since Aten's attention was mostly focused on the mare and stallion atop the small kopje, Turul brushed his wing against the golden one's neck to grab it back. Aten turned his head, wondering what it was his friend wished to inform him of, but there was no explanation needed when he saw too.
Lethia, no doubt answering Wolfbane's call, was making her way across the meadow to join the gathered number of horses and foals. Surprisingly, however, she made to be close to the golden one himself, rather than perhaps with another friend. She came so close that Aten could feel the brush of her shoulder against his before Lethia reached out to fan her muzzle across his neck. Aten couldn't deny that her presence, coupled with her soothing touch, was comforting to him, helping to slightly quell the building rage.
He was content to stand next to her, and, in a bit of a bold fashion, he turned his head, brushing his sleek muzzle against the mare's tapered one. His soft eyes met hers for a brief moment, a show of thanks, before they both broke eye contact to see if Wolfbane and Lepis were ready to talk.
Things took an unexpected turn however.
Lepis shouted from the kopje, her tone much more excited than the one time Aten had met her. Easy explanation. She asked a completely unecessary question, and Aten could practically hear Turul roll his eyes before the falcon's beady gaze was directed back at the mare and stallion before them.
Lepis began to address the very small number of horses gathered, which, for now, was mostly Aten, Lethia, and the young ones the other couple had brought with them. Stating why she and her husband had come here, as well as Aten's current position in the hierarchy. For a moment, the mare's gaze found Aten, but he was unfazed, his eyes unreadable and posture stiff but tall. He showed no reaction when Lepis nodded her head to him.
She went on a few more moments, stating much of what she had told Aten during their first meeting. Aten knew all this, knowing it was also a load. Those two would eventually stop caring; they wouldn't have come here to take over Taiga unless they had some ulterior motive. Aten himself had been working on trying to form a better alliance with Nerine, their sister kingdom, as well as others once he found out more details of the individual struggles they had been going through.
After all, he didn't want to ask for an alliance with the wrong person.
So the fact that Wolfbane and Lepis had come here told him there was more to it. He may be a first-time leader, but Aten had a good head on his shoulders, and a similar plan. They wouldn't have kicked him down a few pegs unless they had selfish reasons. It wasn't like a civilized horse to just go around knocking others off their thrones when they were being completely peaceful about their business.
Aten wanted to say something, but before he would do so, he needed something to ground him. Stepping a little closer to Lethia so that their shoulders were touching, he let a rumble come from his chest, and let out a breath he'd been holding. He had to stay calm; he couldn't afford anything else.
He spoke up, "If you wish for us to voice our concerns, then tell us more about these plans that you have for the Taiga. Surely it can't be as simple as having other alliances follow you so you can look pretty sitting on a throne," he quipped.
There’s very little that Wolfbane doesn’t see. His new eyesight can settle on every individual pine needle, even though they rest hundreds of feet in the air. Every blade of grass is unique. He can see the dust motes as they dance in the bright sunlight and he can see each hair resting on his wife’s cheek when they glance at one another. When the others join them he can certainly see how many times Aten rolls his eyes at them.
Lepis speaks and he won’t interrupt her. It seems she and the mare who stands alongside Aten know each other, which doesn’t surprise Wolfbane. Lepis had a naturally diplomatic nature which served her well in times of trouble and peace. She could make friends with a rock. Could be an even worse enemy when she wanted to.
What he won’t stand for is the way their new champion seems bent on nursing his wounds. Or rather the wounds he never received, because even on the edge of battle Wolfbane had gone against his own nature - that of the warrior - to try and smooth out a rough start. “That’s enough.” The pegasus stallion sighs.
He’d like to get to the point, but Aten seemed more interested in throwing out petty insults.
“Can you work through this Aten? I respect your anger. Hell I admire it. Lepis and I came home to our own kingdom completely overtaken by Castile but I couldn’t spend one second trying to be bitter when that happened. I knew that being involved and working for the home I loved was better than hating the horse who took my place.” He explains, frowning gently as the shadows from the light above shadowed his chin and chest.
He would step down, try to get closer, but he felt like their second-in-command might also take that as a false threat. The way things were headed it seemed nearly impossible that Aten could rise above and work with them.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you felt what we did was unfair but the laws of this world dictate that we could so we did. Lethy, I’m sorry if this drives a space between us. What’s done is done. Now Taiga needs us all, and what we need is peace among our ranks.” He looks around.
For all that’s happened and for all the hate in Aten’s glare, Wolfbane still wouldn’t take back what he’s done.
“Let’s start from the beginning, again.” Bane lowers his voice. “I assume you have good relations with my grandmere, Heartfire?” He asks openly, glancing between Izora and Aten, who had a large bird perched atop his back. “Similarly Lepis and I have strong ties with Loess and Castile himself. Vulgaris, who may have moved since the war, has been a long-standing friend of mine. Litotes from the east is also a stallion I consider close. Both are like brothers to me, and both would be welcome in Taiga. Similarly we could consider them allies… their political ties hold weight wherever any of us might travel.”
For knowledge sake, Aten and Lethy should commit those names to memory. If the two journeyed it would be hard to meet a horse who hadn’t heard of either the snake-stallion or the shadow lion.
“As for Taiga her borders should remain open to newcomers. I can wholeheartedly agree with the idea that she should be a sanctuary of sorts, if Lepis also agrees. Some traditions should hold true.” Bane smiles. “But she’s been dormant for a while. At one point she was entirely closed off. In my opinion I think she could use a bit of a change. I’d like to see creative horses coming to this place, bringing ideas to build or add on to Taiga with new, natural wonders. The fairies have given us this opportunity and not a single other land has taken advantage of that. We would be the first if we allowed builders or creators to come in and make Taiga fresh again.”
WITH WOUNDS THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS SEEN
WOLFBANE
Not exactly sure who goes next since the post order got a bit mixed up
Alot had changed since she had seen Lepis last and when she shouts to her, she would be embarrassed to admit thah for a moment she was confused, but only for a moment. The plague and the lose of her child had broken Lethy, was still breaking her. She had a hard time recalling some things every now and again but looking out at the salt lake in Loess and the kind mare, who she now recognizes as Lepis did not stay dormant long. A small smile passes her lips in direction towards the mare as she nodded slightly at her question. But it was not her time to talk, and so she remained quiet.
She listen to Lepis, and she listened to Aten, and she listened to Wolfbane. She placed the territories and there corresponding leaders away in her mind. Some stirred memories, and others gentle whispers.
After the lose of her daughter Lethy had wandered. She had wandered alot, and with those aimless journeys came whispered rumors shared among friends and foes. She had heard rumors of the war, and how a queen named Leliana had sent a warning to Loess because of their imprisonment of other equine. She had heard rumors of dragons laying havoc to Tephra -both lands causing loss on both sides of the war- and of Sylva stepping out against Loess. Other horses expected Loess to lash back at them. There were rumors of the leaders of Sylva trying to be forced from their seats. None of it had ment anything to her at the time. She belong to no where and noone. It was different now, Aten had saved her and had made her apart of something.
Timidly Lethy stepped forward, just one step, towards Wolfbane and Lepis. Her voice came out but barely a squeak. The stallion, though smaller, seemed intimidating to her and so she shifted her gaze to Lepis and cleared her throat. Lepis, my friend, it has been to long. Alot had changed in unexpected ways this last year. she pauses after greeting Lepis so that she can transition her words from friend to concerned resident. ,You have told us of your connections, and the places that we can benefit from. People who are welcome here and who are allied to you. I am wondering if you can tell us of the lands who are not in good standing with you or your most recent home Loess? If you expect us to show up and fight for any other lands beside Taiga and what would happen if we refuse? her voice was small and quiet, but the meadow was still primarily empty - she knew this is how it would stay for now - there was no mistaking her words. The conflict between her friend close to her side and her friend standing above weighed on Lethy but she would not let it muffle her thoughts.
Since Aodhan had named the leader of Taiga, Pteron has experienced something of a sinking feeling in the pit of his belly. It is not that he doubts the intentions of his mother and sire, but rather that grapples – for the first time – with the collision of personal and political. He knows the chamapgne stallion from their meeting with the wounded shifter, and Aten had seemed a good sort. He assumes now that the safe place he’d invited her to heal had been Taiga, and having been here for a few days now Pteron knows that to be true. Certainly safer than the woods.
Yet he has been asked to put that knowledge aside, to favor family.
It is not an impossible choice for the young stallion, but it is harder than he would ever admit.
He comes to land near his parents, an ice and cream figure that is obviously a blend of them both. He glances at the assembled – as quiet a wood as he had expected – and meets Aten’s eyes as his father begins to speak. He offers the other stallion a respectful nod, acknowledging their prior acquaintance without speaking, but soon turns his olive gaze to Lepis and Wolfbane as they begin to speak of their plans for the forest.
The residents of Taiga – or at least the two have responded to the call for a territory meeting – question his parents and Pteron remains quiet, aware that this is just what they had asked for. At his father’s sigh, Pteron sends him just a touch of happiness and a soft smile. He is not as skilled with his gift as his mother and siblings and his repertoire is limited to simple joy, but he has never minded.
Lepis shifts her weight where they stand, brushing one folded wing against Wolfbane’s as she does. She glances toward him, watching his familiar face for just a moment before looking back at the others.
Her mention of the golden Aten goes without acknowledgment by the stallion, but her faint smile does not harden in response to his own steely gaze. Let him be feel what he must, so long as he remains compliant with the agreement they have made. What he says after shifting closer to Izora Lethia (Lepis makes a note that the two seem rather close) is less than ideal, but the dun mare would prefer a sour attitude than a false one. Rather than react to his quip about sitting pretty with the retort that the Taiga is a territory and not a kingdom – and so this is no true throne – ashe swallows it down in favor of glancing toward the recently arrived Pteron and giving him a smile.
Wolfbane addresses Aten though, more patient than she might have expected him to be, and her husband will feel the warm press of her shoulder against his in another wordless support. Arthas had done well in choosing the palomino as his successor, and while Lepis has known this, it it always thrilling to see him in action. He is not yet a king, and yet he strikes her as impossibly royal. Fuel to her fire, perhaps, and she smiles as he names the relations and friendships that they hold.
Izora Lethia seems intimidated, but she is brave enough to step forward and question them. This brings out another navy smile on the winged mare, and Lepis’ brow raises with good-natured curiosity. What lands are they not in good standing with, she asks, a rather pointed question though Lepis is not sure she even knows it. Well, the second is at least easier to answer.
“We would not ask anyone to fight if they did not wish to.” Lepis says and while her smile has faded as she speaks, it is only replaced by a calm sort of thoughtfulness. “Though we would also expect that no Taigan worked against us in larger conflicts.” She pauses, just for a moment, and glances toward her youngest daughter for a brief moment. “Sylva has recently betrayed Loess; the red forest seems to inspire treachery and cruelty. The queen of Tephra injured my son, and my youngest was killed in the war they started.” Her voice does not shake as she says this, having projected calm into her own mind as she speaks, but her teeth are clenched when she finishes and when she leans against Wolfbane once more it is solely for her own benefit.
“You will understand, I am sure, that those lands are out of our favor, and will remain so until adequate reparations are made.” There are no adequate reparations for the death of her young son, of course, but she is quite certain that turning the sylvan woods to ash will be a suitable start. The idea makes her smile, and she is able to meet their eyes again.
“I will leave the organization of warriors to my husband, but if anyone -” she looks mostly to Izora here, equally unsure if Aten would be interested and if she trusts him, “- is interested in making envoys to the other lands to inform them of the change in leadership here, I would appreciate voolunteers.”
06-28-2019, 11:26 PM (This post was last modified: 06-28-2019, 11:26 PM by Aten.)
They expect that no Taigan would work against them? Really? Those were the words they chose to use? Of course not though, why would they? If anything, the only Taigan that Lepis and Wolfbane wuld suspect of plotting against them would be Aten, but even then, the golden stallion had not given revenge any thought lately. He had been caught up in his own self-depricating state, cursing his weakness and allowing these two the easy opportunity to take away the responsibility a friend had entrusted him.
Lethia was a loyal friend, but she would not go against Wolfbane or Lepis of her own accord right now, Aten suspected. Even with Aten's support, there were some fights that non-gifteds couldn't win. Considering the advantages that both Lepis and Wolfbane had, it would be a lost cause. But Aten had a plan for later on, once things were more sorted out. He doubted he would have any respect for Wolfbane or Lepis, but he would defend his home without question.
A gift beyond what he already had would help with that.
Lepis would go on to describe that she and Wolfbane had no current alliance with the red forest kingdom to the southwest of the redwood land. Aten didn't think that was a surprise; he hardly knew of any land in good standing with that kingdom. When he had been preparing propositions for alliances himself, he hadn't even given them a second thought.
But the reason for Lepis' declaration, Aten had to admit, was a bit more... shocking. Had Leilana really done such a thing? Had such a war broken out before Aten's leadership that it resulted in the injury of one young colt and the death of one even younger? Aten didn't know much about Tephra's queen, for he had not been to that land yet, but he hadn't heard of this grevious act.
He couldn't imagine the pain that Lepis must have felt receiving that news, and for a split second, he actually felt remorse for the family standing on the kopje. Aten's own dam must've gone through the same pain when she had been separated from her youngest son, but the now grown stallion hardly remembered much of her now. Yes, he remembered what she looked like, her warm voice, her comforting presence during the cold winter nights...
But the stallion would not show his pain. He couldn't... he couldn't afford to be seen as weak right now.
Lepis stated the obvious regarding Sylva and Tephra, so Aten didn't say anything. But the way the mare said adequate reparations... it unnerved the golden one. He didn't like the look in her eyes when she said it, even if she wasn't looking directly at Aten and Lethia. And her smile... it wasn't quite devious, but it wasn't the cheerful smile of a ruler.
Aten instantly lost any somewhat building trust, if there was any to begin with.
To finish her declaration, Lepis requested volunteers to journey to other lands to inform them of the change in leadership, and that once again made Aten's blood boil. He closed his eyes and took a breath to hold his anger back. He so did not want to do this... no matter what... he did not want to admit his failure to anyone who knew he'd inherited the kingdom from his friend...
But for those who didn't know, they'd learn of the change of leadership anyway, whether his name was mentioned or not. And, if anything, should he be told to journey to Nerine, he could use that chance to warn Heartfire that he suspected Wolfbane and Lepis' ulterior motives, whatever they may be. He didn't know Wolfbane's connection to Nerine's queen, he only cared about helping the sister kingdom staying safe from conflict that wasn't theirs.
Swallowing his pride, Aten looked to Wolfbane and Lepis, "You've only got two it seems. Tell me where to go. In return, however, I request that Lethia go with me for the first visit. She is still learning the ways of diplomacy and perhaps having a guiding hoof will help her. From there, you can tell us where you'd like us to go our separate ways to other kingdoms for the same task."
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