"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
He's been given to understand that the Gates and the Chamber have been close, historically. It's not something he necessarily understands; being new to the world he tends to see things in black and white, as the evil versus the light, the good and the bad, the Chamber versus the Gates. But against all odds, it seems, that's not the way of things. And who is he to judge, really?
He doesn't know what to expect as he pauses on the border. The Gates seems like a nice enough place, they seem to have recovered well from whatever disaster might have befallen them. He remembers Straia speaking of the tree that shelters the land, and he wonders if he can see it from his current location.
He wonders if his father will join him here. Warship is busy, he knows; although Kavi had assigned them both here he wouldn't think to bother his father when Warship is probably planning something of importance for the army. He automatically assumes that everyone within the Chamber is constantly working to optimize the Chamber itself. It's what he does, after all. And he's noticed the way his father seems tied to the Chamber, in ways that even he isn't. He hasn't asked (and thus far, Warship hasn't told), but he suspects things.
He's a bright boy, really.
And so he stands on the borders of the Gates, a yearling and change, but old for his age, pure black and at attention like a good soldier. He calls gently, respectfully, to any diplomat who might listen.
Erebor
Native Prince of the Chamber
warship x straia
I am sorry it is full of suck but it's literally my 6th kingdom visit post today so...pity me/I'm sorry?
Jason was not a diplomat. He wasn’t even a proper member, but he believed himself to be a guardian of sorts. His lover and his son had guarded the borders of the Gates for years, and although it seemed backwards Jason was finally going to take his beliefs and turn them into actions. He hadn’t always been faithful (in fact he had never truly ever been faithful), but after more than one hundred years of living one pattern of life who is to say he cannot change?
Jason heard the call. It was quiet, and it had almost fallen into the general symphony of nature. Something about this call felt different. It appeared to be coming from a border, not within the kingdom itself. The blue stallion had little patience for blindly seeking out the source so he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to search. Jason’s magic didn’t work as well within the light kingdom, but with age it had grown stronger. He made sure to leave frequently to in essence recharge it, but the mother tree seemed to almost suck his magic from him as oppose to enhance it. Within minutes Jason had tapped into the other stallion, Erebor. Jason took nothing more then a name and location.
He treaded softly and with a small amount of urgency. Upon seeing the male he was a bit surprised by his size and age. The stallion looked young (much younger than Jason). ”Greetings. I am Jason.” He straightened his neck. ”What brings ya here?” He spoke a bit more lightheartedly. Jason would have been able to sense more bodies if Erebor had come for violence- or at least he hoped he would have sensed more. So he assumed this was a friendly visit.
She’s grazing in the shadow of the Mother Tree when the call comes. It’s a beautiful day - the sun is high, birds chirp and twirl in amongst the Mother Tree’s branches, and the grass is lush and green beneath her feet. It startles her when she hears it. The voice is loud and harsh against the sounds of the Gate’s wildlife, a clear and demanding call for attention.
After her initial shock, she springs into action. The call seems to be emanating from the direction of one of the familiar entrances to the kingdom. Anyone calling from that direction is likely to be a diplomat, or at least someone new to the kingdom. And in her position as an unofficial diplomat (though she has asked to be added to the ranks, it has not yet happened), it is her duty to greet newcomers and foreign diplomats.
The entrance the call comes from is close to the tree, so she arrives quickly. She’s already been beaten there by Jason, and so she offers him a friendly smile before turning to look at the newcomer.
She’s surprised to realize that it’s only a boy - a yearling colt to be exact - all alone. He does not seem particularly concerned about being in a strange kingdom by himself however (and really, now that she thinks of it, she had been on her own at that age too), and the way he carries himself makes her think that he has some sort of business in mind. “I’m Fiasko.” Jason has already asked the boy’s business, so she doesn't add any more to the conversation. Not yet anyway. Instead she quietly settles in beside the blue-grey stallion, trying to push down the every present fear of the boy’s reaction. Children are notoriously poor at keeping their opinions to themselves. What will he think of the ruined mess that is her face?
i'm still waiting for the world to end
(I know he's not actually being harsh, that's just what she momentarily interpreted it as xD)
The Gates is lovely in a way the Chamber has never been, his mother had told him. And as he stands on the border, he thinks that it is true. The noises of the birds, their quiet songs, the gentle branches of the large tree he sees in the distance – these are not things the Chamber knows. He is intrigued by them, although in his heart the rough and tumble beauty of the Chamber will always come first. He can enjoy the softness of the country, but he is a child of ash and smoke and rubble and ruin, of hardscrabble and fighting to scrape by. And that's exactly how he likes it.
He isn't alone long before a stallion approaches. Erebor feels something, a quiet tingle, that he's learned to associate with a horse who is more than he or she appears. But the boy does not fear, and he doesn't judge. He simply offers a respectful nod. He's about to speak and introduce his business when a second horse emerges from within the Gates land. This mare is smaller, he notes, and he observes the strangeness of her face without judgment – in fact, without any kind of outward response to it whatsoever. He gives her a nod, his face diplomatic and gentle, exactly as he'd been with Jason.
"Jason, Fiasko, it's a pleasure to meet both of you. Thank you for coming to greet me so quickly." his voice is deep, deeper than a child's probably should be. But he is no child, at least not inside, not in the ways that matter the most. "I am Erebor, Prince of the Chamber. I'm here on diplomatic business, just a friendly visit." There is no ulterior motive here, nothing sinister in him. He's just here to chat, to touch base. He looks back and forth between the two of them, calm and collected. "How does the Gates fare?"
Jason was not technically a member of the Gates. He had taken refuge within its border, but the official initiation had yet to come. The leaders of the kingdom were absent such was the curse the good kingdom often had. The passing of crowns was a remedy typically used to end the illicit activity, but Jason knew all too well that such a remedy only served as a Band-Aid for the true problem. All such information Jason had no true intention of sharing with the Chamber diplomat- with such knowledge the Gates would be truly vulnerable.
The blue-grey stallion stood tall, the strength in his stance obvious with the flex of his muscles. He was grateful and relieved to see Fiasko arrive and add to the conversation. Jason smiled in return while he shifted his position to be alongside her. His nose gently pressed into the side of her neck. He blew warm air from his nostrils and inhaled her scent before pulling away. ”Hey” He whispered then returned his attention to Erebor.
”Nice to meet you, Prince.” His head bobbed in greeting. ”As being relatively new to the Gates I will let Fiasko, here, answer your question.” His expression remained warm and friendly as he spoke. The deep tone of his voice hung onto the stale air before him as he tilted his head to both look toward Fiasko and keep his eyes on the young visitor.
She’s impressed with his bearing. When she had been his age, she had been a weak, cowering, quivering little thing. She had been terrified of anything and everything … even her own shadow at times, she’s embarrassed to admit. And while she’s grown much since then, she still feels that she’s probably not exuding the confidence and poise that this young colt is. His complete lack of reaction to her face is evidence of this - he’s only the second horse she’s met in her life to show absolutely no surprise at all at her looks. It’s impressive.
She is distracted for a moment, when Jason gently presses his nose to her neck. It’s a friendly, intimate movement, and it surprises her. She’s not used to other horses touching her - only Finnley and Kaelie have made such gestures to her before. She’s surprised to find that she likes it (likes the familiarity), and she returns the gesture, turning her neck to brush her own nose against his neck, and inhale his scent.
The boy in front of them wastes no time, greeting them politely, and heading straight into kingdom business. She turns away from Jason to listen, the reason behind the colt’s demeanour becoming immediately apparent. A prince. A Chamber prince to be exact. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well Erebor.”
He asks after the Gates, and she’s not entirely sure how to respond. She doesn’t want to give him all of the truth (she can’t tell him about Camelia’s struggles with leadership), but she suspects he would notice if they didn’t give him any truth at all. She groans inwardly when Jason passes the buck to her, though she can’t blame him. As he says, he is newer to the kingdom. “Well, we are quiet as always.” That seems safe enough to say, everyone knows the Gates is a quiet kingdom. “We were hard hit by the wildfires, but we are recovering nicely, I think.” Also safe - all of the other kingdoms had been hit by disasters as well. “Growing even.” Also true. “How does the Chamber fare?”
He nods at their pleasantries, expecting nothing else. He might be new to diplomacy, still fairly new to everything, but he's growing quickly and learning much. And so he waits, his face a mask of diplomatic respect, his posture the straight, upright bearing of a cadet throughout. Diplomacy might be somewhat new to him, but it's an oddly fitting suit that he slips into with great ease.
Quiet, she says, and he hears the truth of it reflected in every nook of his own home as well. Are they not all quiet? Especially those who are not home to the mythicals? No horse (well, few horses) want to live somewhere that will eat their gifts, that will consume anything that might make them special. He's not one of those horses – he serves the Chamber with unwavering devotion, entirely content to be entirely plain. But he is the minority, and he knows it.
"I am sorry to hear about the wildfires, but happy to hear that you are recovering well." he smiles earnestly. "The Chamber is much the same. We were hit by volcanos rather than by wildfires, but a lot of our land burned all the same." the pine forests are regrowing, nature returning, inevitably rising up and claiming the land as its own again. "We are growing as well." Both the land and the ranks. They have almost healed, but it's taken so long.
"Well, I don't mean to keep you both from the business of the Gates. Did you have any other questions I might answer about the Chamber?" he pauses for just a moment. "If not, thank you for your time, and please give our regards to your ruler."
