"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
She’d been expecting Lagertha to end up as queen at some point - the grey general is ambitious and driven enough - but she hadn’t expected it to happen so soon and in such a fashion.
Scorch is, amongst other things, a tough old bird. Lyris had expected her to cling to the Jungle throne for as long as she possibly could, until either her immortality failed her, or Lagertha stole it from her. What Lyris had not expected was the limp, sad sack of a mare that she’d seen lying in the dirt behind Lagertha. The naked rat queen is failing, and failing hard. And now they’re under a new regime.
She wonders what will change, if anything. Lagertha is a rather different sort of mare than Scorch - harder and more manipulative. How will that affect the Jungle? Will they continue to take a backseat on the Beqannian stage? Or does Lagertha have some greater plan in mind?
They’ll find out soon enough she supposes, and in the meantime she might as well seek out her sisters and get to know some of them better. She’s mostly kept to herself during her time in the Jungle, and while she has met most of the sisters, she knows little of them. And if she wants to continue with a sudden new ambition that’s burning in her heart, that will not do. She cannot be an invisible figure, she cannot keep taking the back seat - she must be present, must be known.
She saunters into the main clearing at midday, orange-flecked eyes peeled for any fellow sisters, especially army members. No one is about at the moment, much to her surprise, so she settles into the shade of a particularly leafy palm to wait. It is the centre of the kingdom after all - someone will be along soon enough.
Prague has never been much of a diplomat in the true sense of the word, as a young mare competing for the throne she was peace affiliated but that was short lived. Life hardened her quickly and sometimes not in the good ways. She understood Lagertha on a level that many could not and she and Lagertha hadn't even shared 'war stories'. You just have people who you know their struggle, it's your struggle too.
Prague has been MIA for a few months trying to heal from the birth of her fireproof child, Firefox, and she's missed a few promotions. She learns quickly that Lyris is the next in charge since Lagertha has moved up the chain now. Prague is saddened that the army seems to be almost non-existent here. We have healers, we have magic, but we don't have warriors.
Any attacker could potentially win.
She can sense the uneasy feeling wash across the jungle in some, she's grown quite empathetic in her old age. She's never met Lyris to her knowledge and it seems as though she wants to meet others, standing out in the open. The silver lioness slinks up towards her, she sits and licks her pad to run over her left ear. "Lyris, I'm Prague...you know that we're in grave danger in the shape our army is in," she comments, matter-of-factly and without hesitation. She was far too old to worry about skipping over cracks or offending someone. Her whiskers shift and suddenly she is back to her Andalusian form, stark white with dark forelock and tail. Her eyes are much less piercing now, she continues, "You've been around more recently than I have...how are things? What about our new Queen?" she says, playing devil's advocate because she does not know what's transpired in her absence. She can tell that Lyris finds Lagertha manipulative but why? She's curious as cats will be.
It barely takes any time at all for someone to appear. And when someone does, she’s pleased to realize it’s a mare she already recognizes. She’s seen Prague twice now - the first time at the army meeting and the second when Lagertha had become queen. She doesn’t know much about her because of this, except for the apparent fact that she can use magic - a pretty useful trick for any situation.
Lyris eyes her with interest as she approaches, wondering what her intentions are. In her limited experience, magicians always have some agenda on their mind, especially when their own interests are involved.
But, she is both surprised and pleased when Prague gets straight to the point. She can’t help but grin - she always appreciates it when someone is completely frank. “That’s for sure. We’re pitifully small, and I think ‘sides Lagertha, I’m the only one that’s done any fighting.” She pauses for a moment, eyeing up the grey. “Except yourself, perhaps.” Prague had mentioned something about being over a hundred years old - chances are she’s had some time to battle.
“Eh from my understanding it’s been quieter than the old days, but we do better than some of the other kingdoms.” She smirks just a little bit - Prague would know far more about the old days than herself. “Hasn’t been much turmoil lately. Not since before I was born.” Not since the Beqanna-wide war with Queen Elite and the Valley. She’d always been interested in that tale as a child, much to her mother’s chagrin. “Almost makes me think we’re due.”
As for Prague’s last question, she gives the mare an amused expression. Most would not be so straightforward when asking about their ruler. “Ah Lagertha’ll do alright. She’s less emotional than Scorch. More cunning. Good fighter too.” She might not be Lagertha’s biggest fan (especially after that mess with Scorch), but she does regard the mare with some begrudging respect. “She’s not the best diplomat though. Could be some potential for trouble there.” For all the mare’s intelligence, Lyris could very well see her saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. And as she’s already said, they’re due …
09-20-2015, 10:34 AM (This post was last modified: 12-01-2015, 09:06 PM by prague.)
i was filled with poison, but blessed with beauty and rage
It amuses the old mare at Lyris and her outright opinion of Lagertha, she has formed a similar opinion but with a more 'pro' outlook. Most good Amazon Queen's weren't the most diplomatic but emotional stability was the most crucial. Although many times in the past they had gone on a whim, even to Prague's reckless emotions, to raid it was not the wisest plan. Prague had met Texas that very way, the Fall's Queen at that time had came and insulted her in her own kingdom and the very next day she and seven others raided her kingdom and sent her running.
Looking back, Prague knows how young and foolish she was but she is not apologetic - no one ever accused her of being a bluffing type of woman.
Although the magical woman had and was helping Scorch, she had always known her proverbial house was built from sand and would wash away with the slightest high tide; her emotional ways got the best of her. "I don't like to tip toe around information, I respect that you have the same outlook," she comments, then listens as Lyris affirms her assumptions, "Sunday is valuable as a healer, as is Rhy, I don't know many of the others but we need training. We need warriors or our diplomats will simply lose their tongues and heads in a unfair match," she says bluntly, "I'm not very good at stealing, I usually do better with letting them know I want something. What kingdoms have strong mares we could potentially sway?" she says, of course she would try to be diplomatic first...but if she saw someone destined to be here she would make it happen regardless.
"Oh and if I can ever help you in any way, don't hesitate, she says thinking to herself that perhaps there should be some word or phrase used to call the old magician. She needed to be of use to them now more than ever.
When Prague complements her on her openness she can’t help but grin. It’s not a trait of hers that’s usually considered in a positive light. Her mother had found it particularly trying - having a child that blunt can be … frustrating. Or at least she had said as much.
“Glad to hear it. I don’t see much point in it either.” Politics and subterfuge take too much time in her opinion. It’s better to just get everything out in the open. “If someone doesn’t like what I have to say, it’s their problem, not mine.” Not to mention the fact that, if they decide to be offended, she can either blow them over, or fly herself out of there.
“Agreed. We definitely need training. Sunday has already agreed to mock with me, but perhaps we should have some sort of group training session.” Actually, that might be a good idea. She could call out the full force (well, maybe 75%) of her powers and have them attack her. It would be good practice for them to try fighting against a rather … unpredictable ability. Well, unpredictable for them. Or at the very least it would be good for them to practice fighting in different weather conditions. Raids don’t always happen in good weather.
“Eh …” She trails off in thought at Prague’s next question. She’s pretty sure trying to convert a member of another kingdom would be a battle doomed from the start. “There’s no one that I know of. The mares that I know of are already pretty established. We’d have better luck with their children or in the field.” She pauses, considering. “I know it’s been done time and time again, but perhaps we could do a foal exchange? But branch out, try other kingdoms as well?” They’d keep their fillies of course, but why not make use of the colts, if there are any?
Finally, she’s surprised by the Prague’s offer. She’s not 100% certain it’s completely genuine - magician’s often have their own agendas - but she’ll take it. “Thanks. Might take you up on that some day.”
