"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
We will always be on opposite sides, he said. That was his excuse not to warn her, to keep going even though he knew he’d destroy her in the process. So set in the thought that she was against him, he hadn’t even bothered to ask.
She’d denied it at the time, claimed there were no two sides, for she would have stayed in her grey area perfectly had he not pulled the world from under her feet. But he kept telling her that if she had tried to change anything at all in the path he’d chosen, she would have been against him.
Truth is, he underestimated her. Still did after they talked.
What if she really was against him?
During that same conversation, she found that whatever she had thought he could offer her - a different voice that reasonably explained to her why this or that violent action was a necessary evil - he could not. Because he refused to be reasonable with her, in a way. He refused to explain anything at all because in his mind, bending just a tiny bit was giving in, showing the world his weak side.
Wrong.
We’re both ambitious. They’d talked about Litotes back then, but she had known that between the lines he meant her, as well.
Wrong, so wrong.
The only ambition she had was to collaborate and he’d refused. But she knew more leaders than just him. The meadow was the peaceful home she wanted and needed, this was true. But that could not keep her from learning facts, from making decisions, from helping others find their way.
He’d mentioned it so casually. Wolfbane has taken Taiga for Loess.
That was something she already knew, but she also already knew it wasn’t really Wolfbane, nor was it probably (she could not entirely exclude the possibility) Castile’s idea to begin with. What they’d done, the three of them - peacefully or forcefully didn’t matter - was an invasion. Ilma had explained to Lepis long ago that even if an act didn’t involve violence, it was still an act of war. Back then it had only been a steal - a diplomat’s warfare. This was no different. This was Lepis’ act of war.
She could not entirely blame Castile for wanting to retaliate when Leliana in her magical-power-surge had attacked first. She could not blame him for banishing Sinner and Mary either. But invading, and conquering, of a land that had been neutral towards the invaders so far: that’s where Ilma personally drew a line. The fact that he didn’t, perhaps indeed placed them on opposite sides.
In the end, she comes because she knows that she will. At some point, she will have convinced herself that she wants to interfere in some way - even if she has been stripped of her home and her title. At some point, she finds out that the collaboration she always sought cannot be found in the friend who dropped her like a baby giraffe because it didn’t suit him at the time that she might have a voice. At some point, she will realize that her would-be friend betrayed her, and can no longer be trusted. Certainly not with ruling half the world or conquering all of it.
And so she comes to aid the kingdom where her daughter grew up, in what little way she can. Perhaps she can only confirm what is already known, however, she refuses to sit still when the world threatens to burn in its entirety.
She comes by air, over the seas, far away from sight from the Taigan shore, and lands in the north-east - Ilma notes the stark contrast that her white body and sunlight wings make against the dark grey rocks and sands, and knows she will be found easily.
She calls softly. After all, a loud voice is not needed, when one knows beforehand where the Nerinian queen will be at a certain point in time.
Hurry, the sun is waking Darling, don't leave me waiting
@[Heartfire]
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
She had tried to warn Castile once. Had told him anything that might affect her kingdom would always be a concern of hers. He had chosen not to heed that warning, however. Either that, or he genuinely believed her weak. Either way, he had made is lack of regard resoundingly clear.
So really, it should come as no surprise that his allies are discovering this and fleeing left and right. Whether or not it is with the help of her whispering in their ears is irrelevant. She only speaks the truth, after all.
He really should not have made the mistake of underestimating and dismissing her.
In that way, Ilma and Heartfire share a great deal in common. So, really, it comes as no surprise to the roan queen when the lovely former queen seeks her out. While they might differ a great deal in how they choose to attain their ends, ultimately, they each have the same goal. Heartfire merely has fewer qualms about using the more… unsavory methods of bringing that about. Still, she knows Ilma is an intelligent woman, despite their relatively brief acquaintance. And in the end, the only conclusion she could come to as that in some things, there is no middle ground.
Sometimes one has no choice but to choose a side.
For Heartfire, that had been simple. She had made the decision not to involve herself in the petty squabbles that had come before. But Castile, in his infinite wisdom, seems to have taken that as an invitation to set his sights on Nerine. A mistake on his part. He seems to have so easily forgotten just how long her reach truly is. Brawn is not the only strength (nor even the best, in her opinion) one can possess.
Ilma locates her easily enough. But then, she had already been aware of her arrival. Had moved to meet her even before the soft call sounds. Heartfire may not lay claim to the ability to see into the endless possibilities of the future, but she has an insight, and an intuition, of her own.
“Hello Ilma,” she offers in greeting as her easy steps bring her to a halt a comfortable distance from the pale woman. “I was wondering if you’d come.”
Perhaps they did not know each other well, but that has never prevented Heartfire from gleaning any information she could. And what she knows of Ilma had told her long ago she would never be content remaining on the sidelines. After all, one doesn’t rise to the role of queen if one doesn’t house at least some ambition in their heart.
There is little she can do at this point, she thinks. But not moving, just waiting until the idiocy that came with power, passed - it occurred to her that it might be a family trait - that wasn’t helping anyone.
There was a lull now, a silence before the storm. Heartfire was the embodiment of such silence, Ilma decided, and right now that was a good thing. It was what she needed, if she was still allowed to need things and to mean anything, in the world of today instead of only the world of yesterday.
The sabino roan is quick to greet her, by name - a simple thing that the white mare has come to appreciate. They might not be well acquainted, what with only a one-time diplomatic meeting, but they both know enough of each other to know that this collaboration that Ilma came for, if more or less a formality only.
The sun-winged mare smiles at the queen who greets her. ”I’ve had to process a bunch of thoughts - including future decisions, - so I’m afraid I came a little late to the scene. I realised things kept changing every time you spoke to someone.” she offers by means of both explanation and apology. ”I believe you’re all set to move, if I’m not mistaken - but if you’ll have me, I could speak to those you may not yet have reached.” There are places, lands, that had been unaccounted for. Lands deemed insignificant enough, lands everybody thought or hoped would not mingle with whatever happened. Or, perhaps, Lepis had sought them out already. It would be good for those parties to know what might lie below the surface of certain alliance offers. Of what could be in the future for who those who thought merely to be friendly and peaceful.
Hurry, the sun is waking Darling, don't leave me waiting
@[Heartfire]
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
She had never been a woman to sow discord without a very compelling reason. And now, she had been given that reason in spades. Unluckily for those who might oppose her, her time had not been spent in idle silence. There are many who no doubt believed it had been such, but they would be sorely mistaken.
And truthfully, what had those coming for her expected? After all, friends do not flee allegiances simply based on the word of a woman like Heartfire. She simply has the ability to locate cracks in those foundations and apply the appropriate amount of pressure.
The thing about doing that is that it inevitably does not just cause one crack to split wide, but instead creates a spiderweb of interconnecting fissures that spreads much wider than any one eye can see. And only a fool would not take advantage of such a thing.
Heartfire had always kept herself well-versed in the goings on of Beqanna as a whole, and so Ilma’s separation from her former home is no secret to her. There are those that had taken Ilma’s kindness as weakness, but Heartfire is not among them. Perhaps it took those with gentler souls a longer period of time to reach the threshold for action, but once reached there was no more righteously determined foe than one who’s generosity had been extended beyond their very limits.
“I can imagine,” she agrees wryly to Ilma’s comment about having things to process. Though she rarely discusses the things she is privy to, she knows Castile had not been especially kind to her.
And the lack of such things on Castile’s part, not just with Ilma, but many, many others, would ultimately lead to his downfall. Heartfire may not be particularly kind herself, but she does at least have an understanding of the art of not alienating those who could be one’s allies. And any olive branch she might have offered to Castile had been as handily swept beneath the rug as Ilma’s had. Just as many others had.
All of that, to bring them here. Two unlikely co-conspirator’s standing before one another, as different as the day is from night.
“You’re not mistaken,” she affirms easily. Of course, anyone who paid even a small bit of attention would know that. She had grown much less quiet in her dealings of late. “Though I think it is not so much a matter of whether I will have you as it is a matter of whether our immediate goals align.” Her lips twitch faintly at that, blue eyes gleaming as she peers steadily at her companion. “And if you’ve come to realize a warmonger could never truly understand peace, then I believe we’ll do just fine together.”
She pauses then, giving Ilma the time to formulate a response before pushing onwards. “I do think your suggestion would prove… beneficial. It would be good to know if any unrest might be brewing on that front.”
It went without saying that was the last thing they needed at this point in time. Not that she hadn’t the ability to bend such things to her benefit, but simplicities sake, she hoped it wasn’t necessary.
There’s subtle things about Heartfire’s demeanor that are just fine with Ilma - acknowledgements, a nod, an appropriate response to what someone else is feeling. There’s no-one saying that Heartfire is a very sensitive woman, but neither should anyone think her heartless. No - heartless is what Castile had portrayed so many times.
He’d once claimed she had been among those who he could trust, but he had never truly acted upon it. Never trusted her with any information, never with his true feelings. She’d tried several times to reach beneath the surface, but beneath the surface was where he’d stored many other things than just his longing for peace - if, truly, that was what he wanted anyway. By now, Ilma had come to realize she’d have to dig through a shitload of dreg, pardon her speech, and she was done getting her hands dirty for someone who wouldn’t move a muscle to help her clean up.
Heartfire’s confirmation is not strictly necessary, but the politeness and extended trust it implies for easily admitting it, is something Ilma can appreciate. The subtle art of diplomacy may be a little rusty for her, the white woman thinks at times, but she can still understand and relearn. She smiles a little at the joke, then nods at the sabino roan’s implications. That Ilma can’t give back in to her kindness. Well, she’s been broken and now is angry enough, not to believe anything Castile says any more. ”I believe we will.” Frankly, the Nerinians had been her allies for as long as she could remember, even if she had thought that she herself might not fit among them at the time. ”He claims to want peace, but in his mind peace and conquering go hand in hand. There’s only peace when he rules everything - but he doesn’t see that it won’t stop there.” She shakes her head. The conclusion had been painful to draw, but it had been clear enough for her not to reject the theory. In fact, Castile had only confirmed it last time they spoke, and his actions spoke even louder than that.
The Andalusian mare’s head turns a little to the south-west, thinking it over. It wasn’t just Castile who was like that. Litotes was much the same, though he, more or less, could still be reasoned with. And Vul… she remembers when he had been so desperate for a friend, and so torn between his snake-like abilities and his horse-self in not wanting to eat her. She remembers him bringing Adna to Hyline, to learn of diplomacy - which had lead to the conclusion that he was worse at it than his daughter, at the time. He was a warmonger too, Ilma knows. ”It’s a pity that the warmongers make up more than half of the current kingdom rulers.” she concludes softly, then frowns. Heartfire would have to be enough. For as much as the woman was unique, she was not to be categorized in either diplomat or warrior. She never had been.
Returning her gaze to Heartfire, the sunlight-winged mare gives her ally a slight nod. ”Then I’ll head to the islands and peninsulas first.” she thinks. There is, after all, no talking to Lepis or Starsin, as they both know. ”Is there anything you want to offer them that I should be aware of?” If not, then still Ilma could talk to them about the extent of Lepis’ and Loess’ friendship - if they haven’t found out the hard way already.
Hurry, the sun is waking Darling, don't leave me waiting
@[Heartfire]
Any fool knows men and women think differently at times, but the biggest difference is this: men forget, but never forgive; women forgive, but never forget.
Though it had never been her intention to find the fine line between diplomacy and war, somehow she had at a very young age. Since then, she had walked that line as though it were a broadway and not a tightrope. Of course, her abilities had lent her a fair amount of stability when it came down to it, but eventually it had grown even narrower.
Fortunately Heartfire hadn’t the morals to prevent her from falling onto whichever side she deemed best. Nevermind the fact that she had been pushed ever so slightly. Of course, they had failed to recognize the skill that had kept her there so long, to their detriment. Castile might scream betrayal, but he’s the one who had proven the first betrayer.
“Peace and conquering only go hand-in-hand if your opponent is weaker than you are,” Heartfire replies idly. Her observation had not been made to illicit a response, but rather to provide insight. That was, after all, Castile’s greatest mistake. His erroneous belief that everyone must think like him. It was the only explanation why he, and Lepis, believed peace could be brought about by the might of one’s army. And their belief that Nerine was weak had inspired their latest transgressions. Castile had accused her of needing the support of his allies to defeat him. What he’d failed to consider was how she had won them to her side in the first place. Men like him believed only in the might of the strongest army, but Heartfire knew just how strong words placed in the correct ears could be. She didn’t need an army when she could open his own allies eyes to the truth.
“A pity, perhaps,” she agrees mildly, “but, as it happens, Castile no longer has support from them.” There is a faint gleam in her eye as she considers Ilma for a moment. It goes without saying they hadn’t withdrawn their support without help.
She grows thoughtful when Ilma asks if there is anything she would like to offer. After a moment she says, “You can offer them friendliness, of course.” A faint smile touches her lips briefly then. “And information, if they have the means and will to ask for it.”
