Tatter
burn everything you love, then burn the ashes “Fuck.” He hates this place. It’s lonely as hell and he feels more alone here than he ever did when he was alive--and oh, how he was alone oh so very often. He spent days, months, years ruling his kingdom by himself and he refused to let go of the Chamber until the very last breath left his body. He was their King up until the final day of his life and it is his crowning achievement. The Painted King of the Chamber. He knows that his name, even after all of these years, has not been forgotten. He was a cruel and perhaps mad King; such is his legacy. If he were still alive today... well, he’d be old as fuck. He was not an old man by any means when he was brutally slaughtered (which, let’s be honest; it was no less than he deserved), but he’s been dead now for nearly two entire decades. Might be more, might be less. Time is different here in the afterlife (Heaven, Hell, whichever you want to call it). He’d certainly be old and decrepit if he were still living in Beqanna. He had no immortality, nor any taste for it; instead of living to a ripe old age, he’d died in battle. It was a death suitable for a king such as himself. He doesn’t regret his life at all. Except maybe the plethora of children. There are a few he truly cherishes--Karson, his firstborn; Eliska, his angel, Lyanna and Malekith, his lovely twins; and Nocturnal, his little dragon. His strong, beautiful dragon girl. As a parent, he is not supposed to pick favorites, but when it comes to Nocturnal there was never any competition. They’d been close since the day he found her, bloody and sobbing in the Chamber after her mother had been slaughtered. He never did avenge his little Fey. She deserved more than just a brutal death and a quiet goodbye. So did they all, he supposes. Nocturnal is here, somewhere. He had been keeping a watchful eye on her on the days before her death, hoping--praying--that she would come to her senses. He knew what was coming and he knew that he could do nothing to stop it; he has no powers to reach out of the afterlife and touch a living soul. But he should have stopped her. Someone should have stopped her. Someone should have known. They should have realized and they should have protected her. He would give up even this afterlife to see his little dragon girl alive and well again. He would let his soul fade away into nothing if he could bring her back to life. She didn’t deserve to die like that. She should be alive and well. Does anyone think of him in that way? Does anyone miss him or wish that he was still among the living? Probably not. He was not a well-loved stallion or King by any means and most of them were glad to see him go. He had a few that were near and dear to his heart, but they are all either dead or vanished. He is not missed in Beqanna. He learned that long ago. The only sway he still holds are his children and grandchildren, and many of them have long since vanished. Noct’s progeny persists, though, and he catches glimpses of himself in all of them; in Anni’s mischievous mannerisms and in Gendry’s fiery (quite literally) spirit. There is a warrior in each of them and he hopes they know their heritage, dating all the way back to the great Chain and the Alliance-winner, Set. Of course Nocturnal’s children were the strongest and most capable of them all. The Blood Alliance may have been destroyed decades ago, but the remnants are still around. Their family is still extraordinarily powerful. Some of them are cruel and ambitious; some are thoughtful and calculating. They all have the potential to be great, if only he could be a mentor to them. Yes, he’s arrogant. He’s also dead, though. Hardly a threat. my childhood spat back out the monster that you see  |
Preferably someone he knew in life.
