12-17-2025, 04:37 PM
That everything good is happening somewhere else?
The ghost calls, and her contemporaries reply.
Predators, magicians. The dangers of the past come to wreak havoc on the present in the name of the Chamber of Evil. An ironic place for this old man to loiter, drifting between the towering pines and the cobblestone paths weaving through it like swollen veins. A man of many homes now, and many lives, lovers, and families, I am a walking intergenerational tapestry. Along the length of my salt-and-wheat coat, vibrant pictures of the prominent characters in our family story move, as constant in their wanderings as I am in my own.
Mother: Kagerou, long-ago Khaleesi of the Amazon Jungle. A bay Arabian mare with clouded leopard print tattoos marking her allegiance to the women's kingdom; the first face I ever saw. The matriarch of our line.
Father: Rhaego, mute ambassador of the Dale. A buckskin stallion like myself, stoic and loving in equal measure. He taught me the value of loving a woman with integrity and loyalty.
Siblings: Rodrik, king of the Chamber of Evil. An undead bay stallion and the reason I departed from our childhood home to begin a life for myself. Despite his penchant for necromancy and political advantage, he kept an eye over me for my time with the kingdom, making room for my gentle soul in such a darkly connotated land. He encouraged my relationship to the prophetic fire tree, to whom I once devoted myself as a priest. And Rayelle, my dearest sister, long lost to me in years gone past.
Daughter: Kagerus, who took after her namesake in both personality and appearance as she reigned over the eastern lands after the great disruption. The heart of my heart, the girl I raised as a single father and who in turn gave me berth in both Hyaline and the Silver Cove when I earned immortality in my advanced age. I think of her every day, and visit her and Solace often in their hidden places beyond Beqanna's watchful eyes. They are raising another soul now, transferred to them upon the loss of their own eldest daughter.
Niece: Straia, the elusive family magician. A bay tobiano mare responsible for much of the Chamber's evolutions and the original Raven steward.
Each of these souls and countless more - grandchildren, great grandchildren - feature across my thin hide. I am rich in family, both past and present. And despite it all, despite the centuries past and the constant changing topography of the land, my future yet beckons, whispering of chapters yet to be written in the endless novel of my life.
The shadow-mare's call marks the start of a new chapter.
Stepping into the clearing, I feel momentarily overwhelmed; the heat and glare of the flaming tree slams into my subconscious with the force of an expert attack in an alliance battle. My soot-tipped ears flicker, betraying my uneasiness around this entity which I once worshipped above all else. But at the words of those around me, I push through the discomfort and study them. The leader, dressed in darkness; the wolf-man; and the forest magician. Ghosts all, though each wears their youth like a king's polished gold. I, meanwhile, betray my years through the sway of my back, the protrusion of my ribs, and the graying of my once-black muzzle. Only the panther with intelligent eyes strikes me as evidence of Beqanna's progression.
I make eye contact with each, intentional, slow; and dip my head.
"My name is Kavi. I called the Chamber home long ago, and I travel it now with great frequency in search of homes long gone. I claim ancestry with Straia, my niece; but I do not claim any part in war or spying." I settle my gaze on she who called the meeting. "My place is with the tree, praying and interceding on Her behalf."