we are aching bones and wasted years; esileif

[magnus]

you and I both know that the house is haunted
and you and I both know that the ghost is me

Magnus knew all too well how strong ambition could be in a soul. He had been born into perhaps the most ambitious duo at the time, and he had been groomed by it. From the moment of his birth, he had been taught the beauty of ambition. Perhaps that is why he had risen up the ranks in three different kingdoms. He was not particularly power hungry and titles had not meant a whole lot to him, but he had also learned that positions within the kingdoms was one of the best, and easiest, ways to protect the people that he had loved. His ambition had always managed to serve a grander purpose for him.

So when she reveals her next question, he understands, and he smiles at her. “I would be surprised if there was something that the Gates could not give you,” he trails off here. He knows what most people think about the once-Light kingdom; he knew that many viewed it as a spineless kingdom that was more interested in peace than strength, but that just wasn’t what he had found here. They were not pacifists.

“That being said, if you were to want something more, I’d be happy to help support in getting it.”

He is honest here, genuine, “Just because you choose to live at the Gates now does not mean that you are bound to it forever. We do not ask that you sign a blood oath.” Unlike other kingdoms, he thinks briefly, but he doesn’t mention that; it wasn’t Magnus style to recruit by bad-mouthing the other places to live. “You could always decide down the line that you would like to live somewhere else, but I truly believe that you would be surprised by how fulfilling you would find life in the Gates to be.”

MAGNUS

once general. once lord. once king.