by the hammer of thor - mast, magnus, rhy, sette

[magnus]

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

He had not expected them to come. He had hoped they would—hope buried in a recess of his mind that he had not fully trusted. He had hoped they would see the righteousness of their plight; would see that all the Gates wanted was justice whereas the Chamber wanted chaos. The jungle of his mother may not have wanted to pursue justice over power, but he had hoped that the jungle of today would. He had to hope.

So he almost did not believe his eyes when he saw them crest the hill. He could not dare to trust to himself until he drew closer, his eagle wings tucked into his sides and his gold-flecked eyes burning as he came to a quiet stop near the group. He did not introduce himself, not at first, electing instead to just listen to the conversation, his heart thudding against his ribs when Rhy finally said the purpose of the visit.

His gaze swung to the Queen’s, caught and it and held. “Thank you, Lagertha.” His gaze then shifted to meet that of Sette (who looks vaguely familiar) and then to Rhy. The last time he had seen the mare, it had been on an unorthodox visit to the Jungle, she had been kind enough to let him skirt the edges of his birth home with a friend. He would not forget such kindness, and he smiles gently in her direction.

But this is neither the time nor place to explain the reasoning behind his visit—certainly not a romantic date as was assumed, at least he hadn’t viewed it in such a light—and he straightens, nodding toward his King. “I think I speak for the entire kingdom when I say we appreciate the support.” His voice drops a little, his gaze tracing the borders of their quiet, gentle kingdom. “We all know that war is coming, and I think we all intend to be on the winning side of it. So how do we best prepare for it?”

MAGNUS

once general. once lord. once king.