no matter what they say, I am still the king
You had met in passing – at the birth of his last three children. Their legs were spindly and they rose bowlegged and unsure, still wet from their mothers’ womb. This was the first (and only) time Eight had formally met you. You were a Valley member though (for however short of a life she had once you arrived) – and Eight was keen to watch for your where abouts. You were always at the edge when first footsteps fell, and spent the rest of your time silent and boding in the thick pine forests. You were never ignored though, no – how could you be when you spent so much time so close to Kilter?
While the magician king had not spoken with you in depth, it was as if he knew you. He prodded your mind as you roamed free and wild and lone. He tracked your progress through the heart of the Valley, in his ever omniscient way. That was what entailed being a guardian and a king, right? It was imperative to have a keen eye for those who lived with you.
And now? Now the world was amiss. Now the Valley and her dark thicket of pines were no longer. Now, the Valley had split apart, and so had many of her citizens. Now there was no pack of wolves to guard her walls, nor any traits to bless her denizens. Now, Eight could not seek you out in his mind, now the magician king could not find his child as easily as plucking an apple from a limb.
And this is why he seeks you out. Because, while he tried his best, he was no true father figure, and Kilter had run rampant and quiet on his own. Because Kilter has not returned home, has not come back, and has not shown his face after the ruins of Beqanna.
“Ruan.” He finds you easily enough at the meadow, the only place where most of Beqanna could be now.
While the magician king had not spoken with you in depth, it was as if he knew you. He prodded your mind as you roamed free and wild and lone. He tracked your progress through the heart of the Valley, in his ever omniscient way. That was what entailed being a guardian and a king, right? It was imperative to have a keen eye for those who lived with you.
And now? Now the world was amiss. Now the Valley and her dark thicket of pines were no longer. Now, the Valley had split apart, and so had many of her citizens. Now there was no pack of wolves to guard her walls, nor any traits to bless her denizens. Now, Eight could not seek you out in his mind, now the magician king could not find his child as easily as plucking an apple from a limb.
And this is why he seeks you out. Because, while he tried his best, he was no true father figure, and Kilter had run rampant and quiet on his own. Because Kilter has not returned home, has not come back, and has not shown his face after the ruins of Beqanna.
“Ruan.” He finds you easily enough at the meadow, the only place where most of Beqanna could be now.
∞
and now the storm is coming, the storm is coming in
@[Ruan]