Magnus was happy to accept her enigmatic answer. he had danced around questions long enough before that he knew when someone would prefer leave some things in the shadows. If she did not want to give him specifics of her home, then she was under no obligation to. “I am glad the journey was safe,” he said simply and then smiling roguishly, “but there’s no need to call me m’lord. We are not so formal here.”
He was, of course, royal to his blood. Born of the Queen of one kingdom and the King of another, raised a Prince in both. He had risen to Lord in his father’s kingdom, and then moved to an entirely different one where he had become Lord and General and later King. Over time, he had held many titles, been trained in the ways of royalty, understood the politics of them—but here, he was more guardian then King. He did not expect anyone to bow their head to him, simply to work with him for Tephra’s best interest.
At her acceptance of his offer, he drew forward, motioning her to his side, as they began to make their way further into the land. They did not benefit from the thick groves of trees that dotted the landscape of the other lands but they did not suffer for vegetation. The ground was covered with it, thickly coated with lush, green plants. He navigated her through the thickest parts of it, moving her closer to the crown jewel of their land: the volcano. It jutted upward, clouds circling its base, smoke pluming upward in constant warning. “It is magnificent, is it not?” he asked, gold-flecked eyes moving over to glance at her.
“So what brings you to Tephra today?” He wondered if she would sidestep this question too.
out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know
I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll
![[Image: gqYjsHr.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/KjqNDKxc/gqYjsHr.png)