looking for heaven found the devil in me; any

[Rodrik]

Falling back into the familiar patterns of old habits had not been easier. Attending to duties and diplomatic manners of the old world was one of the very few innate skills that the red devil would never forget. He knows more about the rising and fallings of kingdoms, along with the blood that must be shed and responsibilities that must be upheld. The weight of the kingdom and its success is all too familiar—the hunger for power and more cravings had once filled his mind. It is not to say he is no longer this way. Rodrik is still the patient, cunning, and ruthless individual to get what he wants. The skillfulness does not simply fade when it was born within you. He has had his share of power-hungry desires within his life, but ruling lands and others does not fill his mind lately. Perhaps he is too love-struck by recent events in his life. Brunhild had come back and now there was a little one on the way. Truthfully, Rodrik was reconsidering his values. It was a moral code he created and followed only. However, thinking of others and their well-being felt strange to him. He no longer thought of himself now. Instead, it was scheming for the benefit of his family. He would always be stubborn to get what he wanted and now what his family would want. It was no longer him against the world, but them against the world now. Ischia at last comes into view as he moves along the sandbars. Rodrik had to wait for the low tide to come in order to safely make it to the big island. If anything, and whoever had the idea, had found an ideal place to call home. Ischia was well guarded naturally by the creation of nature itself. As well, it was beautiful and colorful. Much of it resembled the very jungle he had grown up in the old world. Eventually, Rodrik reaches the shore of the white sandy beaches on the island. The dense tropical jungle lays just ahead of him. He does not make the initiation to venture further into the island. The dense forest is there for a reason, lining the border of the kingdom and even the stupidity to venture into a thick and dark jungle was not ideal. He knew nothing of these so-called residents (if anyone was here). So, he simply lets out a call, inviting any and what that lives on this island. They would come. They always did.

character info: here | character reference: here | image © rostyslav zagornov