"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
don't get cut on my edges ─ I'm the king of everything and oh my tongue is a weapon
Even after all this time, it calls to him.
Years have come and gone, and yet ─ he can smell the sweet perfume of the wisteria, feel the sweeping boughs of his favorite tree as they brush against his dragonhide back, hear the gentle rhythm of the crystalline lake as its barely-there tide laps against weather-worn pebbles and warm, dark sediment. Hyaline had always been home, no matter the other places he had seen and slept. No matter how many years he had spent following footsteps when he should have been leading. No matter the memories he had made.
It was always Hyaline.
Despite the chill of the winter, his first hoofsteps across the invisible threshold into the sanctuary feel so surreal, as if trapped in a dream, all wispy and bright. His molten amber eyes drink in the familiar downtrodden pathway and his nostrils flare to inhale as much of Hyaline's woodsy scent as physically possible, until his lungs threaten to burst and his chest screeches with hot flames. Familiarity with the scenery aside, it feels... different. It still grasps him like home, still comforts him as he enters just as a sanctuary should, but when he finally pushes through these two feelings, he knows what it is that's missing ─ @[Solace].
His fluttering nostrils catch her scent on the gentle squall that coaxes him further into the sanctum, but it's not as prevalent as it once had been. Amet hadn't expected the daughter of Tangerine and Warrick, so uncertain and yet so full of unbridled potential on the day he had departed, to remain at the helm of his sanctuary home for all this time, but he would have loved to see how she had grown into her crown after the years he had spent away.
A melancholic twinge grips his chest momentarily, worried that the young light-bringer mare had left the world of Beqanna entirely. He can only purse his lips and hope to the contrary, until which point he has crested one of Hyaline's bordering foothills and a view of the lake, so serene and still, opens up for him like the embrace of an old friend. His favorite wisteria tree still sits at her water's edge, once dead and once revived by Kolera's hand.
"Hyaline, how I've missed you," Amet whispers to himself as his hooves carry him confidently down the hill and through the forest pathway, heading in the direction of the crystalline lake but in no hurry to get there as his amber eyes work their hardest to linger on everything familiar about Hyaline that comes rushing back to him.
It had been months since she left Hyaline's wisteria crown, placing it gently over two of The Sanctuaries up and coming stars. But she had exchanged it for a heavier burden, expanded her reach, and the mountains she left still called to her when it felt so heavy.
Solace is regal, full, well muscled under soft curves of motherhood and winter down. She drifts and banks like a falcon above her subkingdom, always watchful but only leaving the sky when necessary. The sickness which infected the very air here kept her away more often than it should have, but nothing could cleanly sever her heart-tie to Hyaline. It may be sentimental, she realizes as she dips below a cloud, but Silver Cove would never feel like home.
Movement catches the caretaker-queen's eye, her skull snapping in its direction as her wandering musings are interrupted. She glides closer, almost lazily, Kensa and Lie were perfectly capable of handling all of Hyaline's visitors, but curiosity often got the better of her.
She is not prepared for what she finds.
When she tells Kagerus this story in the twilight hours, whispered and soft as not to wake their youngest son, she will not remember how she came to stand before him. Only that she was in the sky like so many days, and then she was beside the golden king between the rattling bones of the winter woods.
"Amet," she breathes his name, letting it twist together with the pure mountain air across her tongue as she springs forward. His scales are rough against her skin as she presses herself to him, but she hardly notices. Supernaturally, frost is laced between the heavy tendrils of her mane and the scent of the sky follows her. But below this, the pristine and the frigid, the warm scents of her mate and family cling closest to her skin. After a moment she steps back to better see him, her crystalline eyes laughing and young once again. "You made it home."
As the words leave her, she realizes that she had always known he would.
S
olace
we're reeling through an endless fall we are the ever-living ghost of what once was
don't get cut on my edges ─ I'm the king of everything and oh my tongue is a weapon
Winter clings to naked boughs and runs chilly fingers up his spine, and despite the dragonhide that blankets him, Amet shivers. A quiet bout of laughter follows soon after as memories of his youthful kingship crawl forth from dusty, cob-webbed corners of his mind ─ he'd been so unsure, and yet... so determined to prove that he was no longer the young boy from the Dunes, his blood hot with desert sand, that he'd taken on the weight of a kingdom and its people at the age of two.
And oh, how it still flourishes.
He remembers rolling next to the lakeshore with Iset, laughing and rambling and butting heads with vernal giddiness until finally they decided... the Lake was no longer the Lake. It was Hyaline. It was theirs.
A light-hearted smile alights itself upon his lips as he continues even further, noticing only now that the forest of flamboyants and wisterias, red maple and cherry, no longer speaks of the fire that had nearly destroyed it all those years ago. Not even a whisper. With each stride, the akhal-teke stallion falls into deeper and deeper love with the home that had become his sanctuary, and the sanctuary of so many others, after he had fled the Dunes as a child.
And then, it surprises him. At first, Amet does not notice the sound of rustling wings or the wind that whips between cerulean feathers ─ the sound seems far away, masked by a gentle squall and the volume of his own thoughts. Only when Solace is nearly upon him does Amet yank his bright eyes from Hyaline's scenery and to the pegasus, surprised laughter falling from an open maw as she lands and rushes to him. Caught in a tight embrace, his own gilded neck flung over hers, relief floods through Amet's lithe body at the presence of the younger mare. "Solace," he responds in a tight-throated whisper as they recoil, though not unkindly, from each other's embrace.
"I couldn't stay away," he tells her truthfully and with no preamble, "I was worried you'd be gone." With a gentle bump of his muzzle against her shoulder and eyes bright with curiosity, Amet motions towards the lake and his favorite wisteria tree. "Let's rest over there, and then I need you to tell me absolutely everything about the last few years."
Amet gestures to the wisteria tree and her sparkling eyes leave him for the first time. She hadn't noticed how close they were to the dragon kings old haunt, but she smiles when she realizes. "Of course," she agrees, eagerly following his suggestion. Her stride long and energetic as she keeps herself beside Amet as they walk the short distance along the thawing lakeshore. "You're back just in time for spring too," she says as they halt below the delicate, leafless branches.
As he asks her to tell him everything and her expression, which has been so carefully measured over the last year, shines with warmth. "I warn you Amet, It's not a short story." But she is happy to do as he asks, and with a sigh, she relaxes back onto one hip.
"The first few years we fairly quiet, but we grew steadily. Svedka was still here then and we had a healthy council of five. The Caretaker, Ambassador, General, and Heart." She begins, enjoying the feeling of not having to curate each word for him as she reaches into her memory.
"There were political ups and downs, rumors of war which never materialized, or were suppressed before they began, but Hyaline stood strong. Over time, I fell for my general, Kagerus" Solace states wistfully. It is an oversimplification to be sure, the true story took twists and turns to arrive at such an end, but Solace found the darker moments of her and Kagerus' story, and the tragic night they had found their ways into each other's arms, was better left to the imaginations of others. "I have six children," she adds, her feminine features growing a little coy as they tilt back to his golden face. "all of them too independent for their own good. The younger four are by my mate, Kagerus, who is also my co-ruler. And the eldest twins are Castile's... a name you may remember." She had never known the full story of Amet's last year in Beqanna, but she knew Castile was a player in that.
"The last kingdom meeting, just after the plague struck, was the largest ever." She pauses, shifting her weight to her other hip as she searches his face. He may not know of the sickness which was infecting half of Beqanna and she halts in her brief history.
"That was about a year ago. Carnage released some sort of uncurable sickness across the old lands. Warrick was the first to contract it and his throne was taken from him during his sickness. He and Tangerine relocated to Hyaline while he took time to heal. But the sickness spread after some mischief in Pangea, and four kingdoms of old were raised from the ocean. They are free of disease." She nods in the direction of Silver Cove. "You may have noticed the geography was a little scrambled," she adds with a light puff of air from her nose. "As soon as everything changed and the fairies let us know that these new lands were safe, Kagerus and I relocated everyone to Silver Cove until the dust settled. At first, I stayed in Hyaline to make sure our claim was secure... but with my family and the rest of our residents in the cover, it was difficult. After a few months, Silver Cove became the ruling Kingdom and Hyaline and Pangea became her territories. I Returned to the safe lands and asked two of our young diplomats, Lie and Kensa, to lead Hyaline together. Which brings us... to today."
She gives a shake of her crest, realizing how long she has spoken and how many details have been skimmed over or completely omitted. She expects that he will have questions, but she is growing more and more curious to hear his story. "May not have felt like it," she teases, her pale feathers briefly extending to brush his shoulder. "But that's the very, very short version."
S
olace
we're reeling through an endless fall we are the ever-living ghost of what once was
@[Amet] ugh, here is an ugly block of dislodge for you. i feel like i already gave him an overwhelming amount of info to respond to, so she will ask about his story in her next post <3
don't get cut on my edges ─ I'm the king of everything and oh my tongue is a weapon
"Spring in Hyaline is unparalleled," he tells her simply, with unfettered excitement for the turn of the season. The wisteria's sweeping boughs would soon blossom with blue-violet flowers and the crisp winter air would be pregnant with their perfume. He nearly prances in place as they reach the lakeside. He takes his familiar place beneath the now-bare branches of his favorite tree and sighs all of the stress and exhaustion from his past few years straight out of his lithe dragonhide body as his bright amber eyes turn back to Solace. A gentle chuckle falls from his lips at her casual warning, but he nods her on ─ he needs to know everything.
The akhal-teke listens with unfaltering attention to Solace's story ─ how badly he wishes to have been here in Hyaline to experience all that had happened, but how happy he is that the daughter of Tangerine and Warrick had been the one to man the helm.
Familiar and unfamiliar names alike, a plethora of memories tug at his nostalgia. Svedka's unbridled youthfulness, Warrick's steadfast dedication, Tangerine and her brilliant smile... even Castile and the friendship Amet had felt for the dragon-shifter long ago. Gone are the remnants of any grudges. Gone are bruised egos. Simply, and above all else, the dragonhide stallion is happy to be home.
He grins as she mentions children but doesn't interrupt, instead continuing to listen with fluttering ears and attentive eyes. Word of the plague that had spread by Carnage's hand pinches his expression and pushes a frown over his soft mouth, but to say he is surprised would be a lie. When Solace draws her story to a close and her ruffled feathers brush against her shoulder, he allows silence to fall between them for a few moments as he processes everything she has told him.
"I'm sorry to hear of Warrick's sickness," he says finally, "how is he doing now?" His eyes search hers, another question playing at the tip of his tongue tentatively until finally he nearly blurts it ─ "And... Tangerine? How is she?" His heart aches with the absence of his old friend, and for now, only the excitement of returning to Hyaline is masking his pain.
Amet has many more questions for the cerulean-winged mare but is uncertain which to ask her first. "Is Svedka still here? Where is Castile now? Will I get to meet Kagerus and your children?" he asks in quick succession before another bout of laughter falls from his lips, "I'm sorry. I don't know where to start."
Solace has ruled for eight years and brought nearly as many children into the world; there is a life lived since she saw him last and still she feels the same rapport and admiration she had felt on the day he brought her to Hyaline. But when he asks after her parents her tone grows a little apologetic.
"Warrick and Tangerine were in Silver Cove for a while, but have also visited Tephra. I don't see them as often as I should, unfortunately." Her voice lowers ever so slightly as her gaze drifts back over the kingdom which she had devoted her life to. She hadn't realized it had been so long since she had visited her parents and collection of siblings in Tephra. For the eleven years of her life, very little of it had been lived outside of these mountains and although she did not regret it she couldn't help but let her mind dance with other possibilities now and again.
"I'm sure you remember what that's like." She concludes, shaking any hint of the solemness which had so briefly darkened her brow. "I would love for you to meet Kagerus and the children," she replies after he asks to meet her family, happy that his wanderings had not hardened. He is the same man she had known, and he maintains the same warm disposition that had always made everyone he met feel at ease. "Svedka is in Tangerine's homeland again," she sighs, she was never quite right when he was gone, but after the plague broke out she had felt glad of his absence for the first time in her life. With no cure in sight, it was probably for the best that his wandering soul was not here in Beqanna. She knew there would be no way she could confine Svedka to the safety of The Cove.
"As for Castile, he was in Icicle Isle last I saw him. He checks in now and then but he tends to move from place to place. Our son, Velk, lives in the Cove and Valdis, our daughter, has recently joined the ranks of Sylva."
But as she watches him her hunger for his story only grows, and she can hardly bring herself to spend another moment on the topics she knew so well. "But Amet, tell me..." she asks, candidly with no hint of her usual poise, "how have you been? I hope you return to us a wiser traveler and not a weary one."
S
olace
we're reeling through an endless fall we are the ever-living ghost of what once was
don't get cut on my edges ─ I'm the king of everything and oh my tongue is a weapon
Attentively, he listens to Solace speak of Tangerine and Warrick. In his youth, it had pained him to see the pair together; he had known all along that Warrick was kind and deserving of Tangerine’s love, but that knowledge had done nothing to heal the aching wound in Amet’s own heart. He half-expects to feel that same twinge of melancholy now, but instead he feels only happiness that they are still together and well ─ and still living in Beqanna, no less. The last time he had seen his first friend, his mahal, she was leaving Beqanna to journey towards her homeland and beyond. He can’t help but to smile at the memory of her unwavering wanderlust, and with happiness that she had returned to the island of Beqanna if only for a short time.
”I remember all too well,” he tells her genially and with a gentle nudge to her painted shoulder, ”Fortunately, you have a family that understands the work involved with running an empire.”
His amber eyes settle comfortably on the crystalline waters of the lake that lay sprawled before them, though his attention is still directed at Solace with pricked ears and the occasional nod of acknowledgment. ”I’ll plan a trip to Silver Cove to meet them, then,” he says with warmth in his eyes at the mention of Kagerus and her children. He thinks of his own, Takhar and Makhai, and hopes silently that their paths will one day cross again. Unfortunately for the dragonhide stallion, keeping track of the two boys would be difficult after the island of Eternal had sequestered itself away from the rest of the world.
Mention of Svedka draws him away from his thoughts and with his renewed attention comes a short chuckle. "If I remember correctly, he was quite fond of your mother's homeland." The boy had inherited Tangerine's wanderlust, though Amet is partially surprised that the crown atop Solace's crest had not coaxed her twin to remain within the confines of the eastern kingdom. He dotes on this for only a moment as the conversation turns briefly to Castile ─ and while the stallion is curious about their children, he makes sure to take special note of the unfamiliar territory name. Icicle Isle. How odd it feels to know that Beqanna's fairies had simply risen land from the tumultuous depths of the ocean and fit it nearly into the geography of the island.
He means to ask about the other new territories (new to him, he supposes), but Solace deftly changes the subject. And while he had known it would eventually become his turn to fill her in on the last few years of his life, the lithe akhal-teke hadn't been quite prepared to share. Nevertheless, Solace has a special place in his heart and so he begins to tell her the tale of his last few years, making sure not to avoid the less-than-pleasant portions that he may skirt around with others that he did not know so well.
"Wise and weary," he says with the tilt of a smile at his lips, "Eione, Jah-Lilah, and I ventured to a place called Eternal. You would have liked it, I think. It was a small collection of islands, but one of them lived under eternal day and another under eternal night." He thinks fondly on his home from the past few years as his amber eyes slip over the comforting sight of Hyaline's lake. "Takhar followed soon after and built a life with his friends and new mate. I'm a grandpa now, you know." ─ an incredulous laugh ─ "Eione and I had a son. Makhai. He was born looking just like a dragon. But..."
He pauses, throat tightening just enough to make continuing difficult but after a moment or two, he continues nonetheless. "I only ever got to see him on the day he was born. After that, an ice age took over the land and swallowed everything in darkness. I was separated from them. And after the world began to sink into the sea, I had to escape with my life. I just hope they made it off, too." He tries to smile hopefully but his lips quiver at the thought. He clears his throat uncomfortably, waiting for the tight heat within it to subside. "Beqanna was the only other place Eione had known. So maybe one day they will show up here. Takhar, thankfully, escaped in the other direction with Harrier, so I know he's off doing well. And probably stirring up some trouble while he's at it."
