"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
She'd restored one already, returning the magic that had been lost. It was a heady sensation, exhilirating. She could do that. The fairy had chosen her. It only confirmed her theories. She was meant for a greater purpose.
That innate intuition lead her here, to this land she would soon discover. She'd never crossed that hidden barrier that bordered the Meadow and Forest, finding it wiser to wait until she was older, larger. Stronger. She'd learned first hand the minor cruelties in this world, and she hoped to face them again better prepared.
As a dark and shimmering navy blue, she stood apart from the earth-toned nature around her like a celestial being, deployed upon the earth to fulfill her purpose. Fiery orange hair danced across her neck and behind her in the gusty gale like a living, roaring fire. A visual anomaly, an alien. Perhaps, one day, an angel.
Hail! she called to the emptiness, her voice a deep and throaty yell. It was quiet in the area where she had paused, but she could smell the scent of many others deeper within the lands. Sharp amber eyes pinpointed the volcano in the distance, at the heart of the land. She could trace the sulfur in the air, a subtle burning beneath the sticky tropics. A slick sheen of sweat was beading across her young figure, still not quite two years of age.
Something brought her here, she reminded herself silently. There was a hidden purpose.
Visitors were becoming more frequent, more commonplace, and Magnus had to wonder if it was because of the slight uptick in activity within Tephra or simply the balancing of Beqanna as a whole. Now that the initial worst part of the storm had passed, others were growing more curious—braver. He himself was beginning to venture outside of Tephra and beyond the field to the other lands, doing his best to get a feel for their politics and structures. He could only imagine that the rest of Beqanna felt the same curiosity.
She, however, did not seem like she was a visiting diplomat. She did not seem like anything he had ever seen before, at all. She was regal in stance and it brought forth his more formal kingdom training, his shoulders straightening and his expression carefully neutral as he stepped forward toward her. Magnus did not consider him King of Tephra, but he had worn the crown before and been raised a Prince. That kind of experience, that training, went straight to his bones. He may not be King, but he carried himself as one.
He came to a stop as he neared her, dipping his golden head more formally than usual. “Greetings,” his voice was deep and steady, whiskey in his throat. “What brings you to Tephra?” He had envisioned the land as one of peace, of sanctuary, (a familiar stance nowadays), but he knew better than most that peace was not given freely; it had to be protected, fought over. So while he did not view her immediately as a threat, the warrior in him stood at the ready, regarding her with a weighty gaze. “My name is Magnus.”
He considered mentioning his position, but dismissed the idea. It would not be difficult to guess.
Baby Hope has been a literal spot of joy in her life. The little roan filly is such a happy child, so innocent, friendly and pure. Everyone she’s met has become taken with her instantly, disarmed by her sweet and open disposition. Even Taiga, so often prone to irritating and even bullying her siblings, has been nothing but gentle with the sweet girl.
They get along so well that Eira has decided to take a chance … and leave Hope in Taiga’s care for the day. It’s not something she would have ever dreamed of doing before, given Taiga’s disposition (not that she thinks Taiga would injure anyone, more like torment them), but given Taiga’s treatment of the little girl, she thinks it’s finally time to test giving Taiga some responsibility.
She’s not too far from them of course (she doesn’t trust Taiga that much, not yet anyhow), but she’s taking the opportunity to go for a bit of a stroll. She hasn’t had much time for walking freely since Hope’s birth, and it’s nice to have the chance to stretch her legs and breath the fresh clear air.
But she’s only minutes into her walk when she hears a youthful, but rather confident voice calling out across the plain. Her curiosity is peaked, and with nothing better to do that satisfy her own curiosity, she heads out in the direction of the voice.
It takes her a little while, but eventually she comes across the caller - a young, vibrantly coloured mare standing on the outskirts of the kingdom. She’s been beaten there by Magnus (who she does not know well, having only met him soon after Hope’s birth), so she gives the buckskin stallion a warm smile and nod, before turning back to the girl. “Hello, I’m Eira.”
Tall and massive, this living mountain stood as an angry child of the other, the one she'd awakened on so long ago. It felt like so long ago. It steamed, huffed and puffed. Stamped it's little feet. It growled with threat, and yet also held quiet and solid as a monument. Would it become a warning, or an invitation?
Amber eyes trickled down almost reluctantly as movement flickered before her. Sunlight danced across him like a living, gilt statue. Golden and noble, he carried himself tall like some glorious prince from an enchanting fairy tale. She instantly forgot about that stirring mountain and watched him silently, transfixed, as he bowed his head to her just as one of those princes might have.
It was like a scene from a dream, one she did not belong in.
His voice melted over her, the kind that could make a woman purr in response. He named the place Tephra. Her mind said, look around, burn it to memory, but her eyes stayed glued to him, a warrior king. He said his name was Magnus. She didn't respond at first, a slight tilt to her head but otherwise expressionless. Yellow peered out from deep blue, accented with fire-orange, only watching. She supposed he would be what was burned to memory this day.
A sound to the side spun her ear away from him. Would he vanish if she turned away? Her head soon followed, then slowly, her eyes. Dark and delicate, the mare nodded to the gilded prince crowned in darkness. Her own gaze followed, he hadn't disappeared after all, then returned as the woman looked to her.
"Hello, I'm Eira." Something felt... right about that. Her name, her look. Eira, she said under her breath, testing it on her tongue. She came for knowledge, perhaps training in battle. If anything the man looked more promising in that regard, and yet this woman was the one with a slight dullness in her eyes like a magic-stolen. Perhaps both could help her.
I am Raeg'n, she said rather dimly, not at all as strong as she normally sounded, she thought. She glanced between the two, hovering on Magnus. I've come for knowledge. I wish to learn to fight, protect. Defend. Against anything. She shifted back to the woman, wondering if she guessed correctly, and that Raeg'n might be able to help her in return.
I can restore magic, she said quietly. Then waited to see if her intuition had played her true today.
Magnus may have been born and raised a Prince, but he had never thought of himself of the fairy tale kind. Too much darkness burned in his veins, at the edges of his vision; too much sin curdled in his belly. His birthright had been a poison that he had done his best to overcome but one with venom that had never been fully sucked from his flesh. He had been gifted with the wildness of the Jungle, the sharpness of the Chamber; he had been born a child of the jaguar and the panther and raised a weapon.
Although love had later softened his edges, give him reason to temper his hunger, it had never sated it. The goodness that he saw in others did not always come easily, or naturally to him. It was always just a little too tempting to give into his anger, to hand himself over to his rage; the blackness of the shadows were always just a little too alluring to ever let himself live unchecked, unmeasured, unguarded.
Still, these dark desires are battened down and hidden behind the friendly gaze of his gold-flecked eyes. He played his cards close to his chest and instead nodded his head in greeting, twisting his handsome head toward Eira, his scarred lips lifting into a crooked, warm smile. “Eira, it is a pleasure.” He glanced around her for a moment before realizing that the child was not with her today. “And how is Hope doing?”
His attention however was drawn back to the visitor and his expression grew more somber, mouth flattening in thought as he considered her. At her offer, he rolled his shoulders lightly. “I have no magic to be restored,” his voice was whiskey-heat in his throat but there was no shame in the words. He had never minded that he was one of the few ungifted to wander Beqanna. He had seen the way magic burned down homes and destroyed families—the easy way that it could corrupt. Magnus had always trusted in the strength of his back and the sweat on his brow. He never feel the need to supplement it with anything else.
“However, if knowledge of war is what you are after, I could be of assistance.” His body would be a testament to that. Magnus was not particularly tall or foreboding, but he was obviously built for battle and his body wore the scars of it. He had been in battles, in wars, in raids. He had spilled blood and felt it seep from his own wounds. Thoughtful, he looked toward Eira for a moment, wondering if she was in need of such a gift, before glancing back to Raeg’n. “I would be happy to provide it,” a pause as he gestured toward Eira, “although I would ask that you first help should she be in need of such restoration.”
Magnus greats her with a smile that she returns, remembering the courteous way he’d greeted her family on the last time they’d met. “The pleasure is mine, Magnus. And Hope is doing wonderfully - growing up so fast. Thank you for asking.” Then both of them return their attentions to the girl once more, Eira’s brown eyes open and curious.
The girl repeats Eira’s name, and there is something hungry in that youthful voice, something calculating in those amber eyes. It makes Eira suspicious, wary, but the girl soon reveals the root behind that hunger - knowledge. Warmth blossoms in her smile - that quest for knowledge is so like her Weir in a way (though he hungers for knowledge for knowledge’s sake rather than strength). But expression turns to surprise and curiosity when the girl reveals what she has to trade for that knowledge, that is, that she can restore magic.
Her thoughts immediately flash to her lost cryokinesis, and she is surprised to realize that she does indeed miss it. Such a strange thing. She’d been so afraid of it once, so scared of what she was capable of …
But now, to have it back … she would feel more safe, more secure in this wide, unknown world. Not to mention it would allow her to play those silly games with her children once again …
But she knows little of fighting.
Magnus speaks up again, offering himself as a teacher of the fighting arts, and suggesting that Raeg’n work her magic on Eira instead. “Thank you, Magnus. I have indeed lost something … cryokinesis. The ability to manipulation the cold, the ice and snow. I know nothing of fighting however. But …” She pauses, considering. She does not want the girl to give her something for nothing after all. “Perhaps I can help you learn to defend yourself against an ability such as mine?” There are many other horses out there with abilities like (if not identical to hers). At the very least she could help prepare the girl.
12-10-2016, 10:42 PM (This post was last modified: 12-10-2016, 10:44 PM by Raeg'n.)
-Raeg'n-
They clearly knew each other, and she watched on in silence as they greeted and conversed. She was the stranger, the odd one. She felt she always would be. The heavy stare from the man could be felt, this powerful Magnus. Honey eyes held it blankly, dulling a little as he admitted he had no magic to be restored. It was a shame, he looked as though he could teach her a great deal. Scars of old marked his well-toned legs, riddled across his mass in silent stories she might never know of him. She tried not to let her disappointment show.
"However, if knowledge of war is what you are after, I could be of assistance." Her face seemed to brighten, despite her expression still held carefully blank. She didn't want to seem too eager, too easily satisfied. It could give him a reason to pass her the shorter stick, or some such nonsense. She wanted all of it, not just a teasing taste. All of it. Battle and strength, strategy. "...although I would ask that you first help should she be in need of such restoration." She nodded easily, turning back to the woman that struck an odd little chord in her chest.
Her eyes nearly glowed in pleasure as Eira explained what she could do. A childish slip of envy coursed through her. Why couldn't she have a magic? No, that wouldn't do. No fanciful dreams here, only duty and purpose. Raeg'n smiled when she offered to help her learn to defend herself against similar gifts, the first real expression since she'd shown up on their land. It was gratifying to finally find one able to help her in return for their power. And with the kingly one's offer as well, this seemed to best place for her to happen upon.
I would love to learn this from you, she said with a gracious dip of her head, eyes dancing. She delved into the fairy's magic, snaking it around Eira and letting it settle in. Restoring what was once hers. Now she was in an entirely new position, as she looked back to Magnus. She was quiet as she considered how to handle this. So far, she had been the one with the gift, the bargaining chip. With him, it seemed she was the one without something to offer. It made her feel unworthy; there was no magic to assist him in some way. It was only her. All she ever had was herself.
I'm afraid I have nothing to offer you in exchange for your knowledge, she told him quietly, gold-flecked eyes falling to his feet. Couldn't there be something? Finally someone who could truly train her, and not a thing to give him in return. She wouldn't be giving up that easily.
What can I do to earn it? she asked, her head lifting to meet his gaze again. Holding it. There had to be something she could do. So close to realizing her first step in life; she couldn't let it slip away so quickly.
He listens quietly as Eira speaks, at the gift that had been stripped from her. He could not imagine what it would be like to control the elements like that—to be able to command the ice and snow to do your bidding. He was not naive, he knew how such manipulation worked and even the strain it could place on someone who stretched their hand too far, but it was still an alien concept to him. All magic truly was.
He just nods to Eira though, happy to play any part in helping her regain what was lost, before turning his attention back to Raeg’n. Pleasure coursed through him as she accepted Eira’s terms and he watched as she reached inward, although there was no sign to him at least of any magic working. After several moments, he finally spoke up, his voice heavy in the silence. “Do you feel it inside you once more?”
He wondered if it would be a slow burn, or a flood; would she regain it at full power?
Such wonderings, however, were cut short as the young mare addressed him once more. He did not respond, at least not at first. It was not the first time he would have mentored someone. He had done so before, had taken others beneath his proverbial wing to help them understand the fluid beauty of battle, to see both the science and the art of war. Magnus may not consider himself fit to be a mentor in life, but if she was looking for someone who could teach her how to defend, how to fight, he could be of assistance.
“I only ask that you use such knowledge for good,” he finally said, simply. He had no great need of a gift from her. “Should you wish to use it for the good of Tephra, it would be appreciated, but is not required.” He did not want to tie her to this land unless it was where she wished to live, where she wished to call home. He would be just as happy to teach her and then send her out in the world to find her own home.
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
The girl is eager and her face brightens as Eira explains her ability and what she might be able to offer. It does make Eira wonder however …
While she respects the girl’s hunger for knowledge, she does find it odd that a girl so young is so interested in the ways of battle. Or … perhaps it is not so odd. Children like to play fight after all, do they not?
But she has no time to dwell on the disquieting thought - she is suddenly overcome by a strange sensation. Her skin tingles and her body is suddenly chilled … but it is an oh-so-familiar chill. She laughs aloud, suddenly giddy as power floods through her. She can’t help but reach for it, and she pulls a light flurry of snow from the sky above. Oh god it’s so nice to have it back. Once again she can’t help but see the irony in the situation. She’d been so, so afraid of her abilities when she’d first arrived in Beqanna …
But the girl and Magnus are still the discussing their own terms, so she forces herself to fall silent despite the giddiness inside. Once Magnus has made his only request - that she use such fighting knowledge for good, rather than evil - does she step forward to speak again. “Thank you, so much, for what you have done. Would you prefer to work with Magnus first, or with me?” She pauses for a moment, thinking. “I must confess, I’m not sure where to begin.” Perhaps she should ask Weir. He knows some attacks using his cryokinetic abilities, she’s seen him do it before. She supposes she would be able to replicate some of them on their own … but for some of the more complicated attacks she might need his advice. Not to mention she’d be concerned about the potential of actually hurting the girl. On that thought … “Do you have any abilities of your own? Any that you might be able to use in defense?”
He was quiet for moments as he seemed to consider her lack of exhange. She tried not to let her heart sink, worried of the rejection soon to come. She had nothing to offer him. He would not teach her. And why should he? But he spoke, and surprise perked her up, ears forward in hope.
"I only ask that you use such knowledge for good. Should you wish to use it for the good of Tephra, it would be appreciated, but is not required."
She could barely contain her delight, midnight coat trembling with the need to stay steady, appear stoic. She refused to be seen as a child in his eyes, could not bare to think it, but the feverish joy electrifying her blood lit her golden eyes bright. Don't mess this up! With effort, she bowed her head to him slowly. I will stay, of course. It was the least she could do for everything he would teach her.
Her attention returned eagerly to Eira, and she thought over her question. Ice-defense training or Magnus first? She supposed a good foundation was the best place to start first, and then she would be able to utilize that knowledge more efficiently in Eira's teachings. Yes, that would do nicely. I will train with.. Magnus first. She hesitated over his name, unsure if she should be calling him by any specific title. It felt inappropriate somehow, almost too intimate. Then again, she'd rather he just call her by name as well. She shrugged inwardly and moved on.
"Do you have any abilities of your own? Any that you might be able to use in defense?"
An innocent enough question, but she couldn't help the distance she immediately put on her emotions. The fairy restored me.. I feel no different, she stated honestly, blandly. If she had a magic, it was hidden away and locked from her grasp. Perhaps one day something might turn up, but she doubted it. Surely everyone would feel if they were different. If they were special.
She turned back to Magnus. If it's alright, I will find you after a few days to begin. There's something I must do first.Someone I must find. Would her childhood friend, her only friend, remember her? Would he be pleased to see her again after so long?
Would he come with her to live in Tephra..
trait restoring for @[Eira] but also any are welcome (for traits or a chat or what-have-you)
![[Image: gqYjsHr.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/KjqNDKxc/gqYjsHr.png)
