"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
In the wake of Sabra’s murder and Klaudius’s resulting demise, a deceptive calm had fallen over Nerine. Or perhaps only Breckin, lulled into the buzzing static of chaotic thoughts and the possible outcomes of choices that were and yet to be made. A journey to Tephra had long settled onto the future’s horizon, and she knew with an unquestionable certainty that recent events were as good of a reason as any. It was no longer advisable to put off the inevitable.
The search for Leilan had been brief as usual —he was never beyond her reach when she needed him. She’d made it her prerogative to preserve time and energy by finding him first, understanding that he would just shadow her anyway even if she forbade it. An unspoken discussion passed between them when her gaze set with stubborn determination found his, trusting that he would be able to read what her intentions were, no allowance given for actual conversation over the matter as she turned eastward.
The volcanic kingdom’s edge came upon them disturbingly quickly, dark eyes trailing over the ashen plumes and black stone spires in the distance. Along the border she hovered, gently lowering the brittle remains of the lavender stallion in front of them with her telekinetic graces. Painfully long seconds drag by until the dull gleam of the sun’s rays catching on metal summons her attention.
The leopard mare drops her head in acknowledgement of their present company, recognizing him from memories that were not her own. “King Kromium, allow me to apologize first—a meeting between Tephra and Nerine has long been overdue. I am Breckin, Queen of the Leviathans and this is Leilan, one of Nerine's guards.” Her own guard actually, that would have come regardless of her asking him too, but she doesn't feel it appropriate to say such a thing now. She pauses then, glance passing towards Leilan to give him the moment to say something himself if he wished to before refocusing on Tephra’s sovereign. “I hope we’ve found you well today so far.”
It had been months since a visitor of another land has graced themselves upon Tephra shores. He greeted them all kindly but alas they always asked the same questions, having the same goals. Seeking knowledge and freely giving it. He wasn't so sure all of their intentions were good and those who he felt only wanted something, he sent them away empty handed. Tephra had nothing to give or recieve. They all wanted to live peaceful lives.
He spots the pair crossing a short distance from where he had been enjoying the dimming light of day on his iron body. Emerald limbs remained still as he simply observed. They seemed to be searching for someone and he wonders if he is the one to be found. A silent swish of his tail hints to his curiosity, along with a forward tip of his ears. With the darkness casting shadows across the land, he does not see the cargo they carry with them.
A shimmer of light reflects from his body and it is the sound of the spotted mares voice that brings him nearer. His emerald eyes look to her as she speaks and with a dip of his head, he approaches. "No worries Queen Breckin. And please just call me Krom," he calls into the space between them.
When he is a respectful distance from them, his emerald limbs halt squarely. Eyes shift to the Queen's guard with a kind smile, "It is a pleasure to meet you both." His gaze returns to the spotted mare, "And to what do I owe this..." A scent catches in his nares and it overpowers the sulfur air of Tephra. It is a charcoaled smell he could not place until the source is found at their feet. At first he mistakes the ashy remains as part of the Tephra landscape, but as his eyes focus in the weakened light, he finds the slight hue of his family amidst the blackened form. He steps back quickly as he realizes it is a body that separates them. "What happened? Is this?" Emerald eyes rise again to meet Breckins. They are not hardened with anger but construed with confusion. He would wait for an explanation before assuming the worst of what was before him...
He feels strangely normal about the whole ordeal. It had been too quick, acting without thinking it over, but the weirdest thing is that he has not a single grain of remorse, or feeling sorry. Because every part of him knows that it was a right thing to do. There is a sense of justice whenever he thinks back on his actions, and maybe he had let the man suffer a tiny but longer than needed, but knowing what he’d done to Sabra and Krone and who knows else would be next, he can’t find it in himself to be truly sorry about that either.
No brother would tolerate evils such as rape and murder, and when confronted with such actions, any Kraken will do anything in his power to end or prevent it.
So it is as it should be.
The only thing he feels sorry about is that the man had children that he did care for (though if he comes to learn that Klaudius had spent all his time in the riverlands just waiting for a chance at revenge, and hadn’t even visited his children, that would squash even that kind of feeling-sorry right out of him). And even then; he’d brought this entirely on himself. The bite mark on Breckin’s crest is a scar now, but still visible (good thing her skin is light enough for the scar not to literally be constantly in his line of vision). The lavender man had had the chance to escape and that was entirely reasonable to do; even the mark left on her might be something forgivable over time, but instead of fleeing and staying away, Klaudius had opted to threaten her and when he couldn’t find her easily enough, vented that anger on Sabra. That was his undoing. That was why Leilan couldn’t care about the death and destruction of the man.
Breckin always cared, of course. So when she comes to get him, and with the blackened bones floating behind her, he doesn’t even begin to discuss it. It’s pointless fighting over the past, and Klaudius certainly isn’t worth the fight with Breckin anyway.
He stands next to her like an unwavering statue; she hasn’t talked all the way. His mind briefly flashes over the short meeting with the equally-golden haired black mare, Amorette, in this land - he’d come to introduce Roseen to them. It hadn’t stuck. Maybe if it had, and she’d come to live here and found someone else, other dramatic events could have been prevented. But the past is just that. Unchangeable, and if he could, best left forgotten.
She does the introductions, and he nods at the silvery, green-haired colt. Stallion. He must have been a yearling when Klaudius had decided that he wanted his family in Tephra, rather than the place they’d called home until then. To Leilan, still a strange decision. But he guessed the colt from then wouldn’t recognize him now. It was too long ago, and the silver bay roan wasn’t as memorable as Brennen at that point in time (though flashy in appearance for sure).
There’s a flash of some kind of sorry feeling when the boy (young adult) starts to realize this won’t be a pleasant visit. When he asks the question, the scaled roan decides he better answer that.
”Sorry, but that’s Klaudius.” There’s no sugar-coating any of this, and he wouldn’t want to have anybody else do that for him in Krom’s place either. It’s better to bring bad news fast, and be honest about it, than to have to use a hundred words and let it take ages to confirm what was already dawning on the reciever of said news.
He takes a deep breath, preparing both himself and Krom for the facts - facts is all he gives, or hopes to give. ”Wishbone once held him captive in Nerine. He escaped last winter,” a sideways look to Breckin, he leaves out the threat and the scar she now bears, ”Came back to attack Breckin and when he couldn’t find her, he decided he’d maim, rape, and murder our friend Sabra instead.” His tone is neutral, but revealing the anger behind it with just a slightly trembling undertone, while the ice in his eyes shine decidedly cold. Kromium doesn’t have to guess what happened after the attack on Sabra, he thinks. The evidence lies at their feet - even though Leilan isn’t capable of such burning. But there’s no need for pointing fingers; he would have killed him instead, if Castile hadn’t shown up to do it.
But he was still Kromium’s father (even though the young leader must know that it was a similar action that caused his existence in the first place), so he could have the remains. And the truth. That was all they were here for anyway.
@[Breckin] @[Kromium]
Two things I know I can make: pretty kids, and people mad.
As the king speaks, she manages to smile, but the brightness that her crooked grin usually holds is tainted with sadness, never really rising to meet with the depths of her eyes. The effort behind the gesture is genuine, noting his kindness and simultaneously wishing that they could've met in different circumstances. Really, they should have met sooner, and though she had already apologized she truly regretted her lack of ambitions in doing so. When the metallic youth notices the remains they had brought with them, the strained smile she had been wearing quickly runs from her face. Sighing, her gaze breaks from his to stare plaintively at an outcropping of onyx slag, preparing herself to impart upon him the news she so dreaded to share.
The pause only lasts a few seconds, but it's not the sound of her own voice she hears when her eyes rise to meet with Kromium's again; Leilan had taken the opportunity to answer.
It's direct and to the point, the delivery he offers Kromium. It could be the best way to share information with some, and so she watches quietly until Leilan is done speaking, gaze drifting smoothly between them before focusing on the metal stallion, attempting to gauge his reaction. While the leopard mare appreciated her lover's willingness to divulge the hardest bit of information to the young sovereign, it was perhaps not the best method. An approach more empathetic or delicate might have been more reasonable. She had felt the mutual love between father and son when she had discovered Klaudius's emotional memories and while the relationship might have been strained somewhat, the love at the root was still there. For all of the lavender stallion's downfalls, he at least felt something pure for his children.
"Leilan is correct, that is your father," she says with a shallow nod of her head, "and you deserve to know the whole truth surrounding his death." Her scaled stallion had given Tephra's lord a fair summary of the events, but for the sake of justifying the death of a ruler's parent and for the sake of simplest decency, she believed Kromium should hear all of it.
"When Wishbone ruled Nerine, she contracted Loess to capture Klaudius shortly after he attempted to make a claim of Tephra against her father Warrick. It's my understanding that she wished to find out his motives, so when she left the crown to me, your father's fate became my inheritance as he was still being held prisoner within the caves of Nerine. I needed to understand him, to get an idea of who he was or what he was capable of, so I went to question him myself. I can see emotional memories and when he was not the most forthcoming with his answers, I saw images of his past. And while his reasons for wanting Tephra at the time were not unreasonable, it was the forcible raping of two mares that warranted caution. One had been a Leviathan, and the other had been his sister, Krone." Here she takes a moment of pause to catch her breath and to allow a lapse of quiet. It's likely he might have already known how he and his sister had come to be, but regardless she would not elaborate further.
"When I turned to leave that day, he threatened to make me one of his victims, and somehow the magic binding him weakened and he was able to escape. With my back turned he attacked me, and left the scar you see on my neck. He returned later in the year looking for me but found Sabra instead. Unfortunately, she bore the brunt of his aggression and as Leilan already said, raped and killed her. I witnessed the attack from a distance, as did some of Nerine's warriors, and having had the knowledge of Klaudius's past and his current behavior, they acted in accordance with what they thought best to protect our home. I was not close enough to intervene before Klaudius was dealt with, had I been, things might have turned out differently. But they made their decision before I could say otherwise, and I will stand by it." It had not been ideal, and had she been quicker Klaudius might still be alive, though detained indefinitely. But what was done was done, and it was left to her to make certain that these recent unfoldings wouldn't bring Nerine and Tephra to the brink of war.
"If there is blame that needs to be placed, then I ask you to place it upon me instead of Nerine, for my lack of action and failure to prevent a life from being lost." The purple pegasus had been a vile creature, she would never deny that, but he had also been the product of an unfortunate upbringing and it saddened her all the same that the past that had shaped him had helped to steer him towards an early end. Now looking into the eyes of his son so inspiringly different from the one that had sired him, her sadness mixes with telltale regret. "I am sorry for the loss of your father, Kromium."
@[Kromium] @[Leilan] well that only took forever. tried to cram everything into one post to wrap it up. :p
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