[open] [All of Tephra] I burned your world away, devoured by my conviction;

[magnus]

I wanna give you wild love, the kind that never slows down
I wanna take you high up let our hearts be the only sound

It strikes fear into his heart. It always does.

It brings back echoes of the Reckoning, of the wars, of those times before. After the vision takes over his mind, he snarls angrily, lips peeled back in defiance to Carnage’s warning. He had known then that it was only a matter of time. He had not ventured forth to the field. Had not gone to other kingdoms. He did what he never did, which was disrupt his usual routine for something new entirely.

He would not fail them this time.

He would not be gone when disaster struck.

And so, when the earth shifted and whatever hell was born in Pangea began to flood outward, he was in Tephra, standing near the heart of her. Fear gripped him, but he didn’t flinch. Instead, he immediately began to make his way around the border, patrolling, looking out for those souls that called her home.

They always said that Tephra was a haven.

Now, with the gift paid for in Warrick’s sacrifice, they would be.

When Aysel calls, he turns his head toward her, a muscle jumping in his jaw with thought. Without hesitating further, he gathers himself and launches forward, moving quickly through the soft soil and the vegetation that flourished in this new sanctuary of a kingdom. He reaches her just as she begins talking and nods in agreement, only taking his eyes away when he sees the iron colt make his way toward them.

For a second, he is silent, considering the other.

It had been a year since he had seen Kromium. A year since the boy had taken control over Tephra from Warrick and his family. A year in which nothing had been done to strengthen the kingdom. Nothing had been done to earn Magnus’ trust. Nothing to prove to him that Tephra was in better hands today than it had been before. He frowns, stomach churning as he thinks of all that is to come—the chaos, those who will seek to leverage it with ill-intent, those who will not take kindly to a kingdom made safe.

And he decides that he can no longer hold his tongue. Fear, anger, frustration all boil within him as he takes a step forward. “Wait, Kromium,” he calls, his voice stern but not wholly unkind. “When you first took the crown by force, I was hesitant, but I agreed to give you a chance—to let you step forward and do what was right for Tephra.” He pauses, thoughtfully. “Since then, I have seen you do little except enjoy the peace and quiet of this land with your family.” He glances to the border and then back to the stallion.

“Which is not a poor thing to do, but Tephra needs more than that in the coming days.”

For the first time, Magnus looks away from the stallion to Aysel and the others who gathered and who will come to them soon. “Chaos is coming. We are entering dark days and if we want Tephra to remain a light, to remain a safe place, we will need to fight to see that vision through. We will need to be more than a common land. We will need to be strong. We will need soldiers. We will need diplomats.”

Another pause as he gathers his thoughts.

“Ultimately, this decision is yours. It is the people of Tephra’s. With the changing of the tide, we need to ensure we are all aligned on what this land is to be and who is to be the one leading it.”

He steps forward, gold-flecked eyes smoldering beneath the darkness of his forelock.

“So I call on you now to let your voices be heard, to make your opinion know. If we all believe Kromium to be the one capable of leading us through the coming storm, then we will stand behind him. We will support him. But if we don’t,” his gaze finds the King’s eyes, “then we need to make that decision now.”

I wanna go where the lights burn low and you're only mine

hello! just a little drama to kickstart tephra in the new version change. officer approval for a mutiny, which means leadership is put to a vote - must be done IC and you must be a member of tephra for it count!

let's have some fun. :)