"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
05-05-2020, 09:51 PM (This post was last modified: 05-05-2020, 10:28 PM by Anaxarete.)
she's the only one who knows what it is to burn.
Anaxarete may be master of shadows, but the shadows called to her as well. And there were times that she could not ignore the call to the darkness and to that darkness she had to return. The shadows were her strength, and when they called she came willingly. Yet in her absence, she was pleased by what she had seen. Ghaul had not been quiet or idle in the time she had been called away. This is what she had needed to see. And so she had come to him, in a swirl of shadow and smoke, to give him the news she knew he'd been waiting for since the moment she'd arrived.
“You’re ready,” she said simply, her dark lips crawling upwards to the smallest hint of a smile. There was a flicker of pride in her cold voice - pride for the boy who had grown so much in only a handful of years. How far he’d come from the prideful child she’d encountered when she’d arrived here. She was intrigued to see what would come of him at the helm of a kingdom. Curious enough that she wasn’t ready to disappear into the darkness entirely.
“Pangea is now yours to lead, Ghaul,” she said, reaching out to brush his shoulder. She’d promised that this kingdom would be his one day. That time was now. Pangea had grown from a dead, empty thing into a kingdom that rivaled any other in Beqanna. Pangea’s reputation was restored.
“I’ll remain here in whatever capacity you see fit,” she added, her voice as emotionless as ever. She’d remain as an advisor. A protector. A general antagonist. Whatever suited the now-demon King. Pangea was as close to a home as she had in this strange new world devoid of all vestiges of old Beqanna. So she would linger in the now-familiar shadows. She would fight for this land if it were threatened - protect that which needed protecting. But she would allow Ghaul to take up the mantle she’d promised to him and all of the responsibility that came with the title.
If he wished to start fires - she would not extinguish them.
For she knew that darkness could be a powerful accelerant in the right conditions.
i can take you there, but baby, you won't make it back
His life has been pristine and perfect ever since his return from the northern kingdom. His brood has hatched into three powerful children, his enemies have either bent to his will or suffered the consequences, and now Anaxarete slips from the shadows to him. Ghaul raises his head and watches her carefully when she draws closer from her cloud of shadows and wisps of darkness. She speaks the words he has been dying to hear and his wings spread wide, blanketing them in their shade.
Her eyes glow in the same way as the stars across his face and horns. The time has come for Pangea to display its true strength. A grin peels across his face and he croons softly in delight when she elaborates. The keys to the kingdom are his at last. The training and lessons have all come to an end, he thinks, ad he is grateful for her guidance. She has polished his rough edges and sharpened others until he was perfectly built for this role.
“I will carve our names into the core of this world, so it will never forget who shaped it,” he promises, carefully reaching out and touching his nose to her cheek. It comforts him to know she is not leaving him entirely, this surrogate mother who sculpted the second half of his childhood. His talons leave angry wounds in the red dirt as he steps back from her. The monster lifts his head and calls for his brother, for his wife, and his brood. He summons the creatures he has gathered to the Cove and the ones who’ve come on their own.
With a flap of his wings, he parts from Ana’s side and onto a withering cliff only a few feet higher than where he stood previously. He wants to watch them all approach clearly. Ghaul is restless as he waits, counting each second until they gather at his rallying cry.
“Family, I have news to share with you all,” he begins, all his jagged teeth grinning wildly as his talons sinks deeper into the dry clay. “Our Queen is passing the torch to me, and I share the crown with my brother, Draco. Together, with each and every one of you, we will light the path to a better tomorrow. Tephra has already faced the fire and regrown, as did Icicle Isle. The western most portion of Nerine is but ash.”
He pauses, remembering the way their small forest burned so readily for him. But there is so much more work to do.
“The rest of this world will answer for its crimes of harboring the weak. Loess has agreed to stand aside when we march to their borders and set them ablaze, and in exchange we will not steal their members or fight them for captives. The north, however, is yours to pick clean. Take everything they love and show them the punishment for not yielding to strength when it is presented to them.”
Ghaul quiets as he examines their faces and searches them for any sign of uncertainty among them. He knows they are all powerful in their own right, though, and he does not worry that they will falter.
“Now that you know what I desire of you, tell me, dearly beloved – what do you desire of me?”
tell ghaul if you wanna fight, what rank you want, if you just want to be protected by pangea, etc. also he says everyone here is his family now so plan your outfit for the Christmas card before its too late.
05-05-2020, 10:48 PM (This post was last modified: 05-05-2020, 10:49 PM by Gluttony.)
For almost two years the glittering mare had hidden in the caves that hid among the mountains surrounding Pangea. Though her hiding had not gone without purpose. Two children had been gifted to her by the fairies, though quite unexpectedly. First had come Decline. A glittering son full of power. Before he had spoken aloud, he had conversed with his mother in her own mind and soon after she his birth, Voracity had been found. A plain boy Voracity was but he was always full of determination and fire.
Now came Swerve. It had been only a few weeks, but the palomino and pink ombre boy had graced them with his presence, making them a solid family of four. Each of the colts trailed along behind her as she chose to answer Ghaul's call. He had been her first friend when she had come down from the sky and though she had not seen him since bringing her to Pangea, she still felt quite fond of the dragon bred equine. He had been the first to treat her like she belonged after all.
"Ghaul," she greets him as she comes to a stop below him, her boys lined from oldest to youngest behind her (From left to right: Decline, Voracity, Swerve). "I am happy to hear of your becoming King and I support you. You have a loyal follower and family member in me and I'm sure my sons would say the same." The boys behind her nod in unison and for a moment she is silent. "We shall do whatever you ask," she smiles, almost childlike. "Congratulations!" Her eyes sparkle at the prospect of her boys growing up with a mentor like Ghaul and those that lived within Pangea. Hopefully they would be better than her. Less likely to hide and take to the skies.
GLUTTONY
alexiel x anabel
Hello, Quick post so these 4 are part of this!
Gluttony is here in all her immaturity and would like to be a resident. Decline would like to be in peace and voracity and swerve would like to be listed as children if that's alright! ♥
05-06-2020, 01:41 AM (This post was last modified: 05-06-2020, 01:42 AM by draco.)
draco
i've got a face of gold, i've got a heart of coal, but baby that's my cross to bear
A crown floats lazily from the heavens and drops smoothly atop Draco's head. It's lopsided, languid, leaning onto one ear. He's handsome like that: charming grin, glittering eyes, one ear tilted just a little by the weight of the crown. A mussed white mane frames his pretty face and he doesn't look like a king - no, not a king, but a mischievous prince. One that makes hearts race but finds no interest in the king's court.
And that's what he is really - no ambition, no drive, existing only on some fierce hunger he can never sate.
Ghaul will take precedence in this new world, Draco knows. He has no illusions that he will be as great of a king as his brother. He is happy to be king at his side, relishing in the blood they spill but hardly built for the weight of responsibility. Of course, he'll bear his share of the load (begrudgingly), but he won't do it as fiercely as his counterpart.
Draco is evil, to his core - but he doesn't actually care about the world around him, not in the slightest.
When Anaxarete gives the news to Ghaul, the demon hangs back just within earshot. This is his brother's moment more than his. But when Ghaul addresses the rest, Draco proudly steps to the dragon's side. Here, he lifts his head to a royal height, looking down on those that cared to gather.
He has nothing to say but - he'll be damned if they don't know their other king.
There are changes coming, changes that send rushes of excitement through the young girl. Flickers of electricity spark across her coat as she joins the meeting, looking up to Ghaul. There’s no sense of jealousy that Anaxarete had named him her heir - the shadow mare was teaching Beyza how to use magic, after all, not how to rule a kingdom.
She watches the armoured creatures arrive and flank Anaxarete as always - and she grins at her teacher, admiring how formidable they all are - the kings, the queen, the guardians. Perhaps, one day, she'll earn a spot among them.
She’s still as she listens, drinking in the words. Although she does not fully comprehend the speech, it does not make her squirm (too much). Fire is cleansing and natural, is it not? She still wrestles with the morals of harming others, those she does not know and have not done harm to her, but surely they would not be doing any such thing. She trusts Anaxarete and by extension trusts the new kings - if they say they have enemies, then who is she to doubt them?
As for what she wanted - there wasn’t much to it. As of yet the white yearling did not wish for much, beyond keeping her family safe and helping out the home she had grown to love. “I desire to help, in whatever way I can.” Her small voice speaks out in a lull, quiet and unassuming, but she offers a small smile to accompany it.
