A King among Men (Open)

[愛 S I D D E H 愛]

[smear:20072b]

C a d o m i r

[/smear:984305]
[smear:20072b]

I thought you'd feel the same as me

It's time that I come clean

But for now can we just both pretend to sleep

Sometimes the one you want, is not the one you need

What goes around, don't come around

[/smear:984305]

Each deliberate step stirred more anxiety within the lurking beast. The frigid temperatures of winter didn't quite seem to reach that far into the vast network of the caverns. The beast inhaled carefully, relishing in the much more moderate temperatures. He did his best to brace his body for he cold outside. His stomach churned as each foot fell back to the earth, bringing him ever closer to the entrance. Cadomir inhaled sharply, trying to appease his racing heart. His lids fluttered closed for just a moment. The cool breeze soon reached his winter coat. The hessian's legs grew stiff, forcing his movement to cease. Cadomir's lithe body trembled beneath the whispers of the winter breeze. He stared ahead, the glow of the snow reflecting daylight caused him to squint.


His stomach grew pained, churning a bit faster as he forced himself to press forward. Another shudder slithered down his spine. Cadomir watched his puffs of breath becoming much more noticeable. His left eye closed completely as he emerged into the brisk winter air. His legs plowed through the snow that had built up overnight. The frozen droplets pressed against his thickly coated legs, dampening the hairs that coated his legs. He stared into the snow, mesmerized by the sparkling particles. It was only his third winter after all. Soon he would be three, and here he was already standing before a kingdom. Cadomir wouldn't shy away from the fact that he believed he was destined to be a great equine, but he was not as prepared as he would've liked. The brute was even more uneasy without guidance.


The Harbringers were gone after the ghastly attack on poor Famine. Cadomir shivered again, tucking his head closer to his chest as he trudged onward through the snow drifts. He knew that he had work to do, but part of him desperately wanted to just be young again. To just be beside his twin once more. Cadomir was plagued with an overwhelming amount of emotions as he silently listened to their onslaught. He inhaled softly finally, pulling himself from his thoughts. Cadomir glanced around the spacious meadow Vahill housed. It seemed he was alone for now. Cadomir shook his head, remembering advice he'd known well to take. Do not forget to have fun, all work will wear you out. The hessian sighed, and a small smile grew across his maw.


Cado leapt over a large snow drift, sliding as he landed once more. He kicked his hooves out behind him as he lost his balance, falling beneath the snow with an eruption of laughter. If only for a moment, it was nice to forget the worries of having a throne pressed into his hands.

[♕BEFERA]

The brindled Empress's winter coat had grown in nicely, and she walked alone, no bird hovering overhead, into the frigid mountains and hills that made up the new Altus royal territory. A messenger had been sent to retrieve her, playing upon her mind the news of The Harbingers fleeing the lands after some sort of encounter with Paranoia. Nirvana recalled fighting her, and it was hard to believe that she had been killed. She wondered if Famine had stood there cackling while her brothers tore the former Light Queen apart, but she doubted it. The Harbingers weren't usually very violent, and the stitch-lipped ess must have pissed them off quite a bit for her to lose her life. Atticus had been ordered to stay in Obascus and watch over the children while his Empress was away, and the bird's worried eyes came to Nirvana's memory as she recalled his expression as she turned to leave. She huffed a heavy snort, the bird's age and health plaguing her. How many more winters would the raven survive? She had lived with him by her side for so long that it was almost unthinkable to have to go on without him perched upon her like always. Back to the matter at hand, she told herself. The Harbingers were cowards in Nirvana's eyes now. She regretted allowing them to keep Vita Cinis's gift to them: a kingdom all their own. They had made threats and had given demands to the most powerful creature in all of the collective lands, and Nirvana had obeyed them. Begrudgingly obeyed, but obeyed nonetheless. She felt jerked around, pushed into deals and treaties she didn't care to have in the first place. She should have wiped out the Unaligned when she had the chance. If not for War and Death, she may have been able to defeat The Harbingers on her own, maybe with Ranjit at her side if willing. She worried about him too. Adviendha would always be there, in his heart, and Nirvana wondered how much of that heart she occupied. Their children were growing fast and strong, even Gehenna, the weaker of the twins. She was so proud of the family they had built, but wanted more from the pallid kaiser. She wanted his total affection and love, but she knew deep within her soul that she would never have it. There would always be a piece of Ranjit that she would never be able to reach. His love for Adviendha transcended lifetimes, and though Nirvana was a beautiful, powerful, and successful Empress with three children with bright futures, she would never live up to the bar Adviendha had set. As Nirvana climbed up a steep incline, her thoughts drifted from Ranjit, the only stallion she had ever loved, to this child that those four nitwits had made Emperor. The violet-eyed witch scoffed to herself, shaking her head. What fools. He wasn't deserving of that title: Emperor. Emperor of what? A dead and still dying alliance of Neutrals who changed their name and changed it yet again? He was barely three years of age, much too young to be ruling anything. Nirvana refused to put Styx on the throne until she was sure that he could handle it, and The Harbingers had quite literally shoved their title onto this defenseless child. What a fucking pity. The orange-bay villainess reached the summit of the hill to view a large meadow that seemed to sprawl out in all directions. She saw the greyed frame of the young brute immediately, having been filled in on his general appearance by the messenger. He was a horned beast, two spiraled pillars rising from his poll. Not very intimidating, the Empress thought. She watched as the colt leapt and pranced through the snow like a yearling and squinted her violet voids, a hard and bored look upon her visage. She approached, but moved slowly, testing him, wondering how long it would take him to notice her arrival. She thrashed her tightly-curled locks against her flanks, anticipating the sheer embarrassment that would surely ensue from this encounter. The brindled witch halted several yards from the blanketed stallion, eyeing him. She would approach when she felt necessary, she decided. The Empress huffed a snort and waited. words: 709 tagged: Cadomir muse: gr8

[愛 S I D D E H 愛]

[smear:20072b]

C a d o m i r

[/smear:984305]
[smear:20072b]

I thought you'd feel the same as me

It's time that I come clean

But for now can we just both pretend to sleep

Sometimes the one you want, is not the one you need

What goes around, don't come around

[/smear:984305]

Cado had plummeted beneath the snow, having forgotten the messenger he sent by now. The hessian pried his head from the frozen crystals as he peered around. A stark coloured mare contrasted his lands, as he swept his gaze over them once more. Startling the young buck but momentarily. The hessian regained composure, and with it his overwhelming anxiety. The brindled minx stood with the utmost air of confidence. It perturbed Cadomir a significant amount. He reigned in his childish antics, as he straightened his posture and cleared his throat. The hessian gave a stern nod to the brindled minx, his head covered in snow that plummeted back to the ground. He eyed her respectively, though it was obvious he was intimidated, and embarrassed by the situation.


Cadomir inhaled the chilled air as he glanced into the purple eyes of whom he assumed was the Imperium Empress. "You would be... Nirvana, I assume? I would hope so anyway... if so I do have a request for you... Ah, but excuse my rude manners.. I am Cadomir, the new ruler of Altus. I hope you fared well on your journey here?" The hessian uttered respectfully, if not a bit shyly. How he ached to have his twin at his side. His gaze soon dropped from Nirvana, to the sparkling crystals in the snow. Cadomir was quite anxious by now, gnawing heavily upon the insides of his cheeks with his ivories. He awaited her response to him. Though he was insatiably curious about the mare before him. She seemed so confident, and a bit of jealousy overtook the lithe framed stag.


"I had a rather... hm.. .peculiar request of you.. a few actually. You're probably very aware of the Harbringers handing the throne to me... I'm sure most are anyway...  I'd like to hear what you think of it all before I proceed with asking this of you..." The brute's voice rumbled smoothly from his chest, despite the racing heart and constricted vocal chords.

[♕BEFERA]

The child-king attempted to regain some composure, and Nirvana's gaze remained stoic and cold as he nodded to her, clearly embarrassed. Could she really blame him? He was still young, playful. If Nirvana herself had been handed the title of Empress when she was but the age of three, hardly an adult, she would have been rolling around in the snow too, or at least doing something not particularly regal. The Altus Emperor's voice rang out, and a harsh, burning sting of rage ran through the brindled Queen's bodice as she heard familiar words. "A request for you." When those words were uttered by one of The Harbingers, it wasn't a request at all: it was a demand, that was usually followed by a threat. The violet-eyed witch pinned her auds and took a few steps forward, annoyed but ready to hear what this little bastard had to say. The brute spoke in broken sentences, clearly a bit nervous. Nirvana thoroughly enjoyed intimidating others, though she didn't show it outwardly much in her older age. At Cadomir's question, Nirvana's auds pricked forth and her expression softened. He wanted to know what she thought? Oh, she would enjoy this. Time to be brutally honest. The wicked Empress let a smirk press its way across her countenance, and she held her head high, eyeing the young King, the twisted towers built upon his skull. "The Harbingers are cowards. They hastily threw the throne away, the throne I had spared for them during a time of war." She paused, exhaling a harsh and violent snort, almost purposefully trying to make the young stag more nervous, more afraid of her. The Harbingers were not afraid, but this one would be. This one would respect her like they had not. "I had once respected them, almost called them allies, friends, but they fled these lands. They proved themselves unfit for the role their Queen bestowed to them on her deathbed. It's pathetic—a disgrace to those who had followed them." She imagined he would know nothing of Vita Cinis, but maybe he did. The years had not completely erased her name from this realm, Nirvana figured. She looked deep then into the icy voids of the child-king, looking for fear, for envy, for anything. She looked from one eye to the other, her violet irises boiling with the rage that flowed from her disappointment. In him, in The Harbingers, in this kingdom she had chosen to spare. The orange-bay looked away then, turning her skull to observe the rolling hills in the distance, all coated in white. "Now, what is this request?" The Empress spat, waiting for what the brute would say. She had nothing against him, not really, not yet, but she was tired of obeying the words of those who did not deserve her mercy. They did not deserve her mercy nor her compliance. She cursed herself again for not destroying the Unaligned when Vita Cinis had been killed. Maybe Pestilence was her gateway into ruling everything: maybe she missed the chance he gave her. Oh, how she missed him. She allowed herself to admit it: she was ready to fall for the buckskin hessian, his aged form so battle-torn, so full of wisdom. words: 537 tagged: Cadomir muse: good

[愛 S I D D E H 愛]

[smear:20072b]

C a d o m i r

[/smear:984305]
[smear:20072b]

I thought you'd feel the same as me

It's time that I come clean

But for now can we just both pretend to sleep

Sometimes the one you want, is not the one you need

What goes around, don't come around

[/smear:984305]

Cado listened as the queen spoke. She was so obviously confident, and he could tell even in their short encounter that she was full of opinions, and things to say. The young king's ears piqued atop his cranium, he eyed the queen carefully. Though her words were harsh, they were not directed at him quite yet. The way she spoke of the former queen, and the harbringers actually perturbed him. Cadomir did not fear her just yet, she had not given him reason to. He respected her, and maybe even a little intimidated by her, but he wasn't afraid to say what he thought and felt about the matter himself. After all, they were both powerful parties, with at least similar interests. Or so he hoped. "While they may be cowards to you, I humbly disagree. Though you obviously had more knowledge of the history of this kingdom than I do, so I will tread cautiously about what I will say. I feel that's a rather premature judgment to say they threw the kingdom away. I am here, and I will not be walking down the same paths, nor behind any former ruler's shadow. I did not accept their offer to become king to sit in the shadows. Please give me a chance to prove that to you. Though I am not looking to impress you, I would prefer if you didn't judge me yet without giving me a chance to show what I can, and will accomplish with this kingdom. The faulty ways of the past are going to be gone very soon."


Cadomir spoke very respectfully towards the queen. He did genuinely respect her, but he also wanted it to be clear that he was not some kid they just threw the throne at. They had trained him, and Cado had always been a natural leader. The mention of Vita Cinis also piqued his curiosity. He had never met the famed mare, but he knew of his relation to Paralyzer. "I never had the fortune to meet Vita Cinis, and I hear she was quite the individual... I am however of the same lineage that harbors the former queen, Paralyzer. So again, I am not some random kid with no connection. Not that I am to put words in your mouth at all, just voicing my thoughts. I have a great respect for you, and what you have done with your kingdom. Despite what you think of the harbringers, I would hope that you will not think ill of me yet.. My request is rather simple. In an effort to show that I am to change Altus, I am composing a plan for hosting some winter games. While this might sound like child's play to you, I think it could be a good way to integrate both kingdoms mutually. A chance to forget about the stresses, and offer great things of those who participate. I was hoping you would like to participate, but if not I understand. I appreciate you taking the time to come and visit my home."


Cadomir nodded his cranium slightly at Nirvana. His childish antics, and demeanor seemed to fade as he spoke. It was obvious he wasn't some poorly trained bastard that was thrown some great tool of power. He sounded as though he had been a well groomed heir, or at least he thought. He'd sat in among many meetings with the former leaders of Altus, and learned many things. Not only that, but Cadomir had never gotten to be a child with the absence of his parents, and the need to care for his sibling. Life was not easy, and he would not allow anyone to believe that he was handed anything. Especially not someone he considered to be his equal, at least for now. The mare's impressive stature was probably what intimidated him the most. His weight shifted as he found himself staring at the colour of her occulars. A peculiar colour of purple, and somehow her colour seemed so perfectly fitting. The robes of a powerful queen.

[♕BEFERA]

The child-king parted his maw to speak again, and the Queen exhaled slowly, heavily as words flowed from him. Of course he would disagree. After all, they had given him a throne. No one would disagree with someone who did that. Nirvana thought of herself taking the throne from Litala. Though it wasn't in these same circumstances, Litala did not want the throne, and thus dropped names for those she would rather take it on, Nirvana's being one of them. She could have called Litala a coward, too, but she didn't, because in the grey mistress's stepping down, the brindled hellion was able to finally grasp what was rightfully hers. The wicked Empress nearly laughed. This brute was nothing more than an inexperienced half-wit to her, and she didn't care one way or another what the hell he did with this so-called "empire" that the Harbingers did indeed just toss away to anyone they felt like. Cadomir's promises meant nothing to the brindled witch, and her violet eyes bore into his icy voids, anger and annoyance brewing within their depths. She did appreciate his respectful tone, and part of her wanted to manipulate him, twist his apparently kind and welcoming ways to her advantage. There was a pinch of that same feeling here, the feeling she had toward the Lights, wanting to expel them from the lands, send their numbers fleeing to other factions. The horned beast spoke once more, and the mention of the former Neutral and then Unaligned Queen Paralyzer made her want to laugh more. Paralyzer was a bore, a disgrace, and her lineage was no better in Nirvana's eyes. She saw Vita Cinis as far more powerful, for her lineage was with FEAR and the enraged, feral, ravenous blood that flowed through all of his descendants. She was powerful, commanding, and intimidating. Paralyzer was not, at least as far as Nirvana was concerned. The request finally came, and it was one that the Empress did not expect. This child was truly an odd one. She had never heard of one kingdom inviting another to play games, or anything else other than war. It was strange to her, and her auds flickered backward as she raised a brow to the young king. She wondered if she should tell this small brute just exactly what she thought about him and his kingdom, now left in shambles by the Harbingers. She decided to keep most of it to herself, for this child hadn't crossed her, not yet. She huffed a snort and let a silence fall between the two before her voice rang out from ebony kissers. "You need not worry about proving anything to me, Cadomir. I frankly don't give a damn what you do with this kingdom as long as it doesn't interfere with mine in a way that will warrant consequences. I trust you understand what I mean." Nirvana paused, gathering her thoughts. Would she accept this invitation? Was it worth her time? She was a bored, restless Queen, and maybe something like this was what Imperium needed. She was struggling with this peace-time, wanting to conquer the straggling allegiances left in her path, that spark of total domination still burning in the back of her mind. "I suppose we shall participate. I imagine that it might be enjoyable for some who reside within my lands. Where will these games be taking place, and when? I'll direct those who wish to participate to this event." It felt strange, as if she was making some sort of forbidden pact with the enemy, but maybe he wasn't her enemy, and wouldn't plan to be. For now, she didn't completely trust him or want him on this throne, but she knew that behind all of her opinions, the running of Altus was none of her business. The Harbingers did what they did, and the allegiance will either prosper or suffer because of it. words: 651 tagged: Cadomir muse: good

[愛 S I D D E H 愛]

[smear:20072b]

C a d o m i r

[/smear:984305]
[smear:20072b]

I thought you'd feel the same as me

It's time that I come clean

But for now can we just both pretend to sleep

Sometimes the one you want, is not the one you need

What goes around, don't come around

[/smear:984305]

Cado was a bit relieved when she accepted his offer. However, he did notice her change in body language. She seemed annoyed, unsure of if it was anything he said. Though her words spoke loudly to him. He smiled, if he'd learned anything from his father, it was blunt honesty. "You do not need to worry that I would do anything that would interfere with your kingdom. I get it. I'm some nobody, with a rather laughable lineage in your eyes. Some child that was just tossed away a kingdom in ruins. I'm very aware. I'm young, but I am not naive and stupid. I know that you will not care to know that I raised myself, and my twin. Please do not take offense to these words. I understand. To you, I am unworthy. I understand very well that you can crush my empire, my home and take it away as you had with the light kingdom. An impressive move, I do not doubt your power, nor ambition. In fact you and I are more alike than you realize. I aspire to be as great as you, but I would never dream of crossing you. So I will not warrant consequence for you to act upon some foolish move of mine. I realize that I am young, and many will take my position comically. I want brutal honesty from you. While all of these are just words, I am happy to hear that you have accepted my offer. I would like to host the games here at my home in Vahill. If that suits you well enough, I am comfortable meeting halfway, but I would never dream of asking to hold them in your kingdom. 


I want it to represent an offering that you may trust me. Contrary to your words, I do have something to prove. I have the notion to prove that Altus is not a pathetic, whimpering empire. Those in the past have faltered. I want to be your equal. That's all. Childish dreams, right? I could learn a lot from you, Nirvana. But I do not trust you enough yet to ask this of you. So let us take thing slowly, and build our relationship. I promise I will not impose upon your empire, if you will honor the same for me." The horned emperor spoke a rather long speech. He half expected her to strike him down there, but he never lost his respectful demeanor towards Nirvana. He respected her, but did not have a reason to trust her yet. He assumed she'd feel the same of him, but he could not read minds. "So, I will ask this of you, and I apologize for such a long flow of words... Until there is reason for it to change, may we tentatively call each other friends? Since I am clearly not worthy of being your equal yet, and please do not take these words as if it is a child asking you.. I have no intention of starting a war.. regardless of what you think of the former rulers. Judge me upon my own actions, and not theirs." Cadomir's voice was firm here though. He wanted to be taken seriously, and Nirvana taking him seriously was an important key factor.


Not that he cared, but it would send a message. Should she accept this offer as well, perhaps Altus could go somewhere. He would build an army of his own, but for defensive reasons. Cadomir had no intention of taking over Imperium, not ever. He did however find the Bands to be rather haughty, and disdained them. Thinking they could flee, and create their own kingdom. It actually infuriated him. His annoyance managed to slip though the respectful demeanor. "Besides all of this... I have no qualms with imperium. You are a proud kingdom... Those I have a problem with are the bands that feel we are not good enough for them. Yet they are the cowards who refused to protect their own homes.... It's pathetic." Cadomir spat venomously into the foggy space between them. This was the Cadomir that would become known. Not the pushover, no matter how kind he was. He would be taken seriously, even if he had to die to prove that he was no colt without a purpose.