"Where brilliance is good and madness is better..."
Helovia Info
Helovia opened in February 2012! We are an active fantasy equine RPG
Where once the world narrowed into naught but gray dust and desolation, the gods called for life. Wielding the elements of fire and light, dark and wind, earth and water, spark and time, they have created Helovia. The realm is set within the mythical globe of Loorien, a planet rich with all variety of creatures and blessed with all manner of magic. Originally populated by nomadic, tribal characters, they've since grown into massive empires saturated with culture and history. Separated into four distinct segments of Helovia, called "The Regions," each band of horse strong enough and capable enough, took up the power and responsibility of leadership. Unicorns, old, wise and mysterious, took to the north, hidden in forests of mists and shadows and rarely making themselves known beyond their cliffs of the World's Edge. Equines, vast, organized and militaristic, split into two, one group went north to the Windtossed Foothills and the other group went south to the Dragon's Throat. Pegasus remained nomadic, making their homes in various parts of The Wilds in a migratory manner. For many generations, the land was peaceful and calm, but peace was never the way of the gods. With a clash of argument, war and bloodshed massacred Helovia, and in the aftermath, the realm was eerily quiet. Now, as newcomers sweep into this land, they are met with the lingering bitterness of the gods and the struggle to reclaim what was lost. Nothing remains safe or certain while sorcerers and soldiers alike brood and bide their time for revenge, honor and glory.
Site Wide Plots
Kaos :: The Beginning of the End ☼ - 6/2017 - Kaos placed Helovia in a time-bubble for a short period of time, but the Helovian gods are fighting back. But Kaos is powerful- far more powerful than anyone thought. This may be the beginning of the end of Helovia as we know it.
Kisamoa :: A New Kind of Kaos ☼ - 3/2017 - Kisamoa asks Helovians to help him restore the Spectral Marsh. Which side will you choose?
Invasions :: All Out War ☼ - 5/2/16 - New layout and the brand new invasion rules are up! Thank you for your patience and we look forward to getting started with this new adventure.
The Rift :: Gods Do Die ☼ - 8/2015 - Helovia Gods are saving the Rift from corrupt gods! Can Helovians band together against these foreign deities?
The Literal Ship ☼ - 2/8/15 - Oh no! You have to pair up for Valentine's day!
Sky Island :: Murder ☼ - 10/25/14 - Vesta has been found dead on the island, and the gods have called to you to solve the murder!
Sky Island :: Peace ☼ - 7/7/14 - An island has appeared in the sky! Clouds carry Helovians from the Veins to the sky.
Restoration :: We Welcome the Dawn ☼ - 9/21/13 - The sun has finally risen on this day, giving the land new light, but the Time God and the Sun God have yet to be seen.
Endless Night :: Broken Magic Plot ☼ - 8/30/13 - The earth god has returned and is walking across Helovia to heal the land. Every area can now be considered lush and prosperous, but the sun has still not risen.
☼ - 7/19/13 - The moon has risen in the sky, heralding the return of the Goddess of the moon. Lamp trees which light the paths have grown brighter, moon flowers which grow in dark places have begun to grow and prosper and the world is brighter, filled with a new hope.
Endless Night :: Dead Magic Plot ☼ - 6/22/13 - The gods of Helovia, in order to protect the world, have disappeared into the rift, leaving the world sunless, moonless and magic-less in their absence. Only the herdlands have a source of light, but lamp-trees with glowing leaves and branches sporadically line the popular roads and paths from place to place.
Doppleganger Plot ☼ - 6/20/13 - The God of Time is still struggling to close the rift though which the dopplegangers have come. He has requested that his brothers and sister assist in closing this hole, but without knowing why it opened, the task is proving difficult. Magic still remains faulty and hard to control, but the herdlands continue to be places of refuge for those who are fortunate enough to call these lands home.
ORANGEMOON cools off the lands with a a viscious force. Colder than normal, a sign of things to come during Frostfall, Helovia is bathed in a rich tropical lushness - albiet a cold one. The coastlines of the Dragon's Throat are pelted constantly by tidal waves, and the desert climate is humid but chilly. Ice begins to form early in the Aurora Basin leaving the winding trails slick and dangerous. The mists of the World's Edge coat everything in a glistening crystalline shine which encourages mould to grow everywhere. The Spectral Marsh is the only area which remains fertile, blissfully temperature and lush.
Cotm
Character of the Month for
June, 2017
WEAVER, Corporal of the Aurora Basin, is a relatively recent addition to Helovia and has taken it by storm. Branded with the seal of Death on her chest, intrigue and interest follow both her past and present. Though she is assuredly beautiful, her sometimes sharp personality reveals that there is more to this uni-peg hybrid than meets the eye. Proving herself able on the battlefield in the Basin’s warrior ranks, we can’t wait to see her test her mettle against the looming Kaos happenings! Congratulations!
Helovia RPG was created by Tamme and Blu and coded by Tamme also known as Schwartze. All coding, palettes and imagery are copyrighted to the website and are not for use outside of Helovia. Thank you to our ServerMaster for hosting Helovia. A special thanks goes to Neo for all of her coding help and fixing Tamme's errors, Boom, for her loyal service and creation of the Time God, and to Ali for her consistent contributions and dedication.
Ophelia had finally made the journey to her true home, surrounded by snow and the empty howling of a bitter wind. She felt the chill slide through her coat and around her hair, her two toned eyes taking in the beauty of the vast expanse. She took a deep breath and felt as if it was the first true inhale she had taken in a long time. She held it, closed her eyes, then exhaled a thick cloud of frost. The whiteness of her figure blended with the landscape, all except for the blood red of the long, tendrils of hair that gathered around her legs and neck.
The death of her mother still loomed in her heart, and her dreams were still haunted by the shrinking, lifeless, filmy blue eyes. She walked toward the mountains which she knew hid a few caves in which she could sleep, hide away from the world and disappear into nothingness. The journey was long in the wind and snow, but she would not falter.
Tinek danced in her wake on the howling winds, eyes looking out toward the Basin in case any stranger approached. He was every watchful now and ever wary, protective of his bond mate and unafraid now of his violence. The blood of the dragon burned in his veins too strongly for him to remain so young an innocent. He and Ophelia were cut from the same cloth, both born old and ready for fate to take them on their next adventure in this world.
"Ahead," she whispered, nodding to a dark opening in the distance. She slid into the shadow of a mountain, blinking snow from her lashes and trotting out of the bitter bite of the wind. Once inside, she leaned against one of the stone walls, watching Tinek curl up near her hooves. There, she rested, looking at the horizon and waiting for the sun. "We will make it, Tinek," she murmured. We will."
She had to reassure herself, for her broken heart had been turned to ice, the only bonds to ever hold all the pieces together again.
Undertow has come to take me. Guided by the blazing sun. Look at everything around us. Look at everything we've done.
Please. Anyone. I don't think I can save myself. I'm drowning.
Something drew him north of the Basin, to the harsh and unforgiving Frostbreath Steppe yet again. It was Frostfall now and Torleik exhaled a heavy breath, the tendrils of warmth from his nostrils curling around his muzzle like a dragon's smoke. The chill had set in again, the cold settling over everything like a pristine, icy blanket.
This place held...good memories, the Bloodskald supposed. He had first met Ophelia here, first laid eyes on the pale princess that his heart yearned for now. He'd felt her magnetic pull then, like the awe commanded by watching the auroras in the sky, time and discomfort between them no wedge between his feelings and their strength. If anything, they had only grown - especially now, with the white mare's loss and the stallion's fumbling but...honest and empathetic attempts to be there for her, to be a rock for her to stand on, a safe haven for her to find in her time of need.
She'd made some use of him, Torleik felt, but he was unsure she actually needed him. Ophelia was a solitary creature - he had observed that well enough far prior to now - but he was not. Not in his soul. Irelyn's soft purr and the grasp she took of one of his horns brought him out of his thoughts somewhat.
'Not alone,' she said sullenly.
The smile on his scarred lips was loving. 'No, not alone, Irelyn. But everyone hopes for one of their own to...share something special with,' he tried to explain, aware his bonded might not understand. She had him, a deep, mental and emotional connection to him. That was all the owl-griffin had ever known, and it was all that she might need to be satisfied in her life. For Torleik, it was not so.
Such thoughts swirled in his mind like eddies of snow whipped around by the winds on the Steppe, the General of the Basin setting his feathered feet towards the small alcove of caves scattered into the base of the mountain nearby. The dawn was just breaking, and it reminded him of when he'd met Ophelia. The time had been different then, but the feeling was the same.
He missed her. His heart hurt with the thought of her and the pain she held in her breast, and Torleik wished that he could just...love her enough that it might heal her.
But love was no good, and it didn't heal the wounds or mend the cracks. Time was even worse, scarring over the crags and fractures, numbing everything piece by piece but never letting go of the pain. Together, they were a farce, offering a false solace in another person. The Bloodskald frowned. He could do nothing for Ophelia, then, despite having no greater desire in his heart than the wish to make her happy.
What good was he if he could not even accomplish that?
Ophelia had just rushed into the darkness of the cave, escaping the bitter wind which threatened to take the tips of her ears in frostbite. She puffed heavily, resting against the side of a wall as winter swirled outside with fury, and she hid her face in her mane to try to warm up again. Perhaps the winged ones had an advantage in this area with those massive appendages and long feathers, she thought absently, catching her breath as night and snow curled around the edges of her shelter.
The cave was not deep, but she pressed herself against the back wall, the thrill of danger and bitter bite of cold making her feel alive again. For so long she had been walking dead, her soul numb to everything in her surroundings. But here, in the perilous climate and vast expanse of snow, she was alone, and no one could hear her screams. Here, she could weep, laugh, yell, curse, and expunge the blackness inside while trying to escape death's taunting embrace.
Tinek, scales unaffected by the temperature, scouted into the night, disappearing for hours at a time while she slept fitfully. The wind died down when the first rays of light crept over the horizon, the light from the sun seeming so very far away, hidden beneath thick clouds and haze. Ophelia blinked, watching pink softly replace the blue hues, and she ventured from where she had been hiding, perking her ears forward to listen to the sounds of solace and whisper of freshly fallen snow.
Heavy steps interrupted this symphony of ice, and she turned her head sharply, long tendrils of white and bloody mane flashing around her face and getting trapped between her delicately formed ears and horn. As she narrowed her gaze, seeing a dark figure in the distance, Ophelia hummed. "Who is that, Tinek?" she asked her dragon, able to feel him in her mind despite his physical absence.
"The black one with the devil horns and his feathered friend," the dragon responded succinctly in her mind, giving her a vision of them below as his red eyes locked in.
Torleik...
The blizzard in her heart subsided, and though there was plenty in this world to fear and even more concerns, she could put them aside - this time. Never before had she ignored such obvious signs of fate and chosen herself, and she let go, gait carrying her swiftly through the thick banks of white in the direction of the warrior bard. Her breath puffed rhythmically, punctuated by the white clouds that billowed in her wake, and a smile dared to peek at the corners of her lips. Maybe... just maybe it would reach her eyes and her heart. One day.
"Torleik!" she called, her voice carrying on the cold breeze. "Hey," she said, feeling glad to find someone else out here, so far away from civilization. "What are you doing so far out here? I thought I was the only one to venture this far north..." Ophelia asked curiously, catching her breath after her traipse through the deep snow.
Undertow has come to take me. Guided by the blazing sun. Look at everything around us. Look at everything we've done.
Please. Anyone. I don't think I can save myself. I'm drowning.
'Thing!' Irelyn called out in his mind and Torleik's eyes narrowed. What did she mean, 'thing'? 'Flying thing!' she clarified and the stallion assumed it was likely some kind of bird that was perhaps migrating through. He didn't pay it much heed, instead letting the visual warmth of the sky try to bleed through into his chest. It was failing.
'Shiny flying thing! Know thing!' Irelyn chirped excitedly and Torleik's brows furrowed. Shiny, and she knew it? Tinek?
Was Ophelia here?
Was she all right?
A sense of panic gripped his hollow breast and he turned towards Tinek's flight path, worry coloring the lines of his angular face. If she was hurt, he would murder the one responsible. Thick, muscular legs propelled him through the snow with ease, his breath coming out in rhythmic grunts; this was his element, the place he felt most at home. Anyone who dared challenge him here would regret it.
The Bloodskald crested a snowbank and the avalanche of relief that smothered him when he saw Ophelia coming towards him, healthy and intact, was immeasurable. "Ophelia!" he returned, not halting when they reached each other. Torleik needed no permission to tug her into the embrace, to press her warm flesh against his, feel the way she breathed. It was brief, and he stepped back, considering her words and her demeanor.
She did not seem to...feel as he did. She seemed fine. Was she fine? Was he digging himself an early grave worrying for nothing? Was this just more proof she had no need of him and what he could offer her?
The stallion gave a small shrug, gazing around. "The auroras here are...soothing. It is quiet, and no one else follows me. I have time to my own thoughts," he murmured, looking over her once more. "I didn't know you were coming north. I would have met you outside the Basin, or traveled back with you," the Bloodskald said, the words not pointed, but...perhaps a gesture towards the question of whether or not she wanted him around.
While Ophelia was not thick with hair and feathers like Torleik, she was made for the snow in a more delicate way. As she moved, her joints popped to her chest, propelling her from the depths of the thick white snow with a certain doe-like grace. His deep voice carried to her, and she came to a gentle halt as they met. He did not. Surprise grabbed her chest as he practically moved into her, shifting the atoms of her aurora as he embraced her tightly. The Forsaken blinked in confusion, unable to remember the last time she was greeted with such physical affection when she put the world at arm's length.
For however brief, she responded in a way that was true to her awkward and socially inept nature, pressing one side of her face and a chilled ear to his warm neck. The thud of his heart was steady and true, and he pulled away moments later, leaving her cold in a flurry of emotions that cracked the ice holding her heart together. Who knew that the warmth of such an embrace could melt even the frost on the inside?
The response to her question was expected, and she nodded in understanding, knocking some of the silken strands of her hair loose from where it had been wrapped around her horn. "I am here for similar reasons," she replied honestly. "The unchanging landscape helps me think, unhindered by the past." Ophelia had peered into his mind once before, but she had not told him yet the curse of her own mind. How would he respond? She had no interest in incriminating herself and revealing that she knew about his homeland and how it had burned.
Ah, and there it was again. The chivalrous stallion coming to her aide... Ophelia smiled, the expression brief but genuine. "I have traveled many places since we parted ways in... the forest..." she trailed, frowning slightly. She was unable to admit aloud her mother's death for fear of shattering the bindings around her heart, and she loathed the cowardice that held her tongue. "The lands and leaders have changed since I was last useful." As a spy... she finished in her head, frowning. Once, she had known the intricacies of Helovia, but now, she was surprised.
"I am unsure how welcome I am in the Basin, but your company is appreciated now," she quickly added, remembering the last time her independent spirit had offended his masculine sensibilities. Ophelia let out a releasing sigh of white clouds, but the thoughts that weighed on her mind were dark and heavy. She had to tell someone, and who better than the stallion who seemed so keen on shouldering her burdens?
"Since we discovered my mother, I have seen... something strange..." she trailed, frowning. "I was in the same forest, at the blood pool, and dead fish rained from the sky while the bloated image of a dead feathered one emerged from the water. The sky was dark and the emotions ominous, but in a blink, everything was right again." A troubled expression fixed itself on her face, and she took a single step closer. "I tried to visit the shrines of the Gods to ask for council, but I received no answer."
"I fear that this is a sign of what is yet to pass and that death will follow. So, here I am, trying to sort out my thoughts and my responsibilities. " Ophelia shrugged, not remembering the last time she had spoken so much in such a short period of time. What was she responsible for here? Would the gods expect her to do something about this vision? Or could she curse the world and hide in the mountains, ignoring the cries of others for her own, selfish life. Even after a day in these pristine hills, the answer eluded her.
Undertow has come to take me. Guided by the blazing sun. Look at everything around us. Look at everything we've done.
Please. Anyone. I don't think I can save myself. I'm drowning.
That Ophelia returned his embrace was a warmth his heart could receive from no other mortal fire and he softly rubbed his nose to her neck before pulling away. Perhaps she was happy to see him. Perhaps...that meant something. She found solace here, peace and quiet for her mindspace, the ability to think and ponder with no weight on her soul.
Torleik wished this place gave him the same sense of solace, but there were too many memories of home in a season like this for him to be peaceful on the inside. Still, the solitude was soothing in its own right as he'd said, and he understood her desire to be here. "I am glad you have a place you can go to make peace with the war inside between past and present," the stallion murmured. "I have yet to find a place such as that in this land, I fear." His words did not demand pity, or comfort; his sharing was that of one comfortable with the partner he was conversing with. Somehow, the stallion knew this pale mare would not judge his musings.
But his thoughts turned to wondering when she had arrived and knowing he hadn't been privy to the knowledge she was coming. Ophelia gave him a response he expected: she'd traveled far and wide without him, with little need for his company to achieve whatever goals she had set in her mind or heart. She mentioned the forest and he knew she spoke of her mother, a subject that still hurt the rabicano's heart. He made no effort to press her on her emotional state, knowing that to do so might be a worse and unwise blunder than to stay silent. A pulse of displeasure coursed through him when she claimed that she'd discovered the political powers that be in the herds had shifted since she was last 'useful.'
"Useful?" The offense was clear in his tone. "By whose judgement? You did not suddenly become not useful. I don't need to find a use in you to appreciate you," the Bloodskald finished firmly. The mare's statement that his company was a pleasure at this moment was not lost on him, but the stallion's attention hearkened to her words once more.
How welcome she was in the Basin?
"You are most welcome in the Basin," he said, voice trailing, curious. "I...am the general, and if I give you safe passage, or safe haven, only Illynx or Deimos could question my choice." He'd wanted to say something else, but it hadn't quite worked out right. Nothing with Ophelia ever did.
The beautiful mare was quiet, withdrawn, a heavy sigh parting from her lips. With gentleness, Torleik reached out and touched his nose to her neck softly, urging her with silence to share with him what bothered her - and for once, Ophelia did. He listened as she told him of a vision, a scene of death and a possible portend of ominous events. Glacial eyes concerned and troubled beneath dark, furrowed brows, the Basin general took a step closer to the mare.
"I know not what responsibilities you believe rest on your shoulders, Ophelia, but I will do what I can to help ease your burden," the male murmured. If only you would let me help you.
Making peace was not exactly what was going on here, because as soon as she left this place, the memories and change would come flooding back. Being in the unchanging landscape offered her a reprieve from one of the many problems that followed her around like a thunderstorm, leaving only the soft patter of rain. Instead of correcting him, she let him think that she was okay, especially since he was weighted down enough with his own struggles. “I am not sure if peace is found in a place,” she replied. “But I know that it can be found in another.”
Ophelia was touched by his words, and the fact that he would accept her no matter what. What would it take for him to give up? Everyone else had. Still, for as much as he was trying to stand up for her, he was sadly, wrong. “By my own,” she replied firmly. “Not so long ago, I was queen of a band of mercenaries, a spy of spies, knowing the most intimate of details. I played the Basin against two herds with a contract – two herds in which I had friends.”
“I used to know minute secrets about the most important heads of Helovia, and now I barely know who they are. My usefulness to a herd is currently limited, and I am unsure how welcome I am in the Basin after abandoning them before their dual defeats.” Ophelia let out a sigh, white clouds erupting from her lips. “And such are my failures.”
Still, he welcomed her in the Basin, and that was all she needed. If he was the general there, and if he would give her safe passage, then she would go. For all of her life, she had followed in her father’s steps, pioneering equality for all. Maybe it was time to experience both sides of her nature now, to live as a unicorn… with Torleik. Ophelia did not know how long it would last, if at all (especially since everything she loved seemed to leave or be ripped from her by some cruel fate), but she would try. Maybe she could get acceptance from Illynx and avoid Deimos entirely. That would be for the best.
The pale princess smiled. “I would appreciate your safe passage,” she replied. “If you will accept me, then I follow.”
The soft prickle of his whiskers on her neck made her smile, and the hairs of his beard were softer than she had imagined. He encouraged her to speak. Ophelia relayed to him her story, and was confused by his response. Did the dead body not bother him? Did watching his family burn make him so immune to death and darkness? She furrowed her brows, not able to understand the workings of his mind. He was like an interesting puzzle, one where she was frequently putting pieces in the wrong places. Help. She had rarely ever had help like this, and she couldn’t get stuck in this same routine. “Will you come to the island with me to find the gods?” she asked. “I have to know what that hallucination meant.”
Undertow has come to take me. Guided by the blazing sun. Look at everything around us. Look at everything we've done.
Please. Anyone. I don't think I can save myself. I'm drowning.
Torleik's eyes, normally rather cool, met Ophelia's heterochromatic ones as his cautiously thawed. His mind did not want to read into her words, but his heart did, and the older stallion had always been a man of passion before frigid reason. "That is knowledge I would give much to have," he said quietly, the air between them, for just a moment, difficult to breathe - like they'd suddenly been transported to some vastly high altitude.
Perhaps only he felt that. Perhaps because it was only he that felt their exchanges held significance, that the more he spoke to this beautiful ice princess the more she put him under her spell despite himself.
And it seemed he was the only one that thought highly of her, according to her opinion. To hear Ophelia had led a band of mercenaries, was a feared spy capable of manipulating herds against one another...this did not surprise him. There was a deadly vein inside of her, that he didn't deny. Still, this did not change his opinion of her, or his opinion of her ability to occupy the Basin. "Why do you see yourself so poorly?" he inquired, his voice soft. "You speak of yourself as if you are some cast off refuse no one could ever want, and I see...a handcrafted necklace with sapphires and rubies, lost to the trampling and dust of a hastily beaten retreat. You are more, under all the filth of life and the mistakes and pain it brings, than just another discarded thing."
The Bloodskald frowned, continuing,"And if you wish to argue you are the one that cast yourself off and isolated yourself, then fine. But you are not without those who love you. Your sister does, and I..." the proud man faltered, finding himself unable to so brashly throw his heart her direction for fear it would be skewered on her single, slender horn, "...I will stand here and remind you that you are beautiful no matter how much you choose to let yourself rust," he finally stated, making an unintentional and impromptu speech. It was not all that often the skald part of his nature could shine through the toughness of his battle prowess, but he had a way with words just as much as a knack for fighting. So he assured her that he would allow her safe passage in the Basin, cocking his anvil head to the side slightly at her words.
Follow me where? And for how long? he couldn't help but wonder, fearing he would never be more than a passing warmth in her life. But Torleik could not dwell on that, for she shared with him her vision and the Bloodskald considered the omen carefully, offering his services should she want a companion. To his surprise, she accepted, and this shock registered on the masculine lines of his face. "Of course," the stallion responded perhaps a tad too quickly, but what did it really matter? Ophelia knew he'd offered himself. "And...when we're done...if you would like somewhere to stay..." Torleik paused, studying her regal visage. Was this next offer wise?
The weight of the moment pressed down on her chest, making it difficult to breath. The stormy blue of his eyes threatened to drown her in his sea, suffocating the life from her body. This was the moment she had always run from, unable to surrender herself to the tidal wave of emotion, to the chaotic freedom of lack of control. If she would let the rip tide pull her asunder, let her hooves be swept from where they clung to the sand, she knew she would find calm waters. But, letting go of that authority over herself would never, ever be easy. After having loved and lost so many times, how could she do it again? How could she let the storm carry her away? Fear crept into her heart and into her eyes, and she quickly averted them, staring into the vast, open expanse where nothing moved and nothing changed - like her heart.
She couldn't love him - not the way he deserved. She would only do to him what she had done to countless others, including her sister. She would abandon him.
Quickly, she moved the conversation, speaking about all the qualities that made her ill suited for anyone. Still he clung to her sinking ship, showering it with pretty words as if that would make it float again. She gazed into his eyes, wondering how he could give so freely. How did he know that she was still beautiful? How did he know that all those jewels were not tarnished and broken? Chipped away into nothing? Her sister did love her, but did he? She didn't deserve it. Ah, she was rusting. All of her skills were fading away, her knowledge old. Ophelia shook her head, inhaling a deep breath that didn't seem to satisfy the depth of her lungs. "I speak poorly of myself because what you say about me is only a half-truth," she replied, frowning.
"You cannot know me. You cannot know those I've injured. You cannot know the cold of my heart. You could not possibly know what I have done. Everyone who has left me left for a reason - because I was damaged before I was even whole." Ophelia's body stiffened, gaze sharpening.
She weakened. "What makes you so different, then?" she asked, though it was not a pointed question. "What makes you think that I won't chase you away? That you won't abandon me like everyone else?"
Ophelia still chose to give this a chance - a small chance. She would travel with him to the Basin, so she could call his home her own. Never before had she gotten to slip past the narrow entrance, and her curiosity was itching. With another deep breath, she nodded. "I will go back to the Basin with you," she replied. "If you and your herd will have me, of course."
"First though, we should figure out what my vision meant - perhaps go to the island."
Undertow has come to take me. Guided by the blazing sun. Look at everything around us. Look at everything we've done.
Please. Anyone. I don't think I can save myself. I'm drowning.
She broke their gaze and that moment was gone into the ether, never able to return or be experienced in just the same way again. But he had expected this, hadn't he? After all, she'd barely consented to travel with him before; he doubted that just because he'd done what he could for her in the wake of her mother's passing Ophelia would suddenly unlock all the doors and throw back all the curtains that he might see in her vaulted walls and dusty manorial wings.
Such knowledge would take time - something the pale mare's words were not quite taking into account as she snapped at him that he could not know her and the things she'd done, the sins she'd committed, all the wrongs and rights she'd spun into the tale of her life. The Bloodskald's eyes tightened just a fraction and his scarred lips frowned. "Of course I can't - you won't pore over the tome of your life without me prying it from your lips, and I have yet to set myself to prying," he replied, voice quiet, lacking what was perhaps some expected stiffness.
Ophelia inquired of him what made him different, what made him capable of resisting her distance and her rebuffs. Considering his answer carefully, the rabicano spoke with measured tones. "I don't know, Ophelia. I am no seer of the future; I only know what is now, and what I want to be. You may never let me in, but I will never rescind my friendship just for lack of warmth." Torleik paused, frowning once more. "I am stubborn, and according to Irelyn, stupid. If that means I will stubbornly, stupidly remain by your side far past when everyone else has, then so be it. I have nothing to lose."
And really, wasn't that the crux of it? Why not follow this woman to the ends of the earth in the hopes that maybe she might love him? Torleik had nothing to lose. His only family left was Ulrik, and even the damned Engineer had managed to create a family. The depth of how much that ate at him struck his breast like an artillery shell, exploding and sending pieces of violent shrapnel all through his soul, and the Bloodskald physically turned away.
Ulrik had no notion of love and he had what Torleik wanted. The world was a cruel place to give to those would could not appreciate what they had and keep those who could in lack.
So the conversation changed its course and Torleik let it, their words winding towards homes and visions. To his muted surprise, the pale mare accepted his invitation to be in the Basin - though, he mused dryly, he was sure that did not mean she had any intention of living near him in the Basin - and charged them both with the task of deciphering her strange vision. Nodding, the dual-horned demon turned his bulk towards the Basin and took a few steps. "We should begin before darkness settles, quickly as it is wont to do in Frostfall," he murmured, wondering how much pleasure he should take in this small victory.
Ophelia listened, wondering why he was so stiff and irritated when she was trying to understand. What made this so easy for him that it was offensive for her to think otherwise? Did he not realize that everyone would abandon you sometime? She could not believe that she would never be alone in this world again. The only constant in her life was Tinek, and he was naturally very different than she. Irelyn seemed to be fiery, if she called him stupid, and perhaps that was the crux of all this. Maybe, Torleik was just simple with emotions (not stupid). Maybe, to him, emotions were not this tangled jumble of heartache stuck between a shadow and a broken soul.
Even if she could not believe that he would stay, no matter what, the thought did have to count. She decided to keep her doubts but abandon her vehemency. The pale princess smiled only slightly and nodded once. No words she could say would properly define her acceptance. But she hoped that he would live up to his words. Hope was a novelty for Ophelia at this point.
She understood the dangers of Frostfall out here, especially at night. With a nod of her head, she followed the black stallion to his homeland, her steps beside his. Tinek flew overhead, ever watchful and very interested in this newly unfolding chapter. Ophelia walked in silence, unperturbed by going so long without speaking. The temperatures plummeted as stars began to dot the light blue sky turning deep, and she took a step closer to the bearded one at her side. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips despite herself.
Undertow has come to take me. Guided by the blazing sun. Look at everything around us. Look at everything we've done.
Please. Anyone. I don't think I can save myself. I'm drowning.
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