the Rift


[OPEN] Old family
Ascended Helovian

Ophelia the Amaranthine Posts: 701
Outcast atk: 6.5 | def: 10.5 | dam: 7
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16.0 hh :: 6 Years HP: 77 | Buff: BULK
Tinek :: Royal Silver Dragon :: Frost Breath & Shock Breath Tamme
#1


Ophelia, it seemed, was chasing her sister but never quite managing to be in the same place at the same time. For nearly a full year she had lived in the Basin and Ktulu had lived in the Edge, and now they were rotating. The fact was not lost on Phi, and she was quite amused by it. Maybe one day they would end up in the same place, and she would welcome that day with exuberant celebration. For now, she would be content knowing that she had taken her sister’s advice and had followed her heart. Phi wanted to tell her sister, much like they would gossip before, but she also wanted to inform Archibald and Kaj of recent developments.

Her arrival thus had a two-fold purpose, and she trotted briskly toward the roar of the Falls. The land had changed so much since she had ruled the Foothills, and her time invading had only given her a small idea of the beauty of what lay within. Thought the humidity was not to her liking, she could not deny how lovely the green and lofty views truly were. The pale princess took the main entrance this time – or at least the entrance the main party had used during the invasion.

She was still not sure of the pathways, so she walked to the edge of a cliff and yelled through lovely, open canyons. “Ktulu!” she bellowed loudly. “Archibald! Kaj!” Ophelia was rarely ever so loud, but she felt comfortable here – confident. These were friends, old friends and family. From corner to corner of this world, there were those who loved her, despite her faults, and she knew that now was a very important time to set the records straight. Archibald and Ktulu would have the truth – no matter what.

Besides, she had yet to tell Ktulu that Torleik said he loved her. Even the thought made her giddy, and she smiled broadly as she waited.



@[Kaj]
@[Ktulu]
@[Archibald]



Art by: equusamor @ DA




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.


Please tag me in every response!

Isopia the Mountain That Knows Posts: 780
Dragon's Throat Apostle atk: 6.5 | def: 10 | dam: 8.0
Mare :: Tribrid :: 18hh :: 3 - is now aging slowly HP: 90 | Buff: NUMB
Hubris :: Royal Bronze Dragon :: Shock Breath & Frost Breath & Babel :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath Odd
#2
Isopia


Ktulu

Archibald

Kaj


The sound roared in Iso's ears. One of the downsides of living in such a lush valley, was that noise from the top tended to travel all the way down. Her darkened ears flattened against her skull as she turned her nose upwards, as if scenting the last syllables of Ophelia's call. She didn't know who Ktulu was, but Archibald and Kaj? Who had the power to summon them? The voice certainly hadn't come from her Mother so.. who?

Transforming in one elegant leap, the demi-child, now bathed in black feathers and an avian skull, flew out of her small clearing and towards the cliffs.

She let the winds buffet and carry her upwards as her small body rocketed towards Ophelia. The mare was unknown to her she concluded almost immediately, as her hardened golden stare took in and memorized the former-Lady. A ghost of a smile touched her beak as she noticed Tinek - the girl had a fondness for dragons. She'd grown up with so many in the Edge after all, that seeing them made her feel somewhat more secure. At any rate, dragons were of the most intelligent companions that she'd come across. Having one spoke volumes about Ophelia.

On silent black wings, the raven perched on a tree branch. Her death-marked face, even in this form, peered downwards towards mare and reptile. What were they doing here? Why had they called Kaj and Archibald? Had the girl been aware of social courtesy, she wouldn't have been sitting in the tree at all. Calling a meeting with the leads of a herd usually required privacy, for confidential information was usually exchanged. But Isopia didn't care, she didn't even recognize it. She liked both Archibald and Kaj, at least as much as she was capable of liking anyone, and wanted to learn from them. To do so, she tried to be around them at as many pivotal moments as possible. Whether today was to prove one of those moments, she was uncertain. But it was worth her time to wait and find out.


Permission from Tamme to have Isopia just linger!

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Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

Kaj The Aurelight Posts: 381
Hidden Falls Conscript atk: 4.0 | def: 9.0 | dam: 7.5
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.2hh :: 8 Years 9 Months HP: 69.5 | Buff: ENDURE
Arabella :: Common Zephyr :: Wakiya Brit
#3


KAJ
I am terrified, I think too much

It seemed no matter how he attempted to bring life to his worn family, the curse of the Falls land was determined to best them. Kaj fought valiantly nonetheless, refusing to lead his family to the depths only to let them turn stagnant and hopeless, turning into mere wraiths as easily defeated as the previous denizens. Though he had made a point by taking the child-playing-intellectual mare as prisoner, had even managed to return the lost Rue to her sinking mother, it seemed he was the only one intent on changing the fate of the Falls. He strove to find an answer nonetheless, to give them a light which they could follow, even if it meant using his very soul to create the proper illumination.

The weary Czar was wrenched from spiraling frustration and an impending feeling of hopelessness by a cry, one that took the garbled form of his name from high above. Ears strained to determine the voice, the beckoning lass on his doorstep. The water convoluted all attempts at such, twisting unto itself until it was a myriad of sounds that he only vaguely recognized as his title. The fact that it was accompanied by Archibald's and Ktulu's struck several feminine souls from the potential record, but he would rather discover the source of the call and see for himself who had wandered into his realm rather than contemplating endlessly.

Massive form took wing on broad appendages, sweeping up through foam and spray through the twisting labyrinthine fissures and canyons that spiraled seemingly endlessly towards the core of the earth. Powerful beats surged him higher on reluctant, erratic winds, powerful legs kicking off cliffsides to amble goatlike to the top, firm on a carpet of dwindling greenery. Beside him took wing a familiar avian form, marked with a skull she could not rid herself of regardless of what beastly body she occupied. Kaj allotted a cursory nod, a brief smile and the utterance of her nickname on quiet, private breath before he turned away from the sight of her.

Ophelia stood at his borders, as regal as he could remember, still as beautiful and enchanting as he'd found her when Kaj had stumbled across her and simultaneously found the path of righteousness and faith. She was friend to him long before she stood as militaristic aid, and so he greeted her therefore with a smile and eyes as warm as pale summer skies. "Ophelia," he acknowledged, trotting forth to amicably proffer his muzzle to her. "How are you? What brings you here?" He would not unload his woes upon her because they were his to weather for the moment, and her presence alone was uplifting for the tired man.

image credits
table by whit

credit bronzehalo
Please only tag starting posts, spars, and threads collecting dust!
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Ktulu the Constrictor Posts: 509
Outcast atk: 5.0 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.5
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16.1 :: 7 HP: 70.5 | Buff: ENDURE
Eytan :: Grizzly Bear :: Terrorize ali
#4
Ktulu</style>
when the sky turns gray and everything is screaming
i will reach inside just to find my heart is beating
</style>



"Ktulu!"

There was absolutely no mistaking the voice that called for her and despite her sore muscles Ktulu found herself trotting briskly in the direction the call had come from. The cuts she'd sustained in her fight with Archibald pulled, the scabs breaking and allowing blood to rise to the surface of her battered flesh. 'Slow down!' Eytan growled from somewhere behind her, but Ktulu ignored him. She could power through the discomfort that her sore muscles and cuts caused her in order to see her sister again.

"Ophelia!" The dark mare called out her sister's name as she approached, caring little that Kaj had already beaten her there. Her steps slowed as the distance between herself and Ophelia was closed. Worry etched itself into the features of her face and bubbled within her chest as she came to a halt beside the newly crowned Czar. "Why are you here?" She asked, echoing the question that Kaj had asked only seconds before. Ktulu spared him a brief glance before her gaze was refocused on Ophelia, her red eyes scanning her sister's body for some sign that she'd been harmed. There was nothing that she could see and it made Ktulu frown deeply.

"What's wrong?" She asked. "Has something happened?" Am I needed? Do I need to fight for you? Just tell me who. Eytan was far less concerned about Ophelia's arrival snorted as Ktulu questioned her sister. 'She's smiling.' He pointed out. 'Nothing wrong.' Ktulu blinked and refocused her gaze on Ophelia's face. Having been so concerned with possibly bodily harm she'd completely missed the smile. "Why are you smiling?"

"."
ooc://
placing this after Ktu's fight with Archi.

@[Ophelia]
@[Kaj]
@[Archibald]
@[Isopia]

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Icon by Tay
Ascended Helovian

Ophelia the Amaranthine Posts: 701
Outcast atk: 6.5 | def: 10.5 | dam: 7
Mare :: Hybrid :: 16.0 hh :: 6 Years HP: 77 | Buff: BULK
Tinek :: Royal Silver Dragon :: Frost Breath & Shock Breath Tamme
#5

Were you to ask Ophelia later, even years later, to describe the scene before her, she would have remembered the raven on the tree. But now? It was written in her memories and quickly pushed to the side, particularly when Kaj approached, his large, gracious wings sweeping with the grace of his flight. His soft butterscotch and cream figure approached with a warm smile and eyes the color of friendship, and she did her best to return the expression. Though, her soft look was often subtle, a wrinkling of the flawless, pale surfaces on her face. He trotted close, but she, unused to this terrain, remained put. However, she excitedly flashed her bloodied tail around her hocks, lips peeling back from teeth in a smile.

“Kaj!” she returned warmly. The stallion offered his muzzle, and she breathed into his nose, a typical greeting among friends though somewhat foreign to her strange, isolationist ways. “I…” she began, but just as she was about to speak, her twin sister called her name. Surrounded by those she cared for made her heart sing, and she shoved her face affectionately into her sister’s mane, inhaling her earthy, familiar scent.

Much to Ktulu’s credit, the warring, dark mare (who was so much like their father), demanded to know what was wrong, but all Ophelia could do was smile. Yes, she had done something admittedly a little foolish. Her temper had gotten out of control. But, beneath the quagmire of decisions was something good and whole, and she chuckled at Ktulu’s question about her smile. Had she been smiling so obviously? She supposed so. That must be the way her heart looked, because she could feel the beating on her face.

“I am… well, and… much has happened,” she said finally, taking a deep breath. “I have resigned from leader of the Aurora Basin, and I am now living in the World’s Edge.” Ophelia knew that Ktulu would be thoroughly confused, so she hastily continued with her tale. “When you took over the Falls, Kahlua and I stayed back to choose new leaders, and much to my surprise, Torleik tried. Naturally he was… excellent, and I thought that would be the end of… well… whatever it was then…” she furrowed her brows, finding it increasingly hard to describe her feelings.

“But, he said we could make it work, and I returned to the Aurora Basin, but it no longer felt like home. I chose me, Ktulu. I chose to do something for me, and I left. I am going to give this an honest try and well… I am praying it all works out.” Ophelia was not sure what she would do if it did not work out. The fact that Kaj was listening did not deter her at all; she trusted him implicitly. “I informed Deimos that I was leaving for personal reasons and offered to help him choose new leaders and transition the Aurora Basin, and he had the fucking balls to tell me that he was disappointed.”

Even repeated the words left her incensed, and little droplets of blood began to slide down her face, an illusion from her coat. “How dare he…” she snarled. “I lost my temper, and I left. Which is why I am informing you, Kaj. I do not know this new Aurora Basin, and I am not longer a part of what they do. Can you tell Archibald for me please? And I implore you not to mention my personal life in all of this…” she said softly, trusting that he would not.

Ophelia looked to her sister. “I think… I think I am… in love. He said he loved me. I don’t know what to do…”


@[Kaj]
@[Ktulu]



Art by: equusamor @ DA




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.


Please tag me in every response!

Archibald the Dauntless Posts: 386
Absent Abyss atk: 6.0 | def: 9.5 | dam: 8
Stallion :: Equine :: 18.3 hh :: 10 years HP: 80 | Buff: SHIELD
Loretta :: Alaskan Malamute :: Time Slip Time
#6

ARCHIBALD the DAUNTLESS

I will give your heart a place to rest when everything you had has turned and left.
I'll weave your names into my ribcage; lock your hearts inside my chest.

It was Loretta's panic that alerted the Dauntless Czar. Ophelia! she screamed through a sightless bond towards the much larger stallion. Grunting, he acknowledged her and pressed his body forward. The red and white malamute pushed through the bramble without inhibition, tongue rolling from her trap-like jaws as she panted. The weather was growing colder, and with that, the bitchs mind was growing increasingly restless. The cur thrived in the cold season. She was born and bred for it, her ancestors handing her evolutionary success in a silver platter. Even in her age, Loretta still played like a pup in the first snow. Hiwver, now was not the time for play. Ophelia called them, and something akin to a needle in the pairs lungs poked and prodded them on.

Archibald made it into the clearing with no pomp or circumstance, but his mere presence seemed to bend the world into submission. There was no hiding his arrival; he was a massive beast of power and glory wrapped in a dark, scarred hide. Loretta's amber eyes darted around at the trio before them, and for the first time she realized that Kaj was without a companion. In the presence of three, strongly bonded creatures, this revelation amazed her. He must be so lonely. she though towards Archibald dismissively, her tail curling elegantly across her back. Golden eyes, hard and dark, softened some. He had missed the words Ophelia had spread to his partner Czar and his Champion. A small frown dipped the corners of his lips in confusion. "I apologize for keeping you all waiting. What have I missed? How fares the north?"

Archibald took a step towards Ohelia and Ktulu, questioning eyes moving between them. He looked over a broad shoulder to Kaj, ears pricked towards the equal king. Archibald did not like being in the dark, and without saying a word he demanded an answer from those gathered before him. Had the Aurora Basin sent Ophelia to renegotiate contracts between them? The warlord's brow furrowed some. He and Ophelia has just recently sparred, and she had given him no word to make his heart quiver for the safety f his herd, of his family. A dark tail slapped against his hicks as he waited, mind churning with all of the possibilities that could lay out before him. Mentally, finally, he reached out. Phi? There were very few Archibald would display such a sense of urgency, of worry to, and Ophelia was one blessed with such a power. His mind and heart were open to her own, a bond forged between them in iron and blood and sacrifice.



[IM HERE.]



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Through the ages of time
I've been known for my hate,
but I'm a dealer of simple choices;
for me it's never too late.


please tag me

Isopia the Mountain That Knows Posts: 780
Dragon's Throat Apostle atk: 6.5 | def: 10 | dam: 8.0
Mare :: Tribrid :: 18hh :: 3 - is now aging slowly HP: 90 | Buff: NUMB
Hubris :: Royal Bronze Dragon :: Shock Breath & Frost Breath & Babel :: Royal Gold Dragon :: Fire Breath Odd
#7
Isopia


She waited, watched, and listened.

For a moment she was interested - Kaj came so quickly that Isopia's interest was piqued. He normally didn't come running just for anyone - and often had way better things to do than answer the summons of random Helovian's. Whoever this white mare was, she was someone. Her wings shuffled against her blackened avian body as Kaj tilted his head up towards her, and she was grateful that he didn't make more of his subtle greeting to her than he did. It was one of the reasons why she liked Kaj - as much as she could like anyone, that is. He just seemed to get it in a way that few did.

Next to arrive was, she assumed, Ktulu. She knew Archibald and Kaj already, and decided that if this little gathering was one of equals, that a random mare wouldn't just show up. Besides, the familiarity which seemed to hush over the trio suggested that the red-tipped dark mare was indeed welcome. Their words confirmed her suspicions, and as Archibald arrived, Isopia waited for things to get interesting.

And then ...

Like a falling crescendo, Isopia listened and frowned silently.

I think… I think I am… in love. He said he loved me. I don’t know what to do…

Love? That was it? The 'updates' which had come before were only interesting in a cursory sense. Isopia liked to be knowledgeable, but herd politics and rosters registered fairly low down on things that she found truly important. But love? How mundane.

Not wanting to hear anything more on the subject, the skull-marked girl took to the skies.
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Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

Kaj The Aurelight Posts: 381
Hidden Falls Conscript atk: 4.0 | def: 9.0 | dam: 7.5
Stallion :: Pegasus :: 17.2hh :: 8 Years 9 Months HP: 69.5 | Buff: ENDURE
Arabella :: Common Zephyr :: Wakiya Brit
#8


KAJ
I am terrified, I think too much

Ribbons extended from one soul to another, cloaked in satiny threads of familiarity and friendship. Though Kaj was unaware of her abilities, should she ever attempt to find her way into his mind, there would be no barriers erected for her to overcome. He trusted her in a way that some could call naive, but he would rather declare it as sensitivity. The ability to tell, to know that she was worth the trust. It had not failed him so far, had instead lent him a family of supporters and devoted allies. It was old, imprinted into him from a land he had been born in, had inevitably carried over into Helovia. A land where brotherhood had meaning, where loyalty was unquestionable.

It would be his downfall someday.

The day ahead did not have such dangers looming unknown on the horizon. But in his eyes there still held worry, for Ophelia's appearance did not always herald good news. Still, there was always time for kindly words, for gentle greetings and reaffirmations of friendship. His name was warm on her lips, like a ray of sunshine breaking between the two of them in kinship of their spiritual loyalties. Ones Ophelia had helped cultivate in Kaj. Muzzles met in warm, puffing motions, and Kaj's smile settled into something deeper, firmer at the action. Ktulu's arrival broke up any attempt at explanation Ophelia had to offer, and the Czar stood aside, backing up a few steps to allow the twins their reunion. He was not needed in that moment, and he kept ear erect only to ensure he did not miss anything of import from the frosted maiden's lips.

Though he frowned softly to hear the news, it was not out of disappointment. Was she well? Had her graceful descent been uninterrupted, bode well with her personality and soul? Or was she struggling to find order, meaning? Kaj doubted she would not be able to achieve what she set out to do, he had faith in her that some could call misplaced, perhaps even Ophelia herself. But ah, how did the saying go? Believe in the me that believes in you.

Ophelia moved onward, explaining her heart's involvement in the issue. Kaj froze to hear her speak, heart stuttering to an uncertain halt in his chest as a beautiful face appeared in his mind's eye. His heart ached, physically pained. No, he could not do what Ophelia had done. Cirrus was flighty, was beautiful and untamed. She could never feel for Kaj what he did for her. And even if his love was requited, what would happen to the Falls then? They would move on without him. In silence he bore the rest of the news, eyes falling to his hooves in grievous silence that he doubted anyone would care to notice. Not out of self-pity but awareness of the fact that he was the outsider in this group.

But Ophelia turned to him then, imploring him to understand and hear her as her hide returned to a less ghastly bloodied color. Kaj managed a gentle, comforting smile. "Of course," he assured warmly. However in a show of irony and fate, Archibald came in that moment, and Kaj offered a smile and a dip of his cranium towards the mountainous man. Ah, useless once more as the old Grey members reunite beneath his nose, though he was unaware of the past that tied them all together. So instead he held back, quiet and solitary in the face of happily bonded friends. Dutifully ignoring the pang that went through his entire insides at the notion. At the beast's words he inclined his head towards Ophelia, a silent suggestion to begin again, at least summarily. It was not his position to do the speaking for her when she was right there, and so he could not make well on his prior promise.

"I'm happy for you," was murmured, expression lax and warm with friendship. "I hope you prosper in the Edge, and always remember you are welcome in these lands and among these people." It might as well be said before the others stole that, too, from his lips.

image credits
table by whit

credit bronzehalo
Please only tag starting posts, spars, and threads collecting dust!
Plot with me here!


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