First, he thought his child was dead. The swift revenge he wrought upon Airlia has left a sour taste in his mouth and yet a traitorous burning of pride in his gut - he is the father bear, and justice will be swift when one of his progeny is harmed. Then came the utter relief when he realised his daughter was not the corpse at the madwoman's hooves, and the ensuing guilt that somebody else's child was. To follow that particular emotional cocktail, he made amends with Isopia. They vowed to begin again, and he seized the chance for a fresh start with both hands.

Then the Sun God promoted him to Sultan, completing all his childhood dreams and desires. Finally, the knockout blow; Aithniel was to go on a quest for her esteemed father, leaving Volterra singlehandedly in charge of a herd that, only a year ago, he'd wanted to rain fire and death upon due to its old Sultan's stealing of his mother. How times can change! From unwanted, untrusted outsider, he has risen to king. From not caring about any of the herd save Sikeax, he has grown loyal towards his fellow Throatians and willing to fight and die in their name. From lowly outcast, unsure of herd life and its machinations, he has become a fully paid-up leader, politician, warrior.

Volterra has always possessed an unerring confidence in his own abilities. He can do anything by virtue of his formidable physical strength and unflinching determination. A part of him - the same part that controlls his temper, his wrath, his desire to rule and dominate everything that is placed before him - revels in the idea of ruling the Throat alone. He could build it into his empire, his kingdom, head of his own harem with loyal soldiers at his side and his children growing to manhood at his feet. A dynasty. A lone legacy - when they say the Dragon's Throat, they will say Volterra. They will say Indomitable, and they will quake.

The rest of him is petrified at the very notion, and Volterra is not the sort of man who takes fear lightly. But he knows the Throat can be unforgiving - the Indomitable's youth will not be any excuse for making errors of judgement. Sikeax is proof of that and she, unlike him, had already given the Throat many years of service before her fall from grace. Ruling alone is a daunting task, and whilst he thinks he could succeed if he had to, he sees no reason to compromise the safety of his herd because of his own arrogance. There is somebody who can help him, somebody who loves the herd even more than he does. She is not his lover - even though he has a pick of those to promote - and thus he is sure that he is making this decision with the head upon his shoulders and not the one between his thighs.

He stands by the oasis, his hind hooves paddling in the gently lapping waters whilst the rest of him stares away from it into the distance. He is tall, proud, strong, a black sentinel of power and regality beneath the early morning sun. Vérzés stalks fish in the shallows whilst Vadir basks upon her goliath bonded's back, the sun's rays reflecting off her golden scales and creating an explosion of refracted colour. Volterra lifts his massive skull and unleashes a loud bugle, calling for one member of the herd and one alone - Ampere.

"Mother of Companions," he greets in his thick baritone, acknowledging the dip of her head with one of his own. The Indomitable sees little point in making small talk, not when he is so keen to discover the answer to the question he is going to ask. So he skips directly to the chase, holding his hulking body tall as he looks at the blue-marked mare and begins to speak. "Aithniel has been sent on a quest by the God of the Sun. She does not know how long she will be away, but it will be long enough that she can no longer perform her duties as Sultana." Volterra hadn't wanted to pry about the details of the quest, but he is sure it must be important for the Sun God to select his daughter for it. He pictures an expedition to a far-off land, searching for clues about how to destroy Kaos. He imagines glamour, adventure, danger. Whatever her task, he is sure the Inquisitor will perform it to the best of her abilities, and whilst he is loathe to lose her presence at his side, they cannot go against the Sun God's whims.

"She is happy for me to fill the vacant position as I see fit, or leave it open and rule alone." Again he thinks of the possibilities of doing the latter - being able to mould and shape the herd to his own vision of perfection, raising an empire under his iron fist. Not answering to anybody but himself, making decisions entirely on his own...yes, it is appealing, to be a tyrant, but he does not think it would be the best for the herd. And as Sultan, the Sun God's chosen leader, he cannot let the Throat down by refusing to see past his own arrogance.

"I would like the position to go to you, Ampere, if you will have it." He pauses for a moment, for dramatic effect and to observe her face and try to gauge her reaction to the offer. "Your passion and desire to aid the herd exceeds even my own. You are trusted and valued here, and I can think of nobody better to share the throne with me." He fixes her with that intense crimson gaze of his, whilst Vadir, despite herself, rolls over to listen to the mare's response. Vérzés somewhat ruins the moment by catching a fish in a loud cacophony of splashing and chomping, earning him a withering glare from his golden sister.

Trying desperately to tune out the background noise of Vérzés' noisy devouring of his fishy catch, the Indomitable continues to hold his gaze on the winged mare as she gives her answer to his question. Yes, she says, and a broad smile flexes across the stallion's refined and handsome features. He hadn't truly thought that she would say no, but it is nice to have it confirmed. "Excellent. I intend to call a herd meeting soon to notify the rest of the Throat of Aithniel's quest. I will inform them of your promotion then." He is sure the denizens of the Throat will be thrilled with the news. It's clear that most of them admire and adore Ampere for her long-term service to the herd and to the God of the Sun himself, which should balance out any misgivings they still hold about the Indomitable himself. Of course, Volterra doesn't know exactly how close the Mother of Companions is to their fiery deity, having never thought to muse over the maternal side of Aithniel's parentage, but he thinks he is safe in assuming that she is loyal to the Sun and a proud follower of his ways.

The titan shifts slightly, causing Vadir to hiss as her comfortable position is disrupted. "Now seems as good a time as any to decide what direction we wish the herd to go in, and what we wish to discuss with the herd when I call the meeting. Have you any opinions on how the Throat should be run? Things like the activities of its warriors, the duties of its sleuths, its alliances, and so on?" He feels a thrum of excitement at the idea of being able to discuss all these things with somebody. Having someone to bounce ideas off is vastly appealing, although he does wonder on what would happen should Ampere disagree with a suggestion of his or vice versa.

It is a surprise, though, when she reveals that she was once a leader alongside him. He should have known, he supposes, given her political abilities. As she mentions being a firm leader, the stallion finds himself nodding in agreement. "I agree. I personally favour a firm but fair leadership style - willing to listen and to consider the herd's opinions, whilst ensuring that they know I am their leader. The Throat strikes me as the sort of herd that will not accept a leader they perceive as weak, so we must ensure we earn their respect and work hard to keep it." Again, he thinks of Sikeax. He knows she is not weak, but her inactivity and lack of willingness to make decisions had turned the herd against her. Volterra's physical presence and battle prowess will hopefully prevent that, but he must back it up with his abilities too.

His ears prick and a small smile spreads across his jaws as she speaks of a warrior nation. "Why, Ampere, it is like you have read my mind," he rumbles, approval glinting deep in the fathomless crimson of his eyes. "I want the Dragon's Throat to be spoken of with awe, known for its hardened warriors and its ability on the battlefield." That had been largely the case during Gaucho's reign, and Volterra dreams of the day he will lift the Throat back to those glory days.

At the mention of alliances, he casts his mind back to the meeting with the Basin. Judging by Ampere's face, her opinion of the place is no higher than the Indomitable's own. "I would suggest caution around the Basin. Hotaru and one of the herd's women came to the Throat a few months back and sought council with Aithniel. Things did not go peacefully - it appears the Basin has some skeletons in its closet that it would rather not be unearthed, not least the fact that it has attempted to tear the wings from pegasi children in the past." The thought makes him glower. "I cannot be sure how things were left, but I think it would be safe to assume that we are not allies. I would be unsurprised to see their sleuths attempting to steal from us - we must be on our guard." He stomps a hoof, thinking of possible thieves attacking his home. "With the Edge, I see no reason for us not to reaffirm our relationship with them. Indeed, their king owes me a favour after I once helped return one of his wandering children to him."

The mention of a fighting contest makes the smile widen and he beams at the blue mare, eyes blazing with ruby fire. "And yes, a fighting tournament would be splendid. Perhaps we should wait until we have bolstered our military forces, though, as it would be dreadfully embarrassing to be humiliated on our own sands." At the moment, he wouldn't trust any of the herd's warriors save for a select few to uphold the Throat's good name on the battlefield.

The conversation moves to ranks, and the leviathan nods again. "I would suggest that we perhaps re-evaluate our highest ranks once a year. Forgive me for saying this, but I have noticed that certain individuals maintain their ranks based on their name and past deeds alone, whilst doing little to deserve it. If we monitor their activity throughout the year and they know we will not hesitate to demote them should they fade into the background, they should be more inclined to remain active." He is thinking of Cera, Sohalia, Ophelia - all loyal Throat members with ranks befitting their name, but none of them around much. During his days as Gladiator Volterra had been guilty of not forcing his warriors to do everything they should, but he does not intend to repeat that mistake now he is Sultan. Inactivity will not be tolerated.

Then, Ampere moves onto sneaks. The titan tenses, half-fearing that she will suggest they use them often, take from anybody that they wish. This would be a bone of contention, as Volterra loathes the act of stealing and would, if he had his way, abolish it completely. It is a great relief when the spark-mare instead echoes his own sentiments, and his thick muscles visibly relax. "It is a relief that you feel that way, Ampere. I was beginning to think that I was only horse in Helovia who disapproved of stealing and who believes that if you want something, you should be willing to fight for it. It would not sit well with my conscience if we allowed our sneaks to freely take what they want from the vulnerable or even from other herds, even if doing so would swell our own stocks. I believe that they should be utilised mainly for the purpose of gaining information on other herds and any outcast bands that may be around." He tilts his head at her suggestion, though. "You raise an intriguing point about allowing them to take back what has been stolen, however. Whilst I doubt that they will ever become a strength of ours, it would be good to know that we have the means to reclaim things that have been taken." There's a glint in his eye as he comes to his own suggestion, something that will allow him to utilise his formidable fighting ability. "Might I also suggest that, should you or I manage to foil a stealth for one of our members, that we challenge the thief and prevent them attempting to steal from us again? It would act as an excellent deterrent to other potential thieves if they know they will be beaten to a pulp should we catch them in their foul act." And Volterra is only too happy to partake in the beating.

All in all, things seem to be going well. They appear to agree on a lot of things and this is a relief - Ampere's experience will be valuable during these difficult times. "We will make it great, I am sure of it. The threat of Kaos hangs heavy above our heads, however....perhaps we should suggest that members of the herd do whatever they can to gain information on him. I personally have visited his Marsh countless times to try and find some weaknesses, but I have come up empty-handed. I confess, though, that observing anything outside the battlefield is not a strength of mine." He gives a somewhat sheepish grin.