[Dual PK] Third Child, Restless Child

[cadazio 2105]

[Song]

 

╔════ IN MEMORIAM ════╗

Ledicort Alexander de Senna

1983-2077

Helena Casimira de Senna 

╚════  1980-2077  ════╝ 

 

Ledicort was born the sickly third son of a Duke; a spare’s spare. An irrelevant station in a petty kingdom, he had the responsibility of his older brothers, who would stand to inherit. He was third before them, and was dutiful to his father, even as he held much envy. Though he’d scuffled with Helena, of whom he bitterly resented, he would continue to serve her family, afforded a choice over them. Would the Crown be better for a John or an Alexios, a Helena or a Hadrian?    Heads.   Callahan’s warnings had fallen on deaf ears, and the Cort was blind in his faith to the Novellen. A coin toss had bidden fate and he followed it. He met and married Emilija, of whom he thought he loved. Yet there was no love between them except that which were born of their union: Arowyn and Lenora he loved most, for they were his prides. She died of sickness, and he suffered, even in his resentment.   Tails.   An accusatory finger was cast toward Joren, and so he was made anathema and the world plunged into war. He ran from Balian, carried in an unnamed cart by the crafty Misha. He sojourned in Grense, as his home upon the Hill was close, and grew Lemons for Tiberias van Aert. Such friends did he become, that Ledicort served as his Lord Chancellor. Upon his travels, he met a one-eyed woman for the first time in ages.   And of her he saw what he had missed in his regretful years, and he trusted her, so they met many times. Despite the hatred she must’ve harbored, he chose to give her another chance, as he had tried with her brother. Coins and fates could never remove his pity, and he pitied those who were persecuted, even if his definition was never consistent. The world twisted and changed around them, and they fell in love.

Helena was born the wrathful third daughter of a King; a Novellen. She must cater to all, her parents said, as a friend to all and enemy to none – for our Kingdom is in a dire state and must live to see the next annum. But she was a troublesome child with a penchant for fighting. One such target of her and her handmaidens’ was Ledicort – a third son of the House Vuiller. Later in her youth, it would be that same son who had her brother, John, rise to the crown during their crisis in her stead.    Tails.   Amidst all this struggle, before the Church’s choice in heir could have been announced, the girl had become lost at sea. A crew dwindled to just one other – whom she married. But even across the sea, trouble still found her. It  was a tumultuous marriage, of which only one child was born. Upon their return to the continent, Helena had become sickened by it – she killed her first husband.   Heads.   On the run from that haunting memory and in search of haven for her son, they came to Balian. But they were soon rejected, and so, they came to the then-Township of Grense. Luck would have it that the very Chancellor they were set to meet was none other than Ledicort. Dread gnawed at her heart once more, and it told her that she must run. But she chose different that day, and speak they did.   In fact, their talks never ceased. The two met again at the encampment she’d set up at the furthest bounds of Grense, in hopes her kin might, too, defect to what would become the Kingdom of Burgundy. That night, she had another choice before her – a murder had brought her here, and a murder – the murder of their esteemed Chancellor – could bring her back to Balian. But she chose differently, and they fell in love.

 

Heads.

 

The ephemeral blinking of the eyes that is the Horenson’s life is meaningless without choice. For once, the coins the both of them played at life, and at their fates, united together. And there was balance between them, for he loved her and she loved him, and their sufferings were just lighter upon their shoulders. The sickly man became healthy, and the wrathful woman gained peace.

 

Though health and peace never last. He, the Mule, who was always busy, was doomed to die boringly in his sleep. She, the Falcon, who was always brave, was doomed to die as choked by souffle. A coin was tossed for the both of them, and it was in neither of their hands. Fate, as they’d feared, became the final adjudicator; but in their judgement, there was health and peace.

 

 

 

LETTERS OF PASSING held in a yellow envelope by yellow wax…

 

My Falcon, @Mescaffier

 

Spoiler

 

 

I’ve lived for far too long. Longer than I ought’ve, certainly longer than I deserved. I wish I could’ve been half the man you took me for, though perhaps I never understood to see myself as thus. That is the tragedy of the Mule, you see, as said by my good friend Hugh. You will never be good enough for the world, to whom you owe everything. I regret not being there for you, more.

 

I know that you are become, far up there in those heavenly clouds, that Falcon you had always dreamed of. Freed of your burdened names and your heavy shoulders, free to soar over an endless and temperate ocean with never the need to rest upon the island of any man’s claim nor feed off the poisoned fruit that seeks to hurt you. You are what you were meant to be.

 

By your song, I know that I’ll be home. Just let me catch up.

 

Only Yours,

Marito.

 

 

Lenora Johanna, @WhimsicalOwl

 

Spoiler

 

 

Of all things that crawled upon the earth, or swam in the sea, or flew in the sky, you were the loyalest of them all. There is no greater heart, no greater soul, than the one you bear. I feel nothing but unbridled pride for you, for the woman you became despite what the world wished of you. There is no strength like yours, I am certain. 

 

I know that, like me, you yet grieve Lia. I know I certainly have, but you must’ve felt it especially. You were so very different, but perhaps that is why you were so close. I could’ve never turned my head away from her, even as much as I would’ve wanted at times. I still regret how it ended. I still mourn how it could’ve gone differently.

 

These are the cards we were dealt. You always knew how to play your hand, though, so keep playing it well. Rudolf and you will thrive, o’ Baroness. 

 

Your Pa,

Ledicort de Senna

 

 

Arowyn Laurelie, @harvestskies

 

Spoiler

 

 

My sweet Arowyn, my first child, there are so very many words I wished to say to you. I wish I could’ve had the courage to speak them to you more often. I curse your husband, I pray for your children. But before that, I think of you always, and the simplicity of those years. When it was just you, Arowyn, and I could hold you in my arms and feel as if the world was for the taking.

 

I don’t know what’ll happen to you. Where you’ll go, where you’ll live, whatever it is that you’ll do for work. I only wish that you do what you love, and that you love what you do. I’m sorry that I can’t leave you more than the melancholy of the past, and the memories of what could’ve been. 

 

I’ll love you always and always, as long as my spirit yet exists somewhere in that ether.

 

Your Pa, 

Ledicort de Senna

 

 

Phoebe Lucia, @Seva

 

Spoiler

 

 

When you were born, I was afraid of what would become of you. I was protective of you, thinking you were weak for your blindness. But you were more than your eyes, and I was proven wrong at every turn. Every little choice you made was calculated, and you learned to see the world with your mind. Now that you can see the world for yourself, I know that the Frontier will be yours to claim.

 

You have the makings of a great leader, my Baroness. Though I don’t know much of that  boy you’ve married, I hope he’ll make you happy. If he doesn’t, incinerate him or something. I’m sure you’ll figure something out. 

 

The World is Yours,

Ledicort de Senna

 

 

Ezra Helenus, @FireAGN

 

Spoiler

 

 

You take after the better of my qualities. You are a pencil-pusher by trade, as was I. Know that you’ll become what I was, and know that it is not easy. A tragic life of sacrifice is before you, and if I had truly had my way, I wouldn’t have permitted it for you. But the world needs your mind, and your work, as it had once needed mine. I have permitted you to grow accustomed to the seat, so sit upon it well.

 

To you I have left my monocle; I had another one, for a total of two. The second is to go to Edith, as well as my body and Helena’s. I have entrusted her with the safekeeping of us, so that after our cremations our combined ashes may be stored in the same urn. The urn is to remain with Edith until the time of her own death, where it shall pass to you or to your son. Make the rest of your siblings aware of this.

 

I leave behind no other possessions but the clothes upon my back, and the myriads of letters and papers I had to attend to. Good luck, my Count. Be the Mule I was, and labor for your Empire until the very end.

 

Your Father,

Ledicort de Senna

 

 

My Other Children

 

Spoiler

[A singular letter is attached to the rest]

 

Most of you I saw very little. Madona, Callahan, Cassia, Mihalis, if you are still out there, I wish you great prosperity. Perhaps come visit where I am laid to rest, and wish upon me good tidings. Know it’ll do this old soul good. 

 

Eirene and Aera, who now wander along the Qalasheen, I hope you’ve found happiness in this. They are odd customs, I’ll admit, but they are meaningful to you. I loved you still, even until my deathbed. 

 

Pontius, Francesca, your paths have taken you far away. I am proud of the both of you, and what you’ll accomplish in your future. Do not forget me as you go, but I know what you thread will have all your attention. 

 

 

LETTERS OF PASSING held in simple, brown envelopes …

 

My Lion, @cadazio

 

Spoiler

 

 

You call yourself a mule, but frankly, you are more than that. I have never known someone so wise and hardworking, but, too, fierce in his beliefs and steadfast. You built the Kingdom of Burgundy. You built the Empire of Man. The Horens rule it – and the Horens will rule the next Empire, and the next, as it always passes between the grubby hands of Man. But it was you who created all of this. Some would say this and curse your name; perhaps the Empire is a stain, but, too, is it a marvelous achievement. You have many of those. No man again could claim to have achieved as much as he who inherited nothing, yet, created so much. So much love, so much suffering, so much pain, so much joy.

 

We are both going to Hell, I think, Ledicort. But it will be warm there, much like Balian, whose beaches we both sorely miss. Perhaps there are beaches in Hell.

 

Only Yours,

Marita.

 

 

Ezra Helenus de Senna, @FireAGN

 

Spoiler

 

 

I am sorry we never became close. I am even more sorry the burden of – what should have been Margrave, many curses upon Lorena – Count fell upon your shoulders. None of it is easy, despite how many hands reach and grab for such titles. You will be great – greater than what you already are, I know it. Let not rage or guilt guide any action. I pray you have inherited none of my wrath. Teach your children well, and try not to have terribly many. That was another mistake of mine and Ledicort’s, in truth.

 

Do well, son.

Helena.

 

 

Lenora Johanna, @WhimsicalOwl

 

 

Spoiler

 

We’ve had our quarrels, Lenora – Edith. When I and Ledicort married, I so dearly wished to earn the affections of you all, his children. Cosima – while a bastard – should have never been laid down by my sword. I know you all adored her, about as much as I hated her. I do not think that rift ever healed itself, and worse, perhaps that was why Aurelia went the path she’d gone down. I’ll never know. But I hope you can forgive me. You’ve built a beautiful life for yourself. You are independent, and perhaps the most functioning of us all. Always be strong.

 

 

I love you,

Helena.

 

 

Phoebe ‘Mallory’ de Senna, @Seva

 

Spoiler

 

 

Though you were born blind, you have come to see more of the world than most others. You went undercover in Krugmar, of all places, and came out a winner. You have a smart mind, dare I say, the smartest of all of my children. I know you will achieve much as you grow into your shoes as a Baroness in that far-flung place out west. If the Empire did not exist today, you would have been a ruler of some place grand, in your own right. Bow to no tyrant, and make yourself a home you and your children will thrive in.

 

Love,

Helena.

 

 

My Other Children

 

Spoiler

 

 

I never got to know many of you well. I had never wanted children again after my first marriage; but fate had planned differently. Nonetheless, I love you all – regardless of what has happened, or where you have ended up in life. Do good. We are proud of you.

 

Helena.

 

 

To House Basileus

 

Spoiler

 

 

Would you like to know something terrible, kin? We are all Adunians. Our great, great, great, great, great, great Grandmother is Edith Hope. We are also half-elves, by technicality, I think. Her bloodline is a wretched one.

 

Enjoy this knowledge, as I have suffered with this thought for very long,

Helena Novellen.

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

NESCAFFIER: Ledicort was my second long term persona, and him finally dying feels pretty fulfilling. Everything had its ups and downs, as it usually does. Thank you to @SmartScout for giving me the chance to play the character in the first place, and to all the miscellaneous peoples who I got to rolepleigh with. For aspiring bureauchuds: Archchancellor is pretty gemeraldtastically heckin poggerino so you should definitely be aggressively schemey in trying to get it.

 

Mescaffier/Velkuzat here :J Helena was one of the most (if not the most) fun characters I’ve had. None of my others really ever became so developed or made such an impact on anything, or anyone, else. There were a lot of ups and downs in playing her – notably, catching the first metaplay ban ever kind of made it difficult to play her for about 27 weeks of her life, LOL. But everything worked out well! I was in my Senior year in highschool when I started her, graduated, and now, I’m a sophomore in college. So much time has passed! This is the first PROPER PK I’ve had for any character (the rest have just faded into obscurity) in my  … 6 years of playing? Crazy. Anyways, fat chvd Helena died to choking on a souffle and she’s in hell, now, so I think that wrapped up her story very well. 

 

[TaraJess 2848]

Spoiler

Ledicort was probably the first major character I interacted with when I returned to this server. He is one of my favorites to have interacted with on this server, and it was truly an honor to be your friend and to learn so much from you. I am so happy to see you finally reaching that goal of one day being Emperor, I remember being over the moon when I found out, it felt like such a win. Thank you for rping with me, you added so many layers to Johanna through Ledi, and I am forever thankful for that. Best wishes Nesc.

 

I am no shepard, but I am also no wolf.

 

The entirety of Balian was there. My neighbors, my colleagues, my friends, my King. They all watched as my family tore apart. It felt like fabric, being ripped at the seams. My eyes couldn’t be torn off her, off her ginger locks and her father’s eyes, the same eyes that just weren’t green enough. I know her. I know what she will choose. They share the same name for a reason.

 

The de Lyons matriarch stood, a hand raised. His Majesty allowed her to speak about her concerns. Apologetic eyes found my own, I already knew, was it not the elephant in the room? Her words were shaky when she asked. 

 

“What of Ledicort Vuiller?”

 

I could feel every single pair of eyes in the room in that moment, I could feel her eyes. What of my father, Aunty Jo? At this moment, I had never been so grateful for my father, for he had the words that I could never bring myself to say. He sat behind me, and promptly stood when the eyes fell to us. Greying, aged, he still spoke with conviction, still so sure in his stance. And so the speech came, but it was these words which stood out:

 

“If he betrays his family and people for the Church, then he shall be disowned. If his children side with him, they may be as well. Vuillers shall keep their oaths.”

 

There she was again, the ginger locks. This time though, the eyes shifted to her. I wondered in that moment, when did she get so big? She was still growing, yes, but her head reaches the bottom of my chin now… how could that be? I remember when I first laid eyes on her, my brother Ledi shoved the twins at me at a dinner party with the d’Arkents. He was so overwhelmed, unsure what to do with two more at once. I remember being overwhelmed in that moment as well, but the amount of love that I saw when he looked at his newborn daughters, it was breath-taking. In this moment though, her frown felt like a knife being plunged straight into my chest, but she had every right to feel that way.

 

The King’s words echoed throughout the chamber, talk of compromised duty. It didn’t seem to dig into my soul the way her steel eyes were. She was too young to look at me that way, with such sadness and displeasure. 

 

“Furthermore, if Ledicort Vuiller should advocate for violence against his own people, or a motion that will undermine the sovereignty and integrity of the Kingdom of Balian, he will no longer be considered one of us.”

 

“My heart goes out to the House of Vuiller and his immediate family; I understand this is a difficult and emotionally conflicting matter. Yet, it is my sovereign duty to uphold our national interests, and to condemn the injustices levied upon my subjects. Does this answer the Chamber’s query?” 

 

Silence fell upon the room, though nods found their way to His Majesty. Concluded then, this meeting of the entire Kingdom, and the room roared with the chantings of Ave Balian! Everyone said it but one, I know because I watched her lips remain closed. 

 

—

 

I found her outside the hall. Even still when the world seemed to be collapsing atop of her, she came up to me. Perhaps I was mercy to her, but I had no words to comfort her, and she knew that. Still, I had to confirm what I already knew. 

 

“Always a daddy’s girl, huh Letti?”

 

Lenora already looked like she was ready to break down and weep right there. Ledi and his daughter were so close, closer than even I was to him. He brought her everywhere, all the big meetings at the Hill, anywhere they would send him off to. They would sit in the square in Balian and people watch, they even shared the same movements, the same speech. They may as well be one, and the threat of disinheritance wouldn’t drive a wedge between her and her father.

 

“Pa’s more important than anything.”

 

I nodded. I knew. I knew. I bent down to embrace her, and she whispered in my ear her displeasure. It was then that my father found his way behind us. 

 

“Don’t speak words behind the backs of others. Say what you mean, and I will as well. Best all speak plainly.”

 

They seemed harsh to me, those words, this girl was ten. But no matter how harsh, she threw them right back.

“And yet you make such statements, when Pa isn’t even here right now to hear of them. Family is supposed to stand together, not cast each other out.”

 

The slap in the face was the fact that she was right, that I simply could not deny. The lectures ensued, the fighting, the tears. The rest of Ledi’s children made an appearance upon the commotion. Words of their mother’s culture was tossed out, the word genocide made an appearance. Those words fell on her deaf ears though, her father was her entire world, and in that moment, the world could burn for all she cared. She would be the only one of his five children that I would deliver to him upon the Hill. 

 

—

 

She clung to me on horseback as we trotted up the hill. The smell of citrus filled the air, though for some reason, this time, it felt like it was choking me. Yes, the songbirds were there, live and well, but for some reason their tunes just didn’t reach me. Sunlight fell down upon the Holy See. Had this place always felt like this? Why was this the first time it felt truly Holy? Like it was the first thing you saw after you died? Were the walls always that white? Was that swing always there on the tree in the middle of the courtyard? Did the smell of smoke always linger like that? The gentle breeze seeped through those halls, it caught my attention as Lenora was fixing her hair, would I ever see those ginger strands again? 

 

Would I ever see my brother again after this day?

 

“My wonderful family, what brings you guys up here?”

 

He was so delighted to see us. That would be the last time I see him smile, the last time he called me family. It was written all over our faces, he saw it the moment he looked at his daughter. She had been so strong up to this point, for she had to fight for herself. The moment her father came to view though, she was nothing but a little girl, heartbroken.  She sobbed so loudly, it felt like the entire Hill shook from her despair. Perhaps it trembled the way she did. Perhaps the Holy grounds were so quiet simply to bare witness to the absolute misery and torment that was soon to come. Perhaps this here was a window to our future, to the unbearable grief.

 

Ledi’s eyes found mine, he knew. We were ushered to his apartments, and there I would tell him what he had been preparing for for decades now. He reached for a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped Lenora’s tears. Suppose it was my turn to speak now, the girl had fought her battle for the day. So it was there, where I recounted the context of his name being brought forth, and the result of it. I watched my brother slip away, it wasn’t slow anymore, rather a plummet. 

 

“More cruelty from our supposedly ‘honorable’ father.”

 

It didn’t feel fair. I knew however, that this was the last I’d see of him for a long time, and with what little time I had left, I did not dare make it into an argument. 

 

“Let him disown me! I am already disowned in his heart. I have been for many summers now, ever since my youth. I feel no warmth in my family name, it means nothing to me anymore. I have found true appreciation here, for my work, and a purpose. One greater than Balian, or Aquilae. I will not grovel at his feet, or ask forgiveness. I am what I am. I worked as I worked. I labored for John and my father, and in their hubris, they have cast me aside.”

 

Falling.

 

“I had done an oath so deep, so spiritual, that it demanded everything of me. I had given the Kingdom a King, and him a crown, and sacrificed myself for it. I slayed my Harren, as Owyn did, so to speak… That means that Balian had to remain in Virtue. In communion. And I labored greatly to keep it that way. But it is people like your father and your King which have now sullied that mission. They have destroyed everything I worked for.”

 

The fall.

 

“And when Edel fell to sin, Owyn went in, and he alone slayed each and every one. I cannot do this alone, of course, but this is the fate that awaits your home. It is what I had been oathed to do. This my burden to carry, my pain, my horror. So as He giveth, He taketh away.”

 

“Do you understand, Johanna? The sheer quantity of the betrayal unto me? Not only by your Duke Marcel, but your King John? Do you understand how much they have spat in my eye?”

 

Lenora spoke then, how her and her elder sister argued. He gently stroked the back of her head and hushed her. 

 

“Siblings aren’t meant to fight, Letti. But they are no longer your siblings. We are no longer Vuillers. We do not have a name, Letti. This is what we are.”

 

It was that where I heard his voice crack. He felt the same pain as me. It aged us both. Had he begun to grey? Had those bags under his eyes always been there? The fabric he wore, black, felt appropriate, it indeed felt like we were watching someone we loved, die.

 

“I tried my best, Letti. I tried for peace. I tried for prosperity in Balian, but they are too proud. They have betrayed me, and the Church, as I knew deep in my heart they would. But I didn’t want to believe it. That is my wrong, that I didn’t have the foresight to see that John is not a King of his own; but rather, only a Prince for Haense. That their schemes would supersede their faith. This I am sorry for.”

 

He was gone, that I knew now. I would never see my brother again, not the way I saw him before. I would never sit in the Hold, and listen to him play his piano again. I would never listen to him weep for how much he loved his wife, for how much he wanted to give her the world. I would never get to argue with him again about his plights, even if in the end, it was a silly argument between a brother and sister. I will never get his wisdom again.

 

“Letti.”

 

“Yes Auntie?”

 

His face twisted.

 

“Despite all this, if you need anything from me, you write. Ok?”

 

“Even if she is no longer your Aunt, nor my sister, consider her a close friend.”

 

She clung to me with embrace.

 

“You’re not gonna stop being my auntie, are you?”

 

Visible disappointment covered his face. 

 

“Whatever the both of you need me to be, is what I will be.”

 

An olive branch. A desperate plea. Do not cut me out forever, please. 

 

“Lets keep a degree of separation, for formality’s sake. I don’t want to call an enemy sister, you understand.”

 

I think I would have preferred to have been stabbed.

 

“I was your sister before your enemy, Ledi.”

“You chose to be the latter.”

 

A sob from my niece.

“You don’t get to stop being my Auntie”

 

My own tears I then felt.

 

“Relax. It is not the end of the world”

 

How he could manage such words, I will never know. How could he lie in such a way, knowing that blood would be shed soon. I could already smell it in the air, that choking feeling of the citrus scent. How otherworldly and ethereal the See looked upon arrival. It indeed was the end of the world, even if he could not admit it.

 

“Jo. You didn’t know father in the way I did. You never saw how he looked at Harald, and how he did at me. What he thought of him, and me. But I did. I knew, when I was just sixteen, that he would despise me, that he would cast me out. I’ve had two decades to cope with that betrayal, to ready myself for it. It finally came, and despite my assumptions, the world didn’t end. Everything will be just fine.”

“I will continue to paying my part of the tax for the Duchy. I’ll do anything you need of me, Johanna, even if you’re not my sister. Because I believe there is still a modicum of goodness there. But I will not spare the rest. You have made your bed, and so have I.”

 

“I would’ve extended an olive branch to you, you know. I want to. I really really do. You don’t deserve what is to come, not at all. I want to spare you, to tell you to stand out of the way, to run away, to make a new life here, or elsewhere. But you have binded yourself to John, called him ‘the good’ too many times, even as he betrays me. You will seek to die for your kingdom above yourself. Even if I offered, I fear you wouldn’t accept.”

“Do me one last favor then, Ledi.”

He nodded, dark eyes met my own.

“If you and the church win in the end, if my husband and I are put to the blade by the end of this, spare my son. Spare my son the way I would spare your daughter.”

 

“I’ll ask you a favor, in turn then. Reflect. Think. Ponder it. My offer will stand, because it does stand. Just because I feared asking it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. This is part of my mercy. It will be available to you at any point, even when we close in on Portoregne. You are all that’s worth saving, you and your husband and your son. I won’t force you to, but I ask you to think. Allow me the chance to save you.”

 

Promises. Mercy? I can smell the smoke of cannon fire already. I can hear children screaming in the streets as they are turned orphans. My family won’t be the only one ripped apart in the end. We embraced, one I thought he’d push me away, but he did not. He clung to me tighter than he ever had, and I knew such would be the last evidence of me being his sister. 

 

Departure, lemons, smoke. 

 

—

 

I died, so long ago. The war didn’t take me, no, but I wish it did. I was wandering the world a living ghost after the fighting ended. We lost, obviously. We all knew how it was going to end. Some things stayed the same though, mainly the drink that never left my hand. The sorrow was ever present too. Endlessly did I ponder if I did enough, if I could have loved my brother more, if I could have tried harder to make our father simply see him, see all the greatness he was bound for.

 

Even in death, all my energy was put into staying with them. I so badly needed to see it all be worth in. I needed to see his statues be built. I needed him to receive that glory he sought, watch my nieces and nephews thrive in a world he may as well have been the architect of. 

 

Years continue to pass, his ginger locks turn white. I remember how sickly he was when we were young. I remember thinking he would never see old age, never live a long life. The stress of his work would surely kill him. 

 

Look at him now. All those children, those grandchildren… 

 

The name we were born to, all but collapsed, and he has risen above as the winner. Yes, I can grieve what was, but was it ever really his fault? Was it not the fault of those who pushed him away? Who did not accept his assistance? What greatness could we all have achieved if he was simply shown the respect he worked so hard for?

 

His body fails, his soul set free. Distantly I watch, not yet making to see him. I imagine there are plenty others he wishes to see first. Still, I pray that I am somewhere on that list. For as much hate I may have held for him, he was always my big brother. I always looked up to him, wanted to be like him, and grieved that I could not.
 

[Spellblades 749]

 

"I don't want to be like him, please God."

 

A phrase often said by the young Leif Elio Whitewood, praying at Lemon Hill. Being one of the youngest and the only son of Ledicort's late wife was hard for the young boy; he was always different from the rest of his siblings, like his older sister, Arowyn. Black hair as opposed to orange... he had grown to hate orange.

 

"So.. Pa is evil?"

Leif asked, tears welling in the corners of his eyes, next to Aurelia in Balian's Cathedral, Arowyn towering over the two, even at a young age, he could tell she was barely holding it together as she told the two what had happened at court earlier that day, their father was banished and disowned. War was on the horizon, and they had to pick a side.

 

 

Years passed like seconds, and Leif found himself at Balian's aviary clutching a letter from Lenora, fear taking hold in the young boy's heart. The feeling never left him.

"Please, Leif, you have to leave. They're marching!" And so he did, a quick trip to where his mother lay, only to find her grave missing, a silence hanging in the air as he gritted his teeth and ran as far as he could. Lenora found him near the Kingdom of Burgundy, wandering. The two had each other. That's all that mattered to the young Whitewood, but it wasn't enough. He had to protect.

 

"I want to be a Knight, a... Templar, I think they called it in this book, father."

 

"My Boy.. A Knight? Let's head over, I have just the place."

 

Leif found himself sitting in front of a man of silver hair and piercing gaze as he was questioned in that small tavern room.

 

"Why do you wish to be a Knight, lad?"

 

"To protect my family, no matter the cost, Sir." A fiery look in the Silasian's eyes, though fear still lingered. A deep red scar on his left hand in the shape of a claw mark kept reminding him as he looked over to his father, as he asked

"Are you sure about this? You'll be away from us for a long time."

What choice did he have? He didn't want to feel that helpless ever again.

 

Bitter resentment found its way into his heart throughout the years, even through his training in honor, chivalry, and the makings of a Knight. Leif began to notice a difference between Ledicort's treatment of him and his siblings. It was a stark contrast; he sat on the benches of Numendil, watching people go about their days. Wishing his father would treat him the same, like he actually mattered. And so he distracted himself from that truth. He found love, earned titles, and glory. But it was never enough, none of it ever was for Ledicort. 

 

"The Brave of House Whitewood...? What a joke." He often thought to himself that he hated the title. It defined him. He wasn't brave; he couldn't even look his father in the eyes.

 

"What do you mean, Cosima is dead!?" The Knight shouted at the top of Lemon Hill, the distant birds' song disrupted by his voice. Anger filled his heart as he got a letter from Cosima, someone he saw as a mother figure when he didn't have one growing up.

 

"Your stepmother has accused me of being Darkspawn. I must leave. I'm sorry." The Letter read. He didn't believe it, not for a second, as he grabbed his spear off the wall and headed to get answers. He had seen Helena take a heavy blow to the head, fighting the Demon that would eventually lead to his downfall. -- He stayed by her side as she received medical treatment, and a silent prayer under his breath resonated.

He would never truly forgive Helena for what she had done, but they were still family. That was something he couldn't change.

 

Spoiler

I'm sad to see Ledicort and Helena go; they were amazing characters and definitely made my first actual character on this server worth playing. The impact they had on Leif and the conflicts it brought were one of my favorite moments of roleplay. Thank you, Nesc, for allowing me to play one of your kids. And Mesc for providing such an awesome narrative, I wish you both all the luck going forward :)

 

[Parasolii 182]

reserved!! 

[WhimsicalOwl 268]

[!] Trembling hands grasped the letters that had arrived to her, as the grieving woman struggled to grasp the feeling of absence, not unfamiliar - and yet, nothing had ever hurt Edith- Lenora- quite like this.

 

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Out of all the people in the young Vuiller's life, even above her own mother, had Lenora looked up to her father the most. Her father- who no matter how busy he was, had always made time for her. No matter how much love she held for her mother, her aunts and uncles, it was her pa that she sought to make proud the most.

 

Perhaps it was that fact that had set her on this path of hers, what had made her turn away from the streets of Balian, warm beaches replaced with white walls and citrus trees - and most importantly, the bees. If her mother had still been alive, when her grandfather had burdened her with that choice all those years ago, would she have chosen differently? What if, what if, she had always hated 'what ifs'.

 

No. The answer was no. Her pa was more important than anything. No matter what cards she had been dealt.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

 

Most letters, Edith had the habit of tossing away, but not her father's. No, this one would be preserved - as was decided by her grief ridden mind from the moment it fell into her grasp, tucked neatly within the frame of her father's portrait.

 

As for Helena's. . .

 

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

She remembered those stressful times so clearly - the conflict, arguments that the then de Senna had always preferred to avoid. Family isn't meant to fight, a lesson she had learned from her father, long before these arguments seemed like a possibility.

 

For so long had Edith put Helena's existence out of her mind, memories too closely tied with the spiral of her twin to ever unpack. Maybe that, in the end, was why that fragile bond of theirs had never mended - not out of hatred, but out of avoidance. 

 

Though she had her own regrets, at least Edith could rest knowing their last words spoken would be out of forgiveness.

Spoiler

So sad to see these characters go! RIP Ledi

 

[milkyi 1985]

reserved

[Seva 624]

Phoebe Lucia de Senna Malory had spent a long time cloistered behind the walls of her childhood. Yet for every moment she sat held in stasis, there was another memory she felt in retrospect. Being given her first cane, being taught the walls of their home, and being taken outside for the first time to feel the grass.

She could not hate that part of her parents, and in the end, she decided not to hate any of it. It had made her who she was, and she would never let that go.

[FireAGN 1207]

reserved

[tasty_cheesecake 2298]

Enrique who himself ought to have died of old age long ago thinks of his friend Ledicort and how his career post-clergy had gone so far. Though he missed his aid greatly in the years since the wars, he was always glad to see him well, with much family, and successful- things he found himself lacking as the years dragged on. As he found out via pedestrian means of news bulletins of his friend’s passing, he seriously contemplated at what point he would finish his work and get to join his old friends in the Skies.

 

Some work to be done first though. And the pesky matter of his mechanical body, too.

[Cheese 8876]

A letter came to the Baroness Basileus, marked with a seal she did not recognize. When Anastasia had it opened, and her eyes scanned it, something in her heart sank. But it was not the knowledge of her sullied heritage. No, that wasn't it...

 

Instead, Anastasia’s name locked onto Helena’s signature. They had the same lineage, the same namesake of Casimira, and yet, she had never been given the opportunity to know her distant aunt in life. Helena’s name was always spoken with such scorn in the halls of Cascanova, with wicked tales of betrayal and exaggerations of abandonment, but something curious had always lingered in the girl’s mind…. where was Helena now? What truly happened to the Kingdom of Balian, unskewed by historical records?

 

Now, an unsatisfactory closure would be brought to a relationship never given the chance to form. And though the name of her ancestors had been resolved, Anastasia could not help but peer onto the table, where a basket of oranges and lemons sat, and she wondered aloud, “How did they ever allow our House of Novellen’s blood to fracture so terribly?”

[Plausifraunz 361]

By her fireplace, the Margravine received news. She did not know the good Ledicort as well as she would have hoped. Yet he was more a familiar face then those she saw amongst the Empire in the coming days. One of the last few she recognized from a bygone era. One long behind her now. Arya Altwegg exhaled deeply. The coming years would be hard on her, no doubt. She lit candles, and quietly prayed, as she did for every loss. And every loss to come. There was no time to weep. No time to shed tears. Only time to keep working.  "God guide you, Ledicort. We thank you for your help. Take your rest now, yes? You've worked hard for all of our sakes."

 

[Lortime 1153]

In the skies, the soul of a dear old friend, one whose life had been cut abruptly short, one who was denied the decades the De Senna had outlived him, waited patiently for the spirit of the couple he once had married to arrive. He had many choice words for the erstwhile Archchancellor, but few of them were harsh. He thought he was a decent man, serving a rotten machine. Still, despite the sordid name of Burgundy, and the Holy Imperium, Ledicort seemed still like an honest, reliable, good-humoured man. The hours they'd spent in Curial meetings, the times they sat quietly upon the rooftops of Lemon Hill, the hushed voices they murmured with as they argued and bickered over the fates of kingdoms in those meetings, seemed at once so close yet impossibly distant. Fond and foul memories in equal measure, but memories worth recalling. 

"O' Ledi, mea old friend. Twas I who stood between you and Helena, and spake those sacred oaths. Twas I who stood before the Tabernacle and welcomed you into the brotherhood of the temple. And now, my final duty to you is complete. Welcome. Rest."

[NovumChase 235]

Rothwin Aldor grimaces at Ledicort’s death-notice, filing it dutifully away with other genealogical material. Little by little, the senior generation was ebbing. Of Ledicort, he would write among his journal-entries of 2077:

 

… After the closing of the House of Burgesses (which is called the “Burgherraad”), I spoke with members of the House, and others … but after all this, I was startled to see Ledicort de Senna enter the chamber-room, and I was amazed by his antiquity. I think I have only ever seen one or two men as aged as he, and he was, I regret to report, disoriented and seeming in the twilight of life. It was regrettable, although unsurprising, to see the later notice of his passing. Still, I am sobered by this passage; few men represented so long a leap in family history as did Ledicort de Senna. In all my youth, I sighted Senna children in the schools, and in the training-yards, and in the public places, and I have felt his influence, though indirectly, more than many men of his generation. It is doubtless that my children and grandchildren will be fascinated that I sighted him at all.

[Onnensr 1908]

In the dark of night, the Cardinal Nerium of Malinor sent a letter to a couple Necromancer's whose names he'd found in one of his wife's filing cabinets. He wrote, "Hi, I don't normally do this, it's actually my first time haha, but one of my best buddies just died and he forgot to leave me a letter after his passing. Could you bring his soul kicking and screaming back to his flesh for a few hours, just so he can write to me? I promise to only torture you for two days instead of the typical three, if and when you're caught by our most noble and virtuous inquisitors. Thanks!"

The carrier hummingbird flew fast, so fast it blindly hit the wall of a brazier, immolating both bird and letter before they ever could be delivered or used as evidence against the holy father. Just another day in the life.

[EmiliainWonderland 2309]

There was a woman who remembered him. A woman who once wanted nothing but to fix the broken family she’d grown up with. She remembered meeting him and his initial disgust at the surname she had been born with. Yet despite the initial impression they’d made upon one another, her stubbornness proved fruitful. Ledicort was more than someone she would’ve considered family. He’d actually shown her genuine care. When her husband cheated on her, Alexandria was able to seek comfort with him and Edith. When Francesca got married, she was invited to attend, and even when the war came. He’d offered all he could offer her to make sure her family was safe. She had become closer to them than she’d ever thought possible after hearing of the awful split between the Vuillers and the de Sennas. Yet he’d given her hope. Maybe if she’d have been around longer, it could’ve really been the family she’d always hoped for. She would mourn for the life and the years she’d lost, and the fact she’d never get to thank him for all he’d done to involve her in the lives of their family. Another carried the torch for her, to watch over the ones she loved when she could not.

 

“I tried. You know. I tried to tell him to make amends, hell, I tried to make amends. I gave up too soon, didn’t I? If only there had been more time, if only things had gone differently. Perhaps I would’ve known you from the beginning. You were a good man, Ledicort, and a wonderful uncle.”