RuneScape Forum Archive | Scions of House Arenar (RP)

George Rozas

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"Not in the way we remembered him, brother."

Flynn shook his head as he spoke, giving the final answer early to soften the blow that Gallus had already expected to hear. The book he had been studying was closed with a thump that echoed through the archives, its contents having proven useless, while the prince reached across and picked up the book of necromancy his brother held. His eyes studied the worn cover with an odd fondness, finger tracing well-known grooves and indentations in the binder. It had been quite some time since he last lay eyes upon this book, let alone the second in the archives - the one he had been unable to read. Speaking of, with his far more learned mind and knowledge of languages perhaps he would be able to peruse its secrets now.

"I could do as you have heard - raise father's body as a corpse under my control, manipulate each aspect of his body's movements, even have it act as if alive. But that is not life, just a grim mockery without thought, feeling or speech,"

He said without reservation, slowly turning his gaze from the book in his hand to the pile of what would likely be useless tomes sitting on the table.

"There is... a facimile of life I am able to perform,"

He then admitted, a touch quieter.

"One that would restore a capacity for speech, thought, even much of the personality of the individual. In essence, father could indeed 'live', bound to my control as a mind within an undead form."

Flynn then turned to Gallus, meeting his gaze.

"I would not do it. Not to father, not to uncle, not to you or any of our siblings, whether you asked me to or not. But also... I cannot do so now, anyway. Performing it would require his soul be present, and for me to directly manipulate it back into his body."

I am Inferi.

27-Jul-2022 13:44:05

NotFishing

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The Vault

Leon's eyes narrowed at Reyner's interjection. His gaze briefly flicked to Eva, then Chloelle, and then he made a sharp gesture for Dalhover to block the vault door. Not that it was necessary - there were more guards outside the closet door as well.

"Wheelton? Your fief? Explain yourself, boy. Now."

-----

Roland and Ariadne

"What I'm getting at, dear sister, is that the army may not help us here,"

Roland said simply, with an almost catlike smile.

"You may command the obedience much of the professional forces, aye. But what of those outside your authority? Aristocrats, hedgeknights, and mercenaries? Men and women who possess the capabilities to fight or raise armies of their own, but are not bound by military discipline. From what I understand, you are not well-loved amongst such forces, and have little experience working alongside them.

Roland's smile widened slightly.

"But I am, and I do. Best you keep that in mind, because you need me."

With that, he turned away.

"Come find me when you're finished here."

-----

Kathlyn and Adrienne

The Duchess's eyes narrowed slightly. "I understand," she said, the strain in her voice carefully concealed. It was clear that she did not appreciate being kept in the dark like this.

"I dislike secrecy, but in this case it's a sensible precaution," the Jarl agreed, and his words seemed genuine. The Earl nodded along with him.

"Indeed," the Marquis of Talongard nodded. His expression was carefully neutral, but his eyes were calculating. Adrienne could not read minds, and therefore could not know exactly what he was thinking, but based on his emotions it was clear he did not take her words at face value, and he seemed to already believe he had figured out the true meaning behind them. "Let us take no more of your time." Beneath the gold, the Bitter Steel.

13-Nov-2022 13:57:20 - Last edited on 13-Nov-2022 14:11:58 by NotFishing

NotFishing

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Flynn and Gallus

Gallus's expression curled in distaste as Flynn described the specifics of the necromancer's craft. It was one thing to know your brother did strange things with corpses. It was another to actually hear him speak about it so frankly and with such exhaustive expertise.

"That avenue is lost to us, then,"

he said, as he slid the old tome back into the shelf.

"And this entire library is a dead end."

Beneath the gold, the Bitter Steel.

13-Nov-2022 13:57:32 - Last edited on 13-Nov-2022 13:57:57 by NotFishing

Azi Demonica

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Dalhover thought heavily, trying to figure out what this something was and where. His mind brewed so much his forehead moistened with sweat, the discomfort tugging away the old master's attention enough for he to not fully realize Reyner's affected collectedness.

He wiped his brow. Cultist camp in the forest, no doubt... They probably killed the lord for some reason? Maybe my wife, too, was assassinated by them... Must have been that damn book this whole time! I should have pushed this issue harder to the king when I stood next to him...

But experience remains no matter age. With surprising precision and quickness despite his age, Dalhover appeared at the doorway as hinted by Leon. Instinctively expecting an outside threat, he crossed his arms and peered out the Vault, not even blinking as his mind raced with a plethora of imaginary dangers waiting to erupt from portals...

14-Nov-2022 04:21:07 - Last edited on 14-Nov-2022 04:26:58 by Azi Demonica

Mar

2023

Bluefirecan

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The great lords were, obviously, displeased with the lack of information they were offered. However, they accepted the half-truth without argument. Duchess Helena was the most disappointed, while the Jarl and the Earl seemed more genuinely understanding of the tactical decision. Rie made a mental note to inform her siblings of her exact wording of the reason for withholding the announcement of the heir – after all, maintaining a strong central message would be important in managing tensions amongst the populace.

Still, the Marquis responded with the usual niceties, but his emotions betrayed a hint of… smugness? Certainty? It was hard to pinpoint the exact mixture of emotions by name, but Rie had felt it numerous times before. Whenever people felt as though they saw through her words and established deeper meaning, she felt it.

Being an empathic diplomat could be exhausting sometimes.

Still, the Marquis thankfully suggested that the four lords leave the sisters alone for the time. Rie offered a slight smile and a small nod to the collection of nobles. As they walked away, she turned to Kathlyn and whispered, “

Is there anything else we need to attend to?

” She reached toward Kathlyn, ostensibly for a hug, but assuming her sister accepted it, Rie would add, “

Sister, help me convince our siblings to use my verbiage if anyone asks them about the heir. We cannot force them to use it, but it may help to stall some amount of unrest in the land.

”
I just play FFXIV at this point. DC: Crystal

15-Nov-2022 06:45:12

Inferi

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As Roland continued speaking, Ariadne made no response other than to narrow her eyes. If he wasn’t trying to provoke her, then he was doing a very poor job. She knew he was better liked by everyone than she was; hell, there were few people, let alone scions, who weren’t. Going to someone like him for help wasn’t even an issue for her in most situations, as she knew what her limitations were and who could lean on people when she couldn’t. It wasn’t what she liked to do, or would do if there were other options, as doing so decreased the weight of her own words, but sometimes it had to happen.

Here, though…despite the fact that they were siblings - or perhaps because of it - and that they wanted the same thing, he couldn’t help himself from acting as though he was simply better. Part of her fear, though, was that he actually thought that. A spoiled prince, loved by everyone, that was convinced he was better than everyone else was even harder to deal with than the nobles with whom she was used to butting heads. Perhaps that wasn’t true, but even if it were an act that made working together much more difficult than it needed to be.

It wasn’t until he walked away that she realized her fists were balled up, almost painfully so. What he said shouldn’t have been enough to even trigger a minor version of that reaction in her; it was no worse than anything said or done by nobles that thought she was nothing more than an annoyance. The fact that he was her brother made it a bit worse, but certainly not enough to make her want to take a swing at his smug grin.

Trying to push aside those thoughts, and disengaging her clenched fists, Ariadne stepped away from where they had been standing. There was still work to do, and she had her role to fulfill. Whether she had failed it already didn’t matter…no, it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t fail again. This wouldn’t happen again, whether her siblings cared if what she was doing had value or not. Done in by the dubious doings of destiny.

22-Nov-2022 05:04:37

D F Angel

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Name: Prince Varenis 'Varen' Arenar
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Parentage: King Yareth Arenar and Queen Emilia

Occupation: Prince Varen has been in exile for five years and living an iterant, vagabond lifestyle. Prior to this, he served as captain of the city watch.

Greatest Desire: To expose the inherent hypocrisies of society at large and his siblings in particular
Greatest Fear: That he hasn't "figured out" the system and is in fact just an outcast incapable of interacting meaningfully with society

Appearance: Varen is a man of sharp features and sheer angles; pointed chin, sallow cheeks with high cheek bones, a thin nose, pronounced brow ridge. His hair is black; a poorly cut fringe falls about his forehead whereas long hair in the back falls about his ears and tickles the base of his neck. His left ear is pierced in seven places; the rest of him is without blemish.

Varen's skin is razor-clean, and tanned from years of travel. His eyes are a dark brown that veer close to black. He is just above six foot, broad shouldered but otherwise quite thin. He gives the overall appearance of being somewhat poorly put together. Hags be hagglin', gods be god damn crazy, it's all happening ogre at Into The Fire

24-Nov-2022 22:42:28

D F Angel

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Attire: Varen's most prominent piece of attire is a long, black half cape that falls from his left shoulder and covers the entire left-hand side of his body. It is trimmed at the bottom with golden lace, and the rest of Varen's clothing follows this same black-and-gold colour scheme. Black trousers, slim-fit, held up by a golden belt. A black waistcoat with golden, horizontal threading. Beneath that, a black button-up shirt with golden buttons. Black, formal shoes with modest golden heels. On his right hand a golden glove, obscured by a black fingerless glove atop it. His left hand is left bare.

Varen has a number of jewellery he wears in his left ear - a ring, three studs, a coil, a decorative arrow-shaft, and an ear taper.

Equipment: Varen walks with a decorative cane - from a distance it appears like a rather embellished walking stick, but close observation proves it to be designed as a totem pole with various ritualistic carvings stacked atop each other made from a variety of metals and seemingly from many different cultures, with a golden orb affixed to the top for grip which has carved into it the symbology and heraldry of House Arenar.

Varen keeps a long dagger in the right breast of his waistcoat, and three throwing knives are concealed within his half-cape.

Magic: Varen's magic is best described as projecting his psyche forward. It is commonly believed that this wasn't a talent that Varen honed, but is some volatile reaction to the prince attempting to keep too myriad a magical selection or else straining beyond his limits and resulting a much reduced ability.

When someone comes into contact with Varen's bare skin, they begin witnessing projections into their mind. It is unclear to most whether these are Varen's thoughts, his memories, or even premonitions of the future. The longer someone is exposed, the more varied and disturbing the images seem to become. Breaking contact with the skin instantly ends the effect. Hags be hagglin', gods be god damn crazy, it's all happening ogre at Into The Fire

24-Nov-2022 22:42:39

D F Angel

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It is unclear if this power is an extension of, or separate to, Veran's more commonplace ability of creating audio sound cues. These sounds, which can vary in length and complexity, can be made to appear anywhere in the vicinity that Veran can see.

Retinue:

Greziniy Arenar - A nubile goblin woman that Varen claims to have married in a pagan ritual

Lod - a loyal thug

History: Varen Arenar's childhood was much the same as his siblings; one of immense privilege, wanting for very little but also having little room to say what they wished to do. Having received the usual lessons in elocution, geometry, the classics, music, etc., Varen was never a stand-out member of the family. His mother died when he was three, and the King did not take much interest in raising the boy once his mother was gone.

Something happened with - or to - Varen in his teenage years that changed him. The shift was subtle at first, then more noticeable. He went from irritability to outright antisocial behaviour. Varen was given the role of captain of the city watch in Alyssium at the age of 17 in the hopes this would balance him out, however some scant months before his 20th birthday he was banished from Tavia.

It was King Yareth himself that passed the sentence, and the circumstances under which this took place were never publicly revealed. The Exile Prince was, for a time, a piece of intrigue at court. However the King's refusal to reveal the reasoning behind this led to the story losing its traction over time.

In those five years away, Varen travelled the land. Sometimes a beggar scraping by, sometimes using his royal name to live lavishly in the courts and halls of faraway places. He tangled with many species in this time, and was known to have spent the last eight months in the goblin lands. Any news that ever came back to court about Varen was bad news, and even with the royal summons there were some that suspected the invite never extended to this wayward Arenar. Hags be hagglin', gods be god damn crazy, it's all happening ogre at Into The Fire

24-Nov-2022 22:42:46 - Last edited on 24-Nov-2022 23:29:03 by D F Angel

Drahcir Evan

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NotFishing said :
The Vault

Leon's eyes narrowed at Reyner's interjection. His gaze briefly flicked to Eva, then Chloelle, and then he made a sharp gesture for Dalhover to block the vault door. Not that it was necessary - there were more guards outside the closet door as well.

"Wheelton? Your fief? Explain yourself, boy. Now."

Reyner's scowl set a little more deeply than usual, his billowing frustration with the scenario betraying his composure in increasingly obvious ways.

"What might I explain?" was his retort, quickly followed with "This fiend we're after is unwise to meddle in my domain. It was clever or perhaps lucky they should be there while I'm away, but that boon won't last... The forests answer to me. "

The lord dropped an open hand onto the table, covering Wheelton's small section of map in his unwavering grip. "I'll see the cretin dealt with." he promised.

26-Nov-2022 01:08:30

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Scions of House Arenar (RP)