#sdlkfa;lsdkf

[courtfallen]

𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔥𝔦𝔱𝔢 𝔯𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔫’𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔰 𝔣𝔩𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱; it is not usual for his loyalty to be questioned, especially by a man who has seen through to his true values and principles, a man with whom he shared radical ideals, with whom he dreamed of a different and more sustainable prythian. despite their falling out, vyros knows in his marrow that there is a road back to their collaboration and that the road could lead to the betterment of the realm as whole; why else would he feel comfortable speaking so openly with the daemati? what else had drawn them together but the fire burning in him, after all of this time, now raging at the dawn of this looming threat? vyros has never been one to question threads of fate, silvery and gleaming in the dark loam. it was those that he followed, guided by a celestial light it seemed no other could see — no other but the man standing before him.

❝ of course, you hesitate. you can only see my actions through your lens. your heart burns for the night court alone; mine, for all of prythian. we knew when we spoke on the topic of court independence ages ago that it was a dangerous and radical idea, but we also knew it was one worth fighting for — a game that would always begin by establishing the independence of the night court, kal. freeing the night court is the most obvious strategy, because the night court is the most stable, the most independent already. but, for me, that was just the first move in long war toward freedom for all courts. the first move toward the downfall of an obsolete royal court that could never truly serve its citizens. you must know the night court's independence was important to me, but it was never my endgame. ❞

 vyros can’t help but smirk at the comment he is irrational, because he knows it’s true. vyros’ passion for this particular cause was always a step ahead of his usual level-headed approach toward strategy. of the two of them, vyros had a tendency to be the first to jump while kalore was the steady hand that stayed the action. they were a good match for one another in this way; vyros kept the torch lit, and kalore guided the way. ❝ i regret how it ended. ❞ he speaks on their brotherhood, lowly, the regret obvious in the tone of his voice. ❝ but i will take the responsibility for setting fire to the bridge and letting it go to ash when i returned to the winter court. i will accept the blame for it all if you're willing to at least look at the prospect of rebuilding it. ❞

eyes of ichor study the dark gaze opposite, listening intently when the daemati speaks again. ❝ i know the kind of man you are, kalore. i know you serve your people loyally, and i would be a fool if i were to suggest otherwise. i only ask that you look beyond the night court’s borders to see that there are innocents in every court who simply desire their own freedom, just the same as you. and from the seat of court commander, my reach is greater, my influence stronger. i have more power to make change. i can still serve the night court and every fae of prythian in this way, if you are open to the possibilities. ❞

a grave nod is his answer to kalore’s acknowledgement — enough is enough, but not all courts will see the new king’s rule as a place to demand change, but a vital organ in which to slip a dagger and bleed the court dry. an ambitious court taking control of the realm would end in tyranny which vyros cannot abide. ❝ i do not wish to see any harm come to the boy, but it is time we challenge this reign. it has been too long since the royal court was a true advocate for all those it assumes under its power. ❞ his fingers wrench around the hilt of kingkiller, and he looks through his brows at the shifting darkness around them, scanning for any who might come to feast on this intrigue and scuttle back to a spymaster with the entrails.

❝ i may be an idealist, but i am not naive. history has shown us time and time again what a lust for power and a throne can do to cripple a realm into stagnation — or to bleed it dry. all we need is a majority, and we could see it done — there would need to be peace treaties drawn up, binding treaties with hellish consequences for those that breach them. ❞ silver brows are knit as his mind reels with thoughts others might deem treasonous; how long he’s thought them, how long they’ve festered without another sound mind with which to share them. he sighs and lets the thought go, knowing he’s getting ahead of himself — ❝ i have asked my emissary to call the court commanders together to confer on the events that have been unfolding since our arrival in the capital. i don’t expect many to show, but it’s a chance to get a read on those that do. i hope you’ll attend. solidarity is needed, now. ❞

"you  know  quite  well  what  path  my  past  led  me  towards.  you  cannot  blame  my  hesitance  when  you  ran  off  to  serve  another  court.  it  hardly  inspires  faith  when  you  ally  yourself  with  another,  for  all  I  know  you  can  easily  feign  your  loyalty  -  temporary  or  not  for  the  sake  of  your  own  court."  did  kalore  believe  not?  note  entirely.  between  the  two,  vyros  possessed  a  certain  loyalty  that  not  even  he  himself  harbored.  it  would  be  entirely  easy  to  say  he  did  not  dwell  on  the  past,  but  all  of  his  ambitions  and  his  very  life  was  shaped  by  his  past.  as  much  as  he  wished  it  did  not,  it  would  hold  a  strong  driving  force  over  the  commander  of  the  night  court  for  the  rest  of  his  existence.  the  difference  was  he  carefully  picked  and  chose  what  he  wished  to  look  behind  on.  in  the  case  of  this  winter  commander,  the  answer  was  never  quite  clear,  more  so  now.  that  in  all  this  turmoil  and  uncertainty  that  follow,  kalore  knew  only  one  man  who  thought  as  he  did.  one  might  think  their  minds  were  of  one,  still  were  perhaps,  despite  the  decades  of  differences  and  distance  between  them.  there  was  a  familiar  look  of  bloodlust  in  the  other's  honey  gaze,  one  that  the  commander  knew  all  too  well.  it  had  been  a  risky  move  to  share  his  ambitions  with  the  illyrian  decades  ago,  but  kalore  could  hardly  resist  when  another  understood  something  so  pivotal,  and  feared  very  little  like  the  daemati.  "the  one  thing  i  would  never  mistake  you  for,  vyros,  is  a  fool.  you  are  many  things,  irrational  some  days,  but  certainly  not  a  fool."

he  was  not  certain  the  other's  concern  for  all  the  courts  prythian  or  the  winter  court  he  currently  served.  kalore  had  little  care  that  it  had  been  a  seasonal  one,  and  in  truth,  he  wanted  no  conflict  with  any  of  the  solar  courts  or  the  seasons.  what  he  wished,  as  always  was  the  night  court  to  be  independent.  he  already  had  a  devil  of  a  time  bowing  to  his  own  high  lord  who  was  entirely  unfit  to  rule  the  night  court,  but  at  the  very  least  he  had  his  high  lord  in  the  palm  of  his  hands,  a  man  who  listened  to  his  commander  without  question.  "careful,  do  not  imply  that  i  have  no  care  for  my  people.  every  move  i  have  made  in  my  position,  has  been  for  my  night  fae  and  that  included  you,  once."  the  rational  side  of  kalore  knew  very  well,  the  man  was  not  plotting  anything  other  than  to  free  their  people.  despite  their  history  and  their  fallout,  even  now  the  two  were  capable  of  much,  hardly  another  stood  a  chance  if  they  were  to  team  up  and  do  what  is  needed  to  be  done.  kalore  had  to  consider  other  factors  outside  of  them,  mainly  what  this  thing  could  do  if  they  made  a  sudden  move.  for  all  the  wit  they  possess,  if  their  high  rulers  did  not  possess  the  powers  to  right  this  force,  their  actions  could  worsen  things  for  all  of  them.  he  had  little  care  what  became  of  the  royals,  at  this  rate  would  they  even  survive  without  the  courts  protecting  them,  but  that  led  him  down  a  more  intriguing  thought  -  one  that  the  winter  commander  was  sharing.  "as  much  as  i  despise  agree  with  this,  we  have  stood  back  and  allowed  far  too  much,  at  the  hands  of  the  royals.  the  mother  and  the  boy  are  harmless,  but  we  may  be  able  to  use  it  to  our  advantage.  without  the  king  they  are  vulnerable,  relying  on  us  to  protect  them."  he  had  little  care  for  the  royal  family,  but  the  rest  citizens  of  gaea  did  not  deserve  what  was  befalling  on  them  because  of  their  carelessness.

"no."  it  was  all  he  offered,  and  while  vyros  serving  the  winter  court  certainly  had  left  a  bitter  taste  in  his  mouth  decades  before,  now  he  was  indifferent.  "i  would  sooner  die  than  watch  prythian  fall,  nor  do  i  wish  to  send  any  of  the  faes  of  prythian  in  the  crossfire,  or  into  a  battle  with  one  another.  perhaps  you  may  be  naive  believing  that  every  high  ruler  will  unite  for  the  good  of  prythian  against  the  royals.  you  can  speak  of  your  high  ruler,  as  i  can  of  my  own,  but  even  i  cannot  imagine  what  the  ambitions  of  the  others  are."  he  met  the  other's  gaze,  "you  are  a  perceptive  man,  then  surely  you've  noticed  the  high  rulers  of  spring  and  summer  -  you  can  smell  the  ambition  off  them,  and  i  would  not  underestimate  day  and  dawn  high  rulers  either.  they  seem  unassuming  but  I  find  the  quietest  of  the  bunch  are  the  deadliest."  his  arms  cross  over  his  chest  as  he  shifts,  "believe  it  or  not,  that  thought  has  crossed  my  mind,  that  if  i  could  have  timur  convince  the  others  to  unite,  demolish  the  throne  entirely,  we  would  have  a  fighting  chance  against  this  thing."