003 / UNSEELIE + SEELIE / (MEMORY + VOICE)

[dragmire]

[At some point last night, the following dreams unfolds. A beast of a man imprisoned, executed, and rises again to have his revenge. A shining sword is carried and is familiar to any who have seen him in combat. He is thrust into a portal What follows after that is an hour of nothing but an empty void with darkness all around. It is a hell of nothingness, where senses are meaningless, and despair and hatred is all that can fester. Eventually the dream comes to an end, for anyone who would bother to follow something so long.]

[Today]

Traitors and cowards have burned and plundered my kingdom. Those that profess to be righteous have slain those I valued most. There are many debts I have yet to settle. Not one has yet been forgotten. For now, the path to return home is an arduous one, but I relish the challenge.

The day will come that I will dream of more than that endless void.

[Until now, his tone seemed sad and nostalgic. There was an anger and hatred that lingered beneath the surface, but was suppressed. Now, he returns to his usual mannerism. Calculated and cold, yet proud and arrogant all a the same time. Unseen, the Demon King toys with the piece of star that is the source of his dream and nostalgia. He may not relish it being shared for all to see, but he senses something special with it. He has chosen to keep it.]

A cool wind blows through the city today, relieving the heat of a summer's day. Perhaps tonight it will rain yet again. [A pause and now when he speaks, it seems very pointed to any who listen.] The Castle of Mair has been returned to Unseelie hands. All are welcome to visit the city. I promise it a unique experience from what may be found in the rest of the Drabwurld. But if you come into this domain seeking war, then you will find it tenfold.

Comments

voice;

[scinlae]

[ she makes no mention that she saw the memory, nor the fact that it set an instinctual fear in her bones. ]

You were victorious.

voice;

[dragmire]

The defenders fought as well as they could manage, but their fate was inevitable.

[That's king talk for 'those losers never had a chance'.]

voice;

[scinlae]

I can't imagine they posed much of a challenge.

voice;

[dragmire]

No, nor could they have been. They were poorly led men. Many had not yet sobered from idle festivities, but it was only those with the drink in them that showed any courage. One can take coin for holding a sword and watching a wall, but it does not make a warrior.

voice;

[scinlae]

[ morgana laughs. ] They may as well have never mounted a defense in the first place.

Do you take any prisoners? Or did they all fall?

Voice

[avisionofwar]

And to Unseelie hands I hope to see it stay!

[ He sounds quite chipper, for a fellow marching off to a fool's errand. ]

I received your servant and gift in good form, my lord, and have asked the lady Queen that she might again send men to our stronghold at Mair.

But I beg leave of your time also to ask again of your people.

Voice

[dragmire]

[More soldiers! It was something to make up for what they would lose with Celegorm marching off to battle, but he wondered if it would be enough. Unseen, his expression was grim and thoughtful. His answer seems almost grudging.]

You may have it. What is it you ask?

Re: Voice

[avisionofwar]

[ Celegorm nods, exhaling a breath. ]

... What was it, that earned your foes your enmity, and that of your people?

*LOCKED* Voice

[dragmire]

[Now there is a loaded question. Once, his reasons were so simple. Now they were convoluted and mixed with hatred.]

For centuries, my people lived in a wasteland. It was a harsh land that made for hard people. Yet though we survived in it, we never truly thrived. In times past, my ancestors would try to lay claim to the greener lands of Hyrule, but we never had the strength to hold such lands. Wars would be fought and my people would be thrown back into the desert, where we would wander the wastelands to lick our wounds.

In my time, I thought to do the same. But I had not meant to raise armies. I did not wish to see the blood of Gerudo lost in a useless battle that could not be won. So I sought a greater power and did all that I could to claim it for my people. It was a power that could give us what we had so long been denied. But on the very cusp of victory, it was taken from me. All was revealed and my ambitions made naked. The King of Hyrule declared war on my people and gathered his allies to crush all who stood in his way. We fought back valiantly and bitterly, but in the end we were outnumbered and could not stand. They bound me in chains like a dog to answer for the crimes they threw at me.

[And the rest... well, he assumes Celegorm can work that out.]

audio;

[boutant]

I can't imagine that there isn't some damage.

audio;

[dragmire]

The city's soldiers chose to try to destroy what they could not defend. Reconstruction has begun, but there are few who truly know their business well.

audio;

[boutant]

Just buildings within the city, or outer defenses as well?

audio;

[dragmire]

[He smiles thinly.]

My own men can be blamed for the ruin brought to the outer defenses. The city itself... [A pause as he considers a delicate way to put it.] was not of my design.

voice;

[bratking]

That's why traitors deserve no mercy.

voice;

[dragmire]

Nor will they have any, when the time comes.

voice;

[bratking]

Some people will hate you for that, you know. Common folk don't understand justice.

[Or perhaps Joffrey's idea of justice just comes with too much cruelty.]

voice;

[dragmire]

The common people understand very little, nor is it their place to do so. But if I am to be hated, so be it. I do not require that I be loved.

video.

[illuminating]

[ She does not know him, cannot decide if he is the sort who wound up with something they deserved or not, but she knows that kind of darkness. The way it can warp not only a mind or heart, but the very core, the soul, of any living thing. She would not banish her most dreaded foes to darkness; if she could help it, she would relieve them of their suffering.

Since so many stars have been taken from the sky, it seems all kinds of heavy things are weighing on the people here, and she's trying to make herself more accessible. To use the network, although it is a bit more challenging, having no voice.

Soon enough, though, through the video feed, he'll have a written message presented to him. It's bearer isn't detected easily, given the size of the camera, but he might catch a tiny glimpse of one sharp tooth at the top of the page, and a white, fuzzy, whiskered lip. ]

if you would like i could try to soothe it you have only to say

[ To be honest, she is not expecting much. A darkness like that steals those it's harnessed away. Would a person like him even want help in being comforted after that? ]

video.

[dragmire]

[It's not the manner of message he finds the strangest. Rather, it's the offer itself. It was a comfort and sympathy that he had not experienced in a very long time. Once he had learned to despise such emotions, but so much time had passed that he'd forgotten what it was like to have it presented. The boy inside might think to accept.

It still hurt.

One hand held the locket rigid, but the other unseen hand touched at his chest. The wound was still there. It had not healed. Sometimes he wondered if anything but the entirety of the Triforce itself could heal it. He had never been whole since they had tried to execute him.

His words were measured and devoid of scorn or hope.]

There is nothing to be soothed.

video.

[illuminating]

[ Though hardly surprised, she is a little dissatisfied. This isn't something she can press someone about, urge them emotionally or physically. They have to want it themselves. A sigh lets and flutters the paper a moment, and the message dissolves before another appears in its place, as if being stroked across with a brush and ink from thin air. ]

of course

may i ask for your name?

video.

[dragmire]

[A swiftly made message is of interest, if only because it spoke of magic. But he wondered what would necessitate it. Was it slothfulness or utility?]

I am Ganondorf Dragmire, King of Hyrule.

[digophelia]

Is that going to be anywhere successful to retrieve Maglor and Celegorm's gem?

[dragmire]

I cannot say. I have no place in his conflict over this gem. Others would be wise to avoid entangling themselves in such things.

[It's all foolishness in his mind. He resents Celegorm emptying the castle to go after this accursed jewel.]

[digophelia]

Then where are the rest of the forces?

[dragmire]

My forces are precisely where they need to be. Of what concern is it to you?

[She might be Unseelie, but he did not take her to be paying any allegiance. Just as he would anyone, he suspected her motives in asking.]