Post by Segwyn on Dec 6, 2014 18:26:27 GMT -5
The war was over.
Segwyn had ended it-- yet all he felt was bitterness, but it was a familiar taste for the creature called the 'Shadow-spawn'.
His life had been predicated on ingratitude. He had been born with an objective: rule the Sluagh and keep the peace. It was a connotation that both the fae and the Sluagh alike seemed to forget when his named was mentioned. Queen Andais and King Lugh had ushered him into the world on the wings of a treaty. He never held any delusion that there had been love between his mother and father-- the two created him to solidify what was essentially a blood pact. Lugh was a widely loved patriarch of the Sluagh. Andais was a proven leader who had ended a war with her ferocity. By producing a child they created a being suitable enough to rule the Sluagh but amiable enough to earn the trust of the sidhe. He was born, trained at arms by his mother, at politics by his father and then placed on a throne. It was the first time Segwyn had ended a war.
Then the Seelie came with Narichter. It didn't seem as if the Sluagh could push any deeper into the underdark to avoid the conflict. The Conqueror of the Darkling Throng hadn't been a fool-- he learned of the Sluagh's existence before he waged war on the waning Unseelie fae. The pact between his mother and father had forced Segwyn into another war, as Andais's successor King Ghreyd called to him and his select group of warriors as reinforcements. Ghreyd was killed and the Unseelie Court dismantled. At the time Segwyn believed his court was done for as well, but the Seelie fae had not been concerned with him and had largely overlooked his entire court. Segwyn had been able to uphold the treaty between the Unseelie but still remain outside the contempt of the Seelie. The Sluagh survived and the fae were not forced into another battle where the blood of both sides would run in rivers. He was never thanked; he simply continued to lead. War was avoided.
The Darklings were gone and the caverns belong to the Sluagh. They remained largely in the underdark but for the first time there was no Unseelie monarch to lord over them. Curiously enough, Segwyn remained king. But it wasn't through luck or respect for a pact that kept him there. He had ruled and the Sluagh had thrived in the most disadvantageous position. They were more like the Court they had been before the Goblin War and Segwyn was largely the reason.
Then again war came. The Darkling Rebellion happened so quickly and as the caverns were spurred to life by the presence of Samara Damoskinos and the Seelie blood that was used to feed the roses, Segwyn continued to rule and protect his people. Samara was too fierce and too proven of a warrior for Segwyn to contend with, plus she was a true leader-- the position had been thrust upon her, she did not seek it out. He brokered peace with her and fought for the Darklings again. He helped bring the Unseelie Court back to life and the Sluagh remained unharmed. Queen Samara was largely uninvolved in the governing of Segwyn's kingdom; she was resurrecting a court of rebels. He continued to rule.
Segwyn had not fooled himself that the peace would last long when war came again. But this time it was not war, it was murder. Whatever magic had dispossessed Narichter of his sanity had left his memory of battle clearly intact. Perhaps no one had realized how powerful the Shining King had been when he had sat on the throne. But as a lone warrior he slew any faerie he encountered without mercy. Segwyn still did not know if he felt more fear or the assurances that Narichter had been truly magnanimous when he had ruled as the High King of Alanor when he watched the warrior drive his sword into the stomach of the Goblin Blade Kobaalt. The famed Goblin Blade looked utterly defenseless with his unbreakable steel in hand when the silver-haired adjudicator slew him. Ultimately though, Samara and the Niceven were able to break hold over whatever ailment that had overtaken him and bring his violent rampage to an end. Once more, Segwyn had protected his court from the decimation of faerie conflict.
The two courts were sparse and almost nonexistent after that. It wasn't until Cel ruled that war came again. The arrival of Andais's progeny did not signify the arrival of another great ruler as Segwyn had hoped. From the outset Segwyn could tell his brother did not possess all the traits his mother had. Cel possessed a great amount of guile and he was certainly as caustic as his mother. But he was entitled and not nearly as judicious. Still he was Segwyn's blood and once again the blood pact meant as much as it had in the past. He fought for Cel and won him the throne. But he had ended years of Darkling scuffles for the throne and brought stability to the caverns the Sluagh and Darklings shared.
And his brother repaid him by imprisoning him. In the end Segwyn saw to it that Cel no longer held the Throne he had helped him capture. He had risen against the Unseelie for the first time but he had brought peace. And the sidhe were wary to battle the Sluagh. Distant echoes of the past reminded the sidhe that there was something dark about the night court, the Wild Hunt and the rest of the creatures that comprised the Sluagh (or Host for the Seelie). Yet rising up had not earned Segwyn the gratitude of the Sluagh or the admiration of the fae. Instead it cost him his throne. The Sluagh felt he was a faerie ruler for a court that was not fae- they left him, walked away.
No one had lost more in the war than Segwyn. He lost his people. He lost his brother. The purpose he had been created to serve was deeply muddied and he wasn't sure if had the strength to do what was most assuredly right in his mind. In the end Segwyn was trying to do the right thing but in order to make that happen, he needed to do some hard things as well. Creating Tovah, putting her in Alecto had been one of those things.
He lived amongst the garlangers now. Or at least for now. He wasn't sure what the state of the Court since he left the public eye. After he had refused to take the Throne the Sluagh had walked away from him. The Unseelie fae becamely large uninterested with him once he lost the might of the Sluagh and he was just another garlanger to many of the sidhe and nimbus. He was not even a wanted man.
He sat alone in a garden where garlanger children often played. But it was late and the place was quiet. Amongst the sidhe he was somewhat invisible but amongst garlangers he was a source of intrigue, fear or both. So it was nice to be alone for once. Segwyn avoided large crowds or places where any fae were (garlanger or otherwise).
His large bat-like wings were folded against his back, the bottom of them draped across the emerald grass that looked black with the dim faux-moonlight cast upon it. The marble bench he sat on was cold and sturdy. He could feel the chill of the air through his cotton breaches and the long black trench coat-like robe he wore. He was simply sitting, being. He wasn't sure who he was anymore. He wasn’t sure if he could lead any longer.
Segwyn had ended it-- yet all he felt was bitterness, but it was a familiar taste for the creature called the 'Shadow-spawn'.
His life had been predicated on ingratitude. He had been born with an objective: rule the Sluagh and keep the peace. It was a connotation that both the fae and the Sluagh alike seemed to forget when his named was mentioned. Queen Andais and King Lugh had ushered him into the world on the wings of a treaty. He never held any delusion that there had been love between his mother and father-- the two created him to solidify what was essentially a blood pact. Lugh was a widely loved patriarch of the Sluagh. Andais was a proven leader who had ended a war with her ferocity. By producing a child they created a being suitable enough to rule the Sluagh but amiable enough to earn the trust of the sidhe. He was born, trained at arms by his mother, at politics by his father and then placed on a throne. It was the first time Segwyn had ended a war.
Then the Seelie came with Narichter. It didn't seem as if the Sluagh could push any deeper into the underdark to avoid the conflict. The Conqueror of the Darkling Throng hadn't been a fool-- he learned of the Sluagh's existence before he waged war on the waning Unseelie fae. The pact between his mother and father had forced Segwyn into another war, as Andais's successor King Ghreyd called to him and his select group of warriors as reinforcements. Ghreyd was killed and the Unseelie Court dismantled. At the time Segwyn believed his court was done for as well, but the Seelie fae had not been concerned with him and had largely overlooked his entire court. Segwyn had been able to uphold the treaty between the Unseelie but still remain outside the contempt of the Seelie. The Sluagh survived and the fae were not forced into another battle where the blood of both sides would run in rivers. He was never thanked; he simply continued to lead. War was avoided.
The Darklings were gone and the caverns belong to the Sluagh. They remained largely in the underdark but for the first time there was no Unseelie monarch to lord over them. Curiously enough, Segwyn remained king. But it wasn't through luck or respect for a pact that kept him there. He had ruled and the Sluagh had thrived in the most disadvantageous position. They were more like the Court they had been before the Goblin War and Segwyn was largely the reason.
Then again war came. The Darkling Rebellion happened so quickly and as the caverns were spurred to life by the presence of Samara Damoskinos and the Seelie blood that was used to feed the roses, Segwyn continued to rule and protect his people. Samara was too fierce and too proven of a warrior for Segwyn to contend with, plus she was a true leader-- the position had been thrust upon her, she did not seek it out. He brokered peace with her and fought for the Darklings again. He helped bring the Unseelie Court back to life and the Sluagh remained unharmed. Queen Samara was largely uninvolved in the governing of Segwyn's kingdom; she was resurrecting a court of rebels. He continued to rule.
Segwyn had not fooled himself that the peace would last long when war came again. But this time it was not war, it was murder. Whatever magic had dispossessed Narichter of his sanity had left his memory of battle clearly intact. Perhaps no one had realized how powerful the Shining King had been when he had sat on the throne. But as a lone warrior he slew any faerie he encountered without mercy. Segwyn still did not know if he felt more fear or the assurances that Narichter had been truly magnanimous when he had ruled as the High King of Alanor when he watched the warrior drive his sword into the stomach of the Goblin Blade Kobaalt. The famed Goblin Blade looked utterly defenseless with his unbreakable steel in hand when the silver-haired adjudicator slew him. Ultimately though, Samara and the Niceven were able to break hold over whatever ailment that had overtaken him and bring his violent rampage to an end. Once more, Segwyn had protected his court from the decimation of faerie conflict.
The two courts were sparse and almost nonexistent after that. It wasn't until Cel ruled that war came again. The arrival of Andais's progeny did not signify the arrival of another great ruler as Segwyn had hoped. From the outset Segwyn could tell his brother did not possess all the traits his mother had. Cel possessed a great amount of guile and he was certainly as caustic as his mother. But he was entitled and not nearly as judicious. Still he was Segwyn's blood and once again the blood pact meant as much as it had in the past. He fought for Cel and won him the throne. But he had ended years of Darkling scuffles for the throne and brought stability to the caverns the Sluagh and Darklings shared.
And his brother repaid him by imprisoning him. In the end Segwyn saw to it that Cel no longer held the Throne he had helped him capture. He had risen against the Unseelie for the first time but he had brought peace. And the sidhe were wary to battle the Sluagh. Distant echoes of the past reminded the sidhe that there was something dark about the night court, the Wild Hunt and the rest of the creatures that comprised the Sluagh (or Host for the Seelie). Yet rising up had not earned Segwyn the gratitude of the Sluagh or the admiration of the fae. Instead it cost him his throne. The Sluagh felt he was a faerie ruler for a court that was not fae- they left him, walked away.
No one had lost more in the war than Segwyn. He lost his people. He lost his brother. The purpose he had been created to serve was deeply muddied and he wasn't sure if had the strength to do what was most assuredly right in his mind. In the end Segwyn was trying to do the right thing but in order to make that happen, he needed to do some hard things as well. Creating Tovah, putting her in Alecto had been one of those things.
He lived amongst the garlangers now. Or at least for now. He wasn't sure what the state of the Court since he left the public eye. After he had refused to take the Throne the Sluagh had walked away from him. The Unseelie fae becamely large uninterested with him once he lost the might of the Sluagh and he was just another garlanger to many of the sidhe and nimbus. He was not even a wanted man.
He sat alone in a garden where garlanger children often played. But it was late and the place was quiet. Amongst the sidhe he was somewhat invisible but amongst garlangers he was a source of intrigue, fear or both. So it was nice to be alone for once. Segwyn avoided large crowds or places where any fae were (garlanger or otherwise).
His large bat-like wings were folded against his back, the bottom of them draped across the emerald grass that looked black with the dim faux-moonlight cast upon it. The marble bench he sat on was cold and sturdy. He could feel the chill of the air through his cotton breaches and the long black trench coat-like robe he wore. He was simply sitting, being. He wasn't sure who he was anymore. He wasn’t sure if he could lead any longer.