wounds so deep they never show; they never go away. || EVERYONE

[Offspring]

something has been taken from deep inside of me;
the secret I've kept locked away no one can ever see.

  The sun is bright – its unyielding light reaching out with outstretched, spindly fingers, as it reaches the darkest crevices of the land with the unforgiving caress of morning. The air is thick, and stagnant, and rich with the stench of sulfur and rolling, boiling magma, but he is used to it now – it has become every bit as much of him as the terse, sinewy muscle or the tender marrow of his bones that lay just beneath the surface of his dark, but scarred skin.
 
   Inside of him, the flame is burning brightly; it is a tireless ember, flickering inside of him somewhere beneath his heart, which thrums rhythmically against the confinement of its iron cage. He is uncertain of what the meaning is for its steady growth, but where it was once so small it could be ignored or brushed aside, now it burned so fiercely that it was becoming ever-present in his cycling of thoughts. Uncomfortably, he moves the behemoth weight of his body from one side to the other – but it does little to douse the glow.
 
   His dark, searing red eyes peer out across the golden plain – with thick, wavering stalks of vegetation swaying to and fro with the rising breeze (it washes over him, draping over the sheen of his sweat and acting as a small reprieve from the pervasive moisture in the air. Though there is the distant roar of the sea, pounding unforgivingly along the shoreline, and though there is the hem and haw of nearby birds crooning in the sparse, wiry brush that lay scattered across the land, it has become quiet
 
   Too quiet.
 
   Time was steadfast, and inescapable – it waits for no one, and as the tides change, as kingdoms strengthen, and as alliances are made and while enemies are created, Tephra has fallen into a slumber – one that stirs an uneasiness in his bones. Too easily had the other lands, left empty and without direction, been swallowed up by the sea – too easily had their existence been wiped from the surface, drifting away somewhere to the bottom of the ocean. He had watched as the icy, glacial land he had called his own was swept away in a raging fury once before.
 
   He would not stand by to wait for it to happen again.
 
   And with that, the too-still air is interrupted by a loud, bellowing call from the depths of his vocal cords, echoing across the tepid terrain, as his thick and muscled legs carry him to a nearby crest, where his stark figure settles, perched and waiting for the presence of others. In time, they come, filtering one by one, and his dark and steady gaze moves seamlessly to each one with a solemn nod of acknowledgement. Many he had once served before (and as such, had come to know in friendship), and others had come after his time, but all equally important in deciding the fate of Tephra. 

   He held no contempt for Lucrezia - she was vivacious, charismatic, and kind, but too absent in an ever-changing world. Time would wait for no one.

  The fire is fierce, surging inside of him, but he attempts to quell it for the moment.
 
 ”Brothers and sisters,” he says, but his rumbling voice is rough around the edges, shaking away the restless evening from his throat. ”for those of you who do not know, my name is Offspring. Years ago, the lands were taken from us – a punishment for our greed, and for our insolence – and with it came the birth of new lands, including the one you stand upon now. I pleaded with the fae, alongside Magnus, for a refuge and sanctuary for our loved ones and for our companions, and it was granted to us.”
 
   He pauses then, casting a glance towards the volcano, where it rumbles idly beneath a thick, low-lying haze.
 
   ”And now, the sea has swallowed another; Pangea. We have come too far – we have done too much to let Tephra fall into stillness and be taken from us too, and as the other kingdoms become stronger, we have become weaker. The tide is changing, and with it, we must change too. Let me act as a guide, as we move towards new strength, new security, and new stability – let me serve you as your King once more, and let us revive Tephra – let us protect our own.”

wounds so deep they never show; they never go away.
like moving pictures in my head, for years and years they've played.

Offspring

Hi everyone!

Permission granted from Kortnee for Offspring to attempt an overthrow of leadership.
You can vote to keep Lucrezia as Queen/leader, or vote to instate Offspring as King/leader.
You can also abstain from voting.
Feel free to reply!