There is nothing and almost no one left from the Southern Kingdoms. Those who remained dispersed, and those who did not certainly perished.
And where was she, the self-styled “Queen” of the Southern Court? The young magician, just finding herself and her powers - ones that could have, should have saved her territory? What had become of her in the in between, after she’d asked the manticore to bed her and keep her den warm? After she’d finally met and confronted Gale, the accursed one?
After the coronation and calamity (having lived through an apparent apocalypse), she met with Obscene by the river and together the two folded themselves between time and space.
They left, essentially. Disappeared into an alternate dimension she’d been to once and knew she’d return to again, with him as her lover and King. In that timeline Loess never fell or disappeared but grew stronger, encompassing the North and seeing her Uncle become Beqanna’s first Emperor. The dream became reality, she and Ob became the lovers they were destined to be, and all was well.
Except for the fact that it was not her world, and the dream wasn’t her reality at all.
And so her powers eventually drained themselves, forcing Cheri to return with Obscene - back to the Beqanna they’d left behind, where she lost him along the cosmic path.
Separated and weak, the female pegasus dragged herself to an obscured covey in the ruinous remains and there she slept, until she was fully sated. Months passed; the seasons changed and she woke again, blinking her weak eyes against a bright, midday sun to find herself overtaken by clinging plants whose roots were settling into the flesh of her dull pelt. She could not swallow or talk. Her muscles had atrophied from disuse, and her body was naught but skin and bone.
Yet her power had been replenished, enough that she could feel the vines flickering lifeforce thrumming in her veins.
An exchange, perhaps? She thought, using the plants to source more energy and flood her body with nutrients again. For now, the sustenance would do. Cheri resolved to stay put and stay hidden, knowing that she was still weak and uncertain of what might be waiting for her out in the wilds, but just as she was determined to wait out a few more days in solitude a heavy cloud floated across the sun, obscuring its golden warmth. The world grew dim, and from her secret location there came a pulsing glow of light - just bright enough that any curious wanderer might pause to investigate.
And where was she, the self-styled “Queen” of the Southern Court? The young magician, just finding herself and her powers - ones that could have, should have saved her territory? What had become of her in the in between, after she’d asked the manticore to bed her and keep her den warm? After she’d finally met and confronted Gale, the accursed one?
After the coronation and calamity (having lived through an apparent apocalypse), she met with Obscene by the river and together the two folded themselves between time and space.
They left, essentially. Disappeared into an alternate dimension she’d been to once and knew she’d return to again, with him as her lover and King. In that timeline Loess never fell or disappeared but grew stronger, encompassing the North and seeing her Uncle become Beqanna’s first Emperor. The dream became reality, she and Ob became the lovers they were destined to be, and all was well.
Except for the fact that it was not her world, and the dream wasn’t her reality at all.
And so her powers eventually drained themselves, forcing Cheri to return with Obscene - back to the Beqanna they’d left behind, where she lost him along the cosmic path.
Separated and weak, the female pegasus dragged herself to an obscured covey in the ruinous remains and there she slept, until she was fully sated. Months passed; the seasons changed and she woke again, blinking her weak eyes against a bright, midday sun to find herself overtaken by clinging plants whose roots were settling into the flesh of her dull pelt. She could not swallow or talk. Her muscles had atrophied from disuse, and her body was naught but skin and bone.
Yet her power had been replenished, enough that she could feel the vines flickering lifeforce thrumming in her veins.
An exchange, perhaps? She thought, using the plants to source more energy and flood her body with nutrients again. For now, the sustenance would do. Cheri resolved to stay put and stay hidden, knowing that she was still weak and uncertain of what might be waiting for her out in the wilds, but just as she was determined to wait out a few more days in solitude a heavy cloud floated across the sun, obscuring its golden warmth. The world grew dim, and from her secret location there came a pulsing glow of light - just bright enough that any curious wanderer might pause to investigate.
Ah, yes. Backstory.