i see trouble on the rise | Castile

[Castile]

and underneath the layers, I find myself asking what's left
a hollowed out form, the skeleton of a ghost, the pitiful echo of what once was

Castile roams freely among the clouds, wavering between nomadic freedom and allegiance to Loess. In truth, he doubts relinquishing all care for the kingdom. It holds a great part of him and it has granted him a life he never imagined. It has given him so much that he cannot wholly turn his back on it, even after resigning the throne.

He was here, observing and listening, but gradually moseyed to the river where he glanced into a life he once had with a woman he once treasured. During those hours, the weight of Loess lifted from his shoulders and he experienced an odd sense of peace. All good things, of course, come to an end. The held conversation concluded, and in his wanderings, Castile haphazardly returned home.

High among the clouds is when Lepis’ voice reaches the innerworkings of his mind. Out of sight, Castile flinches. A sudden jerk of his head is the greatest acknowledgment of her entry. Warily, he listens and considers it, but silence envelopes him as his banks and shifts his body into that of a horse. Able to revert to his natural form again, he gingerly attempts to ease any tension by approaching her like this – by looking like her uncle instead of a monster. This, of course, doesn’t discount his disappointment in her as he alights skillfully in front of her with a look of stern resolution.

Amid the chaotic events of his life, Castile remembers what he told Ilma. Oceane was to succeed him. Rather than take her back, Lepis seized the throne for herself.

She turned down the opportunity when he presented it to her on a silver platter, but then grappled for it the second he allowed the crown to tumble from his brow.

Coiling his draconic wings to his side, Castile takes a few final steps before drawing to a halt and piercing Lepis with a keen stare. ”Then talk,” he gruffly states, not at all exhibiting his draconic self except for the wings neatly folded.

castile

@[Lepis]