REICHENBACH
it's dark, there's no need for lights
when the fire in his eyes burns so bright
when the fire in his eyes burns so bright
He spoke then, the most words Reichenbach had heard uttered from those devilishly perfect lips. The Night King savoured them, each softly uttered syllable, each gentle, self-deprecating laugh. This was a story not told to strangers, an intimate look into the history of one of Novus' most well known sages, a glimpse of the joy, glory, heartbreak and ruin that had brought him to their shores. Reichenbach said nothing, only listened, his great head slightly lowered as he set his silver eyes upon Isorath's lavender gaze, coiling the words in like rope. His black lip curled slightly at the word forbidden, anger flashing momentarily through his hot blooded frame at the thought of being chained as Isorath had been. Not by rope or chain, but by law and politics.
There was no mistaking the curdled bitterness hugging Isorath's words, an old wound, painful and not yet forgotten — like so many that scarred the King Crow's dark flesh. He lifted his head a fraction at the words brother, sister, mother, images of porcelain scales and decadent crowns flitting through his mind, how wonderful it would be to have been born alongside a soul like that. Reichenbach pondered on the Crucible for a moment longer than necessary — had Isorath battled with his body or his mind, or both? What obstacles he must have overcome, how outstanding his skills must be, if he'd come out successful against so many.
The surprise that flashed over Isorath's fine boned features at his offering sent a flush through his shadowy frame, as if he had perhaps stepped over some boundary that lay between them. Carefully, he twined the chain around a tine, allowing the little moon to dangle in the cool night air. He glanced from the chain to Isorath as the Prince spoke, grinning as he said simply;
"Stunning."
A breath passed before he murmured softly;
"Now no matter where you go, you will take a piece of Calligo and her night sky with you"
He continued walking, slate eyes sliding from merchant to merchant as he eyed their wares, keeping a skilled eye out for any Crows that might have thought Isorath an easy target. They'd have been wrong, judging on what the Kirin had said about The Crucible.
"What was growing up like for you here?"
Reichenbach turned to Isorath as they walked, smiling an easy smile.
"Difficult... for a time. When I arrived I had no family, nobody to rely on but myself — and I have not always been so charming"
He laughed, that same thunderous, musical laugh that was so often heard through Denocte. A distraction so as not to linger on the cold and the starvation that had come hand in hand with his orphan status.
"I soon realised I was not the only one living on our streets... and that perhaps we could all be more successful working as a team rather than fighting one another for scraps. I created my family, designed them from all the pieces others had been cruel enough to dismiss..."
He paused, murmuring;
"They're everything to me..."
His argent eyes flickered, darkening for a moment as he withheld the words that seemed too crass and savage to use on such a dream-ridden night: I'd kill anyone that lays a finger on them, gut them without a second thought if they give my Crows pain.
Then he was back to normal, eyes as bright as starfire, humour creasing the corners of his ebony lips as if nothing had happened.
"Lucky for me, Denoctes merchants can be kind — I was taken in by a good man and his son even as my new family grew, and soon after began training in the Army... though some habits seem to have stuck... and some scars"
Another grin, and a single cocked brow. It was a well known fact that the King of Shadows was also known by several other titles, King of Thieves being one of them, King Crow another. He grinned, flicking his gold ringed ear;
"A gift from some of our less... cultured folk — two slits in the ear for stealing, though they'd have taken more if they'd had the chance."
Reich twitched the ear again, feeling the weight of the gold rings he now wore in the old wounds — his way of pissing off the vagabonds that had cut him and expected contrition. They walked steadily through the markets, the sound and scents overwhelming and beautiful, all open underneath Calligo's vast sky. Reichenbach snuck a glance at the porcelain Kirin beside him, stealing a moment of peace as he watched Isorath take it all in. He turned his handsome head, listening to the quiet music of his mothers coins in his ear as he asked;
"Your family... what were their names?"
@Isorath what a quick reply??
There was no mistaking the curdled bitterness hugging Isorath's words, an old wound, painful and not yet forgotten — like so many that scarred the King Crow's dark flesh. He lifted his head a fraction at the words brother, sister, mother, images of porcelain scales and decadent crowns flitting through his mind, how wonderful it would be to have been born alongside a soul like that. Reichenbach pondered on the Crucible for a moment longer than necessary — had Isorath battled with his body or his mind, or both? What obstacles he must have overcome, how outstanding his skills must be, if he'd come out successful against so many.
The surprise that flashed over Isorath's fine boned features at his offering sent a flush through his shadowy frame, as if he had perhaps stepped over some boundary that lay between them. Carefully, he twined the chain around a tine, allowing the little moon to dangle in the cool night air. He glanced from the chain to Isorath as the Prince spoke, grinning as he said simply;
"Stunning."
A breath passed before he murmured softly;
"Now no matter where you go, you will take a piece of Calligo and her night sky with you"
He continued walking, slate eyes sliding from merchant to merchant as he eyed their wares, keeping a skilled eye out for any Crows that might have thought Isorath an easy target. They'd have been wrong, judging on what the Kirin had said about The Crucible.
"What was growing up like for you here?"
Reichenbach turned to Isorath as they walked, smiling an easy smile.
"Difficult... for a time. When I arrived I had no family, nobody to rely on but myself — and I have not always been so charming"
He laughed, that same thunderous, musical laugh that was so often heard through Denocte. A distraction so as not to linger on the cold and the starvation that had come hand in hand with his orphan status.
"I soon realised I was not the only one living on our streets... and that perhaps we could all be more successful working as a team rather than fighting one another for scraps. I created my family, designed them from all the pieces others had been cruel enough to dismiss..."
He paused, murmuring;
"They're everything to me..."
His argent eyes flickered, darkening for a moment as he withheld the words that seemed too crass and savage to use on such a dream-ridden night: I'd kill anyone that lays a finger on them, gut them without a second thought if they give my Crows pain.
Then he was back to normal, eyes as bright as starfire, humour creasing the corners of his ebony lips as if nothing had happened.
"Lucky for me, Denoctes merchants can be kind — I was taken in by a good man and his son even as my new family grew, and soon after began training in the Army... though some habits seem to have stuck... and some scars"
Another grin, and a single cocked brow. It was a well known fact that the King of Shadows was also known by several other titles, King of Thieves being one of them, King Crow another. He grinned, flicking his gold ringed ear;
"A gift from some of our less... cultured folk — two slits in the ear for stealing, though they'd have taken more if they'd had the chance."
Reich twitched the ear again, feeling the weight of the gold rings he now wore in the old wounds — his way of pissing off the vagabonds that had cut him and expected contrition. They walked steadily through the markets, the sound and scents overwhelming and beautiful, all open underneath Calligo's vast sky. Reichenbach snuck a glance at the porcelain Kirin beside him, stealing a moment of peace as he watched Isorath take it all in. He turned his handsome head, listening to the quiet music of his mothers coins in his ear as he asked;
"Your family... what were their names?"
@Isorath what a quick reply??
