Antiope the voice begins to call you while you hunger a taste of destiny you're searching for
The pass through the mountains is a place that Antiope has yet to venture. Beyond is unknown. The other courts, of course. New lands, strange faces, all things she is sure one day she will come to know with time and adventure. There is a lifetime of lifetimes ahead of her—endless, stretching horizons—which means plenty of chances to discover the world beyond this place she has come to know as home.
But that is not why she is here today, standing at the entrance to the trail that winds and twists its way through the trees like a serpent. To tell the truth, Antiope herself isn’t certain why she is here today, except that now she is standing where a gate had once stood that her citizens say had once blocked them off from the rest of Novus. But then a beast had knocked it to the ground.
All that is left are pieces of crumbled pillars and fragments of stone, strewn off to the side, thrown halfway into the woods. Nature and time have reclaimed some of them, moss beginning to grow upon their surfaces. Any wood that remained of the doors has long since succumbed to rot and rain; or, perhaps, kindling. The Regent steps closer to a pile of rubble and finds half of the head of a raven, its single eye looking upon her with great scrutiny.
She looks into its stony eye and wonders how harshly it judges her, if it had been expecting its demise. Antiope can almost imagine the grandeur of the gate, but more than that its oppressiveness. It reminds her too much of other prisons that never look like prisons, like a rumbling hunger in your bones that you cannot escape, or a quadruplet of gods who made you to be a certain way and who would rather kill to get you to do what they want.
The striped woman turns away from that judging eye, puts her back to it and all the things that it represents. There is so much history here in this rubble, in these ruins and debris. Not all of it is good, but it makes her feel good to know that the Queen she stands under helped to free them and that she can now be a part of ensuring that such a thing will never happen again. Perhaps, one day, she really could go beyond these mountainous walls.
Traveling to other courts had never been of interest to Morrighan. Denocte felt comfortable and familiar and that had been good enough for her. She took so long to call it home that anywhere different would feel wrong.
It's this feeling that makes Morrighan's travels a bit out of character. She is making her way to the mountains and to the pass to patrol (or maybe to explore). Admittedly, she isn't as well versed in Night Court history as some others. So when she comes upon the pass and the ruins of the gate, it comes as a surprise.
It's a complete shit show.
There is debris everywhere with crumbled pillars and overgrown moss taking life over the remains. It's the figure examining it that draws her attention forward - Antiope.
The last time they had spent together, the sun did not set and the night had been absent for days. Thank Caligo everything is back in order now, but most importantly, the pair have new ranks. Morrighan of course can't forget their race and how Antiope's eyes glowed brilliantly from her magic. It's what helped her win against the now-Warden, and yet, she isn't that mad at the woman.
Okay, maybe a little.
When the tigress turns away from the rubble, Morrighan nods in greeting. "Regent," she says, pulling a half smile upon her lips.
Looking down again, she notices half a skull of a raven looking grimly up at her. Normally she appreciates destruction, but there's something off-putting about it all.
"What the hell happened here?" she asks, curious if Antiope knows. Given the moss, it happened a long time ago and so it doesn't make her feel like she has to put her guard up. Still, it would be good to know if they might ever be at risk of something again.
Antiope the voice begins to call you while you hunger a taste of destiny you're searching for
When she turns, there is a familiar face standing there before her, among the emptiness that once held a gate so grand and burdensome. Antiope dips her head in kind to the painted woman, “Hello, Warden,” she says, lifting her head even as the other woman’s eyes take in the rubble around them.
She looks to the sky, which gazes down upon them brightly from between the mountains and the trees above. Blue eyes reflecting back an ever lighter and more endless blue abyss. What had happened here? Although the regent knows the tales, she wishes that she could speak more to this place’s history.
Antiope has heard of the magic that lets you look into the past of objects, and the thought always makes her wonder what items such as this would say. “There once stood an imposing and monumental gate here,” she says, finally dropping sapphire eyes back to blue and gold. “In Denocte’s history, we were an isolationist kingdom.”
It doesn’t occur to the tigress how easily she says we, how easily this place has become her own in such a short span of time. Scarcely just under a year, and already she has a place, a purpose, a meaning. It is more than she ever could have hoped for, first arriving upon Novus’ shores as something else and other.
“The gate was open, for a time however, until the Regime before Isra became Queen decided to close it,” she tries again to imagine the gate how it once stood, looming so tall over her that it would have been nearly impossible to escape its shadow. With soldiers keeping guard atop its high walls. “I don’t know their motivations, but they had cut the Court off from the rest of the world, not allowing any to leave nor to enter.”
Difficult as it is to imagine how the equines must have felt who had been locked inside, Antiope can understand to some degree the isolation. Even in her discussions, its hard to exactly understand how they felt; she has never been the most empathetic of equines. She was not made for such things, hard as she might try.
“I have heard that after the Regime disappeared and Isra ascended to the throne, a stallion and his beast rode to the gate and destroyed it,” the Regent glances at the moss covered stone and rotted wood again, the remains that speak volumes more to her than words ever could. To see it like this, it is a strange, eerie feeling. “They were freed, and now slowly the mountains and the forest have been claiming back the pieces of what once separated it.”
As Antiope tells the story, Morrighan tries to imagine what a massive gate would look like here. In this large space and with this much rubble, it had to have been monumental. In a way, it's a shame it had been destroyed. She could see it being a grand entryway for Denocte (and better than a pile of rocks).
When the woman mentions how the Court used to be in isolation under the old regime, it's surprising. Given how busy it always seems to be in the markets, she can't imagine how Denocte would be closed off from the rest of the world. Maybe in some way it would be quieter, but Morr knows she'd get sick of it after a while.
"They sound like a coward," she mutters, feeling curious to know more about the old regime. Maybe there had been another war or some other disaster that made them so scared, they figured hiding away would be better. She feels even more thankful for Isra taking up leadership and putting an end to that.
But destroying the gate didn't seem very necessary. "Why didn't they just… open the gate? Why destroy it?" It's not so much that she's sad about the loss of a monument, but it seems a little pointless. Maybe it had been for the sake of destruction and the symbolism of it, which she can partially understand. Causing destruction tends to be good entertainment for her after all.
Morrighan follows Antiope's gaze back over the moss covered ruins. "I can't imagine being trapped here against my will. I would instantly riot," she adds, thinking of how she'd storm to the Court's keep with an angry mob behind her. She wouldn't be able to stand for a cowardly regime. It would just make the Court look weak and vulnerable.
Antiope the voice begins to call you while you hunger a taste of destiny you're searching for
“It’s hard to say,” Antiope turns her gaze away from Morrighan, away from the mountains, toward where she knows the court lies far in the distance. She can’t see it from here, but the Regent knows its there, overlooking the sea, on the shoulders of the prairie. “Perhaps they thought they were doing what was right for their people.” Maybe they were afraid, or threatened, or angry
“Or perhaps they were just protecting themselves,” she says, but it is hard to say. With none of the regime remaining in Novus, nobody can possibly know what they were thinking—they can only guess, based on the word of those who had been there, the stories of what the regime had been through and been like, and history. History does, often, have a way of repeating itself.
When Morrighan wonders as to why the gate was destroyed, Antiope again finds herself without firm answers. It’s not as though someone had written all of this down somewhere for others to read and research, she had simply come across the information by getting to know the people and asking them more about the place which she calls home.
Some are more forthcoming than others, as always. Some more trusting, more open. Some, afraid that past mistakes might happen again, felt the need to warn her against the actions of past regimes. “To stop it from ever being closed again?” Antiope responds at last. It’s the only option that makes sense to her. Without a gate, Denocte can never be isolated from Novus against its will.
She can’t help the smile that turns up the corner of her lips at the Warden’s comment about rioting in response to being held against her will. “I’ve no doubt that you would,” her sapphire eyes gleam in the light as she turns back to the other woman, “I’d like to think that I would find a way to leave if I so desired, or to do what is best for everyone around me.”
Indeed it is hard to say what the old regime's motives were. Morrighan didn't expect Antiope to know them, but the question still stood. The woman makes guesses and, really, any of them were possible. Morr still saw those equines as cowards though and she's relieved that they have a new and stronger regime. Isra, despite Eik saying that she used to be softer, clearly showed more strength than her predecessors. For that, she - and likely the rest of the Court - feels thankful.
But to destroy the gate? Maybe they were fed up and were acting on impulse and raw emotion, something she knew all too well. Antiope suggests it was to ensure the gate would never close again, which Morrighan nods to as a valid point. Destroying it would surely make it impossible to close off the Court again unless they felt like building a new one. That would require a lot of work and resources, so a pointless effort really.
Even though their friendship was still fairly new, the Regent is not surprised at Morr's reaction. Anyone who knew her should know she wouldn't stand for any bullshit if something similar were to happen again. Antiope too would find a way to get out but also do what's best for everyone else. Morr takes a moment to consider this- what would she do?
"I'd start a rebellion, probably like these guys did, and kick out the cowardly idiot who thought it'd be a good idea," she says, confident in her decision. In a way, it's similar to Antiope's choice, but with more violence. A little drama made it more interesting (and in her mind, more effective).
It's interesting though that the other mare might consider leaving. At this point, she couldn't imagine leaving Denocte and making somewhere else her home. Even Ourania now is a distant foreign land that she no longer feels tied to, which is saying a lot since she used to be immortal. Something about these lands changed her and she can't exactly put the feeling into words.
If she were forced to leave and go to another Court or live as a Vagabond, she isn't sure how she would deal with it. Even now she tends to not visit other lands or Courts and stays within the confines of their land. The only exception had been to explore the island, but that had been a slightly different circumstance. Maybe it's ironic considering she wouldn't like being trapped, yet keeps herself within the borders. However, having the feeling of control and being able to choose is something she wouldn't have if someone forced them to stay. Losing that freedom would surely piss her off.
Morrighan looks out into the distance where she knows the pass is within the mountains. It's the only path that can be traveled by foot to get into Denocte. "Have you ventured out there? To other Courts?" she asks, looking back at Antiope. She doesn't want to admit the fear of it and how uncomfortable she'd be in a foreign land. Not knowing anyone. Not being in control.
@Antiope in which Morrighan monologues a lot, whoops
Antiope the voice begins to call you while you hunger a taste of destiny you're searching for
Was this destruction the result of a rebellion? Or simply an act of power, or solidarity. To prove that the Night Court is strong and cannot be held by simple walls. A part of her wishes that she had been here to witness such a feat. To see the beast that felled the gate, to ask why. Ah, if why is not the greatest mystery of all the worlds across all times. The great unanswerable question. Her heart, strangely, is saddened by all this rubble.
It could have been something great, and now it will be nothing but dust, in time, returned to the earth.
“Hopefully,” she begins, voice low and thoughtful, “we will never have to see the day.” It is all she can ask for really. Does everyone not wish for peace and understanding? It is foolish, perhaps, to think that nothing like this could ever happen again… walls can be built, tyrants can come into power, but you can only remain strong in the face of adversity. Antiope, though she came to this world to lay down her axe (figuratively, of course), knows that she would do whatever it takes to defend her people.
Her sapphire eyes follow Morrighan’s gaze as it looks down the path that leads through the mountains and beyond. “Have you ventured out there? To other Courts?” the other woman asks, and the Regent wonders why the Warden is here, if she doesn’t plan to ever take the first step beyond their invisible borders. “No,” she responds, “not yet.” But she says it like a promise, and her eyes are sharp and bright and clear.
“One day, when the time is right.” One day, when she is needed for more than just being here for her people, to watch over them, to guide them. That is when she will go. Antiope doesn’t know when it will be, but she doesn’t think that day is today.
The striped woman turns back to her companion, considering the other mare for a moment. “I don’t think there is anything else to learn by being out here,” she’s still trying to forget the judgemental gaze of the remnants of the raven that had once stood guard over the gate, “What do you say we head back.” Her gaze slides back toward where the road cuts through the trees, “Unless you’d rather...?”
There’s a sparkle in her eyes of something like mischief, or daring, but she turns away from the rubble and the roadway regardless. Her destination now is home, as she takes the first steps back. But her promise lingers there in her mind, all the way back. One day… one day.
"Speaking."
∞ | @Morrighan seemed like a fitting place to close
Even with Morrighan's eagerness to jump into battle, she agrees with Antiope. Hopefully the Night Court as they know it now will never get to a place that requires war or a rebellion. Raum's reign hadn't even been in Denocte, yet they still felt some of his wrath. They were still trying to rebuild the markets after the fires to this day.
When asked about traveling to other Courts, Antiope says she hasn't yet, but maybe one day. Morrighan looks out at the path again with a furrowed brow. Maybe they would need to some day, but for now, she prefers to stay where she's comfortable. Where she knows almost everyone in the Court and where there is less likely to be complete strangers. Where she has control.
The Regent suggests they head back and Morr agrees. There's not much more to see of this place and the glaring eye sockets of the dead raven are giving her the creeps. She perks up when Antiope seems to suggest something else, but the woman doesn't finish her sentence. She follows her gaze to a road cutting through the trees and she wonders if that had been a hint for a rematch to their race. But, to her disappointment, Antiope seems to change her mind. Morr frowns and follows by the woman's side.
"We'll head home this time, but next time, you might not be so lucky," she says as they head home, a playful smirk on her face.
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