sticksandbones | [OPEN] who will I be when the empire falls?

Who: Vildred & you :)
What: Unfortunately, it's a canon update
When: Early March
Where: Around the Grove, specific locations will be mentioned in prompts
Warnings: war depictions/mentions, general violence mentions, more tba

i. and i play discordant days on repeat [OTA]

[Vildred stumbles, trips, and catches himself on a tree at the edge of the Grove, the melting snow soaking into the ends of his pantlegs. At some point, he'd wandered off into the woods and he isn't sure when or why, his memories of "being in the Grove" and "being back in the Grove" missing their connecting point. Like the frost itself, he now dons white, the once-gold making up the insignia that sits upon the knot of his tie now gleaming silver and sickly purple. That same purple reflects now in his eyes, the prior bright gold shifted alongside his humanity.

The blood splatters on his hands were not there when he died, he recalls, but he recognizes their shape — they're the very same that had coated his palms after he'd assassinated, murdered Queen Diene. An action he thought was worth something then, now a sick joke staining his palms as a reminder. Similar splatters soak into his coat and undershirt, marks left from where wounds would be, had the Forest or some other force not seen fit to heal him.

For all intents and purposes, he deserved to die. To stay dead. To atone for all he'd done to Ezera, to Orbis, to Ras himself, the least he could have done was stay dead and buried. So many people believed in him. For seven fucking reincarnations, people had put faith into him as Ras' most devoted. Diene certainly had, and he'd killed her and made her son an orphan. Ran always had, spending several iterations of Orbis teaching him how to wield a sword. Kise, Ruelle, Victorika, Krau, Rinak, Robin — a single reincarnation cycle ago, they were his friends, comrades in arms, people he used to joke with and mourned when they fell in battle. Even Aki had believed in him, for all their arguments in the fifth world, for all the times Aki had called him a brat and refused to acknowledge Vildred's worth in some regards. A tentative allyship, but one nonetheless.

One Vildred had easily scorned, just as he'd scorned and made an enemy of the other deceased Heirs of the prior timelines, as easily as he'd let Kayron trick him in the newest world and cast Ras out as well.

"Ras Elclare's most loyal."

Vildred doesn't deserve the title, the claim, or what love Ras had reached out to him with in his final moments before death. And now, the Forest has taken it upon itself to give Vildred life anew, knowing that the man has no home to go back to, that he'd destroyed a chunk of it in some ever-so valiant thought he was saving it. He's not sure if he should consider it a fitting end, or if he should walk back into the woods and ask to be put out of his god damn misery before he fucks more things up for everyone. Worse still is the fact he can feel the Archdemon's power still flowing in his veins, as if it had never left him or waned at all, which will make him functionally immortal. Again.

Fuck.

Okay.

The mental breakdown is still ongoing — regret clouds his steps as he walks forward, making the bold choice not to run off into the forest forever and become a hermit simply because he knows people will come looking for him. He has to face the music eventually, though Vildred finds himself wishing that more people here cared enough about Orbis as a whole to give him a good hard punch for all he'd done, tricked by the Archdemon's lackeys or not.

So he stumbles and trips his way into the Grove. The resurrection he wasn't supposed to have, pulled from back home, weighs heavy. The snow does little to wash the blood from his hands or clothing, and as Vildred pulls himself back to his feet, his eyes meet yours.

Uncharacteristically, he doesn't smile and wave. He simply turns away, looking haunted.]

ii. until the tape runs out on me [CLOSED to Ras]

[The first person he needs to talk to is Ras.

By now, at least with the distant thrum of magic in his pulse, he imagines Ras must be starting to wake up. Funny how sour a taste the thought of Ras ever sleeping again leaves in his mouth; had he only woken up twenty years earlier on Orbis, Vildred might not have been tricked. In the end, it all worked out in Kayron's favour; separate the most devoted from the vessel, and hell breaks loose. In any other timeline, despite Vildred's deaths, there really was no stopping him and Ras if they were together. Ras, who had loved Vildred absolutely, and Vildred, who had stood dutifully at Ras' side and died for him every single time.

He wants to ask if the Archdemon was ever properly dealt with again after he perished that seventh time, but he knows Ras is from prior iterations of Orbis. He wouldn't know. That makes this harder; he has to fess up that he never deserved the kindness offered to him, that he was angry Ras never told him anything and that all it would have taken was one single statement to keep Vildred's non-communicative ass from going off the deep end, that he made mistakes that endangered the world and that he shouldn't have the blessing of air in his lungs or even be allowed in their goddamn home. And, of course, this happens in the timeline where it could have simply ended. No reincarnations, no world resetting. They could have made good on their promise to travel together. Vildred could have grown old at Ras' side. Could have tried, like he'd joked once, to ask Diche if he could maybe possibly sort of be made into something greater so he could spend eternity at Ras' side.

What a goddamn joke of a man he is.

He stumbles into their home, violet eyes locking with Ras', and he freezes. What the fuck is he supposed to say? "Hi, I fucked up" doesn't seem good enough. "I'm sorry I'm not as good of a person as you thought I am" gets closer. "Turns out there are seven total timelines as far as I can tell and I don't know how the seventh ends because I ruined it" is a good start, too.

But he clams up, his gaze dropping to the floor instead.]

iii. come up for air and choke on it all [CLOSED to Wolfwood]

[Several conversations and mental breakdowns later, Vildred makes his way to the bakery in search of Wolfwood, because if anyone will listen to him bitch and moan and fuel his anger, it's definitely him. He'd vented about the world resets and the Archdemon's bitch party enough to the guy, but now he has what is essentially the full fucking tea and is going to go fucking off. He deserves that much, he thinks.

Of course, the upstairs of the bakery is relegated to staff only, and Vildred isn't quite rude enough to let himself in. He does knock on the door, hard, a couple of times, crossing past the countertop to do so.]

Wolfwood? Are you here today?

iv. no one else knows that i've got a problem [CLOSED to Lodi]

[And somewhere else, Lodi is getting slammed with visions. Oops!

In another world entirely, in a battlefield smelling strongly of dust and blood and carnage, the skies are tinted a deep purple-red, and something looms ominously in the background, but that isn't at the forefront of what Lodi will be seeing. Instead, he'll see Vildred as he remembers him last — golden eyes, but without the scar over his face — facing off against another man. Vildred calls him "Kayron" in a shout angry enough to have shattered a window with the sheer magnitude of his rage, and in the centre of the battlefield, their blades clash. They push against one another, shove each other back. Clash again.

This occurs several more times, but even to the untrained eye, it's obvious who the victor will be. For as fast as Vildred is, Kayron far outspeeds him, is far more agile, and clearly more trained. A downwards swing of his blade slashes Vildred across the face and blinds him with his own blood, forcing the knight on the back foot. The whites of his eyes are just barely visible, searing a furious red, stinging, and through the hand clutching his face to stay the bleeding, Vildred can only manage a glower as he uses his blade for support.

The second blow comes swiftly enough to end it all, and the knight collapses into the dirt.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He hums in response and leads Vildred to the Cookie house. It always smells sweet here, between the scents of fruit, vanilla and flowers, it was probably one of the more relaxing places he could be. The tea he makes is spiced apple, sweet and citrusy, but warm.

He'd give Vildred new clothes, but he himself needs a new wardrobe given he's shot up a fair amount in height. None of his clothes would fit either of them. That being the case he focuses on cleaning up what he can. He beckons the man to the sink with a wing while he handles the tea so he can wash the blood from his hands and anywhere else it might've gotten on his skin. He could probably use the shower once they've had tea and... eased him down from whatever he's come from.

Funny how easily patterns like this came back from managing new arrivals to the Garden. ]

I'll work on getting that out of your coat. Magic's still being kind of iffy, but I can clean your shirt with it so you don't have to take it off.

I was honestly going to just toss it. [That and the tie insignia that got tarnished by his transformation, even though it was a gift from his family. It's definitely not a gift he deserves anymore.] But... I guess you'd save me a tailoring bill for new clothes.

[So he'll let that happen, after he's cleaned his hands off. At this point, he can't tell if it's actually Queen Diene's or his own, but the blood is gone. Washed away, like when he'd originally washed his hands of her death.]

[ He'll take the coat so he can wash out the bloodstains by hand, but his underclothes are cleaned with a little wave of his hand, red shimmers and the faint scent of strawberry. ]

There. Let me know if... you want the color and stuff changed.

[ He can't fix corruption. If anything he's been corrupted himself. But it's in his nature to offer sweet lies to comfort others. Cosmetic changes weren't that hard.

Tea is poured and set on the table with sugar and honey, but he's welcome to whatever he needs to fix it up. ]

...no. It's not worth changing anything now. What's done is done.

[It's a kind, meaningful thought. He'd love to not have his tarnished tie clip, but that gift was given to him for being the best knight in his family, and Vildred no longer deserves the title. He can't imagine how his mentor must be feeling, or his family. It's not like he'd gotten to speak to them again.

Vildred will take his tea without any extras added, not because of some edgy "i only deserve bitter things" mentality but rather because he just likes his tea that way.]

Sorry, give me a moment. I need to rehearse what I'm going to say to Ras.

I'm not in a rush. You can stay as long as you need to.

[ He's got some work to do anyway. This coat is filthy with blood. He has to work on getting that out while Vildred drinks his tea. Idly, he adds: ]

I'd offer to be 'Ras' in this situation but I don't think I know him well enough to predict a response.

You don't really have to. He... I imagine he's going to forgive me.

[>hasn't explained
>doesn't know Pav can read hearts

So this is going well.]

Sorry, I think I'm still in shock. Go do your thing while I drink.

[ He's been trying not to pry too much but at this point you are basically encouraging it, Vildred.

But alright for now he'll saunter off to clean the coat up. It takes a bit of time, but he gets the blood out of the fabric kind of startlingly well. Better not to ask why he's so good at that.

Time to see if the quiet and clean clothes has done him any good. ]

I'm back. Here, your coat.

[By the time Pavlova comes back, Vildred will have finished the tea. He's staring out the nearest window with a look on his face that says he's somewhere between heavily dissociating and coming back to reality only to quickly dive back into the deep end again.

The quiet has given him enough time to think, at least, and he takes his jacket back and puts it on.]

I appreciate it.

[His shoulders slump, and he leans heavily against the back of the couch.]

...do you know anything about... well, no, let me back up.

If you were... convinced to betray everyone you've ever known and trusted, and came to the awareness you were wrong far too late... what would you do?

[ It's simultaneously extremely specific and vague all at once ]

It happened to someone I know.

[ He says that lightly, then hums as he thinks ]

Make amends however I still could, probably. At that point it would be hard for anyone to trust you, so you'd have to show your remorse more clearly through action, I think.

[ He tilts his head at Vildred ]

Though it kind of depends on the person. Some are way too forgiving.

Ras is. He was back home. Despite everything I did then, he forgave me. If I had to guess, he'd probably be the only one. Someone else he was with killed me, and I think I deserve that, for all I've done to him.

[Vildred sighs.]

Do you have an hour? I'm just talking in circles at you, so you're probably confused, and I need to figure out how I'm going to explain anything at all.

[ He settles into a chair. This will be a while. Good thing his job was to listen to people. ]

I've got nothing important to do today. Go ahead.

[ At least he's up to explaining now? Progress? Pavlova doesn't even bat an eye at the fact Vildred apparently died. He could kind of gather as much from the stains ]

Thanks. Uh...

[fuck okay how does he even start.]

I guess for context, you uh... obviously know how everyone here has a past life tied to this place, right? Orbis is similar, except there are seven of them. Seven iterations of Orbis, all of which are largely the same as the last one, with a few differences thrown in here and there. Most things, as far as I understand it, are stagnant. Like... I was always from Ezera, and a knight who became a general, and I had the same mentor every single time.

Some people are different. Ras is the Heir of the Covenant, the Goddess Diche's vessel, and so he's the only one who remembers Diche resetting Orbis after the Archdemon destroyed it each time. I know he's acted differently each time to try to solve the problem. Then there are the Heirs, who take power from something that's kind of like the Guardians here — coincidentally, those creatures are also Guardians — but if the Heirs die, they don't come back in the next reset. I don't know why, I don't understand why, but they don't. When those people don't come back, the Guardians ally with a new Heir to try to stop the Archdemon. So... in one iteration, I was friends with two people named Krau and Victorika, where Victorika was the Heir to the Guardian Ziegfried. And in the next timeline, since she'd died, Ziegfried chose Krau as his successor.

[And then he pauses.]

...does that make sense? [You know, before he moves on.]

[OPEN] who will I be when the empire falls?

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