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Topic: Tiernan Ichelgach (Wonderland) (Read 266 times) |
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Brichan
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Tiernan Ichelgach (Wonderland)
« Thread started on: Jul 13th, 2006, 10:53am » |
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Avatar: 
Quote: Death is as light as a feather; duty is as heavy as a mountain
Sig: I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high and life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die--
I dreamed the Gods would be forgiving...
Birth Name: Tiernan Ichelgach
Taken Name: None. Tiernan feels that there is no escape from his bloodline and name, and would consider changing his name a fool’s hope of redemption.
Nicknames: Tiernan isn’t really the nickname type of person—he usually expects everyone to call him ‘Lord Ichelgach’… but his younger brother called him Stony on occasion, or Tier.
Titles: Lord Ichelgach, The Last Messenger, Miranthir (Fae for ‘double-edged’, as in the type of blade)
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Race: Full-blooded Fae nobleman
Immediate Family: Father, Titus Ichelgach (deceased), mother, Alilae Ichelgach (deceased), half-brother, Maelduine Ichelgach (deceased), wife, Trishna Sidhe (deceased), son, Gavin Ichelgach (deceased). Yes, they’re all dead. By either mysterious or bloody circumstances, the rest of the Ichelgach line (everyone with the last name) has also died.
Chosen Weapons: No matter the occasion, Tiernan always carries two swords on his person, a long sword and a short sword. The long sword is called Fechine—‘Raven’, and the short sword is named Feidhlim—‘dove’. Both are enchanted by the most powerful mages of the royal court. Fechine channels the power of Wonderland’s taint, while Feidhlim casts spells of pure magic. Both swords are ornate, the hilts are cast silver with sapphires embedded in a series of elaborate Celtic-style knots.
Pet/Steed/Familiar: Whenever he travels, Tiernan is accompanied by his faithful steed, an enormous black warhorse by the name of Nidhogg. Nidhogg’s coat is black, but his mane and tail are thick strands of shimmering silver. His eyes, a pale, cobalt blue, match his master’s perfectly. The horse is proud and fierce, and will allow no one but Tiernan on his back.
Occupation: Knight-regent and faithful servant to the Fae Queen, Illiah.
Height: 6’ 3”
Weight: 160 lbs
Hair: Sweeping strands of ebony silk frame the Fae nobleman’s face, framing his face in flowing waves. Light bangs drape his brow in a regal shade of midnight, and the length of it falls down just past his shoulder blades. Usually, Tiernan’s hair is tied back with a silver or blue ribbon, a silken fabric to match the texture of his smooth locks.
Eyes: Tiernan’s eyes are a vibrant, beautiful blue, radiating warmth and light. They are a pale cobalt in hue, expressive and gentle—for the most part. Tiernan’s eyes also reflect his darker side, on occasion, and harden into stone or sparkle with madness as he destroys the lives of others in the name of the Queen.
Voice: Tiernan’s voice is gentle and calming, a mid-tone caught between deepness and youth. His speech is languid and accented, as though he were singing instead of speaking.
Facial: A face like an angel’s graces the top of Tiernan’s swan-like neck, the features as noble as their owner’s bloodline. A long, slender nose matches the rest of his elegant features, his high brow and cheekbones and thin, dark lips. Thin, elegant brows arch over his pale blue eyes, brows that may demonstrate the sweetest gentility or furrow in sadistic anger.
Clothing: The Fae nobleman is usually garbed in a suit of silver armor, intricately emblazoned with the symbol of the Ichelgach line—a black tree with blue stars hanging in it’s boughs. The armor is designed to be light but hard, covering his torso, shoulders, forearms, and shins. He wears light chain mail beneath the actual suit for further protection. When not called to combat, Tiernan wears the rich attire of the average fae noble, though always in the colors of his house—black, silver, and blue. He wears sparse jewelry, if only because it is customary for nobility to do so, usually never more than a pendant or a few rings. More often than not, a sweeping cape will billow behind the tall male.
Skin: Tiernan’s skin is unchangeably pale, despite the wear of sun or snow. A few scattered scars trace across his arms and chest, wounds from training and life as a knight. No scars mar his face or hands, though calluses from sword fighting mark his hands.
Appearance: In over-all appearance, Tiernan is the epitome of the noble knight, tall and regal and fair. His shoulders, though not broad, still stand strongly against his swan-like neck. Lean muscle sculpts over his agile limbs, toned enough to give an aura of strength but neither bulky nor brawny in any sense. His chest is slimly toned, leading to a slender waist, almost feminine, though not disproportionate to the rest of his form. Long, thin legs carry him with a nobleman’s dignity throughout the world of Wonderland.
Birthplace: Ravenhold, the palace of the Ichelgach line
Current Abode: The palace of the Fae Queen
Likes: Fencing, fighting, death, destruction, children, wine, swords, horses (his own especially), rare creatures, those who serve the Queen
Dislikes: Wonderland’s corruption, those who oppose the Queen (usually meaning elves, though he reserves judgment ‘til after he’s met them), his darker nature, being kept waiting, those who stand in his way
Talents: Swordplay, horseback riding, archery, putting forward a kind façade, playing the harp (hand harp and full-sized), court manners
Inabilities: Disobeying the Queen, genuinely caring for someone in a way other than friendship, taking a break from his tasks
Faults: Tiernan is something of a workaholic, and has a dark nature that he guards jealously as his terrible secret
Fears: Wonderland’s taint, his curse
Goals: To serve the Queen, and to destroy all those who share his blood
Outer Personality: To those he meets, Tiernan appears to be the perfect knight, treating others with gentility and respect unusual to the generally haughty fae nobility. He speaks softly, is fair-tempered, and smiles more often than not. He lives to aid others and to make Wonderland a better place, serving as the noble protector of a dying world, unchanged by the darkness creeping over his homeland.
Inner Personality: The exact opposite of what he portrays. Tiernan’s curse connects him directly to Wonderland, and as the land grows corrupt, so does his soul. He revels in destruction, gleefully murdering all those who oppose the Queen’s rule or who simply spark his anger. Madness clouds his vision and he can only grip tighter to the hilt of his sword against it. Still further beneath this darker self, the small, untainted part of Tiernan’s soul longs to turn his outer personality to the truth—to be true and noble and pure again. He wars within himself on these two opposing desires, and struggles daily to keep this inner battle from becoming a public affair.
Picture: 
History: Part I—The Ichelgach Curse
This curse begins, as many do, with a love affair. Ages ago, long before the realms of Mortal Earth and Wonderland began to influence each other, there was a man by the name of Janus Ichelgach. He was the usual, proud, haughty Fae nobleman, supposedly a loyal servant to the Queen and King, though truthfully he served only his own interests. Janus was beautiful, though, cunning and crafty, and soon flitted his way to the top rung of Fae nobility. His long, dark hair trailed down his back like a curtain of midnight, and his pale, elegant limbs glowed like moonlight against the night sky of Wonderland. Silver wings protruded from his back, glowing with the magical energies he commanded. He was a solitary creature despite his charms, as icy as the blue of his eyes. It was said that his haughty pride would keep him from ever taking a lover—the noble family line would end with him. The opposite occurred; Janus was the beginning of the cursed line that would lead to Tiernan Ichelgach. As men in fairy tales often do, prideful young Janus fell in love. While traveling home from a feast one evening, he stumbled into one of the many enchanted woods of Wonderland and lost his way completely. He feared nothing, for this was before the time of the taint, when the woods of Wonderland were just that—full of wonder. However, he had no idea how to find his way out of the vast expanse of trees.
A young creature stumbled upon him then—an imp girl by the name of Briar. She taunted him over losing his way, and he responded with the expected haughtiness of the stereotypical fae. So Briar tricked him, having her own impish fun and promising to lead him to the edge of the forest, only to bring him back to her own home each time. Janus was at first disgusted by Briar’s tricksome ways and pranks, but over time grew used to them… and eventually grew to love them. For a month, Briar watched over him carefully, always guaranteeing that he lost himself in the woods. After a long while, Janus figured out a way to trick Briar in turn. Unfortunately, once he finally returned to his own way of life, he found that he missed Briar too much to for him to bear. He returned to the forest, searching for her, but instead ran in to her family of imps—a family that disliked the intrusion of a rich fae boy into their humble lives. Briar, however, was quite glad to see the nobleman again. Janus wanted more than anything to marry his wily lover, but there seemed to be no way for such a thing to happen. He turned to the reigning royal family, but the king and queen sided with the imps. This particular family protected and helped to grow the forests of Wonderland, and the royals had no desire to interrupt into their business. He must earn the respect of the imp family himself.
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| « Last Edit: Jul 18th, 2006, 3:12pm by Brichan » |
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She did not mind her days alone, away from the outside. It was better this way, her secret stories hidden so no one could touch them, take them. She was free, still, like a child, the way it is before you are seen and then after that you can never remember who you are unless some one else shows you.
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Brichan
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Re: Tiernan Ichelgach (Wonderland)
« Reply #1 on: Jul 18th, 2006, 3:12pm » |
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Janus tried. He continued to try for years on end—the imps would not be swayed. He went mad with desire to earn Briar’s hand, knowing that her family would never give in. Eventually, he made his choice—and he murdered each member of her family, down to the last child. There was no one left to disapprove of their marriage, now. Briar, horrified, changed from the perky, clever girl she had been to a soulless shell, faithful to Janus only because he was all she had left in the world. Janus proceeded to arrange their marriage, but was stopped the day of by the king and queen. What he had done was unheard of in the peaceful realm of Wonderland, and would not go unpunished. The blood on his hands marked his soul as well—and because he had destroyed loyal servants of the king and queen, he and all his descendants would have to serve the royal family as penance for their forefather’s sin. And so the line of the Ichelgachs was famous for its dark legacy, and the loyalty that it owed to the royal bloodline. In addition to the promise of fealty that came with the curse, a strain of madness supposedly ran through the blood of the Ichelgachs—one that stemmed from Janus Ichelgach’s original instability and Briar Ichelgach’s soulless, broken mind.
The line of the Ichelgachs continued down through the history books of Wonderland, ever bound to service of the royal family through their sin. In a world of purity, they were a bastion of madness—proud, noble, beautiful people with something… off inside them. Still, as Wonderland remained pure, few of them ever truly indulged this dark part of their heritage. The curse connected them to the ones who bore royal blood, but also to the realm of wonderland itself—the later Ichelgachs assumed this was because Janus had killed guardians of the mystical Wonderland forest, who had been so in tune with the land. Almost as a sign of their curse, each child born with Ichelgach blood had the same blue eyes as Janus, all those ages ago. The line branched out, grew to a large clan of noblemen, but always kept one head of the family to be the family’s representative to the king and queen. During the ruling time of the now Queen Illiah’s parents, this man was Titus Ichelgach.
Part Two—Tiernan (coming soon!)
Titus Ichelgach inherited his position when he agreed to marry a beautiful fae noblewoman, Alilae Abasson. Titus was perhaps even more of a solitary man than his ancestor, Janus—he hated being shackled to a woman, no matter how kind, beautiful, or talented she was. He married her out of necessity; he was not truly the ‘leader of the family’ until he could ensure that his line would be continued. He even resented his father for the necessity, though his father was as noble and gentle a creature as ever bore the curse of Janus Ichelgach. Avinoam Ichelgach knew his son was ambitious, and wanted to give him the chance to succeed—so, against his better judgment concerning the man’s character, he made Titus his successor. Titus took to leadership like a fish to water—like a great white shark to water. The influence of the Ichelgach family soared, but Titus grew increasingly suspicious of all those around him. He hated the weakness of having a wife and how he needed her to give him an heir; he locked her away in Ravenhold, the castle of the Ichelgach family, so that he wouldn’t have to think about her. Alilae wanted to love her husband, to find some redemptive part of her new life, but could not. Eventually, she gave up on earning her husband’s love, knowing she was only his means to an heir.
Soon, Alilae became pregnant. This child was her only hope of a joyful life—even if her husband was cold and distant, and her life full of loneliness, once she had someone to care for she would have a purpose for living. She turned to her father-in-law, Avinoam, and commissioned a gift for her young son. Avinoam was a famous blacksmith, and for his soon-to-be grandchild, he crafted two beautiful swords of silver and sapphire. Alilae and Avinoam hid them away, certain that Titus would take them for his own use should he discover the blades before the child could use them. In addition to this gift, Alilae wore a pendant at all times, a sapphire heart dangling from a silver chain. She gifted this, too, to her infant child. Not long after the swords were finished, Alilae’s child was born. It was a son, with the same gorgeous blue eyes as every Ichelgach child. This child had several other strange attributes, though—he was born with a crown of raven dark hair, and from his back tiny silver wings protruded, a rare attribute for the fae of this day and age. Alilae loved him dearly, and named him Tiernan, “Lord of the Manor,” after his noble heritage. Titus returned from his duties at court when he received the message of his son’s birth—immediately, he wanted to whisk his son away to live and be trained at the Royal Court from birth.
Alilae vehemently refused. “Tiernan is all you have ever given me! I won’t let you steal him away from my arms before he can even know my face.” Titus sneered at the young woman, clinging so desperately to his property, and a cruel light flashed into his blue eyes. He pinned her to the wall, the child falling from her arms, crying, into his cradle.
“Tiernan will never belong to you—he is the son of a curse and the child of a dark legacy, belonging only to Wonderland and those of royal blood. His every breath and heartbeat bring him closer to the doom of slavish loyalty that you, yourself, owe to me as the head of the family and to the King as the crux of our curse.” He backhanded her across the face, sending her sprawling on to the cold stones of the castle. “I will take Tiernan from your arms, and he will never return to your embrace. He will never know your face, never know your voice. You have outlived your usefulness and will die alone.” Alilae stared at the crying babe in his cradle and knew that, somehow, her husband’s words were prophesy. With nothing left to live for, she turned her face to the wall… and died. Titus was quite pleased with this turn of events, and lifted the woman’s body in to his arms to dispose of her corpse—but when he turned to the door, he froze in shock. His father, Avinoam, stood there, glaring rebuke and disdain at his cruel son. The two argued—and Avinoam forced a pact out of Titus in return for his silence about the nature of his daughter-in-law’s death. Titus would return to his place at court, and leave Avinoam to raise the young Tiernan at Ravenhold, at least until he reached his preteen years. Titus, with little other choice, agreed—but loathed his father without end, a grudge that would later end the old man’s life.
So began the childhood of the Ichelgach heir—though there were many strains of his family’s blood, Tiernan’s immediate family held the ‘purest connection’ to their forefather, Janus. Tiernan was a bright, clever youth, with a mind as sharp as his cobalt blue eyes. His grandfather taught him swordplay from the moment he was old enough to walk and hold a wooden blade at the same time. Tiernan had no other companions, though; his father kept few servants, and even they had learned to avoid causing Titus’ ire by staying out of the way of both the head of the family and the family members. Tiernan turned instead to books as his window out of his castle-prison. He devoured every section of the library at Ravenhold, and each time a relative of the family came, they knew to bring a book for the avid young reader. He read books of strategy and swordplay, studying tactics, dueling, maneuvers, and aerial combat (because of his wings). He used everything he learned in books as he trained physically with his grandfather and other soldier-servants of the Ichelgach line, and established himself as a prodigy in the area of swordplay. At all times, he wore the sapphire heart of his mother’s pendant, his only reminder of the beautiful woman who had given birth to him. The young Tiernan often spent his days alone; he would fly on silver wings to the highest turrets of the castle, gazing longingly at the horizon as the birds his home was named for flew about him.
Unfortunately, Tiernan’s peaceful, if solitary, existence could not continue forever. He reached his preteen years and his father returned, replacing Avinoam as Tiernan’s guardian and trainer. Lessons with Titus were harsh and cruel, often resulting in injury and involving much verbal abuse, if not physical. Tiernan, who had lived in silence until this point, took his father’s treatment in the same way. Titus seemed to think that only agony could shape his son into the heir he needed to be—when Avinoam protested, Titus exercised his power as the head of the family and banished the old man from his presence forever. He also threatened Tiernan, telling him that associating with his grandfather would earn him a harsh beating and no meals for several days. Tiernan managed to see his grandfather anyway, learning to be stealthy and careful from his father’s influence. But a creature came soon that changed Tiernan’s life even more drastically than his father’s re-emergence. An imp so wild and beautiful she was thought to be untamable lived in the woods only a few days’ ride from Ravenhold. Titus, a widower all these years, did not want another wife; but tales of this creature’s beauty drew him, and he captured her. She bore him a child before escaping from him again—Titus sneered at the creature, giving it the cruel name Maelduine, fae for “unwelcome”, a term often used to describe bastard children.
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She did not mind her days alone, away from the outside. It was better this way, her secret stories hidden so no one could touch them, take them. She was free, still, like a child, the way it is before you are seen and then after that you can never remember who you are unless some one else shows you.
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Brichan
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Re: Tiernan Ichelgach (Wonderland)
« Reply #2 on: Jul 18th, 2006, 3:12pm » |
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There was no one to care for this unwanted child. His father would have drowned him, had there not been so many witnesses to his birth, and his grandfather was trapped, banished from the presence of the half-imp’s father. No servant dared interfere with the Ichelgach’s lives… and so only the ten-year-old Tiernan was left to take care of tiny Maelduine, the child of curse and rape. The tiny boy learned to walk by following his brother’s footsteps through the library, learned to swordfight by watching Titus teach Tiernan. When he reached the age of five, another strange aspect of the boy’s birth was discovered. Maelduine had a strange gift of prophesy—he could see future events and events of the past, and occasionally knew the outcomes different choices and actions would have on coming events. Maelduine prophesied that Tiernan would receive a beating later that day for a crime he didn’t commit—and sure enough, Titus beat his heir mercilessly for a sin performed by a servant. Tiernan advised Maelduine to keep this talent to himself, for fear of what their father would do to exploit such an ability. Where Tiernan was a prodigy in swordplay, his half-brother was a master manipulator of elemental magic. As a child, he had no control over such abilities; his father commanded the other mages of the Ichelgach clan to place sealing runes on his powers to keep him out of Titus’ hair. The process was incredibly painful, and nearly destroyed the small boy. Tiernan held him through the entire ordeal, and treated his hurts afterward. That night of loyal care earned Tiernan his half-brother’s unfailing devotion for the rest of their dark lives.
As they grew, Tiernan and his brother grew in beauty—Tiernan was called Janus Reincarnated, with the same flowing dark tresses, cool blue eyes, moonlit skin and silver wings. Maelduine grew in the same way, though his hair was a cascade of red flame, and his slender, feminine form spoke of the wild beauty of his Imp mother. Meanwhile, Titus Ichelgach became increasingly violent and destructive as the taint on Wonderland encroached upon his soul. His ambition was never satisfied, and he became paranoid, fearing betrayal at the hands of his family members. He sought to relieve his stress through violence, and as Tiernan’s self-defense skills rose to where he could no longer attack his heir, Titus satisfied himself with Maelduine. Tiernan did his best to keep his brother from harm, but he could not be at his side at all times. One night, Maelduine came stumbling in to his brother’s room, fighting against tears of pain and shame. His clothes were torn beyond repair, and bruises marred his body in every place. Tiernan tried to console his brother, and to use his magical ability to heal tormented Maelduine—he knew what their father had done to him, and found it unforgivable. He had done to his son the same thing he had done to the poor boy’s mother. A few days later, Maelduine ran to his brother’s arms—he had seen a vision of his father repeating the same horrors that night, if nothing was done. Tiernan shoved his surety of retribution for saving Maelduine out of his mind, and took his brother far from Ravenhold for the night, hiding him and keeping him safe in the darkening forest. They returned after a few days, and their father took them back as though nothing had happened. But later that night, he visited his vengeance on his eldest son.
Titus dragged Tiernan from his bed that night into the father’s own chamber, slamming his son’s head against the wall. “You ungrateful child!” he raved, his blue eyes churning with the famed Ichelgach madness. “I would kill you for your insolence, were you not my heir—so instead I must make you regret the day your sniveling mother birthed you!” He proceeded to beat the boy senseless, giving Tiernan no opportunity to defend himself. The same torturous treatment he had forced upon Maelduine, he used on Tiernan, forcing the normally silent boy to cry out in agony. As a final reminder of the paranoid father’s dominance over each member of his family, Titus tore Tiernan’s silver wings out of his back, slowly, causing as much agony as he could. The dark-haired youth’s screams roused his younger brother, who snuck carefully to the door of his father’s rooms and listened—before a minute had passed he knew his brother was being punished for saving him. His rage and love for his sibling broke the seal placed on his powers—he burned down the door with an elemental flame, and threw his father off of Tiernan’s back. Tiernan, moaning in agony and nearly unconscious, saw only a blur as Maelduine dashed their father’s head against the wall and knocked him out. Maelduine dragged his brother back to his room and wept over him, spouting apologies for his uselessness. Tiernan tried to smile at him, though his jaw was broken and he could only see through one eye.
“You are my little brother, Mael. I will do the same each night until our father dies, if I have to.” Maelduine used his magic to heal his brother’s injuries as though they had never been there—but he could not bring back Tiernan’s beautiful silver wings. Tiernan soon discovered that it had become far more difficult for him to cast spells without them—his wings were a concentration of all the magical energies in his body, and without them, it caused him great pain to cast the simplest of spells. With Maelduine’s powers released, however, there was no need for Tiernan to use magic anyway. Titus was, of course, enraged by his children’s ‘insolence,’ but could do nothing about it facing the combination of Maelduine’s magic and Tiernan’s fighting prowess. Because he could no longer relieve his anger through violence toward his children, Titus sought out another target—Avinoam, Tiernan’s beloved, banished grandfather. In his age, Avinoam could no longer defend himself against his son; after a few days of abuse, it was clear to Tiernan that if his grandfather didn’t escape, he would die at his son’s hands. He saw the man in secret and arranged a way for him to escape, and Avinoam ran to the corrupted forests of Wonderland for refuge. Before Avinoam left, he told Tiernan of the beautiful swords his mother had hidden away for him—Tiernan found them and named them Fechine and Feidhlim, Raven and Dove. Unfortunately for Tiernan, it was quite obvious to his father who had helped the grandfather escape—he came to Tiernan’s room at night and began to beat him as he slept, giving Tiernan no chance to defend himself. He threatened all sorts of abuse to the dark-haired lad, but Tiernan refused to give up his grandfather’s hiding place. Seeing that this tactic was of no use, Titus dragged him in to Maelduine’s room, putting a dagger to the defenseless, sleeping boy’s throat. He demanded Avinoam’s location, or Maelduine’s throat would be slit. Defeated, Tiernan gave in and told him his grandfather’s hiding place.
Tiernan left the next morning with a posse of soldiers, headed toward the forest. Two days later he returned, carrying Avinoam’s body to be buried in the Ichelgach cemetery at Ravenhold. It was said that Avinoam had gone mad and ran to the forest. He had died at the hands of several large creatures in the woods, or so Titus said. Tiernan and Maelduine knew the truth… but could say nothing in public against the head of the family. Fortunately for the two boys, Titus was called away on duty by the royal family, to ensure that no elves returned from their banishment to Mortal Earth. Tiernan was now the head of Ravenhold in his father’s stead. A period of peace entered the Ichelgach children’s life. Tiernan wandered the forest in mourning, grieving over the loss of his mentor and caretaker, Avinoam. While he was there, he stumbled upon a young woman beset on all sides by tainted creatures—Tiernan quickly dispatched them, offering a helping hand to the wounded girl. She was a beautiful creature, with long, silver hair and sparkling green eyes, lithe and slender. She spurned his hand and backed away from him, hurt and mistrust in her eyes. Tiernan, a bit frustrated by her ungrateful action, asked her if she had wanted to be eaten alive by monsters.
“Don’t condescend to me! You Fae noblemen are all the same. You’re murderers, and I’ll never forgive you!” Tiernan listened, stunned, as she told the story of her father, a fae minstrel, who had lived among the elves to further enhance his talents. She was also a fae, but had loved the elven race dearly. These elves had refused to leave their homes, and had been killed by the king’s guards—her father had, too, for standing with them. She alone had survived. Tiernan regarded her coolly, and held out his hand once more.
“It is a fool who rejects aid on the premise of prejudice. I have no hatred for the race of elves; I have never met one. I mean you no harm, and can offer you a place to stay and earn your keep.” She still eyed him with mistrust, and so he sighed and gestured to the corpses behind him. “Or you may try your luck with the beasts of this forest. You will not get such an offer from them.” Choosing the lesser of two evils, the girl took his hand. He asked her her name; “Trishna Sidhe,” she responded. The young lord led her back to Ravenhold, giving her a position as a servant there. His flame-haired younger brother loved the silver-haired girl from the start, making sure she came to play with him the moment her duties were finished. The young woman became an irreplaceable part of the boys’ life, and came to mean more to them than the earth and sky. Unfortunately, even this peace soon passed—Titus’ success in destroying the elves gave him influence in court, and his power soon extended back to Ravenhold. He had not forgotten the sins of his children.
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She did not mind her days alone, away from the outside. It was better this way, her secret stories hidden so no one could touch them, take them. She was free, still, like a child, the way it is before you are seen and then after that you can never remember who you are unless some one else shows you.
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Brichan
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I wield the torch; melting sand into something clear and bright.
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Re: Tiernan Ichelgach (Wonderland)
« Reply #3 on: Jul 18th, 2006, 3:13pm » |
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Part III—Janus’ Heir
The two Ichelgach boys and Trishna spent all their time together, learning more about one another. Tiernan was still as tight-lipped as ever about his past, but Maelduine didn’t seem to see any problem with sharing each painful aspect of it with the silver-haired girl… even when she didn’t ask. They learned more of Trishna as well through Maelduine’s vision gift. Tiernan asked him if her story was true—Maelduine responded that he had seen in her past an elven village, a fae minstrel, and the deaths of everyone who lived in that place. To him, it seemed that it was all true. Maelduine also told Tiernan of a powerful enchantment that surrounded Trishna, flowing through her like the blood in her veins. Maelduine guessed that this was a protective spell that her father cast on her before he died. As both brothers grew to care for their female companion more and more, they trained her to protect herself from any harm, in case they were ever away while she was in danger. Tiernan trained the silver-haired girl to wield daggers in self defense, and Maelduine trained her in-born talent for magic with his own incredible prowess. Trishna taught Maelduine the spells that she knew, earthy magic that no doubt spawned from spending much time with the elven race. Trishna was a strange combination of older sister and mother to Maelduine, two things he had always wanted and never had—she was something else completely to the elder brother, though he would not admit it. He had to put such thoughts behind him soon, as his father’s cruelty interrupted his life once more…
Titus was still bound to the royal court, and could not return to Ravenhold and disturb the three friend’s peace in that way. However, he had recently been made a general for his military successes, and could now order any fae he chose into battle. A messenger from the royal court arrived at Ravenhold about a year after Trishna did, bearing a letter from the head of the Ichelgach house. The letter was a commission to battle—one that called for Maelduine. Tiernan was horrified, but could not go against the authority of the head of the family, and could not go to battle with his brother without a commission. Maelduine’s blue eyes simply glazed over, a sign that he was seeing a vision, and he went to his rooms to prepare for battle. The next morning, he prepared to leave, turning and smiling at his brother as he mounted his steed. “Don’t worry, brother. You know my visions are always right. Things will work out in the end.” Tiernan’s blue eyes hardened, but he made no protest, knowing that it would only cause his younger sibling to worry. From the moment his brother left, the dark-haired fae was on edge. He had not been without his brother’s company since the moment the boy was born, and could not handle the separation. Trishna did her best to calm him, and her comforts did help to soothe Tiernan’s worry… but he knew that Titus would not call Maelduine into service for his usefulness—this could only be a plot against the flame-haired halfling’s life. He sent messengers out to learn all they could of Maelduine’s troop movements, and used his painful magic to try to watch for an attempt on his brother’s life.
As he had when his grandfather had died, Tiernan took to wandering the forests of Wonderland to give himself time to think… and as he did, he discovered a troupe of rebel elves in fighting gear. Cautiously, he followed them, listening in on their conversations. He discovered that these were reinforcements for the battle against a group of soldiers in the wastelands of Wonderland. Tiernan listened long enough to know that these soldiers planned a surprise attack on the very troupe that Maelduine was serving in. He raced back to Ravenhold, rushing to the library there and finding an old spell book he had once read on summoning. Trishna followed him, worried that something had happened to him in the forest—Tiernan made no reply to her concerned questions, instead commanding her to help him cast a spell to summon him a fell steed. Worried, but obedient, Trishna joined her hands with Tiernan’s, and together they called forth a creature to serve the Ichelgach heir, a dark beast formed with part of Tiernan’s soul. The creature was an enormous, powerful warhorse, and it shared the attributes of its master’s color. A mane of flowing silver to match his long-lost wings, a black coat to match his hair, and the same cobalt blue eyes marked this horse. Trishna read the spell—“The Midnight Mare”—and dubbed the horse Nidhogg. Tiernan leapt astride the beast and turned to the girl, his eyes narrowed to hide the fear behind them. “Maelduine is in danger. If I do not return within the week, we have both died—if that happens, take leave of this place and forget that you ever called an Ichelgach friend.”
Tiernan galloped away on his enchanted horse, riding through the night toward the royal palace. Once there, he raced to his father’s chamber, interrupting the man’s meeting and demanding an audience with him. Arching a dark eyebrow, Titus waved away his advisors and snidely asked his son why he had come. Tiernan told him of the elves’ movements, and the danger Titus’ regiment was in. Titus laughed and turned back to his map, marking the movement on a diagram of battle movements—but making no marks for his other troops to move and engage them. Tiernan demanded to know why—Titus grinned at him. “You know full well why. That half-blood brat has been a thorn in my side for far too long. If this means his death, it comes not a moment too soon. Now return to Ravenhold and trouble me no more.” Tiernan’s hands clenched hard on the hilts of his swords—but he narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth against his fury, racing back to his steed and galloping away. He did not return to Ravenhold, however—he raced to his brother’s battlefield, his anger darkening into a strange energy around him. Maelduine, you fool… he cursed, though his ire rose against his own folly. You knew that this would be your doom! You lied to me, hoping to lull me in to letting you go! And I believed you! His horse, fed by his and Trishna’s dark enchantments, never grew tired or needed to rest, the dark creature’s hooves pounding the tainted earth of Wonderland through each hour of the night.
Finally, he came to the battlefield—destruction raged as the fae and the elves battled one another in the twisted forests. Beasts from the forest picked off warriors from either side, and the trees, twisted and tainted, reached out to crush the soldiers in their gnarled embrace. Tiernan destroyed every elf that stood in his path, rage and fear for his brother’s life clouding his mind. He used his powerful magic despite the pain it brought him, ignoring his agony in hopes of finding Maelduine before it was too late. He fought on and on for hours, sensing his brother’s blood and familiar magic nearby, but blocked by a wall of enemy soldiers. He acquired wound after wound, blood flowing freely as he battled toward that familiar aura. Finally, he broke through the elven lines to find Maelduine collapsed on the ground, wounded and bleeding, a vengeful elf poised to kill him. Nidhogg trampled the hapless elf under his massive warhorse weight. Tiernan leapt off of his mount and cradled the younger male in his arms, his blue eyes churning with concern and anger as he healed his brother’s wounds. Maelduine stared up at him in surprise, and then smiled faintly. He tried to speak, but could not find his voice. “You lied to me. You said… you said that everything would be alright.” Maelduine laughed, reaching up a hand to run his elegant fingers through his brother’s hair.
“Did I lie?” he asked, teasingly, returning Tiernan’s favor and healing his wounds in turn. Tiernan’s brows went up in surprise, and he sighed and shook his head, smiling down at his brother. Together, they decimated the elves’ remaining forces, saving the day for the entire troupe of fae warriors that their father had been willing to sacrifice.
Tiernan, after the battle, ordered Maelduine to return home. His younger brother protested (though not very strongly), saying that they could not disobey the head of the Ichelgach family. Tiernan’s cool eyes flashed dangerously, and he assured his sibling that would not be a problem soon enough. Before they parted company, Tiernan asked Maelduine one last favor—that he cast a spell on Tiernan to dull all forms of pain. Maelduine didn’t understand the offer very well, but obliged. They parted ways, and Tiernan returned to the capital in the dark of night, coming to his father’s rooms as the man paced the floor alone. Tiernan entered, the same dark energy as before following his every step as he drew his dual blades. Titus, blue eyes widening, drew his own sword and demanded to know what Tiernan thought he was doing. “You know you cannot betray me! Your blood won’t allow you to!” Tiernan’s eyes darkened and his brows drew together in disgusted rage.
“My blood serves the royal family—and I will no longer tolerate you as an emissary between our family and theirs. I will endure the agony of a blood betrayal to rid the Ichelgach line of your pathetic leadership!” They dueled—a long, bloody conflict that drew agony on both sides. Maelduine’s spell allowed Tiernan to battle his ‘head of family,’ dulling the pain that the curse caused those who would dare do such a thing. Tiernan, after a long, messy fight, stabbed his father’s heart with the blade of his dead mother’s make, avenging her without knowing. His father’s blue eyes widened in shock before glazing over in death.
“My burden… falls to you, now,” he whispered—and died.
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She did not mind her days alone, away from the outside. It was better this way, her secret stories hidden so no one could touch them, take them. She was free, still, like a child, the way it is before you are seen and then after that you can never remember who you are unless some one else shows you.
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Brichan
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I wield the torch; melting sand into something clear and bright.
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Re: Tiernan Ichelgach (Wonderland)
« Reply #4 on: Jul 18th, 2006, 3:13pm » |
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As his father’s body fell to the floor, a dark shadow lifted from the elder man’s body and took a strange, menacing form—a face very familiar to Tiernan grinned cruelly at him, and the young fae knew this creature without ever meeting him. The dark shape enveloped Tiernan, and he fell to the ground beside his father, smothered by the shadow, feeling as though his chest was being crushed. The feeling passed, but that laughing voice remained, inside his mind; Janus Ichelgach had passed the leadership of his family down to the young Tiernan. Tiernan lost his hold on consciousness, and fell into a feverish dream-vision where his forefather spoke terror into his mind. Janus Ichelgach explained that his soul was passed down to the Head of the Family as a guiding force, a reminder of the Ichelgach curse, and a way of guaranteeing that the Ichelgachs understood what was happening to them. Janus explained that the head of the family bore the brunt of the Ichelgach curse, owing the greatest loyalty to the royal family and establishing the deepest connection with the world of Wonderland. In these tainted times, that connection with Wonderland’s corrupted life was enough to drive the purest soul mad—and a soul like Titus Ichelgach’s was beyond saving. However, now that Tiernan had inherited the burden from his father, the Ichelgach madness, the tainted connection with Wonderland, and the slavish loyalty to the Crown all fell to his lovely shoulders. He alone would have to bear the weight of Janus’ sin.
Tiernan woke in a cold sweat, collapsed in a heap on his father’s bedroom floor. He prayed that what had happened that night was all a dream… but a laughing voice in the back of his mind promised him otherwise. He gasped in surprise at his father’s corpse, the memory of his previous actions flooding back to him. Quickly and expertly, he disposed of his father’s body, making it seem that he had been assassinated by a vengeful elf. The dark-haired youth fled back to Ravenhold, though he could not escape the cruel, calm voice of his forefather. Upon his return, he discovered that he was not the only one changed. Maelduine’s time in the Fae army had corrupted him as well. The flame-haired boy developed a love of killing and bloodshed, and for reasons unknown to him, Tiernan felt drawn to such things as well. Both boys made a pact to hide their taint from Trishna—they knew such knowledge would only hurt her. While Maelduine still embraced his corruption, Tiernan was abashed and ashamed. He sought to deny what had happened, to prove himself pure. As the new head of the Ichelgach line, he received many an order from the ruling Queen; out of necessity, he accomplished each task she sent his way, from killing or capturing tainted beasts that ravaged fae homes or dispatching elves who dared to cross the border between the worlds. He remained far from her, though, positioned at his home, still trying to avoid the taint of Janus’ dark legacy.
Tiernan clung to the things that were pure in his life—one of them being his love for the beautiful Trishna Sidhe. He married her not long after inheriting his father’s position, and there could not be a happier couple in all of Wonderland for those first few years. A year passed, and the two had a beautiful young son—they named him Gavin Ichelgach, and Tiernan loved him as he had never loved another creature. He promised that he would give the tiny babe everything that he and Maelduine had been denied by their father—love, affection, kindness, hope. As a mark of this promise, he took the pendant his mother had given him and placed it around the child’s neck, a sapphire reminder of his father’s eternal love. He and his lady-love raised the young boy with adoration, and Maelduine played a mix of doting uncle and mirthful older brother. Gavin was a beautiful child from the start, with his mother’s gorgeous, thick, silver hair feathering sweetly around his face, and his father’s sharp beauty already obvious even in his young, childish face. He bore the infamous Ichelgach blue eyes, a constant, dark reminder of the fate he bore as a part of his father’s lineage. He was a talented youth, and took to both Maelduine’s magical lessons and his father’s training. Maelduine mentioned the same enchantment that the mother bore wove through Gavin’s blood—Tiernan assumed that the mother had cast the same protective spell on their child as her father had upon her. He did not know the darker secret that dwelled in his wife’s blood…
Part IV—the End of the Ichelgachs
That secret emerged nonetheless. As Gavin reached the age of seven, his mother began to grow ill. She weakened physically and mentally, a sudden change from the strong young woman Tiernan had married. Within two weeks, she was bedridden, and nothing Maelduine or Tiernan’s magic could do would help her. Janus’ voice, which had been so silent in Tiernan’s mind for the past seven years, resurfaced with a vengeance. He taunted the Ichelgach heir in his dreams, telling him that there was a secret that his wife had kept from him for so long… Finally, one day, as Tiernan waited by his beloved wife’s bedside, he felt the enchantment that had protected her for so long unravel… and was stunned to silence by what it revealed. It had not been a protective spell at all—it was an illusion, covering the truth of Trishna’s blood. She was no daughter of a fae minstrel; Trishna Ichelgach was a fully-blooded elf, hiding in secret in the world of Wonderland despite her race’s banishment! She began to scream in agony as the spell unraveled, and burn marks formed all over her body. Tiernan held her tightly to him, her body thrashing and twitching in the throes of torture. Janus whispered to him the secret of her sudden illness—her marriage to Tiernan put her under his curse as well. As an Ichelgach, she was bound to obey every command that Queen Illiah issued; as an elf, she was banished from the world of Wonderland forever. Because she had stayed, her blood was now her undoing.
Tiernan held her fragile body in his arms as her blood betrayed her in the most agonizing of ways—it boiled inside of her, burning her from the inside out until the agony destroyed her mind and her heart lit on fire inside of her. She died in more pain than any other death Tiernan had ever seen. His already fragile sanity, plagued by the tormenting words of his forefather, cracked. He placed his wife gently down on their bed, kissing her cold lips one last time. Gritting his teeth against strong emotion, he stood and leaned against the doorframe, his face ablaze with rage and agony. Maelduine waited outside the door, his blue eyes glazed over with his visionary power. He turned to his brother, his pale, beautiful face an empty mask. “Your son, Tiernan. He too bears the blood that betrayed his mother,” Maelduine warned, moving forward to place a hand on his brother’s shoulder. Before he could, Tiernan’s hand whipped out, and his long, elegant fingers tightened crushingly around the younger male’s throat.
“And what would you have me do, Maelduine?” Tiernan looked up to meet his gaze—his cobalt eyes, churning with a thousand maddened emotions, struck fear into his brother’s heart. “You would have me murder my son, my beloved son, the only remnant I have of the woman I loved? Well, what kindness is this!?” He slammed his flame-haired brother against the wall, and Maelduine groaned in agony.
“You know my visions. Gavin’s blood will betray him as soon as his mother’s enchantment wears thin. He will die the same gruesome way… unless you save him.” Maelduine knew that those words could cost him his life, with his brother in such a condition.
“Save him? My actions have only caused doom to this family! My birth destroyed my mother, my betrayal ended Avinoam, my sword was the death of our father, and my marriage to the woman we both cared for—It burned her alive from the inside out!” He threw his brother to the side to keep himself from harming Maelduine further. “And now, you ask me to save my son… by destroying him. What a cursed lives we live.” He stalked down the halls, his mind churning with a thousand venomous, destructive thoughts. They buried Trishna the next day, placing her body in the ever-expanding Ichelgach cemetery at Ravenhold. He comforted his weeping son, his treatment of the young boy unchanged… but conflicting desires warred within him. He wanted his son to live, knowing that he must die. A week passed, and he felt the magic surrounding Gavin’s blood beginning to wear thin. That night, he wrestled with himself, lying in his bed, trying not to notice that it was so empty since his wife’s death. He sheathed and unsheathed his sword, knowing the sin he must commit but unable to enter his child’s room and do the horrid deed. Finally, the decision was made for him. The door creaked open; Tiernan hid his blade beneath the folds of his sheets.
“Father, I can’t sleep… I had a nightmare.” Gavin’s sweet, innocent face peeked through the crack in the door. “Will you sing me a lullaby? Mother always used to, when I couldn’t sleep…” His large, innocent blue eyes pleaded with Tiernan, impaled the dark-haired man’s soul with daggers of guilt. “I miss her, father…” Tiernan gathered the boy up in his arms, holding him gently to his warm chest.
“I know, my precious child… I miss her too. But you will see her soon, little Gavin. She is not so far away from you and me.” Gavin closed his eyes sleepily and rested his head against his father’s comforting frame. Tiernan carried the boy down the hall toward his room, singing the innocent creature one last lullaby. “Goodnight, my son,” he whispered, placing a kiss on Gavin’s delicate brow as the boy drifted off to sleep.
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She did not mind her days alone, away from the outside. It was better this way, her secret stories hidden so no one could touch them, take them. She was free, still, like a child, the way it is before you are seen and then after that you can never remember who you are unless some one else shows you.
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Brichan
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I wield the torch; melting sand into something clear and bright.
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Re: Tiernan Ichelgach (Wonderland)
« Reply #5 on: Jul 18th, 2006, 3:14pm » |
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“Goodnight, Father.” Tiernan closed his eyes tightly and placed one hand on the boy’s head, holding him securely with the other. With a strong twist of his wrist, he snapped his son’s neck—and descended into sobs, cradling the boy’s broken frame and washing the silver-haired child’s face with his tears. He dried his eyes and carried his beloved child to the Ravenhold well. Before he tossed the boy’s corpse in, he took the sapphire heart from around Gavin’s neck and held it to his heart. He promised that the boy would always be with him, and that he would keep the necklace as a reminder of the love that he had for his child. With that, he let his son fall down to the dark depths of Wonderland’s earth, embraced by his watery grave.
Tiernan’s sanity cracked further that night, transforming him into a splintered mirror of what he had been. Guilt destroyed him, burned and froze his heart as he dreamed of his beloved wife and child, murdered by his witting or unwitting actions. He despised the curse that had burned Trishna from the inside out, had brought about the need for his son’s murder—and he swore to end it. Janus assured him that there was no end to the Ichelgach curse; his sin was eternal, a constant connection to the royal line and the tainted land of Wonderland. A germ of a plan rose to Tiernan’s mind at that—the curse would have to end if there were no more Ichelgachs to carry on Janus’ legacy. That night he swore a dark promise to the dead souls of his love and his child. He would end the Ichelgach curse by murdering every last creature that bore a drop of Janus’ blood, destroying them with his own hands as he had destroyed his blue-eyed Gavin. He did not tell his new intent to Maelduine—there was no need. The two brothers knew each other’s hearts better than they knew themselves, and clung to that connection as the last one they had in life. Maelduine joined Tiernan’s dark crusade, always up for a murder, be it one of his blood or any other. So they began, one by one, to pick off any creature that shared their last name, through murder, stealth, intrigue, betrayal, or military assignments. Each death cracked Tiernan’s sanity further, and Maelduine was his only comfort. Though Maelduine’s sanity was also less-than-perfect, he was, always had been, and always would be, loyal to his elder brother.
As the Ichelgach line dwindled away, Tiernan longed more and more to be free of the dark promise he had made, to finally finish the deed. He arranged for a meeting of the Ichelgach family, to gather the last surviving members together under the roof of Ravenhold and to destroy them all there. He and Maelduine arranged for the meeting and sent out all the invitations personally, though Tiernan did not reveal to Maelduine the final plan for their relatives’ destruction. Tiernan was drawn away the day before their plans came to fruition, called by Queen Illiah to the royal court. Tiernan had little time before he needed to depart, so he left a task to one of his soldiers, as Maelduine was away ensuring the speedy passage of the other Ichelgachs to Ravenhold. He told the soldier to ensure that the guests ate without him, and to make sure that they drank plenty of the castle’s wine. If the Ichelgach heir did not return before the moon rose to its height, the soldier was to lock every exit and set the place ablaze. Tiernan raced away to his audience with the Queen, trapped in an encounter that lasted hours. The Queen demanded that he stay in the Royal Palace from now on, so that he may better serve her and she would no longer need to send messages to Ravenhold. Tiernan agreed, knowing that soon enough Ravenhold and all those trapped inside it would be a pile of ashes.
Meanwhile, Maelduine returned with Tiernan’s ‘guests,’ bringing them into the castle and setting them up for the feast of their lives… and deaths. He made sure to serve them plenty of drugged wine, a drink that would incapacitate them and prevent their later escape. He did not know his brother’s plan—but he had seen a vision of the treated beverage, and of himself staying inside to ensure the deaths of all his relatives. He stuck to that idea. His visions never lied, after all. With no futuristic glimpse of the fiery terror soon to take place, Maelduine drifted off to sleep, waiting for his brother’s return…
Though Nidhogg raced Tiernan back to Ravenhold as fast as he could, Tiernan arrived at least an hour after the moon reached its apex. To his relief, he found that his plan was going well. All of Ravenhold was in flames, and he could hear the screams of his dying kinsman from the hill he looked on from. He pulled back on Nidhogg’s reins, stopping beside the soldier he’d commanded. He glanced around, his curiosity turning quickly to bone-chilling fear. “Where is Maelduine?” he demanded, and the soldier hesitantly informed him that his half-brother was still inside the burning castle. His cobalt eyes widening in rage, Tiernan drew his sword and beheaded the man in one quick motion, then spurred his dark steed to a gallop. Nidhogg’s hooves rammed down the door to Ravenhold’s entrance, and he raced through the flames, searching through the corpses for Maelduine. He hoped against hope, searching through the sickening stench of toasted flesh, that his brother was still alive. He came to the great hall and saw his beloved brother standing there, his flame-red hair floating on the heat behind him. Tiernan called his name, and Maelduine turned to him, bright hope flashing in his blue eyes—and then a burning beam fell from the rafters, headed directly toward the younger sibling. The half-imp dodged, but could not avoid being set aflame—first his gorgeous hair was consumed, then the rest of his skin lit on fire, turning him to a burning pillar of agony.
Tiernan heard a terrible scream—he did not know if it was his own or Maelduine’s. He and Nidhogg leapt over the fallen woodwork and toward the stone wall, where a tapestry of the Ichelgach line’s signet hung. He drew his sword and sliced the tapestry’s hangings, then raced to his brother’s side and wrapped him in the thick fabric, smothering the flames on his brother’s skin. He dismounted and cradled his brother as he was enveloped in the tapestry, pulling back the fabric and staring in shock and pain at the disfigured creature that was Maelduine. His hair was long gone, as were his brows and his nose—his skin melted like candle wax over his other features, and dripped from his bones as liquid torment. One eye was melted over, closed forever—but the other focused on Tiernan’s face… though it didn’t see Tiernan at all.
“Father?” Maelduine whispered; Tiernan started in surprise, but made no response. “Father! Are you at last proud of me? For I, who so disappointed you during your life, am now in the end your perfect Heir…” Tears leaked from that one good eye, as the disfigured, sizzling skin around Maelduine’s mouth formed the words of his long-secret agony. “For I too have lead my family to their deaths, scorning the counsel of those wiser than myself. I too have corrupted my talents, using them to slay my kin, and have warped my soul into a thing of darkness.” He reached up a melting hand, putting it to Tiernan’s chin—the elder brother took the agony in turn, Maelduine’s flesh melting on to his pale skin in a deathly caress. Tiernan refused to flinch away from his brother’s touch, captured by his brother’s last words. “And now, like you, I am a spirit of fire, a living flame, consumed by the blazing agony if indwelt guilt. All that remains is to die as you did, upon the blade of your true heir.” Tiernan stared at his brother as the flames of their curse rose around them, tears dripping, hot as that fire, to land on Maelduine’s face.
“Oh, my brother… my little brother… forgive me! Forgive me, I pray!” Tiernan sobbed and drew his mother’s blade—and with one last agonized scream, he drove it through his brother’s heart. The blade still piercing through his chest, Tiernan held his dead brother to him, a pile of melted flesh and sizzling burns wrapped in the tapestry of his own cursed lineage. He wept continuously, his once-fragile mind now shattered completely, with no ballast, no memory of happiness untainted by the grief of his own murders, no lover or child or brother to stem the tide of his agony. He was dragged from his grief only by Nidhogg’s insistent nudges, reminding him that the flames that consumed Maelduine could still kill him. Tiernan left the other Ichelgachs to be consumed by the flames of Ravenhold, but carried Maelduine’s corpse with him, deep into the woods by their home, clutching the melted and disfigured frame to him as though it were still the beautiful, curious child that Tiernan had cared for since their shared youth. He buried Maelduine in a familiar clearing—that same place that he and his younger brother had escaped to, all those years ago, when their father had tried to force himself on the beautiful child of flame. From that grave, no sooner than Maelduine was buried, a twisted tree of the tainted woods grew—Tiernan believed the dark plant housed his brother’s corrupted soul, and placed a protective enchantment on the tree. No one could harm that plant—no one could even cast a spell to alter its nature, save one of royal blood.
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She did not mind her days alone, away from the outside. It was better this way, her secret stories hidden so no one could touch them, take them. She was free, still, like a child, the way it is before you are seen and then after that you can never remember who you are unless some one else shows you.
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Brichan
Moderator
member is offline
I wield the torch; melting sand into something clear and bright.
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Re: Tiernan Ichelgach (Wonderland)
« Reply #6 on: Jul 18th, 2006, 3:14pm » |
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As night waned into day, Tiernan’s blood called him away from his brother’s grave. He could not disobey the Queen’s request, and returned the next morning astride Nidhogg to serve her eternally. He became a knight under her direct control, a loyal servant that accomplished whatever task Illiah put before him—murder, intrigue, capturing humans or beasts, enforcing her laws, and all other missions. Tiernan was a changed man, though—and all those who had known him could tell. Before he had been a quiet, serious boy of few words, a creature of silence and action. Though still as effective as ever, this new Tiernan was a grown man. Kindness marked him—he became a creature of gentle humor, affection, and princely charm, the perfect nobleman and a man of rare humility in the Fae Royal Palace. Tiernan’s new face, however, was just that—only a façade to conceal the deepening madness that encroached upon his soul. Each day Wonderland’s taint darkened his inner workings further, and he fought to keep that truth secret from the noblemen and women around him. One can catch more flies with sugar, after all…
Some fools said, “What a sad fate for such a beautiful man, to lose all his family to unfortunate circumstance.” Those of a wiser nature said different: “What a sad fate, for a man to be so cursed that his lineage would take from him all he loved. Still,” both sides claimed, “What fortune that he should be so changed and improved by his trials and tribulations, to come out a better man.” Those wiser or more knowledgeable than this were intelligent enough to keep their mouths shut about it—or ended up dead. Tiernan continued to serve Illiah faithfully, though he still warred within himself. Like the dual nature of his blades, half of him enjoyed and wanted to succumb completely to the taint of Wonderland as it spread through his soul—the other half still clung to what was still pure, what his lost wife had once loved in him. He hid this war completely, and so earned favor with many of the other nobles who also served (though remarkably less faithfully) the Queen. Some of the most powerful mages of her Highness’ court enchanted Tiernan’s blades, Fechine and Feidhlim, to channel magic for him, as he still felt agony over casting spells. Fechine channeled the power of Wonderland’s taint, just as Feidhlim channeled the pure magic that Tiernan had once been able to use. He liked the blades all the more for their dark metaphor—they were the two shards of his soul, set against himself in the dark caverns of his heart.
Present life: Though all those who bear the last name ‘Ichelgach’ have died, Tiernan still searches for any creature that has a drop of Janus’ blood in them. If he finds such a being, he will kill them without hesitation. He serves Queen Illiah without fail, her most loyal Knight and companion. The dark-haired Fae is haunted by the ghosts of his family members—his wife, his half-brother, his father, his mother, his grandfather, and especially his son. Janus, his forefather, still lives on inside his mind, and tortures him as often as he can. Though seemingly gentle and kind, even in his façade Tiernan is markedly aloof, and avoids any deep connection with a creature of any blood. When not off on a mission for his Lady-Liege, he is often found alone in his rooms in the Royal Palace, running his hands over a small, silver chest that contains a sealed-away sapphire heart and memories of a past long lost.
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Logged
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She did not mind her days alone, away from the outside. It was better this way, her secret stories hidden so no one could touch them, take them. She was free, still, like a child, the way it is before you are seen and then after that you can never remember who you are unless some one else shows you.
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