forgottenroderick

[forgottenroderick]

Fish Nor Fowl | Roderick & Ciara

"Congratulations," boomed Roderick, upon seeing Ciara. The Malconaire festivities were now quite well underway and, while Ciara was not directly related to the engagement which Roderick had announced unbeknownst to anyone (her father included), Roderick still felt that the sister of the man so smiled upon by fate as to wed his daughter deserved to be congratulated upon her family's shining glory.

"I can think of no better match for my own child than your brother. Indeed," he laughed. "I now nearly regret bestowing your hand so cavalierly upon my brother, Godfrey, when you might have made one of my sons so spectacular a match. But none of that! I expect you are quite happy in your own arrangement, yes? No regrets there, hm?"

He paused. "I wonder if you would consent to playing a role in Her Imperial Highness's wedding? I feel it would be a fine thing for our families to appear blended, as they are, at the event, hm? No doubt the event is some years away, I own, but I do not much enjoy long tarrying over such important details. You will be there."

It was not a question. Not that she would have chosen, otherwise, to forego either her brother's or her cousin's marriage, little less one which was both, but Roderick was not accustomed to thinking in terms of what others might arrange for themselves. It did not particularly matter to him, in truth. There was a tale here to tell to the commons, and he meant to display it in the way he wished it to be perceived.

"Who has a lovelier smile than you do, my dear, after all? And I have little doubt our Guinevere will want you dear, eh, cousin?" he inquired, slipping his cupped hand beneath her chin. "You are as lovely as ever was your mother -- lovelier, in fact. The blood of the god is in your veins."

He paused. He was well aware he had put her in a difficult position, with her own husband a Calainon, and now her brother wedding Guin who seemed, herself, almost to suggest she meant to forego her own rights in favor of Arthur's. This would not do. The Calainon wedge, he judged, would prove best in creating upheaval in that too-cozy alliance between heirs. Should Guin prove too willing, thereafter, to turn her cloak to Edmund's colors, well, he'd deal then with that threat, too.

"Now, you must tell me of your own betrothal. How fares your future spouse? I confess, I begin to grow impatient of your own wedding. I know His Grace your lord father will be longing to meet his grandchildren before he grows too old and infirm to enjoy them. I know it is our custom to maintain betrothals for years but I do believe, in this case, we may...shorten that timeline a touch, hm? Your future lord husband, Count Hanthom, is not, after all, one of us, is he? I am sure he also grows impatient for your wedding to take place?"

[forgottenroderick]

Am I Not Merciful | Roderick & Cassimir

"It is good of you, Lord Malconaire, to appear before us." The Emperor's voice rang through the Great Hall of Stafford like a bell. Ensconced in his throne, he was a picture of lofty magnificence, tone beneficent and impreious. It still stuck in his craw how Cassimir had towered over him at their last encounter after Roderick was forced to run to him after falling into distress. A most humiliating spectacle. The fete had gone a long way towards soothing the imperial rufflings of his feathers, till its final barage with Valentina hurling insults and accusations at his sons under the meek guise of concern.

It had probably come as no surprise when Cassimir had received Roderick's summons. The emperor had then proceeded to make Cassimir wait for two hours upon Roderick's pleasure, before admitting him to the throne room only to command everyone else out. There was something satisfying in watching him kneel, now, before him.

"You may well wonder why we have commanded you here. Our wish was twofold. First, we thank you for the evening's festivities of late. These celebrations were gratifying to us as well as to our dear daughter, Her Imperial Highness the Princess Guinevere, upon the occasion of her betrothal." He inclined his head in magnanimous thanksgiving.

Now he leaned forward, allowing a shadow to fall visibly across his face. "We were deeply disturbed, however, my lord, by the castigations hurled against our House by your lady mother. What answer have you to these vile accusations? Do you allow your own mother to associate with the base sorts of persons who would willing spew such filth? We regard this, my lord, not merely as a slight upon us, but also as a disgusting indication of the kind of household you run. We are most seriously displeased. Account for it!"

Sitting back in his throne, once more, Roderick reached for a piece of parchment where he had drawn up a series of names. "In consequence of these disgusting slanders, we expect you to do your part now in marrying off your sisters at once. You will approve any candidate we put forward, for any sister we judge best, as well as putting towards such arrangements as much gold as we specify, and you will prove duly grateful to us for our efforts undertaken where you have failed. Do not dare test our generosity further, my lord. You will not find us so forgiving a second time."

[forgottenroderick]

Love & Honor | Roderick & Aoife

Eithne had proven reasonable to treat with and, having heard -- to his wroth -- Valentina's unseemly delcarations at the Malconaire Ball the other night, Roderick was determined that his conversations with her sisters should go just as smoothly.

Roderick had arrived early in the morning, not much past the dawn, and found to his astonishment only one rough-tongued young man present to take his horse. Lady Valentina must have given her servants leave to take the morning off after last night's festivities, he thought. And clearly her foolish help knew not to whom they spoke, or else he had little doubt that uncivil boy would have kept a quiet tongue in his head. Still, he'd cooled his wrath. He was here for a purpose and did not mean to be recognized, and it better suited him that the household should not be roused.

"Where might I find Lady Aoife?"

"What do you want with my lady?" demanded the swain.

"Nevermind what I want with your lady, where is she?"

It had taken some doing to wrest any information from the youth and he'd not gotten her location, but thrusting his reins roughly into the peasant's mongrel hand, Roderick had strode off into the woods, himself.

It was an unquiet wood. Above, gusts of wind struck the sentinel trees till their boughs groaned and creaked, emmitting low ghastly moans. But worse was the leering silence that came later. Light was dim, flickering eerily through the crags in the leaves, till he found himself caught in a murky gloaming twilight, queer at the dawning of day. Branches seemed to crouch low, sightless eyes turned to stare. Leaf-less branches clawed skyward, raking the air with skeletal fingers and tore at his clothing. The air was musty and close. The trees closed in.

This is an ungodly place, he thought, unconsciously pulling his cloak tighter as if against a chill he did not feel.

"AOIFE!" he bellowed.

Alarmed, a songbird shrieked. Roderick pulled back. With a puff of green feathers, the bird escaped skyward.

A voice. Roderick gasped, turned quickly. A pale face loomed from beyond the wind-swept trees. The sounds of birds and squirrels and deer resumed. Light, real daylight, filtered through the trees and cheerily dappled the forest floor below. The wood was an ordinary wood, again.

Swallowing hard, Roderick shook himself and approached the girl. "Forgive my...abrupt appearance," began the Emperor, taking her by the arm and beginning to guide her from the too-close trees. An open field would do just as well, he thought, suppressing a shudder, as the screeching woods.

"After the night's...festivities, I wished to speak with you." He paused. "It has become clear to me, after all, how much my son...values your...friendship, and I wish to give a gesture of..." he glanced away. How to be delicate in such suggestions. "Is it so that you are soon to be betrothed, Lady Aoife?"

Cormac Calleary had spoken of his intentions. Yet, the rumor was surely quite widely spread, already, of Aoife's shocking behavior as regarded Sebastian. Perhaps even Lord Calleary would find himself less than delighted with such a prospect...only time, he supposed, could tell.

[forgottenroderick]

Inebriated | Roderick & Alaric

His Imperial Majesty, Roderick the First of His Name, by the Grace of the One True God, of [Varmont], and of Antillia, Kolchis, Alatyr, Aarnu, Vinetta, Kvenheim, Aotepo, Argadara, Xangadu, Malakarta, Affaraon, and Astaira, and of his Dominions beyond the Seas, One True Emperor, Protector of Vyrajj, God-King of Kolchis, Archduke of the Two Isles and of the Shimmering Seas Overlord, King-Elector of the Astairans, Lord of the Two Lands, Sun-King of the Hauren, Divine Emperor of the Iddenese, the Freefolk, and the Cockaignians, Evenstar of Astaira, Conqueror of the Twelve Kingdoms, Defender of the Faith, and God’s Own Champion...was in his cups.

This was by no means a frequent occurance, but in this case it spoke of revelry. The Emperor was a man who liked to maintain stern control of all, himself included, but the truth was that he was little accustomed to Astairan drink and, in his celebrations, had evidently over-indulged. So it was that the God's Own Champion half-staggered into his brother's chambers, stumbled into the wall and, laughing, plopped down into a seat opposite him, uninvited. Misjudging its position, he nearly fell off and turned to cast an accusatory glare towards the seat before, grinning, he turned to Alaric with a bright grin. Then the Conqueror of Twelve Kingdoms giggled.

Roderick had brought with him a bottle of wine and, slamming it down on the table between them rather harder than he'd intended, claimed two glasses from Alaric's own collection and attempted to pour. Most of the wine ended up on the table, causing Roderick to laugh again, but some did make it into the glasses and, raising his glass, a touch sloppily, towards his brother, he cried, "To Eilionora!" and knocked back the remnants of his cup. "That is one stubborn woman, brother. It took near as long to conquer her as it took to conquer her entire country, but I've done it at last! And to think, all it took was a little idle flattery!"

It did not occur to him to question why, idle flattery not having worked during the first phase of their dubious courtship, it might finally have worked now. He simply wrote it off as feminine frailty.

Putting the glass down, Roderick pointed at his brother. "I wanted you to be the first to know, Alaric." He tried to look as serious as he could, but his lips wanted badly to smile. "I am to be a married man!" Evidently his other wives had slipped his mind. Yet even with them, Alaric had always been the first he'd come to, even with his first, secret, marriage, though Alaric had been but a little child at the time. He had been the other person Roderick loved the most, even then. This occasion was, however, perhaps Roderick's least efficient proclamation of the fact of his wedding, as Roderick had already told Alaric all about his latest marriage scheme the night before, but he was drunk enough to have forgotten the fact.

This was not, in fact, the cause of Roderick's celebration, however (though its fact may have tipped such celebrations towards excess). He had gotten another piece of news this very morning which had him overjoyed truly far more than Eilionora's acceptance. Amira was with child again. In truth, Roderick had despaired of either of his current wives ever giving him any further children, so this news -- which Alaric also already had -- had taken him entirely by surprise and, in his mind, took some pressure off the marriage to Eilionora immediately having to prove fecund: he'd already have a little one running around by the time he took her to wife. And just when he'd started to really feel his age, to suddenly have the hope of a young bride and new children...it made him feel young again, and that was a very welcome thing, indeed. Roderick Varmont did not rejoice in the thought of his own mortality.

"I'm not naming my son Athaulf." His tone was steel. This statment would surely come as no surprise to Alaric, yet what might have surprised him was the fact that Roderick always entertained the idea. Every time one of his wives was pregnant, Roderick assumed it was a son, and every time he considered naming his son for his hated father. He could not have said why. This time, he had already eschewed the idea, though doubtless it would reintroduce itself once or twice more before the birth at which time Roderick would vengefully name him something else entirely.

Reaching out, Roderick clapped his brother's knee. "It is well past time, brother, that you were wed. You ought to have children of your own. I want that joy for you. I--Who is she? Sonya Malconaire, isn't it, you fancy? She's of a royal House. Bring me the papers! I'll make her a princess at once! You'll be king of...where's she from, again? Alatyr? Alytar...? I..." he laughed. "I can't remember." He shrugged, clapped Alaric's shoulder. "You'll be a good king, brother. There's nothing to it, you just..." he gestured, hand running smoothly through the air. With even a shred of sobrierty, even Roderick Varmont would never have implied ruling anywhere was an easy thing, but now? He felt no pain.

Roderick lifted his glass to his lips and found it empty. For a moment this distracted him from his train of thought till, looking up at Alaric, an idea struck him.

"We could have a double wedding! You'll enjoy having a wife, brother," he resumed, at last. "And children. It's a fine thing. My wife is a fine woman, brother, but you'll never find anyone like my Elaine, I'm afraid," he sighed, the fact of her death having evidently slipped his mind. "But this Sonya, she's a fine woman, too, I'm sure."

He frowned, pausing. "Isn't she one of, isn't she one of--" he snapped. "Those Malconaires. Alaric, maybe you can explain what it is about them? Why do my sons fall like flies at their feet? Perhaps they taste like wine," he said, once again attempting to pour them each another cup with similar results to the last time. "I hear there is a last sister. What is her name? It's one of these strange Astairan names...Britta? Briga? Briggy? Briggy! Yes. That's it. Maybe I should try for Briggy," he laughed. "Just to find out. These girls plague me, Alaric. Why does my family so adore them, yet no one else will wed them? A pity their brother may be a traitor, isn't it? Maybe that's the trouble..."

[forgottenroderick]

Aix-la-Chapelle Cathedral, Aachen, Germany

This chapel located in Aachen, Germany is the first cathedral our group of students visited to begin study abroad. I remember being struck by the vast expanse of the cathedral paired with the incredibly detailed artistry lining every inch of the interior.

I selected this cathedral because of the impact it left on me. I still vividly remember walking in for the first time. The sense of awe that I felt then, returns in memory.

The cathedral was commissioned by Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor himself. There was no staple architecture style at this time so Charlemagne hired architects from Italy and other areas in Europe to collaborate on the Cathedrals design. The result became the origin of many European style churches to follow.

Because so many architects were called to work on this cathedral aspects of the architecture can be sorted into categories based on region. The Greek and Italian style marble collumns. The large mosaic dome and bronze doors bear the imprint of Byzantine tradition.

The stained glass was originally designed to portray Bible stories to the illiterate.

Aachen was Charlemagne’s favorite city. So much so that he was buried in this cathedral and his remains can still be found there today.

I was surprised by the magnitude of mosaics found in this cathedral. Every wall is covered upon entry and completely envelops the circumference of the chapel. I personally love mosaics and similar ceramic art. Knowing the time and planning that goes into completing a small mosaic, I was astounded by the time, effort, and attention to detail which was evident in the masterful artwork I saw on the walls.

[forgottenroderick]

NOTE: found this in my drafts and apparently never finished or published it. i haven't re-read this yet so it might just be...all nothing now but yeah!! thought id toss this out notwithstanding!

---

oooh also incoming thought (based on some of our other ooc talks!) but like -- another option for the boys?

the forthcoming lorcan girls!

edmund and arthur will have to bicker over the eldest ;D but sebastian may help himself to any of them ;DDDDD but anyway, since, by the sounds of things, we now know that a lorcan ruled within roderick's lifetime, he probs views them as ~another viable candidate and pseudo-princesses and this is probs why he placed rian as lord over lorcan, specifically, rather than some other place that had lost its lord...that, and its a fortress etc aka all the other reasons already present but yeah!!! they're not ~as legit as the staffords, in roderick's eyes, and he probs views them as effiectvely rebel upstarts against the og rulers (the staffords) or smth alkdsjflkjdsfsdf but still! they have in fact ruled astaira and he remembers it, and believes the rest of the world will too!

anyway!!!

forgottenmarian @giadesstrin … Marian may be about to suggest they throw some sort of ‘eligible suitors and prospective wives invited!”!Style tourney or ball for their children 🤦🏻‍♀️ (… but mostly for Arthur so he can be kingly and have heirs! And maybe guin… so she can get her out of there and out of the running for Roderick’s heir!) giadesstrin @forgottenmarian Omg I frankly love the idea of a ball for [marrying off] the boys and a tourney for [marrying off] the girls!!!! Even if he doesn’t ultimately go for marrying off his kids I feel this would be enough of a fun event for us all that mayhaps he’ll at least agree to the event to give it a go/humor her so [we] can all benefit heehee @thelongforgottenrealm

this is from a diff post but i still wanted to pop this into the discussion here for all of us to see bc i feel like, even if the marriages/betrothals don't go through, this def could and it just sounds like fun! itd probs be down the line bc itd involve inviting foreign/unconquered royals to court etc, so even in-world it would take lotsa planning etc (irl these sorts of events, involving multiple royal houses and the like used to take literally yearssss to plan! dont even get me started on the field of the cloth of gold! lakdjsfklsdjf but anyway i think it taking us months to get to or whatever is reasonable, but everyone would know its coming and being planned etc bc gossip like that spreads pr quick hahahaa) but yeah!! it just seems like a fun thing to write heehee

marian: 'edmund isn't as strong as arthur. he could never protect his wife and children!' my inner rosie: 'hey!' alksdjflksjdf no but honestly i love her maternal bias <333333 and so does arthur!!! my inner arthur: 'thanks mom ily too <33333' A MOTHER WHO HAS NEVER BEEN ACCUSED OF BEING A WITCH LAKJDSFLKJSDFKJ amira: 'yeah! so is that really the bitch you want backing ~you up??? she's not even a witch!' godfrey: *world's longest sigh* tristan, being forgotten: 'no worries, that's totally fair. i don't always want these two for family, myself. i would also strongly advise against it, in general, but edmund's honestly just such a cool guy! its a tough call.'

GUIN'S MARRIAGE

no but honestly i think she's lowkey right abt guin? like, obv idk what'll happen there, but in a reality where guin ~did marry whoever roderick picks out, etc, i think roderick would at first be v proud during the betrothal stage yknow like 'this is all so great!' etc buT then the marriage comes and he sees her in full bridal regalia bc ofc she'd need every last trace of imperial glamor etc!!!!!!! but then like...obv bridal regalia is suchhhhhh a traditional symbol of feminity and he's like *seizes chest* my god she's a girl!! a;ksjdfkjsdf but he does slowly kinda recover yknow but then she's pregnant!!!!!!! and obv you don't get more ~traditionally feminine~ for a dude like him, like!!!!! roderick, the dude he is: 'A PREGNANT WOMAN COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE FIT TO RULE AN EMPIRE!!!!' and presumbaly she'll be pregnant again asp, and yeah that'd be suchhhh a huge cognitive check to him!!!!

this is def another thing in which marian could potentially look forward to seeing help from team calainon (godfrey, anyway! amira might honestly be like 'what! we can't install her w a powerful ally!' bc that def could come back to bite them later no question if her hubs wants to be emperor! and he'd ~have to be powerful for roderick to perceive him as worthy of his daughter/bloodline, etc! not to mention she'd get her own household and that would presumably put her out of amira's power to poison care for her if she ever fell into some weird distress which ig must be genetic given it happened to her mom, too! ;D but godfrey's got plans for the world that might prove a stumbling block even for a stupid powerful husband and an un-poisoned guin! ;D plus, a guy w the right bg and personality mix could be absolutely ideal!! -- and maybe even make guin pr happy tbh! but ngl godfrey aint too concerned abt ~that akjsfklsjdfkljsdf)

ALTERNATELY THO!! lets say she runs off and marries someone he does not approve!!!! or that cass does the same, for that matter!! that results in roderick's absolute FURY!!!!!!! in guin's case, she's is no longer considered fit to rule ANYTHING!!!! that marriage is getting quickie annulled and covered up!!! it NEVER happened!!!! but just in case she's pregnant, she's getting married to the first roderick!approved man in sight, be is alistair, aleksander, cassimir, rian, or whomever!!!!!! he's getting a BOATLOAD of cash!!!! enough to gild away any uncomfy questions (while also keeping them in supreme style bc itd look bad on roderick if they weren't since she's still his daughter!)!!!!!! annnnnd she's getting immediately banished from court (supposedly off to start her own household bc NOTHING IS WRONG BC NOTHING HAPPENED!!!!!!!) we will never speak of this again!!!!! and itd be a looooong time before he'd forgive her enough to so much as see her again honestly, if ever!!!!!! (ngl i feel like ~this is the situation that amira most wants for guin, if not straight up killing her which is the ideal [SCREAM]! who cares if she's ever happy again!!!! she should just be happy to not be -- allegedly -- poisoned, right?! laksjdfkljsdf smdh)

MARRIED SONS

ok so there're a lottttt of ways this can gooo!!! most of them directly relate to roderick's mental health (ALWAYS a loaded subject!) and the boys' own actions

but yeah! his boys marrying and having kids wouldn't have any of ~those drawbacks! but it would have the v decided drawback of 1) making roderick feel old and therefore kinda desperate to prove his immortality!!!! which would make him even more competitive w his sons, but weirdly might make him bond more w his grandchildren???? but it ~would make him respect his sons more, all the same????

ALT 1

just having a wife makes him respect them more, they're more adult persons if they have a wife/home/potential family! but the moment she's pregnant/there's a kid he's like whoa whoa whoa!!!! ~im the one whose a young dad here hahaha not you!!! *panics and marries the first ~young woman who smiles at him and possibly even makes her empress even if she's the silliest most vapid little thing in the empire as a full-fledged midlife crisis sets in*

but i do feel like it would also weirdly make him feel more like...either of them could rule bc now they're not his sons!!!! they're just him but smaller (not younger!!!!!!!! ~he's young!!!!! alkjdsfkljsdjf)

but that's on good days!!! on bad days they're coming for him and his crown and he might have to kill them to survive if it comes to that!!!!

w this mindset, there ~is the chance for a reality where #varmontcivilwar unexpectedly comes years early w roderick still alive, just making war on his own sons yayyy SCREAM cue arthur, raising an army to protect himself and his fam from the dude who raised him: 'sooo glad that's not my dad after all damn' jk jk obv he doesn't know but yknow!!

so yeahhh ideal dad always lkdjafldksjfsdf SCREAM

ALT 2

but let's talk an alternate scenario, the one where arthur runs off and marries, oh idk let's say ~aria w/o permission ;DDD you guessed it! that there is TREASON!!!! he's clearly just tryna use her claim to overthrow roderick and now roderick is legit tryna murder arthur!!!!! edmund is getting a wife and he's getting declared a king and, if sebastian doesn't help hunt down his own brother, amira's becoming empress to basically exclude any of marian's kids from the throne, even once arthur is dead lakjsdfkljsdf

HOWEVER, if its known that aria's a witch, then she BEWTICHED HIS SON!!!! this isn't arthur's fault bc he's BEWITCHED!!!! and roderick must go rescue his boy by burning that witch!!!!!!!! (who, in ~this scenario, is now using ~his son~ to make ~herself powerful rather than the reverse!)

the latter part of this also applies to edmund and rosie, if they were ever to be in a similar position (at least after malconaire witch-gate situation), since she's a believed witch asp but doesn't (as far as roderick is concerned) have a claim to the throne/royal blood (even tho she actually does bc #astaira but anyway! al;kjsdfkljsdf) so its not full ~treason its just wild disobedience and ~arthur is getting his own kingdom, and possibly even guin, etc. the whole thing in opposite applies, tho, if godfrey's plan works out and edmund married eilia, but even ~more bc she's the eldest/former queen and ~roderick's own intentded bride!!!!!!!, etc, so!! but hey! marian gets to be empress, and at this rate ~both her sons might get kingdoms out of this one (guin too ngl -- sorry, cass, none for you tho, but ur probs getting married to a king)! so, really just fun-for-the-whole-fam scenarios out here!

note: if smth like this played out ~before rosie's considered a witch, so she's just this dowerless but still noble girl, roderick is FURIOUS at edmund, but he's finding them and seizing them and getting them annulled and hushing this whole thing up, which probs ~does result in him effectively bribing malconaire to keep them quiet bc THIS NEVER HAPPENED!!!!!!!!! if a pregnancy resulted, that is a bastard!!!! but he ~will make sure his grandkid is cared for!!!! but edmund will never get to see his kid or his so-called ex-wife ever again!!!! tbh unless he already knew, he would probs never even be informed there ~was a child, and also team calainon is in the DOG HOUSE and must scramble and scrape their way up to win back his approval!!! but after awhile, if edmund lets it go and is sufficiently contrite, they can all move on and forget this unpleasantness ever happened!!!!!

this same scenario is true of ~any of roderick's sons marrying a girl who roderick perceives as beneath their station etc, but itd be worse on the two male heirs bc he frankly holds them to higher standards/perceives it as more grasping in the would-be bride and a worse endorsement of the kind of emperor they could someday be! even tho lbr in roderick's worldview this is ~still more the woman's fault for ~beguiling his son, but its more his son's ~defiance of roderick that roderick is having trouble w here ngl!

ok so, let's stick w just the aria/rosie witch!wife scenario for a moment, tho, and lets say that the lovers are caught and the witch is burned and roderick now expects everything to go back to how it was!!! after a small adjustament, ofc, while the magic wears off etc! weirdly????? he's initially gonna have more respect and dote a lil more on his kid????? that is until grief/anger doesn't just...subside and get replaced w gratitude for burning that wicked witch aldksfjlskdjfd obv idk what edmund would do, but arthur, i can say for sure, would NEVER forgive roderick for that and would def be actively like IMMA HAVE MY VENGEANCE/FREE ASTAIRA LIKE SHE WANTED and yeahhhh!!!! another #varmontcivilwar come early scenario could def come out of this ngl!!!!

let's talk our boy sebastian tho!!! we already discussed roderick re: him taking someone beneath him to wife! other scenarios tho? most of the above more or less applies, but if he marries a witch or a princess w/o permission, he's getting a lot of this same stuff leveled at him, but w less...far-reaching consequences? like, it doesn't reflect as much on his faction, there's no one getting raised to empress or king as a direct result/reaction, etc, and roderick doesn't really view this as reflecting on anyone's chances at being his heir, so yeah!

BUT!! it does, at least intitially, in specifically the princess scenario, feel like him overreaching himself/tryna be heir when he was never a contendor! get back in ur box, sebastian!!!!!! weirdly, tho, for sebastian, him taking a princess to wife might, like???? idk i feel like weirdly roderick would kinda respect ~him striving (or that's how roderick would perceive it!) bc its not a challenge to ~roderick, its a challenge to his own siblings, as roderick sees it, bc he's beneath them and tryna get on their lvel, and he'd probs -- after sebastian wins his forgiveness, consider giving him more responsiblity/power etc bc he's proven himself to be in roderick's own mold, a younger son reaching up, and roderick would feel kinda proud of that i feel like? alkjfklsdf the witch thing tho just goes the burn the witch route tho pr much just like his brothers! tho it ~is less of an ~international concern~ as far as roderick is concerned, in his case than w the heirs aldskjflksjdfdsf

ALT 3

roderick decides he ~is cool w his sons taking multiple wives???? to be clear, this is a strictly varmont-privilege, and one

OOC | Varmont Marriages

in light of @forgottenmarian tryna convince roderick to consider marriages for arthur, he may end up reconsidering, in which case he'd do the same for ~all his boys, as he does try to keep things pr even between his wives and heirs etc unless he's specifically punishing someone smdh (guin we're still a ~maybe tho bc this is one of the places he ~will remember she's a girl!)! and i just thought id make a post on what ~roderick thinks his sons should look for in brides!!

BRIDES

she must be of the blood royal! of pristine pedigree and character! suitably beautiful to compliment his ~own beauty he's given his boys (yes rodierck ~is vain!) and, hopefully, from a numerous family as it may suggest a fertile wife! she must be pure in every way! she MUST be (whether by birth or conversion) of the true faith!!!!!!

so!! some ladies he might consider?

frankly, i defffff see him lamenting that ciara would've been the perfect bride for one of his sons had she not been also their own cousin SCREAM but those varmont genes are perfect!!!! smdh anyway!

aria

siobhan

this one's only possible if their bastardy is ever overturned! eilia isnt on this list, being his ~own wife and thus off the table for anyone else! laskdjflkjsdf however it is VERY possible, he would then be like 'wait no those're your aunts nm on this one!' also, being but younger sisters, they are only suitable for sebastian and not for either of his potential heirs #facepalm

sonya vasilieva

she's sooooo distant from that throne that this is more likely to be a sebastian bride too, if alaric loses interest! he's not looking to push his brother out of smth either! anyway, she'd have to take her mama's birth house as her own tho, esp given the malconaire taint once they're declared witches etc!

and here's the most likely for both arthur and edmund!

a princess from a nation as yet unconquered

in this case, he may even declare (w ~himself emperor ofc of each land, but) his son ~king of his respective bride's country kdljfalksdjfsd so...there's that (imagine having a hubby forced on you and then he's suddenly ruling your whole country after all ur male relativews have suddenly and suspiciously disappeared overnight and ur younger sisters and cousins are all being held as hostages and married off to ppl from far away -- this is the kind of father-in-law roderick would be SCREAM lakjsfkjlsdf)

so, all the ladies on this list can ultimately be possibilities for any of his sons, depending how things go, even eilia potentially, but yeah!! in terms of preferences, sebastian has a lil more wiggle room! lakjdsflkjsdf

HUSBANDS

however, depending how things go, he may think of guin marrying too!

the same credentials will apply for husbands, save he need not be pure (tho he must be discreet in any...indiscretions)! but he must be wealthy and powerful and a credit to roderick as a potential son, but also must NOT be a potential rival/threat to him! he must be himself either heir or ~ruling over whatever~ himself, no younger sons here!

(another situation where he'd be all 'alas eoin would be perfect were he not her cousin' *facepalm*)

rian

ive already discussed tho the issues w him re: cassandra and they apply ~even more so~ w guin! and note, for later, that cassimir would face these same challenges re: both daughters

marian's eldest brother!

so this one's a lil nuts and v dicey bc #varmontcivilwar so like??? will guin be able to count on him?? will arthur??? can ~he trust his own ~wife? tis a meSS! but he's a v prominent lord etc and ive already disccused that all roderick's bros in law are given quite a lot but also he's not a threat to roderick also idk if there's any royal blood, but obv he's connected to the ~imperial family and that trumps things! plus he's ovn-ian!!!! which is also a big deal to roderick so he ~could be a contender! this one's unlikely tho bc roderick does like to play his court off against itself so he does like to keep the factions ~fairly clean and obv this would uhhh not do that!!!!

godfrey calainon

soooo you might be saying to yourself -- but what about ciara??? and trust me so is roderick!! if they're married by the time this comes up, godfrey's off the table! if, however, they're still just betrothed, well, the needs of his daughter trump those of his neice, so if guin needs godfrey, ciara is getting bumped! but don't worry, ciara! if this ever transpires, ciara's getting betrothed to marian's eldest bro! (this one's unlikely tho bc itd require some wild mechanics, given all this, and would probs have smth to do w geopolitics esp re: kolchis and its neighbors, so we probs won't even get into all that ++ godfrey would be fighting it for obv reasons and we all know him to be a crafty bastard lkajsdfjkldf but anyway! i did think i should mention it bc it would be ~possible) plus this one presents all the same problems (but also the same advantages) as the above (except godfrey ~does have royal blood...potentially if the legends be true akdsljfklsdjf) and that'd probs be the major factor here -- godfrey is, in some sense, a king, and a god-king, no less, but one who is supremely loyal to roderick and his son and his queen, w a lineage that is said shall last unto the ending of the world, and even supposedly descended from a (false!) god! so some exciting stuff here for roderick to chew on but yeah! -- like all the stuff that was alluring abt amira as a wife for roderick is also tantalizing w godfrey as a husband for roderick's daughter but yeah obv supremely messy too alksdjflkdsjfjsdf this one is, however, potentially the least likely on this list, all things considered, but would potentially be brought up in a list of names for contender (tho it probs wouldn't get much past that stage)

cassimir vasiliev(a?)

same things as w sonya but yeah!! a possibility!! he'd face the same challenges as rian tho but is less enticing as he's even ~less royal~ in roderick's eyes since they were so far down the totem pole that roderick just...literally forgot to execute them alkdsjfkljsdf whereas rian's grandfather was king and rian was, in roderick's opinion, rightful king right up till the moment roderick invaded, so yeah!

(also, total side note, but im realizing that @forgottenvalentina will probs try to get @forgottenrian and sonya hitched, if the other potentials don't work out! l;kajdsfkjd he's ~also of the blood royal, and he's got lorcan if nothing else so they can hide out there while the ppl of malconaire are being mad at them alksdjfkjsdf but that's only if none of the varmonts bite after all!)

a foregin prince/king

in this case...actually not ~the most likely option, as it is w his sons?? bc he wouldn't wanna make her hubby a king!!! but he would feel guin's due being a queen in this instance but obv this is roderick so he'd struggle emotionally w naming her queen in her own right and yeah!! its a whole thing!!! but also he feels she's due this so yeah...she's least likely for anything to actually come of any of this for lotsa reasons and this is one of them!

------

to pull smth i wrote before re: cassandra marrying (but also all the more true of the heirs!):

"honestly roderick is probs starting to feel like its getting past time both his girls were married!!! fortunately for both them and for marian, all his kids need partners who’re 'worthy’ of roderick’s own legacy and, so far, that’s no one!!!!!! like, if there’s a dude that reaches those heights, roderick DESTROYS him, and if there’s a woman, roderick marries her, himself laksjfsdaf so frankly – antsy as he might feel abt it – they probs aren’t getting married (by ~his leave, anyway!) any time soon laksdjfkjdsf like it’d literally have to be like a king or smth and roderick has a habit of executing those alksjdfkljds his bio states that eilia is the only exception bc he thinks he can marry her and thus prevent astaira from revolting laksdjfkjsdf but in another world she would’ve been the ideal wife for either arthur or edmund in roderick’s own book except he doesn’t wanna give either of his boys that powerbase when he could seize it for himself smdh 

"but yeah who knows the king of orinthia might be a good match for cassandra lajsdkfasdf and i ~do think he keeps talking that way, but he does at least run it by [marian] for her thoughts bc women and marriage are a natural fit, so she gets to have an opinion there – doesn’t mean he’ll abide by it, but he ~will actually consider it alksdjfkjdsf honestly the sad thing for marian is that roderick does believe women need husbands so the girls are more likely to get married off first etc, and since guin is a potential heiress, she has to marry THE perfect speciment to carry on roderick’s legacy, basically (same w all three potential heirs), so cassandra is the one roderick’s most likely to ~actually marry off etc, w sebastian or guin just behind her (would depend on circumstances)"

and this bit too:

"so!! honestly i think rian’s idea of marrying guin is a pipedream if he wants daddy’s support in that (tho ngl running off w her or marrying her two seconds [after] roderick dies or smth are ~not off the table as far as he’s concerned, thanks to her claim!) BUT there is a varmont princess roderick ~might consider wedding to him (tho idk if he’d actually go through w it or not tbqh!) and that’s our cassandra! lbr itd be a TOTAL disaster and im guessing [marian] would v much have other ideas on that one hahahaha but anyway!!! he ticks boxes for ~roderick’s requirements:

"royal/king (since he was the firstborn male as far as roderick’s concerned pre!roderick, he should’ve been monarch, not eilia) and thus roderick assumes he’d come w the support of the most powerful single country roderick’s got/that it might help [mend] fences w the angry astairans (he is ofc quite wrong im sure, but!)

"he’s bent the knee (this does come w the backhand that roderick will never respect him but w the positive that he’s a male of royal blood whose still alive and not a direct relative lakjsdfkjsdf)

"he’s clever, capabale, and obdenient to roderick

"so yeah!! that’s all pr good as far as roderick’s concerned!! if he were to do this, he’d wanna give him smth much bigger than one single lordship, since roderick’s own grandson would stand to inherit whatever rian has etc etc etc and that has to be sufficiently grand if roderick’s bloodline will be there etc etc etc but yeah!! being real, i def think marian could easily dissuade roderick from this notion, so idk that this would ever transpire, but ~he would be all for it, even when their personalities inevitably clash lakjsfjkdsf bc lbr itd def tip roderick’s bid towards rian being named roderick’s stewart of all astaira when he inevitably moves on to conquer the next thing lkajsdklfjdsf but anyway!!! laksdjfkljdsf"

there's def more to be said here but anyway i thought id just toss this out for plotting purposes, should marian prove successful in her bid! but yeah idk that any of the current characters would ultimately hit roderick's standard, as it currently stands, largely bc...in the long run, ~no one~ will ever be good enough for any of them but for guin in particular!! but yeah stuff might get thrown around anyway if he thinks he's being open to this now!

[forgottenroderick]

Faux Flattery | Roderick + Aria

"Your Imperial Highness."

Aria sank into a low curtsey, holding the was no hint of sarcasm in her voice. Aria had spent the morning practicing, trying to keep her voice even and low and remove all sarcasm as the phrase was so often laced with when she spoke with a certain Varmont prince.

Weeks she had been preparing for this event. Every calculated comment, every precisely planned move, all leading to the first grand celebration held by the Varmonts in Asteria.

In truth, Aria had doubts that the conquering emperor had even noticed the subtle changes in her attitude. He seemed too concern with convincing Eilia to be his bride while using his free moments to inch his family closer and closer to a civil war between all his potential heirs.

Daring to glance up from her lowly position, she noticed the Emperor had paused before her, she rose slowly.

"My sister and I are honored that you would extend the invitation to us for this celebration. Your daughter is radiant this evening," she paused momentarily.

Its now or never.

"I will confess I am not blind the the fact that the... the... transfer of power has not gone exactly as you had hoped," she continued, her voice dropping slightly. "But for the good of Astaria, I do hope our families may remain on good terms."

[forgottenroderick]

A Devoted Wife || Roderick + Marian

Marian had instructed the servants to alert her of her husband's return immediately upon his arrival. A messanger had come from Malconaire that afternoon alerting the imperial household that there had been a mishap along the road causing damage to the emperor's carriage and, until another could be dispatched, he was remaining in the hospitality of the lord's family.

What had caused such a delay in returning her husband to the castle, Marian could not say, but the afternoon had come and gone, dinner had come and gone, and he had still not returned. Marian was contemplating preparing for bed when a servant arrived to tell her Roderick had returned.

After giving hum sufficient time to return to his quarters and settle, Marian arrived at the door of his chambers, immediately being admitted by his manservant.

"My love," she greeted him with a warm smile and a deep curtsey before rising and approaching him.

"I have heard there was trouble on the road and your carriage was damaged? I am so happy to see you are unharmed. It seems as if the one true god has smiled upon you once again," she reached out her hand towards her husband, quite happy to have him safe within the castle once again. Marian knew it would anger him to know she thought such things but, with all the unrest in the past weeks, she worried when he was out and vulnerable in his travels.

She observed the man in front of her, so much changed from the young man who had courted her all those years ago. He looked like a man who had spent his entire life fighting. Marian wondered if she, herself, looked that much aged in his eyes. Perhaps that was why he sought a younger bride now...

Pushing the thought away, Marian retained the adoring smile on her face she always wore with Roderick. It was habit, at times, in these past few years but a part of her still cherished him dearly. She did hate to think of his traipsing about the mud and dirt in the Astairan countryside-- hardly something an Emperor should be forced to endure.

"You were missed at dinner this evening," Marian informed him. "Conversation was quite lacking. Our sons both seem distracted, however. I cannot begin to imagine what should be bothering either of them so..."

"Speaking of dinner, I did not even think-- should I have the servants bring up something for you for supper? That lady of Malconaire is..." Marian paused, unsure of exactly what word she wished to use to describe Valentina Malconaire in that moment.

"Are you hungry, my love?" she concluded, deciding instead to forgo trying to describe Lady Malconaire. She was quite sure her husband had had quite enough of her being stranded at the house as he had been.

"Tell me... is the house as... interesting as it is described? Cassandra tells me it is full of living trees and I confess I imagine a treehouse more than a home befitting a lord..."

[forgottenroderick]

Blood in the Water | Roderick & Aria

"I had the good fortune, today," Roderick was saying as he approached. The feasting was in high gear -- minstrels playing their hearts out in the gallery, volleys of servants carrying course after course of sumptious vittals from the kitchens, and the whole place in the uproarious hubbub of animated talk. "Of entertaining your...fascinating sister."

It perhaps was not the most...choice word to describe the often stony-faced former queen, in truth. But Roderick meant to be chivalrous towards the lady. These games of courtly love were easier to play, besides, in the flushes of triumph. Generosity came easy today.

The day's sport had drawn to a close, with more to resume the following day. Roderick had much love for such efforts -- the excitement, the glamor, and the stunning show of force all more than enough to get the blood flowing...and doubtless subdue the flagging hopes of any malcontents.

Oh, yes, there was other game afoot, too, and Roderick reveled in that knowledge. It would not be long, he meditated, before the last remnants of Astairan rebellion had been stamped out for good.

"I fear, however, that caught up as I was in her pleasing attentions, I have managed to neglect your noble self, my lady. But I mean that to last no longer. I would hear your opinions of these games. Have they managed to entertain?"

[forgottenroderick]

Victorious | Roderick & Marian

Roderick reined his warhorse around, laughing as the stallion tossed his head. The black steed was decked out all in purple and gold finery, displaying the glorious charge of his imperial master, and Roderick, himself, was no less well adorned. His high helm and burnished armor gleamed fiercely in the sunshine and, beneath his helmet, the emperor was grinning as his adoring public cheered their revelry.

Holding his lance aloft, he rode the circuit once, twice, the fallen Sir Tristan saluting as he passed on his way out of the lists. It was a wonderful feeling, this, and Roderick roared with them before, finally, riding towards the stands where Guinevere crowned him victor of the day, later to receive his trophy from other hands.

Soon, he rode away to strip of his armor and bathe and return to the purpure robes of an emperor rather than the steel ones of a warrior. With the feast commenced, Amira was seated to his right as his senior wife, and Marian to his left. Pointedly leaning away from Amira as she began to address him, he turned to his other wife with a vibrant smile. He felt alive, tonight. The roar of the crowd thrummed beneath his skin and his blue eyes danced, bright, as he seized a glass of wine and sucked down its contents.

"I hope you enjoyed today's festivities, wife," he began. "I thought them thrilling enough from my vantage. I hope the spectacle diverted you, hm? Our son showed himself well today, did you not think? Though I knocked him down, myself, I was not disappointed. After all, the boy cannot yet hope to smite his father. I am not so very old yet."

[forgottenroderick]

Sweet Sister | Roderick & Aria

"Greetings, dear sister," said Roderick, starting forward to take both her hands in his own. His voice was warm, and his smile bright, as he led the lady out into the sunlight. "I know that it was my son you had planned to escort you on your walk, today, but I was obliged to send him elsewhere on an errand of mine, and decided to take his place, myself."

In fact, he had sent Arthur away particularly for this very purpose...Roderick had grown remiss, indeed. He had become so focused upon Arthur's previous dalliance that he'd failed to notice the boy's eye had perhaps begun to wander elsewhere until Marian had mentioned how much time they'd spent together during the tournament. Oh, she did not seem to have drawn any particular conclusion about it, it was true, so there was certainly room for mistake -- for all Roderick knew it had been Arthur's gentle encouragement, directed towards Aria, which had resulted in Eilionora's reconsideration of his addresses! But he meant to find out.

In truth, Roderick was confident that it was his own impressive stunt at the tournament paired with his recent kindness which had worked the change in her -- women were, after all, simple creatures. And he further suspected, knowing his son's roving eye as he unfortunately did, that Arthur had had entirely other motives in any attentions he may have paid towards the once and future Queen of Astaira's dark eyed sister.

"It occurs to me, sister, that you have never seen my home, which strikes me as deeply sad, as Eilionora is to become my queen. Might it please you, someday, to see it?" He paused as they strolled, and added, almost off-handedly: "I trust His Imperial Highness the Prince Arthur has told you of home?" he inquired, gesturing towards the temple where he led her.

This was one of Roderick's building projects: a spectacular addition appended to the otherwise dull and unremarkable Astairan facade. His temple was a glorious thing, sporting a roof of gold, and littered everywhere inside with jewels and silver and gold on every surface in the hush of the one god's presence.

"Pray with me, sister, will you not? And give thanks. It will go well for us all, should my forthcoming marriage prove both happy and fruitful." His voice was more warning and than adulation.

He paused, then, taking a step back to admire her amongst this scenery. Women were so susceptible to flattery, after all. "You look well here, sister, rather as if this were your home."

The irony of this palace being just that was entirely lost upon the emperor, who had turned her mother's private garden into a gaudy bauble to ornament his false god.

[forgottenroderick]

Daughter Mine | Roderick & Cassandra

Since the discovery of her brother's...indiscretions, Roderick was determined to keep a sharper eye on his children, particularly his girls, when it came to the locals. For some time, Roderick had tolerated Cassandra's wild fancies about this Ormond but further inquiries into him had turned up confusion at best, which was an irregular thing, in truth. Roderick's intelligence was the best in the world -- he had the resources of half the world behind him, after all. How not?

Still, he'd not thought it a pressing issue until the rumors of Sebastian had found him. If his own, and most private, son was publically cavorting in an open tent, matters had progressed far further than he had realized. And Roderick did not much care for surprises. His sons might get any number of rustics with child they chose, but the same could not be true of his daughters. They were women, after all.

As the company returned from the Malconaire gala, where this lurid tale had first come to light, Roderick pulled his youngest aside. Guinevere was duly protected with a husband already lined up, but Cassandra? He could take no risks there. Her care was most urgent.

"Tarry a moment," he said, as the rest of their kin glanced and walked away. It was obvious this interview was to be conducted alone.

"Cassandra," he said, tone not that of the indulgent father, but that of the emperor. "You are not to see this Lord Ormond ever again. Do you understand me? He is not a suitable companion for you, little less anything more. I wish you to look to Rían Stafford, or a man of our own nation, unless I give you another name, for such...distractions from now forward. Lord Ormond, I fear, is not a respectable man. I will not hear his name again. Repeat it, daughter. You will not see the Astairan, again."

[forgottenroderick]

Congratulations | Roderick & Guinevere

"Come here, my girl," commanded the emperor. "Thank your father for your good fortune."

A kiss on the cheek he expected and a demure, blushing thanksgiving. This is how a dutiful daughter ought to react to such as Roderick had this day given to Guinevere. A husband! A House! Another title to add to her coils of rippling golden tiaras. Such had been the glories he had bestowed upon her. But so far all that had loomed between them had been silence.

He did not entirely blame her yet for any particularly egregious ingratitude. He knew he had -- by design, no less! -- taken her quite by surprise. Should would see none of this coming. Girls, after all, loved surprises. How often had he heard Cassandra squealing her delight over a fine gown she had not expected to receive? Guinevere had always been more dignified than her little sister, as she ought to be, and more reserved. She did not leap ahead to give herself airs, either. And there had been much to happen thereafter, returning to the palace only to change before embarking for the Malconaire event.

Now that they were at last ensconced afterwards in the castle, though, the time was right. But perhaps her natural feminine quietude prevented her from approaching his august presence uninvited. So, now, he invited. He expected all due gratitude.

"Your cousin will be a fine husband, my dear. You need have no fears of the married state, either. It is for your mothers to prepare you for what is to come, of course," he added, quickly. Though her only living parent, he was no woman to give her such advice, but he had no doubt his wives would be more than eager to impart knowledge...or Marian would be, at any rate. Amira's character was perhaps not so...generous. But he need not warn Guinevere of such. She knew it well enough, already.

"But know I wish you very happy, indeed, daughter. Your future husband will be kind and, I suspect, biddable. See you remember that you are no ordinary woman, born to be meek and obedient: you, my Guinevere, are of a different kind." Elaine lived in her, still, he saw, that same fire burning in the grey of her eyes, in the set of her soft pink lips, in the shape of her brows as fathomless eyes lifted to his. Yes, Elaine lived still and slowly, slowly, he raised his hand to her cheek, felt the living heat of her skin beneath his palm.

"You are mine."

He paused. Stiffened. His hand fell away. Elaine was not there: she was not Elaine. No one would ever be again. Not in this lifetime. Not, perhaps, for many more lifetimes to come.

His shoulders felt tense. The room, in the summer heat, felt too close. A low, scratching voice in the fireplace was laughing at him. His head ached.

Roderick paced to the long, low table, so often featuring maps of war, but now instead scattered with paintings of wide swaths of picturesque land and strange Astairan castles. He sometimes felt that, in conquering the largest country in the world, he'd somehow captured, instead, a pastoralist's dream: oblitering an army of farmers to seize the world's largest grange.

"There is the matter of a betrothal gift, my dear. The final decision, of course, shall be mine," he added, airily. "But, as it shall form a future seat of your own here in Astaira, what say you that I give to Eoin: mountain, fens, or heathland?"

[forgottenroderick]

The Great Oak | Roderick & Marian

"You see, wife, I have taken your advice."

Behind him, Guinevere and her new betrothed, her cousin Eoin, was being announced at the Malconaire gala, and Roderick beamed in paternal pride, watching how she conducted herself, and wrapping one arm around Marian's waist as, for once, the emperor stood aside for someone else to take the spotlight.

"What think you of this scheme?"

Roderick's announcement earlier that day had proven both sudden and shocking to everyone, just as he had hoped. There was something fine and pleasing in hearing a whole crowd of people suddenly indraw their breath, eyes wide and shining. Many, Roderick knew, had held pretentions to his Guinevere's hand; many had been foiled. But Marian, he was sure, would be delighted.

Oh, it was true that she had pressed for Guinevere's marriage to one of her own brothers, but surely she could see that none of them was worthy of any child of his! No, even to suggest it had been absurdity, and he was sure she must see that now. The pretentions of the House of the Sun, he hoped, had today been diminished. They required rather more reminding of their place than he should have wished. He would never forget how they had tried to maneuver him. He would never allow them to forget, either: Roderick would move. Roderick would not be moved.

Still, whatever the case of that, Marian had wanted Guinevere married. And now she was so to be. Women did so like to be considered in such matters. He was sure she would -- must! -- be pleased. He was the emperor. He need not have thought of her at all.

"And," he added, gesturing about them. "Did I not promise to bring you to Malconaire? What think you, wife, of this so-called Great Oak?" He did not care how close the Malconaires stood. He did not care if they overheard, or if what they overheard insulted them. An emperor might say whatever he liked, wherever he may be. "Do you still think it a tree house? I daresay you must be right about the local pests, hm? The staff here must be forever plagued with them.

"But still...a lovely place to bring up a child, do you not think?" He arched his brows, thinking of Arthur's babe growing within Eithne Malconaire's womb: the child who, one day, would rule over all of this.

He knew that this aspect of things would likely not best please his queen: she would have wanted her grandchild brought up where he need not fear squirrel bites, no doubt, to be raised by a mother who did not lift her skirts for the first wealthy man to look her way, and to grow to rule over something far grander than a house interrupted by the out-of-doors from within, but...most bastards did not rule over anything. And it was that consideration which he hped would bring her some comfort. He sought to remind her of that. "No doubt the future Lord Malconaire will enjoy an idyllic childhood from this seat."

He took her hand in his. "Come, let us take some refreshment. It was a dusty ride, and no doubt you are parched."

Spotting Arthur and Sebastian laughing with one of the Malconaire girls, Roderick's eyes narrowed, but he passed over the consideration. The girl was with child, already. What more harm could be done there? Let them have their fun tonight, he supposed. Still, it reminded him of another matter.

"Do not imagine," he said, as he passed to Marian a goblet of wine. "I have forgotten our sons in all of this. I have considered what your said the first night of the tournament, my love, and certainly, a spouse shall liven up our listless boy, do you not think? Yes, they shall each be wed soon enough: daughters from the greatest Houses the world around. It is sad that there are no legitimate daughters of House Stafford, but there are such from the royal House of Lorcan. What make you of Astairan brides for our boys, wife?"

[forgottenroderick]

OOC | Update

so i just wanted to do a lil catch up w how our boy is reacting to all these changes, and i what they are, and i think its all putting him in a good mood! which might just be worse for everyone else...

so everything is coming up roderick! one of his wives is [ pregnant again ], and eilionora has finally come around to [ recognizing their betrothal ] after nearly three years of denying its existance! (now that she's accepted btw he's saying that the betrothal started when he first proposed marriage, not that it started when she accepted those proposals...), his [ firstborn daughter is engaged ] and gets to retain the coolest last name in the entire world (his own)!

sure, there's that pesky resistance out there, but even they've [ taken his bait and are now spending his marked coins ] so he's starting to be able to locate them! and, yes, matters in malconaire are heating up with all sorts of rebel coin going to its upkeep...and since there's only ~one man there @forgottencassimir is becoming of ~particular interest bc, either he's continuing to show his incompetance now by not only daring to allow his roads to come into disrepair (which reflects poorly on roderick, himself!) but now he's blithely allowing an uprising to percolate in his own backyard, or...he's a traitor!

if its blind incompetence, @forgotteneithne [ 's engagement remains suitable for his grandson's false father ], but if its treason...malconaire ~will be getting a new lord and so will be eithne! really, these malconaires ~are presenting the biggest thorn in his side rn, bc getting a couple of pretty (tho admittedly pregnant) girls married to men who aren't interested is proving shockingly slow-going! alskdjfksldjflkjsdf

the other issue he's facing rn? he expected ~this to take some time, but finding suitable candidates for his sons' marriages is quite a trick [ given his high standards ]! princesses and queens ready and available to wed them are proving surprisingly thin on the ground...maybe he'll just have to conquer a few more countries and force the issue w a rough wooing as he did w eilionora...or just wed those princesses and queens himself...

now that -- for the moment -- domestic issues are his primary concerns, and uncle bar is perfectly adept at dealing with such things, roderick is indeed beginning to think of conquest again. he's not ready to move on from astaira just yet, or anything like that, not till his own wedding at least, but perhaps even those of a few of his kids, and certainly not until the ultimate suppression of these revolting upstart peasants, but when those things are completed...well...there's still half the world out there to conquer, and he means to do it!

anyway, i fear, friends, that w his black mood moving off, we will be get to see the more ~active emperor~ he often is, riding off on his horse w his knights to various counties and checking in ~personally to exert his own authority...for FUN!!!!!!! and everyone will just have to live w his judgments <333333 what a guy!!!!! klsdjafkljsdljfskdjf this is what roderick's ~good mood~ looks like laksjdflkjdsjf enjoy!!!!! lkajsdfkljsdjf

[forgottenroderick]

OOC | OVN-ian Kingslist Mock Up

ok so since we've been developing the ovn, itself, a lot more recently, i wanted to do smth similar to [ this ] for them! (w all the same authorial notes abt names being stand ins till we decide and dates changeable the same way save for canon and so forth)

ok so i have had in my head for awhile that like the semi-legendary (think like...charlemagne or albert the great, like...he was a real historical figure, right, but there're also all these wild stories appended to him which some vers of may or may not ever have occurred but...certainly not like that lakjdskjfsdjf) rival/ally brother princes and later kings of the ovn named THEODEMIR and AUDOVACAR in ancient times, but like...we're gonna focus on more recent times...feel like they've got kind of a romulus/remus or even caine/abel thing going too w like murder and usurpation involved just...varmont vibes yknow lakjsdflkjsdf

1262-present -- roderick varmont, b. 1245, m. 1262, m. 1264, m. 1265

1257-1262 (5 years) -- athaulf iii varmont, b. 1196, m. 1228, m. 1243

1200-1257 (57 years) -- amalric ii varmont, b. 1168, m. 1195, m. 1231

1158-1200 (42 years) -- euric xii varmont, b. 1128, m. 1168

1158 (6 months) -- alaric ix varmont, b. 1126

1146-1158 (12 years) -- alvarus varmont, b. 1099, m. 1123

1125-1158 (33 years) -- athanaric varmont, b. 1076, m. 1098

1030-1125 (95 years) -- ildefonsus iv varmont, b. 1023, m. 1039, m. 1056, m. 1059, m. 1060, m. 1070, m. 1072, m. 1077, m. 1092 m. 1103 m. 1125

1027-1030 (3 years) -- ildefonsus iii varmont, b. 974, m. 996

1019-1027 (8 years) -- athaulf ii varmont, b. 922, m. 937

1017-1019 (2 years) -- ramirus viii varmont, b. 952, m. 973

1017 (2 months) -- euric xi varmont, b. 936, m. 951

1013-1017 (4 years) -- ildefonsus i varmont, b. 957, m. 972

1000-1013 (13 years) amalric i varmont, b. 930, m. 946, m. 952

once again i cut ot off at the year 1000, but am happy to do more if we like!

ok so i imagined that 1) we've got a pair of brothers in here where one strangled the other for the throne (and ~that's roderick great-grandpappy! yay! akljsdfjksdf); we've got a a henry viii/ivan the terrible type who was so desperate to provide an heir of his own body that he kept marrying and killing or confining to a nunnery wives who'd failed him (it was ~their fault!) and taking new ones but in the end he never had a son (those daughters do NOT matter!) and it was his hated cousin's kid who inherited; and at the beginning of the 11th century, generating that crisis, we've got a fully fledged civil war where all the extraneous brothers and cousins were killing each other for the throne so that's fun, too! idk it all just really fit i thought w what the house of varmont has got going on rn -- i also made pr much every king who didn't have a succession crisis have a kid pr much ~immediately upon marriage to give a lil credence to roderick's like 'you MUST conceive with three months of marriage or its time to panic!' to his wives lakjsdfljksdf

anyway obv any and all of this is up for change etc but yeah just a framework for us if we want it but also smth we can completely tear up and start again if we prefer <3 i just really enjoy making kingslists lakjsdlfjksdf

[forgottenroderick]

50. Writer's preference: roderick/edmund -- "Your legions. Are they in readiness?"

The imperial war room smelled faintly of parchment and the smoke from the great hearth. A massive map stretched across the central table, its surface crisscrossed with markers denoting armies, trade routes, and territories won.

Roderick Varmont stood at the head of it -- his gaze moved over the map focusing, searching for any weakness. Edmund entered, his boots clicking softly on the marble. He bowed just enough to be proper, but not an inch more.

“Father,” he said smoothly.

Without looking up, Roderick asked, “Are your legions in readiness?”

Edmund smiled faintly, though there was no warmth in it. “Of course. They could march at dawn if you gave the order.”

Roderick’s eyes flicked to him then: sharp, appraising. “And yet your brother tells me otherwise. He claims your supply lines are overextended, that you lack enough horses to support a full campaign.”

Edmund gave a soft, almost incredulous laugh. “Arthur would tell you the moon is made of gold if it meant winning your favor.”

“That’s not an answer,” Roderick said, his tone still calm but weighted like stone.

Edmund stepped forward, resting his hands lightly on the table’s edge. “My supply lines are secure, my cavalry well-mounted, and my men ready. Arthur’s… concerns are misplaced. Or perhaps deliberately exaggerated.”

Roderick regarded him in silence for a moment, then tapped a marker on the map—an outlying border province, recently taken. “This is your prize. Keep it strong, or I’ll give it to one of your brother's.”

The words were neither threat nor promise; they were simple fact, and Edmund knew better than to mistake them for anything else.

“Understood,” he said, inclining his head.

Roderick moved a pawn-like marker closer to the heart of the Empire. “And remember, son… victories fade quickly in my memory. Only the next one matters.”

Edmund left the room with the faint chill of his father’s voice still clinging to him, the reminder that in the Empire, even sons were pieces on the board.