#aria stafford

[forgottenarthur]

Storm at the Gates | Arthur & Aria

"They're out there!" Arthur stabbed a finger in the direction. "They're at our gates! This requires a resolution and I can give it! Please! Father! Now is the time! Let me--"

"NO!" boomed the emperor. Roderick Varmont's gaze was steel, tooth to tooth in full snarl. "You will do nothing of the sort. This is not a matter requiring imperial intervention."

Breath hissed between his clenched teeth. "Once before, Father, I stood in this position while a riot overtook the people in my charge. I cannot stand by--"

"MY charge!" declared Roderick, rising from his throne. "These people are no concern of yours, boy! And there is no trouble here! You will report to safety and you will do nothing. That is an order!"

Arthur's shoulders hunched. He couldn't slow the pounding in his chest. He tore his gaze away, towards the sandstone floor. "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty," he bit out, at last, tracing a cursory bow and stalking out of the room.

All around him, shrieks echoed through the corridors. This was wrong, he thought. All wrong. All his life, Arthur had trained, sword in hand, heavy armor banding his body like a steel glove. He was meant to be a warlord. He was meant to fight, not to cower behind stone. The gates boomed. They were pushing against them.

Even at Kil-Kennar he'd not hidden. At Kil-Kennar, he'd led the charge, when he might have quelled them, instead. The great gates shook. Arthur balled his fists. He was naked without his sword. Without his armor. And Kil-Kennar was all around him. He smelled the metallic tang of blood. The battered gates boomed in his chest. Screams echoed in his earts. It was all come again. Aine's bright red blood splashed upon Daybreak's gleaming blade and too-hot upon his own face. Weeping, screaming. Even then he might have spared lives. Even then...

Boom, boom! The gates clanked and clattered and Arthur had not even a sword.

'Hold fast!' some past version of him had barked to his men. The people howled outside. They wanted blood, red as the banners he'd used to claim Kil-Kennar. His men were praying. Pleading. There were far too few.

'We fight for our emperor!' Arthur had shouted. 'We fight for our lives! And we fight for our god! Hold fast and take heart, for there are no greater warriors in all the world! Today, all who raise their swords with me are sons of our divine emperor, my own brothers in bloodshed! Emmissaries of the true god, your deeds shall never be forgot!' He had them, now. He could feel it. When he had finished speaking, Arthur unsheathed Daybreak, turning towards the shivering gates. 'Those men are calling for blood. Let's give it to them!'

His words has swayed them. He knew it well. The cowering men had taken heart, rising, a hundred swords unsheathing with his own. But the consequences had been terrible. They were all of them -- soldier and rioter, alike -- his people. His responsibility. Every drop of blood had been his own, every broken bone, and every life forever altered. If he had only spoken out to the crowd...

He still might. They were at the gates, again, crying out for justice. He had taken justice from them before. But this time...this time it could all put to rights. Aine's life could not be restored, but the Stafford name could! How could it be worth all this bloodshed? Arthur turned back towards the room he'd just left, about to march back into his father's presence, but he recalled, then, his emperor's final words. If he spoke, now, it would not be with the voice of the god. It would be his own mortal hubris. It would be a sacreligious betrayal of his own true emperor, the God's own Champion. He could not.

Still and half shivering, Arthur turned his back upon the shuddering gate. He felt sick, nausea rising towards the crown of his heart with each heartbeat. He darted for the stairs. There was nothing he could do out there but, he reminded himself, there was something he might still do within these high walls. He knew where the women and children would be sheltered. he could take charge of the guard, he could see to it that they were all kept safe within the walls. He breathed a little easier at the thought, yet still the booms shrieked in his ears. Up and up and up he wound, mind turning over to his mother, his sister...and to Aria. The Queen and the Princess would be well protected, he had no doubt, his father's men would die defending them, if needs must, but Aria? Where was she? Who would look to her safety beyond keeping charge over some kind of prize?

Sucking in a deep breath, Arthur ran up and up and up, taking two stairs at a time. He had to find her. The first two places he looked, she was not, but at last he came to a small room, high above and replete with windows. Fear was a bird hovering just at his heart, weightier and weightier with every room he checked. God, he prayed. God, save her. He couldn't let her be hurt no matter what, but even worse to think of her injured with the way they'd left things after the Ice Ball! Yet, as he came into the room, his prayers were answered. There stood Eilionora and Aria. His heart was in his mouth to see her so close to danger.

"What are you thinking?!" barked Arthur at the guards, storming into the room. "Get them away from the windows! These rabble-rousers have projectiles! It's not safe!"

Eyes widening, the guards jumped to attention, moving in towards the women, but as soon as they moved to draw them from the windows, Eilionora resisted. Arthur ignored them all, stepping up to Aria, himself, and pulling her away, towards a dark corner of the room while the soldiers dealt with her struggling sister.

"What were you thinking?!" demanded Arthur, hands fluttering anxious across her waist, her arms, her shoulders, her head with its crown of ebony hair, searching for any wounds. She was so slight, her eyes wide, and his heart was a hammer, hands frantic in their search. What would he do if something had happened?

But he couln't think of that, couldn't think at all, as the weight of her eyes fell upon his. His questing hands slowed. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes bright. She looked at him. He couldn't breathe. Her breath was warm. One hand stopped at her waist, pulling her close. The other touched her face. The heat of her satin skin. His thumb gently traced the sweep of her cheek. He tucked a strand of unruly hair behind her ear. "Are you all right?"

[forgotteneilionora]

OOC | Astairan Wedding Traditions

ok so this is inspired by [ this ] post and these tags:

#ooo.... is handfasting a tradition in astairan weddings?#bc i could see#valentina malconaire objecting to this!#and then astairans not considering the eithne/cassimir union#as valid since it didn't happen#also its just a pretty tradition i love!

i loooove this!!!! both for the tradition and for the ~general vibes for astaira andddd for the plot point it could play!!!!! and i thought we might take this opportunity to talk about weddings in general -- i was literally reading up on traditional irish wedding vows just last night bc we were talking about domhnall's wedding etc!

i can also 100% see @forgottenvalentina specifically objecting to a tradition the astairans hold dear on ~roderick grounds or vice versa specificially w the hope itd invalidate the wedding too smdh so this verrrrrry much fits!

also the wedding vows:

[ “Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone. I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One. I give ye my Spirit, `til our Life shall be Done. You cannot possess me for I belong to myself. But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give You cannot command me, for I am a free person. But I shall serve you in those ways you require and the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand." ] “I vow you the first cut of my meat, the first sip of my wine, from this day it shall only your name I cry out in the night and into your eyes that I smile each morning; I shall be a shield for your back as you are for mine, never shall a grievous word be spoken about us, for our marriage is sacred between us and no stranger shall hear my grievance. Above and beyond this, I will cherish and honor you through this life and into the next." “I, (name), in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee (name) to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself. By the power that Christ brought from heaven, mayst thou love me. As the sun follows its course, mayst thou follow me. As light to the eye, as bread to the hungry, as joy to the heart, May thy presence be with me, Oh one that I love, `til death comes to part us asunder. “We swear by peace and love to stand, Heart to heart and hand to hand. Mark, O Spirit, and hear us now, Confirming this our Sacred Vow.” “You are the star of each night, You are the brightness of every morning, You are the story of each guest, You are the report of every land. No evil shall befall you, on hill nor bank, In field or valley, on mountain or in glen. Neither above, nor below, neither in sea, Nor on shore, in skies above, Nor in the depths. You are the kernel of my heart, You are the face of my sun, You are the harp of my music, You are the crown of my company.” “Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and just be my friend.” “May the gentle breeze bear witness to this ritual, and carry its message to all lands. May the sun warm their hearts, and its ever burning fire fuel their desire for each other. May the water provide for them from its bounty, and comfort their souls with their sounds. May the land lend its strength and reveal its mysteries."

and like literally swearing by the breeze and the sun and water and land like????? if that aint so astairan!!!!!! there's def tons of other stuff but yeah

also apparently irish brides traditionally wore blue, back in the day, that were long and flowy w intricate embroidery, celtic knots, and a big sash or belt! often including a hooded cloak in weather!

she also traditionally has a handkerchief embroidered w like a motto or the couple's initials or an emblem or smth of significance to them, and then that's used as the bonnet for the firstborn child at their christening, and handed down to them to potentially use at their own wedding etc generation after generation

also the handfasting probs means that 'tying the knot' is an expression in astaira (that would baffle the varmonts too btw!) which is fun <3

[ Ever heard the phrase “your goose is cooked”? ] Traditionally, the night before the wedding, a goose would be cooked in the bride’s house for the groom’s wedding meal. When the meal was fully prepared, it would be seen as bad luck for life to back out of the wedding. So, the phrase, “your goose is cooked” pretty much means there’s no backing out now!

there's this thing w the child of progue that might be done w statues of the guardians?

[ This is a funny Irish wedding tradition. The child of Prague is a statue popularly known to ward off bad weather, which can rue the day. The figure is placed in different ways but performs the same function. ] Some parents leave their children in their hallway the night before a wedding. Others abandon their children outside, while some put the child out under a bush. In addition, people tend to behead the statue before placing it at the selected spot. The rationale is that the figures are not of the best quality. Their head usually fell off by themselves when left out overnight; hence, it was better off already beheaded. Some people even reattach it afterward.

guests have bells to ring ward off evil spirits and discord! they set to ringing them as the couple walks down the aisle and bells are sometimes included in the bride's bouquet

Weddings were civil, not religious, affairs. While some involved a vow of lifelong fidelity, that wasn’t universal. The ancient Celts recognized several types of marriage. And they also had very liberal divorce laws. They knew not all marriages would last, and they planned for it. In ancient Celtic traditions, one could opt for a one-year trial marriage. If all went well, they could take more permanent vows. If it didn’t work out, they each went their way, free to try again. Men and women enjoyed equal rights in the 1100s. Irish brides owned their property; if the marriage ended, they took it with them. They would also take a portion of any wealth the couple acquired together.

so yeah obv there's lots more these were just some things that jumped out at me after a cursory review that felt astairan for one reason or another <3

[forgottenroisin]

OOC | Astairan Science & Witchcraft

sooo ya girl has had a thought anD now you gotta hear abt it ;DDDD tbh i feel like this isn't really even my thought it think its smth we've all lowkey been driving at but never fully addressed so i thought id do that!

ok so @forgottenarias mentioned in a post abt the stafford observatory (and i 10000% agree! they totally have that!!!!), and yeah it sent me down this train of thought and, surprisingly, while i def think it applies to astaira over all, i feel like it feeds in v nicely to a lot of the other world building we've been doing and all esp re: the malconaires...and their future predicament!

ok so basically? my thesis here is...astaira is stated to be the largest country in the world, and we know it has a system based on merit etc so top minds're gonna really go places ++ they've got the largest variety ~of minds etc and basically thesis statement: i think maybe astaira has some of the best educated ppl, top to bottom, and more advanced science than most anywhere else in the world, perhaps???? and, bc of that, when roderick looks at them...he sees a bunch of witches! bc he sees ppl out there doing what are (to him!) unexplainable/impossible things w ease, but its just that they have more knowledge etc.

so, obv there are ~literal seers here too and that's def just throwing fuel on the fire (heh), but i lowkey think that there's a lot of things that roderick (and his countrymen etc) just see and...don't get and they go witch!!!!!! that's witchcraft!!!!! kinda like how amira has a reputation of witchcraft bc (well, ok her gm who raised her was a seer but also!!) she has this intense knowledge of medicines and poisons and she can heal and she can harm w a touch and????? witch!!!! but ofc she isn't a seer! and aleksander royce has a v similar backstory, himself, except he was able to fashion into his divine miracles rather than sorcery, but its that same kinda thing!

so!! a lot of our houses and things are tied in w precisely elements and such: perhaps not simply the house (as we've established), but the ~ppl of stafford, specialize in astronomy and astrology and so forth; the callearies/cultures who also hail from not!atlantis (minus cormac lbr ;D) are probs up on all sorts of oceanic and marine sciences of the day w advanced knowledge of tides and of fish etc alike; the kolcheans are students of heat and how it interacts w other materials and so forth (i always hc'd that kolchean fire aka greek fire was a thing... ;D); and the ppl of malconaire understand plants and the earth

now, @forgotteneithne gave us the hc that sorcha and bran always made sure their daughters weren't just wealthy and pretty and refined, but that they also had practical skills, and esp if either of them knew/suspected @forgottenbrigit 's gifts (but even if they didn't!), i can see where they may have also put emphasis on learning all abt plants from anyone who could teach them, wherether grand or humble of origin (esp if we go go the idea of actual seers having ~specialties or whatever too -- ex. perhaps brigit is more earth based in her powers as a malconaire, and aria more air based, but again even if not its just good stuff to know!)

so maybe, amongst their practical talents of cleaning and cooking and such, the girls also learned herbology and like hemlock can relax you or even help staunch a wound to keep you from bleeding out, but too much can kill you, bc it slows your organs etc -- that sort of thing. and maybe, amongst the other things they do when they go to the village, they help cure the sick, and that sort of thing, and perhaps this is another way they also helped out during the battle of malconaire, etc?

and yeah! maybe, given that (most of ;D) the malconaire girls aren't ~actually witches, maybe this (and the whole romancing ~all of roderick's sons! egregious! roderick is SHOOKETH) is another 'proof' of their witchcraft, but also smth they can fall back on while they're on the run?

regardless of this, rosie, i think, (as ive said before) will be leaning into her showmanship to try to spook the o.v.n.-ians and save ppl (ig all those pranks came in handy in the revolution, after all! ;D #weaponizewonder) but yeah i also like the idea that she might be out there helping ppl in other ways than just distracting ppl so others (rebels, refugees, etc!) can make a get away and such (whether or not she's hooked up w the rebels or is just helping other accused witches escape or...what idk!! but yeah this is the direction i see her going in) -- actively in there brewing up teas and sewing up cuts and making healing elixirs and such!

idk!! anyway!! we don't need to do anything w any of this but yeah!! just thought id throw this out there and see what everyone thinks?

[lizzysrps]

The Long Forgotten Realm + Text Posts

[forgottenroderick]

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!

[forgottencormac]

OOC | Cormac & Aria

so i do think that cormac feels bad for the staffords, but i also think he tries to distance himself from them bc he is def drinking the roderick koolaid, but he's also def kind to them whenever he does see them, esp since eilia will be a queen someday (eilia in the bg somewhere: im already a queen, you dullard!) when she marries roderick klajdsfjkdf i do think he thinks that aria needs a good husband to help straighten her out esp bc i think he believes that bastards are inherently dishonest etc and if roderick's saying they're bastards, he's not gonna question that!!! lkjaslfkjskdjf but yeah he probs thinks she should be married off to alistair grey or someone like that and probs tries to set them up but is...frankly horrible at it so when he sees her he just talks a lot abt what a neat and sexy guy alistair grey is without, like, any context and its probably a disaster laksjdfdskjfkdjsf

[forgottenamira]

Aria/Amira - “ we all have secrets, don’t we? ”

flashforward

The room was dimly lit: sunset's last gasp splashed across the far wall while all else around the two women fell into ever-deepening shadow. Amira paused at the lady's voice, stilling even as she extended a hand to pull back the curtains.

Aria's words had in truth taken her by surprise but, lips curling into a smile, she considered that they ought not to have done. The former princess was of an outspoken bent. Was that an Astairan quality, she wondered, or simply an entitled one? It was hard to say with those who had never known true want, Amira often felt. They knew so little of this world while thinking to own it all. Disgust rippled over Amira. It was strange, this: two women in this dark room. One a rumored witch. The other...

Arching a brow, Amira turned to face Aria, limpid orbs drinking in the younger woman with curiosity. "Bold words," said the queen, approaching slowly. Stretching out a hand suddenly, she clasped Aria's, hard gaze biting into Aria's before a smile once again suffused her features and, slowly, she lifted Aria's hand, inspecting it with eager gaze.

"There is something more powerful than secrets, girl. Facts."

The hand was elegant, sporting long, tapering fingers and fine digits. Slowly, she turned it over. She opened Aria's fist with her other hand. Her fingers grazed the young woman's palm, running across it, tracing the lines cut into it, reading her skin just as if text were written upon it.

"A fact for you, child: my grandmother was a witch. You know this, I am sure." Another smile. Her hard eyes glittered like coal in the gloaming light. She pushed Aria's thumb flat, sweeping fingers across the lines in her palm. "And I was fortunate. I learned much at her knee."

Locking her fingers around Aria's wrist, she gazed a moment more, and released her suddenly. Her eyes found Aria's own. "How much is known of the great Calainon here in Astaira, I wonder?"

Amira tilted her head. Her gaze measured. Palmistry had taught her, though still less than she might have wished. Aria's face would not prove so blank.

"He was much as you are, my ancestor: a heathen heretic who worshipped demons, as my husband might tell you. The witches of his line long continued the pagan practice after him. My own grandmother was one such. A seer, some here might call her, though that was not our word for it. A fitting term, however, for that is what she taught me, ultimately: to see." Amira's smile was cold. "Shall I tell you what I see, bastard of Stafford?" Amira's gaze roved the lovely face, ever darkening in the twilight, green eyes seeming to glow as the last rays of the sun stroked her cheek and, at last, Amira's smile dropped. "I see you."

Witch.

[forgottenrian]

OOC | Rían & Aria

cousin!!!!! awkward meeting this way...jk jk but only bc they met years ago at the ~queensmoot~ where it was even MORE awkward to meet bc he was a ~25 year old getting his ass handed to him by his ~16 year old lil cousin, and getting all his life's hopes crushed under her lil heel in the process alskdjflkdsfj ;DDDDD

no, but this is all v complicated!!!!! i feel like rian is, in theory, an astairan EXPERT!!!!! he's studied every single detail of their culture, history, beliefs his entire life!!!!!! he lives and breathes this stuff!!!! but he's also never, EVER lived here until now and while he may be able to recite every astairan verse ever written, he says it with a varmont accent, and when he dances astairan dances, he does it with the structure and rigidity of instilled by a varmont dancing master, like...he really is in the weirdest position! he's like a scholar of an ancient religion -- you can ask him anything and he knows all the theory!!!!!!!! but he's never experienced any of it and, as a result, he gets a loT of it wrong -- lotsa book smarts, zero street smarts!

anyway, as a result, rian truly believes he'd be great for astaira and that he knows her backwards and forwards but!!! the truth is quite different!!!! and he doesn't really belong here, he doesn't belong in varmont, he doesn't belong ~anyway and he's only just finding that out

anyway, his feelings about the stafford girls are VERY complex!!!!!! on one hand, he was brought up w the ideals of chivalry and such and like!!!!! this is not how you treat ppl!!!!!! and also its a family embarrassment that his kin were declared bastards and he doesn't like that!!!!!! but he also resents them (esp eilia!!!!) for the whole ~queenship thing! he truly believes that he was astaira's best bet and look what happened!!!!!! ~he never would've lost astaira (but then again eilia never would've fed vital info to roderick!!!!!!)

but alsooooooo he threw in w roderick bc he believed what roderick was saying about strength and stability (and bc he wanted revenge shhhh) but then roderick started quite literally burning ppl!!!! and without trials too!!!!!! and so rian's just sat here quite literally going 'my god what have i done' but he sees no way to fix it save to just...keep going and alkjsdkljf SCREAM

[forgotteneabha]

OOC | Eabha & Aria

so, since eabha and eithne and eilia are all besties, im toying w the notion that eabha may have briefly served as one of eilia's ladies so that she wouldn't ~just see how her father rules, but also how eilia does and broaden her education that way! tbh i doubt it was a v long tenure there, probs a year tops, but yeah!!!

so im thinking that, in addition to seeing the staffords when they visited their summer home near hanthom (and i feel like the staffords and callearies probs all played together then!!!! <333333), eabha may have lived w them for awhile during that time so yeah!!!!

either way, eabha def thinks aria is all that and a bag of chips, and she has all kinds of hopes for her!!! she's also absolutely appalled at this whole bastardy claim and she's v like btw!!!! you are my princess!!!!! roderick may wish to change that but he never can!!!!! <3333333

[forgottenalaric]

ooc | Alaric & Aria

Alaric's feelings towards the Stafford girls is .... complicated!

Tbh, it has also shifted in the years since the conquest. At first, I think he thought that Eilia was kinda stupid not to just marry his brother?? It's not everyday that Roderick extends such an offer (despite how many wives he has lmao) and she's lucky to still have her life!! Not to mention, things in Astaira will likely be better with Roderick in charge.

But the longer he's been in Astaira, he realizes just what a good queen she'd been to them and he started to question everything he thought about how capable she'd been as a queen/how good of a ruler his brother really is??? Plus, he's gotten to know them a little better and he sees just how much they care about Astaira and how, even know, their people are still top of mind!

As far as how Alaric acts around them ... I feel like he's always been polite, but definitely v formal, a little gruff, and there was def an irritation that he tried (and failed) to hide. However, he has definitely softened towards them in the recent months and I think that he's shown this a little more with Aria (since he's developed some romantic feelings towards Eilia that he doesn't know what to do with!!) And like, I feel like he's started to let her get away with some things that he wouldn't have before?? Like even if it is just having a longer walk out in the courtyard or whatever?

But he'd be weird about it like if she asked, he'd be like "no, you know my orders! and if you think I'm going to bend the rules for you, you're wrong!" *proceeds to let her stay outside longer anyway, but doesn't acknowledge this at all*

[forgottenfinnegan]

ooc | Finn & Aria

Finn loves flirting with pretty girls and I feel like he definitely would (at least try) to flirt with Aria? Like she's gorgeous and a princess and definitely has a snarky snide which he loves! Idk how she would have taken it, but it would have all been in good fun, on his part, and he wouldn't have meant any offense/anything serious by it but yeah!

I feel like things have probably shifted a little bit now, though, and that sort of behavior seems less appropriate (even to finn haha) unless they developed a sort of friendship/banter which would have survived the 2+ years between the conquest and now

[forgottenarthur]

In Ruins | Arthur, Roderick, Eilia, Aria, etc...

Another step. Another. Up and up and up they rose before him, unending as the Kolchean ouroboros. And not a soul was speaking. For all the attendants traipsing and tripping after their god-given Emperor, a strange breathy silence pervaded, headed by the sullen-faced ó Réaltaí sisters (as the Staffords were now, evidently, to be called) and maintained by Roderick's many retainers, half-gasping with the interminable climb. The silence was a veil and Arthur felt twitchy, his fingers beating a tattoo against his thigh as he walked and walked.

"You Astairans certainly were not in jest when you claimed to live amongst the stars, I see."

Silence. Arthur detested silence. He'd always dested it, and he detested it now most of all. It was tense; it was subdued. And he didn't know what Aria was thinking...

Or anyone else. His father, for instance, or even...He glanced around to catch another face, half-desperate to prove there were other feelings which concerned him. Eilionora. No. But he wasn't supposed to care what she thought: she was the enemy. Still. He cared even less for what Sir Gregory thought.

Huffing, he shrugged. "I think I shall be eighty years old by the time we reach the top!"

"And here I imagined," began Eilionora, tone condescending. "A knight might be glad of such exercise."

"I--" Arthur frowned, rankling against the comment and struggling to invent a sufficient retort, when at last daylight (dying, by now, he saw) broke upon them. "At last!"

By the time Arthur gained the room, a world of ancient plaster featuring a tiny stone window in its concave surface. His father was already there, attendants arrayed about him like the streaming light of the sun, itself painting all in Arthur's own red. Eilionora stood opposite him, her expression fierce and determined, with her sister at her side and, fobidding as Aria looked, Arthur found himself drifting towards her.

Looking up, then, Arthur saw the look on his father's face. "Shit."

This was an expression well known to Arthur: triumphant and gleaming. The emperor was about to make the weight of whatever victory he'd won felt. "You thought to keep it from us," began Roderick, eyes glowing. "You strove and you strove, but every trace of your heathen gods will now be expunged."

Arthur felt Aria's eyes on him, but he could not pull his gaze from his father. Turning, Roderick grinned knowingly and suddenly thrust his arm directly through a wall.

"Father!" Arthur cried, starting forward. He stopped short. The emperor was unhurt and, in fact, a hole now stood in the wall where his hand once had been.

"A crafty illusion, to be sure," gloated Roderick. "Who'd think to vellum up a wall? Painted so precisely as to look to be pure plaster. But your woman's trick has come to naught."

Snapping, Roderick gestured and, at once, his attendants got to the business of tearing down the wall.

"God," breathed Arthur.

Roderick's gaze flicked towards him. "Why do you stand by them, Arthur?"

Arthur glanced hastily at the ladies. Swallowed. "To ensure they do not attempt to flee."

Roderick frowned.

"Your inevitable victory is something they really ought to see, Your Imperial Majesty."

Satisfied, Roderick smiled triumphantly at Eilionora, and nodded to Arthur. Aria glared at him. The emperor turned as a broad, wooden door was revealed and, with some difficulty, prized open by the attendants.

Now, it was to file into the room. Two servants went first -- to ensure the safe passage of the glorious presence behind them against any booby traps -- then the emperor went through followed by his attendants and lastly the ladies, with Arthur bringing up the train.

The door was low and ancient he saw, its planks turned half to stone by unimaginable age and, curious, Arthur swept his fingers along it as he passed through. The soul, he was told, was recurring. Had some version of him ever touched this wood before, perhaps its gentle-growing branches before it had been cut. Stooping to pass under the lintel, Arthur was temporarily blinded by a blanket of dark, limpid eyes narrowing as he stumbled a step or two inside.

He emerged into a vault of starlight as the last vestiges of day gave way to velvet-soft night, the firmament dotted with twinkling starlight, caught in a veil of midnight. It seemed a thousand, thousand stars glittered in the liquid night and that, if Arthur only stretched out his hand, he might just touch them with the edges of his fingertips.

"God be good," whispered Arthur. "I've never seen so many stars."

Glancing about him, he took in the ruins all about him -- a shattered dome, floor-to-ceiling arches that may once have contained windows now gaping over a yawning chasm.

"Do you know what this room is, Arthur?"

"No," he said, curiously glancing around him. "What is this place?"

It seemed to him that each lain stone was blue as lapis lazuli -- perhaps was lapis lazuli! -- and inset with ivory or some such so that stars were inset even into the very stones that strained to shelter them against the heedless sky above. Stretching out a hand, he laid it flat against one wall, cautiously approaching the casements to peer over the side of the mountain. Nothing but open sky greeted his gaze.

"How far up are we?"

"This is the crest of the mountain, Arthur."

He straightened, turned back towards his father. "What?!" he demanded. " Then--then this is--"

"Yes, the so-called Vault of the Heavens, the Cathedral of Stars, and other such: the very spot where their heathen goddess is said to have once set foot, according to some legends; where the shards of starlight were found from which their familial swords were forged. This," Roderick pointed down, grinning now in the pale starlight. "This is the most sacred place in all of Stafford."

Arthur glanced down at his feet, some sensation half like guilt springing vine-like across him, before his gaze shot suddenly to Aria, her own gaze now trained, relentless, upon Roderick.

"Now," continued Roderick, even his tone a gloat. "Where are those craters where the stars touched the earth? They're in this very room..."

Arthur's gaze did not leave Aria's face and, though it was hard to tell in the streaming starlight, he thought perhaps he saw tears sparkling at the edges of her eyes. His throat tightened. Arthur's hands closed to fists.

"Fill them in, shall we?" continued Roderick. "And bring what's left of this place to the ground. No trace of this heresy shall remain once I've done."

It was misery on her face, bleak and utter. She seemed to look at the walls, to the sky, as if they spike to her, friends soon to be shattered. A loss as deep as her name. Gritting his teeth, Arthur turned abruptly to his father, but Eilionora beat him to it. She was...laughing. Arthur watched fury dawn upon Roderick's face, unfurling like a plume of liquid flame over obsidian-dark granite. Sneer for sneer and glare for glare, emperor and former queen stared one another down.

She came forward. "No original ideas, have you? Do you know some of my own ancestors had a similar notion. Their great hall might prove more useful, they believed, otherwise. They tried everything they could -- every earthly tool there is: stone to cover up and concrete to pour. They even attempted, when that did not work, to flatten the rest of the earth. In every case, their tools came away bent and broken. The goddess shelters this place still. You can no more raze this site than they!"

Roderick's face was granite, craggy rocks -- brow and nose and lips -- etched with statuesque ire. As Roderick moved to close the gap between himself and his would-be bride, Arthur stepped forward.

Arthur had seen his mother do this a thousand times. Surely...surely he could do it, too. Oh, he could not employ precisely the same tactics she did: what Roderick might find favorable in a woman would prove repulsive to him in a man, but the principles still stood. He could move the Emperor, if he chose. Surely he could. He simply never had. But surely, surely he could. And he would. Just this once. Just this once, he would...

Slowly he began to clap, letting boastful swagger into his step as he strode forward, placing himself between the emperor and the ladies, and turning a look of perfect arrogance upon the one-time queen. He'd perfected this look long ago. One in eternal competition had to.

"It was a fine attempt, my lady," he laughed. "But did you imagine the God's Chosen would fall for so obvious a ploy?"

"Ploy? It is no--"

Laughing, again, Arthur held up a hand to silence her and turned towards his father, clapping him on the shoulder. "The hubris of women excels everything."

He felt Roderick's gaze heavy upon him. Here it was. The moment. Everything hinged on what he said next. It wasn't a betrayal of Roderick, he told himself. What he said could be true! And there was Aria, lovely and lonely as the stars above, tears radiant with the same silver light. He couldn't stand by and watch. How could anyone bear the misery on Aria's face? No. He had to act. He had to.

"Imagine, trying to goad an emperor into cheating himself of his greatest prize!"

Arthur was careful not to look at Aria. He felt the weight of her look, but he did not turn. He hoped she saw what he was doing -- but he doubted it as well. She'd just see the hateful swaggering prince too easily bent by his father's will: the one she'd always detested leaping out again: throwing her beliefs in her sister's face; laughing at them both. Still, it was better, Arthur told himself, better than the alternative. It was the best he could do.

"When this is the seat of power she's been guarding, the secret she's been holding onto!"

Roderick's eyes were fastened on Arthur, and the prince knew his father would not ask for clarification: he would not wish to admit to anyone that he did not see what Arthur was getting at. But Arthur would have to be careful in that, too. He couldn't let his father realize that Arthur knew he wasn't following.

"It's like a woman, isn't it? To try to manipulate you into destroying the very thing that gives her power over the Astairan people." He turned his gaze on the queen, then, found her expression contoured with rage...and confusion. "This is it, after all, isn't it? This is the reason they follow you? This place? That lost blasted sword! You blind them with symbols of power till they believe in you and nothing else! You must hate your people in truth: to wish further unrest on them, rather than cede to peace under someone else! You'd rather this place reduced to rubble, wouldn't you, than see its power put into the hands of your conqueror?"

Roderick's hand was heavy on Arthur's shoulder. He was behind him, and Arthur couldn't see his face. Was it ire? His clever father had seen the betrayal in him, and now his cruel wrath would fall upon Arthur's mother and brother and sister as well as himself! The hand was heavy enough. But it lingered, too. Was it encouragement, then, a kind of thanks for showing him...what was, in fact, a lie? A rotten son, indeed, and to both parents, it seemed. Arthur swallowed hard.

"Easy, Arthur," his father said. "We cannot fault her for trying. It can be no easy thing to see one's seat of power fall into another's hands for a second time, I am sure."

Arthur heaved a deep breath, pressing his eyes closed. It had worked. And then he heard Eilionora laughing again.

Roderick gestured and the ladies were led away. Arthur did not dare look at Aria. He had saved her sacred site for her, yes, but could she forgive him for the means? And did she know it had been his intention? And, god, he had betrayed his own honored father in so doing! Perhaps he deserved punishment, after all. And, he thought, he'd suffer it all gladly. God, what was becoming of him?

It was Arthur's turn to laugh. And putting his hands to his face, he did.

[forgotteneilionora]

Bastards of Stafford | Eilionora & Aria

"Stand well away from the windows!" bellowed the guards, fleeing this way and that.

But Eilia did not move. Did not flinch. Her people were fighting out there. Dying. And this time she had not even swords to arm them with, nor shields to safeguard them. All she could do was watch over them. She would pay them this tribute, if it cost her her life: she would look, and she would not look away.

Riots had broken out in the lower walls of the great castled city, and Eilia could hear the screams from here. Knights on lofty steeds poured into the breach, catching pitchforks and rakes with their long, gleaming swords; their tall, crested shields fending off flung stones pried from the walls or claimed from the ground around them. Part of Eilia longed for her people to hurl down their makeshift weapons and flee, melting away into the countryside: Roderick would not be merciful. But something inside her exulted at the resistance, her heart banging against her chest, a drum of war to put their fight to cadence, her blood thrumming in her ears as her hand went to the window pane, clasping at the cool glazing beneath it.

She was out there with them, in spirit, her own long-fingered hands closing around the rough, dirt-choked edges of a hefty stone. With a shriek her defence, she hoisted it over her head. She flung it at the metal-clad knight who rode up towards her. She knitted her hands together into a unified fist. She pounded at his saddle. She yanked her butcher's knife from her apron. She tore at the straps of his saddle. A savage snarl tore from her throat. The knight upended, collapsing before her as she and each of her other selves closed in upon him him, torches and cudgels and kitchen knives clutched in all her hands. She would pay for it, she knew, but first: first she would make her fury felt.

Eilia started. A hand on her shoulder. She turned then, looked away, half flinging herself off from the window, ready to strike. But it was Aria and, gasping in a breath, she stayed her hand, letting it drop to her side. She was one helpless young woman trapped in a castle, surrounded by enemies, again.

"Aria," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to--I'm tense, is all." Without thinking, she reached out and drew her sister into an embrace, standing still defiantly before the window. Let them try to drag her away. She would not leave her for all the world.

[forgottenroisin]

Macdara I of Malconaire, King of Oak & Tree, Lord of the Wood, Wielder of Guardian the Oakenbrand, Keeper of the Sacred Groves, Warden of Malconaire, called Oakensteel

ok so obv these titles are 10000% made up/aren't his real stuff etc etc etc (also defffff are considered a list of his seacred duties rather than his honors in this context!!), but!! i thought, in light of this new info we've got re: kings and their castles in astaira, we might wanna talk a bit about the malconaires' og kingly ancestor? now, we've talked abt how they're one of the oldest great houses in all astaira, so im guessing that'd mean this dude is probs a mytho-historic figure to them, a la king arthur?

we'd also talked asp a bit abt how, maybe way back when, astaira was maybe originally ~multiple countries~ that came together to fight the gods and, after that, set up elections between them and their whole culture/convention of elected leaders kinda sprang out of that? ~if we do go w that idea, im guessing that house malconaire and the other of the oldest houses were kings of their respective lands? like, lorcan and stafford seem to be some of those but calleary, for example, is one we've explicitly talked abt being a newer house, so they probs ~weren't, for example?

(note: @forgottenvalentina believes this is all nonsense btw!! she will stubbornly maintain they are ~not of the blood royal as she herself most certainly is! lkjasdklfjsdjf as lizzy said, they're of a ~broken line of kings whereas she is ~not -- roderick: 'wait didn't i kill those guys?' ;DDD)

either way tho! what i ~really wanted to talk abt a bit is ~actually castle malconaire or, more precisely, its guardian tree and an idea i think ive mentioned a bit that i actually stole wholesale from the odyssey #sorrynotsorry so, in the odyssey, its revealed (its a whole thing but anyway) how odysseus carved his marriage bed out of a still-living tree (in his case an olive but shhh) and it was still this living, growing thing and here's a recreation of how it is kinda described w like...the bed is a tree but lowkey so is the whole bedroom sorta thing:

we've also discussed how the tree, like in the odyssey, is the center of the home and how its 1) a guardian and 2) also the sheath of guardian the sword. well, i thought it might also be, nestled upstairs amongst higher branches the lord's bed/bedroom even as it reaches out of the roof far above and to the sky, and possibly below...the ancient malconaire throne...

like, maybe those trees at the front door are all part of this one absolutely insanely mammoth ancient ancient ancient tree that's been built around to make a home/castle, and at its central stalk right in the middle of the great hall is the sheath and the throne a la

(idk why the above wont preview like the others???) or

but still living, growing out of the tree like

or even

bc perhaps ~it is also the portal to find the sword...and to free the gods. what if the reason the sword is lost is bc its acting as a key in a very, very ancient lock, one of many no doubt such as the eternal flame in kolchis and others im sure, that's helping to hold back the gods or smth????? idk?????

i was just thinking abt how, like, in celtic mythology trees sometimes ~are portals...and also prisons, think merlin walking inside the tree and never walking out again as a more modern telling of this concept. a lot of celtic heroes walked into the otherworlds by walking through the opening in a tree and arrived in faerie etc but once they went in they often never returned or, if they did, it was centuries after they'd left and that sort of thing...

so anyway basically the staffords, malconaires, and lorcans think they're doing good by reclaiming the lost stafford sword, and thus galvanizing astaira to fight for its freedom, hoping to keep the gods at bay, but in so doing, they're actually unwittingly making the jail that binds them weaker??? or smth?? idk...alskjfkljdsf like, there's a reason their ancestors sealed it away and ensured that none but their bloodline, its keepers, could ever undo what they'd done, etc??? but the secret of what they're keeping has been lost over the centuries and just the legends of the sword remain now unrelated to the tale of the irmprisoned evil gods??? idk!!!

this might also be part of why @forgottengodfrey is helping them bc he's read all these ancient tomes and sort of puzzled out that these families are significant to his apocalyptic dreams?

~also, side note, @forgottenrian regardless of all the above, v much wants the ancient stafford sword to prove his legitimacy as ruler of astaira so yeah!! lotsa threads here idk????

its also like...we can have parts of this be true w/o the rest necessarily needing to be true. for example, we can have the cosmetic stuff like the central tree and not the plot stuff, or like just the throne or just the portal or...whatever!! but yeah idk i was like 'we could maybe combine all of this???' and went a bit bonkers here hahaha i def will not be offended if you guys aren't feeling this it was just a wild notion i had so i wanted to share! lajksfkljsdf

EDIT! oh one more thing! what if the sword, guardian, is called such bc its actually -- or its hilt is -- a piece of the guardian tree and so its said that the blade shall always remain sharp so long as its wielded by a malconaire but for any nonbeliever who picks it up it shall return to a branch? and it has some eternal-living ivy twining around the hilt? some visuals:

also the door:

[forgottenronan]

OOC | Ronan & Aria

sooooo obv ronan was raised in the astairan faith, but i think he's stopped believing that there's any higher power out there that cares abt humanity and that the guardians are just comforting lies etc etc etc but if he knew that aria and brigit can see them etc i think that'd help change his mind bc these are ppl he trusts!! like...he knows saoirse is a believer, and claims she can 'sense' them, but i think he sees this as smth comforting she chooses to believe/do to cope w everything, but once its this many ppl he believes in having these pr concrete exerpeinces (as opposed to saoirse's non-concrete form of sensing), i feel like that could help change things for him!!!!

in any case, i don't think he ~does know so here we are laksjdfkljdsf but yeah he def wants to free the staffords!!!! idk if he thinks monarchy is the best way to go, anymore, bc i think he's a lil bit of an anarchist atp tbqh, but i do think he thinks that if anyone can pull off being a good ruler its the staffords <333333

[forgottenroderick]

OOC | Event 3

AHHHHHHHH!!!! omg obsessed w this new event!!!! ok so i defff think that roderick's eternally sus brain is gonna be doing paranoia somersaults over this one!!!!!

also w this having happened, its now gonna be even WORSE on both @forgottenarthur and @forgottenarias if/when roderick learns that he's been allowing aria out bc roderick's defff gonna believe, if he learns that now, that she was fomenting all this!!! and def that idolater siobhan as well!!! but she's def at the root of this, regardless ;DDD

either way tho he's def gonna tighten up security around the two 'ladies of stafford' bc he is feeling the trust even less now than he was just five minutes ago alkjsfkljsdkjfdf