The goat was on a conquest, his empire was a nomadic one. Traveling with the army and all its citizens. This was the result of their homeland being invaded when the army was drawn away and exterminated by a rival kingdom, and they lost all the kingdom's wealth, and the royal line was executed. A young goat led the surviving citizens to seek vengeance on the army that was too big to lose but they used a tactic that was forgotten by time but goat had a companion who read forgotten knowledge . This tactic was given a new name, the raging goat . The smaller army would attack first, putting the much large army off balance, and then it shifts positions and attacks again, and again and again. Exhausting the larger army.
On this conquest goat falls ill, and no one knows how to find the cure. He demands the conquest continue and makes his arms bearer help him onto his steed and tie him to it so he can lead them as they look for new land to conquer.
Goat has a different motive to every emperor before him. His companion read about conquests where knights left to conquer lands in hopes they could lessen their time in purgatory. goat, being in a dire situation, turns his village into an empire attempting to lessen his and all who died in their homeland.
They reach a desert land where all they can see is an ocean of sunset orange sand. They wander in the desert for years, making contact with absolutely no life. Their once seemingly infinite resources dwindle, and they're now in the position they were in when goat first led them. Deimos doesn't know things are this bad for his father does an amazing job at hiding it. He hides the civil unrest, the dwindling resources, the conquest that has been dying for years .Even the death of his mother. goat finds an oasis with a mud settlement next to it and decides to set up camp around it for the night as the soldiers and young men fetch water for the people. The king slips into the next realm quietly, having saved his people once again, but this time, the damage has been done, and he isn't alive to dictate the result of how his empire sees him.
The kingdom goes to sleep mourning its goat. They sleep wondering, plotting and planning for the tomorrow. Some of them sound like they are willing to worship tomorrow. These are the Ashen Order. They are the embodiment of goat's ambitious rage that knows no bounds. They want the conquest to continue, but they go to sleep, sending a little prayer to their new god, tomorrow.When the kingdom wakes up, it feels bizarre. Not because they are planning to stay in one place but the atmosphere feels like it is being created as time goes on. The land feels like its moving beneath their feet. They are still themselves but they feel as if they walked through a door opened by space and time. Young men rush out of the mud settlement to scout and they see it.
What they see is goat's dream. A land untouched by his predecessors. He stretched out his hands and reached further than Alexander the Great himself. Those closest to him will tell you he believed he surpassed him when Deimos was born. That was a land he never reached and conquered.
The kingdom scrambles to find Deimos. He isn't hard to find, though. His long dreadlocks are white with ash. The locks that once looked like wings to fly appear as if they are a shield. He has his father's first armor on. A sign of war. The Ashen Order gleefully passes on the word and word of the Ashen prince spreads to the kingdom, and it becomes a floating empire once more.
The floating empire stops dead in its tracks. Even the Ashen mumbles begrudgingly of its discontent by the sudden loss of drive. Theophelus. The goat's horns (hand, right hand). The keeper of the kingdom, for he was appointed by the goat himself to make sure that even if the empire falls, the kingdom lives on.
Deimos rides to him with a smile. Theo keeps a stern expression. "I was convinced you'd sleep through my first victory uncle. Im happy that you've joined us." Deimos doesn't wait for a reply, turning his horse to ride back to the floating empire so as to motion for it to move. Theophelus gets off his steed and the whole empire's ambition to conquest is culled. For he has decided that they will stay here until Deimos convinces him and the council why they need to conquest.
Theo's experience is what makes him stay. He knows when things are wrong. This is the first time he has even invoked this. He has one a year and he hopes he can get deimos to come to his senses but deimos literally thinks the shroud let his father die. And he will conquer it.
Deimos jumps off his horse and runs to Theophelus with an expression fueled by confusion and rage. Theophelus is taking off his armor as he walks to the Kraal (this is where meetings are held). "Uncle, you aren't possibly invoking this now. What is it? Are you challenging my ascension? Do you think I can't lead us to victory? Give me a chance. i will prove it to you!" pleads Deimos. Theophelus doesn't break his stride, his armor peeling off piece by piece. He stops in the entrance of the Kraal , turns back to Deimos, and gives him the smile he would give him when Deimos was younger, learning under his father. "This is your chance your majesty. Prove it". He disappears into the Kraal. Deimos can't enter until he takes his armor, regardless he has to prepare a speech for the council. He paces outside its entrance, only stopping to greet the Templar entering the Kraal and let them through.
The Ashen Order performs a humility that feels overdone as they pass their Ashen Prince. He recognizes it. They never did seem fond of him in Old World. He starts suspecting them of foul play. "... but they were the first to support my campaign, I can't always think like a wounded animal. The Ashen are on my side, I will use them. Their sudden support might be them using me so atleast we're even."
"Father, for the first time, i dont feel strong."
A hand on Deimos' shoulder stops the erratic pacing. He turns to see who it is. "You do realize they're waiting for you ?" Asks the owner of the hand. "They will have to wait longer."Deimos replies, trying to gain any momentum he can find in order to warm himself up for what will be his first time facing the council. He wishes his father were here to see him. "So? What is your plan?". "Why dont you tell me yours? We both know it's better." He replies. The owner of the hand smiles in a manner that one does when everything falls into place. "Break all the rules. Go ahead in your or your father's armor. This gets confusing. Make them convince you that conquest is futile. I find war being filled with hubris- you know this, but you're my best friend and I love finding cracks in things supposedly set in stone."
Deimos doesnt even think about it. He enters the Kraal. It goes quiet. He walks to the throne keeping his eye on tthe Order, he doesnt trust them but his face doesnt betray his thoughts of them.
"Your majesty, you aren't in the right state to sit here. You know it is against customs set by your father to be in here in war dressing." A councilman remarks, almost trying to catch Deimos before he sits in the throne. He fails. Deimos is intent on not addressing anything that wasn't in the plan.
Murmurs blanket the Kraal as Deimos watches on silently. His eyes find Theophelus' and they lock. They have a whole conversation just with their eyes. Theophelus stands, and the council goes quiet. " Your majesty "- "My father made your traditions in this armor, in the Old World, im making new ones here," he interrupts.Theophelus is impressed, "your father knew himself. The traditions he set weren't a set of rules he made because he was bored or was looking for a reason to appease the council. He made them for himself. " "and rightfully so Keeper. Now I make my own." "Where do you decide that somethings arent to be changed?" "Do you intend on leading from behind too? Seeing as you're breaking traditions?" "Do you even know why your father led from the front?" "Yes" ,"Do you understand it?" "My father told me stories of a shepherd, the best one. Yes, I understand ."
The council and the Ashen are astonished with the prince. They believed he would get embarrassed by Theophelus. Theophelus knew better. He and the goat trained him. The Ashen Order salivate at the prospect that is Deimos, they can't wait for the voting to commence. Deimos hates them at this point. His emotions are up due to everything happening around him from his father's passing to his mother, only sending a letter for the funeral, and the pure adrenaline of the debate. This is his first taste of this side of his duties as he is already on his way to be as good if not better than his father in combat.
Theophelus recognizes the fire in Deimos' eyes. If this goes on any longer, he will lose every vote he won. He stands and walks behind the throne, purposefully taking the long way out and, on his way, beckons the prince to follow him. Deimos is happy to oblige.
They're outside
"Why am I the Keeper?" Asks theo. "Why do I have the responsibility to yield power that can stop the emperor?" . Deimos' face turns into one of a student, he thinks. "My father trusts, I mean, trusted you to protect the kingdom, even if the empire fell. " Theophelus grabs Deimos , "And you are the kingdom!" His voice almost cracks as he says this. Deimos keeps quiet. This is one weapon he was trained well on. "I am your Keeper! Without you there is no kingdom. Not in the sense of a royal line but you are your father's heart. He was the empire. These people are going to die for you. They died for your father before they walked in here! They are dead set on doing the same for you. And if you die, they lose everything. Im not here for tradition. Im here for you."
Deimos places his face in his palms, wiping a tear away. "Keep me now." He doesnt wait for a reply from Theophelus. A rare tear streaks down Theophelus' face. He wipes it and follows the Ashen Prince. "Great goat, the knights Templar votes for your conquest on the Shroud. This place doesnt know of us yet, the empire needs you to display your power on the Shroud. For your father." They dont even wait for him to get in his seat. "Purgatory is still a factor even here. Your father needs penance for himself too. Conquest is the only way to pay it.
The Ashen Prince stops , "Tomorrow ." The Templars all smirk. _They behave like a hive mind of unbridled violence. How did my father find these people_ he thinks to himself. "Theophelus will be sharing his post of Keeper . I will be re emphasizing everything my father put into place. I will be exactly what my father was." The room dies. He doesnt understand it yet but he will. Theophelus thinks to himself . He will learn
Work in Progress
On this conquest goat falls ill, and no one knows how to find the cure. He demands the conquest continue and makes his arms bearer help him onto his steed and tie him to it so he can lead them as they look for new land to conquer.
Goat has a different motive to every emperor before him. His companion read about conquests where knights left to conquer lands in hopes they could lessen their time in purgatory. goat, being in a dire situation, turns his village into an empire attempting to lessen his and all who died in their homeland.
They reach a desert land where all they can see is an ocean of sunset orange sand. They wander in the desert for years, making contact with absolutely no life. Their once seemingly infinite resources dwindle, and they're now in the position they were in when goat first led them. Deimos doesn't know things are this bad for his father does an amazing job at hiding it. He hides the civil unrest, the dwindling resources, the conquest that has been dying for years .Even the death of his mother. goat finds an oasis with a mud settlement next to it and decides to set up camp around it for the night as the soldiers and young men fetch water for the people. The king slips into the next realm quietly, having saved his people once again, but this time, the damage has been done, and he isn't alive to dictate the result of how his empire sees him.
The kingdom goes to sleep mourning its goat. They sleep wondering, plotting and planning for the tomorrow. Some of them sound like they are willing to worship tomorrow. These are the Ashen Order. They are the embodiment of goat's ambitious rage that knows no bounds. They want the conquest to continue, but they go to sleep, sending a little prayer to their new god, tomorrow.When the kingdom wakes up, it feels bizarre. Not because they are planning to stay in one place but the atmosphere feels like it is being created as time goes on. The land feels like its moving beneath their feet. They are still themselves but they feel as if they walked through a door opened by space and time. Young men rush out of the mud settlement to scout and they see it.
What they see is goat's dream. A land untouched by his predecessors. He stretched out his hands and reached further than Alexander the Great himself. Those closest to him will tell you he believed he surpassed him when Deimos was born. That was a land he never reached and conquered.
The kingdom scrambles to find Deimos. He isn't hard to find, though. His long dreadlocks are white with ash. The locks that once looked like wings to fly appear as if they are a shield. He has his father's first armor on. A sign of war. The Ashen Order gleefully passes on the word and word of the Ashen prince spreads to the kingdom, and it becomes a floating empire once more.
The floating empire stops dead in its tracks. Even the Ashen mumbles begrudgingly of its discontent by the sudden loss of drive. Theophelus. The goat's horns (hand, right hand). The keeper of the kingdom, for he was appointed by the goat himself to make sure that even if the empire falls, the kingdom lives on.
Deimos rides to him with a smile. Theo keeps a stern expression. "I was convinced you'd sleep through my first victory uncle. Im happy that you've joined us." Deimos doesn't wait for a reply, turning his horse to ride back to the floating empire so as to motion for it to move. Theophelus gets off his steed and the whole empire's ambition to conquest is culled. For he has decided that they will stay here until Deimos convinces him and the council why they need to conquest.
Theo's experience is what makes him stay. He knows when things are wrong. This is the first time he has even invoked this. He has one a year and he hopes he can get deimos to come to his senses but deimos literally thinks the shroud let his father die. And he will conquer it.
Deimos jumps off his horse and runs to Theophelus with an expression fueled by confusion and rage. Theophelus is taking off his armor as he walks to the Kraal (this is where meetings are held). "Uncle, you aren't possibly invoking this now. What is it? Are you challenging my ascension? Do you think I can't lead us to victory? Give me a chance. i will prove it to you!" pleads Deimos. Theophelus doesn't break his stride, his armor peeling off piece by piece. He stops in the entrance of the Kraal , turns back to Deimos, and gives him the smile he would give him when Deimos was younger, learning under his father. "This is your chance your majesty. Prove it". He disappears into the Kraal. Deimos can't enter until he takes his armor, regardless he has to prepare a speech for the council. He paces outside its entrance, only stopping to greet the Templar entering the Kraal and let them through.
The Ashen Order performs a humility that feels overdone as they pass their Ashen Prince. He recognizes it. They never did seem fond of him in Old World. He starts suspecting them of foul play. "... but they were the first to support my campaign, I can't always think like a wounded animal. The Ashen are on my side, I will use them. Their sudden support might be them using me so atleast we're even."
"Father, for the first time, i dont feel strong."
A hand on Deimos' shoulder stops the erratic pacing. He turns to see who it is. "You do realize they're waiting for you ?" Asks the owner of the hand. "They will have to wait longer."Deimos replies, trying to gain any momentum he can find in order to warm himself up for what will be his first time facing the council. He wishes his father were here to see him. "So? What is your plan?". "Why dont you tell me yours? We both know it's better." He replies. The owner of the hand smiles in a manner that one does when everything falls into place. "Break all the rules. Go ahead in your or your father's armor. This gets confusing. Make them convince you that conquest is futile. I find war being filled with hubris- you know this, but you're my best friend and I love finding cracks in things supposedly set in stone."
Deimos doesnt even think about it. He enters the Kraal. It goes quiet. He walks to the throne keeping his eye on tthe Order, he doesnt trust them but his face doesnt betray his thoughts of them.
"Your majesty, you aren't in the right state to sit here. You know it is against customs set by your father to be in here in war dressing." A councilman remarks, almost trying to catch Deimos before he sits in the throne. He fails. Deimos is intent on not addressing anything that wasn't in the plan.
Murmurs blanket the Kraal as Deimos watches on silently. His eyes find Theophelus' and they lock. They have a whole conversation just with their eyes. Theophelus stands, and the council goes quiet. " Your majesty "- "My father made your traditions in this armor, in the Old World, im making new ones here," he interrupts.Theophelus is impressed, "your father knew himself. The traditions he set weren't a set of rules he made because he was bored or was looking for a reason to appease the council. He made them for himself. " "and rightfully so Keeper. Now I make my own." "Where do you decide that somethings arent to be changed?" "Do you intend on leading from behind too? Seeing as you're breaking traditions?" "Do you even know why your father led from the front?" "Yes" ,"Do you understand it?" "My father told me stories of a shepherd, the best one. Yes, I understand ."
The council and the Ashen are astonished with the prince. They believed he would get embarrassed by Theophelus. Theophelus knew better. He and the goat trained him. The Ashen Order salivate at the prospect that is Deimos, they can't wait for the voting to commence. Deimos hates them at this point. His emotions are up due to everything happening around him from his father's passing to his mother, only sending a letter for the funeral, and the pure adrenaline of the debate. This is his first taste of this side of his duties as he is already on his way to be as good if not better than his father in combat.
Theophelus recognizes the fire in Deimos' eyes. If this goes on any longer, he will lose every vote he won. He stands and walks behind the throne, purposefully taking the long way out and, on his way, beckons the prince to follow him. Deimos is happy to oblige.
They're outside
"Why am I the Keeper?" Asks theo. "Why do I have the responsibility to yield power that can stop the emperor?" . Deimos' face turns into one of a student, he thinks. "My father trusts, I mean, trusted you to protect the kingdom, even if the empire fell. " Theophelus grabs Deimos , "And you are the kingdom!" His voice almost cracks as he says this. Deimos keeps quiet. This is one weapon he was trained well on. "I am your Keeper! Without you there is no kingdom. Not in the sense of a royal line but you are your father's heart. He was the empire. These people are going to die for you. They died for your father before they walked in here! They are dead set on doing the same for you. And if you die, they lose everything. Im not here for tradition. Im here for you."
Deimos places his face in his palms, wiping a tear away. "Keep me now." He doesnt wait for a reply from Theophelus. A rare tear streaks down Theophelus' face. He wipes it and follows the Ashen Prince. "Great goat, the knights Templar votes for your conquest on the Shroud. This place doesnt know of us yet, the empire needs you to display your power on the Shroud. For your father." They dont even wait for him to get in his seat. "Purgatory is still a factor even here. Your father needs penance for himself too. Conquest is the only way to pay it.
The Ashen Prince stops , "Tomorrow ." The Templars all smirk. _They behave like a hive mind of unbridled violence. How did my father find these people_ he thinks to himself. "Theophelus will be sharing his post of Keeper . I will be re emphasizing everything my father put into place. I will be exactly what my father was." The room dies. He doesnt understand it yet but he will. Theophelus thinks to himself . He will learn
Work in Progress