#kaar kulok
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🌧
🌧️ rain: share a sad or emotional scene from your wip
Alright, so there were a lot of scenes I could have done for this. Like. A lot (sorry, Kiris). Fortunately, I figured there was one you'd like more than the others given that it's a Kiris + Kaar scene, so here you go!
This one's a long one because there was as short as I could cut it without doing an edit. Draft ones do not get edited aside from spelling/grammatical mishaps. Since I'm pretty sure this is the longest snippet I've shared, I'm adding the taglist. If anyone would like to be added to the list, let me know!
@on-noon, @whimsyqueen, @paradisiacalshroud, @cactusmotif, @houndsofcorduff!
Snippet: 874 words
If you're just wandering by, the long and short of Prince for Hire in a quick blurb:
Exhausted from being hunted for his prophetic abilities, a conman is forced to enter his name in the empress' competition for rule. Having eliminated three of the other princes in one fell-swoop and soaring into the empresses' favored four, his pursuers discover his whereabouts, and he must quickly learn that even princes cannot rule alone.
Kiris forced a chuckle as much as he forced his disbelief. “I’m twenty-two, Kaar. You really think I’ve had the time or resources to earn a Professorship?”
“No,” he said, as gentle as he could ever be. He turned over Kiris’ hand, ghosting over each spiraling cut, not quite touching. “But I believe you’ve had the need.”
“I’m not a Scholar. I’m a prince. And I haven’t sinned.”
“I don’t approach you from a place of judgement, Yphant. I act from a place of admiration.”
“I’m not—” Kiris shook his head and readied his greatest lie. “I don’t know Scholar’s magic. I’m not that selfish.”
Kaar played with Kiris’ cuticles. He looked up, catching Kiris’ eyes where previously he had studied the cuts. “Of all the princes here, my ally, I should recognize the signs of development within the Tri-Life. That you passed the Professor’s test is a credit to your academic understanding of your field, and a testament to your pain tolerance.”
Kiris swallowed and searched Kaar for any hint of dishonesty. Of malintent. Of betrayal. He found only the prince’s deep blue eyes, little flecks of grey and a spot of dark brown in one of them; he found only the type of honesty which could be backed by Empathy.
I’ve sinned. He mouthed the words, unable to voice them.
“You have not.”
“I’ve sinned.”
“You have not.”
He could feel his face twitching, the mask over his cheeks spasming. “I have sinned.”
Each day he chose himself over humanity. Each minute he gave himself pain rather than listen to the Other. Each prophecy. All of it—everything—these past seven years. He was a leech on society, a thief someone as upright as Nelovskevouk would not hesitate to slay on the street, would not hesitate to slay in a court of princes. He was a thief, and a parasite, and every day he went in denial of his only use—his only real use—he became fatter and fatter, bloated. And one day? One day, his excess—his selfishness—would be too much. He would explode.
“You don’t understand.”
“No one is selfish for survival, Yphant,” Kaar said, calm and slow as a layer of silt. “Not you; not me; not the poorest beggar on the street.” He played with Kiris’ hand, as if it were the most fragile thing. Kiris stared at their fingers. “How can you believe you have sinned, when to do without would have been death?”
His jaw felt sour, high-pitched and tense. The arid tundra of his mouth was inescapable.
“You have sinned no more than I. Is it not true that without life, there would be no one to provide substance to the Tri-Life? Is it not true that without humanity—individual humanity—there would be no one to give power to the Other?”
Kiris couldn’t respond. Kaar’s hands were soft, and where he ran his thumbs over the cuts it stung, but it was good. Kind. Where Nelovskevouk’s ‘concern’ had been trite and clumsy, Kaar’s was delicate and as gentle as a caress. Where Nelovskevouk had pressed on wounds long-since scarred, Kaar tendered injury in delicate touch. He was called ‘the Edifier'; perhaps Kiris should not be surprised.
“Your sins are forgotten,” Kaar said.
Forgotten.
Kiris shook his head. “They cannot be.”
“They are forgotten.”
“You don’t understand.”
“They,” he said, the authority of the Temples and a principality behind him, “are. Forgotten.”
Perhaps it was his imagination. Perhaps it was how raw the Realms sang in his ears, the stinging of his hands in Kaar’s gentle grasp, the force of someone so strongly Affiliated and deep in their convictions. The Other quivered before Kaar’s words, and Kiris shuddered. If fate had quirked, just a little, if external coincidence hadn’t fallen so perfectly on Kiris’ shoulders, it would not have taken much difference for Kaar to have been the Prophet instead. That Kaar had retained his station—that he had not fallen to the sin of a prince and developed his power rather than his people—was…
“Where is the thinness which hurt you, my ally, that I might close it?”
Awe-inspiring.
“Thaav,” Kiris said, silent.
Kaar squeezed his hands then let them go. They fell by Kiris’ side, and he wasn’t sure what to do with them now, the touch still phantasmic on them. “I will ensure they find comfort deep in the Other. Do you wish to accompany me?”
To return to Prince Thaav’s room. To return to where they had lain dead just this morning. To return to where he had left the Realms so thin, his failure on display to the world, his desperation audible and his fear inviting the Other in? To return to Thaav’s death.
“Sleep,” Kaar said, when Kiris couldn’t respond. “Come tomorrow, you will be able to mourn without fear of pain. That, I promise.”
#doesn't Kaar seem like such a genuinely nice guy?#writing#wip#princeforhire#writblr#writeblr#writerblr#kaar kulok#kiris na suem#fantasy#ask game
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Kaar 💥 😈
Some more on Kaar for you! Ask game here.
💥 How likely would you be to put them in charge of a disaster/high stakes situation?
8/10. An extremely good choice overall, level-headed and clear-sighted. The one point against Kaar in this case is that he would also make the situation work in his favor, and could choose to delay appropriate response until it would most benefit his goals (and could justify it as needed). That said, he has a firm grasp on leadership, and is able to make people listen to him without being overbearing about it.
😈 How chaotic are their morals?
4/10. Kaar's morals are firm and not prone to fluctuation. He is more adaptable regarding morality than Iiriok (that's... not saying much, really), and it's very much a case of "if it is permitted within the Tri-Life, it is permitted within his own life." The trick with his morality, of course, is that at a certain point he's able to justify his wants as "preventing other people from falling to selfishness," and can quote passages from foundational texts and philosophies to back it up. So, can I consider him a good guy with my own standards? Not... really. He'd found Omelas. Is he a good guy according to the standards of the culture? Yep.
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for Kaar, spring and mic drop
Even if you hadn't specified Kaar, I saw the username and went, 'ah, yes. Time for Kaar Kulok' 🙂. Gotta love the contrasts guy. This also became unexpectedly long!
Ask game here.
spring: what does your OC miss most? will they ever be reunited? how would they feel about that?
My drive to and from work today was devoted to figuring this one out. Overall, Kaar is not sentimental. He doesn't move on quickly, so much as he acknowledges that sometimes he will miss the things he used to have, allows himself to reflect when it happens, and then carries on with his day. He doesn't like being slowed down by things which no longer affect him or his goals, especially since that sort of attachment could be construed as a sin according to the Temples (under ye olde catch-all of selfishness. If in doubt, it's all about 'selfishness').
That said, before he convinced his mother to Compete for Cym, his family used to rule Kasuz principality. One of the Kasuz Boyars took over Kaar's younger education/the general responsibilities of keeping him out of trouble and in princely standing while his parents ran the country. It was this Boyar who first introduced him to the Temples' teachings, and the potentials (good and bad) that could come from adhering to the Tri-Life's doctrine. They were a stern teacher, but fair, and Kaar considered them not only a mentor and friend, but family (which, since the Boyar had a firm Waters affiliation, could have actually resulted in Kaar adopting the Boyar and legally making them a prince). The Boyar remained in Kasuz when the Kuloks took Cym principality, and Kaar often wonders what became of them--and genuinely misses them. The only way for them to be reunited without really unfortunate political ramifications is for Kaar to compete for Kasuz to rule it, for him to be invited back to Kasuz as a guest, or for him to win 'L Tuola's Competition.
mic drop: what accomplishment is your OC proudest of? do they brag about it, or are they more quiet?
So far, Kaar's proudest of how he was able to not only convince his parents to give up Kasuz (a small but prosperous principality) for Cym (small and cold and frankly somewhat miserable), but also manipulate Cym's Boyars into confirming him as blood-heir--something which rarely happens in the Novgor Plateau (note: blood-heir means that when his ruling parent dies/is killed/departs the principality, Kaar will automatically rule Cym without need of Competition), and then managed to convince his ruling parent to 'retire.' That means Kaar already is the First Prince of Cym (he's actually, the youngest ruler of the Plateau!), and he managed to earn an entire principality legally without bothering with the usual competition. While he was doing this, he also convinced Toor Temple's Headmaster that he was capable of uniting the Temples with the Principalities, and should be appointed as Prince of the Temples in order to do so. Kaar's... Kaar's honestly doing great in terms of his personal goals.
He isn't prone to boasting or bragging, however, and so keeps his various accomplishments quiet. The other princes' knee-jerk opinion of him is that he is a religious zealot motivated by nothing but some intangible desire to please the Other Realm, which makes it fairly easy for Kaar to circumvent their attempts to remove him from Competition.
#princeforhire#kaar kulok#he's honestly a really cool guy#especially the more I think about what he's had to do in order to get to where he is?#he's basically speedrunning the whole prince thing#and is just about to figure out how to unlock a whole hidden game#ask game#writblr#writeblr#character development#not? writing
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happy blorbo blursday!
what do Kiris and Kaar look like?
Hello, hello, and happy blursday, @on-noon!
I'm just gonna go into the doc for this and shake out whatever I have for their descriptions!
Under the cut 'cause this started getting long.
Kiris:
...The fact of the matter was, he had only just reached his twenty-second winter and he had always looked younger than his age, his Prince Yphant na Suem persona spoke just as softly as he did on the regular (albeit with a Musmiel accent which matched his appearance vice his native northern Cym burr) and he was neither brawny nor tall...
...On his upper arms were matching scars—thick and slowly healing—each over two inches across...
...There wasn’t much Kiris could do about the youth of his face or the unruly finger-width curls brushing his eyes...
Wow do I need to rewrite the first few chapters. Yikes. But anyway, that's all we've got for initial physical descriptions of Kiris. What I've got pictured in my head (and which I was able to make a sort-of accurate Artbreeder for, just below): about 5'5"-5'6", dark brown hair, fairly tight curls, dark brown eyes, darker skin, nimble hands, normally looks somewhat startled.
As for Kaar:
...“If you’re referring to Prince Kulok of Cym being of hereditary stock, I concur.”...
...“Kaar Kulok?” Kiris asked, setting aside ni Musyr’s folder. “I haven’t met him yet, but I have heard he is… religious.”...
...Hovering over him, kneeling in concern, was a prince in his late twenties who was a study in contrasts. His hair was as black as his skin was pale; his eyes as dark as his soul shone Light; his outer-tunic the color of midnight forests and the undertunic the silver glow of the moon.
“Are you well?” Prince Kaar Kulok, Cym, asked, his voice whisper soft and still as firm as an avalanche’s roar.
Belatedly, Kiris realized his mouth was open. He shut it; forced neutrality as if this whole thing were planned; did his best not to explore the contours of Prince Kulok’s face this close. “Yes,” he said. “No. Maybe. I… perhaps am coming down with something.”...
...Prince Kulok had full lips, a lush red...
...His eyebrows were thick and full, two strict lines making the planes of his face that much sharper....
...Kaar had blue eyes. They were dark, similar to sapphire, and the exact opposite of the river-stone greys Nelovskevouk possessed. At first glance, it could be forgiven for assuming they were a shade of dark brown; when they caught the light like this, however, there was no mistaking it...
Kaar, both hands, smoothed his hair behind his ears, the black strands almost free-floating in the faint breeze of the hallway.
Kiris goes on in poetic fashion every-time Kaar comes by, and this doesn't even include that soul description. If you want to put a face to that, roughly think Dream from the Sandman (the TV version), but considerably less... sad noodle.
I hope you're having a happy blursday!
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💬
A little more than a line, but some more Kaar for you :)
--
Kaar hummed. “Then you see my dilemma.”
“Trust me,” Kiris repeated, equally quiet. “As student of Toor, to student of Toor. I will handle Nelovskevouk and ni Musyr; and, as a show of good faith, Bakivio.”
Those plush red lips, now a faint smile, now so tempting. “And how do you intend to do that, Second Prince of Strauv?”
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🖊 Kaar Kulok
Oh Kaar.
The quick basics: "the Edifier," male, 29, Lights affiliate, Cym Principality, probably 5'10" or so, could have extremely powerful magic had he been allowed to study.
He was not supposed to be the pretty one Kiris has eyes for. He was supposed to be a fairly major antagonist and kind of a weird little zealot guy who figured Kiris' lies out, drugged him for his own gain (all about those prophecies), and then used him to take control of the Temples and win 'L Tuola's competition.
He might still do that, but now Kiris thinks he's hot, and is actively disregarding the danger.
Kaar's actually a good competitor. His values align fairly well with the Turre's, he's clever, and he's fairly selfless as a point of pride--it's a core tenant in the religion. Guy's educated, passionate, and has the power to act on his desires. That said, he represents Cym principality, which is the most northern principality in the plateau. Cym has it's issues, and it is not powerful. The only reason the Turre didn't flat conquer it is because it's cold AF up there, and other than the religious value of its association with the Prophet Avkonin, doesn't have much going for it.
Kaar is well aware of all of this. He's made it his job in this first stage of the competition to ally himself with as many of the other smaller, lone-wolf principalities as possible. That he actually kind of likes Kiris (under the guise of Yphant na Suem, Strauv) is a bonus to his plans. Kaar will make it to the final four.
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Parietal Lobe Kaar
Oh, Kaar.
I'd say he's such a sweetie but I'd be lying. Love this guy. 10/10 hoping I can come up with a plot for a second book in this universe because this man warrants so much more screen time than Prince for Hire could give him.
Parietal Lobe (physical sensation) - Are there any physical sensations (e.g. temperatures, textures, etc) that your character extra loves and can't get enough of?
From this ask game here!
Short list of some Prince for Hire characters here.
He loves silk. Good, high quality silk, the kind that people would stage revolution for to get a yard of. He likes how the texture glides, and how cool it is, and how the light breaks on it like smoothly flowing water. Similarly, one of his favorite phenomenons in nature is that laminar water, especially in an area of otherwise rough rapids--that one spot where it just flows over a boulder, and he knows the boulder is there, but it's distorted like through odd crystal. He likes how he can disrupt the tension, but still might not be able to reach what's underneath. He enjoys how frigid it feels on his hands, how it beats against him and tugs at him, yet somehow still remains smooth.
Also, he likes cold things, which is good, because he chose to live in Cym 😅
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🥪📚🥞 for Kaar
KAAR!
@on-noon :D
🥪 On a scale from ‘burns water’ to ‘5 course menu’ how well can your OC cook?
2. Cannot cook. The only reason he isn't a 1 for this is because he can at least get the stove on. Even when he was completing his education in Toor Temple, he had a whole retinue of servants of various skills accompanying him. If he were ever in a situation where he had to cook, it would frankly be embarrassing, but he'd set aside whatever discomfort he had because it's impossible, even for him, to immediately be good at something he's never done.
📚 Your OC has to improvise a 10 minute lecture about a topic of their choosing. What do they chose?
The history of the princes of the plateau! But not "this one's related to that one, and then they moved there, and etc. etc.," but rather, the history of how the Novgor princes came into power, why there's so many of them, why the ruling families are mobile compared to the monarchies in Musmiel and Aghran and are expected to be out-competed/usurped by other princes every few years, their relationship to the Temples, and the dependency of their power on the Prophet. It would actually be a fascinating lecture, and he would be invited to repeat it in more formal settings.
🥞 Does your OC take proper care of themselves, like getting enough sleep and eating properly?
Very much so, yes! The first step to maintaining an empire is to maintain oneself. If spas, massages, etc. were more of a thing in Prince for Hire, you better bet he would have weekly appointments. He is rigorous in getting at least six hours of sleep a night, preferably closer to seven; his diet is decidedly nutritious, especially for Cym Principality standards; his overall fitness he fights for; he has a very constructive and healthy approach to his mentality. Overall, other than maybe Iiriok and Evina, he's the best of the princes in terms of self-care.
Ask game here!
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Prince for Hire Magic System, cont.
Part 2/2. Part 1 here, and a rundown of prophecy over here!
And as promised, this one has my powerpoint graphics (there was no better way of sharing that information other than in a very ugly excel sheet).
Let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist. Taglist: @whimsyqueen, @cactusmotif, @on-noon, @paradisiacalshroud, @houndsofcorduff.
The Magic
There are four categories of magic consistent across the Affiliations (and the Affiliations, again, are Waters, Soils, and Lights). These are not to be confused with categories of difficulty, since a “gentle” magic like Affixing can be just as difficult as an “external” magic like Lightning. The categories are based off how they present on the user and their effects. No matter the magic, it is impossible to perform without a thorough and scientific knowledge of how whatever they’re doing works. Because of the whole “science” aspect of it, the titles of the magic can cover a wide variety of sub-type magics, and the list is constantly in flux. The Scholars like experimenting!
The categories of magic:
The Gentle Magics.
These do not present on the user. Gentle Magics are external magics capable of influencing the environment, but not to the point of being able to cause much damage should things get out of hand.
The Selfish Magics.
These present with the user’s hands glowing the color of their soul, the intensity of the glow dependent on the intensity of the magic, which, again, is dependent upon the user’s understanding of how the magic they’re performing works. These magics only impact the user.
The External Magics.
These present with the user’s hands/forearms glowing like the selfish magics, as well as with the user’s irises being filled with their soul color (not glowing). These magics impact the user, those they target, and the environment.
The Forbidden Magics.
These present with a complete eclipse of the user’s eyes with their soul color (glowing), as well as the usual glowy forearms/hands. These magics are solely intended for destruction and shall not be intentionally studied.
Unrelated to the above categories, there is also Prophet’s magic. It’s a purely academic distinction, because the Scholars needed something to call what the Prophets can do. The “magic” in this category is a description of the different forms a True Prophet’s Realms sensitivity can take, rather than a learned magic. These may not physically present to an outside observer, may lattice the Prophet’s soul color across their iris, may fill their eyes with soul color, and may even seem to crack the skin of the hands/forearms and around the eyes.
The Temple system has defined ratings of magical prowess: student, mentor, professor, professor of research, and headmaster. Study of magic within the Temples is treated similarly to how a university gives classes. The average person usually leaves the system once they earn the title of Mentor—having a Mentor status in (insert magic they chose to study here) opens up job opportunities. Some students stay within the system to earn what would amount to a master’s degree (which gives them the title of Professor). Going along with that, a Professor of Research is equivalent to a doctorate. The Headmaster title is mostly administrative, but to qualify as the headmaster of a Temple, one needs to have been a Professor of Research for several years.
The current agreed-upon sub-types of magic, by Affiliation:
Some characters with Lights Affiliations (magic user and not): Kaar Kulok, Batar ni Musyr, Headmaster of Toor, Velez Bakivio, Orjiar Thaav.
Some characters with Waters Affiliations (again, both magic using and not): Kiris Avkonin, Martarez Nazvili, Duvutriok Vuun.
Some characters with Soils Affiliations (likewise the previous messages): Iiriok Nelovskevouk, Riasil of Toor, Aysminuuk Mazveiz.
Scholars describe the magic of the True Prophets into three types:
Foresight/Prophecy: the Prophet projects through the Realms and into the future (of the Human Realm). Prophet loses senses within the present during Prophecy. Whatever the Prophet experiences will come to pass. Presents with a complete eclipse of the eye.
Voice of the Gods: the Prophet takes audience with the inhabitants of the Other Realm. May become overwhelming for the Prophet, depending how many people are vying for their attention. Depending on the intensity, presents with an eclipse of the eye, or more commonly, the iris latticed in soul color.
Slippage: the Prophet slips from the Human Realm and into the Other. Note: this has only been officially observed once. Unofficially, this is the Headmaster of Toor’s hypothesis on how Kiris escaped.
And, in general terms, that’s the magic system of Prince for Hire, not including a lot of rabbit holes! Thanks for sticking through my powerpoint graphics :)
For some title context with characters:
Riasil of Toor – Soils Affiliate – Professor of Research in Nutrient Enrichment (gentle magic), Mentor in Soil’s History (selfish) and Vegetative Aging (external), has dabbled in Soils Manipulation (external) but not as a student.
The Headmaster of Toor – Lights Affiliate – Headmaster of Toor Temple, Professor of Research in Non-Linear Sight (selfish) and Image Projection (external), Professor in Lightning (external), has dabbled in many other disciplines.
Kiris Avkonin (na Suem) – Waters Affiliate – Professor? in Empathic Projection (external), Mentor? of Empathy (selfish), Student of Erosion (external), has dabbled in Dew (gentle) and Flooding (external). Kiris has been too busy running to officially test for these titles.
Prince Aysminuuk Mazveiz – Soils Affiliate – Mentor in Health Enhancement (selfish).
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For the weaponry asks!
Spear: what is as the heart of the story?
Halberd: in general, how dangerous is the setting?
:D
From this ask game here! Doing this for Prince for Hire.
Spear:
The heart of Prince is definitely Kiris' personal growth. Take away all the drippings--the murder, the politics, the Turre Competition--and fundamentally it's a story about Kiris learning to care for himself--becoming willing to care for himself--before he attempts to care for others. In that turn, it's about him forgiving himself for not being able to be some grand hero, a perfect Prophet, everything it was beat into him that he should be but never lived up to.
It's about Kiris realizing that he's not a burden.
Batar and Iiriok's arcs run parallel to Kiris', and I don't think Prince would be able to stand without them forcing Kiris to change (and Kiris, in turn, forcing them to change, too).
Halberd:
If we're talking just the general environment of the Novgor Plateau, about on par with what you'd expect northern Canada or somewhere similar to be. If we're talking the Turre's Tesendi fortress, where all but the first 5 chapters take place, extremely dangerous.
It's the giant warhawks. It's the enemy Turre army. It's 'L Tuola herself, the empress invading the Novgor Plateau. It's the princes of the Novgor Plateau, all feuding and slaughtering one another in an effort to have 'L Tuola's grant to rule the region. It's Kaar Kulok and his plots to unite the Temples (the magical authority) under his command. It's Duvutriok Vuun, Batar ni Musyr, and even Iiriok Nelovskevouk. It's the risk of Kiris' capture, and the power he could be forced to abuse.
Very dangerous. Would not recommend visiting on vacation.
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Prince for Hire Deleted Scenes, part Seven
Amount Deleted: several chapters and chapter bits, although this part was 1,070.
Reason for Deleting: main plot has lost focus due to too many sub/sideplots and not enough time
Way to fix it?: choose the main plots which emphasize in some way the theme and weed out the rest; if pacing is tight enough after draft two I can attempt to work back in some of these sideplots. The goal is to kill Prince Thaav at the end of the first third, which means Kaar Kulok's scenes have to be greatly cut :( On the upside, given how well Prince has set itself up as a trilogy, if I get around to writing the sequels, he's gonna come back in a big way.
Excerpt Length: 1,070
Context: Draft One, Kiris has stolen a talisman off Prince Duvutriok Vuun, only discovering later that it is a human eye. This next morning, he is figuring out what to do with it, and while on his way to breakfast he runs into Kaar Kulok.
Taglist (ask to be added/removed): @whimsyqueen, @cactusmotif, @on-noon, @houndsofcorduff, @shrunkupthejams.
Was Kiris proud of himself for fending off any conversation from Aris, or any of his guards the next morning?
A little.
Was he proud that he’d done so by snatching Duvutriok’s human body part talisman and sprinting out the door as soon as Eskarez had pulled his tunic over his head and long before they’d had a chance to fix his hair, finished tying everything off, or even straightened his tunics properly?
Not as much.
Kiris shoved Duvutriok’s cube into his pocket and tried to pretend it was just some spare change as he frantically tugged down his overtunic. He tied it off the way he’d noticed Eskarez favored, then fixed the knot in his belt so it wasn’t hanging so sloppily, then did his best to comb through his hair and give it some sense of order.
“Short morning?”
Kiris did his best not to jump, and mostly failed.
The purse of Kaar’s lips may have been a smile; on anyone else, it would have been nothing. But his eyes were dark in humor, his posture strong and head half again over Kiris’, the shining silver of his tunic making him ethereal.
He has a very nice nose, Kiris thought, forgetting his hands and everything else.
“Yphant?”
And I have an eye in my pocket. Kiris jerked his hands from his scalp, wincing as he pulled through several tangles, and considered the hours he had left to live. He could count them on both hands. It was time, therefore, to figure out how to hand this competition to Kaar.
“How fond are you of Bakivio?” Kiris asked.
Were he anyone else, no matter how powerful their lineage, the non-sequitur would have faltered them. But this was Prince Kaar Kulok the Edifier, and he kept company and made sense of the rambles of Temple Scholars. “The only bond we share is in Affiliation.”
Kiris nodded, playing with his lips and desperately not thinking of how he had an eye (a human, human eye) in his pocket, and inevitably only thinking of it more. “And Duvutriok?”
“Tasteless, but useful.” He gestured towards the hallway to the dining chamber, and they resumed walking. “I had not realized you and Prince Vuun were so close as to warrant given names.”
“No. I call him that because it pisses him off.”
“You… purposefully anger a prince known for collecting the body parts of his competitors?”
Kiris nodded. “He isn’t special, though. Anyone I disagree with, really. Same treatment. I did Nelovskevouk in fairly well last night.”
“Nelovskevouk?” Kaar repeated. His hands twitched towards his belt, but he set them aside before he could fiddle. It wasn’t the sort of nervous tick Kiris was expecting of him. “Yphant, he is Prince of Dargoulvga. He has the most allies of anyone here. Why would you do that?”
“Differences of philosophy.” He shrugged and sidestepped a bowing servant. “Besides, it isn’t as if he will kill me.”
“He very well may.”
“No,” Kiris said. “I mean, he might try, but ni Musyr should have me dead by this time tomorrow.”
“You’ve—” he stopped. He actually stopped, and Kiris walked several paces beyond him before he realized. Kaar, both hands, smoothed his hair behind his ears, the black strands almost free-floating in the faint breeze of the hallway. “How have you managed to anger ni Musyr and Nelovskevouk both, when this Competition has begun so recently that truce has not yet expired?”
“I am an endless wellspring of talent.” Kiris went to tuck his hands into his pockets, promptly remembered that he still had an eyeball in there, and swallowed away his disgust. “The function of a Vakon prince is to challenge the land-locked princes. I would have been the Plateau’s most selfish Vakon had I not achieved some measure of competency within that function.”
A group of servants passed them by, bowing again. When Kiris glanced out the carving-adorned window—so elaborate to almost be equivalent to the Plateau’s stained glass—the sun sat on the edge of the horizon, bending the shadows of the courtyard before it. They still had several minutes before they would be on time, and therefore, late.
“You no longer suffer the indignity of Vakon,” Kaar said, slowly.
Kiris shook his head, staring up at the prince. “There was never any indignity.”
“Nevertheless, if you continue competing as Vakon rather than as Strauv, Cym will be unable to stand for you. Cym cannot afford to make enemies of Msvoulga and Dargoulvga both.”
“You will not be made enemies of them.”
“Any alliance with you shall prove your enemies my own.”
“No,” Kiris said. “If you wish for me to speak as a land-locked prince, then hear me: Strauv does not share its messes, nor does it inherit them from others. My allies and enemies are my own; it will be my purpose in this competition to keep them as such.” This time, it was he who led them down the hall. “That includes you.”
“One prince is nothing in this Competition. Certainly not when a Nelovskevouk competes.”
Another set of servants, another set of bows, another set of intricately carved shadows from the morning sunlight. Kiris smiled, because he could fully appreciate the irony of his next words: “Trust me.”
�� Kaar raised a thick black eyebrow, the arch finely carved and the motion pointedly slow. The sunlight caught his eyes and made them nearly the same color as Kiris’ soul when he accidentally looked. It made Kaar's face free of blemishes and the silver threads of his tunic, genuine silver, sparkle.
“How should I trust you?” he asked, lowly. The depth thrilled up Kiris’ spine. “As comrades in title?”
“Nothing so crass.”
“Friends in Affiliation?”
“An unstable connection without the Soils.”
Kaar hummed. “Then you see my dilemma.”
“Trust me,” Kiris repeated, equally quiet. “As student of Toor, to student of Toor. I will handle Nelovskevouk and ni Musyr; and, as a show of good faith, Bakivio.”
Those plush red lips, now a faint smile, now so tempting. “And how do you intend to do that, Second Prince of Strauv?”
Kiris smiled, even as his thoughts drifted to his pocket. Even as he longed to hurl it out the nearest window. Even as he wished he could ignore this breakfast in favor of sleeping away in his bed. He smiled, because Kaar did. “You’ll see.”
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Find the Word!
Tagged by @kyofsonder! Thank you!!
My words were explain, answer, avoid, scheme, and dismiss. Somehow, I didn’t have scheme. From Prince for Hire.
Explain (current first line, actually! This is… going to be rewritten once I figure out where this story is going to end).
“Competition forces change,” Kiris explained. The Boyars of Strauv sat around their council table, some with their hands steepled, some taking notes, and others as expressionless as Kiris himself. “Prince Nazvili hasn’t had a challenge for the Strauv Principality since I was a child; she has grown complacent. Sure of her position. That’s why she believes you will accept this trade regulation without consequence.”
Answer
Prince Nazvili took a biscuit and offered the platter. Kiris snagged several, as they were perfectly stackable. They were lavender flavored and delicately crumbly, and there was the faintest hint of vanilla, and he wished it wouldn’t be bad form to eat the entire platter. “If you had answered yes,” Nazvili said, while Kiris worked his way through a second biscuit, “I would have had you killed.”
Avoid
Between the ache from his spine, the knife at his stomach, the woman shoved all up in his business, his mouth may have been filled with cotton. His grasp on the candle was limp, his saliva too thick to swallow.
“Prince na Suem, isn’t it?” she asked, bracing her free hand to the side of his head.
“Yphant,” Kiris whispered.
“Yphant na Suem.”
How she said his name, even fake, sent tingles up his spine and chills racing down his body. He pressed tighter to the wall to avoid his shiver.
Scheme
n/a. Fun fact! Batar ni Musyr was originally meant to be a minor character, and her role had been combined with Kaar Kulok’s. Now they’re both prominent side characters with very different roles and stories.
Dismiss
Aris still knelt on the floor. He’s fully dressed, Kiris realized, slowly, his mind still hazy from sleep. Regular clothes and light armor, his sword scabbard draped on the ground.
“My Prince,” he began again, and now that the Realms were thickening, Kiris’ headache tightening, he could hear how gently Aris spoke those words, “forgive my impudence, but ‘this’ is not fine.”
“It’s gone,” Kiris lied, the fear still ringing at the edge of his hearing. He shook his head and forced a smile as if all this were just a child’s overreaction. “It was nothing.”
“What was ‘it,’ my Prince?”
The blankets were soft in his hands, heavy as they bunched, warm where he had slept and cool where he had not. “Go to sleep, Aris. You’re dismissed.”
“I will summon a Scholar for you.”
Kiris froze. The blankets fell from his hands. His heartbeat, now, over-ruled the fear streaming through the Realms. “No.”
tagging: @elijahrichardwrites, @athenixrose, @avrablake, @marigoldispeculiar, and @smilingpaperbag! Your words are risk, reward, rush, rule, and rampant.
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Find the Word!
I was tagged by @saltysupercomputer, thanks! Check out their tag here.
My words were possibility (which became impossible), pain, proud, proof, and perception. From Prince for Hire!
I’ll send this towards @marigoldispeculiar, @daisywords, @ezestreet, @dogmomwrites, and @bookish-galaxies, as well as an open tag for anyone who’d like to hop in :)
Your words are grit, gape, gain, grasp, and gasp.
Possibility -> impossible
“And you, Prince Yphant na Suem, Strauv, of Musmiel and Cym, should deny the Prophet Kiris Avkonin’s foresight?”
Kiris scoffed, untucking his legs. “What prophecy? I don’t remember—”
“You would have been no more than a child at the time, although I expected a prince such as yourself who studied at Toor Temple would have memorized the Prophet’s futures.”
No, Kiris thought. No, it was impossible. He couldn’t have codified Prince Thaav’s death. He couldn’t have—he didn’t remember hearing it, or seeing it, or—
Pain
Ni Musyr smiled, and its edges glowed against the flame. She flicked the candle aside and slammed him into the wall. Pain seared under his collarbone. Tip of her knife, dug in, dragging and cutting and blood wept. His mouth was of ash and his mind of lead.
“I liked Martarez,” she whispered, her breath hot against his ear. The dagger—the dagger. “I would have kept her in Competition until the end. But you…” An exhale, but Kiris was frozen, unable to move away, blood creeping down his chest. “The truce ends in thirty-nine hours. Enjoy it, na Suem. While you can.”
Proud (this entire conversation is honestly one of my favorites so far. To be fair, any Iiriok + Kiris conversation runs fun, because Kiris thinks Iiriok’s an easy target)
At this, despite his blush, Kiris turned. “His collection?”
Nelovskevouk raised an eyebrow. “He isn’t called the ‘curator’ for nothing.”
Waters. And there Duvutriok was, at the other side of the table, carrying on like he wasn’t some collector of body parts. Sure, logically, Kiris had known that the curator title had to be earned, and sure, he’d actually seen Duvutriok walking around with someone’s head before, but that didn’t mean he’d made the connection to a collection. On display. Proudly. Which he must be, for Duvutriok to have shown Nelovskevouk.
“It was just as horrible as you think,” Nelovskevouk continued. “He had everything labelled, dated, and catalogued.”
Proof
“Right.” He raised an eyebrow and spoke through his teeth. “Batar.”
She nodded. Maybe that was the magic word, or the proof, or a shot of coffee straight to her stomach. The dagger flipped away and she set a hand on her hip, the other now holding that dripping candle aloft as if a scepter. “I saw your spat with Pretty Boy earlier. Lover’s quarrel?”
“Nelovskevouk?” Kiris clarified.
“I would not term what you were doing with Kaar Kulok fighting.”
Perception
N/A. Fun fact! Although Kiris’ hair is longer than what the Headmaster had cut it to in Toor Temple, by Novgor Plateau standards, it’s unfashionably short. To be fashionable, it should be roughly shoulder length.
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Penknife: Which of your characters is best at keeping secrets?
and
Crossbow: Has the world significantly changed after the events of the story?
Hello, hello! Thanks for the ask!
From this ask game here, and Prince for Hire.
Penknife
Kaar Kulok! Easy day. First Prince Kulok of Cym (one of the northernmost principalities) is officially titled as "the Edifier" and unofficially called "the Zealot." What neither title quite catches is the fact that he's using the destruction from the invading Turre Empire to increase popular support for the Temples (his choice of religious institute... which are loyal to him) and thereby gain the influence to convince mass rebellion across the region, and, in turn, use that chaos to sweep on through and take the region as his own. He's very good at secrets.
Crossbow
I answered this one over here!
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Figured out how to get through the scene I was flat out missing in Prince for Hire!
The answer is: 'L Tuola (the antagonist) has stated, multiple times, that anyone who brings her the Prophet will automatically win her right to rule the region. Trick is, of course, the Prophet is supposed to be dead (cue Kiris suddenly finding his dinner absolutely fascinating), and very few people know what he even looks like.
So anywho, banking off that last bit, one of the competing princes manages to find someone roughly Kiris' age, with an exceptionally polarized Water affiliation (on par with Kaar Kulok's Lights affiliation, which is saying something), and tries his luck passing this random guy off as the Prophet.
He gets smote by 'L Tuola, of course, but the not-Prophet? 'L Tuola keeps him, and it isn't even Kiris' fault, but whoof does he feel bad about the random guy.
Time to present the world's awkwardest rescue.
(Thematically, this is where Kiris starts doing things that he wants to do, because he wants to do them, rather than doing as is expected of him/what he thinks others would want from him)
#princeforhire#hendo rambles#i've been stuck for the past four days trying to figure this one out#the whole thing I can expect to add at least 6k to the manuscript but meh#I'm still within target range#(target range being anything less that 125k)
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Quick Character Introductions!
Prince for Hire: wip intro; comic sans powerpoint.
Snagging an idea from @athenixrose (and their PotatoLord picrew, thanks!) for a quick intro on the first few introduced competitor princes in Prince for Hire. From top to bottom, left to right:
Kiris Avkonin (going by Yphant na Suem), representing Strauv. He’s basically just trying not to get killed. Or uncovered as “definitely not a prince” and killed. Or discovered as the missing Prophet and used. He’s straight up not having a good time.
Iiriok Nelovskevouk the Fair, representing Dargoulvga. He’s looking to win the Turre’s Competition to give Dargoulvga the necessary power to overthrow the Turre Empire. He tends to kill anyone he deems a criminal on sight.
Batar ni Musyr the Rebel-Slayer, representing Msvoulga. Nominally she’s competing to expand the Msvoulgan empire; in reality, she’s going to use the Turre’s power to end her father’s tyranny. She’s going to use all the other competitors for entertainment.
A very young Orjiar Thaav the Fearsome-Eyes, representing Voronin. They’re in the Turre’s competition because they once conquered four lesser principalities and merged them into one Voronin. The Turre do not appreciate this history. The Turre requested their presence specifically.
Kaar Kulok the Edifier, representing Cym. If he wins, he will use his newfound power to unite not only the Novgor principalities, but also the Temples, that he might gain the favor of the long-missing Prophet of Cym, Kiris Avkonin.
Kysminov Evina, representing Tynts-u-Y’shi. Her principality controls the primary pass between the Novgor Plateau and Musmiel. With the Turre’s armies at her beck and call, she will expand Tynts-u-Y’shi into Musmiel and strangle Msvoulga’s economy.
More in-depth character introductions coming as soon as I figure out a format I like. Let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist!
@whimsyqueen, @on-noon, @cactusmotif
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