#sdc december 2022 fridays

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month - December 2022 - Friday #5

"I know you not"

IX. Xibia

My son, she wants to say, I missed you so, but the words collapse upon themselves inside her throat, choking her. The truth — the bitter truth — is that she cannot bring herself to fully mean them, not even after an absence of seven years. Not when the youth standing before her is a stranger bearing the perfect likeness of the man who became the Gods, — They who took her from her child, her children — save for his widow's peak, the only trait fully her own. For an instant, she pictures a younger boy, softer of face and features, paler-eyed, running happily in her direction, laughing, and sighs wistfully.

Notes

Xibia is our eighth fanon character featuring this month (if you're displeased with how this month's canon-to-fanon ratio turned out, just remember the randomiser is by nature unpredictable — the situation could be reversed next June, for all we know). She was a non-main line, blood-rank two daughter of Qusata (and thus a half-sister to Nuhuron, Nurpayahras, Nayakarade and Tiye) and his purest-blooded child outside the main line. Due to this fact, she was seen as a highly desirable potential bride by many lords of the Great, but no matches ever materialised while her father was still God Emperor, due to a variety of reasons (bad blood between the Masks and the House(s) in question, better-regarded lords ultimately giving up because the match would be too costly and settling for other brides, etc.). She did, however, have two children within the Masks, two sons both sired by Nuhuron — Olenus, born in the waning years of Qusata's reign (-37/60 Qusata, more precisely), and Laren, born in the later months of the first year of Nuhuron's (-32). And yes, despite the two boys being full brothers, the timing of their conceptions made all the difference when it came to rank; Olenus was at the purest end of blood-rank two, true, but Laren, while still not exactly comparable to his main line kin, had a blood-rank of three. Unfortunately, Xibia's expected happy years with her sons (before they grew old enough to join the world of men) were cut short by Nuhuron's decision to finally arrange a match for her, with his lifelong friend and mentor, Kirinya Prase (yes, this would be the one mentioned in a few epigraphs in the books — @suth-sardian and I decided he would be from the same generation as Qusata, and around a decade his senior). By this point, Xibia, already 30 years old, had become convinced a match with a lord of the Great would never come to pass, and endured being separated from her sons quite bitterly, her only comfort being the fact that Prase was an old man (nearly 77 at the time of the marriage) and unlikely to live much longer. However, the separation would prove permanent in the case of her younger son, when an outbreak of disease struck the Isle less than a year after Xibia's departure, and Laren, then only two and a half, became one of its victims. His death proved to be a traumatic event neither Xibia nor Olenus ever truly recovered from — the former hating Nuhuron, Prase and herself for having been away from her child at the time of his death, the latter (who had been a favoured non-main line son of Nuhuron until Kumatuya's birth) thrown even further into isolation by the loss of his only full sibling. Much like Jord in the matter of Nahanya's naming, but in the context of far more serious a situation, neither could truly turn against the main perceived culprit for their misfortune, so all negative feelings were channelled towards others, including each other — and inwards. Ultimately, Xibia would return to the Masks once Prase finally died in -23/10 Nuhuron. By that point, however, the damage was done; much like Ykoriana in canon (even if their respective circumstances were still quite distinct), Xibia found in then-teenage Olenus a stranger she could no longer bring herself to love. They did both make attempts to repair their relationship during the following years, but it remained extremely strained for the most part, the two forever driven apart by their common trauma. Like so many others in the Masks, theirs was a story with a tragic ending, but I believe that what came next is a story better left for another day, as it is of limited relevance within the context of this ficlet — and remember, Olenus himself has not featured in one of these yet; we need only wait and hope the randomiser chooses him sooner rather than later.

#stone dance of the chameleon #the stone dance of the chameleon #sdc month 2 2022 #sdc 4 sentence fics #sdc december 2022 fridays #house of the masks

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month - December 2022 - Friday #4

404: One-Steve limit not found.

VII. Jord

"We would allow her the choice, as We did for you," the Gods say, and incredulously, Jord thinks it is an undercurrent of confusion she hears in Their voice. "Surely, there can be nothing wrong with having such an august ancestress as Nahanya for a namesake, so why should We forbid Aimera from naming the child thus?” Because it was the name my—our—daughter already bore, Jord yearns to argue, because Aimera and her daughter are of blood-rank one, the name an insult when bestowed upon such a child. Yet, she remains silent; it would take one far more reckless and foolish than her to even entertain the thought of defying the Gods.

Notes

Jord, as you might have guessed, is not only another fanon, non-main line character, but the mother of the Nahanya who featured back on the 9th (who was even heavily involved in her story), which, of course, would also make her the maternal grandmother of Onara. Having named her elder daughter after the Nahanya of old, a decision which had Qusaqanya's full approval at the time, she was incensed when five years later, her loathed rival Aimera (a fellow non-main line lady, though, as said in passing in the ficlet, of lower rank) not only settled on the very same name for her daughter (who, yes, would also have been sired by Qusaqanya), but said choice was also met with approval. She took it as a slight against her and her Nahanya from Aimera's part — which I'm going to leave deliberately ambiguous; it might have been so, but it might also have been that Aimera, who had a strong interest in history, had always wanted to give a daughter of hers that name (it could even be both reasons were at play, or neither). Whatever the case, all arguments Jord used to gently persuade Qusaqanya to consider that said naming choice might not be the most appropriate were utterly unsuccessful. And, since as she was well-aware of, turning her frustration towards the God Emperor would be nothing short of folly, the main consequence of this exchange was that all her negative feelings were channelled onto her hatred for her rival (and, by extension, said rival’s own daughter), which was only intensified from that day onwards.

#stone dance of the chameleon #the stone dance of the chameleon #sdc month 2 2022 #sdc 4 sentence fics #sdc december 2022 fridays #house of the masks

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month - December 2022 - Friday #3

“I come as a pair but I'm not socks—”

V. Left-Keru & Right-Keru

Men are all such fools, their half-sister Dajaqea has told them more than once, her tone always a little too contemptuous for their taste. They see you as little girls still, that is all; you need to prove yourselves women, not children. Right-Keru is uncertain, her fears of rejection consuming her even when picturing a short visit to gauge their uncles' feelings, perfectly acceptable even by those who shackle them. “You are the greater fool still,” her sister chides her, however, “we already cannot escape what we are, would you have us live with regrets alongside all that?”

Notes

These sybling sisters are more fanon characters (again, blame the good old randomiser, not me), daughters of Kumatuya born in -15/18 Nuhuron (so 14 years Carnelian's seniors). The Dajaqea they mention is another (fanon) non-main line, blood-rank one daughter of Kumatuya, who would only be 6 days older than them, and thus would have ended up being one of the (non-sybling) relatives they were closest to growing up. (Though as hinted by that first sentence, their dynamic wouldn’t be devoid of the tension related to the usual prejudice all syblings would face.) The subject that concerns the Kerus so is their unrequited feelings for their uncles the Hanuses (a headcanon originally thought of by @suth-sardian not long after we came up with these characters, if I remember correctly). We can imagine (considering the canon case of Ykoriana and Kumatuya) that it is probably not uncommon for Masks ladies to develop romantic/sexual feelings towards male relations, even if they cannot really act on them due to the restrictions of the forbidden houses. Given their own close bond with their sisters the Ikarus, I see the Hanuses (18 years older than the Kerus, by the way, since their fanon birth year would be -33/64 Qusata) having a soft spot for quite a few of their younger sybling relatives, trying to be there for these juniors as the Ikarus had for him. It just so happened that as they got older, the Kerus’ love for their uncles shifted from familial to romantic, while theirs remained solely the former (and there would also be the added issue of the girls' eventual confinement creating distance between them, of course). As Dajaqea implies, the Hanuses are also completely ignorant of how their nieces now feel about them, a situation which both sisters (Right-Keru, as seen, somewhat hesitantly/fearfully) wish to change. Would they be even remotely successful, however? I very much doubt it — @suth-sardian and I tend to see the Hanuses as having their own feelings of unrequited love to struggle with (though that's more of a story for another day), and unfortunately for the Kerus’ hopes and dreams, I think their uncles would always see them as their dear nieces and no more (likely even if the aforementioned unrequited love of theirs had not been at play). So, much like their aunt Ykoriana, the Kerus would be among the characters whose desired love life, to quote the Intersection’s Pretty Boy/Intersection Bishounen (of all fictional characters to reference, I know), would not bear fruit.

#stone dance of the chameleon #the stone dance of the chameleon #sdc month 2 2022 #sdc 4 sentence fics #sdc december 2022 fridays #house of the masks

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month - December 2022 - Friday #2

The sound of whose wings?

III. Nahanya

Her kinswomen would be outraged if they saw her garbed in the cypher and colours of her husband's House, and the very idea makes Nahanya want to laugh. Oh, the fluttering tiny birds, too-delicate designs and gentle colours were jarring at first, truth be told, but to her surprise, she has found herself grown quite fond of them. There is something not quite right about those Emikos, Mother had said on more than one occasion — and Palla had, of course, fervently agreed — little wonder they never rose to any true great status. Nahanya, who had once shared said views, now wonders if living among them has not changed her.

Notes

No, this character (another fanon one) is not the same Nahanya who is Ykoriana and others’ half-sister, nor the one mentioned in stories set in more ancient times. This one, like the most recent Nahanya, is a lady not from the main line, and a daughter of a canon God Emperor (in her case, Qusaqanya). When she was still in her teens, she was married into House Emiko (and yes, this would be a fanon House, and that of Sardian's mother Urquentha, though that family tie is of limited relevance in the context of this ficlet). Said House was, and remains, know for its... let's say, overly cutesy aesthetic (hummingbird cypher, soft pastel colours, and so on), which understandably have not always been looked particularly favourably on by many of the other Chosen. Nahanya's closest relations, her mother Jord and half-sister Palla (Onara’s mother) were very much among those who shared these views, seeing the Emiko aesthetics (and matching attitudes of many members of the House) as utterly distasteful. Jord, especially, could not help but lament the fact Qusaqanya could not have chosen any other House for their daughter to marry into. However, it did turn out that despite the initial culture shock, young Nahanya did become fondly amused by — and eventually just plain fond of — her husband's family and their eccentricities. In many ways, she did get a happy ending, making her particularly fortunate as Masks ladies go.

#stone dance of the chameleon #the stone dance of the chameleon #sdc month 2 2022 #sdc 4 sentence fics #sdc december 2022 fridays #house of the masks

[ykoriana-imperatrix]

SDC Month - December 2022 - Friday #1

To quote from The Wicked + The Divine, "once again, we return". And by "we", I mean the classic 4 sentence fic project, which this month will take place on Fridays and Saturdays. You all likely know how this works by now, but just in case there are any new readers coming across this post: all of these ficlets will have members of the House of the Masks (but not necessarily canon ones) as POVs. There will also be no repeats of characters who featured in the past 4 sentence fic projects.

(As with past ones, cut for length and preference.)

I. Pyhia

Almost hesitantly, she caresses her infant daughter's cheek with a fingertip. As always, despite her rosy cheeks and robust appearance, her hearty and loud cries, little Xahua appears almost ethereal to her. She is healthy, Pyhia assures herself, as she has done since the birth, but the deep fear remains nestled in her heart. There will only be true relief when Xahua lives past the age at which she lost her beloved boy, she knows — and perhaps not even then.

Notes

Pyhia, yet another of the many fanon characters already featured in this particular project, is a non-main line daughter of Nuhuron, and therefore a half-sister to not only Ykoriana and her canonical (half)-siblings, but also some of the fanon characters who were POVs in past 4 sentence fics. Like Nahanya, she does have some significant connections to Ykoriana, including being strongly overshadowed by her in many ways (even more so than Nahanya, in fact), though it should be noted Pyhia and Ykoriana never had much in the way of a personal relationship, either positive or negative. That said, those themes seemed too repetitive considering the existence of the aforementioned Nahanya story, so I opted to instead focus on a subject that would sadly be ever-present in the lives of Chosen parents, that of infant and child mortality. Pyhia's firstborn, a son named Kakanxan (sired by Kumatuya), died at only six months of age, and she was only able to find some respite from her devastating grief when her second child, daughter Xahua (sired by Tyatxungo) was born the following year. Understandably, however, even amidst the happy moments spent with her baby daughter, she could never be truly free of the fear that she would lose this child as well (a fear, that, given what we know, would unfortunately be far from unfounded).

(There's another, out-of-universe point I wanted to bring up here: I have been doing genealogical research on a particular branch of my family for a little over a month now, and going through those old records truly brought the reality of how depressingly high child mortality was in past times into perspective. This fic was heavily inspired by the impact of considering the experiences of those bereaved parents, and I would say it very much serves as a tribute of sorts to all the many-times-great-uncles and -aunts, more distant relatives, and all other children who met the same fate in those days gone by.)

#stone dance of the chameleon #the stone dance of the chameleon #sdc month 2 2022 #sdc 4 sentence fics #sdc december 2022 fridays #house of the masks