The Lost Islands
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Peak

The Prime Minister

Khar'pern

The Codebreaker

Ashteroth

The General

Marceline

The Companions
None None None

The Thinkers

Naydra
Titan

The Politicians

Ararat
Axelle
Hollis
Mae
Nashira
Serenity

The Warriors

Clarity
Kaeja
Lysimache
Starling

The Trinkets

Beloved
Cato
Cullen
Güneşlenmek
Isengrim
Jigsaw
Kazimir
Octavius
Starscream
Yıldırım

PRIME MINISTER'S DECREE

"None." - Leader

The Offspring

Diccon (Cicada x Khar'pern)

Rules

• The Vulcan Peak is where homeless mares come to live as a sisterhood. Stallions may not live here except as captives or companions for the Leaders.

• Warriors keep mainly to fighting, Thinkers keep mainly to raiding, and Politicians may do both, neither, or act as diplomats. Members may issue their own battles and raids, but should generally consult the General, Codebreaker or Prime Minister for permission.

• All major decisions are determined by vote, but the Prime Minister maintains order within the Peak and has the final say.

• Elections for leadership positions will be held every TLI summer, provided the qualifying criteria are met.

• You can find detailed information about how the Peak works on the Rules page.
HEROES GET REMEMBERED
Posted on November 11, 2021 at 12:30:10 PM by ANATH


Bane was as much a stranger as Oswin herself, and maybe even moreso. Anath resolved to speak with her youngest daughter… later. She wouldn’t even know what to say. Rather low on maternal instinct, as she always had been. Hell, her own mother was a distant memory, far more distant than the ghosts she saw when she slept. No, it was Bandit’s gentle hand that had been the closest thing to real mothering. It had always been clear that the painted mare was the farthest thing from her own blood, but she’d taken on Anath all the same. Though her memories of her stepmother were only positive, the ragged old general hadn’t retained a hell of a lot.

The Peak would always expose weakness, if it existed. The rugged terrain alone was worrisome, if you had it in you to worry. Anath could feel the creaking of her joints as she started the climb, step shambling ever so slightly as she trod forward. It would be a long ways up. The champagne could only hope that the strength returned to her muscles in time. Building herself back up, at this age, would take longer than she was accustomed to. No matter. Making it happen was something of a specialty.

Oswin’s comment brings a rough chuckle forward from the greying mare, and she tilts her head. She wasn’t wrong. It had become clear that the woman was something of a fighter herself, and Anath wondered somewhere far off who sat in her old seat. The Peak seemed to be a revolving door, filled with comings and goings. In her own mind, Anath would always be the general. It wouldn’t be that case in reality, of course. These days, it was likely she was too worn. The painted girl beside her seemed capable enough, and carried herself like she knew it too. Good for her.

“A fight story, let’s see,” Anath couldn’t let herself get winded on the climb, not now. Her ears flickered-- ah. She knew the one. “There was the very first war, when I was just a girl.” Her voice doesn’t waver, though her gaze seems to go a long ways off. Still on the path, but Anath is somewhere far away. “My father Show Time, and his right hand Sanctus, they held the Badlands on the Salem. It was back when all of the islands all had kings, and many of them treated mares and even their own daughters as a commodity.” The time when the Peak represented a way out, and retaining their freedom from that cycle. It had been a long time ago, but the resentment toward it all still left Anath burning.

“The king of the Salem, in those days, was called Gloryhound,” the name still left a foul taste in Anath’s mouth. “In hindsight, that’s fitting-- all he wanted to do was take and take, anything he could get his hands on. He used his daughters as tokens to garner favor with other men. In his mind, you were either for him or against him, there was never neutral ground. If you were against him, he did everything he could to make your life hell.” The woman paused, catching her breath for only a moment. Had this mountain gotten taller in her time away?

“My father and his right hand, they pushed back against it. They wouldn’t see their daughters used as pawns, and for that, I’m grateful. Their feud was already going on when I was born. Gloryhound took half of my father’s family captive at first, and there were rumors that he’d killed my brother when he was born,” even farther away, Anath drifted. The Badlands, the Hills, the Wastes, they all danced before her eyes. “It wasn’t true, and they found that out quickly enough, but he wanted us to believe it was. My father, his allies, they came together and were trying to figure out if they could remove Gloryhound without more violence. Before they could even try, he took my stepmother prisoner too. After that, there was no more waiting.”

Bandit had been incredible, and it was losing her that had removed all reason from the situation. “In those days, women weren’t really meant to be fighting, let alone little girls,” Anath’s chuckle was soft, a bit of mischief shining in her eyes. “But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Gloryhound’s sons, they were soft, they’d been handed everything as sons of a king.” A snort, a shake of her head. God, even Lothor had been weak. “They were no match for me, of course.” Anath’s gaze flickered to Oswin with a wink. “I don’t think they really took me seriously at first, but that was an advantage. I’d been training, fighting, learning since I was young.”

“Cudgel, the first Peak general, fought beside us. Chokehold too, she came here after the war.” Even now, Anath thought of Cudgel often. She’d been bold, brilliant, and Anath owed so much to the mare now. Chokehold less so, and to hear the mare’s name on her own lips was a bit of a surprise even to Anath. They hadn’t always seen eye to eye, but in hindsight, there is both respect and reverence. “We were able to prove to everyone that we were a force to be reckoned with.” There was pride in her voice, but it turned melancholy. “I don’t think there was a real winner in that war. It took several of Gloryhound’s sons, the aftermath took my father.” Knowing what she knew now, it was likely an infected wound. At the time it had been heart wrenching, terrifying. Anath hadn’t known how she would go on without him.

“Gloryhound went from being regarded as a god among men to something far more mortal. His alliances were all bought, and they had a harder time trusting him after that war. He lost much of his power, many of his supporters… they saw what kind of man he really was, finally.” Anath sighed, thoughts wrapping around the aftermath of the war. There had been so much going on in those days, and it seemed like her entire world stopped turning, watching her father die. The near trancelike state she’d shown up at in the Prairie, with her just born brother at her side. Her plea to Internet to take him in-- what would she do with a child? He’d been gracious in taking the boy in as his own. She thought too, of Bandit’s grief, of Gisela’s. It had been so long since she’d heard their names, seen their faces.

“I tried to stay at home, but it was too much. Two seasons later I turned up in the Peak, Cudgel was already the general. Corinth was the prime minister in those days. Not long after I got here, Carmen stepped up as the code breaker.” A soft smile played upon her lips, thinking of them dearly. Fondly. Things had been so different in those days, and they’d fought for everything they had-- freedom included. Anath had been two and a half when the war started, three by the time it ended. Conflict had shaped her, and made her who she was. Now without it, some things seemed hollow.

They were nearing the top now, Anath not realizing just how much she had to say. It had been so many years since the first war, and some memories were hazy. She’d been just a girl then… just a child. Much of the nuance was lost on her, at the time. Her boldness, brashness, had gotten her to where she was now. That was enough. “I understand times have changed, and still are.” The words weren’t necessarily gruff, but Anath had tired of speaking. “Tell me about them.” A question, a request, maybe a directive-- something between the three. She lacks in social graces, after all. That, and the ragged old general was concealing the fact that she was getting to be out of breath.

Anath
"HEROES GET REMEMBERED
LEGENDS NEVER DIE "
html by russell for hound(c) 2012 and beyond.



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