"For every brother you bring to our
midst, you may keep a trinket all to
yourself. She will not be sullied or traded, unless you deem otherwise. But should you bring a mare here without a new brother first, then I will consider her property of the Lagoon as a whole and do with her as I see fit." - Garmr
The Offspring
None
Rules
• The Lagoon is where homeless stallions come to live as a brotherhood. Mares may not live here except as captives or companions for the Leaders.
• Soldiers keep mainly to fighting, Thieves keep mainly to raiding, and Associates may do both, neither, or act as diplomats. Members may issue their own battles and raids, but should generally consult the General, Marauder or Boss for permission.
• All major decisions are determined by vote, but the Boss maintains order within the Lagoon 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 Lagoon works on the Rules page.
• Upon election, the Boss can issue a rule for members to follow during their tenure. It is up to leadership to enforce.
shaking off the hurt Posted on May 12, 2022 at 10:34:29 AM by azizi, charon & acheron
we're waking up the world They had not meant to intrude upon the discussion. From a distance, where they had been picking their way around the edge of the brackish body of water found to the west, all three males had lifted their heads to the call. But they had not answered, because it hadn’t beckoned them. Still, the sound stirred the young pair of colts to wakefulness, and in silence, they resumed their roaming, with the inky black Acheron leading the way, as always. The vibrantly coloured Charon, with his gangly legs already promising that one day he’d tower over both of them, followed close behind. Azizi brought up the rear, hanging back a little, and musing in silence.
He’d come upon the pair of colts when they’d been hardly more than weanlings, with no mothers in sight. Ever since, he’d hardly left their sides, even though lately it was becoming clearer by the day that they were more than content with their own company, and no longer had need for the seal brown bachelor to watch over them. In a way, they’d helped him more than they could know, and in his heart, he would always be grateful for them.
It was uncanny, the way the largely silent Acheron could navigate the Lagoon as though he’d lived here for decades, rather than little more than a year. Charon said it was because he was born from water, both of them were, and Azizi hadn’t managed to get any more out of them than that. He did have his suspicions that Charon was a son of the General, given the similarities in colour and build, but he’d never seen any Bachelors with ears that curled the way Acheron’s did.
Azizi was so deep in thought he didn’t realise where they were (how close they were) until he heard the murmur of voices just beyond a fringe of mangroves. He stiffened and instinctively went to turn away, but a snort from Charon drew him back, and he realised that both yearlings were watching him. The blue of Acheron’s eyes seemed to glint with unspoken intent. Understanding was slow to dawn on him, but a gentle nudge from Charon, and a subtle nod from the shadowy colt beside him, somehow grounded him. They were young yet, with no-one to speak for them but their brothers in the Lagoon, and those seemed in short supply these days. They were innocent and as far as Azizi could tell, as yet unharmed by the perception of those beyond the borders of their home.
If he could, Azizi would see them remain that way.
As he approached, tentatively at first, he felt Charon move to follow, and in his periphery, Acheron skulked amongst the mangroves offering silent support in his own way. As Azizi broke free from cover, his eyes settled on Rehoboam first, and he felt the frantic beating of his heart settle just a little. Frey was here too, and after coming to a halt just behind the point of the grullo tobiano’s shoulder, Azizi spared him a friendly glance, but his purpose in this was two-fold, to gauge the young stallion’s demeanor. He’d only caught part of the conversation, and wasn’t quite sure if he’d be welcomed to join it.
But they were a Brotherhood, were they not? And Azizi had something to say.
Before he could speak, however, the sooty, red and white youth behind him broke the silence. “Hey, Dad,” Charon said softly, his blue-brown eyes seeking to meet Tyr’s gaze. It was the first time he’d spoken to the General, but not the first time he had seen him. The pair of motherless colts had watched from the fringes and the shadows for a long time, now.
Azizi tilted his ears back, an unwitting tell that showed his nerves, but when he opened his mouth to answer the question Tyr hadn’t exactly asked of him, his voice did not fail him. “You say changing our deeds won’t change their minds. And maybe you’re right.” His left ear, the one Shenzi had torn in a fearful rage, twitched self-consciously. “It’ll take time for them to forget what those who came before us did. But, if we… If we don’t give in to those same vices, in time…” The seal brown stallion paused, searching for the words to convey how he felt. “Those who have been hurt by the Lagoon in the past will move on, or else time will eventually claim them.” He thought again of Charon just behind him, and Acheron standing a small distance off. Of fillies that would be born to the Peak, and newcomers that would be brought to the Islands by the ocean currents and the whims of destiny. “The next generation will hear the stories about what the Bachelors did. So long as we don’t fall back, that’s all it’ll be. Stories. History. And eventually, the Islands will find other tales to tell.”