Blaire the Exile

Davmir sat in his office breathing heavily. For the past hour he found himself literally tearing his office in the Du’Croix Manor apart. His desk was over turned, anything that was on top was strewn about the room. Chairs had legs broken off or were tipped over against the wall below holes created from the impact of being thrown. The few Bookshelves in the room were turned over leaving books scattered about the room. Compared to the immaculate cleanliness outside of this office in the rest of the manor, it looked like a small isolated tornado had torn through this room specifically.

Davmir slumped over in his chair his hands resting in the palm of his hands. He fought the urge to break down, especially in this current time when he needed to project strength of being a leader. He ran over the timeline of events that happened in the past two days.

——————————–

First, two days ago reports from parts of the Du’Croix Navy stationed on patrol off the Ter’De’Croix territorial waters reported seeing a massive flying Airship drifting in and out of the clouds above, like an illusion. Davmir thought nothing of it and passed it off as the crews hallucinating, despite being hardened sea veterans. 

The next day, the same reports came in again from local fishing boats off the coast of Aemili. His interest was peaked and he started to have the situation monitored. But what happened he did not expect, or could even plan for. A wave of magically enhanced long ships fell from the belly of the Airship. When they boats hit the water, fisherman reported seeing undead filling the boats to the brim.

Then reports of a band of well armed, suspicious figures landing not long after in the fields outside of Aemili. The guards on duty were short due to religious observational hours so they band of strangers entered the harbor city with no objection, a fatal mistake. What followed not long after is something that would haunt Davmir for years to come, making him feel the blame for not doing more.

First it was a report the figures walked straight to the city center demanding an audience. Then a report of them talking with the Lead Guard of the garrison in Aemili. Then all literal hell broke loose. The boats that carried the Undead horde made land fall, encircled the city and started cattle driving the entire populace of the city towards the city center, showing no prejudice killing men, women, children, and guards alike that tried to escape. Reports started coming in mass of a wall of Fel Fire being spawned and the populace being driven into it as it blocked the entrance to the City hall which apparently had its own issues happening inside.

As soon as he could get a network set up he worked with the Sages Corp to give him a view of inside the City Hall, as well as magically project himself to those responsible for the massacre, his intention was to save what populace was left, no matter the cost.

When he saw who the figures were, on in particular, his gut dropped. He had heard of the Crows from his Wife, and from his spies reports as they watched over Blaire. He hand’t heard from his cousin in months, he thought her for dead at this point, but there she stood, among this flock of savages watching the massacre take place. The massacre of her former people.

The price…was one he had to accept though he knew he would regret the ramifications when his wife would return. The child that they had been watching over for close to a year now was retrieved and handed over. Refusal of the demands would be met with destruction of more cities and villages in Ter’De’Croix, and considering this band of less then twenty living souls and a swarm of undead slaves leveled the second largest city in the land, it was not an empty threat.

—————————————

Davmir leaned back in his chair letting out a pained scream for as long as his breath could carry until he went silent. He stood up and slowly walked out of the office. The first person he ran into was as solem looking maid who could see the mental pain her Lord was experiencing. All Davmir could do was utter a few words “Bring Zamantha home. I need her.” The maid nodded and rushed off as Davmir slowly made his way into the married couples bedroom slamming the door behind him.

Dark days lay ahead of the Du’Croix nation. They were attacked by a force that Davmir had no interest in trying to go against. Not after what he witnessed inside the City Hall that day. He regretted telling the Mages to allow him sight inside the building rather then just audio.

The death of a city was led by one man. The Price of the safety of his nation was one child. And that day, he lost the only blood family he had left. Despite knowing he had Zamantha at his side, she wasn’t there when he needed her, and he truly felt alone, he only wished his wife would be at his side soon. He was not able to face this alone.

Well, turns out this horse is beautiful and strong and fiery and wonderful and no one can ride it. Philip and his advisers agree that it is a gorgeous example of a horse, but regretfully they don’t want a half-wild and unmanageable stallion and they’re gonna turn the deal down.

At this point Alexander, who’s been watching very carefully, says “It would be a shame to lose such a wonderful horse” and just fuckin goes over to the half-wild stallion, catches hold of the bridle, and hops up on the 1500 pound half-wild horse. 

(This is a good way to get super dead, if anyone is wondering, but Alex never, once in his life, gave even a single fuck.)

Phillip and all his advisers are slightly freaking out now, visions of tragically dead and trampled prince and heir flashing before their eyes. And Alex, the little shit, proceeds to ride that horse around the paddock as calmly as a lamb. The horse quiets down and behaves beautifully. Everyone goes “What the actual fuck.” Philip is crying tears of manly pride, and according to legend says here “My son, you must find a kingdom big enough for you.”

(What happened, see, is that Alexander, being an observant sort, noticed that the stallion was shying from his own shadow. And so he turned the horse towards the sun, where Bucephalus did not see his shadow and therefore calmed down.)

He had access to some of the best teachers and tutors during his time which played a huge advantage, but he was also super observant of the known world around him. He saw and learned how rulers of the age ‘led’ their people and took from that and pretty much did the opposite. Take Darius of Persia, the guy ruled with an iron fist and practically jammed his culture down the people he conquered throats and those that rebelled he cut down. 

Whenever Alexander conquered a new area like Persia, the Middle East, part of Asia, and Northern Africa, instead of trying to force the Greek culture on those he beat he mainly let them stay the same culture wise. In fact in some areas he actually embraced some of the regions and cultures into his own life, he was very polytheistic outside of just the Greek pantheon. In Egypt Alexander worshiped the god Amun much like Zeus, and the Egyptians prophesied he was the son of Amun as well.

There were instances that Alexander leveled some important cities just because of the threat they could impose in the future, and there were people that didn’t like him, but that comes with any conquering party in a new land. When Alexander rode through the lands most times he came off as a Liberator more than a conqueror and there weren’t many instances where he totally dethroned the regions rulers but instead made them governors or gave them other leadership positions to maintain power in Alexander absence, and really the only major changes he made was that his council had control over the taxes of his territories, everything else that didn’t need to be changed, wasn’t, and it allowed his territory to prosper.

To build even more cohesion among his regions he often encouraged his officers and generals to marry nobility from his liberated territories, not force marriages. He saw the power and control that could be had along with building unity among his people through these marriages.

I have found quite a few people focus on the ego of Alexander, i mean i don’t blame them, he down right deserved it. Ignore the fact that he had over 70 cities named after himself and when you historically look at those cities and note their location they were less just him putting his name everywhere but they acted as garrisons and outposts for his Army to have a constant presence in every region he controlled.

In the end though one thing I like to imagine is what he could have accomplished if he didn’t die so young. Not many people realize or know that the days before Alexander died he wanted to go back on the war trail, go back to India and the far east, but at the pleading of his advisers to stay and relax for a bit in where some scholars argue that he was poisoned. Imagine what Alexander could have accomplished if he didn’t die so young.

And to really demonstrate the kind of leader he was, on his death bed for as long as he could hold on he met with as much of his Army that he could to give them a chance to say their final good byes.

The only real troubles that Alexander the Greats nation had was after his death and that was because his Generals bickered and fought over who got what parcel of the territory. Once that was divided up, things actually went back to being ruled like how Alexander ruled previously and there was relative peace and prosperity because what he had established made sense. So it just goes to show that ruling with an Iron Fist and trying to destroy a culture and impose your own, isn’t always the best way to lead and earn the support of your people, by letting the regions he conquered/liberated self-govern themselves with minor involvement from the overall Greek culture despite the massive size of the territory he controlled, he really faced no opposition after he took over.

I’m really curious to see what your impressions of my character are. Message me on anonymous or not and tell me what your perception of my character is! (:

It wasn’t often that Davmir had to leave the Du’Croix territory.When he did it was mostly for either diplomatic reasons or trade efforts whenZamantha was not available. This time it was a diplomatic meeting in Stormwinddiscussing troop support for the battle on Argus, something Davmir had nointention of participating in, but he had to play the noble game and did so. Ithad been well over a week since he was home and looked forward to resting bythe hearth back at the manor, even more so learning that Zamantha was home. Hisjourney was hastened knowing this and his escort was almost home to Sarensal atthis point. As the group crested the last hill the sight of a plume of smokecaught him off guard. It wasn’t until he took a close look that he realized thebase of the plum was elevated from the majority of the city and wascentralized, meaning only one thing, the Manor was on fire.

He kicked his horse into a quick gallop as his protective naturekicked in and covered the last few miles to the town and home in record time.Upon reaching the gates to the Manor they were hardly opened before he camebarreling inside quickly dismounting to take in the scene. He quicklydismounted looking around to what look like a war zone. Guards were pullingburned and scared wounded away from the Manor, staff were crying and wailing atthe scene, overall it was scene of chaos. He quickly took action sending outorders left and right try to organize efforts to put of the fire, get thewounded the help that was needed, and just overall gain control of thesituation. As things were being controlled a wall on the west wing, secondfloor, was blown out sending splinters, glass and panels of wood flying in amix of explosive fire. A few bodies fell from the new opening and screams ofpain filled the already tense air. One thing that clicked into his mind as hefrantically asked around was…Zamantha was still inside. He shed his cloak andstarted to proceed to the front door despite the protest of Du’Croix and Choiguards alike, but he had a mission.

With a swift kick he broke the front doors down. A roar of fireemerged as oxygen was introduced to the blaze giving it new life forcing Davmirto take a step back and regroup before carefully moving inside keeping belowthe smoke. As he moved deeper into the manor he ushered what people he couldfind in the direction of the exit he had created while still pushing forward.Something caught his ear amidst the sound of the roaring blaze, a scream, hissenses kicked in to overdrive thinking Zamantha was in serious danger andpushed forward faster, but the more he listened the more he realized these werenot screams of pain and suffering, they were screams of hate and anger. Henarrowed them scream to the hallway that housed the couple’s offices where inthe hallway he saw the silhouette of Zamantha standing in front of the newlycreated hole from not long ago. When she turned to face him, he barelyrecognized her. 

Zamantha’s normal composed and held together look was all butgone. She looked dishelved and like she was mentally falling apart. Veins traveledup her neck to her cheek bones that were inky black like a deep seededcorruption had taken a hold of her. Her face showed a look of hate and anger,her eyes were pitch black, and Davmir swore he even saw a small set of horns onher forhead. She looked at him after a few moments giving him a smile thatdemonstrated pure evil and extended her arms out angelic like and he noticed onher wrist was a glowing fel green ruin like it was actively burning.

“Davmirmy dear husband, finally you have returned home to embrace me. I was wonderinghow long you would make me wait.” While her voice was stillfeminine, it was gravely, and demonic in nature.

Davmir slowly move towards her being cautious, “Zamantha…my love…what has become of you?Why are you doing this? Is it because I left and wasn’t waiting to embrace youwhen you arrived? Tell me, why?” Despite the visage before him he remainedcalm as he moved closer.

Zamanthalaughed in response “What has become ofme?! I have taken the power I finally deserved. A friend offered me what no onehas been able to before and I figured…why not. I have been shackled too long toyou, to the Odyssey, having to control and suppress what I am truly capable of.No long Davmir, I have new potential and I will make use of it…starting withburning down this Manor, this City…this country…” Again she laughed as shesummoned for a fireball and hurled it in Davmirs direction. He barley had timeto roll off to the side crashing into the wall to avoid being hit.

Theheat was starting to become an issue from the blaze engulfing the house. Davmirquickly got to his feet and made a beeline for Zamantha as she was preppinganother fireball. He picked her up by her midsection interrupting her castingand carried her to the opening in the wall that she had created earlier andsent the pair barreling out towards the ground below. They landed with a hardthud but Zamantha’s body seemed to not be phased from the fall as she laughedmanically.

Davmirlooked down to her as he had her pinned. “Zamanthawho did this to you! I see the brand on your arm! This is not you. I want mywife back, I want my partner back…I want my best friend back…” His voicestarted to crack “I know you did notchoose this, so I need you to fight it Zamantha!”

 Zamanthafought against his grasp, but he was stronger then even her strengthened formallowed. As he pleaded, she laughed. “Youwill never have the old me back. This is Zamantha now, this is me! And don’tworry…you won’t have to worry about making this relationship work…because youwill be dead!”

Davmirstared down into the abyss that was her eyes before raising his hand towardsthe sky. Yellow and white light started to appear as he called upon the holyenergy within him. A ball formed and he brought it down towards he chest “Zamantha, I know you are in there. Fightthis. Come…back…to…me…” A single tear started to roll down his cheek as heheld the light in her causing her corrupted body to convulse and send screamsof agony into the air.

Amoment of clarity broke through though. Zamantha’s voice came through, heractual voice. “Davmir, my love. The…theonly way to save me is…is to kill me. I can’t rid myself of this curse, and thelonger it resides within me, the more corrupt my body becomes. You have to killme.”

Davmirshook his head. “No…there must be anotherway. I need you, I can’t live this life without you. I will save you. I willlock you away and submit you to the light over and over again if it means I canget you back. I just need you to fight…”

 Zamanthashook her head, a single tear of her own falling. “I am loosing control my love, I cannot fight this for much longer.Please..for me. End my suffering before more damage can be done.” Then herdemenor changed again and the demonic voice returned. “You will never have her back. She is mine…forever! I will end you forsubjecting me to the blasted light! Your wif–…”

Thevoice went silent, gasping for air. The head slowly looked down to see whereDavmir had planted his dagger directly into her chest through her heart andlung. In moments her body laid motionless. The rune on her wrist dulled out,the corrupted veins on her neck and face receded, her eyes returned to normalexcept they were vibrant red from the demonic influence. Her chest had seizedrising and falling.

Davmir’shand fell from the dagger. One hand moved to close her eyes as they stared intothe sky, before resting them both on her stomach. “I…I am sorry Zamantha. I wish I did not have to do this to you…” Behindhim the burning Manor remained as citizens and soldiers alike rushed bucketafter bucket of water to try and put it out. Despite all the commotion going onaround him Davmir just sat there over his wife mourning in internal agony.

Davmir walked down the streets of Stormwind enjoying the mid day breeze. The changing of seasons could be felt in the air. He looked down to his right hand where he held a pet crate covered in a dark cloth shielding the creature within from the sun. He smiled as he heard cooing noises emitting and raised his head back in the direction that he walked.

It had been a few weeks since he had seen is beloved wife. Her duties to the Golden Odyssey had taken her to Argus numerous times for purposes to help the Alliance as a whole, and to help cement a trade foundation for the company. Meanwhile his duties took him back home to the seat of the Du’Croix families power. Normally he wasn’t a spontaneous person, he made it a point to calculate his every move and weigh all the options, but one day something changed.

He walked into their room and their massive closet…mostly filled with Zamantha’s dresses and clothes. He needed to pick out a suit to meet with a foreign dignitary in which he was working with to establish his own trade relations for the families benefits. His dilemma was he couldn’t pick out a suit, he had plenty to choose from, but each time he laid a hand on one a memory would flash back to the day that Zamantha had given it to him as a gift. He couldn’t help but smile. Eventually he picked out one and went to their shared safe full of jewelry and dress accompaniments and again, his choice was hard as memories came back to the gifts Zamantha had gotten him.

He  eventually chose his outfit and laid it out on the bed and just stared at it for a long while. He couldn’t help but admired the craftsmanship his Wife put into it, and something rare happened to him as a single tear found its way down his cheek as all he could think about was how lucky he was to have married Zamantha Choi. Everyday was a special day, how they met was beyond normal for a relationship, and despite how busy they both were with their respective responsibilities, they had a love for the ages. He shook his head wiping away the solitary tear. He thought of everything she had given him, the gifts, the love, the support, and it isn’t like he didn’t give things in return, but the more thought he put into it, most of his gifts were in response to what she had given him. Nothing was ever original, or creative, it was just the standard. This thought bothered him and he felt the need to change that.

Over the course of a couple weeks he went through the process of trying to find the perfect gift. He researched jewels and clothing, even mounts and pets, but nothing stuck out, in his mind everything he looked at it was generic, it wasn’t special or unique. Then an opportunity came from within his own ranks. He had a few of his men accompany Zamantha on her numerous trips to Argus acting as part of her guard, but for the sake of her safety he had reports given to him on how the mission was progressing. One report stuck out though, a report that included an observation on her interest in one of the local fauna of Argus, the best the man could describe the creature was as fox but with magical qualities. It had enthralled her attention the moment she saw it but duties prevented her from interacting. This creature, this was to be his gift.

He started pressing every trade contact he could think of, fromt he legal to those in the black market. It wasn’t a cheap or even well know commodity and gathering one was going to cost him a small fortune, but for Zamantha, Davmir was willing to pay any price to make her happy. It didn’t take long before one of these creatures arrived to the Du’Croix manor. For days he spent time playing with, admiring, and training to creature. Thankfully it was playful by nature already. He made plans and prepared for a trip for Stormwind, the new family pet in tow.

After another half hour or so of walking Davmir approached the Choi manor within the City. The guards outside saluted the Lord as they let him in, honestly they weren’t expecting him, his inquiry of Zamantha’s whereabouts led to the discovery she had gone to the Golden Odyssey offices to take care of some paperwork. He gave the guards a warm smile before walking inside and heading to the living room where he sat down in one of the arm chairs. He took the fox from its cage and set it on his lap gently patting it, waiting for Zamantha to return.

To all friends and followers, I know i just made a recent post on Blaire that I would be coming back (ICly) but Real Life again barged in. I will be gone for an undetermined amount of time as I am being deployed to Southern USA to assist in the Hurricane IRMA recovery efforts. I understand some of you have family down there that may or may not be riding out the storm. Stay in contact with them as much as you can because this storm is a big one.

Like I said I don’t know when I will be back for sure. I know I will be gone at least a week, maybe more depending how bad and how long they need us.

Damn…. that’s really all I can say. One of the most talented singers I knew, from a band I’d listened to when I was first discovering music, that stayed as one of my favorites for years and years… it’s just heartbreaking. I didn’t know Chester very well beyond his persona in the band; and I’m sad to say I never got to see them live. But I’ve heard a lot of stories, and every single one of them involved Chester being a stand up guy who genuinely cared about other people, especially his fans. That he was only 41 when he passed on just hurts, like another light pointing us in the right direction, or inspiring feelings through music, or just generally being a good spirited person- they’re just gone. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, truly it was too soon.

R.I.P. Chester Bennington, I hope you find the happiness you were after in the next life.

What makes you the most emotional about your muse?

What made you decide to write this muse?

If you could change one event in your muse’s life (in their main or canon verse), what would you change?

If you could tell your muse one thing, what would you tell them?

If you could give your muse one gift, what would you give them?

If you had to take one positive thing away from your muse, what would you take away?

If you could “borrow” one aspect of your muse and apply it to yourself or your own life, what would you borrow?

Do you genuinely want your muse to be happy? What do you think would make them most happy in life?

Do you enjoy putting your muse through angst? What do you think would break their heart the most?

What do you love about your muse?

What do you hate about your muse?

What about your muse amuses you?

What about your muse makes you sad?

How would you describe your muse to someone about to meet them, in person, for the first time?

Would you like your muse as a person if you met them in real life?

In what ways are you better than your muse? In what ways are they better than you?

Why do you think you connect to your muse?

What aspect of your muse’s personality is most important to you? What aspect of your muse’s personality do you think is most important to them? Is it the same? Why or why not?

If you had to judge your muse and sentence them to a “fair” fate, what would your judgement be? Would you punish them? Reward them? How?