#ethrand

A/n: inspired by basically all the Ethrand content found here: @candescentconfessionall

Sometimes you don't know why you keep doing this. Sometimes you think about leaving and never coming back, putting an end to these games forever. You don't love him, and he doesn't love you, but it's nice to have... whatever it is you two share.

No matter how you know Ethrand, whether you're strangers or friends or enemies- he remains himself- which is to say, he remains difficult to know, hard to befriend, and impossible to get close to. He's angry and bitter and cruel. He's emotional and fitful and prone to lashing out. He's pathetic and needy and he doesn't want to let you go.

You don't stop seeing him. You keep meeting up with him over and over again, seeking him out sometimes, other times he seeks you out. It's normally the latter- and that's the only peace of mind you have; that if you’re guilty, he’s more-so.

You know who he is- of course you do; a son of house tachonis. If his face wasn't to give him away, his demeanor would be. He's every bit the dour, arrogant, haughty sorcerer the rest of his family is. An aura of gloomy surrounds him that puts others at unease. 

But not you. Maybe it did at first-the chill of death, the power of a sundered house, the cold gleam in his eyes. But by now you know who- and what- ethrand is. 

A masochist. 

This man- a son of primus tachonis, a sorcerer of shadow and death, who acts so proud and vicious- when it comes down to it, all he wants is to be hurt and teased and degraded. 

He comes to you over and over, with increasing frequency. Maybe it's in the interest of keeping his secret, maybe no one else does it like you do, maybe it's a growing fondness for you. No matter; he's here now. 

Ethrand is kneeling on the floor before you, desperately running his hands up and down your thighs, looking up at where you sit above him- looking down at him. 

He's pathetic, truly. His eyes are watery, his lip quivers, he makes these tiny little whimpers that you can't help but adore. He mutters something under his breath, stuttering and gasping out words too quiet to hear. It’s likely some futile attempt to save his pride.

He grinds against your boot; eager, needy, in jerky little motions over and over. His head falls to rest on your thigh, pressing mindless kisses to the skin there- you're not sure if he even realizes he's doing it, or if it's subconscious. Either way, it's nice, so you won't complain. 

You press your boot harder against him and he whines so prettily. His eyes roll in his head, his jaw falls open. 

"Pathetic," you whisper. "Like a dog."

He humps against your boot with renewed vigor which only proves your point, nodding mindlessly. You can feel him drool against your skin.

You gather his dark hair in your fist, toying with it for a moment before pulling, tugging his head up, angled so he has to look at you. His eyes meet yours, wild and teary and dark with desire. His lips are pulled into a nearly manic smile.

You pull just hard enough that his body can't go slack, just hard enough he has to keep his back straight and his head tilted back. He's exposed like this- throat bared to you, back arched for you, completely undressed and rutting against your leather boots like a slut. 

"You're such a little masochist.” You scoff. “What would everyone think if they could see you like this?” 

Something flashes in his eyes, panicking for just a moment. “Y-you wouldn’t.” he stutters against the pleasure. You can see his eyes searching for some reassurance that you won’t do that- that you wouldn’t tell everyone what he really is. He doesn’t seem convinced, because he drops his eyes and practically begs. “You can’t- please- don’t-.” 

You pull him in for a kiss by the hair. You don’t kiss him often, but when you do he eagerly kisses you back, chapped lips against yours as he tries to press closer into your lips.

despite everything, “Your secret is safe with me.”

im not caught up yet, just getting to sloak now, but i have seen some spoilers and know of univere and doset

initially i was like 'oh yeah the latin roots uni and duo', but THEN i was like 'maybe its uno and dos????'

obviously it's hard to find a pattern until there's more pieces

BUT in the fireside chat alex confirmed that its not chemistry but that numerical roots is 'sort of right'

i can't quite figure out what the link is with occtis and ethrand specifically but i think it will be numerical in nature. the closest i have is greek which kind of works, but is a bit of a stretch. eight in greek, οκτώ (októ) works fine enough. seven is the closest, επτά (eptá) but it's not like the same starting sound like you get with Occtis, Univere, Doset.

i also do like the bones in the skull theory and get that the occipital one is usually listed last but i think it's probably going to be a little bit more numerical than that given univere and doset also having numerical themed names

i also also think that there might be deeper lore implications about WHY they have number related names. in koras speech in the cold open calls number five a powerful number, and mentions it's a prime number

A/n: I mostly left your job, skills and personality vague so it would fit more scenarios and readers, but there’s mention of you being pretty morally gray (since you willingly allied with them). I only mentioned family members that have been named in canon.

This ended up being a little yandere-esque, but not too bad. Nothing that needs a warning.

House tachonis x reader.

Imagine you work for house Tachonis- it doesn't really matter what you do- if you're a knight, a maid, a personal assistant, one of their many hired spellcasters or assassins- you're allied with house Tachonis. You may have belonged to one of their vassal houses, you may have been talent scouted for your skills, you may even have sought out a job serving the noble house on your own.

The ruthlessness of the Tachonis family suits you, their ends serve your own. Any evil deed they order; you fulfill, any evil deed you witness; you overlook. Perhaps that makes you as evil as them- perhaps it makes you worse; to serve their ambitions just to serve your own. Things like morality are besides the point for you, and that’s why they keep you employed.

You serve them dutifully, and they keep you in their employ. 

And you're perfect- you're everything they want you to be, everything they ask. House Tachonis value skill, they value ambition, and they value your dedication and devotion. 

Whether or not you truly align with the priestly house of shadow or not, it’s best not to speak out- you’d surely regret it. No, it’s best that if you disagree with any of the family's actions, you look the other way. You wouldn’t be here if you were a good and moral person, and it’s best to remember that.

Just do your job- if you were paid to keep their secrets, keep your mouth shut. If you were paid to kill for them, spill blood in their name. If you were paid to keep the manor clean, mop the floors and keep your eyes on the ground. It’s not difficult work for you; you wouldn’t have been hired at all if you didn't have the skills necessary.

The worst part of working for house Tachonis is, of course, the family themselves. Each member of the family is a different kind of difficult to handle; each one their own kind of eerie and strange. 

Primus Tachonis is, of course, your employer. You receive orders directly from him, and you report to him when they’re complete. His cold eyes follow you when you’re in his presence, and sometimes you swear you feel that gaze on you even when he’s not near.

The eldest daughters, Petra and Rhya, are cold and aloof, perfect mirrors of each other and sometimes you swear they share a mind as well. They treat you like a little doll- their little toy to dress up how they like, to dote and fawn over even as they stay so cold and composed. It’s equal parts pampering and degrading.

Frons isn’t home often, but when he is, he’s awfully demanding with your attention. He’s neither nice nor cruel to you- almost like he doesn’t consider you at all beyond the fact that you belong to the family, and by extension, him. He’s arrogant, but mostly harmless. He’s a showboat, but if you stroke his ego you’ll be just fine. Frons is the most normal of his family by far, but he’s not any better than the rest- less of a frightening specter like the rest of his family, more like a typical arrogant and harsh man.

Ethrand is a constant torment to you- he makes a point of following you around or bringing you closer to him just to be antagonistic. Little comments, snide remarks, unnecessarily rough treatment whenever he needs to touch you; which he finds reason to. He’s difficult to get away from, and his harassment is difficult to endure. Still, it’s smart not to engage with his taunts- keep your head.

The only bearable member of the family is Occtis, who is rather soft spoken compared to the rest of his family. He’s easy to like, easy to talk to and befriend. Unfortunately attending the Penteveral keeps him away from the family, so your one reprieve is often out of reach.

You find a way to not only endure but grow fond of the family, drawn to the darkness of the family you serve. You serve them willingly and eagerly, and all the little quirks of the family fall by the wayside as you learn to sweep it under the rug, to look the other way and make the most of your opportunities- of which there are plenty. If you serve house Tachonis, it will serve you as well, and you can easily make your connections to a sundered house work for you.

If you can look past the nightmare of having to navigate such a complex and morally corrupt circle, you’ll find that life can be a dream for you. Do your work- whatever is asked of you- and everything else will work out for you. Afterall, that’s the benefit of allying yourself with such a powerful and infamous family.

Evil man x evil woman type vibes