#vendave

Vendave castle had withstood more battles in the past three years than she had two decades prior. Nestled so far into the heart of her country, she had stood vigil as promise more than fortress, until Kendrick had swept his armies out of the mountains and started his siege. Since then the castle had changed hands between both armies multiple times, had been burned twice, flooded once, and once even had a herd of livestock stampeded through the Great Hall. That had been a move that caught Kendrick by surprise, to the point where even being led through the chamber gave him echoes of snorts and stamping hooves. He almost smiled. 

“Do you want him in the dungeons, sire?”

“No,” Delgos answered, without turning. His broad back supported a velvet cloak, and though the edges were tattered, he looked every inch the Prince Consort he had become sometime during the long war. How they had time for marriage, Kendrick had no idea. How he still wanted to marry Constantine when he was dethroned and crippled, Kendrick really didn’t understand. “Take him up to the southern tower, and chain him there. I want a guard posted at all times. One of ours, please.” 

The guard saluted. “It shall be done, Your Highness.”

Maybe, Kendrick decided, as he stumbled up the spiral staircase, encumbered by chains and hustled along by spearpoint, the marriage had been for the title and power that would come with it. After all, now that the Vendavens had retaken their lands, the throne was Constantine’s again, and he was in little position or inclination to rule at the moment. Kendrick hadn’t seen him in months, not since removing the little whelp’s arm in a swordfight. Maybe he had died of infection afterwards, and they were keeping that fact hidden from the troops for morale. He had done much the same thing after his father’s death anyway. All things considered, he rather thought Delgos would make a better King than Constantine. Constantine was weak and uncertain. Delgos was a battle-worn commander now, all hard lines and discipline. His men would respect that, far more than they would ever be willing to kneel to the short, one-armed, defeated King of Vendave. 

Though if Kendrick found any of his men willingly kneeling to any of the Vendaven people, he would personally kill them once he was free of here.

merry christmas @kclenhartnovels​ this is self-indulgent as all hell

“Kamin.” Banner didn’t follow. It took a moment for him to put together what he wanted to say, and he couldn’t quite bring himself to look Kamin in the face when he spoke again.

“I am sorry,” he said, quiet and sincere. “I was negligent, I - I wasn’t keeping a proper watch, and I’m sorry.”

Kamin looked back to him at that, and his smile was easy and forgiving. “You are not responsible for me, Banner. I have spent long enough wandering the wilds on my own that I know the dangers every time I step off alone. That morning was no different. I don’t blame you at all--and don’t let Jinx try to hold you responsible for it, either. I am not one of your people, I am not one of your soldiers; I am your friend. I forgive you for not noticing my absence sooner, and as far as I am concerned, you have already repaid that debt by helping to rescue us.”

He realized how long he had been talking, and blushed again. “Do you need help with the knot on that collar?”

“Jinx doesn’t matter.” Banner was more than capable of holding his own guilt. He let out a soft, frustrated gruff; it seemed that not all his dog-like mannerisms had faded, and Banner’s teeth were still a little too sharp as he spoke. “It was my watch. I want to - I’m supposed to protect you.”

He ignored Kamin’s attempt at changing the subject. “I can’t make up for what they did to you and Brody.”

“What did they do?” Kamin asked with a light smile, tugging his shirt down to expose his neck and chest where they had carved more stars into him, no trace of any injury remaining. His smile faded some, and he leaned up to soothe his fingers across Banner’s brow in a light touch. “Please don’t blame yourself for any of this. If you want to be forgiven, to make amends, then you must do so in the Ekanti manner, huh?”

His smile returned, and he pressed his hand firmly against Banner’s chest. “When you feel guilt, spread joy. When you feel anger, make laughter. Wash your grievances by protecting and helping those who cannot protect and help themselves.”

Banner tensed slightly at Kamin’s touch, before relaxing; both motions were nearly imperceptible. He reached up and put his hand on top of Kamin’s, tan lines across his fingers from where he usually wore his rings.

“They hurt you,” he said, in a low growl, “and just because those marks are gone now doesn’t erase what happened.” Banner glanced off to the side, glaring so intently at one of the flowering vines it was a wonder it didn’t shrivel up and wither away.

“I’m not Ekanti,” Banner said, after a long moment; his fingers unconsciously curled around Kamin’s hand on his chest. “I don’t sing, or tell stories. I’m just a soldier - barely even that, these days. But while you’re still here, I won’t let anyone else hurt you again.”

Kamin was glad his hand was on Banner’s chest, and not the other way around--not with how he could feel his heart trip. “You never know,” he said lightly,”you might earn your stars one day.” He freed his hand at last, only to lean up on his toes again, reaching around the other man’s neck and undoing the knot on the collar. Carefully, he emptied the rings off of the leather strap and into his palm, offering them to Banner.

THEY’RE ALL MY FAVOURITES AND YOU WOULD HAVE DONE THAT ANYWAY

kajfdksjdbfkjsd are we on a mental link or something?

Two bloops deserves two random facts!

How about my favorite Ekanti kids?

Jinx is really good at improvising weapons. She’s taken down people with broken spears, her bare hands, other people’s weapons, and I wouldn’t put it past her to use her teeth.

[Whump prompt: I’m going to pick the sensory deprivation one. Since I owe you a birthday present, I hope this suffices!

Content warnings for torture, blood, and obviously sensory deprivation.]

It took Silas’ mercenaries two hours to discover that it wasn’t that Isthe wouldn’t talk, but rather that he couldn’t.

To be fair, Isthe refused to even try. Their questions and threats had been met with snarls and clenched fists, and more than once he had broken through the ropes to take a swing at them. Once he had made it as far as the door before a cudgel had hit his leg with enough force to bring him to the floor before they hauled him back again. It wasn’t until they had finally hit a point painful enough that he opened his mouth, and instead of a cry of pain it was a rough coughing sound.

The mercenary tapped the ugly scar on Isthe’s throat. “So if this one won’t help us find that wolf, you think he’ll come to get him?”

Katze shrugged, toying with his bloody knife and watching the dark stains on the front of Isthe’s tunic, the way his shoulders trembled and his blond hair stuck to the sweat on his neck. “Only one way to find out, I suppose. It won’t hurt us to keep the dog for a day or so.”

Isthe pulled against the ropes. The chair he was tied to creaked protest. The other mercenary grinned. “We’ll need a sturdy cage for that.”

Katze’s smile was an executioner’s hood. “I have one in mind.” He stepped up to Isthe, tilting his chin with the tip of his knife. “You’ll have to forgive me. Way out in the country like this, we have to make do. Were we back at the castle, I could show you such things. I spent a week in one of Silas’ pits before he knew he could trust me. No light, no sound, no company. Just a dark ring barely big enough to lay in, and when you stood your head brushed the ceiling. Were I an inch taller, I would have been hunched and crying a few days in. Lucky me, huh?”

Isthe curled his lip in a snarl. Blood stained his teeth.

“Don’t worry, dog. Like I said–we’ll make do.”

119 flowers, Lisa. 119. You think I won’t answer all of these? You’re a fool. I’m a fool. I’m going to answer all of them, and they’re all going to be Wolf at the Gates related so I can break your heart again. Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. I’m putting it all beneath the cut so that not everyone has to suffer through this. Just you, Lisa. Suffer with me.

🌻 Here we go. Let’s go. First of all, WatG is about 18 years old. It’s older than most of tumblr. That being said, I found a fun game someone else did that has first and last lines of characters, so I’m gonna do that with the major players:

🌻 T’ke: “T’ke” and “I haven't lost it yet.”

🌻 Medvetis: “What has this man done?” and “Isthe, don't.”

🌻 Isthe: Is mute, has no dialogue

🌻 Constantine: “I don’t recognize him.” and “Long live the King.”

🌻 Delgos: “You’re supposed to be socializing, Con—my Prince. I’m not sure your father would be pleased about—”  and “May the stars guide his spirit.”

🌻 Alastair: “Just a few words. Can you spare the time?” and “I am sorry, but we will have to bind your wrists, in order to maintain appearance.”

🌻 Samantha: “Sir Alastair Lobane, am I right?”  and “Well, that could have gone worse.”

🌻 Valerian: “Mine ran off when I was attacked.” and “Away with you, rogue, before I lose my composure entirely.”

🌻 Kamin: [Not counting songs, because his first and last lines are actually both songs] “Any requests, my Lord?” and “If you would allow it.”

🌻 Jinx: “Pitiful crowd tonight.” and “Anger is all I have left, Delgos. Don't try to take that from me, too.” 

🌻 Ashleigh: “Oh, I can hold my own. Why do you ask?” and “Stay in here to sleep tonight, otherwise the men will raid your bags for scraps.”

🌻 Silas: “Only one word? From Valerian? I didn’t think it possible.” and “Dismissed. Both of you.”

🌻 Aashiq: and “Safe journey, little cousin. Don't lose that bright head of yours.”

🌻 Tallest character: Ash, followed by Medvetis

🌻 Shortest character: Kamin, though narrowly, and of course Constantine is next

🌻 Most popular: Valerian 

🌻 Least popular: Silas

🌻 Smartest: T’ke

🌻 Dumbest: Isthe is the least educated, but Con is the biggest dumbass

🌻 Oldest: Major characters only, Valerian. Otherwise, Silas.

🌻 Youngest: Kamin

🌻 Most talkative: V a l e r i a n

🌻 Least talkative: Not counting Isthe, Alastair

🌻 Since it’s pride month, let’s talk about orientations! Main character first! T’ke: Cis, Aro/Ace (touch-repulsed)

🌻 Medvetis: Cis, Demi-romantic, asexual

🌻 Isthe: Trans, ???romantic ??sexual, canonly has sex with a woman, probably at least bi

🌻 Constantine: Cis, super gay both romantic and sexual

🌻 Delgos: Cis, panromantic, pansexual

🌻 Alastair: cis, heteromantic and heterosexual (and so in love with Samantha)

🌻 Samantha: cis, ??? but definitely in love with Alastair

🌻 Valerian: cis (but honestly more gender-flexible if he allowed himself to be), bi but in denial about it

🌻 Kamin: cis, also extremely gay

🌻 Jinx: Cis but genderflexible, aromantic, pansexual

🌻 In the original draft, Samantha’s child from the first marriage died. But there was no real reason for it, and now she and Alastair just get to keep collecting children and they’ll all star in book 3 whenever I get around to it.

🌻 The original original draft was a short story. A short story. A short story. Save me.

🌻 This story has been around so long, the good news is I’ve been able to develop a lot of the world and backstory, such as:

🌻 Three generations of Vendave Kings and what happened during their rule: Marius, Silas, and Constantine

🌻 Two generations of Cielan Kings and their rule: Antony and Kendrick (after he takes out his brothers)

🌻 Two generations of Reckson Kings: [Ash and Xav’s father which I have not named], then Xaviastriuos and Ashleigh fighting over the throne.

🌻 Tawrivers, which was conquered by Vendave during Silas’ rule

🌻 Jinx is one of my favorite characters to write because she’s so unapologetically angry, bordering on feral. She is passionate and injured, and ready to take revenge because no one else will help her and her people.

🌻 Honestly, Jinx would have joined Medvetis and company in a heartbeat, if Valerian and Alastair hadn’t given them shelter and respect first. They are the only reason she didn’t join the rebellion.

🌻 T’ke has dysthymia, and is touch-aversive due to trauma in childhood. He is also very sensitive to sunlight due to his albinism. He wears so many layers both to protect his skin from the sun, and to hide his scarring as much as possible.

🌻 Isthe is mute thanks to a dog attack in his youth, and the attack led to a high fever for many days that nearly killed him. The infection damaged part of his memory, and as a result he has trouble learning new things. This is why T’ke is never able to teach him how to write. He prefers expressive communication anyway.

🌻 T’ke also gets seasick and it cracks me up every time because he’s so annoyed by that fact.

🌻 Valerian has severe agoraphobia, and after he was harassed by bandits in the beginning of the book, he never leaves Angaroth again. Samantha goes in his stead whenever he has to represent the area.

🌻 Alastair has lung problems thanks to his town being razed when he was a child, and severe smoke damage from the fire. It gets progressively worse as he gets older, but he tries very hard not to let it affect his work. 

🌻 Constantine is an excellent swordsman and a terrible horseman. He gets thrown from his horse at least twice over the course of the book. May have been three times. 

🌻 He also almost dies from sickness, gets strangled twice by Isthe, trips up the stairs during a swordfight, and generally gets his ass handed to him over and over again.

🌻 The beginning of each chapter has a journal entry from T’ke. If you take them all out and read it in order, it is a singular letter of sorts explaining his feelings about the whole story.

🌻 Delgos and Alastair have a very quick bromance that stays a strong friendship to the end of the book.

🌻 Alastair is the first person that Delgos comes out to. Unfortunately, Delgos confessing his love for Constantine flies way over Alastair’s head, and the response is more or less “you’re such a good guard, of course you love your king.” Whoops. He tried.

🌻 T’ke makes a binder for Isthe so he stops bruising his ribs with bandages. It then becomes a battle to make sure Isthe takes the binder off every night to sleep so he doesn’t injure himself. 

🌻 T’ke is such the mother of the dynamic trio and he would hate it if anyone points it out.

🌻 That being said, he also spends most of the book making all three of them immune to poisons by gradually introducing them all to it. 

🌻 One of the things that changed very little between initial writes and editing is Valerian’s dialogue. It remains paragraphs, rambling, warm, and ridiculous. I love him.

🌻 I need to make it more clear that Delgos is mixed race from a low-ranking family, because his change from middle child of a merchant sailor to Captain of the Guard speaks a lot about him, and about how much Constantine cares for him.

🌻 Valerian has two pet deerhounds that he adores, and are never used for hunting. They just lay all over everyone in the house instead. They were a gift from some nobility, but he never leaves the house to hunt with them.

🌻 T’ke keeps a pet hawk for a good portion of the novel. Isthe is inexplicably jealous of it.

🌻 Alastair gets incredibly attached to his horses, and names all of them after flowers from his mountain home.

🌻 Aashiq is also very attached to his donkey. 

🌻 Uh, let’s see. Book one is technically Medvetis’ story arc

🌻 Book two is Alastair’s arc

🌻 Book three is the next generation

🌻 T’ke’s story spans books 1 and 2. His journals cause book 3

🌻 Alastair’s sons are identical twins. Poor Samantha.

🌻 Seeing how Alastair was raised by a single man makes Constantine think very long and hard about adopting an heir rather than trying to make one by blood.

🌻 Most of the reason why Silas passed such terrible laws was because he was in love with Elophia, Kamin’s mother.

🌻 Kamin is the youngest of three. His two older sisters were taken to Tawrivers for sanctuary, but Kamin was too young to travel so far, so he was adopted by Jinx’s family.

🌻 Constantine and Kamin are about the same age, and should have been King and chief advisor if Silas hadn’t been a raging bag of dicks.

🌻 Constantine’s mother died from complications of childbirth. Silas blamed Elophia for not saving her.

🌻 Kamin was an unplanned child. They didn’t think that they could have any more children after the two girls. His name roughly translates to gift.

🌻 Which, incidentally, is what Nafal’s name translates to. Aashiq adores his son beyond all measure.

🌻 Jinx is not her real name, but it’s what she’s been called since she was a toddler, and she protects her real name as if she could some day go back to it.

🌻 Harper is Kamin’s title, not his last name. He is, after all, royalty.

🌻 Kendrick is Alastair’s cousin. There’s no accounting for family sometime.

🌻 I fixed Patience’s autonomy, and I can’t wait for her to pop back up later in book 2 or 3

🌻 At one point, Constantine accidentally breaks Medvetis’ nose. 

🌻 It probably wasn’t the first time Medvetis had his nose broken.

🌻 Speaking of single dads, Medvetis was raised by one, too! His mother died from the plague that rocked Vendave and its surrounding lands when he was young, and Cohen took over teaching and protecting him. Medvetis loved his father.

🌻 Oh! Apparently I have a wealth of single dads. Valerian more or less raised his daughter alone, as his wife’s schizophrenia got so bad she confined herself to her room for fear of hurting them. 

🌻 Silas theoretically raised his son alone after his wife died, but let’s be real, Silas didn’t do any raising. The servants did. 

🌻 Delgos was raised primarily by his mother and older siblings; his father was at sea most of the time.

🌻 T’ke was raised by Khalid and the rest of the merchant caravan, and they ruined him. 

🌻 Isthe was raised on the docks with the other street orphans, running with a group of kids and probably one or two pseudo-adults that kept them in line. I have no idea what happened to his parents, but it’s likely they died at sea.

🌻 Delgos really wants to have kids, and Constantine is slowly warming up to the idea. They will likely end up adopting later, and have the discussion about it in book 2

🌻 T’ke hates children. He actually just generally hates people. 

🌻 Medvetis wouldn’t mind having kids, but he would adopt and not have them naturally. As much as he would want kids, he doesn’t want to have sex.

🌻 Isthe loves kids. He loves people. Kids usually find him weird.

🌻 Isthe is also incredibly lucky at gambling, specifically dice games. I guess it balances out his poor luck when it came to the dog attack.

🌻 Isthe isn’t his birth name! He refused to let anyone know his birth name after he was attacked by a dog; he thought someone had used it to curse him. So, he made up a new one.

🌻 Delgos has a tattoo of the Runnemede lion on his chest. (Constantine thinks it’s incredibly hot)

🌻 Isthe gets a tattoo of Medvetis’ wolf on his arm at some point.

🌻 Kamin, of course, has his stars on his cheeks.

🌻 Jinx has the stars on her neck, plus another tattoo in her lower back

🌻 In the dark!AU, Delgos has a tattoo of the Cielan dragon instead :D

🌻 Speaking of defining marks, Medvetis has freckles and it is the most adorable thing

🌻 Also defining, Jinx’s red, red hair.

🌻 Ashleigh’s full name is true Reckson style: Ashleigh en Crowenne Brighton di Reckson

🌻 Originally, Wolf at the Gates and Dragon on the Mountain were one big book named Vendave because I had no idea what to title it. One big book. Thank god I had the sense to cut it in half.

🌻 Book 3 has nothing written on it yet, and only a vague idea of what the heck I’m doing with it.

🌻 Book 2 needs major rewrites but it’s not on the next “to do” list

🌻 I have no idea what any of the characters’ birthdays are, even though Medvetis turned 18 during a battle in the book.

🌻 These dumb kids are all so young in the book, it’s no wonder they suck at everything.

🌻 That’s a lie they mostly just suck at emotional stability and the ability to compromise.

🌻 Literally half the plot would fall apart if they all just sat at a table and talked it out.

🌻 All of the plot would fall apart if Silas hadn’t been a raging bag of dicks when he was alive.

🌻 Honestly I’m so mad that he just died in his sleep. He deserved a worse death and a shorter life but unfortunately the author let him get away with all of it. Damn it.

🌻 I thought a lot about cutting all the songs in WatG, but you convinced me otherwise. And no other beta readers were bothered by it. 

🌻 Have I mentioned yet that I had the best beta readers for this book? Because I had the best beta readers for this book. They were SO helpful.

🌻 I’m both tired of editing it, and very excited about editing it.

🌻 I’m debating on commissioning someone to make a map for me because I don’t want to, but the book really needs it. I have a rough sketch, but that’s it.

🌻 A part of me wants to go back and rewrite the book as pure medifant, instead of low fantasy, but I don’t want to develop a complex magic system, and it would change too many things. I just want it for the aesthetic really.

🌻 That being said, it’s heavily implied throughout the book that T’ke may really be magical, which is fun in a no-magic world. 

🌻 I was able to weave in some of the Ekanti “magic” though, including healing songs and tattoo work! 

🌻 Valerian is slightly magical too in that it seems like he doesn’t need air to keep talking. He just goes without ever pausing for breath.

🌻 When Samantha married Alastair, she takes Valerian under her wing too, and tries to keep him from getting beheaded by the crown, or at least getting his tongue removed.

How about some facts about everyone’s favorite villain that isn’t even going to be present until book 2 but go off I guess

🌻 Kendrick was definitely not first, or even second in line to be King. There was so much quarreling over who would inherit the crown, and so much fraternal backstabbing, that the entire Ciel children kept the King’s death a secret from the public until they sorted it all out, lest someone stage a coup.

🌻 While it’s barely a plot point, Kendrick and Alastair are actually cousins. Speaks a lot to nature vs nurture I guess.