ghosts in the house of pyre

ENTER: THE PYRE They had the best and most loyal of hounds—stalwart, focused, ruthless. Beneath the banner of the noble family of Pyre, these hounds were well-fed and treated as the most treasured of pets. They would want for nothing.

As they should, as they so deserved.

Velimor Dragos would do as commanded, and that meant so to would his sons and daughters, so would his wife. Their value was immeasurable to the House of Pyre — whose rule was certainly only secured by the loyalty shown by his Dragos pack and their own selection of warriors.

Most couldn't dispute this, but certainly wouldn't shy away from derisive commentary beyond the ears of their Emperor (the head of eight ruling prides). What held the Dragos to the Pyre family was secretive; though the rumors were plenty. Some saw them as hand-bred by the Pyre's servants, chosen to create a simpler minded creature; one that only knew a single master. None of the rumors, of course, were true. If anything, it was far less scandalous. No, the truth of the matter was, the father to the Dragos hounds, was in love.

The stage was set: a battle had been won, and the Emperor's seat of influence was secured yet again. His loyal and brave warriors awaited their praise. It had been brewing a long while, the tension, the need for truth. To bare witness everything and all. Certainly, marriages of convenience and politics carried lineage forward, it bore them promise for a future — but what use did Velimor Dragos have for a future, if it weren't the one he truly deserved? What use did he have for his shield, his yoke, his honour, his wife, his own childrenn, a throne, nobility? What use did he have for the Empress his beloved would not do away with?

Scorned again, Velimor could bear it no longer. The secret was out. Turned away from the Emperor, the love of his life, a final time.

Dismayed, the shambles of their once valiant pack were scattered. Many scorned their former leader for choosing his own pride over their shared comfort, their own brandished acclaim. His choice sullied their ability to choose for themselves. Scandalizing not only his wife, but his children too.



AND SO, EXIT: THE DRAGOS > some are the children of Velimor, still in need of their driven compass. Others, like @Lorcan, went out in search of their own way. It is possible they too found Amaryllis, but not to follow their sire or his remaining family.

>smoky, flecked; roan, reminiscent of crackling embers and ash carried on the wind, filling the dusky skies. eyes that burn, that catch and hold and devour. robust builds, never softened too much by fat or age.

> simple names taken from slavic regions and celtic influence, names that invoke pride and are chosen for their ease of beckon, of call. to be heard shouted across the fighting fields.

> name bank suggestions, adopters are welcome to use others. andel, anlon, ašera, behan, bero, brana, caine, ceala, cedna, dajan, dallan, desa, djova, edel, eyrin, eurik, frida, gala, griša, ignait, kahlo, kasija, kehat, lot, marac, mannis, mechar, nera, omra, oráed, orren, ozana, rath, rezso, roran, veto, síoda, taida, tiarna, ursin, valner, vice, vigor, von, zana



LASTLY, A CHOICE: THE FORMER HOUNDS OF PYRE a few of the family to be listed here, but do not let this limit you. there is always room for more. sit with an idea and then let it flourish, make it your own. that always tickles my muse.

➊ velimor dragos | lord dragonfire, the burning heart, the hound (available) at least eight years of age. disgraced leader of a once illustrious band of warriors. first name can be altered. scorned former lover to an emperor, the kingdom's best kept secret. would have dragged the sun from the heavens all in His name, but his sweetheart would never do the same. the sire of many children, given to his wife out of a sense of duty and a different sort of love for her. selfishly, he would have had them follow him into the duty of soldier. quietly, he would love them in his own way. muted, in unspoken understanding.

➋ solana carthail | the owl, the gilded night (available) at least seven years of age. devoted, so utterly faithful. she loved velimor as one does their closest of friends. theirs was not a romantic pairing. certainly, they'd shared their moments. displaying only closeness in the open eyes of those around them. whether she knew about the emperor is for you to decide, the why she remained, and why she had chose to follow him. perhaps it was their many children that inspired her faithfulness. it certainly wasn't the glory or comfort of serving his lover. if that was so, why would she still be at his side now? now that they are homeless, penniless, and wandering? is it revenge for her, for her children, for their lost comrades? who's to say. oh yeah, you.

and their children




> the first litter: at least five.

➌ breza: the eldest. the mold. the one they were to emulate in the years to come. they set the bar, they set the limit. they were, at the time of their exit, velimor's right hand. not the enforcer — good, loyal hounds needed no whip — but the rallying cry, the boisterous, clarion voice that drove them towards quarry.

➍ drena: the sullen, the ruinous. littermate of breza, yet less luster. more cruel, more callous, more hungry. less a Warhammer and more like a wrathful blade, a righteous and retribution-seeking cleaver that knew less artful carry. a true dragon.

> the second litter: at least three.

➎ idea to go here

> the last litter: one years old, littermates of @Lorcan.

➏ idea to go here

but, also: > remaining loyalists: those that knew and loved velimor as their leader, their alpha. their own idea of what a king ought to be. they cared not for his emperor, but for him alone. and when velimor left the Pyre, they knew he would lead them to greater and better things. forever dragos, they whispered in the shadow of the pyre empire. forever velimor.

> the grudgemongers: do they follow out of need of justice? do they follow because it is all they'd known? are they still with velimor and his family or do they stalk their steps biding their time?


and a final wordAs I already have the youngest brother, I leave these to the interest of the site. I may insert another character in down the road, as muse builds. To Audition, let's keep it simple. Give me a small description or reference image (either or both), a small glimpse of their personality, and some inspiration. I won't be particularly choosey, and simply want an idea of who your character is.

upon approval here, the character (and design) will be considered yours. i will not re-distribute designs or re-adopt out a character should you fall inactive.

If you have an idea or want help with a design, feel free to dip into my discord DMs <3.

Hi

ozana, kasija

wip wip wip

coded by flea

behan, andel, reszso

wip wip wip

coded by flea

i musn't hoard but i want threads

DRENA

sometimes an angel, sometimes a hell raiser

She is that feeling that one has before a storm - calm, as the havoc has not yet arrived, but disquieting, knowing the danger that might be coming. Beautiful like a shadowed moon, but fiery like the sun. Drena has an attitude problem, but arguably, it is justified. She harbors a great deal of bitterness because of the past, mainly directed at her mother and father. Uncontrolled schizophrenia plagues her, altering many of her decisions and choices. It is a much gentler case than most, toying with her more than anything, but certainly enough to be an aggravation. However, that does not mean that Drena doesn't desire to be something more than she is. She is driven, opportunistic. She has developed only a few, but passionate, and vehement, almost possessive connections to others. She is one to watch out for, for though her storm may mostly be kept at bay, there is no telling when the calamity might be unleashed.

code by corvus

acanthe ballad-dragos
erudite/assassin• vii • the gilded owl

acanthe was never a warrior. bookish and curious, she sought whatever knowledge there is in the world, preferring to use words over the cruelties of claws and fangs. in her pursuit of knowledge, she meets velimor, and the two have been together, more as close friends than as lovers, despite everything they share. whether or not it was his ideals that drove her to him was unknown to most. whatever it is, acanthe remained by his side, and then their children's side, as their most ardent supporter.

she's soft, gentle, and still engrossed in learning about the new world they landed in. but, she's not weak, no, because she'll be the first to come to her family's aid. her execution is as sharp as her words, for nothing, not even gods and kings, will harm her loved ones. indeed, while she is a wife and a mother, acanthe never considers herself as one who can be fettered so easily.

there's a quiet rage in acanthe, from her children losing their home, and her closest (and only) friend tossed out like nothing. she hides that ache inside her, for the most part. acanthe relies on her sociability to mask everything, her charm, her cunning, and her smiles; one may wonder if those are fake, and their assumptions are usually half-right. yet still, she'll never encourage her children in the path of revenge, or needless battles that they may not come back from. what's done is done, and now, they will rebuild - an empire of their own.

thank u cala for the code!

Velimor Dragos
Barbarian/Paladin • Eight years • The father

In him exists sadness. Untethered, untouched, unwilling to relent. The loss of everything he once knew weighs heavily, though he tries not to let it slip through the cracks of his steeled façade. There is shame even, too, deep down inside. Unfamiliar, though, and something Velimor is unwilling to admit. Shame in how he disgraced himself and his family, and shame, too, in that he'd let it all slip through his fingers. He loves with abandon; the wages of battle and war leading to love none greater, and yet, the hardship of his struggles often do not let it show.

He speaks through his actions. He protects and fights because it has always been all he'd ever known. His words of advice ring hollow not out of lack of understanding, but of ignorance of the intricacies of talk. He staggers, falters, in the wake of those delicacies, oftentimes acting out of anger and sadness and coming to regret it far later. He has become a broken, hollow king; and yet that fire remains, somewhere deep inside, oft reawakened by the thrill of the fight or threats that come out against him and his ilk, for they are all he has left.

He is still attached to the old ways of their life; thus, Velimor often struggles with the concept of this brutal loneliness, the lack of the leash his Emperor had once provided. He is often overly-cautious, indecisive, and relies perhaps a bit too much on those of his children that shine through. It is the influence of his children that will drive him one way or another: if he is destined to rise a stronger man, one worthy of the weight of a Dragos crown; or if he is broken, destined to remain the hollow soldier of the Pyre who'd long since abandoned them.

helllo yes hi. @cala @fiore @irish ★ i loves them go forth and have fun. ;D

i'll update this thread a bit later.


i'll be gone for majority of the coming week but if anyone has questions or ideas i'll still be checking my discord.

magda dragosthe wildling
5 years old // litter 1 // sleuth x barbarian

a she devil, a wolf. Beautiful, savage, deadly. She walks with the grace of a warrior, purpose and violence in her wake. Blood smears her lips, stains her claws. An inferno blazes in Magda’s eyes.

She is a hound from hell, sent to terrorize her enemies. Keen nose and sharp eyes follow their trail, the woman baying for their blood to soak her plush fur. War is all she’s ever known and she revels in it.

There is precious little time in her world for her family’s fall from grace. The titles and pomp were never much her style anyhow. She’d long ago noticed romantic warmth absent in her parents. An inkling of what was going on lingered in the back of her mind, but Mag doesn’t pry. It wasn’t her business, nor did she care to know.

What mattered was that they stayed together, the pack over everything. Wolves always find a way, their instincts to survive and hunt keeping them true. The royals her father had tied himself to were but a glimmer in his eye - a distraction. A means to an end. Magda has no need for anything luxurious. Laziness leads to fat, which leads to slowing one down. It all pointed to a tragic end one way or another, and she for one is glad to be free.

Now, she searches for a new purpose. A master to call her own, to serve and reap reward from. This land seems rife with battle and ample prides to make bonds with. It is an opportunity to thrive anew and rebuild their name from the ground up. Magda will take it by force if necessary.

magda dragosthe wildling
5 years old // litter 1 // sleuth x barbarian

a she devil, a wolf. Beautiful, savage, deadly. She walks with the grace of a warrior, purpose and violence in her wake. Blood smears her lips, stains her claws. An inferno blazes in Magda’s eyes.

She is a hound from hell, sent to terrorize her enemies. Keen nose and sharp eyes follow their trail, the woman baying for their blood to soak her plush fur. War is all she’s ever known and she revels in it.

There is precious little time in her world for her family’s fall from grace. The titles and pomp were never much her style anyhow. She’d long ago noticed romantic warmth absent in her parents. An inkling of what was going on lingered in the back of her mind, but Mag doesn’t pry. It wasn’t her business, nor did she care to know.

What mattered was that they stayed together, the pack over everything. Wolves always find a way, their instincts to survive and hunt keeping them true. The royals her father had tied himself to were but a glimmer in his eye - a distraction. A means to an end. Magda has no need for anything luxurious. Laziness leads to fat, which leads to slowing one down. It all pointed to a tragic end one way or another, and she for one is glad to be free.

Now, she searches for a new purpose. A master to call her own, to serve and reap reward from. This land seems rife with battle and ample prides to make bonds with. It is an opportunity to thrive anew and rebuild their name from the ground up. Magda will take it by force if necessary.

Marvellous !!! Please do the thing and bring Magda in!