Solo Tradition and Ridicule

[Caesarion]

3rd of Summer, 508 AV "Happy birthday!" Was what everyone kept saying. Oh, it was unbelievably happy to him. The cheering, the love, the adoration; it was all directed at him, the second son. That had to have been, what, the first time? He had encountered eighteen of these, so far. They always got progressively shittier, the older he was. He cared a little less about aging, every year. When he was a child, he wanted to become a man ASAP, so that he could 'impress' his father, and take on the family name. Then, he realized he'd never take on any family name, and that Rhaenon was the only one who'd ever impress daddy dearest. Shortly after, he realized that his dear old daddy was a demonic cunt. And now, as the years passed by and numbered eighteen, he felt that nothing had ever changed from the days of his infancy. He still knew so little, and was worth so little in the long run. Ugh, that was so pessimistic. Caesar had a real knack for being depressing, no matter what the occasion. He stood in the center of the crowd that seemed to revolve around him, which only meant that there was no escape from their nagging. Their bickering. They wanted to pretend that they actually knew anything about him before today, when most of them were just trying to gain the favor of his father. He wouldn't be the first one to try and convince them of how stupid that was. His dad didn't favor anyone. Only his ego. He was sort of paying attention, but not enough to notice that he was being rushed into a room. As soon as he snapped back to reality, he looked at the face of the person who so zealously brought him into his chambers. Mom. "Huh, what? Sorry." 'Sorry' wasn't the right word. It probably should've been "thanks". He had to thank her, at least, for saving him from that frenzy of hyenas. He couldn't stand any more of that shit. So much chatter and laughter and false pretense. The lady sighed, and playfully slapped him on the cheek. "You're going to spoil the party. Don't poop your own celebration, Caesarion." Was that really what she was here to say? Seriously? "Mother, I'm perfectly allowed to take a shyke on this party if I want. I hate parties, anyway. You know that," he fell back against the door, his headache still wracking his mind. He always got sick around his birthday. His mother frowned, and tried to massage his head, which was quickly met with retaliation. He was at that age where he wanted to be independent, and that meant being a total dick to his mom. It was the period of a mother's life that was always despised by them, although Maenas was far too used to it, considering Rhaenon was in that rebellious stage since birth, and still was. Caesarion was her sweetheart. Even with the way he had been, lately, with the manipulation and the plotting. It was really strange. Whatever, a boy could play house without his mother trying to correct him. More importantly... "Caesar, it's about time we found you a suitable wife. There are many ladies in the city that would love to be wed to a handsome and intelligent man like you. And I know how much you tire of Rhaenies and your brother. It'd be a good way to get out of the household, and start a new life!" She seemed so excited about it -- y'know, selling off her son like some whore. All she wanted, in his mind, was the power she'd gain from inheriting yet another house. With Caesarion taking a bride, and with Rhaenon's upcoming wedding, they'd basically own four houses, if you counted Exthergis as even being one anymore. They'd be a leading family of Ravok. That was all he could see; the plan. The desire to take the city by storm and lord over it. It wasn't easy to see his family as much more than vultures, especially when they were so adamant on going against his wishes. He didn't want a stupid wife. "Snap out of it!" He lowered his eyes for a second, and then returned to outer space. He didn't want to have children with said stupid wife, or to engage in the process of conceiving them! Not with a woman. Ugh, why couldn't men have babies? Caesar gulped. Oh. Never mind that thought. The image in his head that followed it was a bit too disturbing for him to relay to mother dearest. And he couldn't have even told her about his preference, anyway. Father was a twisted monster in the shape of a man, and mother was his loyal informant. Caesar didn't want to be drawn and quartered, so he kept his secret kink away from prying ears. Only Rhaenon knew, because he was smart enough and watchful enough to find out. What gave it away? Probably the fact that Caesarion would only ever come to events more close to the sausage fest side, and would resent and evade the clam bakes. Wow, how long had he just been phasing out, for? When he was back to planet Mizahar, his mother was already gone. Oh, that's what the "snap out of it!" was for... well, whatever. One problem had been removed, right? OOC INFOThis thread is going to involve a lot of time-skipping at the end of posts, since I plan on covering a few days within it.

[Caesarion]

"Don't say it!" One roar from Rhaenon, and Caesarion always crumbled. His brother had that effect on people. All people, really, so it was to be expected. But it wasn't shameful for them; everyone acknowledged that Rhaenon was terrifying, and commanding. For Caesarion, it was acknowledgment that he was beneath Rhaenon. "Why? I hate those stupid people. They're always trying to play me like a f***ing board game! And now they act like they've beaten me just because I fought back and lo... stumbled?" Stumbled? Ha. He even admitted it in his own words; he was well and truly beaten. He always played it like he was so smart, but he wasn't half as smart as he once cut himself out to be. It was painful to realize that no matter where he looked for hope, he'd always find himself crushed under someone's boot. Everything... in Ravok, was just... "You've brought shame upon this family, Caesarion. If I was father, I would've taken your head." And he knew he would've. He could see it in his eyes. Rhaenon had a black and terrible soul. There was nothing that could stop him, was there? Rhaenon was the true enemy. If you looked past any of them; the slavers who were just competitors, the slaves who conspired behind him, and the parents who loved him barely a dime, the most dangerous one was the man who would admit to your face that he would have you killed. Once you had gotten to the point where you were so much more powerful than someone that you could freely exclaim your desire for their demise, you were already the victor. "I'm not the one that brought any shame. I hadn't said anything! There was nothing I could've done to prevent what happened!" Rhaenon never saw anything past his own reasoning. He was always so ridiculous. Why did no one else notice that but Caesar? The older brother, who was at first looming over Caesarion's bed, spitting his anger at him, moved over to the door. He was going to storm out now that he'd made his "point", like he always did. "Another house's victory is our defeat. We have to show them what it means to embarrass the Panthos name." He always said things just like that; so... darkly. He didn't even elaborate on what he meant, he just left. Caesarion was sure that he was secretly organizing some master plot, and he was even more positive that he'd have nothing to do with it. Rhaenon always got the glory in the end, didn't he? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Shit. He was wrong about that one. At least the "having no part in it" thought. Glory? What he was asked to do wasn't glorious at all. If you hadn't guessed it by now, Caesarion was outed at his birthday party by a rival family. How did they know this, when even his own mother did not? Their son figured it out when he and Caesar went camping together, a few weeks prior. Maybe it was all of the suggestive looks? Ugh. You couldn't trust anyone these days, could you? Anyway, the point that Rhaenon brought up was actually relatively ingenious, although he'd never say it to his face. Hadrian of the Lorakii, the matron of the family, had a firm handle on her son. It was actually a very abusive relationship, as he had disclosed to a doctor whose ears had been bought by the Panthos long before their meeting. Rhaenon suspected that the son of Hadrian, Ramin, had been forced to give this information, and that he wouldn't have told his mother otherwise. Rhaenon had figured this would happen for a long time. He calculated every hand gesture made by Ramin in his first meeting with Caesarion, and most of them were like teenage sign language for asking someone out. Now he understood why he looked so disappointed when they first met... Well, anyway, back to the subject at hand. Basically, Hadrian was a hypocrite, and it was time for her to reap her pain ten fold. In the dark of night, Caesarion visited Ramin. One of their slaves, who they had sold to the Lorakii, had been their informant this whole time. On the night of the full moon, Ramin would always go to the hills outside of the city by himself, the ones next to the abandoned shack, more specifically. The tan and black-haired boy was met with Caesar's reassuring smile, although his sudden appearance up the hill seemed to terrify Hadrian's son. "Oh please. Don't worry, I'm not going to pay my debts to you or anything. It'd look even more implicating if you ended up dead so soon after these accusations, so I'd rather kill you later." That, of course, startled Ramin. At least mentally; he was calm and composed on the outside, like always. "I'm sure when the time comes, you'll do it very gently like all of your kind do." Ouch. That was a bit harsh, coming from him, wasn't it? The Lorakii boy fell back into the carpet he'd brought with him, and stared back into the full moon. It calmed him, as it did Caesar. "I'm sure you'd know a lot about my kind, wouldn't you?" Here was where things got good. The movement of Ramin was noticeably more nervous, especially when Caesar slowly knelt down and loomed over him. "You're afraid, aren't you?" Caesarion asked him with a sweet smile on his face; the smile you'd only have when you were in the moment of victory. The first of many victories, he suspected. "Nice tattoo you have, between your shoulders. I noticed it when I first snuck up on you. It's a Gnosis, right? For Akajia?" He lowered his head for a moment, then brought his eyes back to Ramin, and laughed. "You discover that I'm the servant of a God far more powerful than you or your family, and you ask if I'm the one who is in fear?" Ramin was very good at bluffing, wasn't he? And lying. And deceiving. Just like every other disgusting creature in this city. No honor. No feelings. "You're a failure to Akajia. You can't keep any of your secrets. They all fall to the ears of your mother. She rides you like you're a whipped bitch. Heir to the Lorakii name, huh? The only thing you'll inherit from your mother is a muzzle and a leash." The Lorakii boy laughed; he couldn't help but find it so funny. Caesarion the Soft was giving him a lecture on inheritance? "I wasn't aware you were a stand-up comedian," Ramin mocked him, as his back rose from its place against the carpet. "What are you here for, Caesar? To poke me with your pretty, meaningless moaning? You're all bark, and you have nothing on me. Not a single thing." Except, for once in Caesar's life, someone was actually wrong about that. He finally did have something on someone. For once in his goddamn life. "The pair of tracks leading up to this hill do not fit the size of your feet. They're much larger. You were carried up here, weren't you?" And Ramin would now see that his bluff was foiled. "You weren't afraid to "see" me. You were afraid that someone had found you, defenseless in your facade. You can't even see the light of the moon, so why do you bother to come here?" A negative Gnosis mark had overcome Ramin's body, this night. It seemed almost like he was going to die in this state. He couldn't see anything in the darkness. He couldn't even see Caesar's face, or the look in his eyes when he drew his blade. "My brother told me to seduce you. To get you to fall in love with me, and secure Lorakii as a pawn of the Panthos. But seeing you in this state, and finding out who you are... I could never pretend to love you. Here's where you die, Ramin Lorakii." This was it. Finally. His heart was beating so quickly. He wasn't weak. He wasn't f**king weak! "Ple-" Caesar covered Ramin's lips with his hand; he couldn't let his whining ruin the moment. All of the power in the whole world was flowing into him as he gripped the hilt of his piercing blade, and dipped it deeply into the heart of the one who destroyed him. He didn't know what consequences he'd be facing later for this, but right now... that didn't matter. This was the most perfect feeling he'd ever know.

[Caesarion]

The morning was bright. The sun rose in the east, and the trade-winds gently blew against his cheek from the open window. It was a wonderful day to be Caesarion Panthos. Well, for the first five minutes, anyway. As he scoured off the bed, and tamed his wretched hair, he started to realize that he felt like shit. He had just killed someone barely any older than him, and he knew that there were going to be consequences. This was war with the Lorakii. Although they no longer had an heir to the name, all that meant was that Hadrian could operate freely. He wondered how she was feeling, right now? Relieved that her competition was gone, and that she was finally in her rightful place? Or sad over the loss of her son? He was disgusted that he even needed to ask that. In any other city, the mother would be swelling with agony. But in this one? What did family mean, if not something to hold you back? "Rise and shine, sleepy bird." Rhaenon? Ugh, and if he was using that greeting, then he was probably really pissed. "I'm already up, Rhaenon. You can get to scolding me, now." He was so used to this. Their relationship had devolved from a strong brotherhood to Rhaenon flipping tables on him within the past few months. He didn't know why it had turned out this way. Maybe Rhaenon was just... pressured to act like the leader. Father wasn't getting any more coherent as he went on in age. His older brother fell back against his silky mattress, staring up into the overhead mirror. "You took the initiative," he started. So far, so good, actually. "You killed your enemy on your name day. I'm happy to know that even you possess the ability to destroy our rivals." There had to have been a "but" somewhere. Come on -- this was Rhaenon. "But...?" The waiting was going to kill him faster than any of his brother's cruel plot twists. He had to know if he was going to be receiving a vicious beating later without his expectations. Rhaenon just... sighed. "Hadrian is already dead." Wow, seriously? "I guess we don't have to worry anymore, do we?" He stepped out of the room, not bothering with Rhaenon anymore. That was one face he could do without, at the current time. "Caesar, help me find my necklace, please. I seem to have lost it at yesterday's party," said mother dearest. Except, he didn't really feel like it. "Pff. No." She had a billion slaves to order around, who were as lazy and spoiled as princes. Birthday boy wasn't going to be doing shit today. Yesterday was a horrible day full of ridicule and murder. Today would be a time of relaxation. Well, by all intents and purposes. The brown haired Panthos made his way over to the baths, unveiled himself, and dipped into the hot water. The slave who was on duty in the room was quickly called upon, Caesarion deciding it was in his best interests to question him. "Raz, do you know who killed the Lorakii? The thought of anyone doing something so malicious breaks the heart." He had to keep that up, as always. Never knew which slave could be a spy. Hadrian made the mistake of trusting hers, and Caesarion wouldn't make that same mistake. The slave stood still for a moment, before his voice rose to speak. "Wasn't it you, Master?" He looked nervous, saying that... like he was making an accusation. But he doubted he'd come up with that on his own; he must've been told by someone else. That really bothered him. Who was making these accusations? "Did Rhaenon tell you this?" He stood at the corner of the bath, just staring into the eyes of the slave. The signals implied that he was about to tell the truth, but slaves were better at lying than most. "No, he did not, Master. Another slave informed me of this; her name is Maelheesi. She has spoken many foul rumors about you -- I have only now discovered them, however, Master. I have told you this, because I am a more loyal servant than the others." The Panthos just looked at him, and smiled. "I'm sure you are." Ugh, he didn't have time for fucking slave politics. He couldn't expect to get the truth out of this one. Perhaps Maelheesi, the slave he mentioned, knew? "Thank you for this great help, Raz. Come find me in the yard, at seven, for your just rewards." Whatever those were would depend on Maelheesi. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Later, in the courtyard, after a ridiculously tedious search, he had found the aforementioned girl. Why was it so difficult to locate a single slave, in this day and age? "Have you been spreading rumors about me to the other slaves, girl?" She had his back turned to him for a few moments, and quite honestly it seemed like her mind wasn't there. After a random gasp of air, she turned to him, looking terribly exasperated but... apologetic. "Sorry, I was... err... consuming." Looking at what was between her fingertips, he could certainly understand what she meant. Drugs. Rhaenies didn't mind the slaves taking those; it kept them too stupid to think of escaping. But it also made them really lazy, and probably decreased their price, in the long run. "It's no bother. Did you get my question, or should I ask it again?" The patience he had for these people, really. He should've been elected as the most tolerable person in Mizahar. "Again, please." Especially after that! "Have you been spreading rumors about me to the other slaves, girl?" She cocked an eyebrow, and shook her head. "No, why would you think so?" Honestly, he was inclined to believe her. Raz always had a knack for being a vicious little trollop. Maelheesi must've been competition for him, in some strange way. Oh, he could think of one. "Has Rhaenon bedded you?" That immediately prompted awkwardness, blushing, other weird girly stuff. Jeez. That was definitely the case. "Yes, master." Wow, a slave who didn't lie about it. That was a first. "Thank you, Lheesi. I'm done with you now." She bowed her head, and quickly scurried off. It was almost seven, and this was the place he asked to meet that schemer, Raz. And just as expected, he arrived early. Slaves were very punctual; they had little better to do. "Can you tell me what I look like, Raz?" He averted his gaze to the slave, who was taller than him, more muscular than him; almost intimidating. "Can I? I've been dying to for a long time." This was where his promiscuity shined in. Sadly, that vulgar attitude wasn't going to help him today. "Sure, why not?" ...But he could always use compliments. Raz leaned back against a pillar holding up the estate, and grinned. He crossed his arms, mustered the cheekiest expression he could onto his face, and began. "You look like someone who wants to punish me for lying to you, Caesar. There are many ways to go about this, I find, and after the unfortunate events of your birthday, there's no reason for me to sugar-coat most of them." Pft. That wasn't even answering the question. "Really? Intriguing offer, Raz." Not really, but he could play the game, too. "I'll have to think on it." Would it have been surprising to say that he was very tempted? No, it wouldn't have been. But he was a man of morals, not some slave banger. And Raz couldn't expect to wag his mystical finger and watch everything go his way. There were many ways to punish a slave. Especially one who didn't know his place. "Return to your room. It's going to be curfew soon, and I expect you to follow the rules more closely from now on." With these parting words, they both returned to their stations, until a later time. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - It was about ten at night. The slaves usually all just played weird games or gossiped until about nine, but they should've been asleep by now. Or at least, they'd pretend to be asleep. Whatever. Caesar strapped his dagger around his waist, and slowly crept his way into the male lodging. There was no door, as was custom; slaves were expected to always be in order, so they had no room for privacy. That went a great way to help him in this matter. He slowly stepped over the blankets on the floor, although it was pretty difficult to make his way; the slaves were practically overflowing, and there was little free space to tread carefully. He didn't want to wake anyone up and ruin the surprise. Eventually, he had practically straddled over Raz's body, the slave opening his eyes and immediately forcing a grin. Caesar looked back at him, and made the same expression, as he lodged a dagger in his throat. He leaned over to his ear, and whispered to him. "I decline your offer." The man tried to grip Caesar's neck, his arms weekly attempting to take his revenge. But he couldn't. He gurgled his blood, and fell into the afterworld. The slaves were suddenly awoken to the gagging, or... maybe they were already awake. He wasn't sure which one it was. "Assassin!" The single word threw them all into a panic, as they lit the torches, and revealed the culprit. Caesar, with blood lightly smeared against his attire, marched through the room in a rage. "I'm not your slave!" He screamed this in some random boy's face, and quickly left the scene, the men staring at him in both fear and spite, and the women rushing out of their rooms to watch as he ran up the stairs. It wasn't long before everyone had awoken that night, after all of the commotion. Caesarion sat alone in his bed, his chin resting on his knuckles, his nostrils picking up the scent of blood; his mind running in so many different directions. He understood, though, as silently as the grave, that it brought him great joy to watch his enemies pay.

[Caesarion]

He barely got any sleep. The night was so full of just... pure... awkward. Maenas and Rhaenies had come to see him in his chambers, to yell at him of course. Killing a slave as attractive and talented as Raz was a waste of a major investment. Well, whatever. Who cared about Rhaenies' stupid investments? "I love it when you march in here with that disappointing look on your face," he replied to his brother's sudden entry. Sometimes, he felt like his room was a public bathroom. People would charge in here all the time, ready to take a shit on him. He never had any privacy in here. "What loving words you possess, brother. Sadly, I won't be returning them, today." Pff. Was he surprised? "Mhm. Go on with what you're going to say." Moving over to sit beside Caesar in the bed, Rhaenon gripped his brother's neck, and squeezed tightly. "G-get off of me, Rhaenon!" That was followed by a punch in the gut, although Caesar honestly wasn't known for his physical strength. It barely phased him. Rhaenon didn't even seem angry; he was just disappointed. After a while, he let go, if only to silence his brother's whining. "After witnessing you brutally murder one of them for no apparent reason, and then shouting some words about not being like them, most of the slaves have decided that they hate you. Hate us. And that they want you dead." That came as no surprise to him. These slaves were always disobedient, anyway. And Raz was a large reason for that. He would plot with them in secret, all the time. And what could you expect? As the son of the woman who organized Velvet Day, he had traitor's blood in him from the get-go. Caesar just... he nodded, but he wasn't really paying attention. He was more interested in the bee that had flown in through his window. Short attention span, as always. But Rhaenon didn't notice past his beauty and radiance, so he continued. "Maelheesi has told me these things, and I'll be keeping her on board. But the rest? We're going to be selling them today. It won't be for quite as much as it would've been if we still had Raz, but we'll have to make due when it comes to cleaning up your dung from the floor." Yep, Caesarion was a giant shit-stain. They may as well have left a bulletin board noting every time he failed the family name. Nevertheless, he didn't lose all of his spirit, so he spoke back to Rhaenon, rising up from his bed and looking into the mirror. "Raz attempted to sexually solicit me in order to get him out of punishment. He was--" Rhaenon interrupted him, quickly, as he always did. "Wait, punishment for what?" "For lying to me. He told me Maelheesi had been spreading foul rumors to the other slaves that I had killed Ramin and Hadrian. Both of them. But, she's always been trustworthy. And you know that Raz was practically their leader. I bet he's the one who told them." Looking into the mirror, he started to shave off the excess hair that had overgrown on him in his lack of self-maintenance. Rhaenon stood up, and dug into his drawers, commenting on his organization; it was a rare compliment. The Panthos boy just smiled and nodded, even if his brother couldn't see it. He took the change of subject as Rhaenon's agreement, which was good. Honestly, in these past few days, he felt a lot like he had managed to close the gap between them. "I'll forgive you for this one act, only because Raz was a problem waiting to happen. We're still going to be going positive in this investment, so it's no big deal. I believed another Velvet Day was going to happen soon with that bunch, so..." Caesar's brother trailed off, but then was met with a strong grip. A brotherly hug, like they used to have. The younger brother grinned, and tapped Rhaenon on the cheek. "I did good. I rooted out the enemy. Ramin, Raz -- they were our enemies." He pulled away, and moved for the door. "I'm already modest about myself, I don't need you to be modest for me." With the rolling of Rhaenon's eyes, and a bounce in Caesar's step, everything had been resolved once again. OOCFini.