A Question of Marriage

“Lady Saihe,” Morlin calls to her and Saehe is stir out of her reading.

“Yes?” she asks, raising her eyebrow inquisitively. Morlin rarely interrupts her when she’s going over the scriptures, especially when the wedding is four days away and the preparation is still ongoing.

Morlin’s eyes are downcast and she hesitates before looking determinedly up at her. “D-do you,” she starts nervously, “do you think that Prince Donghae will be alright for the wedding? He looked particularly ill still this morning when he visited the temple.”

Saihe pauses for a brief moment before putting down her scripture and folds her hands in her lap as she thinks about the young prince that was placed in her hands as the commencement for the wedding comes ever closer and she was trusted to prepare him for it.

Donghae is achingly young, they both are actually–the Regis and the High Consort stands to carry the weight of an entire nation of people on their small shoulders and they are only nineteen winters old. 

Saihe in all her years had seen eighty-six winters, eight regises had lived and died before her eyes[1], and she had helped a child of seven upon a throne of blood and bones[2]. And now once again, she has to watch as another child–from a far off land and who doesn’t understand their ways–become entrap by their traditions and rules but unlike Hyukjae, who had years to recognized his role in Esse and ardently wield that power like he was born to it, Donghae is a skittish dead-eyed boy who saw power and ran away from it.

She worries for them both, but most of all she worries about that boy because Hyukjae wouldn’t have brought Donghae into their world only to leave him standing on the sideline. Knowing Hyukjae–that terrifying mind of his, always thinking and scheming–he has a plan and Donghae is part of it. Whether Donghae is a simply pawn or a key-player, Saehe still doesn’t know but one thing is for sure they are both the most peculiar pair of Regis-High Consort match she has ever witness.

One who shied away from throne and the power that it promises, the other sits on it and controls it absolutely to pursue his goal for a grander purpose.

She remembers Hyukjae, barely seven winters old when he walked into an open flame[3] and came out with fire in his blood, the gods’ hymn on his tongue[4], and painted across his back is the sigil of Dhagor. Chosen and blessed[5], he was made their Regis and in the ways for all the regises before him the Exusia Mask he came to wore becomes as much as the symbol of his power but also his shackles[6].

Saihe was the one who placed the first Exusia Mask on him and bound him to this land and the whims of Dhagor but though she often looks back at her action in regret, Hyukjae[7]–even at that young age–had steel in his eyes and power sunk into his bones, his resolve was unshakable. He was nothing like all the Regis before him, he was more like Eunhyuk the Exalted One, the first Regis he was named after, than anybody could hope for and even more so because he wanted to change Esse and he’ll do it with sweeping ruthlessness–he is a raging windstorm and Donghae is caught in his wake.

If Donghae isn’t strong enough then he’ll sink to the bottom of the ocean and Saehe is afraid that the boy will be swallow up by Hyukjae’s ambition and goal… but perhaps she is worrying for naught.

“I think he shall be fine,” she says, recalling the quiet spark in Donghae’s eyes the first time she meet him and performed the Ashe Ceremony on him, his left hand still had a burned mark from it[8], and the confident that bespoken the Regis as he take his betrothed’s hand as they walk alongside each other[9] through the Garden of Neiver.

Donghae may not be the High Consort she had wanted for her Regis but he is an unpredictable variable and that perhaps is what make him extraordinary.

1] that mean since she’d been alive she seen the reign of eight (!!!–if i did my calculation right that is /o\) regises which is a HINT-HINT. ;DD

[2] ‘a throne of blood and bones’ this line will come back again and again when we’re talking about the position of 'regis’, there’s a lot of ~mystery~ when it comes to that position and will be explain as we go deeper.

[3] yea that isn’t a metaphor @_@ as part of the coronation ceremony the essein requires the person in question to walk into an open fire (fire is the symbol of their god dhagor’s power)–among other increasingly dangerous things–and if you come out of it unscathed you were chosen but if you die well that’s just unfortunate /o. & hyukjae had to go through that horrible ordeal at the age of 7 so yeaaaa x__x.

[4] the high priest act as messenger of the gods, reading the gods’ sign in symbols, weather, dreams, visions etc but hyukjae?? HE CAN HEAR THE WORDS OF THE GODS, now that’s the difference b/c the regis isn’t ~human~ so he can have direct communication w/ the gods w/o going insane so who else talk directly to his god??? -cough- donghae in chapter 1-cough- ppl who talks to, & not just listen (!!), are consider super special and very rare ppl but lolol donghae thinks it’s annoying b/c his god won’t leave him alone XDD.

[5] the position of regis isn’t inherit but chosen w/in a certain bloodline bless by the god dhagor.

[6] the regis does not wear a crown but a mask call the exusia (taken from the greek word exousía mean 'dominion’ and translate to 'authority’ or 'power) and he has many exusia masks, 13 in all representing the 13 minor deities that serve under Dhagor, the main god of Hyukjae’s house and it is the symbol of his power. only a handful of ppl can see the regis w/o his mask (not even his high consort can see his face) that include the high priest of his temple who put the mask on him in the first place at his coronation b/c when he become the regis he is no longer 'human’ but a representation of the god here in this world so therefore we mortals are deem unacceptable to see the face of a god-king.

[7] the regis is call the regis, so there’s no Regis Hyukjae or anything like that b/c once succeed the position you are the Regis and nothing else, only in death can you reclaim to your birthname again. which i think is very sad b/c once hyukjae had taken the position of the regis he transcend to something other than human & he can never be just hyukjae again (until donghae comes along that is :D). of course when saehe refers to the regis as hyukjae she’s taking the exception that she practically saw him grew up and well she’s old and she doesn’t really care XD (& hyukjae doesn’t mind either).

[8] the ashe ceremony is where the person has to use their hand to put out a candle flame–a magical flame that doesn’t die unless you WILL IT SO WITH YOUR MIND but lolol the person doing it isn’t told about /o\ so if they are nervous in anyway or hesitatant about it the flame will never be put out–and this isn’t technically a sanction ceremony at all, saehe was just testing him and was surprised that donghae had actually accomplished it :DDD (it took him a while but HEY he did it).

[9] this is super important! simply b/c the regis is hold in such a high regard that there is absolutely no equal to him on this world in regard to the essein so donghae walking beside hyukjae is like saying 'hey this person isn’t below me he’s my equal’ SO LIKE YEAA *______*.

a/n: um, hi -waves- I AM STILL WORKING ON THIS 'VERSE i swear. a kind anon on my tumblr ask me point them where to read all the snippets of cd i wrote on my tumblr and once i finished making the list i realized i wrote a lot but i haven't update anything over here on aff and I FEEL REALLY BAD bc it seem like i abandoned you guys while the ppl on my tumblr already know i been working on this series on and off for two years now AND YEAAA so much guilt about it /o\. so im reposting some stuff i think are okay to make it on here w/o major spoiler. if you want the concrete list and ARE TOTALLY OKAY W/ SPOILER then here it is. for the rest of us, i am working on cd 2.0 and it's shy of 40k now.... /o\ hopefully it'll be postable soon!!!