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English
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Published:
2025-12-09
Updated:
2025-12-20
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15,323
Chapters:
10/?
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Kudos:
13
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143

to go the way of the bull

Summary:

"i met a man in the battlefield, in the stretches of ala mhigo,” zenos told him. “i was sent by my people, the garleans, to kill him.”

the man snorted. he shook his head. “if you are trying to scare me, boy, you aren’t succeeding one bit,” he told him, almost amused.

zenos shook his head. he felt… frustrated, in truth, which was more than he could have asked for in the weeks prior. “he was a worthy opponent,” zenos insisted, “though i had not gotten the chance for he and i to cross blades. they called him the bull of ala mhigo.”


in which the phoenix takes in yet another dragon and everything changes.

Notes:

this is very much a personal pleasure piece, not intended for any real critical consumption, but it is my open love letter to a certain blonde garlean and his poorly-disguised depression. i will never grow tired of the subtle way that zenos and his very real discontent with his station is presented - a bit bothered that you don't get told about the literal child abuse he suffered growing up unless you read a side story in a physical lorebook (go read "the hunt begins" i fucking beg you), but for all intents and purposes, the game does hint very strongly at it. to the blonde motherfucker whose primal of choice was the dragon summoned to destroy his homeland, who picks up the weapon of insurrectionists after getting one shred of non-wol catharsis in killing his own terrible father - your life is now also going to be a miracle, so help me god.

featuring my wol character, older sibling by four years of alphinaud and alisaie, aldritch lane, who spent the later half of his childhood living in drybone cremating bodies due to Disagreements with his father, and his husband, of lane surname fame and slight draconic hybridization, eowyn. aldritch takes strongly after his grandfather in more ways than one, his urge for Saving People is his greatest disease. eowyn is... trying his best to not go insane

this is still a wip and i'm working sporadically but i do have a good majority of it done. expect some scion infighting, stressed out lyse, three nosy elezen siblings who refuse to break rank on anything, zenos discovering the consequences of suppressing 20+ years of horrific mindbending colonial trauma, fandaniel/amon being an actually threatening villain, an ardbert who visually resembles my wol a little more but is otherwise the same man, and yotsuyu with a katana

big thanks and lots of love to my chums, especially my fiance, holly, as well as friends nathy and allie, for sitting in on my insane fucking ramblings while i try to put this shit together in a way that isn't brain soup and help me sort out my zenos therapy arc thoughts. putting blonde men through inpatient requires patience

Chapter 1: (prologue) a moment of your time

Chapter Text

“hey, are you even listening to me?!”

he was not. it was a stressful week. they had won ala mhigo with blood, sweat, and tears - mostly tears - and between all of his many responsibilities, he could barely see straight. he could do with some of da’s coffee, honestly, piping hot and in one of their nice monster mugs. or, perhaps, some of aldritch’s favorite tea, that blend from thanalan, faintly chilling and soothing down to the bones.

lyse seemed to disagree with the notion. she was very important now, after all, and would not take no for an answer. “you can get some sleep later,” she insisted, hands on her hips. “i’ll be out of your hair soon. i would’ve told aldritch this, but you know what he’s like.”

“what he’s like?” eowyn said, barely stifling his yawn. “you’re worried about the bedside manner of a crematory priest. what are you expecting him to do with your bad news, have a meltdown?”

“normally, no, but it’s about… well, him,” lyse said grimly.

eowyn frowned. “lyse, he’s dead,” he said matter-of-factly. “we told you as such. we watched him slit his throat in the garden and then we buried the body. you saw the grave.”

“but that’s the thing!” she said, scandalized. “we came back, and the grave was empty!”

“so? that man spent the few weeks he was left in charge of your nation letting his soldiers loose like rabid dogs. his death effectively ended the occupation.” eowyn was rather tired of this conversation. he had more important things to be doing. like sleeping, for example. “who’s to say someone didn’t go nab his corpse to desecrate it? tensions are likely still high. go ask around home, and perhaps if you have no leads, we can talk later. zenos yae galvus is dead, lyse.”

she looked troubled by the thought, but she did not protest. “i suppose,” she conceded, wariness still in her tone. “i’ll go back to the reach and ask around. you make sure you let me know if you find out anything, okay? i’ve put the rest of the scions up to it, too.”

“you do that,” eowyn said with a yawn, and rested his head against the hardwood table, knowing full well that she would find nothing at all.