Barrier Gulch desire and need and failure all spell out

kemal.

the name ignites recognition within dracarys. the winner of the challenge; further cemented as kemal confirms it as such himself. dracarys. offers the sandviper, a simple stating of a fact; without affliction.

he did not know soto well enough to necessarily feel discontent over the shift in power but it was soto that had allowed him into the ranks and thus there was that tether of loyalty all the same; flimsy as it may have been.

icetooth fjord had been rife with betrayal, cunning and cruelty; coming from his elder brothers as they squabbled for their father's position. still, dracarys respects hierarchy. craves it. even as discontent and greed runs deep in his bloodline and dracarys could pretend all he wished but he could not sever himself from it. the challenge was a typical tuesday for the fjord-born.

naturally, murmurs dracarys, despite that he suspects kemal's mention of the challenge had been largely rhetorical. if you wish to offer an explanation, i will listen. even if dracarys thinks that giving an explanation might only raise concerns of uncertainty. his father's motto had been never explain yourself. actions tended to speak louder than any word uttered. still, dracarys was willing to entertain, if only because he hoped to learn something of kemal.

his place within verapaz felt like it hinged upon this very conversation; whether that decision at the end came from dracarys himself or kemal.