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  • Beqanna

    COTY

    Assailant -- Year 226

    QOTY

    "But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura


    symptoms of the culture
    #1
    Pond wanders, and she wonders why. She was small, she was frail. Her mother had protected her, but she had wandered far and long beyond. She would never say her parents were ill in their protection - it’s moreso that she herself is a fiesty little thing. She had wandered…. And she had been lost.

    She doesn’t know when she had settled down in that empty little grove, the empty roots of the giant tree. Her ears were numb and she finds herself lost. Pond is alone as she goes, and although she knows her mother may be looking for her, Pond knows she does not care. Eiffel had her heart broken, wretched like the gullet from a whale, and Pond, after her experiences as a small child, knows that she is fine by herself.

    But she is small, she is frail, she is half-deaf. Even as she wanders now, as she wonders alone in confusion, she lifts her small head at everyone she passes. Would they harm her? Would they help her? She remains skittish.

    ooc - small but they'll get better <3

    @[Belgaer]
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    #2
    It felt good to fly again. Soaring above the land he relished in the familiar caress of the clouds and the wings as they tickled through his feathered plume. It felt freeing to be leaving Nerine behind him. The memory of the diplomatic negotiations clung heavily too him, weighing his mind down like a thousand stones. It'd only been after they'd reached their final conclusion that he'd parted ways with his father and Trekori to enjoy a well deserved moment of silence. Having taken the longer route he gazed down upon the riverlands, marveling in it's expanse as it stretched from one edge of Beqanna to the other. Acting as a border between Hyaline and Loess, it's currents moved swiftly until it me in the middle, at the heart of the sanctuary.

    Just below him, his eyes catch sight of the dark figure stumbling along the river's shoreline. Completely alone, with no other horse in sight for miles, the small filly appeared almost half-lost. Swooping low he landed far enough away to make his presence known to her. A friendly smile upon his face he slowly approached her, tucking his wings tight against his body in hopes of making himself appear less threatening.

    Shouting above the rapids he called out to her, "Are you lost?"

    @[Pond]
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    #3
    Pond would have been groomed to become a politician herself, had she not been separated from her parents by the magic of the land. She had spent much of her short time in the pre-Reckoning days learning the shifting dunes of the Dewdrop Deserts and the pleasant oasis that her parents called home, but then she’d wandered too far. That’s when she had happened upon the fairies who had proposed an enticing adventure to her and others that she could not resist. After all, her elder brother was the firstborn and the designated diplomat; he was several years her senior and had already dealt with inter-kingdom negotiations. But he had been killed in battle, one of his brilliant red wings torn from his body by the Chamber of Evil stallion Siegos and presented to her parents as a grim trophy of his defeat. In some ways, she still mourns Harking, though she cannot remember him very clearly now.

    But she does remember her parents, her devoted crimson mother Eiffel and her gallant father Anleifr with his strong body and willful heart. She remembers the desert sand and the marsh where they lived, the feathers her father wore in his hair, their quiet little life of solitude after Priam and Aseret took the throne. None of that is here now, though - she cannot find the hot southern wind that she remembers, but she believes that if she follows the rivers she will find her way home. How sadly she is mistaken.

    So she wanders along the banks of the river all alone, unaware that her parents have retreated to live their lives in solitude once they no doubt believed their youngest daughter had been lost in the chaos. She begins to doubt she will find her home again at all and as her ears swivel, she detects a slight change in the air and a dull thud of hooves somewhere a little nearby. She lifts her eyes, pale but bright in her darkish face, and spies a stallion folding his red wings. Although his body is spotted, she takes kindly to the red feathers and responds to him with a small squeal as she trots toward him.

    Her own shadow wings barely show in this light, also folded closely to her body in a fog-like status. Pond lifts her head and perks her ears and stops a few yards away. Her youthful voice rings out alongside the sound of the rushing water beside them: “Yes...or at least I think I am. I was looking for the desert.” She doesn’t realize that there is a new desert now or that she is even in a new land. “Can you tell me where I am, sir?”

    @[Belgaer]
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    #4
    Slowly closing the distance between them, he cocked his head as he considered the filly before him. She appeared confused, her eyes glossed over as if she'd only just woke from a dream. Gazing around she almost didn't seem to see him at first. Pitying her, he stepped forward, his eyes softened as they gazed upon her.

    Turning towards his approach, the smallish filly's eyes brightened and her pace quickened. From where he stood, he thought he heard the sound of her excited squeal of delight - a gesture that caught him by surprise. Unhindered by her confusion she approaches him and it's as she speaks the crease of his brow deepens. She spoke of places long forgotten and didnt even seem to recognize the land upon which she stood. His throat tightened and he remained still as she drew closer still. She was young, and he knew that he had to help her.

    "I'm afraid the desert is no more," he explained as gently as possible. He braced himself against the shock he was sure would follow. "You are at what we call the River."

    It was hard to understand how someone so young could know about the desert. He himself had been born after it's time and he'd spend his childhood upon the island of Ischia. Even so, he was well educated in the histories. Cocking his head he gazed over his shoulder in the direction of his home.

    "If there is someone in particular you are looking for, my father may be able to assist you." Immortality has its perks, he supposed. "He is very wise and has seen this land change many times. I am sure he would be honored to help in whatever way possible."

    It was a shame that Belgaer couldn't have been of any more use to her, but he knew the best way he could help her was to take her to Ischia. She would be safe there and there were many there wiser than he. Within touching distance of her now, he stepped forward and nuzzled her withers. Amazed by the smallness of her.

    "If you would allow me to, I would like to escort you to my home. A place called Ischia."

    He had no way of knowing how she might react to his offer, but he hoped desperatedesperately that she would accept.

    OOC: @[Pond] I thought that once we are done here, if she accepts, I can start a thread in ischia tagging Brennen. Interested to see where this goes!
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    #5
    ‘No more’? How had it gone away?

    She shakes her head - how could a whole desert have gone away? How could she have been lost for so long? She gulps a gasp of air, staggers on her leggy limbs; her wings cling closer even in this light.

    The river air is moist in her lungs. She looks at the world around her and the reality shows itself to her. This place is all new and she frowns, frightened. “W-what?” she stammers, stumbling forward onto her knees. But the stallion before her seems kind; he speaks of his father, of his own home, he speaks softly and respects her space as she copes with the news.

    She thinks of her parents, but if the Deserts were gone she isn’t sure if either of them would be alive now. Her brother had been killed in battle and she knows of no other kin… perhaps this would be the best option. He is kind, and if he is correct perhaps his father would be able to help her. She balks a little when he approaches her, but when he brushes her shoulders she calms again.

    “I will go with you,” she decides, standing back up. “Is it very far?”

    @[Belgaer] - If you don’t mind writing a starter I will happily reply Big Grin I’m excited to see where this goes too!!
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    #6
    The truth was disturbing, Belgaer could see it in the depths of the filly's shes as they darted about herself. Her head shakes as her body stutters and her wings pin themselves against her already small body. Somehow, she appeared to shrink before her eyes as the force of her grief dropped her to her knees. Unsure what to do, he keeps himself from stepping instinctively towards her as she attempted to grasp her new reality. For a moment he imagined the world through her eyes as it shifted and transformed into something far darker than it once had been. Undoubtedly, she would feel alone and he pitied her.

    Straightening herself only slightly, she consents to travel with him and he is momentarily relieved. It didnt seem like much at the time, but he hoped that his father could provide her with the answers that she sought. The bay stallion had been around for a long time and he had seen the world change several times.

    "It is not very far," he explained, hoping that the smooth masculinity serve as some form of a comfort to her. "Can you swim?"

    OOC: @[Pond] we can leave it here and fill in the blanks in our Ischia thread. I'll try and get something up tonight, if not then definitely tomorrow.
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    #7
    ( @[Belgaer] sounds good to me! If I'm awake later I may even write the starter :3 )
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