Magnus knew what it was like to need a second start in life.

Hell, he had more than his fair share of them across his lifetimes.

He knew what it was like to feel that deep-rooted determination, to feel it in your very soul, to turn your gaze to the horizon and fight with everything within you for what you knew was right. Perhaps he senses that in the colt. Perhaps he feels a sense of kinship in the way that he stands so defiantly, to ready to fight whatever is to come, so ready to prove himself against a world that is so ready to push back.

Perhaps he is simply curious.

Either way, Magnus makes his way toward the other, his gait easy and his expression neutral, gold-flecked eyes warm as he studies the other. When he is several yards away, close enough to be heard but not so close as to crowd the younger stallion, he stops, dipping his head into a greeting. “Hello there,” he says with a tip of his lip, sun-bleached tail flicking at a hide scarred by war many times over.

“My name is Magnus.”

For a moment, he is silent, letting the quiet of the field settle into the space between them—the sounds of others hushed and carried away by the summer breeze. It is a pleasant day, the heat only beginning to creep up, and he doesn’t feel in a rush to be anywhere in particular so he doesn’t attempt to crowd the boy or pepper him with questions. Instead he just tilts his head, watching him quietly before finally opening up the conversation again. “Is there something that you’re looking for in the field today?”

MAGNUS | I don't belong to anyone, but everybody knows my name

Magnus sees the way that the other tensed when he approached, and he is glad that he chose to keep a good amount of distance between them. He is not the most imposing stallion, but he is threatening enough with the scars that criss-cross across his body. He has seen more wars than he can count, been part of raids and let battle charges, and the tapestry of his life is written across his golden flesh.

But he doesn’t come to be intimidating now.

Instead he relaxes, even cocking a back leg as if to prove just how little he intends on threatening the boy. He just tips a single corner of his mouth upward into a crooked grin, the tangles of his forelock falling off to the side of his heavy-jawed face. “Well you have definitely come to the right place to start over,” he muses, glancing around them as the boy motions to the others in the field.

His smile grows a little wider for a moment. “I’m not the wrong guy to ask,” he laughs a little low and husky. “Although there are plenty who could answer your questions, I am sure.” Another pause as he rolls his shoulders, regarding the colt before him. “I come from a land called Tephra, but I could tell you about all of the various lands, if you would like. It just depends on what you want to know.”

MAGNUS | I don't belong to anyone, but everybody knows my name

Magnus only nods in affirmation to the young boy, pleased by his answer. It was not always easy to be able to put into words what you wanted from life—what you were truly seeking. He had talked to many that were many times this boy’s elder who would not have been able to articulate such things as clearly. He had been in many situations in his life where he would not have been able to do the same.

So he appreciates the boy’s honesty.

“All honorable things to want in a home,” he says, his crooked grin warm. “I can tell you Tephra would be such a place, if you were interested in it. We have an open border where all are welcome—regardless of whether you are seeking to join a caste and work up the ranks or are simply looking for a home.” He pauses for a second, regarding the stallion again. “Although you strike me as a soldier and not a citizen.”

Magnus had been General of enough armies to recognize when another carried within them the want to fight, the need to protect their home. He had been part of enough wars to recognize the hunger in another.

But he doesn’t linger on such things—not now.

Instead, he just chuckles low in his throat. “Well, Tephra won’t be quite as hot, but it’s certainly not cold.” He angles his head toward its direction. “We are a volcanic land on the coast. The weather is warm year round but more temperate than the field. You’ll find that the breeze from the ocean helps too.”

Then again, having grown up in a jungle, perhaps Magnus wasn’t the best judge of weather.

Everything seemed cooler once you had lived out your youth in the Amazon.

MAGNUS | I don't belong to anyone, but everybody knows my name

Magnus is pleased when the boy agrees to his offer, and his gold-flecked eyes spark with warmth. His laughter is low and throaty, and he lets it rumble for a second before he shakes his head. “I would be happy to accompany you there.” He takes a step forward, motioning to the boy for him to follow him.

It had been a while since Magnus had brought a new soul home—something be attributes to the general quiet that had settled into Beqanna over the last few months, a lull that was slowly but surely beginning to crack with the rise of spring. It was invigorating to find new life again, to breathe it in.

His smile is wide as he regards the boy again.

“After all, it’s me you would be asking when you arrived.” He takes another step, smiling back over his scarred shoulder before beginning to move toward home again. “I am the King.”

And then he continues to lead him to Tephra.

MAGNUS | I don't belong to anyone, but everybody knows my name