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Actions | "Speech" | Thought
Firelight flickered across the faces of those gathered in the darkness. The fire itself was being kept in check by a firebrand- a mare who thought nothing of her power to conjure and control flames at will. It was useful- night was upon them, and in the cold of Frostfall, her talent was indispensable for the well-being of them all. One of the young foals stirred in his sleep and rolled onto his belly. Blinking his eyes open, he stared at the flickering flame for several minutes, listening to the idle, hushed chatter of the adults around him.
Eventually, the dun colt lifted his head and acid green eyes gazed at the face of his mother. He was proud to have her as a mother- she was beautiful. She knew what she was talking about, no matter what, and he trusted her without question. After all, a foal who could not trust his own dam was in dire straights. When she noticed that her young one was awake, she gazed down at him with her own sense of pride. This one... This one was the one. She could feel it. Everything about him made her tingle with excitement. True, his father had been a nobody but... well, no matter. The handsome carve of her son's face was sure to grow into a powerful force. She would make sure of it. However, at the moment- it was time for sleep, and she knew her colt was too young to begin his training. Oh, the plans she had in store for him. She almost had trouble waiting until he was weaned.
For now, though, she bent her golden head to nuzzle his cheek with the bridge of her nose. "Can't sleep, I assume?" The young colt nodded his head and then yawned, his jaws widening to their maximum potential which sent a thrill through the mother- those teeth would be trained to rip out flesh one day. The foal shook his too-large head and then rested that same head on her foreleg. "Mama, can you tell me a story?"
She seemed to think for a moment before she spoke again. "How about the story of our beginning?" A few of the other horses turned their heads and one even nickered, "That's a good one!" Another of the gathered lifted her head from where she had been dozing off, her brown ears flicking forwards and poised at attention. "I'll stay up for that." The mare controlling the fire did nothing but flicked her black tail. It didn't do more than flop against the ground, but her ears pricked so even though she looked like she was asleep, she was still listening.
Leana cleared her throat once silence had settled upon her audience and she began. "Well, long ago. Before My great, great, great grandsire was even thought of, before even the gods were birthed, There lived a strange species, and this island was their domain..."
The species called themselves Elves, and they ruled the world around them with magic. In those days, horses were nothing but beasts. Mindlessly doing as they were told to do, carrying the weight they were assigned without objection. Don't take offense, we are better than that now, and back then- we did not know any better. The important thing is, that the elves built elaborate cities and beautiful towers, and they needed us for our speed and our strength.
However, the Elves were greedy and were dissatisfied with their own power. They were capable of so much, and it was still not enough. Some say their lust for ever-greater power was their greatest weakness. Eventually, they gained a power that was too powerful- something that should never have been unearthed. It is known to us in legend as The Heart of Gods. No one alive today can honestly say they even know what the Heart of Gods looked like. We don't even know what it did... precisely. Although there are scholars that might tell you otherwise.
In anycase, the Elves quickly found that they could not control it's power, and the Heart of Gods caused a great cataclysm. It's rampage engulfed the entire island, shrouding it in mist, hiding it from the rest of the world. By the end of this event, all of the elves, old and small, male and female, vanished. To this day, we do not know what The Heart of Gods did to them, or if they will ever return. However, we do have a lot to thank the Heart of Gods for. Without it's attempted restrainers, it went on a bit of a wild spree- it's power seeped into the land, souring the water and killing the plants. It wasn't that the power was evil, it's just that it was one of those things that are too powerful. It had enough power to create a second sun, to rise whole jungles out of a desert.
It was life in itself and too much of it was being released without checks or balances. Eventually, the Heart of Gods managed to taint the entire island, and that included the animals that lived there. For whatever reason, it's power latched on to us more than any of the other species. We found we were able to... change. We could change our environments, as well as ourselves. To some varying degrees. As with all things, there were some who were utterly ridiculous and without talent, and there were those who were considered masters of their trades. Over the years, the magic altered our minds- we became intelligent. Eventually, it seeped into our DNA. Nowadays, there isn't a single one of us that isn't born with the ability to manipulate an element... or two.
With power, came strife- We were soon victims of our own intelligence and we paid dearly for it. Our population was growing, and the benders responsible for making the grass grow were too few and were not able to keep up with the demand for food. Fights broke out, horses wanted to control their own food supply, and any who threatened to steal the sustenance from others were likely to be beaten up. Our population had grown so much that even the water was becoming unsafe to drink. It was around this time, that something VERY strange happened. The Heart of Gods, which was being protected by the elemental masters- that is, horses who were particularly talented with their powers- split apart into 6 pieces. Those six pieces clung to 6 horses, each one a master of a different element. These 6 horses were eventually recognized as the first gods, for no one, dead or alive, could manipulate the elements in such masterful displays of skill as those six.
It is said that the magic... changed them even more than it did to the rest of us. They became immortal beings, embodying they're element in such ways that have never been seen since. They set out together to shape the island so that it would sustain life for all their subjects- the earth god stomped his hoof and great forests, jungles, and meadows full of rich, delicious grass grew from out of nothing. The water goddess purified the water and carved streams, lakes and marshes into the land, while the passionate fire goddess felt her subjects desired challenges and created mountains that blew molten rock into the air.
The Space God knew his kin wanted to experience the stars for themselves and so he created vast planets in deep space, and created a portal so that the space benders could choose to live where they wanted. The Air Goddess rid the air of pollution and created the floating mountains. Most of the Elvish Ruins reside atop these floating stones, and the air benders live among them peacefully. And finally, the Metal God, who was a stallion of war, decided that he wanted to create a blacksmith forge for himself and his subjects. So his land was created from all sorts of natural ores, iron, silver, copper, and gold being the most common, but there are others as well. In the many wars and battles that have passed since then, the metal god, and the metal benders, are responsible for creating the weapons we have used to shed the blood of our kin.
There is a flaw in this story. The first gods, in all their creation glory and magnificence, forgot to give their creation a name. To this day, our island has no name. It's likely the Elves had a name for it, however none of us were intelligent enough back them to remember it, and so the island is doomed to remain an unnamed mystery. There have been attempts to name it, foolhardy scholars who forego tradition in the quest to find or think up their own name for our land. However, these pretentious fools are always punished severely for their arrogance by the gods themselves. If anyone has the right to name our land, it is the gods. They seem content to let us live in a place without a name, and since this has never done anyone any harm, we're content to live without.
That is the story of our creation. Our progress as a species has been watched closely by all of the gods and goddesses who have come and gone since the first were chosen. Their power is absolute, their word is law.... We have lived much the same way we always have since the time of our beginnings.
By this time, her son was asleep, and Leana smiled. Bending her head down, she nuzzled the tuft of his forelock. "Maybe one day you'll be a god as well. Sweet dreams, my little Catillatio." |
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Storytime with Leana. [WIP]
