Cathun

He came looking for her once the trials were over, before any verdicts had been made and delivered, before he knew which new path his life had been steered into. Curiosity drove him, because in the short time he had spent with his father there was one name that had been repeated more than any other, one mare in particular that stood out. He had seen her before, in the gathered crowd - it had been impossible not to notice her arrival as light turned to night and acerbic words were exchanged that turned his passionate bonfire speech into cold ashes, trampled and forgotten - and now he wished to speak to her. Because he wished to. Because he had a message to deliver. Because he should.

True dusk was falling now as he searched his way through the unfamiliar forest, his lanky teenage frame carried without half the grace and practiced ease his father possessed. Yet their resemblance was remarkable; it was the same steely coat, the same silvery sheen to mane and tail, the same calm determination in the gaze as Cathun wandered on, aimless with no set path to follow. He didn't need one; he just had to look for the place where the forest was darkest, where the burning twilight sky deepened into midnight blue and the only light came from distant stars. The pearly crescent of the moon would be absent; come to think of it, he had yet see her face since he came to Helovia. Did it have something to do with that thing the Goddess had done, she who was hated by everyone?

If it hadn't been so amusing to see a god shunned by her own followers, Cathun would almost feel sorry for the divine. Why did they blame her for acting according to her nature?

But it wasn't his problem. Not yet, maybe not ever. Tonight he wanted to talk about other things, explore different perspectives - sate his own curiosity.

When he finally found her his smile was eager, ears pricked and eyes burning as he stepped up to the fallen queen.

"Hail, Dragonheart" he greeted, brazen and confident and brimming with awe as he regarded her, the dragon mare he had come to see as a hero of legends. "I apologize for not greeting you earlier, there were so many loudmouths around that I hardly could hear my own thoughts." Never mind that he had been vocal too - in his mind Cathun had at least said something original.

"What did you think about the spectacle? I ended up participating, even though I originally had no intention to... It felt a bit farce like to me, I wonder if a fair verdict will be placed at all."

A verdict where he won, that is. Cathun, King of the World's Edge... It had a nice ring to it for sure, but his vision was bigger than becoming the leader of a single herd. Whether he won or not was irrelevant; the things he had to do remained the same regardless.

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@[Mirage]

so tell me why, baby, they might call me crazy
for saying I'd fight, until there is no more