Ophelia knew instantly the fool girl who dared to try to steal from her, and she stalked from her home in the World’s Edge to the bordering Rotunda. She stood upon the grassy knoll, cloven hooves digging furious footings into the hardened ground. Evening was quickly fading to the bright, colorful rays of dawn, but instead of the soft sunrise of romance and affection with Torleik, the burst of chroma was violence and fire. The white and crimson length of her tail swung heavily behind her hocks, flashing like a cat stalking its prey, and the delicate curve of her feminine ears were smashed against her neck.

Every wrinkle in her brow was laced with anger, uncaring that the little shit who dared make an attempt on her person was her niece. Beneath the flames that licked inside her soul was a grain of disappointment, hoping that this skull-faced child would have learned from the mistakes of her mother. But, hope was the wine of naivety, and she should know better than to expect a modicum of intelligence from that particular lineage. The World Eater had consumed no worlds, running scared after poking at bears while pregnant.

Foolish! Stupid!

How dare that cursed bloodline try to best her own! Ophelia was the Forsaken turned Amaranthine. She was daughter of Paladin the Valiant, ruler of both the Moonlit Tides and the Wintossed Foothills. By the time she was Nymeria’s age, she and her twin had gathered the strength of their own herd and defeated Jackal in war. The God of the Spark had chosen her to carry Roskuld and to lead the Aurora Basin. She orchestrated the battle against the Hidden Falls and won, choosing the new leads of the World’s Edge with Kahlua. She was etched into every herd land in Helovia and blessed by the Sun God with ascension.

What had Confutatis accomplished besides birthing this wretched Nymeria and her twin brother? Nothing! Ophelia refused to call her the World Eater. That was not a title she deserved as she held no leadership in Helovia, never did and never would. Someone had to teach her child not to follow in her steps. Someone needed to show her that she should not start fights she had no hopes of winning. Had she tried to steal from Gaucho, she knew he would do the same, and she felt no guilt in ordering this challenge with the furious bellow from her lungs.

“Nymeria!” she yelled. “I know it was you.” The strange colors of her eyes flashed as blood began to prick her skin like rain drops of horror. They slid down her fur, sensually marking every curve of her pale body as she transformed from angelic unicorn to a queen of the damned. “This is what happens when you target those you cannot hope to beat. Do not make the same mistakes as your mother, girl. Do not be a fool.”

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(Intro) (490 words)
- Challenging Nymeria for pride/to teach a lesson
- Set in the early morning in the Ancient Rotunda during Tallsun
- Clear skies and warm weather