Individually, we are one drop
Together, we are the ocean.
- Ryunosuke Satoro

Paladin was honored that upon his arrival, Mirage had entrusted him to such a noble position. The black dun was to test his opponent's strength and ability to protect the herd, and to be considered a worthy opponent made a smile cross his lips. He knew that he was a strong fighter, having been birthed in the blood of war, but age had come upon him swiftly. Some of the word of his prowess had dimmed as well when he handed the Foothills over willingly to the Triumvirate, and he did not blame them for believing him weak. Paladin had taken the Foothills in battle and gave it away in diplomacy; he had hoped that would have been the answer to the problem of politics. He was wrong, very wrong. War was as real as breathing, as constant as the tides. To break the cycle would be to upset the balance, and he had done just that. The Foothills had recovered from his blunder slower and with much turmoil. Paladin’s crimson eyes clouded with his thoughts until they landed upon his opponent.

The black dun, the Valiant, bowed his charcoal, great neck and offered a kind smile in greeting. He had seen the buck at the herd meeting, but they had never spoken before. He approached the cliff, watching the way the morning light cast a pinkish huge across the massive trees that seemed to cling to the earth, even as it fell away into the sea. The first thing that Paladin tried to spy with his hornless opponent was a dragon. Those loathsome little devils were fast and powerful, one having burned his mane clean off; it still had not grown back. Scars from burns ran down from his eye to his shoulder, lacing between pink and white, mottled lines set in black hide. None to be seen, and for that, Paladin was grateful. However, that did not mean that Destrier hid his powers within, like the black dun did himself.

Destrier had a build like Paladin’s father, but he lacked the crimson markings of his heritage. They stood at the same height at the shoulder, but he would guess that the charcoal opponent was a hundred pounds or so heavier whereas Paladin was build more lithely. All in all, however, they seemed evenly matched, though the scars on the Valiant’s body told many stories about his time spent in war. He hoped that Destrier would not have to face the same. “I am here to test your skill, Destrier, but it is my hope to teach you from my experiences. You have my best wishes. Now, prepare yourself.” The words were spoken kindly. The once gentle, crimson orbs of the Valiant turned dark and calculating in a single exhale, and the black dun took quick stock of his surroundings, behaving on the instincts that were drilling into him from such a young age. He must never turn his back to the cliffs. The trees would provide hindrance on a defensive side, so he should maintain the offensive as much as possible.

With little preparation, the stallion suddenly dug his solid hooves into the ground and lunged forward, lips pulled back over his ivory teeth. He feinted left after aiming right and lowered his neck, jaws opening wide to bite at one of Destrier’s vital joints, the elbow just at the junction of his barrel and shoulder. Should he miss, Paladin always had an alternative. The black dun stallion jerked his face upward and arched his slender neck over, jaws open to bite along the top of Destrier’s back. Paladin lifted his front, right leg and tried to find Destrier’s hind and scrape his hoof along the tender, thin skin of his canon. Only in Destrier’s defense would Paladin truly know his opponent, and he eagerly awaited the challenge.



[[(640 words) - (1/3) - (0/2 magic uses)]]