the Rift


beneath the waves

Nyx Posts: 292
Deceased atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.0
Mare :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 11 HP: 72 | Buff: SWIFT
Dominus :: White Lion :: None Snow
#1
@[Evangeline]



The gentle lapping of waves drew the iron lady to the beach, her ears pivoting to detect the strange sound. She had never seen the sea before, and did not even know of its existance - she had spent her life on open plains and savannahs, in forests and valleys. As she advanced towards the strange sound, she was so focused on making sure her hooves didn't slip on the loose stones leading to the beach that she didn't see what she was heading towards, her brow furrowed with concentration as she plodded across the rocks. She hit sand, and only then did she lift her head, letting out an audible gasp as she did so.

In front of her, there was nothing but blue. It was like a vast field, gently rippling in the breeze, but she instinctively knew that it wasn't grass. It was water; as far as the eye could see, just water. She had seen lakes and rivers, of course, but never something of this magnitude - even narrowing her eyes and squinting at the horizon, she could see nothing but the blue meeting the bright afternoon sky. A shrill whinny of surprise fled the grey mare's jaws as she padded forwards to paddle her hooves in the water, enjoying the sensation of it lapping against her fetlocks. Her skull lowered, cupping the water in her mouth to drink, but almost immediately spat it out in disgust. It was not refreshing or thirst-quenching, and left a salty tang on her tongue. Glass walls, fields on top of mountains, and now undrinkable water...Helovia just got odder and odder. Nyx moved forwards, letting the liquid caress her knees, watching with interest as silver-scaled fish darted between her legs. She looked again to the horizon, and wondered if it was possible to swim towards it, to lands on the other side of the massive ocean; the foolhardy girl in her urged her to try, but the sensible woman in her prevented it.

Instead she reversed out of the sea, shaking herself like a dog then moving at a brisk trot along the water's edge, tail fanning behind her. The effort of pulling her hooves from the wet sand tugged at the muscles of her legs and shoulders, and she decided this would be a rather fine place to train. For now, she contented herself with exploring the edge of the beach, occasionally stopping to sniff at a shell or rock. ""



Evangeline the Pure Posts: 199
Outcast
Mare :: Equine :: 15.2 :: 10
Tallis :: Common Orange Dragon :: Fire Breath & Toxic Breath ali
#2

      Sunlight glinted on the dragon's orange scales as he sailed through the air above his bonded's head. Since arriving they had met very few of the other horses that resided in the Edge, but they had met some. Evangeline was unsure of what to think about the lot that she had met, but she did feel that there was an undercurrent of hatred and racism underneath an exterior of tolerance and equality. There had been a few times, however, when her instincts had been proven wrong and she surely hoped that this was one of those times. She did not want to live among a group of hypocrites. "Give them chance." The dragon chided her as he somersaulted through the air above her head. Evangeline sighed as her emerald gaze lifted to the dragon who had, overtime, become the sole

     "Ocean." The dragon said long before she even heard the waves crashing against the shore or smelled the salt on the air. Evangeline hesitated at the knowledge that she was heading toward an ocean. Most of her life had been spent in the safety and comfort of the forest, away from meadows and open fields and beaches. When she was a foal the sight of unicorn and equine slaughtering one another mercilessly over a stretch of sand and water had terrified her. "Don't be afraid." The dragon cooed. He circled around and landed upon his bonded's back and lay like he usually did, on his stomach with his legs hanging on either side of her barrel. "I keep you safe. Promise."

      Evangeline smiled and turned her head enough so that she could look at the dragon laying on her. "You're going to sleep." She pointed out, to which the dragon snorted defiantly. "Am not. Just resting eyes." The orange mare laughed quietly and shook her head. "I am!" The dragon insisted. Several minutes later the dragon was fast asleep, snoring lightly and occasionally blowing out a plume of smoke. Over the sound of his snoring Evangeline could hear the sound of the ocean waves. Again, she hesitated then pressed on. The grass turned to loose sand that made footing tricky and escape, if it were needed, trickier. Still, she walked on being careful not to jostle her precious cargo and send him tumbling from her back to the sand. As she moved she could hear another sound above the waves and recognized it as another horse and her eyes soon found the pale unicorn mare dancing among the waves and she stopped to watch her for a minute, recognizing her as one of the members from the Edge.

      The orange mare stopped several feet away from the unicorn and stood silently for a moment, watching her and wondering if her children would have enjoyed the beach the way the unicorn seemed to. "Hello, again." She called out, ears flicking forward then back as Tallis snorted loudly in his sleep.

"."



Nyx Posts: 292
Deceased atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.0
Mare :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 11 HP: 72 | Buff: SWIFT
Dominus :: White Lion :: None Snow
#3


The sand tugged at her legs, tiring her quickly. She slowed to a walk and then a halt, sniffing warily at a tidepool and deciding it, too, would likely be salty. A voice jerked her from her musings, and she saw the palomino mare from the Edge, who had been there during Lace's tirade against the unicorn stallion. Nyx tried to erase that memory from her mind - she didn't like to think of Lace, her friend, being so against those of her species. Helovia's racism, although a familiar concept from her days in Isilme, was something she didn't particularly like to be reminded of. She cast a wary glance at the dragon perched on the golden girl's back, wondering how she could be quite so relaxed with a firebreathing beast sat on her. Then again, there was a lot the iron lady didn't know or like about dragons, and could not understand why anybody would want to consort with one - she merely accepted that they did, for whatever odd reason.

She turned to the other mare with a warm expression, ears relaxed atop her skull. "Hello there - I didn't catch your name last time. I'm Nyx." She gave a nod of her head in greeting, before casting it around in a broad gesture to include the ocean, eternally lapping behind her. "a blue field that doesn't seem to end...helovia has many wonders." She chuckled, knowing she likely sounded so stupid, to be awestruck by the sea. To someone who had never seen the like, it was a majestic force of nature, enigmatic and deadly. For somebody like her, who had grown up in a forest with branches big enough to walk on, the idea of an endless blue field that tasted of nothing on earth was a completely alien one.



Evangeline the Pure Posts: 199
Outcast
Mare :: Equine :: 15.2 :: 10
Tallis :: Common Orange Dragon :: Fire Breath & Toxic Breath ali
#4

      "Evangeline." The flaxen mare said to the other. "You can call me Eva if you want." More often than not she was called by the shorter version of her name, so it would make little difference if Nyx opted for it. She gave a small smile then looked out at the ocean, the smile fading from her lips. She blinked, seeing in her mind the battle she had witnessed on the beach so many years ago. As always it was vibrant in her mind. She could still see the vibrant, crimson blood, hear the screams and shouts, wails of agony, and it was all made more real with the salty smell of the ocean.

      She didn't like it.

      "A blue field that doesn't seem to end... Helovia has many wonders."

      "Isilme had one. An ocean." She said as Nyx's voice drew her from her musing. "I don't remember it being this nice, though." On her back Tallis shifted, his legs and wings stretching and his mouth opening in a wide yawn. He took a moment to stand on Eva's back then stretched much like a cat would before his head popped up and he looked at the unicorn that his bonded was talking to and chirped a greeting. The dragon climbed farther up Eva's neck and soon was stretching his neck out toward Nyx and sniffing at the air. He chirped again and Eva offered the unicorn another smile. "His name is Tallis. He says hello."

      The orange mare was well aware of the fact that many feared dragons and so she changed the subject, or tried to, from the orange that was still vying for Nyx's attention. "The water can make you sick." She said offhandedly. "Its the salt. Too much of it is bad." She didn't know Nyx knew already, but it seemed as it were her first time even looking at the ocean, and while it might have seemed strange warning the older mare she did so anyway.

"."



Nyx Posts: 292
Deceased atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.0
Mare :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 11 HP: 72 | Buff: SWIFT
Dominus :: White Lion :: None Snow
#5


She nodded in acknowledgement of the other mare's name, filing it away for future use. Evangeline then mentioned that Isilme had possessed an ocean, and the girl's brow arched in curiosity. She had lived out all her Isilme life in the Woodlands, where the trees were large enough to walk on but the only water came from rivers and streams flowing between the undergrowth. Her mother hadn't wanted her to go exploring, for fear she would flee her cruel treatment and not return - Querida had wanted her firstborn daughter close, to bully and to mould into her vision of perfection. "ah, yes, i remember you saying you were from isilme. where did you reside? my mother was queen of the mystic woodlands, and i never ventured far from there." A large part of that had been due to her being born blind - she hadn't dared go further than the places she knew. Even when she had regained her sight, everything had been so terrifying that it was better to stay in the relative safety of the forest.

Her wary gaze shot to the dragon as he woke and yawned, and she paid special attention to his mouth full of dangerous-looking fangs. He stretched his neck out towards her and the mare instinctively took a step back; instantly feeling rude and self-conscious, she took a tentative step forwards and forced a smile at the dragon. "hello there, tallis," she greeted, feeling rather stupid. As far as she knew, dragons were dumb beasts without thoughts or feelings - she was more concerned with insulting Evangeline than the dragon himself. The palomino explained why the water tasted so bad, and Nyx nodded her understanding. No wonder she now felt more thirsty than ever before - the salt had only added to her dehydration. "ah, that explains it. i've never seen such a thing before - i've spent most of my life on the open plains, you see." Her hooves sank further into the sand and she had to shift to prevent herself being sucked in further. She dipped her head to snuffle a nearby stone, then jerked away with a snort as the stone grew legs and pincers and scuttled away sideways into the lapping waves. Odder and odder.



Other characters have permission to use magic/violence against Nyx at any time.


Evangeline the Pure Posts: 199
Outcast
Mare :: Equine :: 15.2 :: 10
Tallis :: Common Orange Dragon :: Fire Breath & Toxic Breath ali
#6

      The mention of the Mystic Woodlands made Evangeline's chest tighten painfully. She blinked her eyes as they became misty and stared hard at the ocean as she listened to Nyx. It felt strange hearing her say that her mother had been Queen of the very forest that she had been Queen of in the time before Isilme fell. It had been a long and difficult road she'd traveled to get where she was and she had never anticipated that it would have happened. "I lived in the Woodlands." She finally answered Nyx. "There was a huge tree... the trunk was hollowed out. It was big enough for me to shelter in it most of my life." It had become her home when she'd finally given up on looking for her parents and finally accepted that they hadn't wanted her.

      "I... I was Queen of that forest." She said as her emerald gaze found Nyx once more. "My best friend ruled with me and we tried so hard to make sure everyone was safe and happy." She frowned as she thought about some of the horses that had lived in the forest with them. She hadn't understood a few of them and their desire to hurt anything that was alive and breathing. She hadn't understood Roanne's infatuation with a mare who was nothing but a rotten apple threatening to rot the rest of them around her. "The Woodlands always had a bad reputation.. monsters, cannibals, and all that nonsense. We tried to fix it... but..." She sighed and shook her head. "Talking to a lot of the others in Isilme was like talking to a rock." She would have said trees, but that wouldn't be true since the Tome Guardian had gifted her with knowledge that allowed her to speak to trees and bend them to her will.

      As Nyx greeted Tallis the dragon trilled then ducked his head and a shy manner, but the dragon was anything but shy. Eva supposed it was his instincts that told him that it wouldn't be wise to try to land on the unicorn and walk around on her back and play in her mane like he would any other horse that would allow him. His orange head tilted as Nyx sniffed at a rock that scuttled for the water. Immediately the dragon launched himself from his bonded's back and swooped down after the crab. It had just made it to the water before the dragon grabbed it in his clawed hands. It pinched him and he screeched then dropped it on the sand, swooped down and grabbed it again. He held it more carefully this time as he made his way back to Nyx, holding his prize so she could see it.

"."

@[Nyx]


Nyx Posts: 292
Deceased atk: 7.5 | def: 9.5 | dam: 6.0
Mare :: Unicorn :: 16hh :: 11 HP: 72 | Buff: SWIFT
Dominus :: White Lion :: None Snow
#7


She watched the other mare's gaze slip to the ocean, and remained silent as she spoke. At the mention of the hollowed-out tree, Nyx's expression shifted to a wistful smile, her own eyes growing glazed. The trees in the Woodlands had been truly remarkable - large enough for some of the branches to be used as bridges, leaves the size of ponds and trunks that could take minutes to circumnavigate. It had been a magnificent place, one the steel soldier held close to her heart. Her features turned curious as Evangeline spoke of being Queen of the Woodlands, and she tried to work out how the timelines would have worked. It must have been after Querida left, else the Woodlands would not have been up for the claim of another. "It was a stunning place. My mother ruled for a couple of years, and I think she was training me to become leader after her. I've never been the leadership sort, though. " She snorted at the very thought. Things like this were the only way she could justify her dam's behaviour towards her - why else would Querida have treated her firstborn like scum if not to groom her into queenhood?

At the talk of the Woodlands' reputation, Nyx's expression grew cold. She had heard of the numerous wars that reigned through Isilme during the first year of her life, and knew the Woodlands often had a hand in them. "My mother was one such monster," she mused, her voice full of the pain of the memories that flew around her. But the LightningQueen, for all her flaws, hadn't been a cannibal - that title was saved for Oblivion, who had ruled long before Nyx was even an urge in her father's loins. But the DemonKing had lived in the Woodlands when Nyx had - her mother had allied with him. The 'bad reputation' Evangeline spoke of was almost entirely caused by people Nyx grew up around, and the thought filled her with guilt. "But yes, Isilmians were a stubborn lot. A warmongering lot, as well. At one point, the Woodlands was the only herd which allowed all species to join - the other lands were too blinded by their racism." There was a subtle disgust in the mare's voice, brought on through years of hating the racism that ran rife in the veins of far too many.

She watched as the dragon swooped and caught the moving-rock, before being pinched and dropping it. She couldn't help but smile at the scaled animal's antics as he grabbed the crab again and showed it to her. It was a strange looking thing, all crusty and wiggling in the firm grasp of Tallis' claws, and she resisted the urge to sniff it for fear of losing a nostril. "Good catch," she complimented the dragon, feeling herself warming to him despite her initial fear.


Other characters have permission to use magic/violence against Nyx at any time.



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