Every heart is much the same, we tell ourselves down here;
The same chambers fed by veins, the same maze of love and fear.
Birdsong nursed Kipling back to health on the outskirts of the Hidden Falls. His ailments were nothing for a healer to fix; his body just needed time to mend. And time was a most abundant resource.
The unwell body could consume a surprising amount of energy in its efforts to right itself. Even though all the youngster seemed to do was eat and sleep and occasionally wander off through the woods, a drowsy haze stubbornly followed him. Kipling had told Essetia he planned to study philosophy – and he still wanted to, really! – but he was just so tired. Most days, even the idea of tracking down his mentor exhausted him.
Today was not like most days.
The tired fog had begun to lift for brief windows over the past week, and the periods of alertness were growing noticeably longer. Kipling could once again follow his rapidfire stream of consciousness thoughts. He was starting to have ideas again – ideas that didn’t seem like absolute stupidity a few moments later.
It’s wrong not to share each and every one of my brilliant insights with the herd.
Kipling wasn’t sure where to find his mentor – he had not even learned their name, and he didn’t know who to ask. He was simply too impatient to wait any longer for them to reveal themselves to him on their own.
And that was how Kipling found himself standing in the precise center of the Falls meadow at high noon on a pleasantly cloudy day, proclaiming in the most booming and authoritative tone he could muster, “Okay! Everyone! I would like to summon a philosopher!”
If he knew how silly he looked, he didn’t show any outward signs of embarrassment. He smiled to no one in particular and waited patiently with head held high. He had all the time in the world.
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Don't you leave us in the dark!
Lyrics by Josh Ritter, "In the Dark"
@[Dröm]
| Hidden Account atk: 7 | def: 10.5 | dam: 3 |
| Mare :: Equine :: 14.3hh :: 5 HP: 62 | Buff: NOVICE |
| baylee |
Dröm
The cloud offered a fine vacation from the blistering rays of the sun that had been hidden all throughout Frostfall. The day was peaceful, serene. Earlier in the day, there had been a giant turtle in the Caela Insula. I wasn't quite sure what the grandiose animal had given me, but I had seen him give tangible objects to others. It felt as if he had given me a feeling, a desire. This emotion was something that made me seek to grow little flowers, green. I would investigate it now, but I heard a loud call. There was one in these lands that sought the Philosopher? For a moment I wondered who that was, but then I realized it was me. I was the one this loud horse sought.
I loped towards the voice, my pace was calm, graceful. My tail swung behind me, glittering under the dim light of day. Once the bronze stallion was in view, I slowed to a trot. I nickered at him, my tone melodious and velvety, rich with the sound of my sweet voice. Eventually, I was close enough that I could slither to a halt. My head tipped for a moment before eyes traced the features of the stag. His horn was proud. It was long, straight, and spiraled. "Hello, stranger. Du ringde?" I inquired, slipping from the Helovian language and reverting back to my language. Would he be intelligent enough to know what I am saying? It was quite obvious I was not a native, my voice was different. I had a thick accent with strong o sounds. It was Swedish, or at least that is what I had been told before. "Why have you called for me in such a manner?" I interrogated, my head cocking itself. There was no smile playing with my lips, though I wasn't pissed off. I was merely interested in this stallion, and why he had hollered for me in such an odd way.
"words"
![[Image: 53d6f2ea9010d]](http://images.helovia.net/index.php/photo/action/view_image/photo_link/53d6f2ea9010d)
pixel by baylee
Every heart is much the same, we tell ourselves down here;
The same chambers fed by veins, the same maze of love and fear.
Kipling does not have to wait long. His tactless display serves its intended purpose, and soon a compact chestnut equine reveals themselves. They carry themselves with a calm grace that the colt would never possess, and as if to prove this point, he begins to jog in place with barely contained excitement as they come to a stop.
When she speaks, her voice is different and quite unlike anything Kipling had ever heard before. But because he only knew two voices besides his own until his very recent arrival in Helovia, new voices are something he has quickly become accustomed to. He does not overthink it (he never does). He replies with a cheery, “You came, Philosopher-horse!” His delight is obvious. “Hello! I’m Kipling!” He does not notice that he punctuates each sentence with a resounding exclamation point.
Now Kipling pauses to look at her more closely, narrowing his eyes in intense concentration. So, this is what a philosopher looks like, He tells himself, studying the glossy tones of her coat. She is adorned with flashy chrome, not too unlike himself. Pleased with what he has found, the colt relaxes his gaze again and smiles in a self-pleased manner. See, you already look the part. Well, mostly. This is great. This is going to be great.
He realizes she has asked a question, and Kipling remembers that he must speak when spoken to. Speaking is an important part of philosophy, right? “I’m new here and I’m a Gen-uh… Gener-… a new learning person!” He announces proudly. “Essetia brought me to the Hidden Falls and she told me I should meet my mentor and that’s you! So I called for you! So, what do we do now?!” Look at how resourceful and clever I am! Exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point.
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Don't you leave us in the dark!
Lyrics by Josh Ritter, "In the Dark"
@[Dröm]
| Hidden Account atk: 7 | def: 10.5 | dam: 3 |
| Mare :: Equine :: 14.3hh :: 5 HP: 62 | Buff: NOVICE |
| baylee |
12-26-2014, 03:28 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-26-2014, 03:30 PM by Dröm.)
Dröm
This new learning horse, he is of strange ways. He has called me philosopher horse, and though this is an unusual title to be called, I do not fret with his titles and merely listen to his words. Listening to him, it proves quite difficult. He speaks quickly, energy running rampant through words. Had he used more complex words, I may have been completely lost. Thankful for the simplicity, I begin giggling. Each chortle ringing out into the air, creating a delectable, sweet, sound. Though content laughs, I begin speaking, attempting to find some sort of answer for the awkwardly legged stallion (colt?). "Genatrix?" I offered as he stuttered, attempting to find the word for him, but it seems he has settled for the word learning person. Eventually my giggles fade, a wide grin plastered on velvety lips.
He begins explaining how he got here. I had met Essetia once before. She was the awkward one in the Ancient Rotunda. I questioned the legitimacy of my statement for a moment. I was awkward then, too. Was she truly to blame? Perhaps I had some parts to do with the inevitable tension that had lingered in the air. I ignored my thoughts for a moment, attempting to conjure up some sort of response for the stallion. I had already spoken to the Earth God recently, so know what do we do? I toyed with the idea of meeting the storytellers from all the herds previously. Would that be a good task now? But first, I would test the boy. If he truly wants to be a storyteller, he should know some stories, right? "Tell me a story, one of romance and love between once enemies, and one of 2 parallel universes. These universes, one must be a dystopian society, and another a utopian society." Both topics may seem specific, but in my eyes, they were broad and I was not expecting some long, enormous, story. I did, however, care about substance. He would have to make me believe they were true. If he passed this small test, I would gladly take him to the other herds to meet their storytellers, and I would take him to my next visit with the God of the Earth, our patron.
"words"
pixel by baylee
Every heart is much the same, we tell ourselves down here;
The same chambers fed by veins, the same maze of love and fear.
The chestnut colt’s coat shivers with the simple delight of communication – of connecting with someone else. The mare requests stories, and Kipling’s face goes slack with awe. Stunned into calmness, his voice comes out in little more than a whisper: “You want to hear my stories?” No one had ever wanted to listen to him. He always prattled on ad nauseum for purely intrinsic motivations. For as long as he could remember, some primitive universal impulse had fired in rhythm with his mind. Spontaneous stories coursed through his thoughts, and he would speak them aloud, but it was something he did for his own benefit. Never had it been requested of him.
Now, he has an audience. Warmth and pride radiate from his chest as he stands himself square, realizing that the little mare is, in fact, quite serious. He pauses, turns inward, and disappears into his mental archives.
“Okay. I’ll just start then?” He continues without waiting for approval.
“A long time ago – ages before the ancestors of the most ancient horses were born – a mixed herd of many animals wandered the world. While they all looked out for one another, there were two primary philosophies that dominated, each led by a different creature. The militants followed Black Bear and the pacifists followed Doe. The factions maintained an uneasy peace for the good of the herd, but everyone knew Black Bear and Doe were at insurmountable odds with one another.
Doe believed that Black Bear was too inflexible and unforgiving, and Black Bear thought Doe devalued hard work and was too much of a doormat. Each thought the other was a liability to the group.
The tenuous peace was finally shattered as monsters began to appear from the shadows, hungry for power and lusting after blood. They stole and murdered with impunity. A herd meeting was called, and Black Bear immediately called his followers to war. Doe pleaded for patience and understanding. Unable to reach compromise, they split up.
But it did not take long for either to realize their mistake. Many of Black Bears’ group succumbed to the shadows in battle, and many of Does’ flock was taken while they watched passively. Doe needed Black Bear’s aggression to protect her, and Black Bear needed Doe’s intellect to temper him.
Their individual armies were shrunken and weary when the two finally reconnected. Each pleaded with the other for help, realizing they could not go on alone. They started to make a plan. They worked together for hours under the moonlit sky, reasoning and working on their tactics. By dawn, they were underway.
They travelled together all the way to the very edge of their known world, where a huge cave no one had ever entered stood. There, Black Bear and the fighters felled as many trees as they could find in the area, knocking them down and uprooting them urgently. Doe and the builders rolled the wood to the entrance of the cave, putting together an impressive wall. Within a few hours, the cave was nearly sealed, and they had just enough room to go inside.
Doe and Black Bear stood side by side and bravely stepped into the darkness together. They were falling! A long, terrifying fall in which the two clung to each other and prayed. At last, they came to a stop and fell softly into a lush meadow. They felt kind of funny and queasy, and they got dizzily to their feet before realizing something was different. They had been transformed into unicorns!
And that was how the first unicorns came into existence.”
Kipling finishes in a rush of breath. He had been talking quickly – faster than he had realized – and embelishing details as he went. What force compelled this tale into existence? Where did this suddenly improved vocabulary come from? He blinks deliberately, as if rousing himself from a trance. His eyes refocus and he sees the philosopher-mare again. He smiles brightly (I did good, right?) before he startles himself with his own voice and exclaims out of nowhere, “Wait. I don’t know your name yet!”
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Don't you leave us in the dark!
Lyrics by Josh Ritter, "In the Dark"
OOC: I just wanted to split up the stories so this wouldn’t be the biggest wall of text ever/so you wouldn't have to wait three weeks for a reply! =)
@[Dröm]
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