"Where brilliance is good and madness is better..."
Helovia Info
Helovia opened in February 2012! We are an active fantasy equine RPG
Where once the world narrowed into naught but gray dust and desolation, the gods called for life. Wielding the elements of fire and light, dark and wind, earth and water, spark and time, they have created Helovia. The realm is set within the mythical globe of Loorien, a planet rich with all variety of creatures and blessed with all manner of magic. Originally populated by nomadic, tribal characters, they've since grown into massive empires saturated with culture and history. Separated into four distinct segments of Helovia, called "The Regions," each band of horse strong enough and capable enough, took up the power and responsibility of leadership. Unicorns, old, wise and mysterious, took to the north, hidden in forests of mists and shadows and rarely making themselves known beyond their cliffs of the World's Edge. Equines, vast, organized and militaristic, split into two, one group went north to the Windtossed Foothills and the other group went south to the Dragon's Throat. Pegasus remained nomadic, making their homes in various parts of The Wilds in a migratory manner. For many generations, the land was peaceful and calm, but peace was never the way of the gods. With a clash of argument, war and bloodshed massacred Helovia, and in the aftermath, the realm was eerily quiet. Now, as newcomers sweep into this land, they are met with the lingering bitterness of the gods and the struggle to reclaim what was lost. Nothing remains safe or certain while sorcerers and soldiers alike brood and bide their time for revenge, honor and glory.
Site Wide Plots
Kaos :: The Beginning of the End ☼ - 6/2017 - Kaos placed Helovia in a time-bubble for a short period of time, but the Helovian gods are fighting back. But Kaos is powerful- far more powerful than anyone thought. This may be the beginning of the end of Helovia as we know it.
Kisamoa :: A New Kind of Kaos ☼ - 3/2017 - Kisamoa asks Helovians to help him restore the Spectral Marsh. Which side will you choose?
Invasions :: All Out War ☼ - 5/2/16 - New layout and the brand new invasion rules are up! Thank you for your patience and we look forward to getting started with this new adventure.
The Rift :: Gods Do Die ☼ - 8/2015 - Helovia Gods are saving the Rift from corrupt gods! Can Helovians band together against these foreign deities?
The Literal Ship ☼ - 2/8/15 - Oh no! You have to pair up for Valentine's day!
Sky Island :: Murder ☼ - 10/25/14 - Vesta has been found dead on the island, and the gods have called to you to solve the murder!
Sky Island :: Peace ☼ - 7/7/14 - An island has appeared in the sky! Clouds carry Helovians from the Veins to the sky.
Restoration :: We Welcome the Dawn ☼ - 9/21/13 - The sun has finally risen on this day, giving the land new light, but the Time God and the Sun God have yet to be seen.
Endless Night :: Broken Magic Plot ☼ - 8/30/13 - The earth god has returned and is walking across Helovia to heal the land. Every area can now be considered lush and prosperous, but the sun has still not risen.
☼ - 7/19/13 - The moon has risen in the sky, heralding the return of the Goddess of the moon. Lamp trees which light the paths have grown brighter, moon flowers which grow in dark places have begun to grow and prosper and the world is brighter, filled with a new hope.
Endless Night :: Dead Magic Plot ☼ - 6/22/13 - The gods of Helovia, in order to protect the world, have disappeared into the rift, leaving the world sunless, moonless and magic-less in their absence. Only the herdlands have a source of light, but lamp-trees with glowing leaves and branches sporadically line the popular roads and paths from place to place.
Doppleganger Plot ☼ - 6/20/13 - The God of Time is still struggling to close the rift though which the dopplegangers have come. He has requested that his brothers and sister assist in closing this hole, but without knowing why it opened, the task is proving difficult. Magic still remains faulty and hard to control, but the herdlands continue to be places of refuge for those who are fortunate enough to call these lands home.
ORANGEMOON cools off the lands with a a viscious force. Colder than normal, a sign of things to come during Frostfall, Helovia is bathed in a rich tropical lushness - albiet a cold one. The coastlines of the Dragon's Throat are pelted constantly by tidal waves, and the desert climate is humid but chilly. Ice begins to form early in the Aurora Basin leaving the winding trails slick and dangerous. The mists of the World's Edge coat everything in a glistening crystalline shine which encourages mould to grow everywhere. The Spectral Marsh is the only area which remains fertile, blissfully temperature and lush.
Cotm
Character of the Month for
June, 2017
WEAVER, Corporal of the Aurora Basin, is a relatively recent addition to Helovia and has taken it by storm. Branded with the seal of Death on her chest, intrigue and interest follow both her past and present. Though she is assuredly beautiful, her sometimes sharp personality reveals that there is more to this uni-peg hybrid than meets the eye. Proving herself able on the battlefield in the Basin’s warrior ranks, we can’t wait to see her test her mettle against the looming Kaos happenings! Congratulations!
Helovia RPG was created by Tamme and Blu and coded by Tamme also known as Schwartze. All coding, palettes and imagery are copyrighted to the website and are not for use outside of Helovia. Thank you to our ServerMaster for hosting Helovia. A special thanks goes to Neo for all of her coding help and fixing Tamme's errors, Boom, for her loyal service and creation of the Time God, and to Ali for her consistent contributions and dedication.
HISTE</style> your breathing sounds like the sickest music playing backwards in my head</style>
For some mares pregnancy was blissful. It was a time spent dreaming about what their foal would look like, hoping that it took on aspects of both parents. Excitement and anticipation colored the world in beautiful shades of pink and gold. Histe wasn't like most mares. She didn't spend her days imagining what her foal would look like and she didn't hope that it would take on anything from its father. She spent her days thinking about how she would dispose of the thing once it was born. She hated, loathed every single minute of being pregnant. When she felt the foal moving inside of her she wanted to tear her own skin off, dig into her own side and rip the baby out.
"Whore..." Her ears pinned back against her head as the voice spoke up. "You let a pegasus bed you. Shameful whore. You and the child should both die."
"Shut up!" Histe jerked a hind leg up and kicked at her stomach before slamming her hoof into the dirt. The foal in her belly responded by kicking back and Histe snorted. "Damn foal." She growled, her irritation growing as the sun moved higher in the sky and made it even hotter.
It was only a short time later that Histe's insides began to contract in a manner that left her extremely uncomfortable. No, it was actually painful. She had little doubt that it was the foal's doing and it only made her more determined to kill it once it came out. It would scarcely draw a breath before she smashed its head into the ground and shattered its skull into a thousand different pieces.
Stubbornness and a refusal to let the foal decide when it was going to be born kept Histe standing. She would decide when she would allow the foal to slide from her womb and kiss the dirt.
'Don't you want it gone?' Merikh sat some distance away, his grey eyes wary as he watched his bonded. She was volatile all of the time and even more so with a child inside of her.
"Shut up." She growled at the cat even though she knew he was right. Admitting she was wrong was not her strong suit but as the pain grew more intense she finally relented and lowered her body to the dusty ground and went to work pushing the foal out of her body.
intermission.
Sweat streaked Histe's heaving sides as she fought to catch her breath after giving birth to her first foal. She lifted her neck from the ground and looked behind her at the mass of blood and goo and black fur. Of course it would be black like the manslut that sired it.
'It has wings.' The big cat had moved closer while Histe was in labor and he now stood staring down at the black foal. He looked up as Histe climbed to her hooves and they stood together staring down at it. 'Kill it?' Merikh asked, taking a moment to glance up to Histe and seeing her shake her head. "Not yet."
She stood and watched as the foal blinked against the sunlight, her dark eyes squinting in protest. "Stand, child." Histe grunted. She quickly grew impatient when the foal remained laying on the ground and she reached down and grabbed one of her wings and jerked her to her hooves. "I said stand!" The foal's legs trembled and she attempted to take a step forward and fell. Once more, Histe grabbed the filly's wing and jerked her to her hooves and once more, the filly fell.
"Its weak." Histe spat in disgust. "Of course its weak. Fucking pegasus." Her tail lashed against her legs and she stomped a hoof into the ground again. "STAND!" She grabbed at the filly's wing again and the filly protested by trying to scoot away. The filly's defiance coupled with weakness only served to anger Histe and she grabbed the foal's wing again. This time, however, she bit down too hard and the fragile bones snapped. The filly squealed against the pain and Histe responded by jerking her head to the side and very near throwing the filly onto the ground. "Kill it, Merikh."
"."
ooc:// just as a note, histe is outside of the caves
"What's happening? What's going on? What is this? Why is it so hot? What's that smell? I don't like it. Why is it so bright? It hurts my eyes."
The newborn lay motionless for a short time after her birth as she tried to sort out all of the different sensations that were suddenly assaulting all of her senses. Her ears moved atop her head, falling sideways before tilting forward to listen to the voice that spoke. She lifted her head and squinted against the sunlight at her mother. A natural feeling of love bloomed within the child's chest and she waited for her mother to move closer to her, to show her affection, clean her, but she was only directed to stand on legs that were still too weak and unsteady to hold her upright. When she remained unmoving she was hauled to her hooves by her mother's teeth gripped to her wing.
The filly braced her legs apart as she was hauled to a standing position, but her legs trembled, and her heart thundered in her tiny chest. It took every ounce of strength she had to remain standing, but it was what her mother wanted. It was a mixture of instinct and some inborn desire to please her mother that made the girl attempt a step forward, which only ended in her failure. She was jerked upright once more and, once more, she fell. Over and over she was told to stand, pulled by her wing, only to fall again.
Its weak.
"Me? I'm weak? Is that what I'm called? My name?"
STAND!
The sound of her mother's voice had the filly trying desperately to scoot away, but she only succeeded in angering the mare. This time when she grabbed her wing white hot pain flashed through the appendage into her shoulder and she squealed. Her hooves left the ground and for a short moment she was airborne before she hit the ground with a grunt. She lay on her side, one wing positioned in a way it shouldn't and the other tucked safely between her small body and the ground. Tears pricked the girls eyes and she sniffed but remained still.
Kill it, Merikh.
"Kill it? Me? What does kill mean?"
"."
MORDECAI
when the last light warms the rocks and the rattlesnakes unfold
mountain cats will come along to drag away your bones
Tonight I'll sign my blood on the leather and bleed together to find our own separate ways
Einarr flew from the Throat island like a bat out of hell. Red dust clung to his sleek black hide, puffing around his hooves from the sudden explosion of massive black wings pulling him into the air. He must have made a terrible sight, a commotion startling to those around him. He did not care, however. Today was the day. He needed to search for the mare he had bed. The stallion had been watching the sun and moon--until the moon's disappearance, of course--and he knew the time of foaling well. He was a trained warrior, a leader of his homeland, a protector. He knew when the tribe could travel and when they could not, and he knew when to go searching for mares that had trailed off, looking for a place to nest and drop their precious progeny into the harshness of the world.
His progeny was coming today, and if his encounter with the female said anything about how she would treat the darling lump of fur and helplessness, Einarr needed to find her.
His fear was met when, from the sky, he watched as the scarred female and her putrid cat swung the newborn around. A scream left Einarr's throat, leaving it raw and dry, and he shot earthward. Massive, imposing wings snapped open and the warrior swung his hips beneath him, aiming to land a demolishing kick to the cougar's temple and render him breathless--no, lifeless. Rage burned in Einarr's reddened eyes and he screamed again, this time a word pierced the air and sliced towards the brindled woman like a longsword through a spine, "VOS!" He landed between the woman and their child, nostrils flared and wings spread wide on his shoulders, blocking the bay witch from the black lump of whimpering child. When Einarr had danced for this woman, and finally dominated her in the best worst of ways, he had been drugged by his own primal desire. Now, he stood in paternal protection, no war of mixed emotions raging in his heart, ready to end this mare for touching his child.
"You not hurt it!" Because it is mine. Einarr snarled, lowering his head and narrowing his eyes dangerously. He shifted his glance for only a second, looking to see if he had placed his kick well enough to send the bastardly cat six feet under.
I mean, not really. I just wanted to see where he was going. Einarr was, after all, the only other stallion from Father's old lands - or at least, lands near his lands - but whatever geographical distance there was between Einarr and the Sultan, the black pegasi's cloven hooves were the only discernible difference.
So I followed, more so out of boyish curiosity for a creature so like my Father (but with time to spare!).
But I wasn't prepared for this.
He landed like a streak of black lightning, his voice booming a stern no as he used his own body to block that of a vicious looking feline. Part of me wanted to turn back - to fly as fast as I could to the Throat to gather more warriors - but there wasn't enough time. If Einarr needed help, I was all he had. Admittedly it wasn't much, but it gave me the courage to descend rather than flee.
I angled my body to come behind the small filly. As I landed, I used the burning ember beneath my wings as some sort of distraction. I heard that wild cats hated fire, as did many feral beasts, and so while my magic could not produce heat, perhaps the visual stimulus would prove frightening enough. Waving my wings I moved behind the small girl, in awe of the size of her body compared to mine. I had thought myself young and small, but apparently I had done more growing than I thought.
"Shhhh sandi ajjin-" I whispered, finding Father's tongue coming easily to my lips having been prompted by Einarr's cry of rage. "Yer jadat." I figured that if she was as newly born as she looked it would matter what language I was speaking, it wasn't as though she would understand anyways.
I raised my wing as I moved beside her, trying to keep my movements as un-hostile and gentle as possible. I tried to corral her using my glowing appendage, encouraging her to move against my side and with me, as far away from Einarr and the cat as we could manage.
In my haste I hadn't even noticed Histe was there.
HISTE</style> your breathing sounds like the sickest music playing backwards in my head</style>
He came like a great big bat out of hell and it was only fitting that he would arrive for the birth of the child that she hadn't wanted. She'd only screwed him to anger the voices inside of her head and it had worked, but she hadn't thought her plan out in its entirety. Now she had a mess to clean up, starting with the stallion. She'd have to kill him first then finish off the kid and be done with the whole thing. For all of her last minute planning she could not anticipate just how fierce the sky rat's drive to protect his offspring would be. The concept was so very foreign, her own mother hadn't cared what happened to her or Huinne and her father was too absent minded to be concerned with his children. Perhaps if she had known what it was like to be loved by a parent she'd be able to love the little whelp she'd brought into the world.
Either he was faster than she remembered him being or Merikh was slower than he usually was, but as the brute swept in his aim struck true. Pain bloomed across Histe's head as she felt Merikh's pain, but mere seconds later it was gone. In its place there was a different sort of pain, one that she could not describe or begin to understand. She felt as though she were being ripped apart from the inside out, like there was a gaping hole in her chest but she was not physically wounded. "Merikh!" She barked the cougar's name and got no response from him. Her pale eyes travelled down to where her cougar stood and found his limp body and blood pooling around his head.
"You not hurt it!"
"You stupid fuck." She hissed angrily. Overhead clouds began to swirl and darken, a sign of the storm that she was going to unleash on the stallion that knocked her up and then killed her cat. There was another voice she heard besides Einarr's, though, and she glanced in the direction that she had thrown the filly and found a colt trying to guide her away, but she wouldn't let them. The striped mare shrieked as she lunged for the colt and her daughter, teeth bared. She'd kill them both in front of Einarr and then she'd kill him.
Tonight I'll sign my blood on the leather and bleed together to find our own separate ways
There was victory to be won here, no glory to obtain. He would not stride home with his head held high and her head on a stick. No. Rage bubbled and boiled inside the ebony stallion, shaking his entire body. His eyes were on fire, and they flicked over to the dead cat. Some form of sick accomplishment washed over his face for just a moment, though it was probably only because now he did not have to worry about its teeth and claws, and it could not elude him to slice down his offspring. A flash of ashen wings flickers in the opposite corner and Einarr turns his attention on the familiar, young stag. A loud snort bursts from the warrior's nostrils and he yelled at the boy, flapping his wings twice to solidify his command, "Get babe to safety!"
His confidence in the young boy was not as true as his rage towards the mother of his filly was. Turning his burned sienna eyes back on to her grey, Einarr snapped into motion. He was a flash of long legs and feathers, rocketing between the mare and her target. "VO YOF LAME!" He screamed again, flapping his wings to give him momentum. He pushed his shoulder forward and intended to ram straight into Histe's side and knock her to the ground, get her off balance, and off her trajectory. "YOU NOT HURT IT!" Einarr's voice was a deep bellow, shaking the atmosphere around them, as if his voice was Mjolnir and he was Thor, smashing the great weapon into the earth and sending demolishing lightning to his enemy.
The desire that had plagued him in the forest just weeks ago was nothing compared to this uncontrollable, malicious, deafening rage that split his heart down the middle and shook him down to his bones. His inky lips peeled away from his teeth and he shot them out towards Histe's throat, wanting to feel the vital vein snap. He wanted to taste her blood in his mouth, wash his hooves in her decay and lay his desecration over her scarred body. His stallion's hunger had been overwhelming in the forest, and he had wished it had not been, for the only good it had done was give him his filly.
His beautiful, perfect filly that he would avenge and protect forevermore.
When Megaera had seen Einarr fly over her post at the northern border, she had known something was wrong. He wouldn’t have been racing like that if it was just a standard long distance patrol, no one would. When Roah had followed close behind, the battlemare had made her decision. She bellowed a warning to those on patrol with her and aimed herself for the skies. With a few quick strides across the sand, Meg took to the skies in hot pursuit. The flight was not as long as she expected and in no time at all they had crossed the watery straits that separated their island from Helovia. Fast as she was, she hadn’t caught the black pair by the time they landed but with sharp eyes took in the scene as she put on a burst of speed.
She landed in a spray of gravel as Einarr dispatched the big cat. Mag whipped around, taking in the frenzy of movement. The freighted filly, so tiny she seemed, and so helpless that any question for the circumstances that lead to this moment didn’t matter. Whoever this babe was, she needed protection, and this dark mare was the most prevalent danger. When she lunged for the young pair, Meg moved to plant herself in front of them, screaming in fury at the oncoming beast. Eyes were only for that threat. Einarr could take care of himself, but the filly was an innocent and her sultan’s son was still so young and her responsibility beyond the Throat borders as any of their family would be. ”Back, bitch!” the bay growled and braced herself to defend.
Notes:Short cause I know ali’s waiting! Thanks for letting me join in!
FAC FORTIA ET PATERE
be brave and endure
:: permission given for use of magic and force :: please tag Megaera in all posts ::
"Why is everything so loud? Please, don't be so loud. Its hurting my ears. My wing hurts, too. Why does it hurt so bad? Can you make it stop? Is it always gonna hurt?"
Somewhere among all of the commotion of a rather large black stallion arriving there was another, smaller colt. He moved his wings and the young filly was enraptured by the way his wings glowed. She missed the fatal kick that Einarr delivered to the cat, which was probably for the better. The day was already traumatic enough for the newborn, there was no need for her to witness life being taken even if it was someone who was going to end her's.
Small, wet ears tilted forward as whispered words fell from the colt's lips. She didn't understand any of them, just as she didn't understand any of the commands and threats that had fallen from her dam's. Her head tilted as he moved closer but she made no attempt to scoot away because he did not scare her. He wasn't loud, wasn't demanding things of her that she didn't know, he only whispered strange words that she didn't understand and she felt compelled to answer. "We.. weak." she murmured. "Weak? K..kill?" She blinked her dark eyes in confusion, not knowing what the words mean. She only knew that they had been said to her so they had to be about her.
The girl continued to pay little attention to the struggle going on behind her, but her focus was drawn away from Rhoa as yet another arrived. This time she turned to stare and felt panic seize her small chest as the dark stallion and her dam raced forward toward them. The newcomer placed herself between them as a shield and Einarr was able to deter Histe, but it did not stop the filly's panic. She struggled, flailed her thin legs and flapped her one good wing as she clambered to her hooves. In the end she stood with her legs splayed, her left wing tucked against her side and the right hanging limp.
Somehow, much to the girl's surprise, she remained standing instead of falling to the dirt again. Her eyes stayed on the fighting pair for a bit, but her intrigue was short lived when her stomach began to growl and hunger made itself known. Her dark gaze drifted to the mare and she teetered forward until she stood beside her, hesitated a moment before instinct took over and she ducked her head under Meg's belly in search of nourishment.
"."
MORDECAI
when the last light warms the rocks and the rattlesnakes unfold
mountain cats will come along to drag away your bones
It was all happening so fast. There was black, there was blood and there was shouting.
I want to just grab the filly, to wrap my wings around her and force her to stay by my side, but something tells me that that would be counter productive. Still, I don't know what to do! I want to scream it to the skies, to scream it at Einarr as he instructs me to get the girl to safety. HOW?! I want to scream, SHE'S BRAND NEW! Of course I say none of this. I remain firmly silent, a look of horror dawning upon my features as the girl muttered what might have been her first words.
Weak. Kill.
I shiver, horrified that the girl has already picked up on the worst attributes of horse-kind. "No dearheart-" I whisper to her, shaking my head. I want so badly to be able to communicate to her - to tell her that everything will be alright if only she would come with me.
Instead however, she totters shakily upright. Instead of remaining near me, she staggers to Meg. My eyes flash with the violence and horror of the scene unfolding before us. Although Meg's body was currently positioned like a shield, shields needed to move and trust if they were to be useful - Likely Meg's body would do the same. I see that the babe wants to drink and the idea almost brings me to laugh out loud.
Meg?! A wetnurse? In the midst of this chaos the idea is too implausible to be anything but hysterical, but there's no time to laugh.
"NO!! I hiss, lunging forward. I try to swing my body around so that I'm perpendicular to Meg as the small girl is likely to be as well. "This way! You must!" I whisper urgently, nudging her shoulder with my muzzle and spreading my wings - one partially against Meg's flank and the other fully extended - to try and create a barrier so that she would be forced to follow in the direction of my nudges.
HISTE</style> your breathing sounds like the sickest music playing backwards in my head</style>
There was a reason that her mother had always hated pegasi and unicorns and she realized exactly what it was when Einarr used his wings to push himself faster. "I'll fucking kill you!" She screamed at the stallion, though her goal was to maim the whelp she'd birthed and the colt that was trying to protect her. Of course there would be another to arrive and position herself in the way, but as far as Histe was concerned she would go through her even if it meant chewing through her body and devouring her heart. As always Einarr had other plans, but she had seen his head dart toward her. Dirt and rocks flew as she skidded to a stop, her hindquarters sliding under her body. As she righted herself she turned, her gaze finding the body of her precious Merikh and, again, she felt like she was being shredded apart. She never should have let herself bond to anything.
"YOU!" She screamed, head jerking away from the diretion Merikh lay and toward Einarr. "We will end this." As much as she wanted to murder the child in front of him to prove how inferior he and his progeny were she would be unable to do so as long as he continued to get in her way. "I will kill you, then her." She said, referring to the pegasus mare that stood like a shield. "Then I will kill him. Then the weak little whelp." She began to laugh. "I will decorate this whole fucking place with your blood!" And then the acid began to fall from the sky as she unleashed the full fury of her magic on any unfortunate soul that was in the way.
Tonight I'll sign my blood on the leather and bleed together to find our own separate ways
"Take her to Dragon's Throat! Find healer!" Einarr commanded, his bark erupting in the air and cracking the eerie silence as Histe slid to a stop. A few of the rocks and rubble that the had kicked up bounced off his solid, straight legs. He snapped his wings open and stopped his forward momentum, haunches bunching and bending beneath him as he popped his front end off the ground in a determined rear. Wild, cloven hooves shot out intensely for the mare's head, wanting to smash in the left side her damned skull through unrelenting bludgeoning. Einarr was a force to be reckoned with, a warrior of relentless fury and a great, working mind of tactic and ability. His eyes burned with pitiless rage, bearing down on the scarred bitch like white hot coals beneath the flames which was his prowess.
From the corner of his eye, the ebon stallion watched as Megaera, a warrior of his newly found homeland, stood as a shield between the child and her dam. He was suddenly thankful for her to be here, though whether it was for her or an adult in general was truly unknown, but it did not matter--she could help Rhoa, their Sultan's son, take his offspring to safety. The wind howled and the sky churned overhead, and Einarr knew exactly what was coming. Panic flashed behind his black eyelashes and he turned his body in towards Histe more, and surged forward. His teeth unsheathed from beneath his lips and they rocketed out to snap at her throat once more. The desire to bring her demise, her desecration, her burial was a heavy blanket of heat and rage across his body, sending his muscles to shake despite his undoubted resolve. Einarr would end her.
The rain, however, did not sprinkle, trickle, drip at first as it had in the forest just weeks ago. No, now, it downpoured. The acid jumped across his back and the stallion screamed out in pain. He suddenly lowered his head, moving his wings to tuck his face beneath their massive canopy, and he continued to push forward, hoping to crash into Histe's left side and send her reeling. He needed to distract her, to end her magic, so he could kill her.
[Einarr and Histe will be continuing in a battle!]
02-24-2015, 11:20 PM (This post was last modified: 02-24-2015, 11:21 PM by Megaera.)
Megaera watched as the mare and stallion clashed. Despite the urgency there was a moment when she stood, utterly captivated, wanting nothing but to watch the battle-craft unfold. The brindled mare changed tack but Einarr shifted to match. He lifted himself for a strike, and the warrior in Meg marveled at his power. He was skilled. He was mighty. He was terrifying.
The strange nudge at her belly had the rapturous warrior snapping back to the present situation and her place in it. She whipped her head around, thinking of the foul cat but stopped in shock at the sight of the little filly routing around under her. What on earth? Meg stared for a brief second, bewildered, before some untapped instinct whispered to her. The babe’s hungry Gentler than even she might have thought possible, she reached down her nose to nudge the poor lass away with a quiet, if certainly strained murmur “No, child, I cannot—“
More yells from the fight behind her cut off Meg’s words and she flipped her head back towards the battle. The foul bitch was reciting her list of all the people she planned on killing and it sent another bolt of fury through the Megaera. She lunged forward, intent in aiding Einarr in the mare’s destruction but only made it half a stride before yanking herself to a stop. A wretched growl of frustration ripped from her as instincts warred. Megaera was a warrior and had a warrior’s instinct to attack but what held her back was older, deeper. The need to defend and to tend had never before been at the forefront of Meg’s concerns but it was knit into her blood and her body. She had to choose: be a spear or a shield.
Shield won out in the end and the mare whirled around to the black pair, they needed her, as did the chick that trembled in his hiding place underneath her mane. She embraced that connection again, trying to calm herself and send that calm to Gwaihir. Rhoa was attempting to guide the tiny child southward and Meg knew she must see them both home safely. She moved up alongside them, trying to place the babe in between them. “Come along then, my strong girl, we’ll get you home.” She tried to speak gently, to reassure all four of them, but as soon as the words were out, she had to let out a scream.
There was fire on her back, a hot liquid burning that fell from the sky. She screwed up her eyes, trying the hide her face before she realized that the other two would be in the line of fire as well. Quick as a flash, she threw out her wing to cover the filly and as much of Rhoa as she could reach. The acidic droplets fell across her outstretched wing but she would not retract it until they were in the clear. It cut at her to hear there terrified trills of the chick as he suffered her pain with her and when she moved to urge them all on her voice was a plea as much as anything else “Move!”
FAC FORTIA ET PATERE
be brave and endure
:: permission given for use of magic and force :: please tag Megaera in all posts ::
.svg/2000px-Google_Chrome_icon_(2011).svg.png){kind=icon}
