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05-06-2015, 05:09 AM
i am the vanguard of your destruction
He was already disliking joint leadership.
Mauja, when he had had time to prepare, could be subtle. Could be convincing. Could be tactful. But when things were thrown in his face like this, he was about as subtle as an earthquake, and the ice-guards on his tongue couldn't quite catch all the emotion bleeding through his words. Still, there were things to be said for blunt honesty, and he figured that, in the long run, his honesty would be better than his lies.
"I see. Should I become accustomed to you making decisions on past prejudices?" It was sharp, a whip-lash, thin and needling and I didn't deserve that his mind growled; he deserved to be questioned and analyzed, not.. accused. Momentarily his ears pinned back too, but he didn't interrupt. And then something incredible dawned on him: Torleik and Ulrik were related.
But how could that scrawny, taciturn Engineer be related to this snow-bellied hulk?
It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. The feeling of satisfaction was subsiding, and in its wake came despair; wave after wave of worthless and useless rolled in to the shore of his soul, slowly drowning him as he listened to the black king speak with soft passion about the defense and structuring of their new home.
But even as he fell silent, Mauja did not speak. He merely gazed out between the trees, the sharpness of his pale gaze having faded into something soft, and almost sad; back at the gathering of horses, Diego and Irma shifted upon their perches, feathers whispering with their faint movements. Only when Torleik spoke again, this time of the wall, did Mauja's head turn back, peering at him from behind his long forelock.
That's what walls do to you, he wanted to say. That's what they do to your heart.
"I used to despise those who were not unicorns," he said after a moment. The words felt odd in his mouth. "It was something I took with me from my upbringing, and my early years before Helovia." It's marvelous, how easy it is to shape the mind of a young individual even without meaning to. None of them had said that the few born hornless, or with too useless horn arrangements, were worth less; but everyone knew it. The horns were the only effective weapons they had against the Magnar. Without horns, you could not fight. Without horns, you could not defend your home.
They usually went on to become medics. They had a place, but they were quieter, more mellow...
There's so much I ought to tell him.
"When I first came to Helovia, the Moon chose me as King of this place. I did not believe in equality, but it was nothing I said out loud. I offered the Edge as a safe haven for unicorns, and we lived here peacefully." He still couldn't betray the Plague. He didn't know if the sect was still active—but he still couldn't damn them. "That summer, the Sun God was on a rampage, in a terrible rage because Kri and her Pegasus band had thrown down the Order of the Sun. None was spared his wrath. When the Moon came down, here at the Edge, to let me know of this, another was present: a black, nondescript mare. Her name was Mirage, and I've later learned she led a group known as the Qian, and they were moon-worshipers. Despite her lack of a horn, I offered her and hers sanctuary in the Edge. She did not take me up on it.
"Later, your cousin called me out on my decision. Anyway—when the autumn came, Mirage came again, this time with an army. Kri forsook her word of mutual disinterest, and backed Mirage. Paladin came with soldiers from the Foothills. Nearly all of Helovia, united against us—and for what reason?
"Because we lived only with our own kind." He snorted.
"Mirage gave me an ultimatum, to share the Edge with them or have it taken from us. Even if I had not promised Ulrik that we would not share, it bothered me that she showed up on my doorstep with an army and then made up my mind for me, demanding the very thing I had offered her before but she had declined. We fought, but in the end, we lost."
No wall could've saved us. "And then they built the wall." What was his point, even? "And you've met that wall, and what it does to people." He was silent for just a second. "In the heart of my homeland was a fortress-like mountain, and whoever was in control of it was regarded as in control of the land itself. For many, many generations the unicorns held it, while our scattered enemy regrouped, adapted, and advanced. After I left, things got worse, and when I returned.. that fortress looked to be a very promising grave for my people. And it was the same thing: there was the us, and there was the them. And the solution was to eradicate that divide .. after quite a vicious battle.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Torleik. I'm not a diplomat. I'm a warrior—a sword to be wielded. I have no idea what I am doing here, as supposedly the diplomatic lead, but I'm going to try. I'm going to do my best to learn. But I have been on both sides of that wall, and both sides suck.
"But you are right, we should not go defenseless. Spikes are a good idea. When I ruled here before, we had constant border patrols—they worked well enough. Air-bound patrols would be more efficient, as they cover ground more quickly, but on the other hand, they would not be able to detect scent trails where the border has been breached." And that doubt came crashing back in: had his history lesson been pointless? Had it been objective enough? Had Torleik learned anything from it? Had there even been anything to learn? "So a mixture would be ideal, I think. And.. this terrain offers some natural defense. We have uneven ground, we have many trees, and fog; we ought to practice both guerilla type movements, and large-scale army movements. This is our land, and we should learn to use that to our advantage if someone decides to pay us a violent visit." He tilted his head again. "We ought to have three Generals, actually. One for our ground units, one for the sky legion, and one, winged, that knows both roles. And.. I might not be fond of the Moon Goddess—" look how good he was, not calling her a bitch to Torleik's face "—but having Acolytes dedicated to her is a good idea." And, he pretty much strangled himself saying good idea instead of not a bad one. Oh, the woes of partnership.
"Oh, and, that arrogant little dipshit—Cathun? He said some nasty things and left. While he did have a point, his attitude makes me think we'll have to be wary of him in the future." That's what Mauja liked about leaving his owls in strategic places. They relayed important information to him.
They also reminded him he needed to remember to ask who Irelyn was. Mauja wasn't sure he remembered ever having seen Torleik's companion...
[ @[Torleik] -- bahaha. xP ]
Mauja, when he had had time to prepare, could be subtle. Could be convincing. Could be tactful. But when things were thrown in his face like this, he was about as subtle as an earthquake, and the ice-guards on his tongue couldn't quite catch all the emotion bleeding through his words. Still, there were things to be said for blunt honesty, and he figured that, in the long run, his honesty would be better than his lies.
"I see. Should I become accustomed to you making decisions on past prejudices?" It was sharp, a whip-lash, thin and needling and I didn't deserve that his mind growled; he deserved to be questioned and analyzed, not.. accused. Momentarily his ears pinned back too, but he didn't interrupt. And then something incredible dawned on him: Torleik and Ulrik were related.
But how could that scrawny, taciturn Engineer be related to this snow-bellied hulk?
It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. The feeling of satisfaction was subsiding, and in its wake came despair; wave after wave of worthless and useless rolled in to the shore of his soul, slowly drowning him as he listened to the black king speak with soft passion about the defense and structuring of their new home.
But even as he fell silent, Mauja did not speak. He merely gazed out between the trees, the sharpness of his pale gaze having faded into something soft, and almost sad; back at the gathering of horses, Diego and Irma shifted upon their perches, feathers whispering with their faint movements. Only when Torleik spoke again, this time of the wall, did Mauja's head turn back, peering at him from behind his long forelock.
That's what walls do to you, he wanted to say. That's what they do to your heart.
"I used to despise those who were not unicorns," he said after a moment. The words felt odd in his mouth. "It was something I took with me from my upbringing, and my early years before Helovia." It's marvelous, how easy it is to shape the mind of a young individual even without meaning to. None of them had said that the few born hornless, or with too useless horn arrangements, were worth less; but everyone knew it. The horns were the only effective weapons they had against the Magnar. Without horns, you could not fight. Without horns, you could not defend your home.
They usually went on to become medics. They had a place, but they were quieter, more mellow...
There's so much I ought to tell him.
"When I first came to Helovia, the Moon chose me as King of this place. I did not believe in equality, but it was nothing I said out loud. I offered the Edge as a safe haven for unicorns, and we lived here peacefully." He still couldn't betray the Plague. He didn't know if the sect was still active—but he still couldn't damn them. "That summer, the Sun God was on a rampage, in a terrible rage because Kri and her Pegasus band had thrown down the Order of the Sun. None was spared his wrath. When the Moon came down, here at the Edge, to let me know of this, another was present: a black, nondescript mare. Her name was Mirage, and I've later learned she led a group known as the Qian, and they were moon-worshipers. Despite her lack of a horn, I offered her and hers sanctuary in the Edge. She did not take me up on it.
"Later, your cousin called me out on my decision. Anyway—when the autumn came, Mirage came again, this time with an army. Kri forsook her word of mutual disinterest, and backed Mirage. Paladin came with soldiers from the Foothills. Nearly all of Helovia, united against us—and for what reason?
"Because we lived only with our own kind." He snorted.
"Mirage gave me an ultimatum, to share the Edge with them or have it taken from us. Even if I had not promised Ulrik that we would not share, it bothered me that she showed up on my doorstep with an army and then made up my mind for me, demanding the very thing I had offered her before but she had declined. We fought, but in the end, we lost."
No wall could've saved us. "And then they built the wall." What was his point, even? "And you've met that wall, and what it does to people." He was silent for just a second. "In the heart of my homeland was a fortress-like mountain, and whoever was in control of it was regarded as in control of the land itself. For many, many generations the unicorns held it, while our scattered enemy regrouped, adapted, and advanced. After I left, things got worse, and when I returned.. that fortress looked to be a very promising grave for my people. And it was the same thing: there was the us, and there was the them. And the solution was to eradicate that divide .. after quite a vicious battle.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Torleik. I'm not a diplomat. I'm a warrior—a sword to be wielded. I have no idea what I am doing here, as supposedly the diplomatic lead, but I'm going to try. I'm going to do my best to learn. But I have been on both sides of that wall, and both sides suck.
"But you are right, we should not go defenseless. Spikes are a good idea. When I ruled here before, we had constant border patrols—they worked well enough. Air-bound patrols would be more efficient, as they cover ground more quickly, but on the other hand, they would not be able to detect scent trails where the border has been breached." And that doubt came crashing back in: had his history lesson been pointless? Had it been objective enough? Had Torleik learned anything from it? Had there even been anything to learn? "So a mixture would be ideal, I think. And.. this terrain offers some natural defense. We have uneven ground, we have many trees, and fog; we ought to practice both guerilla type movements, and large-scale army movements. This is our land, and we should learn to use that to our advantage if someone decides to pay us a violent visit." He tilted his head again. "We ought to have three Generals, actually. One for our ground units, one for the sky legion, and one, winged, that knows both roles. And.. I might not be fond of the Moon Goddess—" look how good he was, not calling her a bitch to Torleik's face "—but having Acolytes dedicated to her is a good idea." And, he pretty much strangled himself saying good idea instead of not a bad one. Oh, the woes of partnership.
"Oh, and, that arrogant little dipshit—Cathun? He said some nasty things and left. While he did have a point, his attitude makes me think we'll have to be wary of him in the future." That's what Mauja liked about leaving his owls in strategic places. They relayed important information to him.
They also reminded him he needed to remember to ask who Irelyn was. Mauja wasn't sure he remembered ever having seen Torleik's companion...
[ @[Torleik] -- bahaha. xP ]
