| Helovian Ancient |
| Stallion :: Equine :: :: |
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The great wide cavern in the heart of the world yawned. Deep within it a creature rose anew and blinked unsteady coal eyes. He pulled himself from the pits of lava and ran through empty halls, leaving dripping red trails in his wake. Despite the heaviness of his substance he moved faster than most fiery beings, and so he soon found the comfort of the water that he so sought. As soon as the roaring falls beneath the earth appeared, he plunged headlong into the water collected before them. His body hissed and sank, down into the forgiving cold. When he landed at the bottom he was not afraid, but he was young and new to this world, so he was bewildered.
In the land where he was great, they called him the Rock Rabbit.
Down at the bottom of the water he wept tears of innocence, the sort of expression that only youth could truly understand and inhabit. He cried the ancient stuff of volcanoes and it froze into small drops of pumice that filled the water beneath him and quickly formed a pile. On this he climbed, his long hind feet scrabbling up the evidence of his own misunderstanding.
Rock Rabbit, some day you will be born into this world with a gift. Do you remember what it is?
He remembered these words of the Rock Rabbit before him, but now he'd forgotten the gift.
Is it chocolates? he wondered with faint hope as he rose to the surface, his stiff paws carrying him further to the air he did not need. Or maybe it's grasses, the sweet kind of things that the cows of the sea eat. In the morning, they swim like ribbons. He paused as the glittering dark of the air approached; he wondered, if only faintly, how he knew all of these things. But it was knowledge of the Rock Rabbit before him, and so he would hold onto it as truth. No, I do not think it's either of those things, he concluded just before the air rushed into his ears and the rock of his fur began to smolder once more in soft, silken tendrils. I do not think they even have chocolates in this new world.
Slowly he paddled to the shore, cooled off but already beginning to glow a fine red from inside. I will have to find the gift, he thought to himself as he pulled one foot behind an ear and scratched with a vigorous thumping.
But who was to help him?
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Image Credits
For @Tembovu alone. Others are allowed only with Smitty's permission.
| World's Edge Captain atk: 7 | def: 9.0 | dam: 7.5 |
| Stallion :: Unicorn :: 18hh :: 10 HP: 77 | Buff: SWIFT |
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Mbwene :: African Elephant :: Ashen
smitty |
06-22-2016, 09:16 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-22-2016, 09:23 AM by Tembovu.)
The Elephant King’s mind was unsettled—though it wished to be settled. His body was sated, both by sparring and the flesh of a woman he cared for. There was a time when this had been all that he’d wanted: emotional attachment, successful training, and a purpose in life. He had abandoned the death he thought he had accepted; fled beneath the sharp horns of those he betrayed and sought vengeance on in the Great Plains. His flight, as damning and cowardice as it was, had been for this. For the very thing that left him unsettled: children, love, and purpose.
And he had found purpose here in Helovia; found it in multiple layers of responsibility. He had sought it out, seized it, and shouldered it on his massive back. And he wouldn’t have it any other way, despite responsibility pulling him away from matters of the heart. He was glad to beseech the Moon for a Quest, and he was even happier to see those in the Edge rise to her tasks. He was proud (though he hesitated to use the word, for pride often breeds darker, more corrupt things) of the Edge and (more so) of his herd mates. And he endeavored to balance his power with guidance— to guide the Edge rather than dictate it. The Elephant did not know if he entirely succeeded, but in such abstract matters, attainment is often less important than effort.
So the Elephant had, in the wake of his cowardly flee, found purpose. But had he fulfilled the other primal needs that had ripped him free of death beneath his demons’ fists? He had found love—or something like it— the moment he crossed the Threshold, in the eyes of a woman whose appearance and grace whispered of Mara. And they had shared intimate promises, providing the foundation of a new life full of hope. But the foundation shook and fell, leaving him baseless but for the Edge and Mauja’s confidence.
And for Mauja? The tangle was thick, knotted, and sickening. His horn still vibrated with the click of ivory against sternum. He didn’t think it was a sensation that would soon leave the loosely spiraled length of black ivory. He shook his heavy head, bringing his mind to the present instead of letting it fold inward and downward on shadowed paths. Navy eyes sharpened on the stone that resonated beneath his great hooves—what had he entered a cave? How long had he been walking? How far had his thoughts taken him?
He vaguely remember fording a river (less full than previous years due to the hot Birdsong) while walking across the Thistle Meadow. But where was he now? Dark eyes studied the crystal walls around him, ears no longer deafened by inner turmoil. Instead, they were deafened by the roar of heat and flowing, molten rock. Suddenly realizing the heat that prickled his skin, the thick hide twitched as patches of buckskin darkened to brown as his black skin shone through.
This was part of Helovia the Elephant had never traveled; which was strange because, as eyes reflect the reddish-orange glow of molten rock, this very substance birthed out of his chest in the form of his namesake. To the man of the plains, who grew up with more practical ideas than the mythical magic that impregnated Helovia, it seemed that this place (rather than the black rock of the gods) was the source of his explosively hot magic.
The dull ring of his heavy hoof falls was lost beneath the din that echoed off the cave’s walls. The roar, though tolerable at first, slowly swelled and grew in his ears until it a low ache spawned in the base of his skull, expounded by the heat that slicked his coat. And Mbwene, who as of this moment had been but a quiet and comforting murmur in his laden mind, suddenly made her discomfort known with an uncomfortably tight squeeze of his hock by her trunk. So on the Elephant and his companion marched, leaving the supposed birth of his gifts and traveling deeper into the caves—how large were they?
His sweaty, heavy body was drawn to the cool, damp air that billowed out of a dark, awning mouth. He passed by a room filled with flickering light and etched walls and Mbwene was drawn to the dancing light. Perhaps the man should have paused to peruse such inscriptions. But, alas, he is more a man of action than of learning, and so he continued towards the cool currents.
Though, once he broached the source of such chilled relief, it gave only his body a reprieve, for the vast cavern he entered was filled with a roar of a magnificent waterfall. For all the primal beauty of ancient walls and their fragmented light, the Elephant’s dark gaze was drawn to a movement and thumping— the sound somehow easily resonated over the fall’s roar.
The creature was a rabbit, formed of rock and quietly glowing from within. Steam wisps curl from its slabbed skin. After a silent (and futile) command for his elephant to stay behind him, he his head dropped to the Rock Rabbit’s level, quickly following Mbwene’s tasseled tail. The calf’s trunk was outreached, curious bright eyes watching the rabbit’s thumping leg, though her trunk paused in it’s movement as it felt the heat begin to radiate from the rabbit.
Tembovu’s brows raised as his nostrils flared to scent the creature, “Hello, little one,” his greeted the odd creature, though curiosity spiked through his low rumble.
Tembovu the elephant king |
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@Mythical Request
I'M SO EXCITED! :D :D <3
 
Please tag Tembovu.
| Helovian Ancient |
| Stallion :: Equine :: :: |
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The Rock Rabbit was not alone for long. Two arrived, and they seemed to him a warm comfort despite the fact that they were strangers. He was thankful that this world had no bandersnatches; he did not know where he knew bandersnatches from.
"Hello, giant." he said with a clarity that was perhaps unexpected. Even he was not certain of how he knew how to speak, but he supposed that as the Rock Rabbit, it was his duty to know all forms of language. Thus, he accepted the words issued forth from his igneous lips with grace. The Rock Rabbit did not bow his head because, despite their disparagingly different sizes, he was the superior being in this cave. Without thinking, he wiped away a remaining gravel tear from his puffy cheeks. When it landed on the shore, it hissed and spat with red.
"I am the Rock Rabbit, you know," the creature explained. He stood on all fours and stepped towards the other creature--the small, silent one. "But no, I suppose you don't know that. I'm a new one, and if I'm here then that means this world hasn't ever had a Rock Rabbit before."
He paused then, contemplative. In his dark eyes there was a little bit of wonder and a little bit of loss. There was still something he needed to remember, and still something he didn't know. It seemed that the Rock Rabbit was full of information that was not applicable to the situation, but lacked the knowledge of the one thing he needed to know.
The little thing paused and looked up at the larger one with expanding curiosity. "Do you know what I've forgotten, giant?"
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Image Credits
@Tembovu
| World's Edge Captain atk: 7 | def: 9.0 | dam: 7.5 |
| Stallion :: Unicorn :: 18hh :: 10 HP: 77 | Buff: SWIFT |
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Mbwene :: African Elephant :: Ashen
smitty |
07-11-2016, 11:39 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-11-2016, 11:40 PM by Tembovu.)
Black-masked brows raised at the quick swipe of the Rock Rabbit’s paw against his cheek. Had those been tears? The small bits of gravel on the steadily-glowing-brighter face disappeared from puffy cheeks, drawing the navy gaze of the Elephant as they hissed on the frothy shores of the thundering waterfall’s cavern.
Wariness rose in his barrel as the creature introduced himself (did it have a gender? and how did the Elephant know it?), and approached Mbwene. Steam rose in wisps from skin that began to glow before his very eyes; if his tears were so hot to hiss, then was his elephant calf in danger?
Mbwene, however, was either a better judge of strange, mythical creatures or endowed with youth’s infallible folly. Regardless, she remained still, despite the billowing waves of heat that engulfed her wrinkled, but still soft, grey skin at the Rabbit’s approach. So Tembovu, in the face of Mbwene’s stance and the false comfort of his own magma-derived magic, also remained in place and listed to the strange, hot creature.
His great skull cocked, in amusing unison with his small companion’s, as the dark eyes clouded with loss. “Do you know what I’ve forgotten, giant?” Thick lips purse as navy eyes regard the creature. Mbwene chortled a soft trumpet, echoing the puzzlement of her great elephant that flowed in their bond.
“I do not know what you’ve forgotten,” his deep rumble, raised above the din of the crashing falls, paused in thought for a moment, before continuing, “Though, if you are the new Rock Rabbit, and the first one, how could you have had time to forget anything?” His brows raise further, head righting from it’s cocked position as he awaited an answer. For, to the Elephant, it seemed that this creature had just been birthed from the bowels of the this wet cavern.
However, the Elephant’s great hooves did shuffle backwards slightly, dark eyes glancing around the waters at which the Rock Rabbit stood at, “But perhaps looking from where you came will remind you?” his thick horn motioned towards the watery depths.
Tembovu the elephant king |
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@Mythical Request I'm sorry this took so long!
Please tag Tembovu.
| Helovian Ancient |
| Stallion :: Equine :: :: |
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07-25-2016, 05:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-25-2016, 05:41 PM by Random Event.)
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The sound of the youthful companion's trumpet brought joy to the Rock Rabbit's face. Though he was not exactly soft or cuddly, his cheeks did exude a warm glow that seemed to brighten at the noise. He almost moved forward to touch the creature, but as his temperature rose he realized that his small embrace had the potential for much harm.
When Tembovu asked the Rock Rabbit of his knowledge, the creature spun and then bunched up, curling into a molten ball. "Oh giant, you think much of me. But I am not the first. There have been so many now that it's possible there never was a first," the ancient creature explained through the muffling of his lava-like substance. He dug his face into his chest but his eyes, still black, peered through the translucency of fire.
Only when the King spoke of the water did the Rock Rabbit peek out of his withdrawn stance. His head was cocked as he turned to look back, and though he began with a protest, with an, "Oh, the water is not where I come from," it occurred to him before he could continue that the water might, regardless, be the key. After all, were ones weaknesses not their greatest gifts? Did the cold, hardened stone of his tears not hold the potential for the most power in his being?
With a soft, chirping hum the Rock Rabbit moved in long strides back to the water and the pile of tears he had left behind. He reached in with tender paws that sizzled and froze into stone for another moment with the water's effect. In each one he gathered one hardened, shining black tear before returning to the Elephant King and his companion.
"But perhaps... let us try this."
And with those hesitant words, the Rock Rabbit moved first to Mbwene and then to Tembovu, leaping as he needed to reach the latter's height, and pressed the gifts of his tears into their chests. He drew back as heat began to return to his forepaws and a soft glow emitted from the stones, which, if accepted, would merge into the two creature's beings and become magic.
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Image Credits
Congratulations! The Rock Rabbit has gifted @Tembovu and Mbwene with his tears, which hold the following powers. If they are accepted, they will disappear into your characters' chests and glow softly before disintegrating and releasing magic. Apologies for the delayed reply.
For Tembovu
:: [Magic: Light (P) | Appears to increase in size to elephantine proportions with strong emotions. ]
:: [Restrictions: Of no use in battle. ]
For Mbwene
Normal companion magic: Ashen
| World's Edge Captain atk: 7 | def: 9.0 | dam: 7.5 |
| Stallion :: Unicorn :: 18hh :: 10 HP: 77 | Buff: SWIFT |
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Mbwene :: African Elephant :: Ashen
smitty |
Mbwene’s bright blue, intelligent gaze caught the warm glow in the Rock Rabbit’s face in response to her chortle, and her ears flapped in a combination of happiness and encouragement. She wasn’t sure exactly what a Rock Rabbit was, but she was glad to have this sort of interaction. Her glee spilled into the Elephant King, who could not help the lopsided grin that grew across his pale muzzle and black lips. His dark eyes glanced to his companion, before retraining on the rabbit as he began to move and speak.
The King’s brows rose in concern and he took a large step closer to the molten ball the creature had curled into; the elephantine magic he harbored allowing him to withstand the heat longer and better than others. His ears swing forward, eyes probing the shamed ball he curled into as words muffled out of it. So this Rock Rabbit was not the first?
His navy gaze followed the peek towards the water, his questions further being stood on the more the creature spoke. “If not from the water, then where did you come?” Clearly the King knew nothing about the lonely, molten creature. Though, it seemed to not matter for a chirping hum filled his ears, somehow heard above the distant din of the crashing falls. His eyes carefully watched the Rabbit’s movements—as did Mbwene. Her stumpy legs moved toward the pile of gravel tears the Rabbit was forming, trunk reaching out to help him gather them. But Tembovu’s great head dropped, corralling her at his side to allow the creature to work as he saw fit.
His eyes closely watched the hot creature approach, his earlier questions forgotten as his small hot paw gently pressed against their chests in kind. A heat filled his veins, stemming from his point of contact with the Rabbit and slowly pooling in his barrel. He wasn’t entirely certain what it was, but he felt heat radiate from Mbwene as well.
He didn’t know what it was, but he felt some sort of kindness in the gesture. So his deep voice rumbled once again, “Thank you, Rock Rabbit. I will keep watch for you and try to return your kindness in the future.”
Tembovu the elephant king |
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Thank you so so so much!! <3333
Please tag Tembovu.
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