the Rift


Once Upon a Tragedy

Astolat Posts: 4
Outcast
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15hh :: 5
imi
#1
the bells are ringing, but the blood stopped pumping
as I feel the weight of the fall

---x---

Like a criminal awaiting judgment she stood in the forest full with scents of many, wondering what to do next. So far she hadn’t come across many souls before her discovery of the woodland she now lingered in, whenever she thought someone was going to run into her, she altered her path so they wouldn’t cross. Astolat had already done too much damage with her luckless fortune and had decided it was best if she lived alone. Yet, living alone in Lothrin was easy. She knew Lothrin, it’s shores and hills, the residents and how best to avoid them. The scenery was familiar, the scents were comforting and surviving was easier. Even in Caenir, if ever she had been blessed with a day alone, she would have survived with ease. Now she didn’t know where she was, the surroundings were strange and the scents stranger, could she survive in an unknown place by herself? Without endangering others? As long as they kept their distance and blessed Lon help them if they dared touch her—Astolat was very much against being touched. The comforting feeling of another warm body next to hers was something she craved, like friendly nose bumps, shoulder brushes… even the warmth of a lover. Astolat dared not wish for it, however. Lest their lives be filled with menace from the unlucky bug that was stuck to her being.

It just wasn't worth it, being friends with Astolat.

Looking at a nearby tree, she prayed silently to Lilianir and thanked her for letting it grow so beautifully, she thanked the tree itself for doing well and plucked a leaf from one of it's branches, munching on it happily. She didn't even consider that perhaps the Gods of Dalianir didn't work their magic here, it was a habit and Astolat was dutiful. It never crossed her mind that there was a limit to the extent of power that Lon and Lilianir had, she presumed it was vast and endless, she prayed to them everyday for their kindness and mercy. Astolat had always been this way, she thanked the sun for its warmth, the grass for growing so long, the streams for their tenacity and anything else she thought needed her thanks.

Chewing the rest of the leaf, she looked about her surroundings and steadily followed the sound of a nearby stream until she came to a halt beside it. Of course, she thanked it, before taking a sip and, with droplets of water dripping from her maw, her laurel gaze glazed over in thought as she wondered what to do now. She could always stay here for a while, but with so many other scents occupying the forest, she wondered if she had somehow stumbled into somebody's home. If that was the case, she would have to ask if it was okay for her to stay. Although a part of her wanted to turn around and go back the way she had come, but if she did that, there was nothing else waiting for her. The Caernirians had left her stranded on a shoreline with nothing but her good dear self. Even if she did lose her nerve and turn back, what if those who had stranded her decided to come back, it was unlikely, but Astolat had no wish to return to Caenir.

A small sigh pressed through her lips as she began to look around again.



Open to all! :D <3

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Ashamin the Clovenheart Posts: 426
Outcast atk: 8 | def: 11.5 | dam: 5.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 15.2 HH :: 5 [Frostfall] HP: 79 | Buff: NUMB
Lochan :: Plain Cerndyr :: Dark Mist & Rakt :: Common Cerndyr :: Starpast Jen
#2


ashamin
The Clovenheart

They had been lucky enough to find a stream running through the threshold that day, so naturally they all took the opportunity to wet their tongues and bodies as thoroughly as possible. With Tallsun in full swing, the three thick coated stags found themselves soaked with sweat more often than not. Though Lochan and Rakt had quickly made a habit of rubbing off old fur against trees, and Ashamin's winter coat was mostly gone, the Clovenheart's beard grew thicker every day. It seemed that what he had assumed was a temporary addition afforded by age and a particularly cold winter was to become a constant feature.

And so it was that all three splashed in the crisp water, more cheerful than usual as a unit and looking, in some ways, quite innocent. It ran faster at the bottom of a hill that fell sharply, and almost created a miniature set of falls. With wet pebbled between their toes, Rakt and Ashamin squared off in a mock-spar stance as the companions had done at the Endless Blue when they had met Ovidius, and were it not for Lochan's alertness they might have begun to tussle. But the Little Eye was always watching, even when the bright day dulled his senses and lulled him to sleepiness. Thus, Lochan was naturally the first to hear the mare in the wood.

Company, the cerndyr murmured through the bond as the sound of hooves drew closer. Upstream.

Of course, as always, he was right. Just up the hill Ashamin saw the tips of light ears, and with a nod to his companions he urged them all to greet their owner. By the time they crested the hill she was looking around; Ashamin couldn't tell if, by the way her gaze searched, she knew where she was going or not.

Having nothing to lose but time, which he somehow felt was endlessly available after serving as the haruspex for so long and learning only that he was mortal and inconsequential, the Clovenheart sped up his pace and trotted closer to the mare, his lips turned up in a bright expression. The two cerndyr that always shadowed him peered at the mare, each inspecting her in their own manner before concluding that she would most likely not be any fun to fight in a spar. Then again, looks could be deceiving.

"Greetings, stranger!" Ashamin called to her as he aimed to close the gap between them. When he felt he was close enough he extended his cheek, offering it to touch as he had become minimally famed for. "My name is Ashamin the Clovenheart, and these are my companions Lochan and Rakt," he introduced, nodding to each cerndyr as he said their names. "Are you new to Helovia?"

His black eyes, so often chilled, seemed warm in the Tallsun light. He may have been raised in a land of eternal cold, but the summer still had a certain charm--a way of transforming his visage into something brighter. His offered cheek was a pale and cold blue as his chest marking illuminated it though, and with his full beard dripping with water, he almost looked as if he were a relic of Frostfall just beginning to melt into the very essence of happiness. In some ways, perhaps that was true.

""



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Sorry for the inevitable typo too excited to proofread :|||||


See Ashamin's profile for more information about Lochan, Rakt, and his various items.
All magic and force allowed, barring death and permanent injury.
Do not tag me, please message on skype instead


Imani Posts: 16
Outcast atk: 5.5 | def: 9.0 | dam: 5.0
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 14.3 :: 6 HP: 62.0 | Buff: NOVICE
Rien
#3

Imani is not unfamiliar with bad luck.

The bones that rattle gently against his shoulder with every stepped remind him, as surely as the reflection of his ill-fated eyes.  And yet he trots through the Threshold with an easy, almost jaunty step.  It is warm but away from the oppressive humidity of the Edge it is almost pleasant.  But then he is a creature born of the border between the scorched grasses of the plains and the sinister darkness of deep jungle.  The light falls in bars between the tree branches, creating stripes of light and shadow upon his already striped hide.

His ears perk forward at the sound of bodies and a voice and he angles towards them, driven by curiosity and perhaps a lingering sensation that he is still supposed to be a shepherd.  Trained to his role, it is difficult to shed the mantle despite that it has no meaning here.  As he comes upon the small stream, his eyes are greeted by the sight of a pale, delicate mare with banners so long he at first wonders that she doesn't tangle herself in them.  She is joined by another stallion, it seems, who calls her a stranger and asks if she is new here.  Then, this painted stallion is not.  Imani's odd eyes sweep over them both and he gives them a polite nod.

"Hello,"  he offers them both.  He doesn't approach quite as close as the other stud, mostly because he thinks that would crowd them all unnecessarily.  "I hope the day finds you both well."  

He waits to say more to hear the mare's answer, resting with one hind hoof cocked with just the toe off the ground.  His thick, striped tail flicks habitually to keep off whatever of Tallsun's pests might be trying to pester him.  

OOC://
Imani

Astolat Posts: 4
Outcast
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15hh :: 5
imi
#4
the bells are ringing, but the blood stopped pumping
as I feel the weight of the fall

---x---

Between the bristling forest and the murmuring stream, Astolat dithered on going forwards, the devil in her mind playing cruel tricks with conflict after conflict. The hapless girl fell prey to it time and time again, she had hesitated many times since being dumped on this strange land and each time she had closed her eyes, stumbling forwards despite every corner hiding something else and, sometimes, different. Her gaze was occasionally contended by a broken kind of misery that cracked the edges of her bright features, usually in times like this when she didn’t know where to go and couldn’t see a solution for the dread clouding her thoughts. Her troubles would often start with a suffocating panic that dulled into a constant stress; she helped herself by praying to the Dalianir Gods and singing old songs with cheerful meanings. If she could do these two things then Astolat could fight through the day. So it was with a slightly trembling voice, that she hummed the tune of an old legend of Lothrin—about a bard who fell in love with a sea fairy.

Lost so completely in the story, the soft-hued paint missed the moment when she was noticed by a deer and then, by a stallion. So lost that when he called she almost thought it was part of the tale she hummed and she was just hallucinating too vividly, but her ears swivelled to the call and the dawning of realisation crept up on the now silent Astolat. "What is he doing" her alarmed thoughts screeched as she turned her head to see his twisted horn and blaze marked face getting horrifyingly closer. Dismayed, she stumbled away from him, even as he offered his cheek in a manner that seemed polite, but also—so dangerous. If only he knew that she was a harbinger of calamity.

“Don’t come near me,” she told Ashamin the Clovenheart. Her voice, though usually quite musical, was flat and firm. As soon as she said the cold words she immediately wanted to apologise, her heart was kind, he too seemed kind, but Astolat could not bare it if she ruined another life by being careless enough to think her luck would be any different here. ”Sorry” she silently projected the thought at him, wishing she could press her sandy nose to his cheek and accept his welcome with something gentler—”blessed Lon, protect him”.

Helovia? Astolat mulled the name in her head, the name of the land she had taken a leaf from and drank from its water. She had never heard of such a place whilst living in Dalianir—she must truly be a long way from home. “Yes” she answered his question hesitantly, her voice was now lighter than before as she raised her gaze to try meet his dark one, it wavered now and then to view the two deer that accompanied him. “Am I intruding? It’s just I don’t really know where I’m going” now the musical tones rang through her speech as her heart rate recovered a little, as long as he kept his distance, she wouldn’t mind his company.

Their little conversation grew in members, however, and Astolat anxiously snapped her head to the new guy in the back. Grey, striped and dual horned he was interesting to look at, kept a very wise distance and offered welcoming words to which the hapless girl smiled at him with a nod of her head. “You too” she returned politely before going on to introduce herself to both stallions, the deer and whoever else was listening “I’m Astolat, please treat me well” she grinned.



<33 yaaa sorry for the wait!

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Ashamin the Clovenheart Posts: 426
Outcast atk: 8 | def: 11.5 | dam: 5.5
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 15.2 HH :: 5 [Frostfall] HP: 79 | Buff: NUMB
Lochan :: Plain Cerndyr :: Dark Mist & Rakt :: Common Cerndyr :: Starpast Jen
#5


ashamin
The Clovenheart


Though the cold tone in her voice initially made him feel reproached, the look that overtook the mare’s expression after she fell into silence reminded Ashamin more of the own fear he’d come to this land burdened with. He obeyed and stepped back, eager to give her room, but did not let his smile fade. Rather, as he rescinded his gesture to touch, his lips turned in a sympathetic way; his eyes softened. Just as she thought to him, he thought to her.

I know how you feel.

Or, at least he thought he did. The truth of the matter that, as a result believing quite strongly in fate and faith, Ashamin did not put much stock in matters of luck—whether it be good or bad. Had he been made aware of the true reason for the mare’s fear he would have worked hard to assuage her doubts, or at the very least let her know that he did not fear whatever ill circumstance she thought she would bring down upon him. Luck had nothing to do with Ashamin’s life, so why let it hinder his relationships?

These realizations, however, would have to be reserved for a later time if he was lucky enough to get a chance to speak with her further. For the moment, knowing nothing of her preoccupations, Ashamin only nodded and addressed her chilled concern with respect: "My apologies, miss. I assure you I mean no harm, but I will respect your wishes all the same." His long tail twisted behind him, alighting briefly on the backs of his two companions and urging them to do the same. Sensing that even they might be crowding the mare, they too took a step back.

When another stallion arrived, all painted in stripes and the glory of more proper horns, Ashamin only moved to nod. After being asked to move away by the mare, he did not want to test his boundaries once again and so obviously in the wrong situation. "And the same to you, stranger," was all he had to say to the stallion, who bore an odd set of bones and the scent of the World’s Edge. It seemed that most who frequented the threshold, aside from representatives of the Unbound, hailed from that herdland.

The Clovenheart turned back to the mare then, who affirmed his suspicions that she was new to this land. She seemed far too timid to be a local, and Ashamin recognized that hesitance. Her apparent preoccupation with not wishing to impose, the attempt by her words to make her as small as possible, were all too familiar to the painted buck. He had, after all, arrived in Helovia in the exact same manner.

Thus, he was understandably eager to put her at ease. He shook his head no when she asked if she was intruding; "Not at all, miss Astolat," Ashamin said, invoking the name she provided them with. "Helovia welcomes you. If you would like, I could help guide you through its lands. The band that I call my family, The Unbound, we strive to share knowledge with all those who need it," he explained, not seeing any reason to hesitate, "I was once new to Helovia such as yourself, and I know that it can all be a bit overwhelming."

At this, his companions brightened and matched their bonded’s expression of welcome. The mare was shy, but they hoped she would not reject Ashamin’s kindness a second time out of timidity.

""



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Sorry for the little wait! @Imani


See Ashamin's profile for more information about Lochan, Rakt, and his various items.
All magic and force allowed, barring death and permanent injury.
Do not tag me, please message on skype instead


Imani Posts: 16
Outcast atk: 5.5 | def: 9.0 | dam: 5.0
Stallion :: Unicorn :: 14.3 :: 6 HP: 62.0 | Buff: NOVICE
Rien
#6
Imani didn't try to keep the smile from his muzzle in response to them both.  It was a gentle, content expression.  It felt a little strange to not be the new person here, despite the fact that he had not arrived in Helovia that long ago- though he had been here through the turning of the season, so perhaps it had been longer than he thought.     It felt like hardly any time had passed.  He was still trying to get his hooves under him and figure out where he fit into the scheme of things here.  

"It is good to meet you, Astolat."

He fell silent and listened as the painted stallion said his piece, ears perked with interest.  The Unbound was something of a hot topic around the Edge at the moment and he'd heard the name in gossip several times.  There was some unrest about it, he gathered, and the Clovenheart seemed to be the one responsible for bringing the band together.  A faint shiver twitched his coat.  The words sounded sweet, but he wondered if this rogue band was no different then the bands of restless Banderi who had turned on their own people once their fragile sense of purpose had broken.

"It is."  He adds softly, when he speaks of being new and overwhelmed.  There is a trace of laughter in his voice.  This is a good place, he thinks.  The time he has been here has shown him that.  It is not perfect, but it is good.

"I am Imani, recently come to the World's Edge.  If you seek shelter or perhaps purpose then you may find it there.  At least you are welcome to come stay for a time."

His offer is not so eloquent, he thinks, as the larger stallion's.  He shifts his weight and the bones click slightly.  He keeps his head slightly turned, watching her primarily from his blue eye.  His odd eyed gaze was oft unsettling in Dorobo and he has not broken many of the habits of his home.  Likely he never will.  Regardless of Tembovu's speech of stronger gods and the magic he had seen with his own eyes, the power of spirits was still strong in the shaman's heart.  The slight weight of the bones in his mane, almost unnoticed after so long, were still a quiet security.

Let not his bad luck spill forth onto those around him.
Imani

@Astolat

Astolat Posts: 4
Outcast
Mare :: Unicorn :: 15hh :: 5
imi
#7
Set me free, leave me be
I don't want to fall another moment into your gravity


Stood, nervously shifting her feet, Astolat squirmed with the increasing awareness of how awkward she must look and, the butterflies in her stomach not helping, it made her feel even more awkward. She struggled to meet either gaze of the two who had so kindly stopped by to greet her—the unlucky one. She felt like smacking her head against a tree and probably would have if she hadn’t thought it unfair to the innocent wood… Perhaps she should try shouting to the vast realm of the sky and beyond for the ridiculousness of how she felt, the unwanted invisible chain that only she could break if only she knew how, her heart so longed for her nose to reach out and touch the neck of the dear red-dipped stallion whom she had rebuffed quite rudely. Her gaze was now trained to the ground, her body posture was rigid from stress and the sad, longing song of her heart was thwarted and muted. Even then the mare, a vision of pastel patches and long white hair, felt even worse when Ashamin apologised and the guilt began to weigh down on her more than it had before. The familiar feeling of frustration crept into her conscience as her gaze slowly drifted to that of the guy with the mangled horn and her expression twisted deep with apology, “thank you” she meekly smiled to both men who welcomed her.

After a few deep breaths, Astolat tried to warm to the company around her, always keeping a distance, though it didn't make sense (it never made sense) she felt happier that maybe they would be spared of her curse if they didn't come too close... Maybe. Consciously she attempted to relax her posture as Ashamin explained a little about a band of outcasts that were his family and extended a kind offer for her to join them. Her expression turned into one of thought when the other, the wilder looking one with stripes, introduced himself as Imani and she smiled, gently dipping her head. He too belonged somewhere in this Helovia, a place called the Worlds Edge... "Huh?" The puzzled thought echoed around her blank mind and she stared dumbly at the rugged fellow, not bothering to mask her confusion.

"... the world has an edge?" her eyes suddenly grew wide and she laughed then at the stupidity of her question, of course the world has an edge, it had many edges from the tips of mountains to the points of horns atop a unicorns head, her own head. "sorry that was a silly question. Why is it called that?" she re-worded the question, still giggling a little. After that she ordered her thoughts again and realised there was a decision she had to make; follow Ashamin, follow Imani or go back to where she had been dumped. In all honesty, even if she prayed to Lon and Lilianir for a whole month, there wasn't a single way she could see herself returning to Lothrin. It hurt to even think that she may never see it again, but the fate had decided her lot and Astolat narrowed her answer down to two—by now, she had already chosen.

"Would your family be fine with me tagging along?" she asked of Ashamin, her gaze nervously falling on his, not wanting to feel like a burden, "if so, I would like to travel this place more" she smiled. At least that way she wasn't spreading her heinous luck to an entire herd and at least had a chance of keeping to herself and thus lowing the affects of her unluckiness. "Thank you for your offer, I would like to see the edge of the world, if one day I may be allowed a visit" one visit couldn't hurt right?


I'm so sorry for the uber long wait!! <3 Astolat would like to join the Unbound! :D


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