The earthen mare moved easily into the threshold, a place she rarely ever went. It was only the obligatory nature of her new found role that had guided her this way in the first time. That, and the hundred unseen eyes of her Father, peering at her from every woodland beast and billow of the wind, reminding her that not for the second time in her life, she he had imposed his will upon her. Was it not enough that she had been born into this life of servitude, a slave whose sole function was to bring balance to Helovia? Apparently not, for now the jurisdiction of the Hidden Falls was hers as well. 

And so here she was, in the Threshold. A place of manditory and often awkward conversations. Of recruiting. The notion of trying to persuade anyone to live in the falls was a requirement that she wore nearly as poorly as her new title: Czarina. But call her what you liked, Isopia much preferred being known only as The Mountain that Knows. Few new her real time (which was how she liked it). What business was it of theirs, what her rank was? If her words alone could not stand on their own, what use an arbitrary monicker of power? 

At her side, a bronzey dragon glided through the trees. Hubris was much more cheerful than his bonded, and exuberantly encouraged her to enjoy this new part of her role. Wasn't she excited to meet others? Didn't she enjoy the change of pace?

No and no.

With her red cape dragging behind her, the massive mare moved deftly through the trees. Vaguely ahead she could hear a voice, and, as she got closer, could hear the end of what was likely a self-monologue. ....a prince, a whore...

"You'll find many of each of those here." She casually observed, her voice its usual academic monotone. Isopia's bright golden stare regarded the stallion with a sterile interest. "But few who are both." She concluded, almost sounding pleased at this new observed-nugget of information. 

The more polite of the two, Hubris landed upon the grass a few paces away from where Isopia stood. His bright blue eyes looked up at the stranger, and he offered a trill and a wave of his clawed hand in greeting. 

The longer the demi-goddess stood still, the more her magic acted upon her massive frame. Grasses and mosses began to grow up from the ground, wrapping themselves around her long legs, and making it seem as though she was grown from the earth itself. Which, in a way, she was. 

The demi-goddess, who rarely was pleased by the answers she received from those around her, found herself pleasantly surprised. "Well said." She offered approvingly, dipping her quad-horned skull in physical accompaniment to her tone of voice. When her golden gaze resumed itself position upon the stallion before her, the long dark lashes the encircled her eyes suddenly came together as her gaze narrowed. Mentally Hubris confirmed her surprise, and the young dragonling hopped back a few paces, giving the steed room for ... well, whatever it was causing him discomfort.

Seven hells, is this you? For a moment Isopia thought that this was offered in recognition of her, as if the man was suddenly recalling that the two had met before. Self-assured that this was not the case, Isopia stood straighter, skeptical gaze now lazily drifting over this newcomer. Perhaps the one intellectually impressive answer he had given her was all that he had to offer before he began to descend into idiocy. Perhaps -

-oh

As his steel-coloured hoof rose from the ground, Isopia's similarly did the same as she unconsciously mirrored his actions, causing the shrubbery that wound itself around her large and feathered hoof to fall off. She had forgotten that while most of Helovia knew who she was - or rather, from whose loins she owed her existence - that those in the threshold would not. And similarly, that they might not be used to the calibre of magic that Helovia boasted so uniformly and randomly.

"There are many things I can do-" She responded, her tone now bright with interest, the way an academic might suddenly do when asked about their field of research. Two rough shapes appeared behind the demi-goddess, and while both appeared to be vaguely dragon shaped, one was composed entirely of earth, the other of water. This it seemed, was the conclusion to the words she had just spoken. And, having served their purposes, the dragons fell from their places to the ground, softly soaking the earth on one side of her, and adding to it on the other.

What are you, he had asked, and Isopia, always the literalist, answered. "A female tribrid." She replied simply. "That is, I possess both equine, unicorn, and pegasus blood." She added for good measure.

Her wide golden stare continued to regard him with a sterile interest, partially curious to see if the man could right himself after asking so boring a line of questions.

If only mind reading was one of her secret talents, Isopia might have told the iron-coloured stranger that indeed she could become a dragon. Not composed of rocks, but superheating the stones around her draconian shape might help with the imagery that he had created in his mind. Alas she could not, and so she continued to wear only her red cape and pauldron, rather than donning one of the other bodies that she possessed.

I don't know if I should be awed or terrified The demi-goddess' objective, unwavering stare returned the stallion's gaze with an indifferent one, as if to say That isn't for me to decide. And it wasn't. Very rarely were Isopia's actions meant to intimidate, and just as rarely were they meant to impress.

Isopia either didn't notice, or wasn't bothered by the mocking tone (it was the latter) he used to annunciate the word tribrid, and so her response was unfettered by any sort of indication that she was offended his tone.

"I was born in these lands." She began, simply. Then, realizing that perhaps he might understand these lands as literally being the Threshold, she corrected herself. "I was born in the World's Edge, and have since relocated to the Hidden Falls." Where I shall stay until death or my father drags my body away she thought grimly. She was tethered to those hidden and hallowed woods now and forever, whether she liked it or not. "Magic runs rampant through Helovia, however." She concluded with a gentle exhale.

"If you have come to this place, and are surprised by the magic you see, then I assume you are not from here." Isopia's ever logical mind could almost be heard to click as each of these logical leaps were made inside of her brain. "You may leave this place unbound to any one herd, though many chose to join rather that remaining as an outcast. Though the rainy season has only just begun, Frostfall will soon blanket Helovia with snow, and if only for survival's sake, it is better to belong to a herd." The demigoddess paused for a moment, thinking. What information would one knew to this world need to know, in order to make an informed decision about what to do? He had no basis on which to believe anything that she had to say (though she had no reason to lie either).

"There are four prominent herds here, their lands established by the four deities who reign supreme. The World's Edge is a herd who dwells primarily in the fog-shrouded cliffs and mountains to the far east, and abide under the Goddess of the Moon. The Dragon's Throat to the South is primarily a herd of pegasi who live on an island covered with blood red sands, ruled over by the God of the Sun. The Aurora Basin, populated by Unicorns, lives far to the north in a snowy mountainscape. The God of the Spark watches over them." Isopia paused, feeling a sense of awkwardness fall over her knowing that it was now time to mention the Hidden Falls. Was it because she felt some bizarre nepotism, that she, daughter of the God who breathed those lands into life, was now, in some regard, trying to persuade this stranger of its merits? Though she wasn't, really. It wasn't nothing to her if he chose the Falls over the other three, or even if he chose a solitary life. And yet hadn't her Father just imparted the importance of growing and cultivating the Falls? Wasn't that why she had been removed from her rank as oracle and storyteller, and promoted to queen? To Czarina?

A breath. She hated obligations.

"Finally there are the Hidden Falls , just to the East of us and closest to this place. A land of dense forests and waterfalls, watched over by the God of the Earth."

Isopia could feel her body want to clench as some of the words she hated most in the world tumbled from his lips: I would like to stay some time with you. with out. Oh he followed it up immediately with, in the falls, and the rational part of her mind assumed with strong certainty that he only meant with you in so far as she was his way back to the lands. She had demonstrated some semblance of authority and confidence, and so surely had positioned herself as the one to be with if he wished to make a home in the Hidden Falls.

Still, even the threat of the most minor prolonged encounters with others made her skin want to crawl.

She just wasn't a people person.

...things tend to go awry with me around. Perhaps it's my good looks. They have been known to cause quite a stir

Isopia's golden stare regarded him without amusement. Other mares might have playfully batted their lashes, or offered some quip about being able to handle both his good looks and his mischief, but Isopia was not most mares. She was the Mountain that Knows, the demi-goddess born with a mind so large it crowded away her heart leaving little to no room for emotions. And so, with eyes which may have been beautiful, which may have fluttered and bat at the stallion had they belonged to another mare, instead remained fixed and distant. 

"Time will tell." She replied nonchelantly, and turned towards the ring of trees from where she had come. Rolling his eyes, the bronzey dragon trilled a whistle of apology, and followed Isopia. "Come. The walk is not far, and if we don't delay, we'll make it back to the Falls before nightfall."

[I can make a "welcome to the Falls" post for him if you want, but we're going ot have a herd meeting right away, so maybe that's an easier one to join?]