Tamlin
the blood prince ”I’m going to rule the world someday, you know.” The black and white colt said with a dark smile across his muzzle. He turned to Aviya who was walking beside him over the frozen grounds. His mismatched eyes lit up as he continued telling her his dreams and plans for the future:

”I’m going to rise up and become much more than my father ever was. I will train myself hard and then I will take back the Edge, because it is our rightful home, when I am King of the Edge I will also resume leadership of the Basin, and after that the rest of Helovia will fall at my hooves. Ain’t that a future you would like to live in?”

Tamlin’s determined voice chased away the silence that lay like a blanket over the open plain. His words did not echo because there was nothing on the Frostbreath Steppe that could capture the sound and throw it back at them. It was rather like his voice rudely claimed its place in the crisp afternoon air.

At the horizon the glowing sun was softly touching the earth and everything around the two yearlings had a pinkish glow. The temperature was dropping by the minute and within half an hour the Steppe would be dark - very dark. The sky was covered in pink and orange clouds and from them a few tiny snowflakes fell. They all had an orange tint because of the light from the blushing sun and they fell very soft and rather sparse.

Tamlin once again turned his blue and greenish eye towards Aviya. He looked at her broken horn and for a second he lost track of his dreams of the future. His face changed into an expression of warmth and he nudged the fillies shoulder. ”You should know that I really think that the horn suits you. You look like a warrior and in battle a small, razor sharp weapon like that is a clear advantage!”

Tamlin stopped and looked around. His eyes landed on a strangely shaped rock some hundred meters away and a new mischievous smile spread over his velvety muzzle. ”You wanna race?”

Tamlin
the blood prince A queen. Aviya’s words and her little dance had no other effect on the boy than to stretch his smile even further. She was a few weeks younger than Tamlin, but she was also a girl and thus she had probably grown more than him on some levels. Tamlin hadn’t even begun to think that he one day would be all grown up and maybe want a family. Besides, they were foalhood friends so it was unlikely that, when Tamlin’s mind had grown in those areas, he would see her as a potential partner - at least not right away. But only the future would tell.

Tamlin laughed and shook his body. I don’t know about that, you are the only filly I know and I will not go around asking strangers to be my queen! He chuckled without knowing how utterly clueless he was.

”I have a perfect rank for you also; You can be my Grand General - the highest military ranking in Tamlovia!”

When Tamlin then proposed the race he had almost not finish his sentence before the smoky and white body of Aviya dashed past him. He threw his heavier body forward in sheer surprise and took aim on her silky, black tail and long, white hind legs. He had more and stronger muscles than her, but she was lighter and much quicker on her feet so with her having a head start it would be hard for Tamlin to beat her.

Determined not to lose though, Tamlin pushed his body to the limit, but he wasn’t as careful as Aviya. He didn’t think about the slippery patches of ice or to watch where he put his feet - he just wanted to win and saw nothing else but the shape of the filly’s backside. Suddenly his front hooves hit a really icy patch! By nothing short of a miracle Tamlin managed to keep all his four hooves underneath his muscular body. But his long legs wobbled quite a bit as he slid forwards at an incredible speed. In the corner of his eye he saw a flash of Aviya’s slender body and then his hooves hit bare ground and he toppled over.

He was lucky enough to land on something rather soft - a kind of macabre landing place, but it broke his fall nontheless. Under a thin layer of snow a recently dead caribou lay and Tamlin could thank his lucky star that he didn’t fall on its antlers because it was a big buck.

A bit disorientated the colt scrambled to his feet and glanced quickly in Aviya’s direction. She had surely seen his mishap so it was no use trying to pretend that nothing happened. So instead Tamlin just flashed a smile and joked: ”I totally planned to do that.”