Changeling's Creed: Blade of Love

Prologue: The Journey Begins with a Single Step

A bird was flying through the sky, an eagle, searching the rocky ground of the Badlands for it's next meal. It let out a sharp cry as it spotted an out of place patch of white moving across the ground. The eagle flew away as it realized that the white being was no food and quickly lost interest.

The white figure slowly trotted across the Badlands, each hoofstep felt like it weighed a thousand pounds due to his exhaustion. He let out a dry sigh from under his white robe, his voice to dried to vocalize his complaints. His white fur was matted with sweat and dirt from the long journey he had been taking, and his eyelids were too drooped for his eye colour to be visible.

He was dragging his hooves through the sand and over rocks as he trotted. He did not know where he was going, only that he was nearing death. He was far from any form of civilization and no where near any possible help. He would die out here, of this he was sure. But he would push himself as far as he could in the desperate hope that he would find some way to live.

The white stallion knew that he would collapse soon, and not too long after that he would probably die. He had accepted this long ago, and had come to terms with his death. The only thing he regretted was that he had been unable to achieve his goal and dream before he died. He had failed his father, and he would never let himself forget that in what few moments he had left to live.

As he fell to his knees he thought to himself, 'I was given a mission by my father. He taught me his creed, "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted." Now my life ends and I haven't even managed to get out of these damnable badlands.' His breath whispered out of his body in a regretful sigh as he fell fully to the ground. His last sight was a blurry figure approaching.

He moaned quietly as his eyelids attempted to force themselves open. He immediately slammed them shut when what felt like a blinding light shone into his opening eyes. He held a foreleg in front of his face and released a pained groan as he once again attempted to open his eyes.

"You should continue to rest, changeling," an unfamiliar mare's voice said from nearby to his right.His eyes shot open in panic and he flung himself up into a sitting position. He was still weak though, and was unable to support himself for long before falling back onto the bed. He brought his foreleg back up in front of his face and sighed in annoyance when he saw that his disguise had fallen while he was unconscious, revealing his true form as a changeling.

He looked in the direction the voice had come from and saw a unicorn mare smiling at him. But it was not an evil smile, it was a concerned one. The mare had a white coat of fur, and her mane was black in colouration with silver streaks. Both her mane and tail were tied back in tight pony tails. Lastly her eyes were the shiniest gold colour he had ever seen in the irises of a pony. He narrowed his eyes at her and asked her weakly, "Who are you, and why are you helping me?"

She turned away from him and picked up a bowl of something in her magic before saying to him, "Lie back and rest. You are dangerously low on energy and you have almost died of dehydration." She trotted over to beside his bed and hovered the bowl in front of his mouth. "Drink this before you die," she told him as she placed the lip of the bowl against his lips before beginning to tip it.

Deciding that the risk of being poisoned was worth it he began to drink. He gulped down what he soon discovered was water until she pulled the bowl away. He already felt slightly more energized. Not just from the water, but the care he could feel coming from the mare was also giving him a small amount of energy.

"You still haven't answered my question," he said as he looked at her. He was less suspicious since he could feel the care coming from her, but he was still wary. His father had taught him to question everything and he would not forget that lesson easily.

"You can call me a friend," the white mare said, her concerned smile still on her face. "My father knew your father, and I was able to recognize you since you wore his robes."

He looked down at his body, and it was at this moment that he realized that he no longer had his robes on. His eyes shot around in panic before spotting his robes neatly folded and cleaned on the bedside table. He also took this moment to look around at the rest of the room he was in. It was a small room with very little in it. There was only the bed, the bedside table, and a mirror.

The mare noticed him looking around and said, "I do not have much here, but it is my home. Now, rest and relax, we can begin your true training tomorrow."

He looked at her in confusion. He did not understand how he was expected to go to sleep after just waking up. Soon though his eyelids began to droop. He cursed himself as he realized that the water had been drugged, no doubt laced with a sleeping aid in a high dosage. His head fell back against the pillow and he gave a tired glare at the mare, angry with her for drugging him. His eyelids shut and he heard a feminine giggle as he fell again into the dream world.