Discussing the Story

"So, what do you think?", Anaphainos asked and poured us both a glass of Amber Glow.

"Well, first of all, Oden allows his cows to use the first person pronoun", I said. "Is this where you and your father got the idea from?"

"Maybe", he answered. "That's really the first thing that comes to your mind?"

I smirked. "Somehow I found the fact interesting. But let's begin with the basics. It sure is an odd story, isn't it? It seems to be an older, more mythological version of the story of Riddari and Estra – at least in some sense. I find it interesting that it also links to our first great king while in the story of Riddari and Estra, the main characters are merely town nobility. But that's not all there is to it anyway, is it?"

"Certainly not", he said. "But go on."

"Well, first of all, we have to talk about target audiences. This is where things begin to get odd. Estra's story is clearly meant for the cows, isn't it? It tells them how a good slave should be. But as far as I see, there is nothing it could tell to us stags..."

He interrupted me. "I don't think that's perfectly accurate."

"Let's discuss this another time", I said.

"Agreed", he answered. "I'd want you to find it out for yourself anyway."

I continued. "This story is obviously different from Estra's story when it comes to target audiences. It is clearly not meant for the cows. It clearly addresses our weaknesses – the lust for cruelty, the emotional coldness, the lack of self-control. Yet it is told from the perspective of a cow."

Anaphainos smirked. "Well, who else would you ask to address our weaknesses?"

"Friga is also a rather odd cow. She is... in some sense more than a cow. Better, more capable. The story sort of explains it away with the stone. I won't go into detail about the nature of that stone, it's pretty obvious anyway. But the story certainly greatly exaggerates its effects."

"Possibly...", he muttered.

I continued. "It clearly addresses our weaknesses, and it gives a mythological solution to them. We have to somehow melt the ice in our hearts. But the story does not really tell us how to do that, does it? I mean, this is obviously an allegory. But what is the message? What is the lesson to be learned?"

He smiled. "Well, first of all, the story does address the question of how to overcome our weaknesses. But I'll let you figure that one out for yourself. As for the intended message or lesson, I think has to do with this one line of thought of Oden. The one he has immediately after the splinter of ice gets into his heart. 'I have to get myself a better female.' Ari, have you ever wondered why during those three years since the Lindisbarne landing, I did not even try to claim a mare? It surely wasn't easy. My superiors often tried to get me to claim one, even to force me. But I resisted. I said I would never take any other female than a cow. As I see it, I have kept my word even until today. I did not take Spring Breeze, she took me, even though she was and still is a little bit more uncomfortable with our current arrangement than I am. I never owned a mare, and I was never together with another mare except Spring Breeze. Only with the cows. Do you know why this is?"

"You're... simply not into mares?", I guessed.

"Come on, Ari. I know you can do better. This is clearly wrong. Think of Spring Breeze."

I thought of her. Was she his white cow? Was that the point? In that case, who was his Friga?

I sighed. "I surrender. Why did you never take a mare?"

"Because our ideology of male superiority... is wrong. I don't just mean wrong when it comes to the mares of Equestria. That one is obvious anyway, they are absolutely on the same level as we are. You already know that. I mean wrong in general, even when it comes to our own females. It is harmful to ourselves, and to them as well. I would go so far as to call it insane. Imagine for a moment how Oden must have thought about this."

He took a sip from his glass. "Of course he knew that the cows were less capable than him and the other stags were, that they needed his protection and leadership, and he was clearly not above getting his own benefits from this. He gave them everything they needed, and in exchange, they gave him what he needed. Concepts like superiority and inferiority didn't even enter his thought process. It was only when the splinter of ice hit him that he began to see things this way. And the moment he sees himself as superior is also the moment when he suddenly feels the need to get a better female."

He sighed. "That's why we prey on the females of other species, Ari. We're searching for a perfect match. But it does us no good. The splinter of ice doesn't just cloud Oden's vision when it comes to the cows. It makes us exaggerate the weaknesses of everything, and therefore no female of any species will ever meet our standard. They will all end up as 'inferior', because we will always bend and break them until they are. That's even the declared goal of Dainn and the others, isn't it? The only female that does not fall prey to this is the white cow. A female so immensely more powerful than we are that we simply cannot bend or break her – but in the end, she will break us."

"Okay", I said, only slowly beginning to understand. "But what about the cows?"

"Ari, our culture gets it all wrong", he said. "For centuries now, probably. We though that they should be there to fulfill all our needs and desires. So we punish and fuck them into submission until they are perfect slaves, not realizing that a perfectly obedient slave was precisely  not what we desired. Or at least not the only thing. We think this is the way to cure or at least deal with what we perceive as their 'shortcomings' or 'inferiority', but we only make it worse. The more we do this, the more 'inferior' they look to us. We have to turn our perspective around, Ari. You know it, you're already starting to do it with Bruna – and although I pride myself of being a good teacher for you, you came up with some very interesting ideas all by youself. Like allowing the cows to touch us without permission. I'm ashamed I didn't come up with this. It's perfect, it precisely touches the issue. As I said, we got it all wrong all those centuries."

He stood up and walked a few steps around the room. "The cows do not exist in order to fulfill all our needs and desires", he said. "As I said, we have to turn our perspectives around. They are the weak and needy ones, and they will continue to be mostly subservient. That's simply how they are. There is nothing wrong with letting them tend to those needs of ours they can actually satisfy – after all, they have a need and desire to please us. But why do we have to abuse and overexert them and then punish them if they fail? Why do we have to force them to become even more subservient than they already are? Mainly, we have to be there for them, to care for their needs and desires. To protect them from harm and provide for them. To give them comfort when they are scared. To stand up and fight for them when others want to hurt or abuse them. If we do it that way, I promise that it will be infinitely more rewarding than just using them to fulfill our needs. It will be more rewarding because it will allow us to form a real connection with them – on the basis of their needs, not ours."

He walked back to the table and took another big sip from his glass. "I know this, because I have done it during those years, and even before that. After the death of our father, I had to. The cows and I had to be there for each other. I had just reached the age where I could inherit – as if my father had held out until that time, to make sure the cows ended up with me and not with someone else. But I was still only a young stag searching for guidance in a world that became more and more complicated. My father had no male friends or relatives who could have given me guidance. I looked to the cows for orientation, silly as I was back then, and they looked to me. Of course I ended up on top – but you know that my cows are still a bit bolder than others."

Some things about my friend suddenly started to make sense. He continued.

"That's also why I became a doctor. I wanted to be able to be the perfect healer for the cows when they got hurt because of their clumsiness, or because someone else had hurt them. It drove me to become one of the best, and that is why Dainn's men allowed me to come with them in the first place even though we had obvious ideological differences. During the passage and after the landing, life was particularly difficult for the cows. Our people already had an unhealthy attitude towards the cows to begin with, and Dainn had packed the worst of the bunch. Not to mention that the cows had to adapt to a completely new world. They needed me more than ever, and I took up several who had lost their masters, or who suddenly found themselves neglected and abandoned after their masters had gotten a taste of fresh Lindisbarne mare. One reason why I didn't take any mares was because I didn't want to fall into the trap of striving to 'get myself a better female'. Another reason was because I wanted to be there for the cows. More than ever, I dedicated my life to them. Of course I had to push quite a few of my own desires aside, and it wasn't always easy. But believe me, it is rewarding. I think that's the true message of the story. It's the cows that can free us from the trap of trying to 'get ourselves better females' – but only if we dedicate our lives to tending to their needs and desires instead of violently imposing our standards and desires on them."

"Well, you still took Spring Breeze", I remarked.

"As I said, she took me", he corrected me. "Yes, Spring Breeze precisely tends to those needs of mine that the cows can't tend to. But I sure as hell didn't get her to replace the cows. My life is still mostly dedicated to making their lives better. You know that. It's the main reason why I'm discussing this with you. You also know that I still give them everything they need. Even though they can now also get it from other stags, like you for example."

"I'm sorry", I said. "You're right."

He smiled. "Good to see that you agree. Is there anything else about the story you want to discuss?"

"Actually, yes", I said. "There is one reference to an entity named a Trow in the story, and it is said to be immensely powerful, on the same level as the white cow. Earlier in the book, there is another story about a Trow creating an artifact called the black mirror of madness, which exaggerates all bad things and diminishes all good things. It's sort of the reversal of the white cow's mirror of reason. But an alliance of powerful entities destroys the Trow's mirror, and smashes it into thousand pieces. That ice splinter from Friga's story is... supposed to be one of those pieces, isn't it?"

"Probably, yes", he said. "But I'd really see it as an allegory."

"Maybe", I said. "It just occured to me that the description of this Trow is oddly reminiscent of Discord. Mirror of madness also sort of fits. Do you think this could actually be Discord?"

"He's clearly a powerful demon of some sort. So yes, maybe", he answered. "The description sure points to this possibility. But maybe not. There are other possibilities. Did you know that Trow is actually the name the Diamond Dogs use to refer to themselves? So from the name alone, he could be a Diamond Dog, possibly a wizard or a priest. But then it's a bit odd that he's apparently male, not female as one would expect."

"Really?", I asked. "Well, it would make sense, with the cats being their enemies in the story and all that. But I know of some trouble with those creatures around Ponyville. They always called themselves Diamond Dogs."

He smiled. "I actually looked that one up in the library. We got it wrong, and the ponies also did. It's a job description, not a name of their race. The dogs we see on the surface are mostly those who are sent out to search for more gemstones. They are the lowliest caste of their society, except for the slaves they take from other races. The bitches – the true rulers of their society – remain in their warrens, deep within the earth below us. They are physically stronger than the dogs, and they rule their realm with an iron paw. The dogs are just servants to them, and they suffer greatly under their rule. They never rebel, but they live in constant fear and self-hatred. The bitches see them as not much more than animals, and do everything they can to keep them stupid and brutish. The slaves they take from other races have it even worse. They are punching bags for the bitches and the dogs. We only see dogs here on the surface, so we assume that they lock their bitches away. But the real reason why the bitches never even come near the surface is because they see everything related to the surface as impure – so they send their dogs instead."

"Wow, I did not know that", I said. "Another very sick society. But let's focus on healing ours first, okay?" I grinned. But then I remembered something. "But I read somewhere that the dogs have knots. Does that not imply that they dominate when it comes to sex, at least by trend?"

"Well, it sure helps them to hold down and fuck slaves from other races", Anaphainos said. "But their bitches are also built a little bit differently. In case of them, the knots are actually a disadvantage to the males. Not to mention that they get an erection from even the slightest stimuli when they're around the bitches. It's because of their scent, I believe. Trust me, the dogs are literally at their bitches' mercy, even when it comes to sex. It's also the reason why they almost never rebel. It's not exactly easy to fend off a much stronger female when you have a big boner."

"Okay, that makes sense. But then I don't understand why the Trow in the story is only one single entity, and he is said to be a creature similar to the white cow, and of similar power. The Diamond Dogs are certainly not similar to cows. And none of them even remotely has power similar to that of the white cow. Also, the description points to something else – a demon, dragon, or draconequus of some sort. It even seems like this is just one appearance of many. I still think it's Discord."

"Well, if we're talking about Demon Gods, Discord is a possibility, but it could actually also be another one. The one called Clavicus Vile in Ancient Equestrian, or Morðen in our language. The Demon God of wishes and desires. It would even make some sense to call him a Trow - his companion is a dog or takes the form of a dog, and even though most Trow worship Mephala the Spider, there are some among them who do worship Clavicus Vile. Of course, they see him as female and call him Hecate."

"Clavicus Vile. Oh yes, I remember reading about him in the Daedronomicon. You looked him up, didn't you? I gave the Daedronomicon to the library when we moved here. The only book I kept for myself was the Oghma Infinium. Hermaeus Mora gave that one to me specifically, it is for my eyes only, and it only contains information on Hermaeus Mora and his previous champions, followers, sacred animals and cults, and some private information for myself to develop my abilities."

"You got me", he said. "I indeed looked him up. He's even associated with a weird, black artifact that could be a mirror."

"Interesting", I said. "I think we should leave it at that for now. I'm tired, and I've promised Star Charmer a nice evening."

I didn't realize back then that I hadn't even asked the most important question yet.

"There's another thing I have to tell you", Anaphainos said. "You know I was away from the castle during the last days. I'm not absolutely certain yet. But I think I've found the first 'Incurable'."

My heart skipped a beat.