Chapter 4 - the Stranger

Focused as we were on the beast below, it was only by chance and desperate luck that I heard a noise behind us over the howls and blast of Vair's castings striking the ground. Turning, to my horror I found two more of the beasts had snuck up behind us and were half way along the wall between the big rock and our tower.

In a moment of clarity I realized there wasn't time for trying spells that might or might not work, so I attacked what I knew I could harm; the wall itself. Sending out as strong a blast of hard magic as I ever have I topped the wall out from under the beasts and sent them crashing to the ground in a tangle of wood and stone. One was caught and crushed under a large portion of the ruined wall, but the other recovered and ran for the ramp the destroyed wall now made at the side of the tower.

Just then I heard Vair yell out a warning; jumping forward I spun just as first wolf made the jump and slashed out, just missing me but catching Vair solidly in the flank with one of it's horrible thorny paws. Vair's scream of rage was surprisingly quiet as he was swept to the side and off the tower, fighting the wolf all the way down.

Enraged and afraid beyond intelligence I lashed out with every fiber of my being and unleashed a concentrated blast of pure magic that shook the tower to it's foundation and utterly shattered the beast that gripped Vair. The one below halted in its attempt to reach me sensing the new threat and turned to flee, but before it could make more than a few bounds I caught it firmly in my grasp and crushed it into smoldering ruins as well.

The power that flowed through me was incredible, it felt like I could do anything! Where had it come from? And what did it matter? With this much magic flowing through my horn I could create newer better spells and completely wipe out the wolves and the vines and everything else that tried to harm me! I could cleanse this misplaced forest, and who would argue against it? I had been attacked, why shouldn't I defend myself and my friends... friend? ...Vair.

Half mad from the lusty destructive magic I had unleashed, I snapped back to myself remembering what had caused the sudden outburst. Beneath me the tower was shattered and leaning dangerously to one side; on the ground Vair lay in a pile of rocks and Timberwolf remains. A new kind of fear filled me and momentarily washed away all other concerns.

Forgetting that there might be more wolves about and that I wasn't even sure that they and Vair weren't related, I rushed down and carefully dug and lifted him out of the rubble. Part of my mind noted how light he was, but the thought hardly registered as I saw the deep gashes in his side.

Struggling to remember everything my father had taught me I sent a silent thanks to him for seeing to it that I learned a little healing magic as a colt and quickly cast a spell to slow the bleeding. Remembering the stream we had crossed I cast another spell and ran in the direction indicated carrying Vair along with me and ignoring that all the trees we passed were now burnt and blackened on the side facing the crumbling tower.

Fortunately I found the stream quickly and after purifying a portion of water I washed the dirt and grime away from Vair's wounds, folding the gashes close and encouraging the tissue to grow through the subtle ways of healing magic.  It wasn't easy and Vair seemed strangely resistant to the casting, but I was as determined as I ever was and kept trying until it worked. Just as I finished and was checking to make sure there weren't other injuries on him or myself, I was interrupted.

"Come with me now, little pony"

The voice startled me so much I almost dropped Vair into the stream as I jerked upright and looked for the source. On the far bank a pony stood, wrapped in rags and hidden inside a deep hood. I gaped at it.

"Now pony, unless you'd prefer to dine with what you woke"

The voice was deep and somehow familiar, it took me a moment to realize it sounded like no one so much as my father. But he was a Earth Pony and this raggedy pony was clearly a unicorn; unless it had a stick in its hood there was definitely a horn under there.

Letting out a disgusted sound, the stranger turned and started walking away. Hesitating but not sure what else to do I crossed the stream and hurried after him with Vair floating along behind me.

When I caught up I started to ask who he was, only to be told to be silent. While I am not a pony who packs around an ego despite my education and heritage, something in the pony's commanding tone prickled. Before I could assert myself however, I remembered the wolves and it occurred to me that it was probably best to delay conversation until we were far away from that place. Grudgingly I made a mental note to not miss a play that obvious again.

And so, for the second time that day I found myself fleeing over hills and through the deep forest towards an unknown destination. Every now and then the stranger stopped as if to listen, and during these breaks I fought for air and checked on Vair. Whatever he was, the healing magic seemed to be working on him now. Briefly I wondered if that was evidence that he was (or used to be) a pony or if the magic was simply universal, but then the stranger was moving again and I had to concentrate on keeping up and not bouncing my limp companion off a tree in the process.

It wasn't long before the adrenaline lagged and I started feeling pretty limp myself; after an hour or so of hurried hobbling I was all but frothing at the mouth trying to keep up. Ahead of me the stranger stopped and turned to glare, but I was almost beyond caring about him or wolves or trees or anything else at that point. Air in, air out, repeat.

It was several minutes before I realized that we had actually stopped and that the stranger was searching the woods behind us rather than glaring at me. Struggling to my hooves again I stumbled up a slight rise towards where he stood and finally saw our destination.

In the valley below a small stream meandered out of the hills and cut a serpentine path through overgrowth that all but buried the ruins of an ancient city. Through the haze of exhaustion and the actual haze of evening mist I saw the remains of sharp hooked towers clawing at the sky and walls thick as buildings standing tall against the march of the forest. The skeletons of houses and other structures lay beyond the walls, cloyingly hidden in the mist as if shy to be seen. With its massive walls pierced and many of the soaring towers toppled, the city reeked of defiance and broken strength.

"Arvakr" muttered the stranger, and that is how I found the City of Embers.