Falconers and the Ashes of Igneous

Chapters

Chapter 2 The Initiation
Chapter 3 Weapon Arts Regimen
Chapter 4 The Greater Arts
Chapter 5 Aching Recovery
Chapter 6 The Vacuous Lumbricina
Chapter 7 Gamorra's Article
Chapter 8 Niel Drago
Chapter 9 Spoils of the Hunt
Chapter 11 Lost Falconers and Falling Colts
Chapter 1 The Initiative
Chapter 10 Kalth and Vaulth

Chapter 2 The Initiation

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Chapter 3 Weapon Arts Regimen

They returned to their cabinet to find Raillay already up and appeared to be ready for the journey. When they entered she greeted them saying, “Welcome back. I see you got Igneous well outfitted.”

“The best for now,” she answered as she looked around the open room. “Did Dramier ever come by while I was gone?” she asked.

“No I don't think he has even woken up yet.”

She growled silently as she walked back out the door and from inside Igneous could hear her shout, “Dramier you lothe. Wake up!”

Igneous then heard the sound of a flame combustion followed by the screams of a startled wake-less stallion. He heard the sound of scuffling along the roof followed by a slip and a tumble by Dramier as he lost his balance and fell just in front of the doorway.

“What were my orders?!” She shouted as she stood over.

“Igneous you might wanna stand aside real quick.” Raillay said she gently pushed him near the wall.

Alastoria angrily kicked Dramier and said, “I ordered you to be ready by the time we leave.”

Quickly he picked himself up and darted away from her and replied, “I thought you said, ‘find a place to sleep that isn’t here, get your rest and don't bother anypony. Daudy daudy daudy da.’” He said badly impersonating her voice along with a little hoof puppeteering.

“I’ll have your tongue for that!” She shouted as she lounged for him. “The orders the same every morning without the need for my word!”

He swiftly dodged out of the way and replied, “Alastoria this is too soon.” He ran around the table using it as a barrier between him and her. “Typically it's the hoof you take in marriage and even so I don't think I'm ready to devote myself yet.”

“Ugh,” she screeched as she ran straight through the table flinging it across the room. “You yewl, you insipid Digget. Get Over Here!!!”

“Words of love, I'm flattered. Really I am,” he said wide grin on his face as he darted across the room and out the window followed quickly by Alastoria who had started to combust several flames at her side.

Both Igneous and Raillay ran towards the window only to see Alastoria throwing fire into the sky in rage hoping to hit Dramier who was keeping well out of range of her. He was still chanting and talking about love and making erratic gestures to match, which only sought to anger Alastoria even more. On lookers on there way to the mines, smelters or local shops stopped to witness the scene. “Come near me I Challenge You! -and I will flay you one Feather At A Time!!!”

“Does this happen every morning?” Igneous asked silently so Alastoria couldn’t hear as if his voice would draw her rage and attention to him.

“No,” she said with a heavy sigh. “Only once in a long while. Just happens to be today. They work great together, don't be fooled. Just sometimes he just likes to get under her hide. Breath a little life into her.” After a few more moments of Alastoria unleashing her wrath on the surrounding air space Raillay finally intervened by saying, “Alastoria? Isn’t time we depart? We need to be at the outer villages by night fall, yes? You of all ponies wouldn’t want to be late.”

Alastoria stopped just long enough to glance at Raillay. Stifling her rage she took a few more deep breaths, flicked her head readjusting her disheveled mane and said, “You're right, I shouldn’t get distra…”

Just as she said Dramier dove down making a very close fly by, flicked her mane all over the place all the while screaming about love. After that it was about another five minute before Alastoria came to her senses and then they finally departed albeit with Dramier flying higher than usual keeping a close eye on the surrounding landscape and Alastoria as if she might suddenly sprout a pair of wings and finish him.

Soon the village fell out of sight and there was nothing but the trail and tree filled forest all around. By now the leaves had turned their greenest and the flowers were blooming there brightest. So basically it was spring or the mid season of spring.

Alastoria lead the party with Igneous and Raillay following closely behind with Dramier who was doing his thing in the sky. As they walked through the peaceful woods Igneous could hear Raillay humming a tune of some sort. It was a melody he never heard before or recognized.

The armor that Igneous was given was weighing him down a bit but he could manage for the time being, and besides he was excited to be a falconer and giddy at that too. The adventures he would have and the monsters he would fight. The thoughts threatened to consume him with joy. There was just one thing and that was he didn’t know how to fight. He just had his sword and shield and that was it. Alastria hadn’t said when she would start teaching him weapon arts only that they would eventually.

He felt like he couldn’t wait. He wanted to get started now! So he half bound up to the unusually tall and muscular mare came around to the front of her and keeping pace with her stride asked, “Alastria I was wondering when we could start my training.”

“In the weapon arts? You need to be specific Igneous,” She said as she continued to walk.

“Yes in the weapon arts,” he confirmed. “I would like to be prepared by the time we get to our destination.”

She sighed tired from the early morning antics Dramier had caused and said, “There is a lot to learn and techniques to teach within the sword alone. Weapon arts of any kind can’t be mastered within the space of one day. Simply impossible.”

“Just the basics,” he pleaded.

She looked back to Raillay who just gave her an unsure smile as if to say ‘why not’ or ‘why you asking me?’ It wasn’t exactly a hard decision or one that required much thought so looking back to Igneous she answered, “Fine, since you are so eager I guess I could muster up a lesson.”

For a moment she focused and in that moment a dark mist appeared near her horn. As Igneous looked on the mist took the shape of a rod that lengthened out into what he recognized as a quarterstaff which she held in her magical grip at her side and he noticed that her quarterstaff had two dark binding stones about a third the distance away from each other. This he knew was for greater control and movement over the weapon she wielded.

“Stand facing me,” she commanded as she continued to walk. “I refuse to stop due to our schedule so you're going to have to keep pace.”

He nodded and stood in front of her keeping up with her constant advancement while walking backwards.

“First thing is poise,” she said using the staff to point to his hooves. “Possessing a sure stance while you fight is important. I'm sure you know how to stand so we will gloss over that since we're in motion.”

One lesson down already? Boy her lessons were easy. Any more of those and he’ll be ready to go by night fall.

“Second thing is offence and defense. There’s more to combat than just waving your sword around till the enemy stops moving. I’ll show you the fundamentals, draw your sword and shield.”

“Yes Alastria.” Using his magic he reached for the shield that was on his back. As he pulled he found that he couldn’t get it loose from its fasten. He looked back hoping to find the problem and was immediately hit by cold hard steel across the back of his head. He ducked down and crumbled to the ground in pain as it left its stinging mark holding the spot where he had been struck.

“Alastoriar!” Raillay shouted after witnessing her act.

“No, no,” she calmly lectured. “I'm teaching him.”

Raillay ran up to Igneous who Alastoria already passed over leaving him to lay in the middle of the pathway. “Igneous are you ok?” She examined the mark she had left and found that he was not bleeding but would surely leave a bruise. “You didn’t need to hit him so hard,” she scolded as she helped Igneous to his hooves.

“I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine,” he repeated dizzily as he did his best to recover from the attack. Gently pushing off Raillay he caught up to Alastoria and hesitantly walking at her side he wined, “Why did you do that? I was just trying to unhook my shield.”

“You’ll live Igneous,” she said with a grin. “Now that you know the feeling of a blunt weapon I can start to break you in.”

“That really hurt Alastoria,” he again complained.

“Don’t take your eyes off of me and it shouldn’t happen again,” she promised with a grin, obviously enjoying the hazing she was giving Igneous. “Oh and the mistake was you pulled up on your shield. You need to pull back first then up. Now, if you wish to continue then get back in position. Again I refuse to stop.”

Alastoria was an enigma to Igneous. He really didn’t know how to feel about her, she just kept throwing his opinions about her all across the place. First scary, then caring and now what. She was supposed to be his mentor for who knows how long and if he was just going to beat the lessons into him then he feared he might not last too long.

‘It should become easier,’ he told himself. ‘I just gotta break into her mojo and then it's all bliss.’ He looked back to Raillay for advice only for her to gave him a concerned, unsure look. Coming to his own decision he ran up to meet Alastoria again and take his place in front of her.

Stepping back position Alastoria gave him a satisfied grin and requested, “Your sword and shield. Have them out now.”

Obeying he took his shield remembering to pull back and then up to avoid the previous outcome. He slid the sword out of the shield and held them at the ready.

Alastoria then reached out and adjusted their positioning with her staff putting his shield more centered to his body and raising the sword just above his head. She then said, “The weapon I wield is capable of acting on defense and offence in one swift motion. The only way you will be able to repost an attack is if I using a swinging motion, which I won't.” She drew those last three words out to make it clear to Igneous. She nodded and then said, “Take a swing.”

The thing about her weapon was unlike most that only used one binding stone she had two equally distanced apart to allow lightning fast attacks, using circular spinning motions. If she swung her weapon she would only be influencing one binding gem allowing it to be easily reposted like a sword with only the slightest amount of skill being required.

Igneous hesitated for a moment but with one look of approval on Alastorias face he finally did. He performed a side swipe and she quickly intercepted the attack with one end of the quarterstaff deflecting it down and with the other flicked it down landing another cold hard stinging hit on the head of Igneous.

Even Raillay winced at the sight.

“Igneous? I thought you had a shield fully capable of stopping my attack,” She said as she gracefully stepped over him. “You shouldn’t squander it.”

“Igneous?” Raillay asked coming once again to his ad.

“I’m fine!” He said as he thrusted himself to his feet. “I shouldn’t have to suffer this,” he snarled. Gathering up his sword and shield he ran to face Alastoria and set himself again. “I am capable. Again!”

Alastoria had to stifle a laugh. This inexperienced little colt was really challenging her; a Falconer who had slain monsters and defeated countless enemies. Cute was all it was. Like a mouse challenging a lion, you don't know whether to pity it or just wish it dead of its own stupidity.

She was on the verge of tears. “O-kay,” she said as she readied her weapon. “Have at me.”

He did an upward swipe but she brought it to a hard stop against the quarterstaff. Still advancing she stepped down on the blade knocking it from Igneouses magical grip. She was enjoying herself a little too much as she consecutively delivered spinning attack after windmilling attack were as Igneous wisely hid behind his shield letting them harmlessly deflect away as she continued her advancement.

The blows were becoming harder and faster and Igneous’ grip on the shield was beginning to drop. Soon he would be defenceless and at the mercy of the spinning staff and Alastoria who was intent on mercilessly showing her skill in some effort to teach him. With nothing left to do he decided to charged her with the shield breaking held high.

His advancement broke through her light attacks, ramming into her chest, briefly bringing her to a standstill. Raising a hoof Alastoria knocked away the shield and trampled over him and used her weight to pin Igneous at to the ground defenseless and without a sword. She lowered her head and insidiously whispered, “That should hardly count as an attack. Maybe if you didn’t use it as a ram and more as a blunt you would have actually phased me.”

Her expression seemed a bit aggressive if not pissed.

Igneous only scoffed and retorted saying, “Phase you. Did I not? Did I not just stop you in your tracks or buffer your progress? That was my objective and I succeeded.”

“Be that as it may, what I told you to do was defend yourself from my attacks.”

“I was successful in that too,” he argued.

“Hardly if this was a real fight you would have died without your weapon,” She unsheathed her shortest sword and held it against Igneous’ face. “You felt the brunt of a staff, now how about the sting of a blade. Perhaps you would reconsider your opinion on your performance then?”

“Alastoria,” Raillay bidded. “He’s just a colt. You could give him the least bit of satisfactory in his efforts. Just once. just for now is all.”

She looked back at her in consideration then coming to a conclusion she lifted herself off of Igneous and said, “Fine.”

Igneous quickly got back on his hoof holding the part of his face were the blade was applied and sleeking away to Raillay.

“Igneous no last name, you’ve done well,” she said in an artificially approving voice.

“Don't patronize me,” he growled as he collected his sword and shield. “I'm going to earn your approval if anything elts.”

“And then what?” She asked as he dumbly stood their with his sword and shield in his magical grip. When he didn’t respawn she said, “Should you be a Falconer Igneous? What is it your seaking exactly? You don't seem to even know what you want in this moment right here right now. How do I know all this effort isn’t in vain or invested in some pointless pursuit?”

He had to pause for a moment. It wasn’t as if he haddn’t asked himself this before during the days he slept alone after having worked many hours just to eat. He would ponder it most time and often times he found an answer and often times that answer changed.

“I don't know,” he replied. “I thought it would be made clear to me when I found you guys but the solution is still as vague as it once was.”

“What's the solution?”

He hesitated for another moment then careful internal consideration finally answered, “To help others. Suffering in this land has gone viral and I just wanted to help in some way. Any way is all. I just don’t know how.”

Alastoria nodded and said, “You can't stop suffering Igneous. It's just apart of life. You can however help others. That is what we Falconers do till the last breath we draw. You made the right decisions albeit with ambitious goals in mind.” She placed a hoof on his shoulder and said, “You just need to start small. Stay with me, learn from me and I promise you can make a difference.” She stood him up and raised his chin and said, “In the meantime gather your sword, raise your shield and have at it again. Your technique is sloppy. Your swings are a mess.”

Reluctantly obeying he nodded and retrieved his sword and caught back up to Alastoria who had resumed her previous steady pace.“Ok I'm ready.” he declared after taking a defensive posture. He then asked, “What do I do now?”

“The problem with your swing is there too predictable. They need to be spontaneous, fast and sudden, and at the very most deadly and precise.” She took one of her twin blades that hung at her side and held it above her head pointing forward. “When you do a left side swipe you pivot your hilt right ways throwing the center of mass of the blade left as you twist left. It adds to the momentum of your swing and reduces the need for a back swing to almost zero giving your opponent almost no time to act.” She swung her sword forward were as the blade spun completely around in a circle slicing the air just above Igneous. “The same applies to upward downward and diagonal attacks. Notice how I keep the blade spinning,” she said as she began to slice up the air around him with lighting fast strikes, much faster than his. “The attack is more of a thrust than a swing. You keep the hilt with in a small pocket of space. Do you understand?”

“Yes Alastoria,” he answered.

“Okay remember; center your shield, sword above the head, pivot the hilt in the opposite direction you intend to swing, and keep it well within your area of influence.” She sheathed her sword and centered her quarterstaff back to the front of her. “And please, don't clop your ears off.”

They then spent the whole afternoon in a bout practicing with Igneouses swing and technique. Alastoria then gave him a talk about body motions and how they can easily throw your opponent off. Quick thrust and attacks can only get you so far before you opponent begins to detect patterns. Patterns that can easily be exploited. She explained how actively moving can greatly increase your chances at your opponent finding you unpredictable. Finding that type of motion however does take time and she said he would have to wait until a later date.

“That type of technique although simplistic in theory is advanced in skill,” were her words.

They did make it into the outer villages just before sunset and to Igneouses dismay it was another mining village. Or so could be classified; even though this village didn’t actively mine during any given season they were smelters and forger, making ingots of any metal, tools and occasionally weapons if the right forgers were around.

They were called mining villages because in the days before the first war all there was was the three types of villages that did one thing and one thing only. Because no villages then wherever unified, each village could technically be considered its own nation.

But that was before the triple alliances that sprung up in defense against Kordan Verex, who ironically was from a mining village which only gave Igneous all the more reason to loathe them, and his army of primitive fixed bladed warriors. One good thing he did do however and which most pony reflects on was unify all of the villages into one great big nation at the cost of much bloodshed however. Then his son took up the thrown after him and split the nations into three in hopes of upholding his name as a Verex and bringing honor back to it.

They then named the whole Valley Carridian after him and things were good till much more stuff happened which involved monsters, the births of the first unicorns and pegasi and two more eras till it ended with two nations being wiped out. One of which became cursed and the other destroyed by a dragon called Aminus. Aminsu himself was destroyed by a Hexer whose name is only known as Noriphmy which is what the final nation was named after.

Now to educate one further, Falconers only came when the monsters sprang up along with the appearance of unicorns and pegasi. Unicorns helped build the earthenier outfits that Raillay is equipped with, and pegasi kept watch encase of any monster happened to look at a village with indignation. The reason the Falconers were never lined with the capital was because they were vigilantes to begin with. Were the warriors with their fixed bladed weapons couldn’t succeed with the monsters, Falconers with the unique teams of three could.

Then there was the magic era were stuff really broke down along with the discovery of greater magic by the unicorns that went beyond simple levitation. Monsters called Majins also appeared which could wield even greater magic, and then the great dragon Aminus happened but that's for another time. Main point, Igneous was at another mining village and he didn’t like mining villages.

He would have to tolerate it for now but as they entered Dramier landed on a nearby roof and asked, “Are you still keeping score oh great Alastoria?”

“Your marked,” she said. “Land again and you won't fly straight till the next rotation.”

“I’ll be making my rounds then.” He gave her a nod and then took off into the skies.

“What's he doing?” Igneous asked.

“He will be keeping guard making sure there are no unwanted visits from beasts of any kind, pony or other.”

“What about me? What am I to do?”

“You're coming with me Igneous,” she said as they rounded a corner. “We still need to discuss things about you and Falconering. Raillay?”

“Yes Alastoria?”

“Go acquaint yourself with the locals. See if there's anything for us to dedicate ourselves to.”

“I’ll be on it.” And with that she left.

As they walked about in the village Igneous took notice of its layout. It was rather simple with four main streets going that came in from all directions; north, east, south and west until they converged at the very center that was filled with shops and vendors of all kinds. The innermost part of the village on outwards was as follows; markets, where they could buy stuff. Service where they could eat or get something repaired and urban which was where they mainly lived.

Since this was a mining village every building was made out of stone with the thatched roofs being substituted for solid tiles instead. They had nice clean windows and well paved streets and although mining villages typically were well kept villages Igneous still couldn’t bring himself to liking them. It was just something he couldn’t quite put his hoof on but had mentioned before.

Alastoria led Igneous to a building he soon found out was where he was staying. It was the falconer’s place and unlike the last one that had been made of wood this one was entirely brick. However it still retained the exact same floor layout with three beds a kitchen and a closet room.

“So Igneous,” Alastoria began as they both entered. “I’ve given you the basic’s on weapon arts. The thing is, what I thought you were not techniques for hunting monsters.”

She said that last sentence in somewhat of an eerie, foreboding tone of voice. She allowed herself a moment as she found a place to sit where as she commanded him to do the same. Once Igneous found a place on the floor she took a few more moments to think over her next few sentences.

“Igneous I wasn’t exactly teaching you to fight beasts. Those techniques are very aggressive and require lots of exertion. I was teaching you techniques on how to match up to other ponies and unicorns, to fight bandits Igneous. Only if there ever happens to be one. The reason is... as, you're probably very well aware of is because… there everywhere. Bandits, thieves, ponies looking to better their lives by making others suffer. Ponies that will do whatever it takes to prologue there existence, murder, theft, betrayal. They dawn smiles, they hide in plain sight, they wait for the moment to strike Igneous and when they do many ponies die Igneous. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“I-I do Alastoria,” he answered.

“No Igneous, you don't. You're going to see things. Horrible horrible things. You're going to do things. That sword is not a tool, it's murder. That moment when you you stop… when you look and you see the bloodied corpses of the fallen and dead. When you see the open wounds and the blood covered grounds. When you see the last survivor writhing in agony as he lives his final moments with his innards lay strewn across the ground you realize... You did that. You did that fighting for what you believe in is right. For the protection of others and yourself.

“And when all's said and done everything you have done and everything you’ve seen is going to be seared into your mind refusing to be forgotten refusing to let go. You made the choice to become a falconer just like every pony before you, and I want you to be aware of everything and prepared for anything. This is going to be your first outing and it is my personal self given duty to make sure it's not your last. As long as you're with me that is.”

There was a long silence as Igneous didn’t know how to answer. What Alastoria had said stunned him. Had he made the right decision to even become a Falconer? He never saw the sight of death or the last draw of breath. Never has he been in live combat or taken the life of another. He was in way over his head but for some reason he knew this is what was what needed to be done. He had a strong desire and even though he couldn’t tell exactly what it was, he just knew. “I don't care Alastoria,” where Igneouses words that broke the eerie silence between them. “Safety comes at a cost and if that price is the life of others I'm willing to pay it.”

“Heroic words,” Alastoria said. She then began to shake her head, “Your naive Igneous, naive. Life isn’t something that can be restored, it's a precious, fragile thing that cannot be restored ever. You have a lot to learn and I only hope I can teach you. In the meantime I order you to get your rest.” She sat back up and began to walk towards the front door but before she left she said, “With a mindset like that you’ll only end up like I did. With regret.”

With that she left leaving Igneous alone, or so she thought. Dramier had been keeping an eye on Igneous while doing his survey and he decided he wanted to check up on the little hunter incase Alastoria had given him a hard time. Turns out his hunch was true and as he stood silently on top of the roof of their building watching Alastoria walk away down the street most likely towards some tavern where they could pick up on what might be going on around the place and if there is any problem, Dramier swiftly moved into through the door surprising Igneous. When he entered he smirked and said, “Calm down Igneous it's only me.”

“Are you done with the survey?” he asked.

“No,” he answered. “And as far as Alastoria knows, your sleeping and I'm still making my rounds.” Igneous nodded in compliance with Dramier’s decree. He settled down a little allowing himself to sit and lean against the walls as his wings dropped lazily to the ground. “So lil’ hunter, how are you settling into our team.”

“Honestly I don't know how to feel about all of this,” he said. “It seems so sudden. I thought it would be more... complicated?”

Dramier chuckled, “Most do. Even I was surprised at how fast they threw me into the fray. For one thing it was nothing like the royal guard I should say that much.”

“You were with the royal guard?” Igneous asked astonished.

“Was,” he emphasized. “But I don't know if I…” he then looked at Igneous the little colt.

A small colt with big ambitions and if he was going to be with them for the next few years he might as well tell a tale.

“Alright, I wouldn’t want to be a stranger so I will give you my story. First lay down, I don't want Alastoria walking in on us.” To emphasize he used his wing to open a window sitting just above him so if she did come back he could swiftly fly his way out without her ever knowing. “Now my father Plisken was part of the royal guard doing his duties. He was one of the higher ups so when I came of age he set me up to become one of them thinking that I fancied being a glorified body guard who’s only job is to stand still, living the same life day in and day out doing the same job a statue could as the sun beat down from above. The thing was I didn’t fancy it very much.” He smiled as he reminisced over the memories he had. “I was a bit of a… oh what's the word.”

“A rebel?”

“Hehe no,” he answered. “Just disobedient. Hardly standing in line not always following orders, Sneaking in some food, wearing my helmet crooked of all other things. That kind of stuff. My father got fed up with me and the numerous bad reports. So much so that he dishonorably discharged me. Thing was, I laughed and smiled through the whole thing making my father look like a fool in front of those under him. Because of it he said I would have to go live with my mother because he couldn’t stand the sight of me, and so I paraded myself out of the capital wearing the shame of my father as a shining glimmering badge. That and also the money I earned too. It's not a poor pony job Igneous. Anyway...

“My mother was living in the same farming village when I last saw her as a young colt. Thing was, she already had another family and wanted nothing to do with me. I tried talking, tried to reason with her but it wasn’t me she was looking at. Just the afterimage of my father and what he had done and after all was said and done I was ran out of that farm place an other, Igneous. The stallion she called her husband.

“Now I had nothing at all. No place to go no loved ones to see, just me and only me. Luckily I knew of the falconers. Vigilantes with the full support of the capital living freely ready to serve and protect. Sounded like my type of thing. Found a group, told them I had the training and experience of the royal guard and you wanna know what I was told?”

“What?” Igneous asked eagerly.

“To. For-get. It. All. Every last thing I ever learned. They said the royal guard knows nothing of combat, only crowed control. They offered to teach me and I learned quickly and I should say it was a much, much better decision. Now this is me. Dramier Hervana, protector, monster slayer, best peganier, and not bad with the mares too I should say.”

That last part really surprised him and it made him wonder if that scene earlier from today was for real. Obviously it couldn’t be but his last statement contradicted that so he could help but ask, “Do you, uh, really like Alastoria.”

“Al- what?” It caught him so off guard that he fell over heavily landing on the floor. Quickly he picked himself up and said, “Alastoria? Of course not, what would make you think that.” Igneous just shrugged his shoulders and then Dramier remembered. “Oh you mean that whole act from today. That's really all it was, an act, your thoughts are wrong Igneous. I respect Alastoria as a leader and nothing else. The same goes for Raillay so don't get any ideas.” He gently sat himself back down against the wall. “If I did then it probably would come in handy to know that Alastoria takes a particular violent attitude to any stallion who may find himself falling for her. She is a bit of a shrew if you will. Untamable at that too. But since I am the wiser you shouldn’t have to worry about that Igneous,” he said with a grin. Dramier then shook his head, “Oh I probably shouldn’t be talking to you like this. Soon enough you’ll have worse to talk about anyways it's just a matter of time.” he turned his gaze to the floor resuming to fucose on that or nothing in particular.

“Alastoria did say I was going to see horrible things. Its got me a little worried. I’m I really ready for this?”

“Time will tell Igneous. I shouldn't get you worried over it but honestly I would be lying if I said there was nothing to worry about. However Alastoria only uses lethal force as a last resort now. She always had for… at least a while.”

“Then why did she talk to me like that earlier?”

“She was speaking from experience Igneous,” he answered with a voice more serious than its predecessor. “All you need to know was she was misled to believe a lie but I shouldn’t speak to you about it much more. Another time maybe, when your not so young that is. Until then you should get your sleep. If you're lucky she will begin teaching you dark magic.” Swiftly and almost silently he picked himself up and flew himself out the window but before he left completely he stuck his head back in and said, “Igneous, I saw you practicing weapon arts earlier and I have to say you did pretty good. I think Alastorias going to make a fine hunter out of you.”

“Thanks Dramier.”

“Don't mention it lil’ hunter,” he answered. “But no seriously, don't. I would rather not have to be hounded by Alastoria over this little meet we had. I’ll be getting back to watch like planned and you just take care.” Finally Dramier left leaving Igneous alone to sleep like Alastoria had ordered and you can bet he obeyed.

Chapter 4 The Greater Arts

“Take your stance,” Alastoria commanded as Igneous approached the center of the tree clearing in the forest they now called the arena.

Dramier had found it while doing his surveys and told Alastoria it would be a great secluded place to go about weapon arts training along with the other three magics that he would eventually learn after said weapon arts training. The area was perfectly flat with tree and a few boulders lining the perimeter in what appeared to be a perfect circle.

It was a bright blue day as Dramier was perched on a tree keeping watch over the surrounding landscape with large mountains that stood far off to the north and equally big but much further away mountains that laid in the south that slowly disappeared behind the trees the further west they got. Raillay was laying on one of the boulders that lined the perimeter with her front hooves crossed as she watched the Alastoria and Igneous begin the lesson.

They would be doing other stuff like hunting if there were any monster sightings but there was none according to the village leader and as far as this area went that is. No doubt if they met another falconer team they would have some extravagant story to tell of some hunt they had but until then Igneous could only wait.

“So what are you going to teach me today,” Igneous asked excitedly. “Dark magic? Light? Oh, what about alchemy?” He lulled off into imagination of breathing fire like dragons did during the great rising, but he couldn’t say that from experience since he wasn’t thirty eight years old.

“We're continuing our weapon arts training,” she answered as she took a firm stance. “Last time was the basic were you learned how to properly attack. If we weren't moving that would have been considered static fighting. Now I'm going to teach you how to move about the battlefield. Be reminded that this isn’t directed towards fighting monsters, that will have to come later. Greater arts is much like weapon arts, but again, it instead relies on movement and swiftness.” Summoning the same quarterstaff Igneous had previously clashed with Alastoria continued, “I want you to show me how you, ‘think,’ you would approach an opponent.”

“Aren't you going to teach me,” he asked nervously. “I have a funny feeling you know I won't do it the correct way.”

“Well we're just going to have to see then,” she deceptively answered with her cheery youthful voice which only gave away that this was a supposed-to-fail-lesson.

Igneous nervously took a step forward then another toward the muscular mare. “Common Igneous,” Dramier cleared from the tree tops. “No fear for Falconers. Adrenalines’ our drug so embrace the adventures and dangers that come. Just please... don't... get... smug.”

“I think he is anything but,” Raillay said. “Go Igneous you can do it.”

Igneous still inching himself forward towards the intimidating mare said, “the encouragement is great and all but…”

“Common Igneous you're disappointing me,” Dramier chided, amused at his petty fear and timidness. “Show Alastoria the swift deadly hunter you hold within. Let it Burst!”

“Let him take his time Dramier,” Raillay rebuked giving the pegasus an unsavory glare.

Igneous was just outside of jumping distance. Slowly he pulled the sword from the slot in his shield and held it above his head with the shield outwards. With both in his magical grip he took another step forward coming closer to Alastoria who seemed just as relaxed as the weather they had.

Finally he took one last step forward and just as he was about to leap at her Alastoria suddenly spoke in a passive voice saying, “Congratulations Igneous. You successfully approached your target. Don’t know why you made such a big fuss about it,” she said as she walked around the dumbfounded colt.

Dramier cheered for Igneous having finished the easy task and Raillay politely stomped her hooves on the boulder in applause.

“What was that really it?” Igneous asked confused.

Alasotria shrugged and said, “What did you expect. I told you to approch my, the target. I never said engage.”

“First of all it was opponent, not target, and second of all I thought this was greater arts,” he complained. “How is walking up to an opponent greater arts?”

“Igneous in all honesty you were about to fail but when you held your sword and shield out at the ready ‘properly,’ you passed.” She snickered a little, “What were you expecting?”

“I uh, well… live combat to be exact?” he said. “Like we did the day we got here.”

“Like when we got here,” she repeated. She waved her hoof and said, “that was foal's play. If you want to hastily rush to live combat you're first going to have to know how to move around the battlefield.”

A few minutes later she had erected a post made of redwood in the center of the area that she had gotten it from one of the lumber traders just last night. After she finished she said, “this here post is your target Igneous. Silack trees produce some of the most densest pieces of wood there is insuring this thing will be standing for some time now.”

Confused Igneous asked, “What do you want me to do with it?”

“Attack it, but first allow me to demonstrate,” she said as she positioned herself just next to Igneous. She crouched down in a running stance then suddenly as Igneous watched Alastoria lunged forward much faster than Igneous had expected. He watched as she leaped side to side so fast that she was almost a blur and as she came up to the post she lunged forward and with a flash of light she came to a skidding stop on the other side of the post with her sword sticking up in the air. The top of the post popped into the air and fell to the ground with one precise cut across its bottom.

Regaining her professional posture she hilted the sword at her side, gave Igneous a glance and nodded, “like that.”

Igneous was dumb founded. How could anything move that fast especially when dodging left to right constantly? “I’m supposed to do that?”

Alastoria nodded and answered, “Precisely. Perform three bounds left to right then one final leap with a swift blow to the post. Get in starting position Igneous,” she ordered. “Now try you best to replicate what you just saw me do.”

“Common Igneous you can do it,” Raillay cheered this time.

“You want to strike at the apex of your leap with one precise cut,” Alastoria said. “Weaving left and right will confuse an enemy until it's too late, but if they do manage to defend against this attack you will immediately be behind your opponent to deliver one final stab. This is a terrific advantage in combat and will guarantee your success.”

“So,” Igneous said as he checked his footing. “I want to keep my sword sheathed till I strike.”

She nodded.

Igneous did one final check and then readied himself to act. After he finished he quickly leapt forward landed then pushed to the left, then to the right, but it wasn’t as fast or graceful as Alastoria had done. On third bound he stumbled a bit and in the final leap he drew his blade jumped and fell just short of the post with the sword bouncing off the wooden surface and landing in the dirt in front of Igneous’ face.

He looked up to Alasotria giving a judgmental stare and said, “So, how’d I do?”

Shaking her head she sighed and said, “This might take a while. Again!”

The rest of the day was nothing but training for Igneous. Alastoria had him do side jump exercises for most the whole day to work out his swiftness, along with long jumps to better his final engagement and quick sprint to work up his charging ability. He did each of these consecutively for as long as he could until he collapsed.

Then Alastoria “playfully” as she explained to Dramier and Raillay, began throwing fireballs at him which was more than enough to get an extra two hour of screaming, panicky practice out of Igneous which really just devolved into a game of tag were Alastoria was always it as she joyfully ran Igneous down as he sprinted through the forest leaping over logs and dodging between trees for his poor, poor hide.

The tired Igneous with shaking knees and drained energy came to a power trot as his heavy legs almost refused to work. Luckily Alastoria hadn’t burned him but he was probably going to need a new mane style if anything else.

He began to think that he finally lost her as he tiredly looked around. His legs felt like wood and his back rope and just when he thought he might rest the muscular mare jumped out from behind a tall bush with a hardy ‘haha’ and chucked a fire in his direction. Igneous did what he could to evade it but in his efforts to jump, he instead stiffly fell to the ground on his side which luckily was enough to dodge the ball of flame.

As he laid on the ground breathless Alastoria trotted up to him and continued to run in place and said, “What, done already?” Igneous couldn’t answer through the heaving of his breath.

She let the source flame at her side dissipate into nothing just as Dramier landed in a tree just above the two. “Well… you didn’t run him off,” he said rubbing his chin. “But you certainly did run him down. I think you may have killed him.”

“He is still breathing, still alive,” Alastoria assured, not taking his eyes of the tired colt. “He’ll live while he’s got his youth.”

“Bet he’s got a few years less thanks to you.”

She took another look at the still cautious colt lying on the ground. He was barely moving with nothing more than a few twitches of his legs. With the all day work out she gave him he probably won't be able to walk for the next day and a half. “Dramier,” she began. “Why don't you go do another survey to make sure there's nothing coming tonight. I would rather not have any surprises into the dusk.”

Dramier looked up at the sky. It was almost dark with the sun just going down over the mountains far to the east were the capital would be. “What about Igneous?” he asked glancing back to the two. “What's to be of him tonight?”

“I’ll get him back to the village eventually, just give him some time. Now go, and meet with Raillay when we're done.”

“Whatever you say Alastoria.” Before he took off he added, “please go easy on the poor colt. I would rather he not become a vegetable by dawn.” And with that he flew off leaving the two.

Alastoria took a deep breath to relax from the running she did earlier and looked down to Igneous and said, “How do you feel Igneous? Think you can stand to make it to the village by tonight?”

Through gasp he said, “I don't... even think... I can, stand.”

She sat down next to him and said, “That's a shame. Seems as if you're going to have to spend the night out here then.”

With shortness of breath and worry in his voice he said, “please don't leave me… alone... Please… Alastoria please don’t.”

“Calm down Igneous,” she said with a softer voice more assuring voice. “I wouldn’t leave you behind. You forget we're part of the same team.” She looked up to the sky and saw the sun hanging low in the sky. “It's going to be night soon if you're going to want to get back before then I suggest you get up.”

Helplessly Igneous raised a wobbly unstable hoof and placed it on the ground just in front of him. Even with the burning fiery sensation he tried to apply weight so he could pull himself up it completely collapses under him. “I can’t stand, I-I just can’t Alastoria.” With his head still laying on the ground he looked up to the mare and pleaded, “Please can you carry me. I’m begging you please.”

She appeared to think for a moment but then all too soon said, “No Igneous. I’m afraid I won’t.”

“Why Alastoria,” he wined. “I did what you asked me to do I can’t do anything more.” A tear strand ran down the side of his face as he felt utterly helpless in his current situation. He had never been pushed like this

“I know you did,” she reassured. “But me helping you now won't help you in the way I want. The way I see fit.” She reached over gently wiping the tear from his face and said, “Don't cry Igneous you just need to be strong. Rest for as long as you need but you need to make it back without my help.”

“Are you going to leave me?” he said as he weakly raised his head to look at her.

She smiled and said, “of course not Igneous. I said I would look after you and that was my word.” She laid herself down across from Igneous and rested herself as she waited for him to recuperate his strength. However after a vigorous day like that it wouldn’t take minutes. With Igneous having been worked all day it would take a full day of rest and if he had to sit there all night and all day tomorrow she would be there patiently waiting till he ran, walked or crawled back to the village they came from.

Igneous fell asleep quickly as the sun set leaving Alastoria to herself. She began to think about this new party member Igneous. What what she see in him? Not much to begin with really, the only thing she admired was his willingness to be a Falconer. Most ponies she met said they normally had some tragic thing happen to them and not wanting it to happen to others they would take up the blade to any threat of Noriphmy.

But what was Igneous' reasoning? He never said, and if she recalled correctly it could have been he just simply didn't want to talk about it, so maybe it was tragic. Then again this colt doesn't hold within his eye the experience of tragedy. Only innocents.

As she continued to ponder she took the small blade in her magical grip and refracted what little light there was that night back at her. Staring at herself through the small slit of reflection she began to wonder what this mare of unusual stature and self inflicted scars truly held within. Why was she here on this very night? Remembering what drives you on can easily be forgotten but what did she truly have to all upon when she felt weak?

She thought long and hard and she remembered. To call on her reasoning would only serve to be counterproductive. She had a team to look after and a new addition and becoming emotionally compromised would only serve to make herself less capable at effectively leading.

So she put off the thoughts, put off the emotions and focused on the now. Igneous was her objective. Having him one day become a leader of his own team is something too look forward to. Right now the best she could do was stay up stay strong and lead this colt on. And maybe, come this morning, he would make it back on his own four legs, and weather he decides this life is the one he leads? Only time will tell.

She sheathed her blade away and sat herself up strongly. The stars were bright this night and the moon absent and the air still with chilliness. She could manage but as time went on she noticed that the sleeping Igneous was beginning to shiver in the slowly declining temperature. She couldn't help but smile and she whispered to herself, “Igneous. Still a little colt. Needing to be tucked in at night.” Honestly it was more of an insult but on she hoped wouldn’t stand for long, at least in the days to come.

Using her alchemy she summoned a flame and she kept it burning near Igneous to give him warmth throughout the night.

“Hope you grow up. I only hope.”

Chapter 5 Aching Recovery

When day came Alastoria was still there of course except looking a lot more lively than Igneous which really wasn't saying much since it looked like she could take on all of the royal guard, which also wasn't saying much since they were mostly pushover when it came to crossing blades with them.

To Igneous’ imagination Alastoria would probably be able to make each and every one of them cry, retire and join the knitting guild or something. That being said Igneous never has seen her in combat. I mean he did have a small skirmish were he kinda got beat into the dirt which he did kinda expect but she just overall looked powerful. He wondered if her muscles were natural or came with much work, but he wouldn’t ask her that of course. What you think he had a death wish or something.

Nah, he would save it for Dramier who probably definitely wouldn't lend him a brief glimpse of the fire pit of death Alasotria may have had full access and a revolving door to. That aside he was physically dead this morning from almost being ran to death by Alastoria and her eagerness to display her favorite fireball collection.

There was a bit of kindness however as she said she wouldn't abandon him out here which probably wasn't saying much about her kindness as he soon was handed over to the watchful eye of Dramier who came flying in while she went to go eat at the village that was probably miles away at this point, not that he kept track while in a panicked induced haze the prior night.

With Dramier having awkwardly been thrown into this situation with Alastoria being so eager to get rid of the young cult, Igneous watched as the Unicorn sauntered off without a second thought. Just a, “Oh, glad to see you here,” she had said when Dramier came back as planned. “Take care of Igneous while I'm gone and make sure he doesn't unfortunately die.”

As she disappeared with Dramier standing healthfully in the grass he looked to Igneous unsure what to do as if he just received a foal from his past sins which he boasted about exactly once.

“Hi.” was all he could manage at that point seeing the Colt lying there unmoving and looking as if he was about to be sick. Sadly horses couldn't vomit without dieing or being physically mutilated throwing the throat muscles into literal disarray. “So that's Alastoria for you lil’ hunter.”

“Pft, at least she kept me warm,” he said doubting her toughy, buffy-ness.

“Really?” he said throwing his head back. “The last one she made quit, quit because… um well…” he appeared to think but then he said, “ah-I can’t quite remember but it was something redundant to begin with anyways. She did make one quiet just by excluding meat from this pore mare's diet.” He giggled a little as he sat down beneath a tree near Igneous. “I found that funny because thats almost completely what Alastoria eats anyways. She does actually get a healthy amount of the essentials but what could you expect with a physique like that.”

‘Oh well now's the perfect moment,’ Igneous thought having the opening to ask his question right there in front of him.

However just as Igneous opened his mouth to speak he was immediately cut of by Dramier who added onto his last remark. “This reminds me, there was a pony a while back; everypony was talking about him the crazy thing. He said a pony eating meat was unhealthy and that he was some, eh...” He waved his hoof trying to come up with the right word but when his efforts came up fruitless he shook his head and said, “I don’t know but I couldn't imagine my world without meat.”

“This stallion,” Igneous began. “Where is he now?” It interested him because who would be so mindless as to make such a bold claim such as that?

“Making medicine I heard. Best there is it turned out too he's coming up with stuff others are saying are hundreds of years in advanced. Said he was good at botanology whatever that is grinding plants into a fine powder then hardening them to stone tablets.”

“Do you know what they do?” he asked.

“What the medicine?” Dramier shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know lil’ hunter. I've just heard the stories. Thoe he has apparently been helping a burned victim from a pillaged village not to long ago. Poor savvy, saved his brother from fire by throwing himself over him.”

“Thats terrible, is he ok?”

Dramier laughed and said, “Of course he is Igneous, who would this pony be helping if he was dead.” He took a deep breath from his laughing fit and reminisce. “A pony with courage like that… sure is a shame. No pony can ask anything from him anymore. He would have made a great Falconer I tell you.” He then shook his head and sprung to his hooves. “Enough about that it's time to get you back to the village,” he said as he stood boldly.

“Um…” he said reminding Dramier of the state poor state he was in.

He only waved a hoof and said, “nothing I can’t help. Now listen,” he said as he kneeled down next to the colt and rapidly started fanning him with both wings. He pointed in the general direction of the village and continued. “Now Alastoria doesnt have faith that you will make it by this afternoon and frankly neither do I but hears the proposition… you're gonna prove us wrong.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“I'll tell you how.” Using his head Dramier levered Igneous up to his wobbling, weak hooves causing Igneous to grunt with effort. “You're gonna get up and you're gonna rush home the entire way at a meager pace and I will be there the entire way helping you along. Now do you think you can do this?”

“Look at me,” he complained.

Igneous thought that was all he needed to say given his state but Dramier just shook it off and said, “I said do you think you can do this!?”

“But…”

“Do you think you can do this!?”

“Sure?”

“Can You Do This?!?!” he said rising to an encouraging shout still fanning him with his wings.

“YES!?!?” Igneous yelled in response.

“Now what are you gonna do?”

“I can do this!”

“Close enough, now go!” He pointed letting Igneous free and free the colt was as he took his first step and immediately fell to his face as his legs collapsed beneath him with the assisted effort of his armor shield and sword which he found was so easily forgotten.

“Igneous?” he asked looking down on the colt.

“*brugh fur nerf da*” His words were muffled by the dirt but what he said was, ‘Alastoria did me in,’ or something roughly like that. He swore he could hear giggling coming from the forest but since his ears were pointed directly at the ground he could have just heard the sounds of a burying mouse mocking him.

Dramier didn’t seem to notice.

The Pegasus sighed but immediately came up with a plan. Looking left and right making sure Alastoria or a third party wasn't around he whispered, “you know what, I'm just going to carry you.”

“Why?” he said pulling his face from the dirt.

“After Alastoria sent me back I just happened to find myself at the tavern that night and I kinda shared your little story with them and made a bet.” His ears lowered and he finished saying, “and Raillay.” He then looked at the colt only to receive a perplexed look from Igneous. “Hey, in the least you're famous now. Well only amongst those stallions but it's a good start. Now stand still,” he said as he lowered his head intending to pick the colt up armor and all and carry him back on his back. Well most of the way back so they could see him walk into the village on his own.

When he did a wooden bolt shot out from the the woods hitting Dramier right in the a the rump causing him to jump up in pain. Except this wooden bolt wasn't tipped, it was just the fletching and dull shaft and when Dramier looked he saw Raillay walking out of the woods with crossbows deployed.

She looked a little peeved. “How did I know you were going to do this?”

“What are you doing here? You should be back at the village.”

She pushed her chest peace collapsing the bows back to her body and said, “you really think I would leave my stake unprotected? I intend on collecting Dramier.”

“Collecting,” said smugly. He proudly pointed to Igneous and said, “look at him Raillay. He’s primed and ready to go. Infact just as well as the day we found him, common Igneous,” he said waving his head for him to follow. “Alastorias expecting us.”

“But you could take your time,” Raillay said kindly.

“Naw he’s got a tight schedule,” Dramier argued.

“But it's fine if you wanna rest.”

“But Alastorias expecting him.”

“You don't have to listen,” she said waving a hoof.

“Our time is dying.”

“Patents is a virtue.”

“I'm sorry Igneous I really am,” he suddenly said breaking the pace. “It's just that Raillay wants you to fail so badly,” he said giving her a sour look.

“No!” she shot him a sour look. “Anything but fail completely,” she said drawing out her last word to emphasize. “I want you to succeed if anything elts. Just succeed within the bounds that allows me to win.” She then turned to Dramier again and said, “Why is it so important that you win? You're filthy rich anyways.”

“It would hardly last me long anyways,” he mumbled. “I would work on a farm but there no farm like the one I love.”

“Oh…” she said suddenly feeling bad for suddenly having brought up the topic. She then remembered Igneous as a pony and not an object for winning revenu and said, “Oh, well you just take your time. I wouldn’t want to see you kill yourself.”

With a huff Igneous responded, “Alastorial will for sure.”

Sitting down next to him, almost snuggling him she said, “She's not all dreadful. This is just how she breaks in the new upcoming falconers only… they don't stay for long?” she said looking up to Dramier to affirm in her statement.

“Your fine Igneous,” he said somewhat answering her question. “You forfeited the record long, long ago.”

“Shame, truly is,” Igneous sarcastically chimed as he laid his head down on the soft grass. He was kinda saddened that his teacher was practically trying to score another for the board by having him quit as soon as possible but really what did he expect.

He remembered a saying the toughest paths, mountaintops and seasons are often times reward those who endure. For the mountaintops it's a great view followed up by the realizations that you have to now climb back down. For the path it could be great as you might imagine… or you get lost, and for the seasons often times poor crops and no money. Sounds very, “rewarding,” but it was with good intentions to those blissful manny.

Dramier looked back to his flank were Raillay had hit him and he said, “that's gonna leave a welt. You know I’m a delicate bird dearest Raillay.”

She shook her head at his childishness. “Your fine, I really would like to be more productive. You know, warding off danger.”

“Speaking of which, you two can have some fun. I'm going to quickly survey around and make sure there's no.... monsters, beast,” he teased as he drew nearer to Igneous. “The unholy offspring of light and death itself bent on ripping you apart and use your bones for toothpicks when it adds your corps to the mountain of bodies in store for score.” Dramier was now face to face with the wide eyed Igneous.

As a result of his actions Dramier received a hoof to the face by Raillay who scolded, “quit trying to scare him again.”

He instead laughed despite the pain and said to Igneous, “just a little motivation is all.” He jolted his body back giving Raillay a mouth full of feathers as he did causing her to go into a spitting fit. “I'll be back soon enough,” and he took off.

Raillay took a moment to spaz out and ended it with a very loud sneeze. “Aw when he comes back I'm gonna… I'm gonna…” she then looked back down to Igneous and remembered how mature she was supposed to come off as. “When he comes round again he's gonna get the shaft. In the meantime,” she said shifting to a more friendly voice. “You can be my new friend.” She scooted herself closer to him and said, “how does that sound?”

“I just wanna go to sleep,” he tiredly complained.

“Take your time,” she said rustling his mane. “All I need is time.”

It was subtle but Igneous still felt her mind still laid in the wager she wagged with Dramier. “How much did you bet?” he asked.

Going into though she answered, “A lot.” then looked to him and continued, “Like... A lot a lot. It wasn’t without effort though but a few sips did him in. He sober now which always came by daylight no matter how many drinks he may have had. I always found it a bit odd.”

“What are you planning on doing with your winnings?”

She smirked and shook her head. “Honestly, probably nothing. I'm a very simple pony. I might just end up giving it back to him anyway.” She took a deep refreshing breath of mid morning air. “He's a good stallion is all. He just wants to go home.”

“Dramier?”

“Yes Dramier. He writes home most months saying how he's been, how he feels, that he’s safe. Everything a caring, good mother should know. It just pains me to think that she may discard each letter regardless of his loving efforts. He puts on a confident persona to hide the fact that all he really wants is to go home to his old farm with a loving mother and live out the rest of his life happy. Instead he is stuck running after acceptance, only I don't know if he can reach it. Honestly it's tragic but I can only hope he can grow.”

“What made you a Falconer Raillay.”

“Me?” she asked having the conversation turn to her. “It was much simpler I found in comparison to most of my peers. I liked how my dad used to take my out a lot to see the wilderness. I liked it so much than when I grew up I decided I wouldn’t bound myself to the constant stress of work and become a Falconer where I can spend all of my time here.” She then looked to Igneous giving him a smile and ended with, “It's much more fun.”

For a few more moments they sat there both waiting for Igneous to regain his strength and make the treck back. However it had been a while since he tried and he felt considerably stronger now.

Slowly he pushed himself to his hooves while gritting his teeth. “I think I can do it.” he grunted as he strained to bring himself all the way up.

“Careful,” she said steadying him. “Do you need help?”

“No, I-I can do it.” And he took his first step that ached more than anything else but he felt he could take it.

“No take your time. One after the other,” she said leading him. “You can make it, I know you can.”

Chapter 6 The Vacuous Lumbricina

“So when does this story start to get interesting?”

“Excuse me?” Alastoria asked as she sat next to Dorrorrain. Her size was still bigger than his but neither of them ever seemed to mind even as the armored pair received and occasional glance from those who may have left or entered the tavern, but seeing that they were both falconers they casually allowed it.

“Are you trying to bore me to sleep?” he chuckled with sarcasm. “I wanna hear it, I haven’t come all this way just to hear a bedtime story.”

She smirked and answered, “Luckily it actually picks up right here. So let me skip the part where Igneous practically crawled back to the village.”

“Seems cruel when you say it like that.”

“Quiet,” she commanded which really only ended up amusing Dorrorrain. “So Igneous made it back by himself and made it by afternoon. Well while Dramier and Adridge were taking care of Igneous a stranger came up to me. He said he was with this company who were delivering tools and supplies, only there cart got held up somewhere on the trail only he never said how or why.”

As a smile stretched across Dorrorrians face he said, “A monster?”

A grin stretched across Alastoria’s muzzle she boldly answered, “Igneouses first hunt.”

“Tell me more.”

It was a perfect day with hardly any clouds to be seen on this bright sunny day. Igneous was expected to go straight to bed but Alastoria with this new mission to be concern with couldn’t just leave him alone. It was customary to never leave a Falconer behind and even though he was exhausted beyond even being able to carry himself, it was decided that Alastoria would carry him on her back.

“So how far did this guy say his cart was out,” Raillay asked following closely by at her side.

“Just mile,” she said giving no sign of struggle as she carried Igneous who gazed over her head as he rode along.

“Do they think were their errand runners?” Igneous asked from atop her.

Jerking her body to better balance him she answered, “Quiet you.”

“We should almost be there by now,” Raillay said. “How did they say it got stuck again.”

“A particularly deep pothole,” she answered. “It's not too hard to imagine since all these paths are paved with dirt. Poorly kept and overgrown too with foliage in some places as well.”

Hearing it mentioned Igneous seemed to suddenly take notice. True the trails and roads were beaten down by travel. This made travel a bit more difficult and since this was bandit and monstrous territory it was no wonder caravans travel in groups. However these guys seemed to have come alone and for good reason as they were hauling weapons to begin with so protection amongst themselves would seem substantial enough. One thing still bothered him, “How come they didn’t come? It's not like they could have had anything better to do except loaf around.”

“I don't know hunter,” Alastoria answered. “He reasoned it was because it wasn’t that far to begin with but he seemed to withhold a few vital details.”

“I would suspect it's a monster.”

“Would it be?” Igneous asked.

“I don't know,” Raillay answered unsure with what she just suggested.

“It's a monster,” Alastoria flatly affermed.

“Great.”

A few minutes later they had found the sight and what a sight it was. He was honest in that it was a particularly large pot hole but that was an understatement because the back half of the cart was teetering on the edge of a fairly deep hole-hole. One with a bottom but would make retrieving the cart almost impossible. The ground surrounding it seemed upturned with loose soil strewn about with large concave indents imprinted in the ground that pathed all along the sight.

“What happened here?” Raillay asked.

“Keep an eye on the surrounding area,” Alastoria commanded. “This beast might still be lurking.

Dramier flew down landing right next to Alastoria to give a report. “I've seen nothing from above. It may be safe by my observation may be wrong.”

“I'll trust your word for now,” she said as she approached the cart. “I need your help pulling this thing out.”

The cart itself was intended to be pulled by a team of four and its size only reinforced that statement. How she expected to get this back was still unclear.

“What about me,” Igneous asked still perched atop the mare.

Walking in between the wooden post that stuck out with empty harnesses she bucked Igneous off causing him land atop a pile of boxes inside the cart. “Just stay there please.”

Taking a look inside he found that in the front were solid wooden crates. The back held loose equipment some of which looked like weapons. “Hm,” he went as he inched himself closer to it.

Dramier appeared popped up at the back of the cart meeting Igneous face to face while setting his eyes on the items of interest. “Igneous look at this,” he said as he hoovered in the air. Dipping his head downward he picked up a standard wooden crossbow and set it on the box next to Igneous. “I didn’t know they still made these for Unicorns. I wonder where the… Oh.” He again dipped his head down only now this time he pulled up a satchel holding the protruding ends wooden bolts; the fletching with whitened feathers. “It looks nice doesn’t it,” he said as he admired the work. Looking to Igneous he smiled and wispered, “I have an idea.”

“What?”

“You keep an eye out with this here crossbow, just keep it up and aimed.” He rotated the wooden device with his hoof to check its statues and found it wasn't loaded. He then looked passed Igneous to see that Raillay and Alastoria were busy trying to strap themselves into the harnesses. “You know how to use these things right?” he asked quietly.

“I’ve been taught before,” he said picking it up in his magical grip. It seemed exceedingly heavy but that may have been because it wasn't bounded and it didn’t bear the weight of having been bound to another so it was static in its magical nature.

“Really? Who taught you?”

Before Igneous could answer but now he wasn’t so sure. However before Dramier could ask again Alastoria called saying, “Dramier I need you to join us.”

“Alright,” he called back but lowinger his voice to a whisper he told Igneous, “Just keep that thing aimed.” Igneous nodded as he pulling a white feathered bolt out of the satchel and loaded into the flight groove, pushing back against the string and locking it into the latch. He kept the heavy object laid down as he didn't want to needlessly drain his magical strength.

Alastoria strapped Dramier to the cart with the harness wrapped beneath his wings. His position was behind the two but on Raillay’s side of the post . Alastoria gave the word and in unison they began to heave the cart as best they could. Igneous being on top could feel the thing begin to slide in their favor and as they continued in their efforts Raillay asked Dramier, “So when are you going to follow through on our deal.”

With a heavy grunt he answered, “I don't carry that kind of money on me, I need to make a withdraw first.”

They continued to heave until the wheels met with the edge of the hole having to demand more effort from the team forcing them to pull harder. “A little more effort,” Alastoria encouraged, “Come on now give, it your most.”

Igneous with his passive presents continued to keep watch and with the sun high and the trees obscuring some of the area he began to wonder what could have caused this gaping hole. Whatever it was seemed to be very good at moving dirt as there was plenty of it around. He looked to the ground just as Alastoria and the others jolted the cart upwards freeing it.

“Alright get me out of this harness please,” Dramier complained. “I don’t like being grounded, I have a bad feeling.”

Igneous saw something shift below lifting the dirt as it snaked beneath the ground. “Guys?”

“Just a second Igneous,” Raillay called back. She like the others were still strapped in and only Alastoria could undo the harnesses.

The snaking path slowly creeped under cart and all together came to a halt. In a worry Igneous stood up and took the crossbow in his magical grip and proclaimed, “It's here!”

Immediately Alastoria quit in her efforts to free Dramier and every falconer froze. They waited and listened but could hear nothing noor scout anything from the open spaces to the tree line not far off. Alastoria turned her head to Igneous and asked, “the monster? Where?” She looked around not seeing anything. As she stood their she felt her hooves tremble but it wasn’t a bodily tremble. More like an earthly one. “Still,” she commanded. The others continued to worriedly glanced around looking for the threat only to come up fruitless. “Stay still and listen.”

“Alastoria,” Rrailly carefully whispered. “Neither me nor Dramier can be effective unless you unharness us.”

She looked to them just accross the post that separated her from them and said, “We wouldn’t have enough t-”

Her words got cut off as the ground itself erupted just next to Raillay and Dramier. They both shouted as they became startled and Dramier instinctively opened up his wings to fly away only he was harnessed and the his left wing that had been pinned between his body and the post broke from over exertion causing Dramier to let out a shrill cry of pain.

Immediately the cart jolted forward almost dispensing Igneous out the back as they charged forward in a tactical retreat, only the beast was closely following. “Alastoria this cart is meant to be ran by a team of four,” Raillay shouted.

“It's okay I count as two,” she answered.

“I think I broke my wing,” Dramier gasped.

When Igneous picked himself up and looked back to see he caught a clear glimpse of their pressure. This thing had the body of a snake but the head of something unworldly as at the very center of its head was a myriad of jagged teeth and four elongated pincers that jutted outwards.

With the body of this beast sticking straight into the air it soon toppled over and buried itself in the dirt. Igneous saw the rest of its bodied snake into the ground leading a mound of dirt in its wake that following fastly.

“Guys it's coming,” Igneous shouted as he raised his crossbow and fired at the ground doubting it even would have done much.

“Where!?” yelled Alastoria.

Before he could answer it burst out from the ground directly next to her. As it arced through the air with pure intent to land directly in the middle of the falconering company, Alastoria acting swiftly summoned a tower shield and heavily batted it away causing her to lead the cart rightwards away from the beast while also dropping the dark summon as a result.

“Taff,” she sputtered as she recovered from the magical exertion she just performed. “What a waist.”

“These bolts are not effective against this thing,” Igneous yelled as he continued to fire roughly were the thing was buried. For a brief moment it broke ground making a shallow arc just behind the cart catching only the dust of the wooden and an a bolt from Igneous which didn’t affect it much

Raillay could tell Dramier had been hurt not only because he mentioned it but because he was very clearly was struggling to keep up and pull his own weight let alone the weight of the cart. “Dramier please just hang in there.” He didn’t answer but instead continued to moan with every bump, pothole and rock they drug the thing over.

“Left! Left!” Alastoria commanded as they almost ran the thing off the trail and into the brush. The sudden turn threw Igneous off his hooves almost throwing him off the car. However he miraculously was able to hold on to the wooden rail as his hind legs dangled over the rushing earth. His trusty crossbow however was not so lucky. Pulling himself up he devoted himself to digging around to find another weapon even if that meant throwing swords at the beast which he did.

“Alastoria what are you planning?” Raillay shouted as they took another documented turn.

From her horn she launched off two white signals that sailed high into the air, something most ponies knew as a combat warning. One white signal was for navigation, two for indicating combat. “They should be armed, miners tend to have an affinity for combat.”

“I pray your right.”

“Igneous where is it?” she called back.

“What?” he asked as he raised his head from an opened box he was rummaging through.

“Where?”

Looking over the edge of the cart he immediately found his answer, “It's…”

“Whoa!!!” Alastoria shouted tugging the cart leftward while bringing it to a semi-stop just as the beast exploded upwards in front of them. Alastoria swiftly led them around the beast just as it fell behind and off to the right. Again it submerged itself within the ground.

“Igneous where are you?” she called expecting to follow up with with a question on where the beast was.

“I'm right here,” she heard him say all too close.

When she turned her head she found Igneous was clinging to the wooden post that harnessed them. “Igneous!” Raillay said with a mixture of surprise, concern and exhaustion.

Picking him up by the armor Alastoria laid Igneous down on her back and said, “we're almost there just stay alive.”

“I-I…” Dramier sputtered. He looked pale even through his colored fur and he seemed to be dragging along more than running.

Raillay cried, “Dramier just please hold on.” However just as she said that she felt a tug and the cart suddenly became harder to pull as they dragged the now passed out Dramier along.

Another earthly explosion as the beast arched upwards only to disappear once again into the ground. It was gaining fast.

“Igneous I need you to be my eyes,” Alastoria said as she as a dark mist took form behind her.

“What?” he asked in confused as the mist began to solidify.

It took the shape of a great bow and arrow. Floating just in front of Igneous as he faced the back of the cart Alastoria rotated it sideways while pulling back on the string with the great arrow in place.

She announced, “the next time this thing breaches you're going to hit it.”

“Okay,” he said nervously as he set his hooves on the string so he could aim it. As he looked to the ground he could see the large uprise of dirt and he looked as it snaked back and forth as if it was attempting to disorient them as it trailed closely by.

“I can see the village,” Raillay gleefully cried out.

“Igneous tell me when,” Alastoria said. “if you miss we might not make it.” He reassured himself he would make the shot as he franticly traced the beast path attempting to read its patterns and foreshadow its next move.

Its pattern was simple: Stroke left wide stroke right short, left short and stroke right wide and repeat. However he needed it to be exposed and unsheltered from the dirt it hide within. Eyeing it carefully he thought he might take the risk but just when he set his sights on the projected path it would take the mound suddenly vanished and he knew exactly why.

Panicked he yelled, “Taff.” Immediately he aimed upwards and just as he did the monster burst out of the ground clipping the cart and sailing into the air right on his line of sight. “Fire!” He yelled and Alastoria let loose on the bow.

He didn’t get to see the results of his efforts as the arrow rocketed away, because the cart flipped, drifted sideways causing the wheels to dig into the ground and snap off, tipping the cart over, whipping Alastoria over as the harness broke and sent both her and Igneous flying off to the side while Dramier and Raillay got the better end of the deal by being turned upside down with Dramier still passed out.

Alastoria landed heavily on the ground and Igneous broke a tree branch having been catapulted fro Alastoria which as a result sent him further. Thankfully his armor withstood and it felt more like a rough push in the wrong direction. He coughed as the wind got knocked out of him and raised his head to see Alastoria already getting up.

She made eye contact with Igneous and seeing he was fine she immediately moved on. “Right... well. Thanks I guess,” she muttered.

As Igneous stumbled his way back to the narrow path he found that a small portion of the village was armed and on the sight with a few more trailing just behind. One particular Mare broke off from the and followed next to Alastoria saying, “we saw the signal and prepared the village for combat, however it looks the job is already done?”

“Please help my team,” she asked not bothering to acknowledge her statment.

“Right, sorry,” she gestured for the others to help the two falconers still strapped to the almost broken cart while sending others to watch over the down beast with readied crossbows and/or fixed spears. In no time at all Raillay crawled out with one crossbow having been smashed by the impact caused by the crash, shortly followed by Dramier who was dragged out with a badly bent left wing.

“Oh Dramier,” Alastoria went as she saw the state he was in. Turning to the mare who was the village leader Alastoria hastily asked, “do you happen to have any unicorns sufficiently educated in light magic to fix my Peganier’s wing?”

“Looking down at him I already say that wing needs to be fixed before we magically fuse it together,” She shook her head. “That might take a few weeks it's not a simple fracture, his wing practically mangled.”

Hearing this news Alastoria began to rub her head with minor frustration. “I can’t have an injured falconer on the front lines, let alone an earthenier with a broken suit. We’re going to have to swap positions with another team and have a brand new suit sent to us from the capital.”

“I’ll send a messenger immediately,” the more said.

“Thank you,” she said having one problem be relieved. Coming around the cart she found the beast surrounded by two unicorns who kept crossbows aimed at it with an earth pony standing atop the beast with a fixed spear.

Looking over the beast one stallion found a round incision near the head of it and asked, “was this done by some dark summon? Killed it with one hit?”

“Really?” questioned one of the unicorns as he lowered his aim. “A beast this size? I doubt it.”

“Aw at least we can harvest it,” said another. “I find the teeth very fascinating. I'll take one purely for collection.”

“A collection?” asked the other beginning a whole conversation Alastoria didn’t find herself invested in. Making sure the beast was dead she summoned the same great bow and fired two great arrows, both of which vanished after a time, into the head of the beast for good measure. This surprised the earth pony standing atop it causing the unicorns to get a good laugh as he toppled over and fell to the ground.

Moments later she heard a scream of pain. It was shrill, and horrific and loud and it was Dramier.

Coming around the corner of the cart she heard him yell, “Ouch Aaahhh!!! What Did You Do To Me?!?! Dafted Taff...” and other swears Igneous’ poor little ears became subjected to.

Raillay sitting closely by with the company who was trying to help the unicorn scolded, “What did you expect was going to happen when you passed out.”

“Nawwuuut Thhh-thissss.”

“Hey we're going to carry you back,” Railly assured trying to calm him down. “Just please try not to cry you delicate bird, oh dearest Dramier.”

“T-t-terrible context,” he sputtered.

“Oh shut up,” she said as two unicorns lifted him in their magical grip by the armor. Holding him in midair they made sure not to disturb his broken wing.

When all was said and done Dramier made it back in immense pain who was watched over by Raillay. Getting his wing set back into place may be better left unsaid as the whole village could definitely hear his cries of pain that could easily unsettle even the most calm minded of individuals.

The owner of the cart was very upset at how his merchandise ended up but Alastoria swiftly argued that he couldn’t complain over the pristine quality free services provided which astonishingly quickly shut his snout. Then again it could have been her brawn that silenced him.

The village harvested the beast’s hide, teeth and meat. All of which could be sold as exotics bringing in some much needed revenue for the small mining village. For their efforts, and slight losses. the mare said they would equip them with a free waggon to carry Dramier to their next destination.

Raillay still had a half broken earthenier suit, and after all that chaos and a near death experience Igneous got a slight approving nod from Alastoria for his heroism and the taking down of the beast.

“Yay,” he enthusiastically moaned as he fell fast first onto his bed mat. It was a much deserved rest especially since he was still sore from last night’s running. Hopefully by tomorrow he would be well rested enough to withstand a full day of walking.

Pure, unadulterated, peaceful, serene walking. What could go wrong?f

Author's Note

Vacuous

Having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless.

Lumbricina

The scientific term for worm.

Chapter 7 Gamorra's Article

Author's Note

Ran into a weird glitch that some how ended up with this particular chapter being deleted while I was correcting it.

I was planning on renaming it but for the sake of awareness this chapter was previously called, "to catch a thief."

Sorry.
<>

Chapter 7 Gamorra's Article

“Are we talking about Igneous?” a familiar voice asked.

When the company looked they found it was Dramier who had let himself in. He was armored in his usual equipment with both wings fit and ready for combat.

“Dramier,” Dorrorrian hollored. “It's been awhile. I intended to speak to you earlier except Alastoria insisted on stealing me away from you three.”

Dramier took his place on the edge of the bench and said, “We had our own little task to take care of, only I'm done now and knew you two came here.”

“Careful Dramier,” Alastoria warned just before taking another drink. “I don't want to see you too drunk.”

“Daft, I will get as drunk as I want Lady Fearless and I’ll pay it all too.” He signalled for another drink simply by winking at the busser who Dramier had aquanted himself with quite intimately the other day. Yesterday night to be specific. “So what tail have you already? His first hunt, first weapon forge, his greatest duel, first combat mission or what?”

“His first mission,” Dorrorrian answered to which Dramier only respond was a resounding ‘meh’. “‘Meh!?’” Dorrorrian repeated. “Isn't any Falconer’s first mission an excitement for all concerned.”

“Besides the monster in concern,” Alastoria muttered before taking another swig.

Dramier only crossed his hooves and shook his head to show his dismay. “The whole thing seemed contrived is all I’ll say,” he lowly complained. “Because of course the taffing monster had to jump out in our moment of defenceless running us along with our tails between our legs.” Dramier acted as if the beast had personaly insulted him in some way but as Dramier caught both Alastorias and Dorrorrian’s questioning gazes he retorted, “Yes! I’m bitter about getting my wing broken. However it died in the end so what the, hay who am I on about?”

“It healed fine, right?” Dorrorrian asked.

His left wing sprung open in response as he grudgingly sat there. “Can still fly,” he answered. “Was painful though and also kinda demoralising to be hauled all day in a cart. But anyways,” he said waving his wing.

“Yes, but anyways...”

They sat there for a moment taking turns drinking until Dramier asked, “What did I come here for?”

“Where's Igneous?” Alastoria asked.

“I don't know. Either with Raillay sauntering about or playing with a few other colts or filly friends.”

“He does sound like a good Falconer at least. I’d want on my team,” Dorrorian said. “How do you feel about him Dramier?”

He smirked along with a little chuckle and answered, “that lil’ colt sometimes feels like a little brother to me. Same could be said about Raillay too, maybe weave spent too much time around him or he has just got that ‘likeability’ thing going on which reminds me... Did I ever tell you about the time we caught a thief just the two of us?”

“Ugh,” Alastoria exasperated. “You always said you caught a thief but you never explained anything further. Only, ‘we caught a Taffing thief!’”

Dorrorrain allowed himself to silently laugh as Dramier retorted, “It just slips from my mind because every time you ask we’re caught up in some other task.”

“Yea well you got the attention span of a sparrow. I’ll say that much.”

“Hahaha, alright give Dramier some space,” Dorrorrian laughed. It could have been his drunken mind set that made him more laughable or he just genuinely found their interactions to be somewhat entertaining if not funny.

Dramier nodded and after settling himself in he began.

“Ok so Alastoria already told you about Igneous' first hunt right? Well this story takes place just days afterwards when we stayed two villages away from where it all took place. I was on my hooves again albeit with a bandaged wing and diminished social moral amongst my fellow peers and falconers, aside from Igneous of course. This was a trading village with nothing much but shops and households all over the area but this village was more tuned towards farming which is hardly even relevant.”

“Are you going to get to the story,” Alastoria asked impatiently.

Dramier continued without acknowledgment, “on this particular day Alastoria and Raillay were off doing there own buisness I took no care in knowing. My business however along with Igneous’ business was a shared business and one given to us by Alastoria herself…

What Draimer and Igneous had set out to do was acquire enough bars to forge a sword in which Alastoria would teach and over see him do. Typically it would take two, maybe three with four being more than enough and since this was an economic village dealing mostly with trading of sorts, Dramier on this particular day wanted to get into the spirit of things by simply bartering for items instead of paying.

One particular item he had was a considerably sharp tooth from the monster they had previously slain which Alastoria dubbed, “the Vacuous Lumbricina,” for great effect in stories. He didn't have any particular interest in collecting monster bits but he did enjoy getting its worth which was his intentions today.

They traveled down many streets lined with vendors selling bottom line fabrics, fragrances and basicly anything one would find very essential in their lives. They rounded the corner peeling away from the chaotic madness of deals and offers, coming more into the industrial area that traded metals, weapons, tools and food. This area was mostly used for a stopping point for trading convoys as well as a quick buy in and sell out for ponies who didn’t intend to stay too long. Business here moved fast and often times one could make a fairly great bargain in their favor.

Igneous and Dramier were fully suited in their falconering equipment albite with Dramier having removed the bladed feathers on his left wing. Other than that he still wore his clawed gauntlets on his forehooves and chest plate strapped to his body. Dramier was doing his part to mentor Igneous on how to get the most for a barter by always pushing the boundaries of the trade in your favor. He wasn’t getting too indepth just really saying the basics.

Now looking around Dramier proceeded, “Okay Igneous we need to find a caravan coming from any mining village, most preferably the one we just came from as it is the closest and we can get the best raw deal.”

“Okay,” he said leading a bit ahead as he looked down another crowded roadway. As Dramier caught up Igneous asked, “Couldn't you just buy the metal instead? You do have a lot of money don’t you?”

“Yea,” he admitted. “I do, but you feel like you let every pony down when you just throw money at the problem. Plus this is how falconers mostly do their bidding anyways so why get in the spirit while we’re still young.” He gave Igneous a pat on the head as he passed while adding, “Honestly it's just more enjoyable to argue . When you break down the essentials of what you need for what you can get, it all gets very technical and it's just something I personally enjoy. It could honestly be my father's blood at work.”

“What would be your mother's part?” Igneous asked more disinterested than anything else as he looked about from shop to shop, and pony to pony.

“Farming,” he answered quieter than usual.

They then wandered around doing their best to ignore prodding vendors as they walked down street after street with no results. They then found it was easier to simply ask where they could find the caravan and one pony kindly answered that there was a group of them on the outskirts of town where, “They always are,” she had said.

Dramier couldn't quite agree with that statement since most villages had roads leading straight to the center and back out again. This method just seemed inefficient, especially for a village dealing with trade.

After a few minutes of taking turns to run and lead the way, they finally found themselves on the outskirts. The carts were lined up next to the river this village fed off of with most of them commuting amongst themselves while others caravans traded with businesses and official looking ponies.

From the bunch Dramier chose one caravan and walked up to what he guessed was the owner or forerunner of the team. Using eye contact to signify and introducing himself and he said, “Hey, I'm interested in buying some iron bars do you happen to have any on or know which of these groups may supplies them?”

“Oh,” the forerunner responded. “Well that would be me. I'm the leader of this group of three. There not here at the moment but all you need to deal with is me.” The forerunner wore only a large pack on his back along with two satchels that hung on each side. Igneous guessed he must've been heavily involved in personal trades given his attire which was the same conclusion Dramier happen to come too.

“Great, great,” Dramier nodded as he chose his next few words to begin the trading proposition.

However the trader started it himself by saying, “So you wanted metals and judging by your equipment you planning on forging a weapon, specifically for this one here?” he asked by pointing to Igneous.

“Yes precisely,” Dramier answered hardly stunned by the stallions insightful knolwedge on their current situation. “We’ve only come for three, how kind are the prices?”

The forerunner pulled a wooden chart from one of his pocketed bags and answered, “Very reasonable I insure, you may have a look.”

He beckoned them out of the traffic of the roadway and over to the larger of his two carts filled with boxes of either tools, resources, metals or food. Setting the chart off to the side of the cart for Dramier to look over, the forerunner jumped atop the cart and said, “We do our best to catalog everything we haul so have a look, each item has its price.”

As he pried open a box Dramier seemed to be impressed with the listings even saying aloud a few items. One of them being spices, another being copper and another being one of very expensive garments. Finding the metal he was looking for he nodded his head and said, “Your words hold true, this is very reasonable.”

As he shifted one box over he said, “Only to compensated by the short travel time. Two more days travel and the prices would double for the effort.” Finding the crate he was looking for he pried it open, becond for Dramier to climb aboard and said, “Naw, you can see the quality of the metal hold just as true. Do you find it to your liking?”

As Igneous sat on the ground as Dramier had instructed he raised his head in an attempt to get a better look at the metal bars. Dramier seemed satisfied with their shine although he did comment, “They look a bit dark.”

“It's still just as strong I insure that.” Using his hoof to scoop one up he added, “The purity is very high, those miners know their craft.” Looking to Dramier he asked, “So how's it for ya. You think you're willing to make a payment.”

“Eh, more like barter,” he said pulling the monster tooth from the folds of his wing. “How’s this hold up?”

The forerunner gave it an intense lookover to gauge whether it was genuine or fabricated. Shaking his head with a condescending smile he answered, “I'm not a monster bit collector I’m materialistic. I like money,” he blatantly stated.

Still holding the monster tooth he reasoned, “But this is worth a small fortune, it could easily buy out this whole waggon-”

“-In the eyes of the right buyer,” he interrupted. “I do not intend on search for some passionate collector. I have a strict trading route that I run daily. There and back there and back, same song same dance day in and day out. Don't think ill of me I just need the money is all.”

“I understand,” he said. “But I will not give up so easily. What can I get you in return for three blocks of iron?”

“What do you mean?”

“I and Igneous are willing to run around this village to find you what you need.”

He laughed a bit. “I'm a simple trader I don't have very much need of anything.”

“Well how about a portable cot for the long nights ahead? Sounds nice really.” Looking to Igneous he asked, “what do you think?”

Nodding his head like Dramier had expected him Igneous answered, “it's a great idea.”

“Yea see we can do it.”

The trader actually seemed to be considering it despite Dramier knowing three bars of iron was not worth a single cot. “It does beat sleeping on the ground most nights.”

“Better than renting a place to sleep too.”

“Alright, alright,” he mumbled giving in. “Now I know the worth of a cot but right now I'm supposed to be watching my cart and frankly I don't wanna get lost in this madness of a village so you got the job.”

“Great we will go now,” he said leaping off the wagon almost tackling Igneous.

“Wait Mr. Charisma,” he called out. “Now I don't want you getting some bottem of the line cot, it's gotta be good quality or I insure or I will not finalize the deal. We’ll be here all day.”

“Right, alright we got it,” he said waving a hoof as he dragged Igneous through a crowd of ponies as they headed back towards the center mass of the village. “Now here is the part that I like,” he said with a smile on his face.

***

Four hours later Igneous sat patently by trying to avoid awkward glances as Dramier continued to beat his head against a wall. Now you think this might be some deal Dramier made that somehow involved publicly humiliation but that only half true. Sure he needed an item to give a pony and in turn take that item to the next, and the next, and the next, and probably five others before he got that damn cot, and in turn, bars of iron as promised.

“Are you done yet?” Igneous whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

“Not quite,” he answered. “I still have my wits,” he mumbled as he knocked his head against the wall two more times before turning hand collapsing to the ground next to Igneous.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa wait…” Dorrorrian interrupted. “Exactly what were the thing you were supposed to get. You can’t just skip that.”

“How am I supposed to know?!” he said throwing his hooves up into the air. “This was like a year ago or something.”

“Just let Dramier get back to the story.”

“I was just asking, Nvrmd…” he said slurring through another cup.

“Anyway…”

“So what's the plan now?” Igneous asked beside his fellow falconer who continued to moan and sulk in frustration.

With indignation he answered, “we’re gonna trade away this taffing tooth, take everything elts to the former and finally get that damn taffing cot for that yewling TRADER!!!”

“My poor little ears,” he jokingly whined as he folded his ears against his head with his hooves.

“I'm sorry Igneous,” he apologised.

For a few moments they sat there not knowing what to do even as ponies eyed the odd sight of two armored falconers looking null in the head. Finally Igneous suggested, “Why don't we just pay for the iron?” Dramier didn’t bother answering. “I mean it's much easier. Right?”

“Well,” he sighed. “I told you already Igneous. When you just throw money at the problem you feel like you let the world down.” He held the tooth in his hoof and added, “I mean, I said I was going to commit to this bartering thing...”

“But look at us,” Igneous said. “We’ve gotten nothing accomplished and the only thing we’ve gathered was an itinerary of destinations we’ll eventually have to deal with once we make the base trade. I'm also hungry.”

He sighed and said, “Even though your right... I’m hungry too lil’ hunter.” Giving one last thought he said, “Okay here's the deal. Come closer,” he said beckoning Igneous over. “Okay I'm going to tell you a secret and Alastoria and Raillay are not to know. You got that.” Igneous nodded his head and he continued. “Okay well they think I never give in to commitment but today I really couldn’t be asked. So since they can’t, and have no way of knowing, your just gonna say we got the stuff with no further explanation. You got that?”

“Yea I got it,” he said.

“Good,” he said rustling his main as he stood up. “Here let's go.” As they stood up and walked down the street Dramier swiped up an IOU form at a vendor as they passed by. He then handed it to Igneous’ magical grip and together they begin filling it out as they went on their way.

“So wait…” Alastoria said taking her turn to interrupt. “Why was it important that I didn't know you gave into insolence?”

“Eh, my wing was broken, my spirit was down, terrible confidence too. I just didn't really want any more room for peer disappointment… If you understand.”

“I don't…”

“Anyways!!!”

Ten minutes later they found themselves back on the outskirts of the village were the convoys had been were as they noticed some had gone and some had arrived were as their trader stayed as promised and again he was knocking about on his cart not really doing much. When he laid eyes on the two falconers Dramier said, “Alright you win, take my money just give me the iron bars.”

“Daft!” he exclaimed as he hopped down from his cart, “I was really looking forward to getting that cot.”

“Just by the damn thing with the IOU,” he said as he threw the flaccid paper at him.

He shied away from the attack but soon retrieved it from the air and after briefly looking over it he said, “right then, might as well.” Climbing back onto the cart he uncovered the box setting the paper aside and said, “We sold the rest, I only saved the three for you. I’m a bit disappointed to be honest.” Taking the lid off he beheld three bars of iron. “There they are,” he said.

“What are you doing?” Igneous asked.

“Just a moment Igneous,” Dramier said paying no attention.

“Hey, stop!” he yelled.

“What me?” Dramier asked in confusion. He glancing back only see the paper was missing with Igneous chasing after an earth pony in a dead run down the street as Igneous shouted ‘stop thief.’

“Daft!” Dramier yelled as he took off after the two.

“Nahahaha,” the trader bellowed seeing now as the deal was essentially off. “Good luck getting your bars now, heheha this is priceless.”

Dramier then hesitated and turned to the forerunner and yelled, “Hold on to those bars or I swear…”

“Alright boss, it's all you, hehe.”

“Daft, Hey! Stay on em Igneous!” Dramier shouted as he did his best to push past crowds of ponies in pursuit of the two more nimbler ones.

It wasn’t as if Igneous needed to be told twice as he bolted after the thief staying close his track, occasionally catching glances of the paper the thief held between his teeth. The convict rarely risked glancing over his shoulders but the few times he did he only found the armored colt hot on his trail in an unrelenting pursuit.

Igneous followed closely by as he was led between crowds, under legs, over crates to the point where they eventually found themselves running along the hay thatched rooftops of buildings. Igneous didn’t care about the fall as his nimble legs carried him over the sloping rooftops not missing a step, refusing to slip until he chased the thief to an end where he stood looking to the allies below.

“Ya robbed a falconer!” Igneous shouted as he approached from behind. “What was running through your head?”

Still clutching the paper in her teeth the thief turned around to where Igneous found the thief was a filly. She frantically glanced left, right and above before her gaze fell upon the approaching armored colt.

“Where are you going to go now?” Igneous questioned as he withdrew his shield leaving in its place. He didn’t inend on hurting her he just wanted the IOU. “Well?”

Shifting the parchment between her lips she answered, “Down.” And with a wink she fell backwards off the roof and disappeared from sight. Igneous ran up to the edge thinking he might find and injured earth pony only to see her running down the alleyway after landing on sack piles of grain.

“Igneous!” Dramier shouted from the streets to his Igneous left.

“It okay!” he reassured as he took a step back. “I got her!” Doing as she did he dropped below landing chest first on the sacks of grain. Quickly picking himself up he bolted after the retreating thief as she ran over obstacles the fenced off, box filled alley way provided.

To his observation he found this was a storage area where they kept wooden crates in nice piles and to his dismay some of the ponies that managed it hounded Igneous for barging through but as he looked on he saw the thief climb up a mountain of boxes only to jump over the fencing that kept them in. Doing the same he quickly summited the crates and jumped.

In an instant he came crashing down on a wooden table, only to bounce off and be dispensed to the road. Picking himself up from the fall he could only glance before dodging out of the way of a speeding cart as it surged through the streets. It was a close call but one Igneous wasn’t going to gawk at.

As he began to survey the crowded area he found that he had lost his target. That older filly had given him the slip and not the one with the written statment. Frantically Igneous becane to twist and turn doing his best to locate her in the surrounding area but the truth was already setting in. She was long gone.

“Igneous!” Dramier called. “Igneous where'd you go!?”

“I’m over here!” he answered as he continued to peer down the streets and alleyways.

Dramier quickly caught up to him coming to a skidding stop. “Dafted thief got away right?”

With one more alleyway check he nodded in submission. “She did. So now what?” Igneous asked not bothering to look around. “We write another?”

“Igneous why are you so willing to just give up? You think I’m just going to let that little yewl get away?”

“What if she is just hungry?” Igneous had to admit he’d been in this position before only the main difference was he haddn’t had to deal with Falconers.

“What if?” he scoffed obviously frustrated with the little fiend. Leading Igneous to a secluded corner away from traffic he asked, “since when did you start second thinking yourself?”

“When I had the chance to second guess the circumstances,” he answered. “I mean you did say your very wealthy so…”

“‘So…’” he imitated.

“We,” he began as he thought. “Lets… just take it as a hard loss and just write another IOU.”

He shook his head, “that not fun Igneous, why you gotta let the world down like that.”

“Well I mean,” he took a slight look around only to see every pony present not paying them any attention. “Nopony seems to really care. It's not like a petty robbery is a mass effect.”

“Yea but if we just let this little thief go then sooner or later they start stealing bigger stuff, great stuff. Entire houses disappear, livestock, actual stocks and before you know it there breaking acquaintances out of the royal keep because of some long ago debt the felt they should have repaid at that particular moment.”

“Gee… That's awfully prophetic.”

“Ah, get over yourself Igneous were gonna do this, and we're gonna send her to safeguard.” He then leaned down and whispered, “So tell me, you're small you're clever, if you were a thief what would you do? Where would you go?”

Igneous then appeared to think for a second but it was only for a second before he answered, “I would steal what I need and go to my safe hidey place.”

“So what she needed was money,” Dramier stated.

“Or just food,” he reminded.

“Then she would have stolen some bred genius.”

“Well why steal and run away day after day when you could just buy like a hundred over the course of a month.”

Dramier looked disappointedly at Igneous and said, “Igneous stop talking sense and let's go find this thief.”

“We shouldn't have to go find her Dramier.”

“What do you mean Igneous?”

“Well she stole an IOU and in order to collect the money it first has to be sent to the capital to make a withdraw, and since she is hungry she may have pre ordered her food for the next few days with that IOU.”

“So…”

“We go hit up the celestial delivery system and look for any outsourced IOUs, find ours and trace it back to the shop where she solicited it to. We then have ourselves camp out waiting for her to come by and eat and there! We got our thief.”

“Oh wait so Igneous was the clever bird in this story and not the adult stallion he was intrusted with,” Alastoria condescendingly remarked.

With a grudgingly look on his face Lindestic said, “I mean, I would have thought of it eventually.”

“So what happened next Dramier,” Dorrorrain asked as he wiped a smile from his muzzle. “I'm mildly intrigued.”

“Well we did go to the delivery service thing and after riffling through all the racks we finally found our transaction on its way out. Thankfully the pegasus said he knew where it came from and we found it was a trolley serving baked bread.

“However I had some integrity to uphold so we bought the iron bars and we then gave them to you Alastoria to work with later however I will say is that night when we were supposed to be sleeping… well, me and the Igneous…”

“You snuck out did you?”

A grin spread across Dramiers face and he answered, “You know me too well Alastoria. Anyways we did and we camped out all night even as there was no pony their and early in the morning when the village was just starting to wake up. Ponies were starting to go about doing their taffing business, we hid out looking inconspicuous as two armored ponies could be by the natural law of duplicity. And that little thief came, oh she came alright…”

Half mindedly sitting around Igneous took a second look although by this point it was probably well over his fortieth check. Again that check yielded randy ponies going about their day getting yelled at by vendors wanting them to buy their rubbish.

“I’m really tired Dramier,” Igneous complained how much longer are we going to wait?”

“Igneous colt I thought you already eased into falconer time.”

“That's just another word for waking up early,” he protested.

“May be, but its trademarked and a falconer take what a falconer can get. I’m not going to say early birdy.”

Igneous didn’t bring himself to remark so he just took another bite of his sandwich Dramier had gotten him while they waited. It was a good enough sandwich with toasted bread and freshly cooked chicken and lettuce. He would have liked to enjoy it more but just as Igneous was about to take another bite Dramier tapped him on the forehead and said, “Hey look alive, I think I see her.”

Igneous didn’t have time to look as he was immediately torn away from his sandwich and underneath the table were the vale of the quilt hid their heads but not their lower bodies. “How is this any more inconspicuous?” he whispered over the sound of trotting hooves.

“Quiet and look,” he said pointing past the crowded sidewalk. Brushing aside the quilt Dramier let Igneous get a view for himself. True to Dramiers word there she was getting some pre ordered bred served on a flat tray that she carried in her mouth to a neighboring table opposite of the stand to the falconers.

Huddling Igneous closer he sat him down and held up both hooves. “Alright gameplan. Igneous you cut around the street and attack from the side and I will hit her up front.” He demonstrated this by holding up one hoof and curving the other around until it smashed into the other.

“What,” he asked perplexed. “With my sword?!”

“Of course not Igneous,” he answered looking down on him. “Just tackle the filly.” Looking back out from under the table he lowly announced, “Okay Igneous get into position and be ready to move.”

“Okay what's the signal?” he asked.

“What? There is none. You got one minute, now Go!” he said pushing him out from under the table into the middle of the street to the surprise of a few unsuspecting passersby seeing a fully armored colt jump out of nowhere.

He quickly apologized and began moving covertly around the target ignoring the odd glances he received from pretty much every pony there that happened to be walking by. Thankfully she hadn't noticed for the time and was still enjoying her fresh baked bread.

Seeing a small group had congregated in just between him and her Igneous used the cover to move up on her position slowly crawling with his chest plate pressed and scrapping up against the floor as he eased his way forward.

Then the group of ponies then took notice of his actions and began to brake away from their conversation to stare at him but when they did they left a large gap in the middle making his presents perfectly viewable to the filly who paused mid chew with bread stuffed in her cheak to stare at the familiar falconer.

Igneous blushed in his embarrassment and in his stupor he muttered, “hi.”

“H-hello,” she awkwardly replied.

But before she could take action and leg it right on out of there, Dramier came barreling in knocking all four seats over as well as table while taking thief down to the ground were as she scream in panic as she was overcome with overwhelming force. She wiggled around and clamped down on his bandaged unarmed wing causing Dramier to screech in pain. As a result his grasp weakened and she was able to crawl out from under him.

She began to dart across the road but Igneous intercepted her path with a shield held up to his face as he commanded her to stop. Not wanting to comply she quickly ran left were as she ran into the chest of a big, muscular, armored pony which stopped her in her tracks.

Looking up to see a heavily scarred mare looking down on her with indignation immediately took any sense of flight out of the young filly and she just sat there, staring, staring at the scars that lined all her muscles and the strength she possessed.

Not taking her eyes off the filly Alastoria asked in a low voice, “What is going on here?”

“We caught a thief,” Dramier grunted after picking himself up off the ground but still grimacing at his bitten, broken wing.

“A thief?” she questioned looking back down to the filly. Emphasizing her distaste for the profession she slowly drew her leftmost blade letting the little filly catch the full beauty of its sharp edge as she flashed it closely by her face. As Alastoria held the blade in her magical grip she asked, “You will not cause any more problems and you will come with us.”

Startled and still stunned she only managed to utter, “y-yes…”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Alastoria said after Dramier finished his part of the story. “So now I know how it came to that.”

“Why do you have to act so intimidating to mitigate minor threats all the time?” Dorrorrain asked. “You did it to Igneous…”

“You did the same thing to Igneous?” asked Dramier this time.

She shook her head, “No, with Igneous I actually attacked him with the blade.”

“Yea, even after Igneous said he wanted to be a falconer.”

“I think you're a little mental Alastoria. Gee, you weren't that harsh with me when I became a falconer.”

“Only because you shoveled your sob story down my throat when you asked.”

“What,” Dorrorrain asked as yet another grin spread across his face.

“I did not,” he protested.

“Yea, he even cried too.”

“I did not!” he exclaimed, but to his disappointment he could hear the silenced laughs of the every bystander who happened to be drinking and overhearing their conversation. “Alastoria why you always gotta hound me like that.”

“It comes without effort.”

“Think me a fool, but I am your best peganier you ever had.”

“Alright!” Dorrorrain said fanning both his hooves in between the two to break up the passive aggressive tone. “How did this thief end up.”

Dramier cleared his throat but Alastoria was the first to say, “We took her to a temporary holding place were as Dramier asked her question he already knew the answers too, like why she stole the paper and if she had parents, which she did not sadly.”

“Yea while I was questioning her I asked why she resign to stealing things and she answered, ‘it's all part of my complicated back story,’” Dramier said doing his best to imitate a little filly. “So then I said, ‘well just add all this to the complicated character arch.’”

“Thats nice,” Dorrorrain said. “But what happened to her?”

“She was supposed to be picked up by the keepers the next day to be taken to safeguard for a few weeks till they could find an orphanage but she broke out the following night by what Igneous suggested to be a sympathiser of all other things.”

Dorrorrain took a drink. “Still, you caught a thief…”

“So what did Igneous learn from all of it?” Alastoria asked.

There was a long pause from Dramier before he answered, “...I don't know.”

Another long pause of them just sitting there before Dorrorrian broke the silence by saying, “well that was kind of pointless then.”

Chapter 8 Niel Drago

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 9 Spoils of the Hunt

The party idly sat by anxiously listening, only occasionally sipping from their drinks. However one didn’t seemed convinced, in fact he was more so doubtful then willing to listen to this tale Alastoria was telling.

“Cows?” Dorrorrian challenged. “Cows…”

“A stampede,” Alastoria assured.

“Lots of em,” Dramier added. “They nearly would have killed us and me especially if I hadn't hovered just high enough to avoid them.”

“Yes, but explain to me again how these, or why these cows were stampeding about again.”

“The herders,” Alastoria began. “They said the herd itself was under the control of Neil Drago, another bull or something.”

He processed those two words through his mind and soon came up with, “Furious… Dragon?” Dramier seemed to nod as well as Alastoria. “Not too subtle then.” He waved a hoof, “So what happened to Igneous? Dramier said he got carried off when you threw him-”

“I was aiming to toss him to the wayside of the stampede,” Alastoria defensively chimed. “The colt was flailing and all, he’s not the lightest buck either especially with all that old armor, sword and shield he used to dawn.”

“Obviously he’s in good health other wise we wouldn’t be talking about him in such a matter.” Dorrorrian looked to Dramier who sat laid back, leisurely and lazily. “So?”

Dramier only shrugged. “That little cow-dragon was dead when we got there.” He tilted his chin up and pointed with his hoof. “Had a cut going straight through the windpipe, dead obviously and nearly decapitated too if not for the bone.”

Alastoria then added, “the herd was docile too. Almost as if Furious Dragon did actually control the herd.”

“Yes,” Dorrorrian nodded. “And the way you told me the tale it was almost as if it were intelligent. You know… coordinating the attack in between your shields and… nothing more really.”

“Yes it was a short encounter,” she agreed. “But to say that a natural born cow, cow was able to coordinate an attack like that might as well be saying it’s beastly.” She looked between Dorrorrian and Dramier, Dramier of which looked uninterested as he eyed the view just beyond the window but knowing his nature Alastoria knew he was actually listening. “Monsters aren't born from natural animals they’re… they’re beasts. They come from the mountains.”

“So we find them halfway between the northern and southern parts of Noriphmy?” Dorrorrian asked as he leaned into the table as if to interrogate her.

“You think they come from the ground?” She retorted. “Between many villages lays miles of Carridian within Noriphmy. A monster sauntering in while accidently avoiding villages isn’t too far fetched.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “But monsters can’t just defy the laws of Nature. Something had to have birthed them, raise them even. They can’t just appear and disappear at whim. The wind follows the mountains, the water falls from the mountains, the winter comes from the mountains and beings are birthed from mothers.”

“Yes, fruits also fall to the ground and dogs eat their own shath,” Alastoria jested in a flat tone.

“When you say it like that it's almost as if you believe in spontaneous existence or at least something of the sort.”

“Well how do you explain the existence of ponies pre Carridian?” she asked. “History says ponies knew not of their origins. Only their existence and the intelligence they possessed within this finite vally we exist in today. They ventured east and discovered the end of the world marked by mountains. Same when they started only the sun now emerged from the mountains, not submerged by them.”

“Rediscovering what's lost seems fun,” Dramier suddenly and without much reason or relevance chipped in. “I personally would like to go see Freth for myself.”

“Dramier!” Alasotoria snapped just as head turned in Dramiers direction. Leaning in to a quiet his she said, “you don’t speak that name.”

Biting into his lip he drew out the first syllable before he spat out the word, “Freth!”

“Dramier-” she warned with a glare intense enough to melt hycrome.

He shook his head and conceded to her whim, leaned back and continued to glare out the window like a house cat. He knew how far he could tempt Alastoria and he wasn’t in any mood to actually compel her to do something he found unsavory to his health.

So as ponies returned to their own business and drinks disappeared one after the other Alastoria shook her head and turned back to Dorrorrian. She sighed having already lost track of what they were doing so Alastoria looked to Dorrorrian for an answer were as he just shook his head and suggested, “Let's just go back to Igneous and the cows.”

Alastoria tossed her mane and nodded her head before taking her third full drink. “Obviously I can’t tell you his tale and how it was taken down but I’ll tell you how I found him.”

“I’m listening.”

The herder and his entourage ran alongside the trio of Falconers as they followed the dust trail of the stamped that passed them by. Although none wanted to think about it Alastoria warned the herder that if Igneous had been seriously hurt or even killed then the keepers would be called upon and some compromise to closure.

“But remember,” Alastoria warned as she slowly advanced on the herder. “No compromise will ever be sufficient enough to repay the death of Igneous.” Her scabbard clicked as the blade was drawn just enough for him to catch the glimmer of her blade.

With a hard swallow he nodded and nervously muttered, “understood.” And together they made their way after the other herders who ran ahead catching up to Dramier who led them along before Alastoria and Raillay caught up and took the lead much greater than Dreamier with his broken wing or the tired, fatigued of running herders could at the moment.

However as Raillay and Alastoria pursued the fleeting dust cloud they soon found that it had come to a stand still and simply began settling to the ground. Even more odd was that when they neared closer they found the herd far off grazing peacefully. It was completely unlike their nature just moments ago but as they walked amongst the herd, Alastoria with one sword drawn and Raillay with crossbows deployed glancing earnestly about, did they find Igneous sitting next to a bull that laid in the grass with the blade of his sword lodged deep within its neck.

Igneous sat that with his shield pressed into the ground as his hoof rested atop it, the crescent side facing the bull. Upon hearing the steadily approaching hoofbeats did he turn his head to see both Alastoria and Raillay approaching with relived looks worn on their faces.

Taking the shield in his magical grip he stood up and hooked it to the back of his armor before saying, “uh, hey, Alastoria.” He glanced back to the bull that laid there with eyes dulled and clearly lifeless as its blood pooled about the grass.

As Alastoria came up to the colt she stuck out a hoof and tilted Igneous’ chin up and around as she tried to spy any injuries to his face. His armor wasn’t scratched and the blood painted to his face and hooves was without wound.

“What’s wrong?” Raillay asked Igneous after Alastoria finished examining him moving on to the bull.

Glancing to Raillay he motioned with a bloodied hoof. “I can’t pull the sword out,” he answered. He seemed a bit distraught but as to exactly why neither Alastoria or Raillay could say for sure.

Resting a hoof on the face of the bull Alastoria took Igneous’ bound blade in her magical grip and with one tug, ripped it from the neck of the beast with a clear audible slick of the sword. Examining the wounded neck and the cut that ran upwards from the midsection to the collar bone she asked, “how did you do this Igneous?”

She then examined the blade as he answered. “I did the technique you taught me Alastoria,” he said earnestly. Putting up a display with his hoofs he illustrated as he explained, “I did the jumps, left and right you know? -and when it was confused it raised its head just as I made the last leap.” His hoofs danced left and right until one overtook the other and it fell to the ground. He looked back to the bull then to Alastoria who seemed to be more interested in the blade. “I killed it,” he said mostly to himself more than any other. “I killed it.”

Raillay then became concerned for the colt having heard the sorrow tone in his voice. “Igneous? Are you alright.”

“I killed it,” he said again. Then slowly Raillay began to realize that Igneous wasn’t saddened, he was surprised. “I killed it!” His suprised then turned to excitement as smile took control of his face. “Raillay, I killed it! I did it Alastoria I killed it!”

Soon he was bucking around in happiness, this armored colt, exclaiming how he slayed the cow by himself, with his own blade at his own capability. Raillay even cheered him on and when Dramier caught up and heard his story even he applauded as the three of them celebrated over his victory amongst the grazing herd of cows.

“It's a good job you did there Igneous,” Dramier complimented as he rustled his main with his good wing. “Taffing yewl nearly killed us all.”

As Dramier and Raillay congratulated Igneous on his first successful kill, beast or not, Alastoria muttered, “dafted terrible job you did Frawl.”

“Whats wrong?” Igneous asked having heard her complaint.

“Blades bent,” She answered as she staked it into the ground with disappointment.

As the herders began to arrive whistling and hollering for their cattle Dramier asked Igneous, “How hard did you hit that thing Igneous?” He had only gotten a glance at the sword but if he remembered correctly the blade shouldn’t have been bent from the hilt on up to the tip. “Well at least our little endeavor getting those bars won't be in total vain.

“Say, how’d you pay for them again?” Raillay asked.

“Oh, we caught a thief,” he answered as his attention drew to Alastoria marching up to the herder who lead the rest of his entourage.

“Yea but how?” she questioned only for Dramier to beckon her to be silent as Alastoria began to speak rather curtly to the herder.

“That bull endangered Igneous but it was by him that this herd became docile once more.”

“Y-yes,” he stuttered as he looked up to the muscular mare. “I’m with gratitude but I can t-tell a mare like you, uh, require a bit more of a supplement for your services?”

“We’ll take the meat of the bull,” she stated flatly. “With that, it’ll be all.”

He nodded and waved a hoof, “Sure, take it. After all my fellow herders might fall to superstition after having seen its eyes and the control it had over the others. Some where even fearful to even pursue the beast. Take the meat,” he tursed. “at least I’ll know it will have been destroyed in one form or another.”

Turning away she nodded and said, “on your way then. Travel safely wilse in Carridian.”

As the herders took control with more whistles and command the large group of bovine moved on according to their will leaving nothing more than Niel Drago and the Falconers as Alastoria began to skewer the beast with her smaller blade.

Raillay perched herself atop a boulder and Dramier sat next to Alastoria as she mounted course cuts of quality meat atop his back. Dramier took a deep breath and exhaled saying, “aw, I’m gonna smell like blood for a good while.” He lapped up a drop that slipped down his hoof and seemed oddly pleased.

“Ew.” Igneous haddn’t quite thought drinking, or in Dramier’s case, licking blood was a thing that anypony would normally do.

“Quite down Igneous,” he said. “It's good protein and for a celestial like me with my poor old broken wing its great.”

“What you need it calcium,” Alastoria proclaimed.

“You could just white magic my injury away,” he suggested as another slice was mounted to his back.

She shook her head. “They got more reliable healers North of here. I wouldn’t want to mishandle my magic, especially while in Carridian.”

Igneous tilted her head. She had said it again. The first time he thought it was a simple mistake but a second time prompted some thought especially since neither Dramier or even Raillay seemed to notice or care. “Alastoria,” he began. She glanced at him while she continued to cut and gut away. “I thought we were still in Noriphmy. Did we wonder out or… or anything else?”

“No,” she said. “I meant to say Carridian Igneous.”

“So… did we wonder?”

“No,” she answered again. “Although Carridian originally was the name of the king Corridian Verex, over time, and especially after his death, Carridian became the term for the land between places as the Kingdom of Carridian became the land of Carridian, and the land of Carridian was the land between nations. While, yes, we are still in Noriphmy, we still are indeed within the lands of Carridian; land between places,” she reminded.

“Well… I mean it is rather untamed,” he said gesturing to the carcass.

“Precisely why I say Carridian because like Carridian that lays afar and the Carridian that lays within, both are dangerous in their own right but let's not concern ourselves any longer over terms and meanings.” With one final cut she sliced clean a small rough chunk of meat. “Here Dramier, since your so blood thirsty.”

Tossing it into the air Dramier casually reached out and took it between his teeth and began to suck the blood away.

“Ew,” Igneous came again. “You're not even going to cook it.”

“Pure muscle,” Alastoria commented as she tossed another to Raillay. “No need.” She took a chunk for herself and began to suckle on it as she held out another for Igneous in her magical grip. “Try it.”

Transferring it to his magical grasp Igneous eyed it suspiciously before asking, “What is it?”

“Bovine heart,” Dramier answered. Igneous made another disgusted face but before he could object Draimer assured him saying, “No, no trust us. Its very delicious, even while raw.” Raising the hoof to the chunk of heart Igneous held he tapped it closer to his mouth while Raillay and Alastoria watched with interest.

“Go on,” Alastoria assured. “It's good, and after all it was your kill.”

It didn’t particularly smell sweet or look sweat for that matter unless one compares its crimzon red coloring to that of a strawberry, but then again strawberries were vibrant red so that didn’t exactly ease Igneous’s mind much. Still he had to remind himself that he was a hunter and like a hunter who scores a kill it's only natural to indulge in the bounty that was so hard fought. Though eating the cow wasn’t the first thing on his mind when he killed it he thought it might as well have been if anything else.

With one final glance he moved the bit of heart into his mouth and bit down. This venture greeted him with a splash of flavor that surprisingly tasted sweet and juicy, almost like a fruit albite a bit more bloody and wet with an after smell that admittedly couldn’t quite match up to the taste.

He vocalized his delight as he continued to juice the chunk of heart between his teeth and with blood running down his chin he said, “aw, this, this is great.”

“Told you Igneous,” Dramier said with a smile.

“Here.” Alastoria nodded as she tossed Igneous another piece of beef-heart. “You deserve it after a hunt well done.”

He caught it in his mouth and wasted no time in happily biting into the new piece of meat and with both pieces stored in his cheeks he spurted, “Thanks Alastoria.”

“Comeon,” She said with one of those rare rewarding smile. “We got all whole day's travel and Igneous.” She held up the bent piece of metal of a sword she stored away on her back and said, “we need to get you a new sword.”

“That's why we got the iron after all.” Dramier said.

As they began to depart north of their location were the mountains grew taller with every step Raillay asked, “Say, Igneous how did you catch that thief?”

“Oh, um,” he went as he recalled the events that Dramier and he went through.

However before he could get a word off Alastoria exclaimed, “Igneous, up front. I would like to discuss with the next lesson I’ll soon be giving you.”

“Oh.” He looked to Raillay somewhat apologetically and answered, “Okay,” before running up to the muscular mare.

“Oh common,” Raillay complained before followed behind on their journey north.

“You know,” Dramier casually began as he easily laid back. “To this day I still think Raillay learned of how we caught that thief.”

Dorrorrian shook his head and began anew subject. “Did that worm thing not count as Igneous’s first kill?”

Alastoria shook her head, “None of us like to consider that particular event a hunt.”

“Too much running and screaming,” Dramier added.

“Yea but you said Igneous killed it though.”

Again Alastoria disagreed. “Only at my utility. Had he not had my summon that beast may have won. But this...”

“...Furious dragon...” Dramier filled for her.

“...Was his very own kill. Didn’t even need the assistance of our team. You may call it luck, I say it was my training that enabled him to pull though.”

“No Alastoria,” Dorrorrian said with a grin as he leaned it. “I see your game you can’t fool me. You said that move was supposed to be used against pony. Not a beast. Seems that endangered him more then it may have helped.”

“Cows are a lot like pony,” she argued. “Just taller and stronger.”

Rolling his eyes Dorrorrian waved a hoof and said, “Anyways, you traveled all day and made it to your little village.”

“Yes, where we reunited with Frawl.”

“Yea that nomadic weapons forger.”

“You’ve met him?”

“Occasionally.”

Alastoria shook her head in acknowledgment before continuing.

The day turned into an overcast but the sun hanging low on the horizon seemed to cast fire over the skies and clouds flaunting its beautiful array of colors. Igneous marveled at it for a good moment before reluctantly entering the village they had trekked so long just to reach.

Now Igneous haddn’t been told what sort of village this was supposed to be but having come from the trading village this must have been the final stop to any pony traveling North. The mountains were the first to give that away as they seemingly tore straight out of the landscape and towered upward at an impossible height. They seemed close but in all honesty they were really just miles away.

It really made this particular village seem small even though it seemed to have a healthy population that stood above one hundred. However Igneous was pleasantly surprised when he found it was actually his favorite type of village.

Farming!

Yes, it was apparent from a long ways away with vast fields of wheat that even stood taller than Alastoria. The roads were well kept, wide and lined with rocks and the village even had a wooden wall surrounding the whole perimeter but not the crops.

To Igneous this place was already perfect and he couldn’t wait to spend his time here with Raillay and Draimer helping around and meeting new ponies, all while Alastoria taught him more weapon techniques too. But then Igneous remembered that his sword was ruined.

Thinking back to when he struck the cow in the neck he distinctly felt the sword give at the base of the hilt once it buried itself. He was glad it withstood enough force to get the job done but there was always that, ‘what if,’ scenario that would give him something to think about every now and again. And come to think of it… Wasn’t this the place were those herders came from?

‘Whatever,’ he thought. Farming people were still nice. Heck they even gave them the spoils too. They didn’t have too as Falconers never asked for anything in return plus the herders were the masters so their word was final which proved all the more that they were nice so Igneous had nothing to loathe over.

Upon entering the wooden gates hung open as if to greet them. The streets weren’t full on account of it being nearly dusk, few carts were vacant and empty, ponies spoke to one another and a few colts and fillies played in the streets chasing each other around before they were told to come inside.

“Dramier,” Alastoria began by saying as they all gathered round. “Go store that meat at the Falconers place. Igneous you go with. Undress your armor and be ready for sleep when I get back.”

“I’ll make sure this colt does,” Dramier said with a mischievous grin.

Alastoria caught onto his little act thinking perhaps he and Igneous would get into some trouble with the locals. Although that was highly unlikely Alastoria felt she might as well clarify. “Don’t cause any trouble or I won't find a pony capable enough to heal that wing tomorrow, and Igneous,” she warned turning to him. “Same for you or we won't be getting you a brand new sword.” Seeing his eyes light up with wonder was all the reassurance she needed in knowing he would behave. Dramier too if not for his wing. “Raillay come with me and we’ll see if anything need our attention.”

And with that the teams of two parted ways; Igneous and Dramier wondering about until they found their modestly sized building made of stone that was well cared for and Alastoria and Raillay as they ventured to the tavern to collect names and gather information on anything that might have required their attention.

Turned out this town was rather fine with its affairs, nothing quite needed them at the moment which was great because starting tomorrow after Igneous got his new weapon, she would put him to the dirt and perfect his skill all day long.

Author's Note

Horses eat meat... They just get sick afterwards.

Chapter 11 Lost Falconers and Falling Colts

Igneous wasn’t lost forsay. More like he just didn’t know where he was, where he was going, or the place he had just come from. He had tried retracing his steps back to the Falconer’s place that he fondly remembered for having nice beds and good interior decorations, only to end up even more lost and on different street.

A bit more aimless wandering to make sure the building wasn’t somehow in the immediate area and Igneous figured he didn’t know his way back to Frawl’s forge anymore. A bit more back tracking and he’d only discovered another alleyway populated by ponies lifting crates, moving sacks of wheat and wheeling barrels into and out of two buildings on opposite sides of the alleyway.

Stumped as to where he was Igneous fell back against a sturdy building wall and began to think. Turned out to the colt, this town wasn’t like most as he’d come to expect. This town was massive to say the least with fields of wheat that nearly surpassed the horizon in all directions but north, daring to stretch over. Different lesser villages consisting of a few households existed out there to help tend the crops afar and near. However for a village of this size, and with fields yielding more than enough to sustain its own substantially large population, the streets were awfully unorganized and rather small in some sections of the village too.

It was almost as if this town was once a small humble place of living where ponies built houses wherever they pleased whereas roads were made only after they decided it was convenient. Of course Igneous thought that was outlandish. He thought this because to him there was no time before now and no reality other than his own. He always looked to the future leaving nothing more than one hoof in the present for his own sake.

Igneous looking up in appreciation for the bright sky, or at least the portion that was revealed to him inbetween the gaps of the buildings. Pegasi flew by, some were couriers while others were farmers looking out over the health of their crops while the smaller younger ones raced up, around and inbetween what little clouds there was.

Igneous then got feverishly jealous at the children that flew. If he had wings he wouldn’t be in this predicament. He could have just flown upwards and seen the city as a whole from attop and maybe spy Alastoria and Raillay, or better yet, Dramier and fly with him. But then a thought struck the clever colt, mostly impart to memory and relevance.

He was reminded of that time he was running after Gomora, that thief he knew… He’d gotten atop the buildings by jumping up crates stored in the alleyway of the buildings to give chase. Ascension then was easy as they were stacked one after another with lower roofed buildings too. These ones where tall so he would need a much larger stack of boxes just to summit them.

Igneous then looked down the alleyway he sat before and true there were crates being moved about by ponies that would no doubt shout at him just like the former did when chasing Gamora if he crawled his way to the top.

But then Igneous was struck with another thought, a memory to be precise. It was actually a phrase he remembered a while back when he had books and read stories written in fiction. This particular quote was from his most favorite story he read many times leaving it to echo in his mind like this, “You’d be surprised by all the things you’d get in this world simply by asking Igneous.”

That mentality, true to its word, had gotten Igneous things and places often times when he needed it most. It had gotten him food, a place to sleep, a job to keep and some money to spend. In fact it is precisely the reason he was a falconer at all and was able to go on this adventure with the privilege to get lost as he pleased. If it worked before for all those huge favors then how much harm would it be to ask one stallion yet another favor. And hey, this was a farming village too so ponies were naturally nicer.

So picking himself up Igneous trotted down the alley and stopped just beneath a stallion busy carrying crates with his magical grip and waited simply waited to be noticed. This worker was moving them from one wall to another for some particular reason Igneous didn’t quite under stand at the time.

“Hey!” the stallion yelped in surprise taking a sudden step back as he found Igneous sitting behind him rather closely. He looked the colt up and down again before questioning, “what are you doing, uh… colt?”

“Can I ask a favor?” Igneous asked in a pleasant voice. He didn’t quite understand why the stallion would be so surprised at the sight of him. He was just a colt after all.

“What’d that be?” he unsurely questioned as he transferred over another crate while keeping his eye on the peculiar colt, his armor and long knife it seemed to him.

Igneous looked up, pointed and answered, “I wanna be up there. Attop that roof.”

The stallion looked to where the colt spoke of. Judging the distance he asked, “Why would you want to be strutting around up there?” He checked his back in case any subordinates or supervisors were paying him and his guest any attention.

“I’m looking for my falconering team,” he answered causing the stallion’s attention to swivel back to him. “I got separated from them and left at the forge to design my swords.”

“Swords? I only see one,” he commented as he rested a hoof atop a crate and leaned into it. He was rather amused with his odd occurrence, it's not every day a colt dressed in armor comes up to you asking to be lifted to a higher place especially one claiming to be a Falconer. “A rather small one too,” he added. “But I guess it suits your size.”

Igneous looked over his shoulder to the blade mounted on his back and remembered the sword Alastoria had left him with. True it was rather small but he’d thought it to be a much larger knife than a sword. “I’m gonna grow up,” he interjected not too loudly or defensive but more as an assured statement. “I’ll be as tall as you one day.”

“You think you’ll be tall enough to reach that perch up there?” he asked with an amused smile.

“Please?” he pleaded foregoing the question.

With a smile and a subtle shake of his head the stallion asked, “You're trying to find your falconer entourage?” Igneous nodded. He let out a sigh, paused for a moment but then shook his head in compliance. “Let me know when you find them then.” He nodded his head, removed his hoof from the crate he rested on and patted it twice. “Right here colt, I’ll lift ya.”

With a big smile of appreciation Igneous happily hopped up on top of the box with a cheerful, “thank you!”

“Careful now.” The box began to lift and Igneous wobbled a bit when its stability decreased as it ascended over the stallion. Igneous looked down to keep his balance putting as much effort into staying on the box as the stallion was keeping him raised. He reared up and leaned both hooves on the wall to lift Igneous higher and asked, “you there yet?” He raised it more but found he pushed the box and the armored colt as far as his magic would safely allow. “Colt? You there?” he asked again.

“Yes!” Igneous called back in excitement as he lept off the box and onto the tiled shingles of the roof. He turned himself and peered back down into the allway and waved, “thank you kind sir!”

“Well careful up there now,” he answered. “I know it's not thatching but I’ll remind you those tiles aren't exactly very gripping either.” He then looked back down the alley only to see two of his peers staring back at him and the colt. “Is there anything you’d like or need?” he asked looking back to Igneous as he prepared a mental statement for what he might say when and if his colleagues ask what he had done and why.

Igneous looked over his shoulder and to the next building that lay across the street, and the next after that. After little deliberation he concluded he haddn’t thought much further past his plan other than getting on the roof in the first place. He needed a way to cross but jumping, although possible with these tight, narrow alleyways between one building and the next, would no doubt end with him visiting Dramier at the healer’s place.

He then looked back down his alley that he stood above with the kind stallion waiting for his answer. He looked to the wall across from him, spotted something and pointed, “oh! Can I have that plank over there?”

The stallion looked back on himself and saw the plank leaned up against a wall. It seemed rather old and he’d recognised it many times before as it was always found in the same spot only to occasionally be moved once it became an inconvenience to some pony. It was never exposed of, none of the ponies here cared to do that. So it laid there against the wall with no purpose of any kind. Perhaps this was more of a favor then a request.

“Of course,” he answered as he took it in his magical grip and held it high for the colt to take in his and hoist away. With it gone at least it wouldn’t be a bother from now on.

“Thanks again!” Igneous called back as he drug the plank along the roof and disappeared over the top. Now all the colt had to do was figure out where he wanted to go and with the same amount of forethought he put into wandering and getting up on the roof, the same was true here in that he had no clue where he wanted to go.

“Hmm,” he thought to himself with the board standing on end at his side. He looked all around him and at the rooftops that surrounded this building. He’d for some reason imagined that Alastoria was heading north from where Frawl’s forge was and with one quick nod of his head he trotted in the direction of the mountains, came to the opposite edge of the rooftop and laid the bored down across the gap that laid in between the two. Happily trotting across marveling the fall he’d take if he slipped, he in no time was on the other side. Igneous then collected the plank, trotted to the opposite side northward, laid it down over the alleyway fall and did it again.

To Igneous this was an adventure with almost no bounds. The dangers: The fall, the limits: The village walls, the destination: Somewhere within these walls, and the journey: Another trot across the board to the next rooftop only to do it all again.

The streets gained in bodys as civilians began to awake while Igneous went about his little adventure. Lots of ponies looked up to him in curiousness as they went on from place to place. One celestial even hovered next to Igneous as he trotted across his portable walkway asking, “colt, are you lost?”

“No,” he answered. “I’m just looking for the rest of my team.”

“And who might your team be?” he asked as Igneous raised the board and set it across another rooftop.

“The Falconers,” he answered again as he trotted his way down the plank.

“Falconers?” he questioned. “I didn’t know any where nearby, let alone here. Are you just dressing?”

Igneous looked down at his armor and back to his scabbard. “No,” he began. “I really am a Falconer. I’m being mentored by Alastoria to become a smith!”

“Gonna be the best in the land?” he asked as he offered a hoof in lifting the plank for the colt.

Igneous nodded. “Of course. I’ll be the best and you’d hear my name and remember my blades.”

“Blades?” he questioned looking to the only sword he kept on his back.

“They’re being forged,” he answered. Another walk way was made between two roofs and Igneous made his way. “You’ll see them in a day or two,” he happily assured. “You won’t forget, I’ll show them too.”

“Seems exciting,” he commented hovering nearby. “Glad to know we got Falconers round. Those Royal guards of the capital couldn’t be asked, at least not since Plisken resided. The warriors of the province no longer exist and the infantry of the village dispersed itself long ago. Hardly even a militia too colt, ya know?”

Igneous gathered his bored again and balanced it on end while looking out over the building tops gauging where he would next go. He seemed more interested in his adventure pushing conversation to a close second at times often looking ahead then to his guest.

“Say…” the celestial began as he landed next to him. “Where ya oft anyways?”

“I’m looking for a tavern,” Igneous answered before lowering the board over another street. “You happen to know where any are?”

He raised his eyes in thought and tossed his head about when thinking of an answer. “I know four,” he offered. “I wager only one is where your group resides, yes?”

“No, just Alastoria,” he half mindedly informed him as he looked out over the city in marvel and appreciation. Then remembering more of his company he turned back to the stallion and asked, “where's the nearest tavern then?”

“I’ll point you to it but I’ll have to go off on my own again real soon.” He clicked his hooves as he took off. “Work is dire it seems. Disease mills about in the fields but nothing a little fire can’t fix unfortunately.”

Igneous kept his eyes on the celestial as he took to the air only to fly a relatively far distance and hover in mid air as a beacon for the colt pointing down just to make it evident that his destination lay just below himself. He then waved his hoof, prodded his forehead and left to the fields that billowed with black smoke leaving Igneous to wave back in appreciation giving an audible thank he didn’t hear but could very well assume Igneous gave.

Now it was definite, Igneous had a destination and he knew where it was. He didn’t need reminding as he kept the image of that celestial’s placement in his head seeing it as if it were a beacon to his path.

He laid down the board and pressed on again much to the unsatisfactory disposition several rooftop owners gave him but Igneous didn’t notice their annoyed looks from below. He was too focused on the little adventure of his own and enjoying every moment of it too.

***

“Igneous never did find that tavern by the way,” Alastoria told. “I will admit,” she said before any pony could speak. “That fault was, in part, mostly mine.”

“What happened to him then?” asked Dorrorrian. “Did he happen to find his way back to the Keep?”

“No,” Dramier answered with a smile of remembrance creeping across his face. “He found Raillay.”

“Find?” a new and familiar voice questioned. “More like fell on.”

Dorrorrian smiled as he turned to face Raillay that approached the table about as casually as the rest had when they entered. “Glad you could finally make it.”

“Glad I could finish my task in time,” she said as Dramier decently scooted himself over making room for her. “So I see we're speaking of Igneous, yes?”

Alastoria nodded.

“And how convenient of you to show up at this time,” Dramier said with a grin. “Right when we mention you…”

“Fortunate to see you here at all,” she shot back in friendly retaliation. “Could almost rely on you to find a partner on most convenient nights.”

“Shush, shh,” he hoofed back at her. “Lets not talk about that now,” he said avoiding Alastoria’s right eyebrow raised gaze. “You, -you found Igneous that day.” He was desperately changing the subject as if it would somehow wash out the implied fornication Raillay laid down upon him. “Now! Tell us the story, common.”

Raillay sighed as she gathered her words to tell. “So,” she began with a huff. “I drop this poor loaf off to get his dafted wing fixed and sort of lost my way back, but to be honest,” she said looking to Alastoria, “you never specified which tavern.”

The day wasn’t quite as bright in the earliest when Raillay dragged Dramier over to the healer’s place. At least not until the sun rose and she completely lost her way trying to navigate through those winding roads of the farm village. Although this village was big in size with roads that seemed easy to navigate near the perimeter the same couldn’t be said for the roads that lead on into the center.

However, as much as she would have liked to complain there was a completely logical explanation for this. Early on when this village was just being built and ponies were settling, most just built their houses and shops wherever they pleased. However, when the village started to get bigger and more ponies began to settle only then did they build roads for ponies to trot upon. They decided this simply because it was more convenient than hiring Earth Alchemist Specialists to move foundations around to make the building of village roads more organized.

But whatever, Raillay didn’t often times blame the ignorance of the past unless it was the past of her present that got caught back up in the now. Then she had reason to blame herself or other ponies beside herself but right now she was more concerned with the present… the roads to be exact and where that taffing tavern was specifically.

Today she wore her eartheneiring equipment personally out of habit but professionally out of preparedness for anything that could happen. Maybe she’d catch a robbery. It wouldn’t be too farfetched given most of the alleyways devoid of significant light and or inhabitant or maybe she’d find nothing and it would just be a normal day.

However Raillay then began to daydream of what it’d be like for her to be standing at the entrance as a silhouette catching the nearsighted eyes of the perpetrators and the pony unfortunate enough to get caught in their affairs. That pony would see her as a beacon of hope and hero of the highest degree but Raillay mostly just focused on the darkened silhouette part because it made her seem mysterious and a true vigilante before she rightfully riddling them with untipped bolt shafts to scare them away.

During this daydream Raillay just so happened to leave the narrow, hardly distinguished main street in passive favor of an alleyway hidden beneath the shadow of each building around. She didn’t notice this however until she happened to remember what exactly she was walking for only to realize she was still lost and in an ally.

“Ta-aff,” she drew out in minor annoyance. She looked to where she came. The street was still there as well as the ponies that walked it. Looking ahead there was a new street with ponies that walked it also, although it was much further away down the long alley of diverging sub-roads and paths.

‘Perfect conditions for jumping an unsuspecting falconer,’ she couldn’t help but think.

However Raillay laughed it off to herself. This was a farming village after all and if anything robberies took place at mining villages.

Picking up her stride she trotted her way down the alley as if it were any other pony filled road. However she didn’t get far before her ears flicked back and around stopping her in her tracks. She looked back on herself again but saw nothing but the same road ahead. Something seemed off to her and she couldn’t quite understand why.

But then it hit her, quite literally and right over top of her head. All she heard was something loud, a slight whiff and a coltish squeal but when it had ended Raillay was left on her side with a spinning head brought on by a harden smash from above. Luckily for her she was alert before hand which caused her to get a grip on her bearings quite quickly before much could be said or done to her specifically.

Her chest button was pushed, the crossbows sprung with the one at her side righting her as it did so. With the spring pushing the mare to her knees she spun around taking advantage of the momentum and action it provided. The wires around her ears stiffened them forward as triggers and the reticle fell over her eyes just as she laid sight on her assailant.

“Igneous?” she said in surprise once she recognized it to be a smaller figure laying on the ground in much the same condition and shape as she was. His mane kinda gave it a way to Raillay, not to mention the coat of fur and the coltish squeal she heard right before this whole event happened. He was lying on the ground not too hurt but just enough to make him want to sit still and ride out the pain for a moment or two.

“Hi Raillay,” the colt muttered dressed in his armor and back-scabbard sword. A top him laid a wooden plank with chips sticking out one end of it. “Guess I just... dropped in,” he moaned with a pathetic little giggle.

Raillay let her crossbows collapse away and the wires slacked. She picked herself up and walked over to Igneous only to remove the plank from over his body. The colt looked up at her with his single skyward facing eye. “What were you doing up there Igneous?”

“Looking for the tavern,” he answered.

“Did you find it?”

“Not yet, but I know where it is.”

“Where?”

Igneous hesitated for two whole moments then pointed to the building he failed just trying to reach and answered “...North…”

It was at time like these she didn’t mind Dramier being nearby. She sighed to herself and looked to the sky as if hoping to see him flying high and free looking just as hard for that tavern as they were. However she knew at best he’d be done getting his bone mended by the end of the day. She again sighed, shook the pain in her head, neck and spine away to help the colt up.

“Common Igneous,” she said giving him a hoof. “Let's get going, if we're lucky we just might find out way back to the keep instead.” She gave Igneous a gentle nudge with her snout urging him to lift himself when she felt a slight ache in her neck. “Did you really have to fall on my head Igneous?” she complained as she rubbed the sore spot.

“Sorry,” he apologized with an embarrassed grin. “I didn’t know you’d be under me.” He lifted himself to his hooves.

“It's fine Igneous. It was an accident,” she assured with a friendly smile. “We’ll just call it... fate,” she kindly offered. “How about that?”

Igneous stared at the ground in thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Ya, we can call it that.”

“All collected and ready to trot again?” It was rhetorical but Igneous still nodded that he was. “Then follow me. If we’re lucky we might just find ourselves back to the Falconers keep instead.”

***

“So exactly what did it feel like having an armored colt fall right upon your head?” Dramier asked.

“Not, too, good, Dramier,” she said drawing out each word in warning to Dramier and his tease. “But anyways, as you two know,” she said gesturing to Alastoria and Dramier. “We never did find that taffing tavern.”

“Alastoria how’d you even know where to go?” Dorrorrian asked finding it odd how she never once complained about getting lost while on this venture.

She finished a swig before answering simply, “had a road map.” She then nodded her head to Raillay and spoke to Dorrorrian saying, “now listen. This is a great story and one that makes me very, very proud of Igneous.”

“What’d Igneous do?” Dorrorrian questioned. “Did you find something Raillay?”

A smile spread across Raillays lips. She leaned forward over the table and said, “Why, I’m very glad you asked. How about…” she paused for a moment, mostly just for the effect. “...a conspiracy to commit Kordan?”

“Kordan,” he questioned raising an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Well let me tell then.” Raillay then leaned back and began to tell her and Igneous’s tale of how they saved Cerivellea, the mighty farm village, from total financial and economic destruction. “It all started when we got lost again that very same day.”

Author's Note

You know... I think I'm not going to bother indenting paragraphs anymore. It seems to be the popular thing to do not to mention one less button press :p

Chapter 1 The Initiative

Author's Note

Hey its the story about that one stallion who's the only one featured in every book related to Falconers.

Chapter 1 The Initiative

Falconer Igneous. Igneous no last name, haha. One of the finest Falconers I know, that little colt. Stupidly reckless, poor with magic but always managing to pull through without a problem. I expected him to be dead long ago or quit in the very least. My training certainly wasn’t very kind and by any god did he know it.

Beat him with a stick just to teach him weapons combat and still he insisted on challenging me. Ran him half to death but he never hated me and I could never quite understand why. Could have been Dramier and Adridge that kept him going but he always insisted on looking up to me regardless.

He has seen some awful things just like you and me but that's the price to pay for being a Falconer. Some call it murder but every pony knows we all allude to justice. He is very well is strong at heart and as his mentor I can tell. I'm also very proud of him, may be the first time you hear me say that, could very well be the last but I really am. However for the past few months I've been bothered. Something that just refuses to escape my mind.

“What is it?”

“...It was his first hunt. Night was the time if I do recall. Bright moon, great conditions too, and a monster that refused to relent. Let me start from the beginning… The day I met him to be exact.”

“Oh please,” he said throwing his head back.

“Have another drink and shut up. Here's Igneous’ story as far as I know...”

The young colt, Igneous, stood in front of the door unsure whether to let himself in or not. He glanced down the street to his left: Fairly empty, cart or two halting a few crates. He looked to the street on his right: ponies walking about not paying him any attention.

He let out a nervous sigh. “Just knock,” the colt told himself as he meagerly raised a hoof.

How far had he traveled? He didn’t know and as for what lay beyond? Well, the same could be said. He hadn’t put much forethought into what he was going to do in regards to helping Noriphmy and because of that, prior to this event, there was a lot of wandering around from village to village trying to catch this team.

It wasn’t easy they were always on the move and food wasn’t exactly cheap. He worked work in the three basic types of villages as he traveled. Them being Farming, Mining and Lumber so he could say he had a basic understanding of each.

For example he learned that food prices were higher in the mining villages and lower in farming villages. Tools and precious metals were less expensive in mining villages than any other village, and you could probably guess what for in the logging villages. He helped where he could and ultimately scrapped by on low earnings which really just served to keep the small colt humble.

One thing he did know for sure was that he was going to find a Falconer team and enlist in their ranks or however their system worked, and after that… well his young imagination held the image of them going about helping Noriphmy and anypony in need. Thing was Falconers were kinda hard to find. From one village to the next he traveled just trying to find the team that was said to be there just the night before. As a result of their post departure he would have to work until he earned enough to keep moving on which often times came at the cost of missing the same team again. It's not like he ever gave up, in fact he was determined and with his relentless persistence came a breakthrough and now he stood there to the side of the street in front of the Falconers place or keep or… abode? Whatever they called it, he didn’t know.

He took a deep breath nervous to no end, practically sweating. This was it, he was here. The thing he spent so long striving for and he finally caught up. He was going to be a Falconer, he was going to help other ponies, he was going to travel across Noriphmy and of course… he was going to slay monsters.

The fantasy was strong but reality stood with a knife ready to break the veil and make it so. He was going to do it. He was going to do it!

“I'm gonna do it!” Eagerly he raised his hoof ready to mighty bash down the door with enthusiasm and declare his presents but his better judgment took hold and he decided to be polite instead. So he knocked rather than the former and waited, but not for long as he swiftly received a voice calling him inside the wooden building. It sounded sweet and youthful, not grim and powerful like he always imagined. Books had an influence and it kinda disappointed him but still...

Not wasting any time Igneous opened the door obeying the call, letting himself in. Immediately he was greeted by an almost bare room with nothing but a couple feather mattresses used for sleep. The floor was made of chipped half-rotting wood and the walls could only pass for stable which in itself seem tested by two windows on either side. Another disappointment: The Falconers place wasn’t exactly grand but he did almost immediately know it only came with the essentials and nothing more.

Again this colt was humble.

From an open doorway on the far end to the right, the same voice he knew to be a mare's voice called to him. “And to whom am I in the presence of?” asked the mare Igneous found strikingly sightly with the physique she prominently possessed.

“Igneous,” he answered. This room shared a lot with the first that being, splintered wood and stable walls except instead of mattresses this one held a weapons cabinet Igneous took as a wardrobe. It may have been were they stored their equipment on their off moments but that was a rarity to Falconers.

Turning to face him she polished a long sword in her magical grip with a rag she ran up and down the length of the broadside giving it that extra shine. However Igneous hardly noticed this as what stood just behind the floating weapons display was more… interesting.

“Igneous who,” she asked. It was a soft voice but one that held some matter of fact-ness to it while also being a bit brute, like he was wasting her time already. “Or is it just the Igneous and nothing more?” Was she being smart?

“I-I” he stammered as he took in the profound details of her. She was… different. Very different. First of all she seemed a bit larger than most stallions and not only that but she was very fit. Yes, very much in shape with her muscles being that of one in constant stress for they were more noticeable in size than the average buck you could encounter.

Another thing that stood out and made her image all the more striking was the scars lined where were the muscles interconnected. It was as if they were tattooed but instead of ink it was scar tissue, and it wasn’t just here and there but on every muscle were that interconnected with another. It had to have been by design but Igneous didn’t know who would purposely endure pain for a unique look, but he guessed when your life is constantly on the line, a few cuts here and there would hardly be considered substantial.

For a Falconer who fought monsters she had little armor dawned except for a plate on her snout that lead up between her eyes onto her forehead. A few back plates covering her spine with chain leading down were her legs connected with her body. One plate went up the length of her barrel covering substantial parts of her stomach on only the front end of her chest.

As for her weapons she wore two scabbards on each side, one occupied by a long sword were as the other was still held in her magical grip being shinned for Igneous. He could even see his reflection. One particular feature that stood out about this long sword was where the base of the blade met the hilt. Here two spikes ran parallel up the blade a small distance about a fourth of the way and if Igneous learned anything from hours of adventure book reading was that this was a feature meant to catch enemy blades in, effectively disarming them with a twist of her magical grip.

There was a third weapon he remembered seeing the one that laid across her back before she first turned to face him and it was short, bordering on the lines of a straight dagger and a short sword.

However as he was admiring her gear and set up she waved her head and said, “Well? Your name?”

He then found he was rudely staring, shook his head and answered, “just the Igneous.” He hoped that she would believe him and that against all odds wouldn’t find out about his true self, but again the chances of that were very slim. His face wasn’t exactly flaunted all over the nation and as a result none ever pointed out the fact that he was a Sirvidian.

She nodded, thankfully. “Hmm, Yes,” she said setting down the rag and swinging the sword through the air. “A-and why did you come?” She seemed a bit doubtful.

“To become a falconer,” he answered.

She lurched a bit and Igneous could tell she was trying to suppress a sudden laugh. Successful in her efforts she asked with a entertained grin she dawned on her face, “You? A falconer? Well…” She cleared her throat for Igneous. “I don’t know what I should have expected, we don't get many volunteers and the ones we do get oftentimes are in a better state. I mean look at you, you're in a poor state young colt. I shouldn’t even bother to employ you.”

What was left of Igneous confidence swiftly exited the room leaving him with nothing more but his wits and this mare. This destructive looking mare. “I'm sorry, but I-I’ey, um,” he nervously slurred. “...But I did traveled far.”

“You seem to have traveled a bit too far. Your filthy and worn too. Hmm, unless,” she said as she dropped the rag to the floor leaving nothing more between Igneous and her but the glistening long sword she was well adept to.

Normally he wouldn’t be one to shy away but with the lack of confidence in his minutely deprived state he couldn't help but already feel overpowered by all that raw strength that resided within her. He gradually began to retreat away from her as she hissed, “unless you're not here for Falconering, instead for sustenance.” The blade flicked and he aggressively flinched as it hung there pointing at him from above her head. “It wouldn’t be the first time after all.” Her voice seemed to lose all compassion much to Igneous’ dismay. One warning thrust of the blade and she said, “I don't take too kindly to thieves nor lairs.”

She took another stepped forward and Igneous took a few more steps back, but were he expected there to be a door he only found a wall. It turned out he missed by a short distance and was now cornered with no way out.

He became desperate in the presence of danger and so he pleaded, “no I'm not a thief. Honest! I wouldn't lie!” It was true he had no reason to.

She wasn’t convinced. Holding the blade close, she made sure it was well within her field of influence so that she would have maximum control over its movements. Fortunately Igneous was just outside of that invisible field but with every advancing step it wouldn’t be for long. “‘Honest. I wouldn’t lie,’” she mocked. “Words I’ve heard before and none the more genuine at that.”

Deciding to fix his mistake entering the room he attempted to sleek outside the doorway with his body hugging the wall but the falconer was too fast as she vaulted the blade in an arc obliterating the wooden plank it landed upon with a loud thwack. The broad side faced Igneous and he could clearly see his reflection.

With a single hoist of the hilt the blade came free however she only lifted it as high as his chest leaving him with a sharp obstacle in his way of freedom while the Falconer blocked his access to the rest of the room.

With no other alternative Igneous pushed himself against the corner falling to his hunches and then slipping to his back whimpering, “please. Just let me leave, I'm sorry.” -Although he had nothing to feel genuinely sorry for.

“Why did you bother on intruding?” she asked in a straight even tone of voice that still seemed threatening and felt just as poisoning as a viper's bite as she stood there towering over him. “You think were some pushovers? Some delinquents?” Her even voice was beginning to split. “Were Falconers and I loath ponies with the likes of you!”

She raised the blade and Igneous caught a flash of light as it caught in the sunlight. He was sure this was it, a bad mistake made by a naive young little colt. He should have thought better but now he couldn’t do anything except cover his face with both hoofs forming a pitiful defense against what was to come.

He trembled and whimpered just awaiting the lethal blow, but, it didn’t come. He waited longer than he should have but after a few moments he risked a peek through one eye only to see the Falconer sheath the long sword at her side with a remarkably satisfying crack.

She sighed looking down at Igneous Igneous taking the sight of him in. With the same soft voice he heard before the whole ordeal she said, “look at you. Fearful and scared. Not yet old enough to be a stallion. You still have a few years left your so young and you want to be… a Falconer?”

“W-what,” he mumbled still trembling before her.

She shook her head and raised it tall. “Look,” she began. “If you really want to be a Falconer then you have a lot of shaping up to do, Igneous.” She commanded, “Now stand.” Igneous gave her a confused look at the sudden change in mood she held. She was just aggressive than… understanding? Now semi-aggressive. “Stand!” She shouted.

Immediately Igneous leaped up to his hoofs to meet her demands. For his age he was average height but compared to her he was just about half her size barely peeking over her collarbone with his snout just coming up to the base of her neck. It was needless to say he felt small but... he felt fairly small.

“I’ll repeat,” she began as he stood there half in fear and the other in obedience. “You have a lot of shaping up to do if you want to become a Falconer Igneous. First proper posture in my company. I won't tolerate anything else till I know you better.”

She slapped his chin raising it and kicked his hind legs causing him to sit. Both moderately hurt but he didn’t want to give into pain. At least not in front of her.

Stepping back she seemed satisfied with her work saying, “there it is. A hunter I can respect. Respect is key as civilians look up to you for protection and security. Don't forget it,” she pointed almost booping him on the snout. Igneous gave a quick nod. “Second,” she said as she turned away from him. “You're in dire need of some courage. Courage is also key for if you cower in front of a beast such as you did with I, then it will not hesitate to tear you apart. Luckily for you I am no beast and the display I gave you was only a test. One you failed at that.”

He felt disappointed in himself but he only reassured himself by saying that she was simply scary and could have easily obliterated him at his best.

“Courage however,” she continued. “Does not come easily and it's not something I can teach you Igneous. It's something you have to earn for yourself as you fight on the battlefield with opponents and those more powerful than you. Do you understand.”

“Y-yes.” He answered.

“But a falconer does not go alone for such an act if foolish and will result in almost certain death. For that matter you will be accompanying me. Well not only me but also Dramier and Raillay.” She faced him again and felt proud that Igneous had remained in his stance she had forcefully endowed him with. She then said, “seeing that you are a Unicorn you shall become a Smithenier under my close supervision and teachings in what I know of the sword arts and three base magics. Now,” she said as she sat down in front of him. “About you. what are you talents? What can you show me?”

Igneous didn’t know what to say. He hadn't much to speak of. He didn’t know what he had to bost of in terms of skills and combat knowledge.

“It's your time to speak Igneous,” she reassured after a few moments of silence passed.

Shaking his head he answered, “I-I don't have any.”

“None to speak of?” She asked.

He nodded.

She sighed and rubbed her head as she took the next few moments to think. Coming to a conclusion she nodded and said, “Something can be molded from nothing, or more correctly rubbish. Best thing to start with is weapon arts and we can see how you fare in magical combat later starting with dark magic, light, then alchemy.” She stood up and said, “I'm not particularly strong with the other elemental alchemys other than fire, so there we will have to start when the time comes. Igneous,” she began in a nicer tone of voice. “I will admit to you now, even I have flaws and some things you can’t purge from your life.”

With that she abruptly stood up and walked out of the room and when she saw Igneous still sitting there she motioned for him to follow. Leading him through the main room she unsheathed the smaller blade that lied on her back and held it behind her. She then said, “Hold this please.”

Suddenly dropping it Igneous quickly moved to catch it in his magical grip. With his grasp firmly around it he found it was much heavier than he expected as he strained just to keep it floating. In truth he easily could have carried it in his mouth but even though his magical levitations skills lacked a bit compared to his strength it was only natural. He should have easily lifted the object but for some reason it fought with Igneous and against his grip on the blade.

Through strained gasps of magical exertion he sputtered, “Ma’am…”

But was cut off by the Falconer who said, “Alastoria is my name.” She stood by the door ready to leave but as she cracked the door open she added, “I need to go get something. For you specifically. Consider this your first lesson. Keep it floating for as long as you can but don’t drop it or drop out and resume when I return. Don’t think me a fool for I will know such slyness. Bear up your abilities and your faults. It's only honorable to do so Igneous.”

Just as she opened the door two more guest entered in. Again she was taller by just a few noticeable inches. One was a Stallion and a Pegasus at that and the other was a Mare and a earth pony. Alastoria greeted them saying, “I was just on my way out Dramier.” Since Dramier sounded like a stallion’s name Igneous guessed it was the pegasus. “We have a new falconer in the making.”

“New?” He asked eyeing Igneous suspiciously. “Are you going to run this out too?”

“If he can’t handle it of course,” she answered. That didn’t sound too good to Igneous. How many others had she trained and how many others had failed if Dramier was so quick to compare them to him?

Raillay was the only name to be given and Igneous guessed it was the name given to the earth pony. She walked to the center of the room and Igneous saw that she had a bag wrapped around her back that seemed to be full of vegetables and other food. She spoke with a more cheery attitude than the others and said, “Another smithenier on the team? Why, I feel safer already.”

She wore a chest piece made out of metal with a single round plate in the center. Her legs were free of armor but glancing to the side of her barrel he noticed a large, bulky piece smoothen wood that dommed at her side. Running up her neck were wires guided by leather straps that were fastened to her neck muzzle and ears which served to operate the device at her side. On the other however was an elongated tube strapped their by two buckles that wrapped tightly against her body ensuring it couldn’t easily slip or move.

“Feel free to acquaint yourself with him,” Alastoria called out just as she was closing the door. “I must make a quick run but do your best not to bother him. He is in training as of now and I would not like for him to fail so easily.” With that she left leaving Dramier and Raillay in his company Igneous’ in theirs, but it wouldn’t be until later that night when he fully realized he was becoming a falconer. After so long it was finally happening and he couldn’t wait for the days that came next.

Chapter 10 Kalth and Vaulth

The early morning day seemed tranquil, the stars shone bright but slowly dwindled out as the sun lay hidden beyond the horizon to the east making the early hours of this day seem nightly while the horizon burned with a fire. The clouds lingered high above not daring to summit the mountains and celestials flew about the farmland spying rodents or infections amongst the tall wheat fields as farmers or delivering messages and letters as couriers from the capital.

The streets were scarcely occupied at this time with a few children sneaking away to engage in some early day antics before the work hours set in at the rise of a full sun and bright clear skied day. Some colts and fillies went to play in the wheat fields pretending to get lost until one of the wary celestials spied them or run around in the streets with the farm dogs they playfully chased around.

But among the early risen who were excited and frantic in their play time there was one particular unicorn that wasn’t so. Namely Igneous who followed Alastoria through darkened streets of the early morning. Igneous held the belief that if it was still dark then one should sleep until it becomes light. Although waking up early to receive a new sword seemed tempting enough Igneous personally held the mentality that sleep came first.

Still he didn’t need another alchemist water dumping from Alastoria to convince him to wake so he listened with a nod, suited up and parted ways with Raillay and Dramier as they went to the local healer to get a wing examination and find out if anything could be done this late in time to his wing. If it mended correctly they could fuse his wing today but if hadn’t some extensive procedures would be needed. One not so painless as they say.

However while they did that Igneous was due for a new sword and hearing that a certain forger was in town, one he met previously, he was rather fine with it all. However he constantly spied the little ones, if at his age he could even justify calling them so, looking to him earnestly as if the wanted to speak to him but were too nervous or a bit shy. Perhaps it was because he was a falconer dressed in armor… it was because he was a falconer dressed in armor young as he was and the places and things they inferred him to have seen.

Alastoria didn’t talk much on their short travel down six convenient streets. At least not until she led Igneous through the door of a sturdy brick building and into the hall of the forgers keep. “Frawl,” she called out. “I’m back again!”

“Come to haunt?” he asked as he withdrew from his task of hammering rivets into farm tools in favor of his new company.

Drawing up the broken blade she stored on her back she dropped it before Frawl on the counter atop other assorted projects and rivets. “More like reprise,” she said as she stood back for his evaluation. “It was a poor job. Couldn’t withstand one mortal blow.”

“At least only one was needed,” Frawl said as handled the broken blade with care as he eyed the point of breakage and the intense stress it had undergone. “Can see young Igneous here still stands in the flesh so it did its job alright.”

“Yes, lucky buck.” She gently pat Igneous’s head.

Frawl seemed dissatisfied with the results, as one humble forger could imagine, and set the blade down. “Should say this wasn't my work. Just something I could scuffle together before your departure. The master of the forge who left the place in my keep left a pile of discarded material, I did my best to touch and polish it up but I didn’t expect you to take this young colt to combat straight away,” he politely criticized. “Thought you were more proficient than that Alastoria.”

She shook her head, “we were ambushed...”

“Ambushed! This far North?”

“...by cows.”

A moment of thought and the statement finally broke through. After a short pause he put two and two together. “We had herders from here running cattle to the capital before the winter set in. They lose control of a few?”

“All,” she answered. “But that's a story to settle over a drink, now.” She tapped a hoof on the counter. “About that blade.”

Meanwhile Igneous sat by the window idly looking out to the children as they played.

Taking the hilt in his magical grasp he began to unscrew the pommel as he made his proposition. “I can replace the blade with another lying around but this is at my own expense.” The pummel came free and Frawl held the hilt upside down letting the base of the blade slip free falling to its broken counterpart on the table. “The master of this forge expects no loss in revenue on his return and as a friend I obliged to uphold that.”

Withdrawing two metal prisms from her side bag Alastoria dispensed them on the table and said, “Then it's a good thing I saved you the material.”

“Iron?”

Alastoria nodded.

Looking over the two bricks Frawl said, “well this is more than enough for a standard longsword. Could even make two short swords with it if you wished.”

“That's up to Igneous then.” Turning to the colt who now looked their way at the mention of his name she said, “over here buck. What's your preference.”

“See his shields’ still fine,” Frawl observed as he approached. Reaching beneath the table Frawl withdrew five ordinary rocks and placed them side by side.

“What's this,” Igneous asked as he hopped up on two as he leaned against the table to see.

“How many entities can you carry?”

“He told me it was only two,” Alastoria said.

Looking to Igneous Frawl asked, “You plan to exercise that?”

“Hopefully,” he said as he gave it his best shot. First, the far left stone lifted. “Last I tried,” he began as the second stone lifted. “I simply couldn’t.”

“Well…” he began but trailed at the anticipation of the third stone lifting but after a short moment and Igneous staring him blankly in the face he concluded, “perhaps you’ll just grow into lifting another entity.” The stones dropped and Frawl stored them away. “Definitely not unlike Alastoria or I.”

“How many can she lift?” Igneous asked earnestly.

“Ask her,” he gestured before throwing the broken blade into the smelter but preserving the hilt for later repurposing.

Looking to the larger mare she assured him with, “five.”

“Four for me,” Frawl said returning to the table. “Now about time and design.”

“I’m listening,” Alastoria assured.

“Right now I got projects that need done.” The items that cluttered the table top were a clear sign of that. “The farmers need tools and rivets for their farming needs and fences. Luckily the master left me with his assistant while on vacation so he can tend to those matters.” Alastoria nodded in approval. “But design… It's a personal thing Igneous and something that… in a sense… represents you as a character and falconer.”

“Then will you be needing Igneous for a time?”

“If you don’t have anything else planned,” he answered. “I’d simply like to spend a short while with him and see if we can come up with some simplistic practical sword.”

“Forging blades takes a day, two I take?”

“I reckon two for quality,” he answered. “Especially after our failure.” He gestured to the smelter and the broken blade within.

Alastoria looked down at herself in thought. “Anything could happen,” she muttered half to herself and the others before withdrawing her short-most blade. “Hand over the goudge.”

With a nod Frawl transferred over a spoon like tool that laid on the shelf of tools behind him.

Applying the open end of it to the area of the binding stone she, with one gentle thrust of the spoon, popped the red bounded stone out onto the floor before picking it up and placing it on the table. “Store that for me,” she requested. Then taking the hilt of the broken sword she did the same thing and with the red gem now freed she placed it within the void of the previous gem that occupied her sword. “Here you go Igneous,” she said holding it before him. It was the lighter one of her three blades and the one she actually had him practice holding up his first ten minutes after meeting her.

Only now when he took it by the hilt did it seem even lighter than the blade he wielded previously. This was due in part that it was practically a very long knife more so than an actual sword but anything that swipes, jabs and stabs could very well be one.

“Thanks Alastoria,” he said just as she handed him the scabbard along with.

“Now, you work with Frawl,” she spoke to Igneous. “And when you're done meet me at the tavern and then I can take you to train.” With that she left leaving the door to swing shut after her.

“Well Igneous...” Frawl began as he cleared the table top. “What should we start with?” With a modest space cleared of clutter Frawl filled it again with a piece of parchment pinned to the table by the corners he weighted down with stones. “Hilt or blade?”

Leaning up to the table Igneous thought for a moment before shrugging. “Which one matters more?”

“Some would argue the blade of a sword it's what defines it design however experienced forgers and wielders of swords that actually work, they know everything, every aspect of the sword, relies within the hilt.” For a brief moment Frawl left Igneous for the back room only to return a short moment later with a leather bound book in store. With the slightest of grins on his face Frawl set the book down, turned it to Igneous and said, “have a look Igneous, tell me how you feel about these particular designs.“

Taking the book in his magical grip Igneous leaned away and sat on the floor. “Mythical swords, second issue,” he read aloud. Frawl only gave an even wider grin as if the book itself was a novelty or the punchline to a joke not yet spoke which it may very well have been.

However when he opened it he thought if anything it was quite the opposite. These blades illustrated were exotic to say the least. Huge and black and full of spiny thorns with blades that curved in and about. Some were even said to be made of glass others were read to be made of volcanic extract while others were forged from the marrow of dragons. As he slowly flipped through the pages he found some blades were illustrated to be bigger than their wielder and heavier too.

Near the back of the book were techniques and instructions on how to use them which were also illustrated with posses showing guard breaks, guards, attacks and parries but only stances were shown the rest was in text.

While Igneous took his time to read Frawl waited patently in subtle glee. It was only when Igneous looked up after turning to his favorite page saying, “this book is amazing,” did he burst out with three short laughs.

This colt was so naive as to actually believe in these weapons like it was gospel. “Igneous, little colt,” he began shaking his head with somewhat of a disappointed sympathetic smile on his face. “These weapons are taffing mad!”

Igneous folded up the book, tilted his head and asked, “what? What do you mean?”

Taking the book from his magical grip Frawl turned to a particular page that illustrated the size difference between blade and wielder. “You actually think something of this magnitude is wieldable?” If one could make a rough estimate of the weight of the blade one would say the it held about thirty percent more mass than that of its wielder and if it were measured in volume about half the size of said wielder. “These things, these abominations are a joke! Exotic blades forged from…” A moment to read. “...From ‘volcanic extract?’ Igneous, you ever seen a sword made of Igneous?”

Of course he was referring to the actual rock and Igneous knew some renditions, or the purest form of it to be black if not a slight hint at purple, but if he were to answer Igneous would have said no.

He shook his head instead.

“That because a blade like that is brittle and won't last a single lethal blow. It’d be worse than ol’ failure over there.” The blade within the smelter, of course. “But instead would have broken at the swing of its own weight. Glass swords,” he listed. “Never heard of glass stronger than hycrome. Dragon bone: strong but not when compared to hycrome tipped iron. And a…” he squinted as he flipped through the pages. “Ah, pure hycrome blades. Ahha... ahahaha!”

“What?” Igneous began in defence. “Isn’t hycrome a metal?”

With a big grin Frawl shook his head. “No Igneous, hycrome is an acid.” He placed the book down and began to explain. “Hycrome is a mixture of three different elements and chemicals, grace to the unicorns who figured that out before the days of Aminus. Anyways when a sword is due for its final touch up after having undergone all the processes including cooling and finishing it is then dipped in hycrome. The effects it has on the very edges of the blade is seen and felt more than anywhere else, broadside or other.

“Hycrome, in a sense…” He took a moment to find an explanation suited for the young colts mind. “Reforms the metal into somewhat of a crystal down to the very shape of the molecule which is pointed outwardly. This is true science Igneous and not this book full of taff and yewlary.”

“Why’d you tell me all this then?” Igneous questioned. “I just needed a sword.”

Leaning over the counter he relaxed himself and answered, “because I have all~ morning colt and I like to talk. But let's not delay any longer, for as passionate as I am in my work, this is what you really want.” A book slid from nowhere only to catch in Frawl’s hoof were as he pushed it forward off the table and into Igneous’s magical grip. “None of that hyper fantasy shath writers thrust into their fictions, this is the true work of forgers. Simple, concise, practical and very effective.” A leather bound book that read in painted, imprinted words, ‘Blazoned: The Forge.’ “Have a look Igneous, tell me what you like and in the meantime,” he fell back from the table and pulled a stone cup from the smelter with the liquid remains of his failed weapon. “I have some reforging to do.” Frawl began to take the remains away but before he could involve himself in work he paused for a moment and looked to Igneous. One question pressed his mind, one rather important to Igneous’s ability to be well of with the very book he lent him. “Colt, you do know how to read don’t you?”

He was asking this now because the last one was practically a picture book and although this one was almost no different there may have been a few explanations given that Igneous may not have been able to decipher if he haddn’t the education. Last Frawl heard Igneous was homeless and an unjustified before Alastoria picked him up. Statistics and common observations reveal most unjustified and orphans to be unruly educated and in Igneous’s case he was suspicious of it being no different.

“Oh uh,” he stuttered at the unexpected question. “Of course.”

“Hmm.” Seemed a bit odd to the stallion but he didn’t plan on dwelling at the thought for too long. “Good then. Well, be reading then and tell me what you like once you found it. I’ll be…” He took a deep somewhat tired breath. “I’ll be here colt. Like I always am.”

As hammering began to fill the hall Igneous thought it would be best to take a seat outside beneath the light of the doorside torch as well as the brightening sun-absent sky. If Frawl did begin to wonder where he was all he had to do was poke his head out so there wasn’t much harm in Igneous taking his leave.

Taking said leave, Igneous did just that leaning against the stone masonry that was the foundation of the uplifted building. On his left was the stares and door and on his right a simple bush while above was the aforementioned torch, still burning just as the alchemy associated with it intended. No doubt soon whoever lit them would be out to extinguish them but it was no mater, Igneous was here to read this book.

Opening to the first page Igneous immediately skipped it seeing as it was just a bunch of information and light history. Second page didn’t reveal all that much either but the third… this one had a picture! It was an illustration of a blade that came off as very standard and average. It had measurements, tapering details, thickness, weight, balance and a thing about vibrations and how it carries into the hilt in a certain way to mitigate breakage at the point of the imprinted blood gem.

Seemed interesting but there was a distinct lack of eye candy compared to the mythical sword book. This single blade seemed so boring so he flipped the page revealing another blade. This time slightly curved. Had a lot of math algorithms and more mind numbing information as well as weight and superior cutting power where the curve strikes the opponent but if anything a curved blade seemed more interesting than a simple straight blade.

Another few pages later talking left and right about blades and forging methods and he came to the crossguard section. Apparently its primary purpose was prevent blades from slipping and striking the wielders in the face or other bodily parts.

The first one was admittedly boring. It was a simple straight guard from one end to the other. It listed advantages and disadvantages but Igneous didn’t care he wanted something that looked pleasing. Another flip and he found whole diagrams of crossguards lined above and below and across the page. Some curved upwards into the blade others down to the hilt. Some were symmetrical, others were asymmetrical with one going up the blade while the other bent down to the hilt; generally, if it was curved, the crossguard pointed up would follow along the edge of the blade that faced the enemy. Some slightly jutted out to the sides in case of a broadside strike but they didn’t look as neat as the formerly listed. Almost like a welt if he could be honest.

So many more options than the blades admittedly but he didn’t want to dwell on it for long, he still had the hilts to read over.

A few more pages, a lot more math and measurements; was this supposed to be a book for forgers? Perhaps Frawl didn’t carry around a consumer’s copy.

‘Ah,’ he thought to himself as he flipped another page. ‘Hilts!’

If he recalled Frawl said the worth of a blade lays within the hilt and if Igneous had his opinion he would definitely agree. Although crossguards and the actual hilt were one and the same the bearing where the binding stone would be kept were considered to be separate.

They were all uniquely designed from simple metal emblems and straight hilts, to some curving around. One particular hilt curved around the gemstone holding it in place much like a snake holds its prey. Some widen near the pommel and crossguard only to thin out near the center.

If anything Igneous seemed far more interested in these than anything else even going as far as to read some of the descriptions given. They were complexe, some talked about the first to forge it while others spoke simply of its design.

Igneous couldn’t help himself, he was already running through his head the countless combinations of blades, crossguards and hilts in his endeavor to find something that suited him. It fascinated him more then anything, almost more than falconering but he was getting ahead of himself; there was still five more pages.

One flip: Guff about hilts.

The second: Some sort of introduction, one Igneous didn’t bother reading but the third revealed a hilt so remarkable that he forgot everything and every possible blade he might recommend to the forger immediately. Illustrated at the very top was a hilt named Kalth. It was rather simple with on binding stone within. It also showed the inner part were the hilt would have held a promel but instead it was empty and hollowed out with detailed marks and grooves within. Three tiny hooks stuck out from the opening that were equally spaced around the circumference and were even sourced to another section of the book.

Below it was the second hilt, slightly longer, looked somewhat the same but was remarkably different. It was named Vaulth. It wasn’t bulkier as it retained much of the former in ways of looks and style. It had one gem within the center like the other but within, instead of a empty opening it instead held another gem. It was concealed within a cylinder that was said to slid… no spin into place. It was supposed to connect with Kalth and with it they made one hilt with two blades.

With that information the page ended and so Igneous was forced to flip anew. What he found amazed him even more then the hilt itself. Here he found full illustrations of techniques on how to wield it with ponies drawn in position poised and fighting. One was shown to be using nothing more than the hilt armed with short blades. It’s opponent was another pony fighting with a longsword and shield.

The technique was a direct parry into offense, said to be instant in unavoidable without a shield. It was said to drive the opposing blade away while also striking the opponent directly. If anything it could even disarm and steal away the blade entirely.

It illustrated dual short sword V.S., longsword V.S., Hammers, Maces, Claws and Monsters V.S. this hilt of a sword.

He began reading instructions the executions and applications. Its strengths and fallbacks, its guards and guard breaks, its repost and parrys, everything.

However before Igneous could forget where he was the door to the forge suddenly opened startling Igneous from his wonder, turning his attention to Frawl who poked his head out in search of him. “Igneous where ya gone?” He called but soon found him regardless in his peripherals sitting aside with the book he gave him. “Oh, thought I lost you for a moment. It’s been a while.”

“Oh.” Igneous blinked in the sudden sunlight and time of day it was. How long had he taken just to read this thing? It seemed an hour had passed judging by the daylight that now shown. “Sorry,” he apologised. “The hammering was…”

“Eh, I see,” Frawl nodded in understanding before Igneous could finish. “The work of a forger ain't silent.” Looking down to the colt he found him opened to a page. Out of mild curiosity Fawl picked it up from his magical grip saying, “so what you go here colt? Have you decided yet? Oh...” he blinked at the illustrations of the pony wielding the peculiar hilt and short blades along with. He flipped back one page to find the schematics of the design and really went aback. “Oh, Igneous what have you found here?”

“Um, Kalth and Vaulth,” he answered with a shrug. “It was a… a hilt I found.”

“Oh yes I see you found it,” he said as he sat in the doorway in bewilderment of the design as he read through the instructions. “What… bearings? Spindles? Igneous… what is this?”

He did just asked that. “A… hilt?”

“Yes I see it's a hilt but… what is it?”

At this time Igneous began to worry that this hilt of a sword and the making there of was in jeopardy. “Can you make it?”

“Make it?!” he questioned suddenly. He seemed stumped out of mind by its very design almost as if it was something he’d never seen before which… was something he’d never seen before. “Colt I’ve never even known of it let alone seen it.” He read over the schematics. “Three gems!? This thing totals to a greatsword!”

“Can you make it?” Igneous questioned earnestly. “I mean it was in the book you recommended.”

“Colt, I only gave it a quick read. It's not mine, it's the master of the forge but I don’t even think he ever made it.” Frawl then closed the book, turned it about and eyed the spine of it. He was checking the production number that signified how many copies there were in existence. One meaning there was only one in existence and ten meaning there was ten but looking to it Frawl found there was only two. “This thing must have cost a fortune,” he muttered to himself refuring to the quality of the sketches and writing. “The second copy must lie in the library of the capital itself.”

“Can you make it?!” He pleaded. “I can’t carry more than two stones. It said that the stone that lays within mitigates the need to take it by two stones meaning, if I had it, I could also carry my shield.”

“It leaves a lot of room for variety colt,” he admitted. Frawl then sighed, opened the book to the illustration and schematics of the hilt and sighed again. “Colt,” he began as he leaned against the doorway. “I consider myself an expert in my field. So much so I traveled all over just to prove all Noriphmy of my craft. Never had I had this kind of request or even seen such a thing. I never dreamed of it and I probably would never have thought to make such a thing.” He looked to the colt, book folded raised in his magical grip. “This is what you want, right?” Igneous nodded. Frawl took in a deep breath and looked to the horizon. “I wouldn’t call myself an expert if I were a failure to a colt. Falconer, you get your wish. Two bars of iron are worth two short blades, maybe a little extra. However this hilt… this hilt will take some time. Go to Alastoria,” he commanded as he stood. Stepping back beyond the threshold he stored the book away and the door began to swivel in his magical grip. “Tell her the blade she lent will be need for far longer than she intended.”

And with that the door shut leaving Igneous to his secondary task: Find Alastoria.

Looking to the streets beginning to pool with farmers merchants and simpleton civilians he thought, ‘how hard could it be?’ In a town he knew nothing about other than a few streets and the entrance, probably harder than he expected.

At least he’d get his hilt and the short blades along with.

Author's Note

Updated this chapter because for SOME reason I forgot that the sun rose in the east and not the fucking NORTH! Me ez dummi, its updated so no its simply early in the morning negating the reconcile Igneous gave himself for not having to wake up earlier in the first version. Now he actually has something to complain about.