Chapters Chapter 1: Part 1: Difficult Beginnings
The house I lived in, since I was a foal, was small, but it wasn’t anything bad for me, my father and my mother. It was peaceful and pleasant and we lived a relatively comfortable, though not easy, life. There were very few disturbances of this serenity. The price dropping was the most ‘crucial’ news to the family, but that was it. Other than that, we ate breakfast, father would go to work in his position as a teacher at one of the local schools and I would go to a different school, whilst mother would take care of the house. She used to work as well, but that was before I was born. Mother was not unhappy about it, though she did miss the days, when she was working. She thought they were a lot more interesting than her current daily life. She loved me and so did my father, although I was much closer to my mother than to my father. I just could not communicate with my pa just as well, I suppose. Rest assured; I liked the way I lived in Equestria. At school we learned the usual maths, language, magic, and other things a pony and in my case, a unicorn, should know. To be honest, I found school exceedingly boring, when I was young. It was very ordinary, so to speak. You were there to be taught some very specific things and while nothing less, also nothing more. I found that reality of school to be extremely irritating. Whenever I got home, I often looked frustrated, sometimes even angered. That was, because for one more day, I had to put up with things I considered of minuscule importance and which, by all means, I already knew, since I had taught them to myself. When I would return home and eat with my mother, she would, as usual, calm me down. I always looked up to her. She was more than simply potent in the use of her magic as a unicorn and she always looked so dazzlingly beautiful. With a fair white coat and black hair and tail. I suppose the contrast added a certain degree of mystery to her. My coat was pink to purple, but that was because my father’ s color was dark purple.
When mother saw me, she called out to me in her usual cheerful tone.
‘Welcome home, sweetheart. How was school today?’
I would have preferred not to answer...
‘It was fine, mommy. They were teaching us those magic spells again, but I couldn’t pay attention.’
‘Why not, Rosa? Was something wrong?’
‘Not really. I just already knew those spells. At the same time, I couldn’t stop thinking about those other spells I had seen in that book the other day. It feels like I can do them but whenever I try nothing happens. My horn glows and everything but there are no results. But every time I try, I feel as if I should be able to execute them but I can’t.’
Mother looked puzzled and also curious.
‘I might be able to help you. What kind of spells were those, Rosa?’
I hesitated to answer. But I felt I had no other choice, so I did.
‘They were the spells from one of… your books mother.’
‘If that is the case, then I do not think it would be very difficult for me to- ‘
‘Not the books from the bookcase. The books you have in that chest in your room. I know you have said, I was not to touch that, but I felt so very curious and just took one of them and read it. I am very sorry mommy.’
With a teary face I looked up to mother for her response. But mother stood silent and frozen in place. Then she started shaking. With a trembling voice she asked me:
‘Which... one?’
‘The one with the rose and the swords’, I answered reluctantly.
Mother’s eyes widened and she looked frightened, yet in a way, she seemed to have actually expected this to happen, even though she really wished it wouldn’t. She took a deep breath, yet she looked no calmer.
‘When you finish eating come to my and your father’s room’
‘Yes, mother!’
I answered in a cheerful manner, as I thought, I had been forgiven for my ‘wrong’ behavior. Not that I had ever been severely punished by my parents. Quite the contrary. But, still, I felt I had done something wrong and felt guilty about it. So, once I finished my lunch I went straight to mother’s room.
‘Mommy, I am here!’
Mother had considerably calmed down but now she looked saddened and slightly distant.
‘Mother?’
She turned to face me and she was holding that book in her hoofs, while she was lying on the big double bed. She beckoned for me to lay next to her and so I did. She put her hoofs around me and held the book open in front of me.
‘I did not intend for this to happen and in a way that’s a failure of me as your mother, but, on the other hand, it is in your nature, so I might have been wrong to be hiding this from you. Your capabilities at magic are boundless, sweetheart. But there is a special reason for that. Remember that I told you to always cover your flank at all times no matter the circumstances?’
‘Yes, mommy. You told me it was important, so that bad people don’t attack me.’
‘Well, that’s true, but in a way, I did not tell you the entire truth. On your flank, you have a mark, a cutie mark, as all ponies do. But mine and yours are special. Do you remember the mark?’
‘Yes, it is a rose dropping its petals.’
‘Exactly. There is a reason I told you to hide your mark, Rosa. That is because that sign is considered a cursed one. But it is also the reason you have such potency with magic and knowledge in the first place. It is the mark of a necromancer for a pony. A blessing and a curse.’
I don’t know why, but I think mother was trembling a bit behind me, as she said that.
‘The ponies from all tribes think of us as creatures that are evil, cruel, calculating and murderous, no less than the changelings. However, we are not and you should not hate what you are. Your mother has the same mark too, darling. To be able to raise the dead and the spirits of the old is something feared, but it is not evil, as long as you don’t use it to bring harm to others or yourself. The spell you are trying to learn is the basic one. I will teach you that, but you must promise me not to ever use it unless there is a very good reason to do so. Okay?’
I turned to mother with a big smile and shining eyes.
‘Yes, mommy. I will do that!’
Mother then went over to the window on the other side of the room. There was a plant there. I had not seen that plant in mother’s room before. It was hidden, apparently, outside the window, in a chasm on the side of the outside wall. Let alone that, I had also never seen a flower like the one inside that pot ever before in my life. Mother knelt next to the bed and let the plant down.
‘This flower is called Amaranth. I prefer it among all other flowers, because as its name suggests it never wilts, even when it is killed by chopping it off. It is not easily found in Equestria, but it exists in the jungles in the south.’
Then her horn started to glow and the plant slowly died. A shiver ran through my spine. Could I do that too? More importantly if I could, I never wanted to have to do that. To take life. Mother noticed.
‘Don’t worry. It is dead, but between life and death the only change is that of material, at least for plants. For ponies or griffons or any creatures the issue is more complicated, as they have a body and a soul, but that’s why we are doing this experiment on a plant. And besides, we can fix this plant. Whether it is dead or not depends on how you want to think of it. You were not able to execute the spell before, because, thankfully, there was nothing dead around you to focus on. Try imagining the plant, when it was still alive.’
That was complicated in my mind, but, regardless, me and my little mind attempted the best we could. I closed my eyes and imagined the flower otherwise than it currently was. All I knew of that flower was its image, when it died. So, all I could think of was that image of it. Suddenly, I felt as if I was very warm and then very tired to the point of exhaustion. I reluctantly opened my eyes and in front of me the flower in the pot was not only ‘not dead’, but it had overgrown.
‘You are gifted, Rosa. But this amaranth is only a start. After all, amaranths retain their color and shape even in death. Still, for it to grow back so fast and so much. Even I could barely do that at your age. But you must be tired now.’
I couldn’t even reply. I held my eyes half open with great difficulty and shortly before I passed out, I could feel mother’s gentle touch and then a feeling, as if I was being lifted by her. When I woke up, I was in my room surrounded by my books, as my room normally is. Yet, in a corner of the room the amaranth was standing proudly with its purple hanging spikes. From inside mother and father’s room I could hear shouting. Father had returned and was quarrelling with mother. Thing is, I had never heard them quarrel before, so I was scared and so innocently went towards their room, still feeling very dizzy. When I got close, I could barely hear them talking on the inside.
‘Why did you teach her that? You know if they find what she is, then we won’t be able to stay here anymore? What were you thinking?’
‘Even if I had found some excuse to say nothing today, she would find out herself sooner or later. It is in her nature, just as much as it is in mine. It is better that she learns this from us. If we teach her to control her abilities, then she can hide them, just as I do and am forced to do for ages.’
‘For her good, I hope you are right. I love you but I love our daughter just as much. I don’t know what I would do if either of you were harmed. You are both my darling necromancers in this unbelievable reality, after all.’
‘Unbelievable but true. After all, love always finds a way, darling. I would have turned out to be much worse without you, so I needed you much more than you think.’
‘I don’t think that is true. You did everything yourself. If I ever helped it was more out of chance. But I do love you. But we both love and want the best for our daughter so she is a prio- ‘
At that moment I entered the room and quite foalishly exclaimed.
‘I love you too ma and pa!’
We hugged together for a while and I thought that was the happiest day of my life. Yet, things changed. From that day onwards mother would teach me new necromancer spells, as often as she could. Still, she would always specify how dangerous the spells were for me and those around me and thus, why they should only be used, if they were utterly necessary. After all, the spells themselves, when cast by a single caster, drain the user and I really felt that. Especially in the beginning, casting even the simplest of summoning spells for any dead plants would throw me unconscious in a matter of seconds, after I had cast the spell.
Father’s attitude changed as well. Before he would regularly pass me many books, aimed towards the things I was learning at school. Those were a major reason I already knew the school subjects before we were taught them. But now he would give me some very strange tomes, all of which were aimed towards special types of magic or necromancy and stated how the user could control the usage of such magic. Around that time, I also developed a great interest for the history of Griffonia, as much of the information on magic usage was actually developed in that continent in times long gone.
To my surprise though I would very soon be part of a history in the making, that I never hoped to be. Before 994 the ponies in the north of Equestria, having struggled with famine for far too long and with no apparent help from Canterlot, revolted and the Equestrian Guard was sent to put them down. The fights were bloody and they were being constantly broadcast on the radio. For my family though, this revolt was even more scary. The students in the school, where my father taught were known to be more or less affiliated with the communists. Father came home one day and he looked exhausted, muddy and very nervous. I could tell something was very wrong, but I was too afraid to ask. He talked with mother and they went to their room. They closed the door, but I could still hear mother cry. I wanted to go in, but even if I did, I wouldn’t know what to say. Whenever we ate together from that day onwards, my parents stayed eerily silent. Mother also stopped teaching me magic and the books father brought me were very often in a terrible condition for some reason. This went on for around two weeks. At the beginning of the third I could bear it no longer. I felt as if I was being left out of something important by ma and pa and they wouldn’t tell me a thing and they very much seemed to ignore me. I lashed out at them.
‘For a while now you have both been brushing me aside! You don’t even talk to me anymore! And we were so happy! Mother was even teaching me her special magic and dad was bringing me books with interesting stories in them! But all that stopped and I know you are both hiding something from me! I don’t wanna be left alone! I love you both, so why are you doing this to me?’
Ma and Pa looked at each other with a sad expression and then looked down again. I thought they were going to stay silent again but father spoke up.
‘Your father, sweetheart, will have to go on a trip far away and he doesn’t really want to. He wants to stay with you and your mother, but he has to go on that trip. I just- ‘
Mother interrupted him before he could finish.
‘Don’t lie to her. She may be young, but she is my daughter and my daughter is not a fool.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, I am.’
Father took a deep breath and spoke in a much more serious tone than before. His voice was so ‘fatherly’ in most cases. Now it sounded sad and I did not like that at all.
‘Bad ponies have risen up north and around where we live, Rosa. They are not bad per say but they are starving and that is because of faults made by Equestria and her ponies. And all that leads them to do bad things. Equestria, sweetheart, was no better in response. Just as mom teaches you not to use your powers without very good reason, so must nations. But nations are not taught. And they are led around to do horrible things. Your father tried to teach these creatures not to do horrible things. But what happens when those creatures don’t want to learn? They hate those that want to help them.’
As father’s tone dimmed, mother began to cry next to him.
‘I will have to atone for things I never did. Rosa, I only wished for ponies not to kill each other and put himself between them, whenever I could. For this, one side deemed me a traitor and another, a scheming liar. Equestria reached a compromise with those ponies that went north. But Equestria thinks that I and many other people were collaborating with those revolting ponies and wants to send them north inside the borders of the new state of the ponies in the north, as punishment.’
‘But why can’t we come with you, pa?’
‘Because sweetheart things are very bad up north. And I want you to live a long and decent life, so I want you to stay here. That’s why I have arranged for you and your mother to move south to a friend, on the mountains east of Canterlot.’
My mother broke her silence at that point. Her voice was pained.
‘But why, why pray tell, can’t you do the same? We can explain our situation and avoid all this…’
‘We went over this before. If I do that, we risk all of us being sent north without any further questions. Do not forget you and our daughter are both necromancers. The order for us and for most people in these provinces, that were, in any way, involved with the riots, was for us to move north with the rebels. If we go to the Equestrian officials, in particular the officers of the Equestrian Guard in our case, and explained that a teacher from a school, whose students rebelled wholesale and his family of two necromancers, had no involvement in the uprising, what do you imagine they will think? Equestria might be a nation of harmony, but they will most certainly not receive the fact that you are both necromancers positively and there are plenty of past examples proving that. Not to mention, that the deportation, because that is what it is, is unavoidable. Our situation is handled by the troops of the army and the Royal Guard, not by the higher ups from Canterlot. And trust me, these troops, officers and men, fought the rebels, so they are most certainly not going to show any leniency to anypony that they may deem rebellious. The orders they have from Canterlot are to ensure that the rebelling ponies are allowed to move north unharmed, but who is revolting and who is not and, in that manner, who must move north and who can stay, is up to them to decide. Not to mention that a major reason that we are living in southern Severyana in the first place is so that we wouldn’t have to deal with Equestrian officials, who might have their doubts about your nature, to say the least. To willingly give ourselves up by going to any official, let alone those of the army, is like sentencing ourselves. In short, I know it is painful, but for the best of both of you, it is better that I comply and go, lest I risk having us all sent north to Steel Stallion’s nation.’
‘And what’s so…’
‘Bad about that? I think I said that before. People are starving and I don’t mean simply that they have little to eat. They are dying of starvation on the streets. The mob Steel Stallion led north was made out of ponies, who were more or less moving corpses. Steel Stallion is sick and dying himself. Not to mention, if our family’s special kind of magic is detested in Equestria, I am sure the situation will be much worse for us in Steel Stallion’s nation. Or so I think from the rhetoric the communists have exercised up to this. In harmonic Equestria both of you can at least hide, since we are not actively persecuted. Outside of it, they will hunt you or might even-’
Father noticed that I had been observing that last exchange with horror and desperation. I do not know what face I was making, but it must have been a very unpleasant one.
‘Sweetheart, I didn't mean to. I mean, I had no choice.’
Inside me I wanted to scream till my lungs would split apart. I felt so much fear, anger, sadness to the point of depression, frustration and a lot of regret. Why was I born with that silly symbol on my body? If I wasn’t father wouldn’t have to go away. Mother had it too, but at that moment I couldn’t think clearly. My mind blanked out. I remember my vision turning white and then it was all pure white outside. Inside I burned or so I felt. I could only feel and hear. Things were swirling around me in an uncontrolled manner and falling all over. Ma and Pa were saying something, but their voices were blurred in my head. Was I screaming just now? I don’t know. I fell somewhere but it was soft. A cooling aura spread over my body. Then just darkness.
I must have been asleep after that for a very long time. When I woke up, ma, who was wearing a hood, noticed and she put her hoof in front of her mouth signaling for me to stay silent and then whispered in my ear.
‘All is okay, sweetheart. Please go back to sleep. Everything is fine.’
My mind was hazy. I couldn’t remember what had happened the last time I was awake and I still felt very tired, as if I had my strength drained from my body by someone else. I must have murmured some incomprehensible words and then fell back into a deep slumber. All I could feel were bumps beneath me and for a while it went like that, ‘bump, bump, bump’. When it stopped, I was still asleep.
Author's Note
Amaranth is an actual flower, that has the shape, colour and properties described in this chapter.
Chapter 1: Part 2: Unique Circumstances
By the time I saw light again, I could only reluctantly open my eyes. The room around me was very spacious but it was quite dark. There were candles lit around the room. The floor was very lustrous and you could nearly see your reflection on it. As I stood up and tried to walk around, I found it to be quite difficult as if I hadn’t moved for quite a long period of time. My head also hurt a bit, which was barely helped by the way that the room was made, so that every step I made echoed in the distance. After some walking around the empty yet surprisingly tall halls I started to remember the things that had transpired, at least those that I was still conscious enough to remember. Father told us that he basically was going to be forced to go north and that we had to go south to escape the same fate. When that realization came upon me, I felt sick in my stomach, fell to the floor and started crying, and it was like the building was crying with me, as my foalish wailing was drowned out in tears, echoing down the hallway. Mother must have heard me and she came rushing towards me. She didn’t even ask. She hugged me and told me that it would all be fine and that I shouldn’t cry, and then she began crying as well. We were both such a pitiful scene but I felt a lot better doing this than I would have been, if I had bottled it up. We were most likely never going to see pa again and we had to live knowing that. After all, he had given himself up, so that we could have another chance at life, one which only he could then provide. In my mind, he was my hero and my ‘fellow’ ponies were the devils, just like in those fantasy books where the hero sacrifices himself for the good of his beloved ones. Mother must have felt the same. She kept hugging and kissing me and it took some time for us to get up again. Mother was now smiling, a sight which I had longed to see. Her voice was now again joyful and she spoke while being next to me, whilst we were traversing our way around the gigantic building.
‘Rosa this house belongs to one of your father’s friends. He and his wife are almost as peculiar as we are. They are not unicorns like us, but thestrals. Despite the difference in appearance, we have a lot in common in terms of how we are confronted by the rest of the ponies. That is, in a very unfriendly way.’
‘But isn’t Equestria a nation based on friendship?’
Mother’s face seemed very angry at that instant.
‘Is Equestria a nation of friendship, when it deports thousands of innocents, together with the communists? Along with your- Anyhow, I think not. Not that the communists were any better off of course. If they had appealed to Celestia herself from the start, things would have gone far better. Or, so I think. Point being, darling, that even Equestria is not perfect. No nation is. You may not understand this now, while you are still young, but you will later on. Nations make decisions, but those are barely reflecting what the creatures under them need or want. Not that doing what the people want you to do, is necessarily always the right choice as well.’
I did not understand much of what she said, but I was put off by the face mother was making and she, out of the corner of her eye, noticed it. She smiled again, albeit forcefully.
‘Regardless, all you need to do for now, sweetheart, is focus on perfecting the magic you have been blessed to bear. Many people do not like us for this but we are strong. And you are special in a way. At your age I could have never imagined of doing what you did back home…’
I looked at her with a puzzled face. I did not think that bringing a small plant back to life was such a great achievement.
‘Oh, right. Well, worry not. You have done things that prove you are outstanding and have made me proud, even if you don’t remember them.’
I grinned happily when I heard that.
‘But listen closely. I absolutely do not want you to do anything that will lead you to overexert yourself okay?’
‘Okay, ma. I promise I won’t.’
Inside another large room with a table in the middle there were two figures with very dark purple, or rather greyish purple coats, and weird wings, that were like membranes, rather than feathered, like the pegasi have, for example. I thought they looked weird but nothing more. Most of the ponies in my school were earth ponies and there were some unicorns, too, including myself. I had known some pegasi as well. But never this kind of pony. When we got closer, for some reason, I got weirdly focused on the fluffy ears they had. At any rate I tried to maintain my composure.
‘Ah, so the little one woke up? We are greatly relieved.’
It was the female one that had spoken. I spoke back in confusion.
‘Was I sleeping for that long?’
‘For that long she says! For weeks if not months! You were asleep for so long, we were scared you were badly hurt, when you first came here with your mother. She was the only one, who was certain you were alright.’
The voice of the male one was echoey, so to speak. So was that of the female one, but it was a bit less, as far as I could tell. Mother spoke next.
‘It is an effect of our magic. Normal magic that unicorns use, does consume energy, but not as much as resurrecting a dead body does. Unknowingly she brought a ton of dead plants to life and made them move like living things all over the place.’
‘That must have been quite the spectacle. My husband and I know what happened to your husband and we are very sorry for your loss. He was a great unicorn and teacher and, from what we can tell, a good father as well. But you have to move on. Some things are simply beyond our control. It was the same with our kind when Luna fought Celestia nearly a millennium ago.’
‘Celestia, that tyrant! She will never be forgiven!’, the male thestral exclaimed, loudly.
‘Please, let us not have this discussion now. At any rate, we know that you two would rather be in the light of the sun right now, but, for better or for worse, that’s how we live between our kind.’
‘Ah, we do not mind. It is better for us in the first place. Helps to effectively hide what we are. Besides, we are extremely thankful for the hospitality. I don’t know how else we would have survived. It is really lucky for us that my husband used to teach your foals.’
‘That seems like a long time ago. Our son and daughters have safely moved on, though they come to visit once in a while. They are trying to ‘adapt’ to the rest of the pony society. I will never understand them and their persistence on wanting to make friends out of ponies, who would be elated, if we just disappeared from the face of the world. But they aren’t foals, at least not anymore. It is their lives not ours. I wish they would still visit us more often though. Caves are great, especially when worked so extensively like the ones here, but they can be lonely sometimes, even for introverts like us. Moving all that aside, what do you think you will do now? We went over this when you first arrived here but you must remember that other ponies must in no way know of the symbol you got on your flanks, right? And I am mostly saying this about your daughter, because you have told us you can work around these issues yourself.’
Mother heaved a heavy sigh.
‘I know. I have some spells to keep it hidden for myself, at least for a day or so. For my daughter I thought, if she kept attending school with thestrals, she wouldn’t have a problem, at least for the time being. When she grows older, she will know how to hide it just as I do. After that, I think we may have to move again. I am not fully certain, but we will have to go wherever it will be possible for Rosa to continue her training in magic and necromancy. And I do not think this is possible here in Equestria. We raise the dead. Worse still, we are born with it. Our strength is great, but so is the fear it strikes in the hearts of other ponies. We do not intend on harming anyone, but this is our magic, our nature. The ponies of Equestria, though, have not and will not see it that way. They only see the moving corpses and shout loudly in fear and confusion. We are stronger than they are, in terms of magic, as well. The combination of all that makes us foreign to the common pony. Hence why most of us fled to Griffonia a long time ago.’
‘I fully understand what you mean. Ponies will not think twice about you. You are terrifying to them. At least for those who don’t know how things really are. Equestria is a nation of friendship to those who the majority is comfortable being friends with. The rest are quickly overshadowed and the hatred towards them is covered by the friendship towards everyone else. I am more than glad my husband knew yours. Our kind has suffered much, so we understand how it is. To look ‘evil’ to the pony society of ‘friendship’, yet to mean no harm. And you can be assured your lovely daughter will get enrolled into a therstal school. But you should know they are only teaching us the basics in the usage of the elements.’
‘I know, but I will teach her more advanced necromancy myself. Her potency at normal and elemental magic is increased by the fact that she is a born necromancer. Due to this, she will be able, with limited guidance, to learn most normal and elemental magic, as long as she practices enough. But that she can do by herself and she already had back in our old home. Necromancy on the other hand is only available specifically to us and it needs more than just simple practice. After all, it is a skill that even I have yet to master.’
‘You mean that you have never…’
‘No, at least not yet. I have tried but it didn’t seem possible. I can resurrect bodies, not souls. My husband thought it was possible and he studied the subject extensively in his free time even though he was just a unicorn but not a necromancer, meaning he couldn’t practice this himself. Of course, there was also the problem of “samples”. It is easy to get hold of a pile of bones. But to get hold of a body that has been very well preserved, internally as well, or that has been recently deceased is very difficult if not illegal.’
‘I see.’
I personally was simply hearing words go by right over my head. I was so mesmerized by the fluffy ears of my hostess I was barely paying any attention to the details of the conversation. I think that something about resurrection was mentioned.
‘You like my ears sweetie?’
The mare laughed. That made me come back to my senses.
‘I mean I am not as endearing as I used to be, but you can touch them if you want.’
Everypony broke into laughter then. I felt slightly embarrassed at first, but started laughing as well. I mean, I got to feel the fluffy ears, so all was well that ended well.
Shortly thereafter I was enrolled into one of the thestral schools. To be perfectly honest I felt uneasy at first. I stood out a lot among the thestrals. With the earth ponies I was only separated by my mark. Here I looked completely different appearance-wise. But at least, I didn’t look completely foreign as my coat color was light purple. Furthermore, here I didn’t have to hide my mark. A major inconvenience initially was that I couldn’t fly, like the thestrals. But I learned how to fly with magic. It took a lot of practice, but I figured it out. A teacher at school helped me also. Normally one would use magic to fly via telekinesis, but, since my teacher was a thestral and thus couldn’t teach me that, I instead learned how to formulate wings out of energy in order to fly. I accurately recreated the wings by looking at my teacher’s and then my teacher taught me how to fly. This took a lot longer than it should, because thestrals can naturally use their wings but I couldn’t. However, the end result was worth it and it looked a lot more natural as well. My ‘imaginary’ wings were more purple than my body though, which was odd. The color really reminds me of my father. His skin was coloured in that tone. However, the most important part about the wings was that I could manifest them at will. On the other hoof, I could absolutely not execute any complex maneuvers with them. Flying in a straight line, going left or right are the extent of their usage. Not to mention, they are very demanding in terms of energy and exhausting to use, unless I take breaks when using them. Physically carrying any heavy items is also impossible. I can use magic to hold on to things during flight though. Still, using such magic or any magic for that matter, while in flight, can bring me to the point of collapse in mere minutes. In general, I can fly but it isn’t exactly enjoyable and I can’t do it for too long, unless I fly in a nearly straight course. Aside from learning, I also made a few friends among the thestrals, since here I didn’t have to avoid contact in fear of my mark being discovered, at least not by the thestrals. Among my new thestral friends, there are some that I read books with. However, most of the thestrals my age prefer playing games after nighttime. For a normal pony this would be unpleasant, but I could see in the dark using magic, so it was fine. I also quickly learned about the history of the fourth tribe and it was fascinating to me. I had learned from before the history of Equestria and the well-known facts about the three tribes but my knowledge of the so-called bat-ponies was very limited. At any rate, I felt that the thestrals, while they were not the most talkative kind, were much closer to me than the ponies I had met up to that time.
And so, we lived with our hosts for around two years. They were happy to have us but mother really wanted us not to be a burden, so when she started working again as a writer for a newspaper and made enough money, we moved out to a house on the foot of the mountain, where the cave, or rather mansion, of our hosts was delved. Mother kept close relations with our old hosts though. They were a well-off thestral family, after all. One of the few that had managed to achieve such status within a society extremely hateful towards their kind. The newspaper my mother wrote for was largely owned and operated by them and it was primarily aimed at thestrals. But for the most part it helped thestrals with finding work-meaning work that did not treat them like slaves. It also called for thestrals to report crimes against them to the authorities and there were more than a few to speak of. In other words, there was a lot happening and a lot my mother had to write. I helped her out, whenever she would let me do so. It was the little I could do to repay the time she spared in order to teach me necromancy, time she often had to cut out of her own sleep. I loved my mother and I also looked up to her. Yet, mother always claimed she envied me. She said my capabilities far exceeded hers. In the spring of 1000, I remember that time very well, because it was when I resurrected a plant for the first time, without passing out from the energy I had used. Mother was elated. She hugged me so tight, I passed out. In general, we lived happily, despite all we had to bear in our souls from the past. As our hosts often said, the big heads press their buttons on their big shiny desks and things are supposed to happen. As for what actually happens and the consequences to the common ponies, that is an entirely different thing. We just do what we can to survive and improve. Or in other words ‘The oppressed pony learns that the rich pony doesn’t care for you’. On another note, that same year Luna, supposedly cleansed from the influence of Nightmare Moon, returned to Equestria from her banishment to the moon. Truth be told, the news was received both with joy and skepticism among the thestrals. Our old hosts, specifically, were happy that their goddess had returned but they said that Celestia might have done this to simply appease them and silence any discontent among the thestrals. As for the ponies, meaning Twilight Sparkle and her friends, using the elements of ‘harmony’ to defeat Nightmare Moon, they really didn’t care.
However, two years later, that was in about 1002, something very important did happen that alarmed the thestrals to a great extent. It was an event that shook Equestria altogether, after all, and would have lasting consequences for me and for my mother and for the thestrals. Chrysalis and some of her changelings managed to somehow infiltrate Canterlot. Chrysalis herself put up a masterful performance impersonating Princess Candance and as such managed to drain Shining Armor, the husband of the Princess and leader of the Royal Guard, of his love and thus becoming powerful enough to overpower Celestia. Twilight Sparkle had managed to uncover Chrysalis but by that point, and with Celestia defeated, Chrysalis was able to get her hive to Canterlot to feast in the capital. The Royal Guard was overpowered but Twilight managed to free Candance thus allowing her to use the love extracted on her behalf against Chrysalis and turn her back and also brought Shining Armor to his senses, thus allowing a breach of the magic barrier of the capital, which allowed the Royal Guard in again, who in turn, finally managed to get a hold of the situation. I very fondly remember that article, since I had helped mother out to write it for the newspaper she was working for. It made for a truly intriguing story. But what would be more important, would be the repercussions of the attack. Chrysalis and her changelings were defeated, but who knows how many more changeling infiltrators the bureaucracy of Equestria had in its midst. As I was then in my teens and could understand much more, I could easily comprehend what the whole incident would mean for the ‘undesirable’ races and ponies, like the thestrals. More suspicion and more doubt. After all, how can you trust cave dwelling dark creatures? That’s how the common ponies thought, despite Luna’s best efforts. Officially, ‘tolerance’ was being pursued by Equestria, but those who lived among the thestrals, like myself and my mother, were not blind. Thestrals were being persecuted and actively preyed upon, even more now than before. If a controversial case came up to a court judge and the case was between an earth pony and a thestral, evidence was just scratched on the surface and then the thestral was convicted, with no questions asked. Equestria was not a land of friendship. Instead, it was a land of ponies who pretended to love friendship, so that they could get away with the horrendous crimes they committed! In the larger cities, especially in the poorer suburbs, there were some, though rare, cases of thestrals that were beaten to death by gangs of ponies. As for the police, they just turned a blind eye. They just looked from afar and pretended not to notice it. Sometimes they even participated. And yet it was Stalliongrad, or the Changelings, or the new corrupt government in Olenia or the ‘murderous’ griffons of the Empire, that were the bad war-loving creatures. I feel it is a lot better to, at least, be honest. Yes, most of the griffons in Griffonia hate each other’s guts right now. The Empire hates the Republic. Aqueilia hates the Empire. Wingbardy hates its neighbors and the Empire. The communists north and south, in Skynavia and Prywhen, they hate everyone else. Hellquill hates the ponies of the federation. Longsword is ruled by a bunch of crazy folks. But they are all clear about it. Here in Equestria we hide behind our words. Friends to the creatures it suits us to be friends with. All the rest are scary and detestable. Mother came back every day with new reports on all that. They only made me more irritated. Sometimes, I really wonder if we would have been better off going to Stalliongrad with father, even if, technically, we would have been forced to do that.
‘No, even now Stalliongrad is a mess. Yes, they massively industrialized but ponies are still starving to death there. Let’s not even get into the subject of education. Despite the circumstances we were and are in, Equestria gave you the opportunity to receive an education maybe unparalleled on the continent and also at an affordable price. Not to mention the growing political divide between the supporters of the Supreme Soviet and its opposition in Stalliongrad.’
‘But we would have been with father.’
‘And we probably would have been dead by now.’
I didn’t want to believe that, even though I knew it was the truth. I simply growled silently and kept eating my lunch. Mother turned to me again.
‘We must talk about something, Rosa. And this is very important.’
She had my attention.
‘We may need to move again. I have taught you much, including how to hide your mark and how to conjure even the most complex of spells. We have no reason to be afraid, you certainly don’t and I have ensured of that, but the situation is changing. You can tell, can’t you.’
‘You mean the violence and the articles.’
‘Yes, exactly. Just so you know, while, on one hoof, these events are perfectly true, on the other hoof, they are exaggerated on many occasions. Yes, the thestrals are being oppressed and discriminated beyond measure.’
‘But…’
‘But a lot of it is taken to eleven by many leaders of the thestral communities, who would rather see Luna sorely rule over them than Celestia.’
‘In short, both sides are willfully or unwillfully escalating the situation, is what you want to tell me?’
‘Yes, and I think that Equestria will be tearing itself apart in the near future, while there will be many enemies from without, to prey upon the nation. There is a good reason, that in the end I decided to not send you to any well-known unicorn schools, like the School of Gifted Unicorns, while you very much exceed the skills necessary to get there. It is better for you not to be known much. That’s why I taught you on my own. The problem is that my position makes me known to the society of Equestria, at least among the thestrals and the ponies that stand against them. That is why I have been arranging for you to cross to Griffonia, specifically to the River Republic.’
My eyes widened with fear and anxiety.
‘No, I will not lose you too! I am not going anywhere unless you are coming with me as well! Why? Why must this happen to ME of all ponies! My mark is not a blessing but a curse! I lost my father because of it and now you are sending me away for it!’
I broke into tears but deep down I had a feeling this would happen. I tried to remain as calm as I could in the conversation, thinking that I had to show I was grown up now, but I couldn’t bear the thought.
‘If I am so blessed then why must I always lose those I know and love, to survive by getting away? If this is a blessing then I would rather be cursed!’
Mother opened her mouth, but apparently decided against saying anything.
‘Just say something. Anything!’
‘I don’t have anything to say. I love you, sweetheart, that’s why I want to send you away. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t be doing so. But I know that this is the best I can do. And I have a feeling you know it too. When things break apart, who do you think the Equestrians will go after, if not for the writers of newspapers aimed at the thestrals and the radio stations? Even if things do not break down internally in Equestria, say that the Changelings actually attack in full force someday, do you think that any internal opposing voices will be tolerated? I am literally a target in all of those scenarios. And I am certain that one of those, at the very least, is bound to happen. If I come with you, I pretty much risk your chances of being found out before you can go away, because I am dead certain they are and will be monitoring my movements. And by ‘they’ I do not mean the Equestrian secret services. Those were proven to be defunct, when Canterlot got raided by Chrysalis and her hive. What I mean are the unofficial gangs of ponies who stand against the thestrals, many of whom are in the whole ‘Celestia is our god’ cult. Those are much more dangerous and violent than any Equestrian official. However, in a way, I cannot bring myself to blame them entirely for hating the work I do for the thestrals. After all, through this job I have gotten to know a great many thestrals who, in case of foreign invasion, would rather side with the invader, our old hosts included.’
‘At least try to come with me. If it doesn’t work out then I promise to go on my own.’
My voice had a begging tone to it. I could tell. Mother was hesitant though.
‘Please…’
She hugged me and her warmth was all over my body. I hoped to never have to lose this warmth and even if I had to, I’d never forget it.
‘Yes, I will. I promise.’
‘I love you ma, so much.’
Chapter 1: Part 3: The Price of Truth
Tears still trickled down my cheeks but I felt somewhat better now. If mother came with me, I would make sure she would be able to stay with me. I was strong enough to do so now, after all. But for the time being mother and I decided to enjoy what peaceful time remained to us. Mother said we had better be gone before the beginning of the next year, which would be 1007. We decided to go to the jungles south as a kind of vacation, until then. Many of them are still untraversed but mother knew her way around. She had been there before she had gotten married to father.
‘The Jungle is like a second home to me. Plants are very useful sometimes. Some of them have very unique effects. And a very few rare ones sometimes reveal things one absolutely wants or doesn’t want to know.’
I laughed at that last statement.
‘That was absolutely incomprehensible, mom.’
‘Well, it is, until you know a thing like this little flower here exists. Do you know the name of this plant?’
‘Plant of Truth. It causes user specified hallucinations. The definition came from a book father gave me. Strangely, the book was written in a weird language I could only understand when I scanned the book with magic. Resurrection magic, that is. As if the words were living things.’
‘Dark speech. Or so the ‘scholars’ call it. There are ponies like us, my love, but they live way north in the east of Griffonia. They speak that language and they have perfected the arts of necromancy and of the ‘forbidden’ magic in general. Regardless, even that book was not complete, at least in its definition of this particular plant. And this plant is exactly as I told you.’
‘How so?’
‘If in reality you were meant to be something completely different from what you are, something you would be disgusted to know you were supposed to be, would you want to have that information?’
‘I mean, I wouldn’t be that version of myself, so I suppose I wouldn’t mind.’
‘For normal creatures that answer is enough. You should be happy you are better than what you were, supposedly, destined to be. Now think of it another way. If your evil self managed to do better than you ever could, would you want to know that? Say your evil face, killed millions yet lead to the extinction of something even more wicked, which parallel routes would leave unscathed, would you want to know that? That your kindness will lead to the suffering of generations to come?’
I followed mother in silence. I had no idea how to respond. Suddenly, mother stopped and turned to me.
‘Remember, my daughter, Truth is like a goddess and the likes of which you cannot witness or pray to. To give yourself a whiff from a flower brings you no closer to any realization whatsoever. The ones who ever desire that are fools. Pathetic weaklings. They hallucinate and they think they see Truth! This flower should only be used as a verification of sorts. Namely, it verifies that one has reached Truth. For the creatures who will manage this, this flower has absolutely no effect whatsoever. A very long time ago, there were many creatures for whom this flower was useless. However, now, we are the only ones left, capable of achieving the realization of Truth. That is because a necromancer can be beyond life and death. I have never been able to reach that level, but I think you may be able to, sweetheart. And at that time, you will transcend the plane of life and death. And then this flower will mean nothing to you.’
‘Transcend?’
‘See it this way. All things that ‘are’, are so between life and death, no matter if they are items or ideas. A book, the body, friendship, love and so forth. They all have a limit between life and death. A book can burn. The body can decay and perish. Friendship or Love only exists as long as there are creatures to experience them. But what about something beyond this limit? Even the immortal beings like the gods, for example Boreas in Griffonia, are stated within life and death. But a necromancer can bring all things dead back to life, both physically and spiritually. Thus, a necromancer can be somewhere that is not on that plane of life and death. Somewhere, where those two words have no meaning at all. However, to achieve that a necromancer must learn how to resurrect souls first, a level of expertise unattained for decades. But it is possible.’
‘But when I was young you told me one could not hope to resurrect a soul.’
Mother’s eyes, at that time, were glittering with excitement.
‘Everything comes at its own time. Then you could barely cast resurrection spells and now you know basic and advanced ones. A necromancer can, if granted enough training, resurrect a soul, as well as a body as its host. Of course, enough training doesn’t even cut it. Resurrecting a soul is nearly to completely impossible. So much so, that the ability to destroy a soul is something completely impossible to obtain.’
I tilted my head to the side, rummaging, inside my head, through my own knowledge on the subject.
‘First, as for the theory that explains the existence of the body as a ‘trap’ for the soul, I have also read that one from the writings of a philosopher from Bakara, whose name I do not recall. I really have my doubts about it. I mean, he claims that a creature, once it gathers all of the possible available knowledge, will become some kind of supreme being, which sounds very unreal.’
‘Albeit true. All beings have a physical, pragmatic part, the body and a metaphysical part, the soul. Since the physical part can be resurrected or recreated, I don’t think there is any reason to doubt the possibility of doing the same for the meta-physical part.’
‘I understand that and that’s why I, partly, can see such a thing happening. As for not being able to destroy a soul, while I do not have any knowledge of any creatures having such abilities from my books, I know that according to those Dark speech books the Wen- ‘
‘Do not say that word! Not while you still don’t know it!’
I was slightly taken aback by the sudden exclamation.
‘Some things are too dangerous to be said by those who do not know them yet. You must not speak the name of the beings of no-being. After all, and while I cannot prove it, all the things in the world that are but shouldn’t, are of their making. That’s why, those who will come close to revealing the Truth, will be struck down by them. Because in Truth those creatures do not exist. When that is found their meddling will finally cease.’
I shook my head.
‘I do not think it is possible to ever realize Truth in one lifetime. Just looks very unlikely, mother.’
‘What if you could live multiple lifetimes? And what if you could tell the possibilities from other similar realities to yours?’
‘This just sounds plain impossible.’
‘It is possible though. A necromancer that is a harvester of souls can see those alternate realities through those souls. I do not know exactly how that will be done, but I think it is by all means feasible.’
I scratched my head. This kind of philosophical conversation was to my liking but this time it was too complicated, even for myself to comprehend. In the meantime, we had begun walking again.
‘If one is completely different in other realities, which is the one that matters? Whether one makes friends, loves, hates, learns, fights and so forth, seems so redundant if one does the opposite actions in another reality.’
‘Are you worried what you do or feel matters little?’
‘In a way, yes, at least in the context of what we said prior.’
‘For what it is worth, yes, all those things are real, Rosa. The issue lies within the realization that they are not the only possible reality.’
‘If it is so and if I am really meant to learn how to ‘harvest souls’, then I really have a lot more to study from the looks of it. I just want you to be with me, mother.’
‘I made a promise and I always try to keep my promises, at least those made to my sweet little daughter.’
I smiled broadly and with the conversation and all that we reached back to the lodge we were renting. It was a beautiful place. The jungle on the south side and the ocean between Equus and Griffonia to the east. Mother sat on the porch up front and the picture with her and the sea in the background was truly majestic. I couldn’t even compete with the elegance she possessed. Her black hair flying in the breeze. And I thought of all the things, which I loved and counted those I had to leave behind me to achieve my goals and the weight of the whole thing fell on me. Yet, mother believed in me so it was possible. Sometimes, I think, I want none of this. No powers, no knowledge, nothing special. If I was born a normal pony, I would live out my days knowing nothing of the cruelty of my world, of this here reality. I would just stare at the scenery. Think of the world as all ponies do. It will never end. I would make a lot of memories with my family and friends and then cherish those till I died. Simple as that. However, even if I wanted to do so now, I wouldn’t be able to. Just the thought that maybe the entirety of what I know and what others know, could very much be a delusion, doesn’t let me put my mind at ease. I feel, as if I have to know more, to uncover more and to live till I can find the single indivisible Truth and make it my own.
‘Eeek!’ I fell on my rump, startled as a hoof waved in front of my face.
‘You were daydreaming’
I giggled.
‘I suppose I was off in my own world.’
Mother paused for a second, then appeared to have remembered and laughed.
‘Well, before you drift into your own world again, want me to tell you a story?’
‘If it is not something I have already heard of, then sure.’
‘To be honest, I think you know much more than I do at this point so I hope I meet your expectations.’
I went and lay next to her facing the crystal water that had started to glow under the dawning sun.
‘Once upon a very long time ago, there was an Empire called cursed and wicked. It was the Empire of Undeath. The lands of the Empire stretched from East to West in the North of Griffonia and they were always described as being dark and agonizing. The Empire fielded massive armies of undead, resurrected creatures and was nearly impossible to defeat, as it also possessed the most knowledge at the time. Outside of the Empire, the griffons of Griffonia, which would come from now long forgotten kingdoms and duchies, feared the Empire. They had come to believe that the Empire’s ‘darkness’ was evil. That it was a desolate wasteland, where creatures found nothing more than death. And so, they put aside their differences and formed a massive coalition and with faith in Boreas struck the Empire and destroyed it, giving over its heartland to a holy order named after the god Arcturius.’
‘Wait, that’s it? That was very underwhelming!’
Mother poked my nose.
‘Don’t be hasty. That’s just the official story. The one that griffons scare their kids with. However, it is also a massive hoax. There is a reason the Empire was called Empire of Undeath. The Empire was a project. A plan to rid the world of death. The perception of darkness was no more but an illusion. And yes, resurrected creatures walked the land. But those were creatures with souls, who could live, love, befriend and feel or think as they liked. You see, the Empire of Undeath had managed what is now lost in history and in the bloodlines of the necromancers scattered all over Equus and Griffonia: the resurrection of souls and most likely, also the construction of souls. Furthermore, the Empire most likely was the last ‘natural’ society, meaning that it was inhabited by creatures of all kinds without the differences between those creatures being recognized as differences. Because a pony and a griffon, or a dog, or a bear or a penguin, they look different in appearance but their essence, their soul, is made of the same material. The inhabitants of the Empire of Undeath must have been the last nation to ever be able to be like that, hence why the history of a lot of creatures is stated after the destruction of the Empire. This was because the difference in appearance is not ‘of essence’ it is ‘of perception’. Because even in societies where more than one species co-exist as equals, they recognize themselves as separate species. In the Empire there was no such thing. All creatures were creatures. The words ‘pony’ or ‘griffon’ existed only outside of the Empire. Of course, biological differences were recognizable, but they, specifically, did not translate to any significant differences in conscience. And all that because the Empire was reigned by Truth. No single government or god or king ruled it. Rather it was ruled by Truth herself, as she was the combination of all knowledge that has, is, was or could or could not be. In other words, the absolute being, and the only existence ever, to be able to be deemed as ‘absolute’. The Empire faced a major enemy though: the ‘creatures who shall not be named’. They were the manifestation of all that is evil, the banishment, the annihilation of knowledge. Truth is powerful as long as wisdom is abundant and created constantly. She withers away, when it is destroyed. When life is lost and the souls finally fade into insignificance, pieces of ‘being’, of the essence we are all made of, are lost. They still exist in Truth but they are unobtainable to the creatures of the world. The necromancers were there to prevent exactly that. The withering of the souls. They were tasked with bringing the souls back to life and preserving them until their resurrection would be possible. Thus, wisdom was recycled and maintained and the creatures knew more than they would ever be able to learn normally in one lifetime. This made the creatures come, day after day, closer to the unveiling of an escape from the plane of life and death. If there was no such limitation then the world would be finally complete and perfect. The ‘creatures that should not be named’ though knew that in such a world they would not exist. After all, their sole existence was a disturbance; nothing more than a hoax itself. In reality, there are no Wendigos, sweetheart.’
‘WHAT?! But what about all your theories and and…’
‘I never said they existed. The Wendigos are beings of no-being. Creations of the creatures themselves. Today we would deem this ‘Truth’ as paranoia but in reality, it is the opposite. It is the Wendigos that are unreal. We created their existence in our heads, simply because many of us were incapable of believing in Truth. Because it seemed to many of us, as something ridiculous to believe in. After all, no creature can learn everything in one lifetime, so Truth cannot really be explained rationally. It can only be believed in. That’s exactly why the coalition of the griffons destroyed the Empire. It was not because of any menacing dark power, like the Wendigos, or because the Empire was ‘evil’. It was instead because they could not believe in what the Empire had faith in. And since they could not believe nor explain it, they instead turned to hating it, despising it and wanting to terminate it. And so, they did. Then they claimed to have defeated evil, sorely because they could not understand what it was that they did.’
‘Mother, I am sorry but this makes absolutely no sense. If this is true then the Wendigos do not exist. Then why did you tell me before not to say their name?’
‘One must not spell the name of a Wendigo unless one knows that a Wendigo is nothing but an anomaly, lest one be led into believing one can kill off the Wendigos. The Wendigos were brought to be, as part of our unwillingness to believe in something greater, something so vast, that it was terrifying. And though the Wendigos did not exist before this doubt and fear were formed, they do now. The Wendigos still serve the same purpose. They stop the creatures from realizing Truth. And there are two meaningful ways to defeat the Wendigos. But I think you already know of them.’
‘I do? I don’t think I have ever read anything on the subject but I can try guessing. I suppose if Wendigos are a by-product of our fear of Truth and thus of our negativity, expressed via distrust, hate, fear, anger, regret, doubt and so forth, then if one were to kill all creatures one by one then the Wendigos unable to feed on that fear would eventually fade away into not-being just as they were supposed to be.’
‘That is the easy way out.’
‘Well, then if somehow we managed to convince every single being that they need to believe in the faith then- ‘
‘Wrong.’
‘What if we proved that the conflicts caused are not the making of nations themselves but monitored by the Wendigos?’
‘Still incorrect. You are thinking about the consequences, Rosa, not of the cause.’
I was running out of ideas at that point.
‘We should be teaching people that they should learn more and thus fear less, causing them to think and act in ways they previously had not imagined possible?’
‘Exactly! The problem of the beings of the current reality is that their ‘reality’ is already distorted so much, that the way the creatures think is corrupted at its core. It is what causes this never-ending continuum of strife, peace and then strife again, to persist. Equestria is a great example of this. Why do most ponies fear the thestrals and why do the thestrals fear other ponies? Mutual fear and distrust and nobody willing to end the circle, in fear of being fooled and cheated out of things they deem as precious. Same goes for all races of course.’
‘Maybe all things are relevant after all.’
‘Yes, all, save from Truth’
Mother kissed me on the cheek and then we went inside, cuddled a while and then fell asleep under the calming sound of the waves coming from the blue sea. And I remember how those days went on with such discussion or more light hearted conversation and that then, for the first time in a while, I felt at peace. But all things must end, and so at the end of the summer of 1006 we went back to our house to prepare for our departure which would come no later than a month afterwards. Mother formally resigned her job. Our old hosts were understanding of her decision, thankfully. After all, they too knew what was coming but they couldn’t abandon their pony tribe, so they had to stay. They wished us to find a happier, more stable life in Griffonia. Mother had planned for us to go to the River Federation, to the River Republic specifically. We had considered going to New Mareland but decided against it as it could lead to us being found in the exact same situation as before, especially if things went wrong in Equestria. On a Saturday night in March of 1007, we set out for Fillydelphia from where we would set out east. Specifically, on a boat of a smuggler of guns to ensure we would not be followed. Officially, we would not but between what’s official about the thestrals and those close to them and what isn’t, there is a huge difference. But our luck ran out. Near the docks a small gang of ponies was already waiting for us. They apparently didn’t know of the ship we were going to board but they were looking for the ‘writer of a bucking thestral newspaper’, as they said themselves, while searching around. With the ship in sight from behind a wall and both of us breathing heavily from running from one hiding spot to the next, mother turned to me.
‘There’s a bunch of them out there. We are not going to make it…’
When she looked at me, she could tell I was absolutely terrified. The moment we would go out in the open we would be seen and swarmed by the angry mob, no doubt about it.
‘Okay, I will set up a smokescreen and that should buy us enough time to get on the ship, … I think.’
Then her horn started glowing red and mist from the sea started filling out the dockyard.
‘Now.’
We ran from the top of the dock towards the end of it where the ship was, but at around the middle of the dock we were spotted. ‘That’s her! That bucking unicorn that’s with the thestrals! Get her!’
Soon many ponies from the gang were shooting towards us with pistols and the like but within the mist they were very inaccurate. However, the mist grew lighter and we could now be seen. Mother made a shield out of energy and then as we were right in front of the ship spoke to me one last time.
‘Sweetheart, I love you from the bottom of my heart. I lost much to make sure you are safe and so that you could learn from me as much as I could teach. You have a very bright future ahead of you and you will become great and strong. But that’s a path you will have to walk alone. I am very-’
Tears streamed down her eyes.
‘Very sorry I couldn’t come with you and that I have to break my promise, but just as your father did, so must I. I love you, sweetheart!’
Before I could say a thing, mother kicked me and I fell inside the low side of the boat. I went to the edge of the boat, wanting to jump back on shore and save her.
‘Mother, no!’
Author's Note
Special Thanks to:
Chapter 2: Part 2: Unexplained History
And just as Alaric had said, we reached the port of Sydia shortly thereafter. There was a flurry of activity in the haven. From what I could tell it must have been mostly convoys with guns and supplies for the monarchists from the other nations of the south who were also monarchist and thus heavily invested in making sure the communists of the Griffon Liberation Army would not win. However, despite the help the monarchists were receiving, according to the aforementioned captured newspaper, there was a huge stalemate across the entire front. The Rumareian crew brought out the caches of weapons and soon, an official came and talked with Alaric. Not long after, Alaric gave the crew the sign to start unloading the crates on the dock. The official inspected the contents of the first box and judging them to be fine, let the Rumareians handle the rest. According to Alaric the caches would be moved by them to a military depot close to the port and then they would have to go through some paperwork. The paperwork would be the issue that would take up the most time. Meanwhile, we went to see the mayor of the city. I would need a permit to even be wandering around the city, especially, since I was a pony and not a griffon. The mayor would usually reject such a thing, but because Alaric was providing for the loyalists and many in the Brodfeld nobility knew him, the mayor turned a blind eye to it and signed the permit. Alaric passed it to me.
‘You need to have this on you at all times. If anyone stops you, just show them this and you will be in the clear.’
‘I think that was self-explanatory. Thanks for helping me get the permit though.’
‘You’re welcome, princess.’
Contain yourself Rosa, do not strike this ignorant buffoon down. Deep breaths, deep breaths. At least now, I could go around in Sydia and I wouldn’t have to waste my time being stuck on the stupid boat. In all honesty, not much information was available for the southern parts of Griffonia especially for the areas between the Creeper Mountains and the River Federation. For Prywhen itself, the extent of my knowledge was, that in pre-Groverian times the country was split between the three principalities of Kivessin, Brodfeld and Sydia, then Grover the First happened and the country came under Imperial rule, under which it was also united under Kihai de Kissau in 853. Then Kihai was promptly assassinated due to his increasing power in the region. However, when the Empire imploded, this allowed the kingdom of Brodfeld to be united once more in 973 under King Kloseu de Kissau, this time as an independent kingdom. Then came a famine and after that an assassination attempt on the king’s life by communist supporters, which lead to the death of his wife, which lead to the start of the civil war in 1005.
At any rate, I was simply interested in seeing the city of Sydia today, with its fortified towers all over the place. I passed outside an old temple and that was fortified as well. The way the windows were placed, namely on such height that one could safely fire outside through them, the thickness of the walls and the heavy, reinforced doors all laid testament to that. Down another street I could see in the distance the castle of Sydia, which in older times would have been the residence of the Domnitor of the port-city. While it was indeed impressive with its orange looking roofs on the fortified towers and the scenic gatehouses, it made me wonder, what the reason could be for the buildings in the residential area of Sydia to have just as many fortified towers and walls as the castle. After all, Sydia was not a huge city, at least compared to other cities of the south like Karthin or Kivessin or even Falcor. And griffons, just like all the other creatures, do not fortify their homes, unless there is very good reason for it, so I suppose there was more than enough conflict in the south in older times.
Still, even Sydia’s and Prywhen’s modern history in general were very peculiar, to my mind. Of course, I only knew the stories from one source, a doubtful one at that, but they just did not add up. The communists did exist since, at least, 995, because of the famine. King Kloseu was not exactly unpopular at the time. How else would half the country be fighting for him? Then, I also reckon that back in 1003 the communists were not even a sizable party. They would have existed for a period of eight years maximum and for a situation that was getting slowly alleviated by the king. Not that the king was a saint. Far from that, he assumed dictatorial powers in 1001 and suppressed any opposition. Still, his dictatorship was what halted the downward spiral, at least momentarily. Why would the communists try to assassinate him, while he still had a significant power base? I would understand it, if it was a move taken by a smaller disgruntled group, but according to my sources and most accounts abroad, the plan was undertaken by the entirety of the communist party. Regardless, that was the version publicized by the King in the monarchist controlled areas. I understand why the King would want to get rid of the communists, but the story itself does not add up. The communists were preparing for an eventual uprising in the countryside, but when the assassination actually took place, they were not ready yet, hence, why they performed so poorly in the beginning of the civil war. In general, it looks to me as if events were written specifically in a way to appease and enrage the common folk on each side, who would not inquire any more on the matter. Yet, when one looks at them more closely, they start falling apart. Still, it seems as if this time the presentation was so well written that even those of the population that did inquire slightly, did not end up believing anything else other than the version of events published by their supported side. Makes one wonder, really.
And thinking of that I realized I was very hungry and it was getting late as well. It was still two to three hours till nighttime so I went back to the boat, where I had food packed with my luggage. It was just cookies and biscuits, preserved well in a box sealed with magic, but they are a lot better than the fish and canned fruit I had forced myself to eat at sea till I arrived here in Prywhen from Equestria, which I had done so as to conserve the food I had with me. And I had to endure this ‘seafaring diet’ for about a month. Allegedly, we could have arrived much faster, but there were a lot of delays, because we had to stop at Eldoran once to refuel and the griffons had said they couldn’t have been sailing the ship constantly at full speed, since that would destroy the engine. At any rate, tonight I would have liked to have been able to eat at Sydia without having to go all the way back to the boat, but I guessed there wouldn’t be any place to find food in Sydia with the impending or, rather, current famine plaguing the entirety of Prywhen. When I reached the port, it was already dusk. I sat down in the boat, took out the biscuits from my luggage and watched as the sun in its beautiful orange like colours dipped to the narrow line where the horizon met the ocean, somewhere far away between the coasts of Cyanolysia to the west and the small islands near the coast of Gryphus to the east, making it blaze a plethora of beautiful orange colours. As I sat there, I thought about the land of the rice fields and how it was tearing itself to pieces on its own and how most likely the beings of no-being must have been responsible for this.
Then I remembered the book I had secured off a local bookshop in Sydia earlier and, using magic to cast light above and around me, I began reading. Strangely it was written by a Mason, namely the Mason of Twelt. The shop owner had given it to me for almost nothing at all. Said it was written in a strange encrypted language, that nobody could understand anymore. When I opened the first few pages, I quickly understood what he meant. The entire thing was written in gibberish! I thought of that jokingly, but indeed the book’s pages were filled with weird characters seemingly put one after the other with no particular structure whatsoever. I was somewhat disappointed by this discovery. Regardless, this meant I wouldn’t be reading that book anytime soon. To pass the time, I instead decided to practice some of my spells. Because of how I learned spell-craft most of my spells were meta-natural, meaning that I could create natural things out of energy. For example, instead of using energy directly to heal a wound, like a unicorn would normally do, I instead can manifest the tools in order to operate the wound, just like a doctor would. This kind of magic does not limit itself to objects though. I can use anything natural to my advantage. This has advantages and disadvantages, of course. On one hoof, it means I can pretty much do anything I want, as long as I have knowledge of it. For the former example of medical operations, the knowledge of such procedures I had learned from my mother, as part of her training on restoration of recently deceased bodies. She always insisted that if a dead body can be raised intact that would be preferable to the raising of a pile of bones, so, if a corpse could be restored to its primordial condition, then it should, prior to its resurrection. While examples like this show the potential of knowledge-based magic, they also reveal the fact that I am always bound to natural boundaries on many spells. This is an inescapable issue for me, which makes me just as powerful as I am vulnerable. Most notably my spells are much more costly in terms of energy than the spells normally used by unicorns. Not to mention, that some of my spells directly affect my mental state whenever used, in case they require extensive knowledge of a certain subject to be used. My elemental spells are the same but in terms of the environment. I cannot just create fire out of nothing. However, for example, I can collect water from the air or out of other creatures. Of course, all that comes after my resurrection and life spells, which I exercise as a necromancer.
Nothing fancy tonight though; I just took heat from a lantern nearby and created two small fireballs in the air and simply played with them. Spun them around and so forth. I am still such a foal, I thought to myself. As the flares danced to my command, they created patterns and repeated said patterns over and over again. Patterns, patterns… What if… I took the strange book out again along with a piece of paper. I started skimming through the pages looking for patterns. Soon, I was able to rearrange most of the letters to their un-cryptographic counterparts. The language was Herzlandic. Knowing this and having a basic knowledge of Herzlandic, which I had learned from school back in Equestria, as well as the order of rearrangement, I was able to actually start reading the book.
The book was apparently some kind of analysis of observations. It talked about the repetition of events. The author was of the opinion that, while history did not repeat itself, instead it cycled. He talked about how evidence could prove that before Grover’s Empire, other similar empires had existed for centuries, before written history was available. The idea of the chaos that reigned before Grover the First is simply an illusion created by the Grovers themselves and then popularized by the griffons. Indeed, there was chaos before the Griffonian Empire, but that was only for a short period of time. Before that period of time there must have been other, equally, sizable empires that once ruled the land. All in all, history could be predicted according to the author, but that was, according to him, unnatural. By the laws of nature and logic such cycling is possible up to a point, but not forever. Yet, it has been happening basically forever. Prywhen was no different. In ancient times it was a kingdom, the Kingdom of Whiteflower, that had ruled Prywhen, Blackrock and Lushi. According to the very few records left from that kingdom, there was a significant effort to build a dam as the river there was very well known to flood the region. The goal was to use the dam so as to redirect a portion of the flow of the river towards another river that had been artificially extended, so that the river would not overflow around its main basin. This would also allow for the cultivation of more rice fields along the secondary river, without the fear that any riverside towns would get destroyed by the next flood. But the dam always fell and one time a cataclysmic flood raged over the ancient kingdom, virtually annihilating it. That’s when Prywhen was finally split up between the principalities of Sydia, Brodfeld and Kivessin. The writer concluded that the failure of the construction of the dam was not natural. They had the technology, they could build it, but every time something simply went wrong, without fail. The thing is that other dams had been built in the region, even on faster streams, and they all had stood. It was only that specific one that would always collapse. The writer concluded, by mentioning, that events like Equestria’s unification or the coalition against the Empire of Undeath also suffered similar fates. They all seemed like they would end up in peace and prosperity for the respective parties involved, yet they only stayed so for a short while before they were ultimately crushed by events totally unpredictable. The book ended there. For my part, I thought that all this was absolutely true, but the problem was that this book itself was no evidence of anything. The ‘unpredictable’ reasons would, in most cases, be the beings of no-being, the Wendigos. The question was, whether it was possible to actually prove the effects of something that should not exist in the first place and how one should go about doing so. While I was mulling on that, Alaric returned, but I couldn’t see the rest of the crew.
‘Despite my expectations, you are back early.’
‘This is Brodfeld, so there is little food but plenty of booze. However, I did not come here to get wasted. As for my griffons, they do deserve to do as they like tonight. On another note, I expected you to still be in the city, princess.’
I looked at him angrily.
‘Do not call me princess!’
‘Alright, I get it. Anyhow, for your information, we will be leaving again tomorrow morning. Will take us another month or so to be in Bakara. From there you will have to go on land to the River Republic, Rosa.’
I pondered for a while, what it really was, that I wanted to do. On the one hoof, mother had arranged for me to go to the River Republic and continue my magic practices there. On the other, I did not think I would have much to gain from training on magic anymore. Not to mention, that my goal, in reality, was to improve myself, so that I could uncover more about Truth, soul harvesting and the Wendigos. If I went to the Republic now, I would be pretty much stuck there and not able to progress on any of those fronts. Maybe I was just being crazy, but I thought that the best option would be to end my seafaring journey here in Prywhen.
I turned to Alaric who was busy rearranging some of the weaponry on the ship.
‘That won’t be necessary, Dawnbreaker’
Alaric turned slightly to me, but did not stop working his way around the guns and ammunition.
‘I am sorry, but I do not understand, Rosa.’
‘I will disembark here, rather than have you take me to Bakara.’
Alaric fully dropped the guns and faced me. I could not clearly tell the expression he was making, as it was quite dark, but he must have looked confused.
‘I am sorry, but I still don’t understand what you are saying.’
‘I am getting down on land here, in Prywhen.’
‘First, it is called Brodfeld. Second, my contract was till Bakara. Third, are you out of your mind? Brodfeld is a majority, if not entirely, griffon nation, with absolutely no regards to other races, especially ponies. Fourth… are you absolutely nuts?! Did you forget that Brodfeld is in a bloody civil war between the royalists and the communists? You have a death wish or something?’
‘I do not think that I could in any way be physically harmed, if that’s your concern. As for giving you a reason for deciding to stay in Prywhen, I do not think you are entitled to being given any reasons from me whatsoever. However, for what it is worth, know that I am not crazy. I just think that in Prywhen I can start my research on the things out of our control, that I had talked to you about before.’
‘You know, ‘that’ did sound crazy. What is it exactly that you want to do? You want to go smack down Redglad or Kloseu? Are you out of your mind?’
‘I wasn’t meaning them. But I don’t think you will understand, even if I told you. Not to mention, that most likely it wouldn’t help you, specifically, if I told you. But rest assured that I have my reasons.’
Alaric grinned across his beak.
‘Who’d tell me I’d carry a lunatic who wants to learn the truth about the world five months prior? Well, lunatic or not, you certainly got my respect. I have seen many creatures your age. They waste their lives away. Your conviction is outstanding. But the things you wanna do are neither easy nor pleasant. You know that, right?’
‘A bit late for such advice, I am afraid. Though, you should give that advice to yourself as well, shouldn’t you Alaric? Will you go back to Rumare now?’
‘Ah, yes, I must. Now, I think, we will have the funds to start off. Also, while it is none of my business, have you thought where you’d stay and so forth?’
‘None of your business.’
Alaric’s laughter could be heard in the silence of the night. Made me feel pleasant in a way. He turned to go back to his work, but I spoke up again. I would have felt wrong, if I hadn’t. Yes, I was not obliged to tell him anything, but he was also not obliged before not to throw me overboard, when he learned I was a necromancer.
‘Well, I plan on heading to Twelt first. As for accommodation, I will think about it on the way. I have enough money, even though I highly doubt it is of any value in Prywhen, in its current state.’
‘Brodfeld’
‘Okay you monarchist sympathizer. Brodfeld.’
‘Has nothing to do with me being with the monarchists, really. Yes, I do not appreciate the communists and I did business with the monarchists, but I do not exactly support the monarchists. But Twelt is currently under monarchist control, so you had better refer to the nation as Brodfeld, there.’
‘Alright, thanks for the advice. In general, I plan on moving around quite often. There is much I want to find out about, after all. I will have to go to Kivessin once as well.’
‘Do not make a habit of moving between front-lines.’
‘I will be just fine. My first goal will be to see what I can learn about the conflict and how much it actually has to do with the attempt on the King’s life, that ended up killing his wife.’
‘Alright. Will you go out tonight or will you wait till tomorrow morning?’
‘I planned to start off tomorrow morning and sleep on the boat again tonight, for the last time, if you don’t mind.’
‘Not at all. Well, I’ll go gather my crew. They must be blind-drunk now. As I said before, food may be scarce, but booze indeed is not.’
Alaric left and I was alone on the boat again and thus opted to go to sleep immediately, so that I wouldn’t be woken up, when the Rumareians came back. I secured my newly acquired cryptic book in a bag and curled up to sleep. The boat rocked slightly due the waves below and the little splashing sounds made the cool spring atmosphere all the more pleasant. I reckon it is the first time in quite a long time that I will sleep without having to bear the engine roaring in the back, as we had been moving day and night to limit the time of travel. As my eyelids grew heavy, I desperately tried not to think about home or my parents. I hoped that, if I dreamt today, that it would not be another nightmare. With the lights of Sydia behind me and the horizon in front, I closed my eyes, smiling, for once.
When I woke up the next morning, the sun had barely come up yet. Alaric and his crew were already awake though, or better said they hadn’t really slept, but had just sobered up from last night. Alaric saw me get up.
‘Good morning, Rosa. You should have heard yourself in the night. What in Arcturius’s name were you giggling about?’
I was relatively confused.
‘Must have been a dream or something along those lines.’
‘Must have been quite the good one then.’
‘I guess so.’
I didn’t waste any time. Alaric helped me haul my luggage from the bottom deck and then I put my bag on my back.
‘Right. Well, here I go then.’
‘It has been an honour to have met you, Rosa Maledicta. May you raise the dead far and wide!’
Alaric laughed heavily, but he was sincere. He was rough, but honesty he did not lack.
‘Likewise, Alaric Dawnbreaker, Baron of Rumare!’
As I stepped out of the boat Alaric stood in attention, saluted and shouted: ‘Yma o Hyd!’
I turned around, saluted back and replied: ‘Yma o Hyd!’
As I turned to leave, I heard the crew cheering and shouting ‘Yma o Hyd!’ towards me. I waved at them and then continued on my way. Soon, thereafter I had walked off the port and could see the old smuggling boat no more. Well, my time now.
Author's Note
My depiction of Sydia is based upon the Romanian city of Sibiu, or at least upon the depiction of the city of Sibiu on Wikipedia.
Special Thanks to:
Chapter 3: Part 1: The toll of a civil war
In less than a day, using a combination of flying with my fictional bat wings and using status magic to myself so that I was lighter, I managed to reach Twelt, which is in central Prywhen. Not far from where I landed, I could hear the fighting between the monarchist and communist forces. It must have been early April now but I hadn’t really kept track of that. I had more important things in mind. I hadn’t come near a frontline to see the fireworks. I had picked Twelt specifically because the writer of the mysterious book I had read, was, supposedly, from here. I hoped to get more information from him, in case I was able to locate him. The book didn’t look particularly old in the first place, so I hoped the writer, whoever it was, would still be alive. With that in mind I moved towards the main part of the town of Twelt. The sun was still up at that time.
Getting close to Twelt I could tell that it was more of a village rather than a town. Stone houses with wooden roofs and many looking run-down or dilapidated. Uncultivated rice fields filled the outer space of Twelt, many of them overgrown with weeds and the like. Passing through one of them I saw a sign that displayed, in barely comprehensive letters, the message:
‘MINEFIELD
LETHAL DANGER AHEAD’
I sighed and rolled my eyes around.
‘Off to a great start, I am.’
I used my magic to enhance what I could feel beneath the ground and slowly but surely navigated myself around the landmines. Inside the village, there was a dead silence even though it was still midday. Around the small village square there were several shell craters. I thought the front had never moved close to Twelt but apparently, I was seriously mistaken. Inside the craters, there were puddles of water from the recent rains. As I passed by to go towards the tower of the mayor, I spotted a group of armed griffons out of the corner of my eye. From the way they looked and were dressed, they were one of two things: bandits and deserters or guerillas. Both cases boded very badly for me. One of them called out to me.
‘Hey you! Yeah, you the pony, unicorn, whatever! What the hell are you doing here? What’s your business in Twelt?’
‘I am simply searching for the writer of this book.’, I replied calmly, took out the book of the mason and showed it to them.
‘The mason of Twelt? He died like-what, thirty years ago? Why the hell are you looking for him? You know what, I do not care. Most of the people from Twelt have left for areas further south like Kissau and Qwoptia. Twelt, by order of the king himself, is a frontline town, meaning that you pack up and leave or we are absolutely not responsible if you get blown up.’
The griffon then pointed to a ditch, dug on the right of where he stood.
‘You come to Twelt often, you’ll end up like all the poor fucks we buried here yesterday. Attended a country fair, they were. Shell blew up, all dead. We couldn’t even recognize them. We just buried stuff. Legs, Heads, pieces of those, you name it. But, do us a fucking favor and leave before we are ordered to dig your grave too. Not that I care about you but I got a back that hurts like hell from all the digging and ducking from communist shot and shell.’
‘I will try to keep myself safe then and I’ll leave as soon as I can.’
‘You better. Ah, and watch out for bandits and deserters. You can tell them apart because they don’t carry the king’s badge. As for the communist guerillas you can spot them cause none of them wear any kind of uniform. Report any of those and you might just as well be rewarded once, or whenever, the war’s over. Farewell.’
Because your ‘uniform’ is very well maintained, is what I wanted to say but I restrained myself. Well, I was sure, I would run into issues, because I am a pony and all but apparently the king’s forces have other more important problems to deal with. I watched them walk away to the west of the direction I had come from. When they were far away enough, I turned to keep going my way to the mayor’s tower, so I could get information, if I could. Or so I began doing but then I just stood on that same spot and pondered for a second, what I, actually, should be doing next. That is, because according to, well, whatever those griffons were, the mason who had written this book has been dead for quite a while now. That book was my only clue at beginning my investigation of Kloseu’s attempted assassination. It was not a great clue in the first place but it was the only one I had, as the book clearly described cases of influence from ‘unknown beings’ in the events happening in Griffonia, both from the ancient and more recent past. I decided to head off again though, albeit in no particular direction at all, as I had no idea, as of now, about what I should do next. However, at that time, I heard a door crick behind me. I immediately turned to the direction of the sound and from the water in the trenches I raised swords made out of ice pointing at the new threat. However, to my absolute astonishment a white flag emerged from the edge of the door and in a soft voice, a griffon spoke from behind the door.
‘Please, don’t shoot me, I mean no harm.’
‘Well, apparently so.’
I let the swords fall as water, back to the ground again. From behind the door an old female griffon had shown up still waving that small white flag, as if she was surrendering to me. She was rugged and generally looked horrible.
‘You shouldn’t be here.’
‘There are some things I need to, … find in Twelt, so I am fully intending to stay here for a while. Maybe you would know where I could- ‘
‘Come inside, quick.’
That was sudden but I was more than glad to do so. I mean, if she proved to be dangerous, I could easily get rid of her and then practice necromancy on her corpse, but truth be told, by how she looked, I perished any thought, that she might be ill intended, and quite immediately so. She looked as if she hadn’t eaten for quite some time and it showed on her face. I pitied her really.
She slowly closed the door behind me and locked it twice and then made sure, that it was very sturdily shut. And then from the side of the room she was trying to push a piano in front of the door. I was surprised to say the least. I quickly used my magic to push it in front of the door for her. She turned to me with a painful yet thankful expression.
‘You should not talk outside or stay outside for long.’
‘Why?’
‘Because, this…’
And she slightly raised the curtain on one of the windows and pointed outside. The soldiers from before had returned. They were looking around.
‘What about it?’
‘You are not from Prywhen or from anywhere near Prywhen are you?’
‘No, I am not. I am from…’
‘Don’t tell me. You don’t even know me. As for those ‘soldiers’ they are just marauders simply posing off as monarchist militia.’
I knew it! No, wait, I didn’t.
‘They did not rob you because they couldn’t see anything of value on you but from the looks of it, they rethought their former position on the matter.’
She let the curtain fall down again and turned to me.
‘You, seriously, are here on your own with just the bag on your back?’
‘Ah, no, you just cannot see the rest.’
I made my luggage visible to her as I had used a spell to make them invisible. Well, actually, it is not invisibility. I change the air flow in front of items to create the illusion of invisibility.
‘Why do you trust me so much? While, I mean no harm, this is Prywhen and especially Prywhen amidst a bloody civil war. A good piece of advice is to trust nobody and for no reason, except if you want to end up dead.’
‘I will keep that in mind.’
The old griffon made an attempt at smiling.
‘My name is Mihaela Tweltanu.’
‘I am Rosa.’
‘Well, glad to have you here Rosa.’
‘I am the one who should be thanking you. I reckon, there would not be a lot of griffons in Prywhen, who would let a stranger, let alone a pony, into their house without any second thought.’
She tried to smile again but I could tell she was feeling very uneasy.
‘I, unfortunately, cannot provide much in terms of accommodation, I can hardly keep the old house standing. As for food, …’
When she uttered those words, she looked desperate and started shacking. I felt genuinely horrible. There are creatures out there suffering much worse than I do and yet I was always complaining about what happened to me. Please, forgive me Truth, for I have been selfish beyond measure! I am going to make up now, though, as best as I can.
‘Don’t worry, I have food I can give you. It is more than enough for myself and it would go to waste if I only kept it for myself. I mean, it is just cookies and crackers but it is all I have with me.’
I went and dragged the box with the crackers and cookies, my mother had made me some five months ago back in Equestria. The box is sealed by elementally removing all air from the inside and the freezing the openings. Thus, anything inside the box remains as fresh as when it was first made. I laid the box in front of the old lady and opened it.
‘Well, that’s all I have for now. But I can work my magic to make food artificially later…’
I looked at Mihaela. She was on the verge of crying and was trembling all over.
She beckoned for me to go to the room on the right as we had been sitting close to the entrance the entire time. The other room looked as if it was a kitchen, once upon a long time ago. It had, most certainly, seen better days. I put the box on the table and we both sat next to each other. I took a cookie and handed her one as well. She looked at me, as if asking, whether she could have it or not.
‘Yes, yes, go ahead.’
She started eating and she seemed to like it. Her eyes were teary. When she finished eating, she started crying.
‘Was it not good?’
‘No. It was great. But I wished you had been here sooner.’
‘I am sorry.’
‘It is not your fault. But had you been here a few weeks before you would have saved my husband’s life.’
‘I am sorry, I didn’t know…’
She was crying and her words were muffled beneath the tears.
‘From all the ways one could die… I watched him whittle away and die of starvation. Why! I wasn’t even strong enough to bury him properly! Laid him in the soil in the garden and covered him with dirt as best as I could. Before we would all mourn the passing of someone from our town together. Now, all I could do was cry alone above his shallow grave. Why Boreas! Why!’
I didn’t know what I could say. I stayed silent. What was I to even say?
‘All that’s left to me is my son. He’s off to the war and gone. And I know how he is coming back. Like all of the boys he went with. They come back in those pure white caskets and then they bury them in the cemetery. If they even do that. Often, they just throw them in a ditch on the field and cover it up. If he goes too, I would rather kill myself than keep living, as if this is a life in the first place.’
I embraced her and the downpour did not stop till some significant time had passed.
‘Thank you. I had not even expected to receive kindness from a stranger. You are a pure soul, Rosa.’
‘I am just a young stupid pony.’
She started laughing.
‘I think you give yourself too little credit for what you are worth.’
We both laughed, ate our cookies and went back through another door to what must have been the living room before the war. There was a hole in the ceiling and visible damage from fire in another end of the room.
‘Sorry, but even if I could I wouldn’t be able to cover that up. A shell crashed from the attic above and landed through the ceiling here. Had we been here at that time we would have all been dead. You see it was before my son left for the war, back in 1006. I suppose the war would get us all killed eventually, one way or the other.’
‘You shouldn’t think that way. You still have your son alive and you are still alive too, despite having been through hell.’
I checked her face, hoping I hadn’t brought up painful memories in her mind again. She read my mind.
‘Ah, do not worry, I don’t have a habit of crying. I am quite old for that. Though not as old as you might think. I am around two times your age.’
‘Wait, how is that possible?’
‘Being constantly on edge, hunger, lack of sleep. All that take their toll on any creature.’
I shivered. Things were hellishly worse here, than anywhere else I had been before. Was that the same way in Sydia? I hadn’t stayed enough to see. However, I decided not to continue such an unpleasant conversation with her. Did not think, she would like that. So, I simply started looking around the room and then Michaela spoke to me again.
‘What exactly is that you are visiting Twelt for, if you don’t mind me asking. And also, that you can stay here as long as you want, is granted. Food in exchange would be greatly appreciated. Money lost all value anyways and I don’t need or can use any.’
If she was to be my host in Prywhen, then I suppose it would only be fair for her to know the purpose of my travels. However, I couldn’t talk about the Wendigos with her. It would either put her in danger or she would not understand.
‘I want to investigate the attempted assassination on King Kloseu’s life, which ended up killing his wife.’
Michaela stood there for a second and she seemed to be deep in thought. She apparently came up with something to say but stopped before actually saying anything. There was some uneasy silence for a while and then she responded to my statement from before.
‘In all honesty, I think you shouldn’t poke your beak or nose, in your case, into things not of your concern. However, considering you are here specifically on that end and so, anything I said now would not really stop you, I would recommend against investigating the murder directly. First and foremost, the murder happened back in 1003. Any traces of it on the crime scene, in Kivessin, have been removed a while now.’
There was a sofa in the untouched corner of the room and she invited me to sit down with her.
‘Your best bet is to either get information from direct sources, like officials, all of which are obviously extremely biased. Indirect sources will simply repeat to you what the radio broadcasts said about the incident back in 1003. In my opinion, while official reports were biased in favor of the point of view of the king, if you can get your hooves on them, that would be a start. But why investigate that now? What is done is done. The civil war is here and it will end, one way or the other.’
‘If the majority of griffons of Prywhen knew, that the reasons, they had been fighting for, were simply non-existent would they continue, willingly, to kill one another?’
That’s the bottom line of my investigation. Even if I prove that the assassination attempt was undertaken by the Wendigos or agents used by them, if that does not alter the course of events and lead to a conclusion of the war in a peaceful manner, then I am not actually achieving anything. Furthermore, if the course of history does not change then my original hypothesis, that the war was caused by the Wendigos, would be false, or it could be concluded that I was far too late to change anything, which is also a problematic conclusion. I cannot, yet, unveil the plans of the Wendigos before they happen or right after they happen as, currently, I can only observe real events.
‘I would very much wish for what you want to be true.’
‘But you don’t think it is rational.’
‘Actually, I do think it is rational and possible. It is just not a given fact. Even if the assassination proves to be a fluke, you will need extra steps to get all that out to the public, of both sides. To do this you must understand that you cannot ask or expect help or give help to any of the two warring sides. The moment you do that, the other side will say that your proof is fraudulent and thus the war will continue.’
‘I am prepared to take all the necessary risks.’
‘Well, alright. You got some big plans for your age. I envy you. I couldn’t dream of going from Twelt to Sydia when I was younger and you are thinking of how to change things way above you. I sincerely hope you succeed.’
‘Thank you, Mihaela. It truly means a lot to me.’
‘Besides the longer all this investigation of yours takes, the more I get to have your company so I do not think I am getting myself a bad deal really.’
We both remained in this joyous atmosphere, telling stories about our pasts, of how we ended up where we are and how the place, we ended up being on now, is absolutely unbelievable and yet somehow feels exactly right. Later, by sundown we ate dinner-yeah cookies and crackers again-but I will make sure to work my magic on that front from tomorrow onwards. While we were eating Michaela turned to me, smiling.
‘Would you like me to tell you a little story?’
I swear she sounded like the grandma I never had at that moment. I giggled a little thinking that but then simply smiled and responded happily.
‘Yes, sure, why not. I like a good story.’
She cleared her throat and began speaking in a more stable, more narrative tone.
‘You see, when you told me about what you were here to do in Twelt, it really reminded me of the story of Helena of Troy.’
I have read a lot about the history of Griffonia as well as its geography. I had never heard of any place named Troy, and while I obviously did not know everything, I was still confused.
‘Ah, right, Troy is not a real place. Some say it is Temsoar here in Prywhen, the Wingbardians say it is Karthin, the Aqueilians say it is Pridea and the Herzlanders think it is Cloudbury. But in reality, it is just a made-up place.’
‘Alright, that makes more sense.’
‘So, as I was saying, there is that story about Helena of Troy. Now, according to the original story Helena, who was the most beautiful griffon of all, was married to a great king of one of the ancient griffonian kingdoms. Far away, in the kingdom of Troy, a prince of Troy was, one day, called upon by three goddesses to decide who was the prettiest one, because they had been in a quarrel over that matter. Every goddess offered him something different to tempt him. The first one, political power, the second one, wisdom and the third one offered to give him Helena as his wife. The prince chose the third option and then with the help of that goddess, stole away Helena. The great king was furious upon finding this out. He gathered his armies and all his allies and marched to Troy and besieged the city. However, the city, for many reasons, proved increasingly difficult to take. The great king fought there for ten bloody years, with countless dead on both sides, but it was only in the tenth year that he managed to claim the city of Troy and reunite with his wife.’
‘Yes, this sounds like the usual kind of tale you would hear in Equus as well, albeit in a different manner.’
‘Well, the thing is that this tale is false.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘According to another version of the tale, which in my mind sounds a lot more plausible, Helena never went to Troy. The goddess would give Helena to the prince, but the other gods and goddesses were absolutely against that. So, instead, they switched the real Helena with a ghost of Helena that looked, felt and acted just like the original. At the same time, they sent the original Helena to another very distant kingdom. In this manner, the prince took the ghost of Helena, a shadow, with him in Troy. And the great king, his soldiers and allies fought and died in Troy for ten years, then captured and destroyed the city of Troy and killed or enslaved all its griffons, only to find out that they were doing all this for a shadow. The moral of the story is that, what is and what looks like are two very different things, but they can look very much identical. However, our unwillingness or inability to find the truth blinds us to the difference and by the point we realize our mistake, it is far too late.’
She paused for a minute as her tale came to an end. I simply had listened in awe and I think I was staring at Michaela far too intensely, even if she had already finished. Then, Michaela continued.
‘I think you are from the few people, who have actually figured out, that Prywhen is in a civil war all because of a shadow. There is no actual point in this whole war. However, not the king, not Redglad, nor the monarchists or the communists will realize this, until they have finally ‘won’ and only then, will they find out that all they gained from winning was but a shadow. They lost nearly everything fighting. The wealth of the nation, any remaining food, the people of their own country, friends, family, neighbors. And what will they have to show for their victory? A shadow, that of a formerly prosperous nation. Rosa, that’s why I want to believe in what you are trying to achieve. Even if it is so unlikely, I would rather help you out as much as I can, than see my home fall into ruin for a shadow and knowing I did nothing about it, when I had the chance.’
I was amazed at how telling the story was of the Wendigos. Maybe those ancient griffons knew a thing or two, that we have forgotten today. I decided not to tell that to Michaela, though. The situation is still too dangerous for that.
‘The story was great, Michaela! Also, worry not, I will be doing every damned crazy thing that crosses my mind if I can have a chance at stopping this civil war. You have my word.’
So I said, but deep down I knew that things were much more complicated than that.
‘I am glad to hear that but just make sure to keep yourself safe while doing so, alright?’
‘Don’t worry, I am not easy to get rid of!’
Michaela laughed and I smiled broadly. Whatever the case I would try to take my chances on this matter and see where I could get.
After we finished dinner, we went to the room behind the living room where we would sleep. This one was much better preserved than the others but it was much smaller. Regardless, we opted to sleep together as you really never know what will happen in the middle of the night amidst a war fought some kilometers nearby. And indeed, before dawn I heard loud booming sounds in the distance, mixed in with battle cries, gunfire, the crying of the dying and the wounded and the entire building shook heavily as if there was an earthquake. I got up and looked at the wildly changing texture of red colors of gunfire in the background. I had never been here before so I was relatively worried. Isn’t this house too close to the battlefield? Michaela had seen I had gotten up but did not get up herself.
‘Go back to sleep, is my advice. The only serious threat to us here are shells but the communists only have shells to fire every second night. The monarchists have shells but they are firing them in the opposite direction. For today and till nighttime tomorrow, we are perfectly safe.’
I decided to follow the instructions of my host and fell asleep very quickly again. As a precautionary measure, though, I froze up the wind outside the wall of the room, that we were sleeping in, which was facing the battlefield. If a shell came this way, it would end up blowing up outside rather than going off inside the house.
Author's Note
The story presented in this chapter about Helena of Troy is not from the original Iliad of Homer. Instead, it is a reference to the ancient Greek drama(play) Helen, by Euripides, first shown in 412 BC.
Chapter 3: Part 2: Miracles in Hell
The next day, I apparently woke up a bit after Michaela. I found her in the kitchen and quickly used magic to reform the crackers I had with me into different kinds of food. I wanted bread and honey that day so that’s what I made. As for how I did it, on a basis, all foodstuffs are composed quite similarly. Only thing I did was rearrange the basis and it was done. Michaela was elated. Let alone the honey, which I personally hadn’t have had for a while, I highly doubt she would have had bread for quite a while. I learned that the Kingdom of Brodfeld stopped sending any rations to Twelt since the end of March. All rations were reserved for the troops fighting in the north. We were both finished with breakfast and I was about to move out myself, when there was a knock on the door. We both looked at each other. Nobody knocks on a barricaded door in Twelt, unless it is really bad news. I reformed the water I was drinking into small ice swords and moved to the door, while signaling to Michaela to stay where she was. I went to the hallway of the entrance and spoke up.
‘Who is it?’
‘Open up! We need help!’
Do I trust it, or do I not? From behind me I saw Michaela shake her head as in saying ‘No’. However, I am an idiot, no matter where I am. I moved the piano with my magic and just as I did that, a soldier broke down the door with force and fell face first into the hallway. This one was a proper soldier, a sergeant in particular. Camo, gear and all. On his shoulder the symbol of the Kingdom of Brodfeld. Behind him, there was a strange thing. Another monarchist soldier carrying… a communist soldier?! I could tell the half unconscious one being carried was a communist, because his cap had a red star on it and was of triangular shape. The sergeant did not waste a second or let me say a thing.
‘Quick, here, put him down!’
The monarchist soldier tore the clothes of the communist. The wounds of the red soldier were horrific. He had been shot several times and must have already lost a lot of blood and more poured from his wounds on the floor. I stood frozen. The two monarchists were quickly using wraps of cloth to tie his wounds. I stood still for some moments not being exactly able to comprehend the situation unfolding in front of me. I regained my senses as Michaela bumped me as she was rushing to the wounded soldier with water and cloth. As I saw the wounded soldier though, I knew that, by natural standards, he would be dead in minutes and there was nothing they could do to save him. I touched Michaela on the shoulder with my hoof and she stepped aside. I gathered my energy in my horn and it started glowing.
‘Hey, what the hell are you gonna do to him?’, the sergeant exclaimed.
When I conjure spells, my eyes turn a flashing white, when a lot of energy is used but I didn’t have any time for explanations.
‘If you want him alive, you will shut the buck up.’
In the ensuing silence, I used his body temperature to re-direct the blood in his body. I had found out, that blood tends to gather towards areas of lower temperature. At the same time, I let the icy swords turn back into water and used the water to cover the holes in organs, that were hit. In his terrible luck, the bullets, that had hit the soldier, had lunged inside his organs. That, complicated things. I had to get the bullets out. Thoughts raced through my mind. I opted to turn the material of the bullets back into liquid. To do that I greatly raised the temperature exactly around the bullets. This would hurt, a ton.
‘Hold him down’
The two monarchist soldiers quickly did so and I started the process. The wounded soldier screamed loudly in pain but thankfully the two monarchists held him down. In less than a minute, the bullets were pure liquid and I removed them easily from his body. The external wounds had nearly closed up and so that left only the internal bleeding to be mended. I could not directly make new tissues inside his body. I temporarily used water pressure to stop the internal bleeding and turned the soldier on his belly. Normally, you would need anesthesia to do this, lest you risk the patient passing out from the sheer amounts of pain but I had absolutely no other choice.
‘No matter what you do, do not let him move.’
I did not wait for an answer. I opened the soldier up carefully so that I would be able to quickly close him up again. Then, with lighting speeds I manifested a bunch of tiny needles with string and began stitching the griffon internally. Rest assured, the wounded griffon writhed in pain and agony. I completely ignored him. I knew I had some time till his brain would shut down from the pain. It took me some seconds to finish internally and a single second to stitch closed his belly again. The wounded soldier stopped trying to resist but I checked and he was breathing, meaning, I had made it in time. But the wounded soldier was still pale and weak from the lost blood. I went over the process to cause his blood cells to start dividing themselves but remain the same size. Thus, I was able to restore a large portion of his blood circulation. This stabilized him. He was still in a lot of pain though.
‘Keep an eye over him. Michaela put a wet towel over his head.’
I went to where my luggage was. Inside a small pouch, I had several flowers. One of them is called Bliss. It was in the form of mushed leaves in a jar. I went to the kitchen and turned a very small amount of it into tea. In larger amounts, this is pure poison but in small this acts as a delusionary and controlling drug. You can make the receiver do or feel nearly anything you want. If tempered with magic, you can get some pretty interesting effects. But for this particular case, I influenced the drug to simply turn off the pain censors in his brain. He would feel a bit better. After I made him drink the tea, his spasms stopped. But I was exhausted. In front of me, Michaela and the two monarchists stood in sheer amazement. They all looked at me.
‘What? There he will live. Just let him rest for a bit.’
The two monarchists looked at each other then turned to me and saluted.
‘In the name of all that is holy, we thank you.’
‘I only did what I had to do.’
‘You are not giving enough credit to yourself, Rosa, just as I told you.’
My mind had just only begun to settle down, after the amount of energy I had expended. I sat down and signaled to the soldiers to bring the wounded one to the living room. Michaela guided them there. I stood up and went there as well. When I arrived there and wanting to not have to answer many questions, I instead asked first.
‘How and why are two monarchists saving a communist?’
The sergeant spoke.
‘We are all griffons of Brodfeld or of Prywhen, whatever you wanna call it. The griffon was wounded in battle. Even if he is on the other side, I didn’t feel it right to leave him to die. Especially after he saved our lives.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We were in the firefight last night. It was quite bad. The shells, the whizzing of the rounds around us and most of all the screams. It was too chaotic. By the end of it me and this soldier from here, got separated from our unit and ended up on a communist held portion of the line. This communist here spotted us. He must have realized we were lost and for whatever reason offered to show us the way back. Unfortunately, upon our return we fell on one of our scouting parties, which upon seeing him in front of us, must have thought us all for enemies and opened on us. We tried to move back but very soon communist troops from their picket line joined in and fired back. We had to drag ourselves across the crossfire slowly and thought we were going to make it but without us noticing, he had taken several shots. When we realized that, we carried him and rushed here as fast as we could.’
‘That’s quite the story. You've got a lot to say to your kids when you go home.’
‘Thank you, old lady, but I prefer my kids not to learn I was killing my compatriots, when they were still little chicks. It don’t set the best of examples.’
‘Serg, we have more immediate issues though. If we go back now, we might be reported as deserters.’
‘I know.’
‘Well?’
‘Well, we’ll hope they don’t do that.’
‘I could potentially help out with that. Could fake you out to have been wounded as well.’
‘It could work… But what about him?’
‘I will be doing the same for him, once he can safely move again.’
We discussed the plan a little bit more later and decided to go ahead with the monarchist soldiers the following morning. When that came, I used my magic to make them both look injured but recuperating, then with some persuasion and Bliss, I was easily able to convince the officer of their unit that they were both bravely fighting off numbers of communists but got separated from their unit while severely injured. Once that was done, I returned to Michaela’s home to see if we could do the same with the communist soldier. Inside the kitchen Michaela was sitting and the communist soldier was too. Apparently, he had fully regained his senses.
‘How are you feeling?’
‘I am much better now, I suppose. I am really grateful for what you did. I owe you my life and I don’t even know your name.’
‘Rosa. Now you know but let me get straight to the point. You need to return to your unit as soon as possible, lest they may deem you as a deserter. If you can safely walk, I recommend that you should do so immediately. I will use my magic to make you look injured and come up with some story to back it up if that is deemed necessary.’
‘I can walk just fine now. And again, thank you.’
We proceeded to carry out the plan and it proved even easier than in the case of the two monarchists. The pickets from the communist side recognized the soldier. They had seen him get shot and had him for dead but since he was right between the two lines, they didn’t dare go gather him up. Their commander, a weird looking griffon with a very fresh uniform for someone in the front lines, thanked me for my ‘services’ and in general there was no need to drug her, in order to convince her. But as I turned around to return to Twelt, I could feel her gaze on my shoulder. However, I did not think much of it. I did what I thought was right, but I really didn’t want to bring any trouble to Michaela or to myself.
Michaela saw me as I came back, I explained that everything went perfectly and without a hitch and we went back inside. That night there was no battle in the distance apart from the occasional sparse shots from scouts and patrols.
The next day, though, my expectations not to be involved with any of the two sides, were quickly dashed. Right outside the door was a commissar of the communist army. Me and Michaela had no choice but to open to her. Once she was inside, she wasted no time with introductions.
‘Are you Rosa, the unicorn?’
Now that I looked at her closer, she looked oddly familiar. That clean uniform, she is the communist officer from yesterday! Damn it!
‘Also, don’t lie, because I know you are. First, you must be from the few ponies, let alone unicorns, in the entirety of Prywhen. Second, the soldier you helped out told me everything or at least all he could remember from when he was not unconscious. Third, if you do lie, you will have an entire company of soldiers here by tomorrow to apprehend you as a traitor to the Liberation Army.’
I dare you to try! I will send them all to hell or worse! Besides, how exactly are you going to pass an entire company into monarchist held territory? You are lucky that I think that this is not the time to make enemies with official authorities.
‘I don’t intend to lie or stall. I am Rosa. What of it?’
‘I want to ask you a few questions.’
We all went and sat in the kitchen. I was quite nervous, to be honest.
‘First, I want to make it clear that the previous threat is but a bluff. I would never be able to get communist troops in Twelt, at least not yet.’
‘I figured that out myself, commissar.’
‘My name is Eefa Doyle, Commissar Eefa Doyle. Just call me Eefa.’
‘Alright, Eefa.’
I said so calmly but, in my head, I was thinking ‘That is most certainly not a Prywhenian name’.
‘What is it that you are doing in Prywhen? Be honest. I can tell if you are not.’
‘Vacation.’
‘You are lying.’
‘Visiting a relative.’
‘You are lying, again. Don’t test me, I am honest. I am using magic to tell whether you are lying or not.’
‘Okay, then I am here to prove that the assassination of the king as well as other events that started the war in Prywhen were not planned or coincidental but instead orchestrated by darker beings beyond our control.’
Eefa was visibly stunned and was looking for words to reply to my exclamation.
‘You are not … lying? How? That sounds ridiculous!’
‘You asked. You got your answer.’
Eefa looked to the side. She was deeply in thought from the looks of it. I don’t blame her; I would be as well, in case I found myself in a similar situation.
‘In that case, I have nothing more to ask now. I will be visiting you again, tomorrow, though.’
She got up and we all headed towards the exit. She straightened her cap on her head and opened the door.
‘Farewell, for now. We have much to talk about.’
She had already walked some distance and then suddenly turned around and addressed us again.
‘Ah, by the way, come to the area where we first talked today before nighttime, if you can.’
I did not respond. We closed the door, with the piano as usual. Me and Michaela went to the living room after that. There was visible silence between us for a while and then Michaela spoke up.
‘I hope you are not planning to go to that frontline today, are you?’
‘I was actually thinking about doing so.’
‘You must be joking. Don’t you remember what I told you before? The communists have ammunition to fire their artillery every two days. Today, is a day that they will be able to. So, by tonight they will attack the lines of the royalists. It will be more than just dangerous and I really, really don’t want to learn that you got killed.’
‘From what you have seen of me, how possible do you think it is for me to get harmed, physically?’
‘Don’t be arrogant and don’t be careless. A battlefield is not three soldiers firing from behind trees and not hitting anything. It will be hell there tonight.’
‘Still, I think the risk is worth it. This Eefa, she is the only official we know. What if I could get information through her?’
‘You barely know her!’
‘And I have no other leads. It is my best option at the current time.’
Michaela looked visibly distressed.
‘Whatever you do promise me, you’ll be careful and that you will come back alive.’
I could not promise that. I would try but it isn’t completely up to me. I am taking a risk, but this is not only about me or Michaela or any other individual. I seriously believed many lives could be saved if I, at least, tried out my plan. An uneasy silence reigned again.
‘Ah but before I forget, do you want to eat some pie? I made some from the ingredients I had you create yesterday.’
I smiled broadly.
‘You acted like the figure of a grandma just now.’
‘I did?’
‘Well, yes but I don’t mind. Rather it is more than relaxing to know that I have someone else who is also looking after me.’
Michaela grew a bit red. She patted my head, trying not to hurt me with her claws.
‘If I had you as a granddaughter, I bet I would be very happy.’
We went to the kitchen, where we talked about more trivial things. We ate that pie and it was delicious. We laughed and it was as if I didn’t have a care in the world. However, that made me more anxious as the day went closer to nighttime.
When it was late enough, we both went to the door.
‘I promise, I will be back alive.’
‘You had better!’
After that exchange we embraced and I left for the soon to be battlefield. At about the same place as the day prior, Eefa was waiting.
‘Took you some time.’
‘I am not one of your soldiers.’
‘Alright, alright. Only thing I want from you today is medical support.’
‘So, you called me here to act as medic for your troops?’
‘Not only for mine. That soldier was dying and you saved his life. When the firing is settled there will be a bunch of those lying on the ground. If we sent our people to gather them, we’ll get shot upon. Same goes for the other side. But you are not from either army so if they see you helping out, I doubt you will be in danger. It will help us send our own medics as well.’
‘You are too amiable to be believable for a commissar.’
‘I understand that, since this is a civil war, that this state of animosity must be temporary. Once Prywhen or Brodfeld or someone else re-unite the country, then all those griffons must come back together. We are all Prywhenians. They and them is a state of affairs, that is unfortunate and should have never existed. But since it does exist, we can at least do what we can to alleviate it.’
‘In that case, you will have my assistance. However, isn’t you who will be firing at ‘them’ today?’
Eefa shook her head.
‘The higher ups on both sides care very little that the blood of common griffons is being spilt on these fields. But we have to do as we are told, lest we cease to exist as an organized country.’
‘Alright, alright. What would you want me to do now?’
‘Just wait.’
In less than an hour, the guns opened up and the earth trembled violently. However, it was the ear-piercing sound that was much more lethal as an after-effect. It made my head spin. The other side opened up as well. Shells exploded all around. I was in a trench up front with some soldiers. The NCOs looked distant but serene, almost as if they were prepared for their most likely demise. Many of the soldiers were crying or writing letters. They tied the letters to their uniforms; in case they were to die. Some words for their friends and family, followed by ‘I love you all’, their name and ‘Today, I died.’. A shell fell in a dug out on our left. Many were blown to pieces instantly. Many more were screaming pierced by shrapnel all over. Seconds later they were dead in agonizing pain. Even if I had tried, I couldn’t have done much. I went to one of the hit trenches. Legs and claws were sticking out, buried beneath the collapsed walls. Several corpses were also laying on another side of it. Gutted by shrapnel. Organs and bones no more than a mush now mixed in with the mud. Little pools of blood here and there. Occasionally, screams and shouts and then for a moment, silence. Eefa came up front. The soldiers looked at her; they knew what would come next. She took a deep breath, pulled out her whistle and with a trembling claw, blew in it. In the lull, the shrill sound was heard clearly in the line. Then, the lower officers began their shouting: ‘Over the Top!’
Then the communist griffons went over and the artillery opened up again to support them. The enemy artillery opened in response and the enemy lines, which were much closer than I thought they were fired sparsely first and then more intensely. Eefa turned at me before going in with the others.
‘If I don’t die, I will meet you here, soon! This is a lost charge anyways!’
Then I realized. The attack was doomed to fail. Any attack across this ground. Bushes all over slowed the advance and there was a small creek between the lines that had to be crossed. From where I was, I had a clear view of what was happening. The shouts and screams mixed in with the gunfire and explosions. Some communists reached a forward trench of the monarchists. Threw a grenade in it. A fire broke out and burning griffons run out. They were immediately shot. Elsewhere both sides were engaged in claw-to-claw combat. Shovels, bayonets, knives, clubs, rifle butts. Anything went really. And many griffons fell in pools of their own blood, there dying on the cold ground. Someone from the monarchists shouted: ‘Light ‘em up! Come on!’. And from the back a griffon with a large fuel tank on his back and a steel helmet appeared. From a hose he was holding, lines of flames were spitted, like tongues. In the foxholes and trenches, that he went in, burning griffons could be seen. They fell in puddles of water to stop the fire and the monarchists behind the flamethrower came in and drowned them in the water. In a captured trench, a monarchist soldier threw a grenade. A communist NCO saw it. He hurled himself at the grenade, hugged it. The next second he was blown up to tiny little pieces of flesh and blood scattered all over the trench. Yet, the troops with him survived. Elsewhere with pistols and submachine guns, some communists were attempting to clear out another portion of the enemy line. A loud bang followed. A shell caused the side of the deep entrenchment they were in to collapse and they were all buried alive. Soon, the monarchists launched a coordinated counter-attack and together with artillery and mortar fire slowly drove the communists back. During their retreat many of the communists turned around to shoot, so that they wouldn’t be shot in the back. Many fell on the retreat and along with those fallen before, close to the creek, the water run a muddy red. Once the communists were back, I saw Eefa among them. Covered in blood and her left eye was slashed and she held it closed. Her uniform was torn in places and in general she was a mess. When she saw me, she shouted at me:
‘Go to the back trench! NOW!’
I did so. The back trench was close to the artillery emplacements. This place had a better view of the communist lines, instead. The monarchists had used their momentum and counter-attacked. The artillery blasted away behind me and I fell to the floor and covered my ears. During the melee here the same scenes unfolded. At some point there was a loud bang beneath and the earth rose suddenly. Apparently, the monarchists had detonated a ton of explosives from some underground tunnel. However, they were slightly off and they only blew up the trenches up front. There many monarchists rushed in seeing an opportunity but they were caught inside the crater that was created. They stuck on one another like sardines and were mowed down by machine gun and small arms fire by the communists that were on the edge of the crater. By the time they were able to escape the trap and retreat, countless of them were lying in the crater, that was filled much like a bowl with blood and parts of bodies. After that the monarchists lost their momentum and fell back in turn. The communists fired as well at the retreating monarchists but with their artillery now being out of ammunition, they didn’t manage to do a lot of damage.
Soon thereafter everything went quiet. Eefa came to me staggering all the way as one of her legs was apparently fractured now. She was using a rifle to support herself. When she came to where I was, she sat down, lit up a cigarette and spoke to me.
‘Your time now. I’ll send the medics if they don’t shoot at you. How did you like the show?’
I didn’t even respond to that ironic statement. I had seen combat and killed before. But nothing like this, nothing on this scale. I felt sick and the smell of flesh, blood and burnt-out ammunition did not make the situation any better. Eefa spoke up and at me again.
‘If our plan works out today, hopefully, we won’t have to put up such a show ever again.’
I prayed with all my might for those words to come true! Hoping that, I went up the trenches and down the small hill to the area near the now crimson creek. The wounded near the trenches would be gathered up and tended by their respective sides but nobody would agree to a truce to get these unfortunate griffons out of the field.
When I reached that place, the scenes were almost as bad as I had expected them to be, based on what I had witnessed before. I walked among the shattered bodies and the corpses, trying to find those who were still alive and hoping I wouldn’t be shot at by either side. I knew the communists would not fire at me, as they were so ordered by Eefa but what about the monarchists? For a while I went from one wounded soldier to another. I made sure to keep them stable in different ways according to their injuries, planning to go back afterwards and fully heal them. Some thirty minutes passed and, in that time, a heavy downpour had begun. A little while later some monarchists with red arm bands came down. They saw me, saluted and started tending to the bodies from their side. Eefa must have seen it and sent her own medics to do the same. Both groups, disregarding the rain, helped out the lesser wounded soldiers and carried away those that could be safely removed from the scene. Once I had stabilized all of the ones who were more severely injured or in general could not be removed from the field, I started surgically operating each one of them. Both sides helped me out, whether the injured was from theirs or the enemy side. Soon, we were blessed as the rain, at least, had stopped, helping out our attempts. Then, into the dark of the night and under the light of torches and lanterns held by soldiers, I kept at my gruesome work. Soon, many common soldiers came down to observe me and my operations or to help out as they could. Many helped the medics carry away the wounded and others brought supplies and medicine if there were any available. By midnight all, in what I could tell, of the wounded down in the valley, that could be saved, were in a stable condition and were taken to their respective camps to recuperate.
However, the ‘gathering’ of troops from both sides around the little creek did not stop after that. Afterwards, they took to burying their dead and once that was largely done, they stayed there simply conversing with one another. Some of them had been friends or neighbors from before the war, even if the war had found them on opposing sides. Many of them were from the same town or city and even some others were family torn from a most brutal civil war, that was now in its third year. But most of all they were all Prywhenians and specifically on this battlefield, they were not split by ideology or the party they supported. All the same, homesick and tired of the fighting that never ended, knowing that back home the ones they loved are dead or dying of starvation. Many of them had no idea what the communist leaders or the king even wanted or whatever they had different between them. The single thing splitting them apart was this here now muddy, bloody creek. Soon, they started singing songs they knew. In the begging, one side played a song from their party and the other side would respond. However, as if it was a miracle, both sides stopped, stayed silent for a second and then simultaneously started singing ‘Home, Sweet, Home’. Tears were shed. These griffons and any griffons are not evil. They just didn’t have a choice. Others made the calls and even more others wanted them to suffer, and those others fed on their suffering. But still, how beautifully they sang that night, as if the bloodshed of hours before, had not even happened. As if they won’t be killing one another again tomorrow… Yet even if it was so, they all wanted it to end, to return home or to whatever was left of that now. And so, they sang and may those above listen closely.
To thee, I’ll return overburdened with care,
The heart’s dearest solace will smile on me there.
No more from that cottage again will I roam,
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home!
Home! Home, sweet sweet Home!
There’s no place like Home! There’s no place like Home!
When it was time to part, they hugged one another. Wished each other ‘See you in hell!’, laughed and headed back to their trenches. And from the muddy, horrendous trenches I heard two of them sing another song from which I only remember the last verse but which correctly summarized their unfortunate reality.
Many are the hearts that are weary tonight
Wishing for the war to cease
Many are the hearts looking for the right
To see the dawn of peace
Tenting tonight, Tenting tonight
Tenting on the old campground
Dying tonight, dying tonight
Dying on the old campground…
Eefa was sitting in the front trench when I was back. I quickly headed to her trying to mend the scar on her eye.
‘Do you still think you are the only one who wants all this to end?’
‘No.’
‘As I promised, I will be coming by Michaela’s house by tomorrow morning. That’s very soon anyways.’
‘Yes, I will wait.’
Author's Note
This chapter has the last verses of two songs used: The first one, is from the song 'Home! Sweet! Home!' by John Howard Payne 1823. The second one, is from the song Tenting on the Old Campground by Walter Kittredge 1863.
Chapter 3: Part 3: Truth always remains
I went back to Twelt. Michaela was already asleep but I couldn’t close my eyes. I was still dazzled by the things I had witnessed tonight. No, not from the hell of battle but instead from the boundless miracle after that. When morning came there was a knock on the door, but I knew exactly who it was. I got up and went for it.
‘Good morning, Rosa. I am here to give you something.’
I looked at Eefa in confusion. She reached to her briefcase and pulled a folder out of it. I quickly realized this was quite crucial.
‘Come inside.’
We went to the living room and sat down comfortably. Michaela was making lunch at that time in the kitchen.
‘It is better that this remains between us. Anyone else may be in danger should they know this.’
She took out some documents from the folder. They were not marked and they were all claw-written and quite terribly so.
‘Believe it or not these are the draft reports of the head of the gendarme that was responsible for investigating the attempted assassination on the King’s life. The reason they are unmarked is because they never got to be official. That specific officer was shot and killed two days after these drafts were written. His death was overshadowed by the confusion that ensued after the death of the King’s wife.’
‘I think I can already tell the summary of the contents then.’
‘More or less, I reckoned you would. The attempt was not carried out by a communist. A communist supporter was present at the scene and was indeed planning on killing the king. However, he most likely re-thought his position before he carried out the action. The gun carried by the communist was not the murder weapon, after all.’
I checked the pictures that came with the report and quickly exclaimed:
‘The weapon that was used to kill the supposed communist assassin was!’
‘Exactly! Not only that, but the direction that the communist was facing when he fell dead supports this. He was found with his back against a wall facing the opposite direction to the king. However, the communist did fire his weapon.’
‘What? At whom?’
‘At the real assassin, but he wasn’t very lucky. He either missed or simply wounded him. My hypothesis is that the communist shot and wounded the assassin who was aiming for the king, thus causing him to miss the shot and hit the king’s wife. Realizing the mistake and being covered by the shouts after the gunfire the assassin then shot the communist. This also explains how only two rounds were heard being fired.’
‘That would be because the communist shot the assassin at nearly the same time that the assassin shot the king. Correct?’
Eefa nodded in agreement.
‘Thing is… the officer who wrote this was comfortably silenced once he uncovered this and the report replacing this one, is the one, that became the currently accepted reality. That is not all though. Whoever did all that- but most likely it was more than a single creature- also made sure to fabricate other things. Most notably the reports on the food rations for each region, which was a major reason for the communist uprising in the countryside.’
Eefa brought out two very similar looking report papers. She pointed at the first one.
‘This one when detailing the needs of the region of Whiteflower for the year 1000, the most hard-hit region by the famine of 995 onwards, actually displays an amount of required rationing much higher than what was actually necessary. After all, all three regions over-bloated their numbers to get higher rations than the others. It makes sense.’
‘What’s the difference with the other one? They look exactly the same.’
‘Except they are not. The second one, down here, has the signature of the king. This one was the one that got through. The first one does not. The second one has a major difference, the necessary rations needed are halved here compared to the first one.’
‘Wait, that means- ‘
I paused for a second to make certain that I had my logical procedure formulated in the correct order.
‘Of course, they were starving in the countryside! All the food went to Sydia and Kivessin because they were exaggerating their numbers, while the reports from Whiteflower had them halved instead! And no official would halve the needs of his region! The second one is fabricated!’
‘Problem is, that it is not. It is fully legitimate no matter how one tries to check it. This does not mean, that whoever compiled it was not a fake though. I have two different ways that this could have possibly occurred. First, the official was a griffon carefully placed in that specific position. An organization with enough funding would be able to pull such a thing off, especially in a country as unstable as Prywhen in the early 1000s. Second hypothesis is that the official was not a griffon but something else.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Do you really think I am a griffon?’
‘I think that you are definitely not from Prywhen. The name does not fit.’
‘Well, my real name is not Eefa Doyle in the first place. It is Aoife o’ Dubhghaill and I am not a griffon.’
‘That name is Greneclyfian! This means you are- ‘
Right in front of me Aoife changed to her true form.
‘A changeling! Oh, don’t feel down! My disguise was as immaculate as it could possibly be!’
I laughed and then thought back on our previous conversation.
‘So, you think that the creature posing as the official could be a changeling. It is possible. If this had happened in Equestria then the changeling would be easily uncovered because of the symbols ponies carry, but for a griffon there is no such distinction.’
‘Not only that but the appearance could look stunningly similar. However, I personally think it was more likely for the imposter to have been a griffon. Over time a changeling would have been found out even in a griffon society. That is because he or she would have needed to be in that position for a long period of time. And a changeling cannot act like a griffon for so long and if one tries, they are eventually sniffed out.’
‘This would also mean that the organization in question behind all this would have quite the presence inside Prywhen. My question though is this: wouldn’t this be enough to de-legitimize both sides?’
‘Yes and no. This is not concrete proof, at least not by official standards. However, the main issue is that even if we wanted to get this information out to the public, we would need to find someone willing to publish it in the first place. And I have someone in mind but if we come close and fail, Prywhen is done for.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘A very certain critic of the king, who is with the king would be the perfect candidate to help us out. But if he is informed about all this and the organization behind the whole plot to destabilize Prywhen finds out he knows, then he will most certainly be killed. That’s most likely the reason why that organization, whichever it is, tried to get rid of King Kloseu in the first place. He must have known far too much about them for their comfort. However, with his anger at the death of his wife and the civil war, the king forgot all such information. As for the person that I was referring to previously, it is the king’s son, Prince Tomado.’
‘Before we go any further, I want to ask: How the hell do you know all this?’
‘I came to Prywhen to help out the communists in 1006. On a scouting mission in the countryside, I shot and killed a messenger. In his bag I found the original documents. For whatever reason, I decided to keep them for myself at the time. Then, I read the contents and made sure to keep those documents a secret afterwards, while at the same time making sure to acquire copies of the original ones from the communist party.’
‘Then why did you not do anything yourself all this time?’
‘I simply was incapable of doing anything. If I went to my commissar commanders, they would dismiss the report about the food and reveal the one about the assassination plot. If I went to the monarchists, they would do the exactly opposite thing. If I went to try and get the Prince to listen to me one of two things would happen: one, he would simply ignore me and dismiss the reports either himself or after he would show them to his father or, two, he would believe the reports and attempt to get them publicized only to be assassinated by either this organization or by supporters of either side who wouldn’t want their side to be delegitimized. There wasn’t very much I was able to do alone from my position then. That’s why I worked my way up to becoming a commissar and waited for the right moment. Then you showed up.’
I scoffed at the last statement.
‘How am I important in any of this?’
‘You are not involved for a start. As I said before, even if I am a communist offering information to the Prince, he may think I am attempting to deceive him. But you are not with either side. Furthermore, and correct me if I am wrong, your potency with magic is absolutely not limited to ice swords and healing magic.’
‘I cannot rebuke that. But I don’t think this helps us in any way.’
‘It does. I don’t really know whoever our actual enemy in all this is, but what I do understand full well is that this foe of ours will absolutely not make the same mistake twice. If they try to assassinate the Prince it won’t be just with conventional means, if other tools are at the assassins’ disposal as well, which they most certainly will be.’
‘So, what will you have me do?’
‘I actually had not expected to get this far.’
I broke out in loud laughter. The last response was completely ridiculous. Aoife began laughing so hard, she was crying.
‘I mean, first I didn’t know I would get all this intel, second, that I would ever be in a position to use it, third, that I would find just the right pony to help me out and fourth, that this specific pony would not give me the logical answer of ‘You are a lunatic, fuck off.’’
I was rolling on the floor, dying of laughter. I was desperately trying to contain myself because I could not breathe from laughing. As I managed to relatively regain my composure, I sat on the sofa again and tried to talk amidst still giggling like a little filly.
‘Well, here’s one proposition.’
I went over a plan that I had envisioned at that specific moment. Aoife agreed to it. We made some changes and then promised to make sure we would not bite the dust before we could carry it out. Around that time, Michaela came in.
‘What were you two doing? I could hear you quite clearly from the kitchen.’
Then she saw Aoife.
‘My apologies but I don’t know what kind of food changelings usually eat.’
The response along with the innocent way it was delivered had a comedic value, that I think Michaela could not comprehend. Aoife died of laughter again. I giggled but desperately tried to not make a complete fool out of myself again. Yet, I failed spectacularly. We all laughed and then ate lunch. However, the previous exchange had me thinking: If Aoife is a changeling wouldn't she need to drain love out of others to survive? I knew she wasn't doing that to neither myself or Michaela, because, if she were, I would be able to tell by using my magic. I decided not to think too much or ask Aoife about this, since Aoife was most definitely not dangerous, but I was curious, nevertheless.
As for the plan, that I had formulated with Aoife, we decided to put it in motion a week later. At that time, Aoife would be herself transferred to a propaganda unit of the communist party, and then she wouldn’t be suspected in case she was absent for a longer period of time. And so, we bided our time and waited, trying to rid our minds of the cruelness of the war, devolving the country further into chaos around us. Tried to convince ourselves that all would be certainly over soon. I frequented that battlefield from before in that meantime, helping as I could. I learned someday that I had made quite the name for myself in the ranks of both sides in the area. They call me ‘The Angel of the Blood Creek’, or at least that was the most popular name I had, as far as I was aware.
Aoife on her end tried to make sure that, unless directly ordered from above, she would not be sending her soldiers or herself over the trenches for another attack. Regardless, nogriffon in her ranks or those of the enemy had a stomach to fight. The famine had just hit the ranks of the soldiers as well. One day a monarchist went to the communist side with a white flag. He told Aoife that they had orders to attack them but they were starving and absolutely did not fancy attacking and proposed the communists come over to their trenches so that they could shell their trenches to look as if they were attacking. Then the monarchists would go with the communists to the communist trenches and the communists would shell the monarchist trenches to fake a counter-attack. The monarchists thought that that would be enough to deceive their command, that they had attacked and gained ground but then were counter-attacked and lost all gains. Aoife talked with the monarchist commanders and they executed the plan and from the looks of it, it worked. The monarchist high command praised the unit for their heroic actions in a report the next day. Both sides ridiculed the occurrence as much as they could. At any rate, this showed how the situation was very fertile for mutiny and possibly a ceasefire, should our plan succeed. The starvation, long duration of the conflict, the fact that both sides had too much in common had all led to this. Very soon, it would all be over or so I tried to convince myself, but when the day came, I was so much on edge, that I was shacking all over as if I was inside a glacier or somewhere similar.
‘Are you ready?’
I checked my bag one last time, inside which I had some Bliss flowers in the form of dust, a flask of water, my old mysterious book and the folder with the documents, as well as some medical material, just in case.
‘Yes, I can safely say, I have never been more ready in my life.’
‘Then, we are off.’
As we departed the old house, which was now heavily repaired due to my and Michaela’s efforts during the last week, Michaela waved her claw after us.
‘Try not to get in danger and return soon!’
We both turned around for a second and responded together.
“Promise!”
We flew to Sydia next, me using my bat-wings created out of energy and Aoife with her own wings. We were there right before nighttime. The king and his son had been relocated to Sydia, since Kivessin was being besieged by the communists and under heavy bombardment. We were planning on drugging the Prince and then making sure he had a hold of the documents and then disappear. There was a chance that he would just not read them in the first place but we had opted to take our chances that he would. We spotted the Prince walking down one of the roads in Sydia, specifically the one connecting the port to the castle. However, as we were about to carry out our plan, several dark figures flew in from the opposite direction that we were coming from, carrying guns and knives.
‘Oh shit.’
‘We gotta stop them! Now! Help me out, Rosa!’
The streets were deserted at this hour, so the assailants would not have been seen by any other griffon. Prince Tomado froze as he saw them descend on him. One headed straight for him with a blade. Right before he could reach his target though, I pierced his throat with an ice sword and he crumpled on the paved street. At the same time, Aoife in her form of a griffon commissar fired with her revolver at another assassin that was coming on foot. Contrary to what we originally thought, the assassins were a mix of griffons and changelings. The weird thing was though, that nobody outside of the fight had noticed anything at all. We were making quite a lot of noise, after all. Then I noticed the blue light going around above us.
‘An acoustic and visual barrier?!’
This meant that what was happening in here could not be seen or heard from outside and from outside it looked as if the street was empty. This meant that quite the experienced unicorn was among the assassins. I saw him standing at a corner maintaining the barrier. I sent my swords flying at him but he easily avoided them all. He went after Aoife with fire and light magic. I raised the earth as a wall and stopped the spells in their track. Before I counter-attacked I dispatched a few griffons by strangling them out of air and went over to the Prince.
‘Your highness I recommend you stay behind us and that you stay silent.’
Before he could respond, I lunged him from the ground to a corner and cast a smaller barrier around him. Then I quickly turned to face the unicorn again. I parried his rays. This kind of magic is the normal way to use magic as a unicorn. Rest assured, it was nothing in front of my magic, which could control real elements. The issue, was the rest of the attackers that hurled themselves at us with bullets and swinging their swords. I had a nice idea at that time. I used my magic to influence the water flow in the unicorn and he fell unconscious on the floor. Then I stepped back and focused on my memories of the attackers faces, that had already died. Their eyes, faces, exactly how they looked like. I felt a great warmth inside me and my horn began glowing a bright purple. The next minute the dead corpses or at least those I recognized, had risen up again. I sent them after the rest of the assassins and since they felt no pain now, they made quick work of them. In the meantime, the unicorn had regained his senses and went after me. I couldn’t attack him as effectively now, since I had expended too much energy on raising those dead before. At a point, he turned with a kind of energy whip at me. I tried to block it using the earth just as before but could not pull it off. Just as I thought I was done for, a bullet hole appeared through the head of the unicorn and he fell down with a thud. Aoife, with her revolver still smoking, was standing right behind the now dead corpse.
‘Don’t even think you owe me. You have saved far too many lives for that.’
With all the assailants now dealt with I quickly turned to restoring the barrier, after I had let the undead die for good by disconnecting my magic from them. I had to do all I could to keep up the barrier, because it wouldn’t be great if someone saw this mess along with a bloodstained communist and a unicorn standing right in front of the heir and son of the king. Would not give off the right message.
I undid the barrier around Prince Tomado but the young griffon looked a lot calmer than I had expected him to be after surviving such an affair, even though it was true, that he had only seen the start of it, because he couldn't see from outside my barrier. At any rate, he didn’t even give me time to speak.
‘Thank you, both of you. You have my eternal gratitude. You saved my life, after all. Once my father, King Kloseu of Kissau learns about this, I am sure he will reward you with whatever it is you want. Just don’t ask for much, because there is not a lot to go around these days in our Kingdom of Brodfeld.’
Aoife and I looked at each other and then smiled. But I spoke instead.
‘Your highness, we are thankful ourselves to have made sure you remain safe and sound and it is truly a luck that only Boreas himself can grant for us to have so happened to be here when you were attacked. However, we do not desire any kind of material wealth as a reward.’
Prince Tomado raised one of his eyebrows in confusion.
‘What else is there, that you could want?’
Then he noticed that Aoife was wearing a communist uniform and took a step back. Aoife smiled reassuringly.
‘I have no intention of harming you.’
I went forward and handed the Prince the folder with the documents. Then I stepped back again.
‘This folder contains what we think proves that both sides of the civil war are based on fully illegitimate pretexts. Whether their actions had other motives, such as gain of power or wealth, that matters little to the people starving at home or the soldiers dying on the field. They are all the same, sir. And they all wish for one thing: peace.’
Aoife continued.
‘Through research and with these documents as proof, it is possible to show to the nation that both sides are not worth fighting for. We both know this would mean that you would go against not only the communists but against your father as well. However, I have been on the field. I have killed and seen griffons die, from both sides. This is not going to end anytime soon. Rather, it will end up in a deadly stalemate. This would forever split the nation. If the contents of these documents are made public though, the soldiers in the field as well as the populace will stop assisting either side. Only the staunch fanatics will remain to fight for them. If Redglad or the King want to keep fighting to the death after that, then they will be proven traitors to the entire nation and easily swept aside.’
I continued the exchange.
‘We believe that you and you alone, your highness, have a very unique opportunity to publish this information and be trusted by the people. After that, you will be able to reform the nation as you deem the best for its griffons.’
‘You did save my life, and let me also assume that these documents are really legitimate and can achieve an end to the civil war. Still, why would I believe that you two are not working with either the king, my father, who has committed multiple atrocities, I will never agree with, or with the communists, who have done the same in retaliation?’
Aoife had expected this and it was just as she had mentioned to me before.
‘You might not believe me, but you will believe her.’
‘Why so?’
‘Sir, you can ask anygriffon in this country that knows me. I have helped soldiers from both sides. Let alone that, if I was a communist here, in this situation do you think that I would not have killed or captured you, right here and now? Or if I was a monarchist, would I be working together with a communist? I cannot exactly convince you, sir. That’s up to you. As for us, we took our chances. It was dangerous for us to come here and deliver this to you in the first place. At this moment in time, we are but two nocreatures inside a nation whose fate is controlled by Redglad in Whiteflower and King Kloseu in Sydia and we possess little to no power in order to change that. We found a way to influence things but this is as far as we can go. The rest is up to you, sir.’
I looked up at the barrier. It was fading out, because I couldn’t keep the wind pressure around it stable for too long. I turned to Aoife.
‘We have to go.’
Then I faced the Prince again.
‘Whatever you decide, your highness, may you live long.’
And before the Prince could say anything else, we rushed towards a back alley, Aoife changed to her changeling form and then we flew away into the darkness of the night. As we were flying away, Aoife spoke to me while still looking forward.
‘How did you do that thing before?’
I couldn’t hear her very well at the speeds that we were flying at.
‘What?’
‘How did you do that with the corpses? I am a changeling so I have a lot of eyes, so you better have a good reason for that, because I definitely saw it!’, Aoife repeated louder.
‘Ah, that! Well, I am also a necromancer! Uno grande historia!’
‘You are but a big mystery, Rosa!’
‘Right back at you!’
‘But you aren’t getting out of this one! We will have a long discussion about this someday!’
‘And you’ll tell me, how the hell a changeling from Greneclyf became a communist and somehow learnt about Prywhen and came here to fight for the Griffon Liberation Army! Oh, and how you don't need to suck love out of others for a living!’
‘How did you figure that last one out? You know what, it doesn't matter. Deal!’
With that speed we managed to arrive at Michaela’s house by the next morning. We hadn’t told her anything about what we were going to do and she realized it was crucial and so she hadn’t asked herself. When she saw us return, drenched to the brim in blood, she was visibly frightened. I quickly rushed to reassure her.
‘We are fine, Michaela. Did anything happen while we were away?’
‘Not really. However, you two, should stop being so reckless!’
Aoife and I would have hugged her, but we remembered we were covered with blood.
‘We are sorry for that. I will make sure not to drag Rosa with me if I, the crazy communist changeling commissar, decide to do anything dangerous again.’
‘You had better!’, Michaela replied in quite a cliché fashion.
Then we all laughed and went in. Me and Aoife took a much-needed bath and then all of us three ate together. For the next few days Aoife stayed mostly in our house and did her work for the communist party here as well. I helped her out as often as she would let me. We always had the radio on, so as to be the first to learn about the success or failure of our plan. However, half a month passed and nothing had happened. Then a full month. Aoife and I were starting to have our doubts.
‘He might have just dismissed the whole thing by now, Rosa.’
‘Let’s have faith and wait a bit longer.’
Outside in the fields of battle, there was a great stalemate. Nobody made any progress anywhere. There were many reports of units refusing to attack or fight in general anymore as well. The communists were assigning Aoife with the creation of massive amounts of propaganda to alleviate that.
‘They are such big buffoons. As if big words are going to make any change now.’
In this whole period, I started using my magic to create as much food as possible and then provided it to the troops on both sides near Twelt. Communists and monarchists there alike would follow the same pattern as before and refused to attack one another, choosing instead to fight mock battles to convince their high command. They started sending fabricated casualty reports as well. The ones reported dead, simply went back home. Some people from Twelt had also returned, because of such occurrences on the field, either here or on other fronts as well. The morale and thinking process of the soldiers on the field could be quickly summarized by a sign post that had recently appeared right between the two opposing forces on the Blood Creek battlefield near Twelt. The sign read:
‘WE ARE ALL FOOLS
LET’S GO HOME!’
Author's Note
The last two lines of the chapter are a reference to an incident that happened on the western front of the Frist World War, specifically in the winter of 1915. Reportedly, a board went up at some point between the opposing sides saying,
Chapter 3: Part 4: Shattering a Shadow
Then, in early July me and Aoife had just gotten up when we got called by Michaela.
‘Rosa, Aoife! Come quick!’
We went to the living room still half asleep. Michaela was standing in front of the radio, as if captivated by it.
‘What is it? I was having a very good dream so I hope this is worth it.’
I smacked Aoife on the head with my hoof.
‘Okay, okay, I am a stupid changeling alright.’
I laughed a bit and then we both went closer to Michaela and the radio near the sofa. To our absolute astonishment the voice we heard from the radio was Prince Tomado! He was in Kivessin and giving a speech.
‘According to these documents that I am holding in my claws right now, is the clear and unavoidable truth of this whole war! That it was absolutely pointless! If you are out there and hearing this message then I plead you with all the strength I have! Put down your arms and go home! Both communists and monarchists alike! The king’s wife was never assassinated by a communist and the famine was never started because of the king! I am saying this as the son of the king and I do fully expect to be struck down from this position of mine right after this speech. But I know the truth and I know that this nation has had enough of this cruel civil war. Brothers killing brothers! Fathers burying their children! How much longer are we going to bear a war that is fought for no actual purpose at all? How long are all of you out there willing to bear this? If you are in the field, I repeat put down your arms and return home, work your fields! The nation needs it now more than ever! If you are at home then help out to rebuild, and do not heed the commands of either side! Help out your communities, let them stand back on their feet again! As for the leaders of both sides, those who understand my words, come and meet me in Kivessin! There is no siege here! The besiegers and the besieged have both put down their arms! Come meet me and let’s make this bloodshed cease! This is not something done for any ideology. Fuck ideologies! They have only led us to kill one another! Your blood, my blood, the blood of every griffon on this land! It is not worth to be spilt for some badly written words on some 'wise' girffon’s book who has done nothing for you! Nobody from us is faultless in all of this but we must end it now before we have wiped ourselves and our great nation off the face of Griffonia!’
After the speech of the prince some other officials spoke in support of this, almost the same in number from both sides. Then the Prince announced, that for whoever interested, the documents themselves would be available to the public in Kivessin. Then the broadcast was suddenly cut, most likely by the monarchist authorities. I remained in awe for a minute and then exclaimed loudly:
‘The mad griffon! He actually did it!’
We all hugged one another, danced, sung joyously. We went outside and all the griffons that had returned to Twelt were also in the same festive mood. All glad that this whole war did not bury them. By the next afternoon, we learned that most leaders and officers from both sides had gathered in Kivessin and reached a compromise. The day after that, the new constitution was announced. The country would become a constitutional monarchy, with the king retaining only his position as head of the army and even then, greatly restricted by the newly created parliament. The country would be split administratively in three regions, Sydia, Kivessin and Whiteflower with each region being administered locally by a council of workers. That was a kind of system untried before but it definitely had the support of the people for now. Elements of both sides who refused to stop the conflict were quickly swept away by troops that were now together in a common cause. The king, as expected, refused to accept the decision, disinherited his son and fled to Wingbardy. Similarly, Redglad fled to Aqueilia. Tomado became the first king of this new state. His first prime minister was to be Theressa, who had been a general in the royal guard before joining up with the communists. She had connections with both sides of the civil war and was generally very well accepted by the citizens, many of whom had served under her before the civil war in the guard and during the civil war in the communist army.
Some days later another joyous occasion happened, this time specifically for Michaela. Her son, though a bit bruised, returned full well to Twelt. She was overjoyed and could not believe her eyes. Her son on the other claw could not believe how his mother had aged so much since he had left the house two and a half years ago. When we were alone in the kitchen that day, she pulled me close to her and whispered in my ear.
‘I don’t know exactly what it is you did, but I know it was you and Aoife that are responsible for the end to war. However, I also have to thank you for this as well.’
She pointed at her son who was talking in the living room with some of the neighbors who had come to visit.
‘You brought my boy back that I had given up for dead and you made sure I would be alive today to see him. I will never be able to thank you enough. None of these things would have happened without you. And it was because from start to finish you were determined to see this through.’
I didn’t say anything. I only smiled. Words were not necessary anymore. All that had to be said Tomado said for me now. That evening we were going to carry out a solemn service, a testament, so to speak, to this war that shook the entirety of the Kingdom of Prywhen asunder. We were going to the mayor’s tower to honor the fallen from both sides. As a special guest to this, King Tomado, together with several of his officials and members of parliament. But to all the bystanders he had made it clear he wasn’t going to say a thing. The locals many of whom I knew, many of whom I had saved those nights around the Blood Creek, had chosen me, the nopony from nowhere, to do the sermon. I followed the scripture normally and as it finished, I decided to say something of my own at the very end.
‘Their passing we will all mourn. Passing of friends, loved ones, family. All of them fond in our memories may they remain. Everlasting the sweet moments and perishing the evil thoughts. And to be so till in good time, the Truth of the world shall be seen, the light, blinding, will shine on this pained land and all lands that have so suffered, that have so bled and cried and mourned, for lost ones. Let the light shine and from their grave may they rise again in both body and soul and may we all live to see the day of that glorious resurrection, when the soul will finally find its freedom, when our tears will no more be shed for nothing but joy, for no evil being but for the happiness of those who chose, despite the most grievous hardships, to believe and to believe with faith and confidence in that new light, that one shining from the Truth alone. And let the trials of this world end then. And let there be peace. And love. And friendship. And unity. And for all of us to finally be together in eternity. Amen.’
The entire room before listening in silence, responded.
‘Amen!’
I saw Tomado leaning at the door of the tower and he smiled at me. He then put his hat on his head and said something with Enrico Chivaldori, his official advisor, who had returned to the Kingdom of Prywhen, since now the banishment for all the exiles from Prywhen had been lifted. After that, they both exited the tower followed by the other officials. Tomado will be the first king, maybe in the world, who openly goes out in public with no protection whatsoever and the same is true for his parliament, advisors and officials, even though the country is most literally a mix of all major ideologies in the current time: The communists locally, the democrats and republicans nationally, the monarchists and hardline right wingers on the level of the kingdom and the military. The Prywhenians should be proud of their nation. It is one of a kind, that I do not think will be seen anywhere else in the world at any given time. As I walked through the crowd towards the gate, where Aoife was waiting for me, the griffons made way and began cheering my name and clapping. I was blushing brightly and I think any more of this and I would have steam coming out of my ears. When I reached Aoife, she was giggling at me.
‘You braved the horrors of a battlefield, survived a war-torn nation of griffons as a pony, undertook a secret mission to save the entire nation and you are blushing for this?’
I smacked her head.
‘Ouch, okay, I am sorry.’
‘I still am but a silly pony. Let’s go home.’
‘This way then.’
We walked back to Michaela’s home and Michaela and her son where there already. Her son had taken up the duty of repairing the house from us. We ate together, discussed vividly and received the neighbors who came to visit. Around that time, we went out in the garden where Michaela’s husband was buried. We had closed the circle of the nation and now we end the circle in this very house as well. I thought inside me that this was the last loose end, the last thing we had to bury deep before Michaela and her son and me and Aoife could move on. We unearthed the corpse and everyone, along with the neighbors who had come to pay their last respects to the deceased griffon, were surprised to find out that the body was still well maintained in spite of not having been buried properly and having been exposed to the elements for so long. I was responsible for that. After I had learned about Michaela’s dead husband, I had immediately changed the air and water flow around his dead body so that any bacteria would die and not be able to decompose him. At the same time, the zero-air earth-like cell he was in, in combination with a liquid I smeared over his body, made sure not to let his body decompose on its own as well. Truth is, that the body had already begun to decompose when I found it. I had used copious amounts of energy to restore it, inside out, and then I had followed with the whole conservation process. However, I absolutely did not mention that now, as it was not important. Regardless, the body of the griffon would now remain intact no matter the environment. But the symbolic value of the burial was the important part. The whole process must not have taken more than thirty minutes.
First, the son of Michaela, with the help of some of the neighbors dug the grave deep, then brought forth a wooden box as a coffin and placed the dead griffon, who had been previously wrapped in white cloth, inside the box. Then they closed it and then I let it slowly descended downwards with my magic, till it reached the bottom. The earth was then put back inside and then a prayer was said, to Boreas and some local gods of Prywhen. Michaela silently cried the entire time. However, this time it was different. She was sad but it was over, for the better. She could finally look forward, towards a long life, in this town of Twelt, in her good old house, living with her son till her days were done. Me and Aoife smiled. We had done our duty. Soon thereafter, the neighbors and friends went to their homes and we went back inside feeling cleansed, in a way. Night came and we all went to bed. Once more and for the last time sleeping together.
The next day would be mine and Aoife’s last in Prywhen. We had decided we had done enough here and were planning on going to the River Republic. When tomorrow came, Aoife and I gathered our luggage and headed for the door. Michaela was waiting for us. Her son was standing proudly next to her. We kissed and I shook her son’s claw. Before we left, I gave her son a white sheet. Told him that should his mother pass away while I was abroad, he was to bury her after covering her in this sheet. I had carefully used herbs and magic on the sheet to allow a body wrapped inside it to remain virtually untouched forever. For now, I could only resurrect physical bodies but someday, who knows, I may be able to harvest souls as well. We said farewell and we walked away with Aoife, who was in her changeling form. We were planning on crossing from Kivessin, west into the Cossack lands. A democratic regime had been developing there as well and Tomado managed to convince them to ensure us safe passage through their lands. Once we would have gotten to the border with Wittenland, I had my old passport from Equestria as well as some certification papers for the River Republic and all of those would let us easily pass through.
When Aoife and I had walked some distance from Twelt, she turned to me, pulling a piece of paper from her old briefcase.
‘This is from King Tomado, King of Prywhen.’
I was relatively confused by how she presented the paper. I held it in the air and read it.
‘This is a commendation letter from the King himself!’
I kept reading.
‘For your tireless efforts in the name of a nation you had absolutely no duty to, for the well-being of creatures belonging to a race that is not yours, while also facing perils from both sides as you chose the path of righteousness that very few dare to walk, I, King Tomado de Kissau, King of Prywhen, sovereign ruler of the lands of Prywhen in Kivessin, Whiteflower and Sydia, bestow upon you the Cross of the Grand Order of Brodfeld, an honor that has only ever been granted once before, to King Kihai de Kissau.’
Aoife paused me at that point.
‘Who ironically bestowed it upon himself. So, yet another thing to feel good about.’
I dismissed that statement and kept reading. At the end of the letter, a shiny silver cross embroidered in gold leaves was pinned.
‘P.S. Had you chosen to remain in Prywhen, I would have proposed you to run for a position in the parliament but I knew that you would refuse, so that’s the best compensation I can give you. That, my gratitude, the gratitude of the entire nation and my word that should you ever wish to return to the Kingdom of Prywhen, you are more than welcome.’
I finished reading and paused for a bit. I don’t think I had ever done so much in my life in so little time. I, then thought back on the letter again.
‘And you would have been right to think, I would refuse to stay.’
‘The nopony from nowhere has big plans now?’
Aoife was messing with me again. I sighed and smacked her in the head, again.
‘Ouch! I hope this does not become a habit of yours.’
We laughed and kept on our way. On the outskirts of Twelt, where before the sign about the minefield stood, now there was a new sign.
‘HELLO TRAVELLER
THIS IS TWELT, A TOWN IN PRYWHEN
DO NOT MISTRUST
DO NOT HATE
DO NOT HARM
DO NOT KILL
FOR THE SAKE OF A SHADOW’
‘Wise words.’, Aoife said.
‘You ruined the moment.’, I responded and we both laughed quite stupidly. Inside me though, I also felt quite accomplished seeing this. After all, the sign spoke on its own of the failure of the plans of the Wendigos in Prywhen.
Soon, we distanced ourselves further and further from the town. We both knew, that we would not be back in Twelt anytime soon. However, we would always remember Michaela, her son and all the other familiar faces in that town very fondly, as well as all the things we experienced with them; both the heartbreaking and heartwarming ones. However, we would also remember, or rather live with, the fact that, this truly insane story brought us, myself and Aoife, a pony necromancer and a changeling from Greneclyf, together as friends and maybe a bit closer than that. I was thinking of all that and then Aoife started singing a song, a tune that was very familiar to me as well.
‘Up to mighty Kivessin
Came a pony that one day
As the streets are paved with gold
Everyone, was gay!
Singing songs of Sydia
Twelt and Whiteflower square
Till that pony got excited
And she shouted to them there:’
I laughed loudly.
‘I am pretty sure that’s not exactly how the song went but I will try to sing the chorus of this one:
It’s a long way to the Republic
It’s a long way to go
It’s a long way from old Prywhen
With the sweetest girl I know!
Goodbye, to you Sydia
Farewell, Whiteflower square!
It’s a long long way to the Republic
But my heart’s right here!’
‘Wait, ‘with’ and ‘here’?’, Aoife was redder than fire.
‘You, big tease!’, she exclaimed then and hit me on the head, ‘Now, we are even! Anyhow my turn:
That pony wrote a letter
To his Blomsport changeling-o
Saying, “Should you not receive it,
Well, write and let me know!”
“If I make mistakes in spelling”
Changeling dear, said she’
‘To remember, that it’s the pen that’s bad
And lay not the blame on you?’
‘Exactly!
It’s a long way to the Republic
It’s a long way to go
It’s a long way from old Prywhen
With the sweetest girl I know!
Goodbye, to you Sydia
Farewell, Whiteflower square!
It’s a long long way to the Republic
But my heart’s right here!’
‘Well then, in that case:
The changeling wrote a neat reply
To traveling pony-o,
Saying ‘A ways from Blomsport
I had to go, and so
Let’s leave Twelt and Kivessin
Or truly, you’ll be to blame
‘Halt, next two are my lines!
For I want my love to drive me silly:
Hoping you’ll stay the same!’
‘We got one more. Want to sing it together?’
‘After you.’
“It’s a long way to the Republic
It’s a long way to go
I went a long way in old Prywhen
With the sweetest girl I know!
Goodbye, to you Sydia
Farewell, Whiteflower square!
It’s a long long way to the Republic
But my heart’s right here!!!”
=====================================FIN=============================================
Author's Note
The lyrics used at the end are written by myself and are a heavily edited version of the lyrics of the song 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary' written by Irish tenor John McCormack in 1914.
Special Thanks to:https://www.fimfiction.net/story/492452/prologue
Next up I will be working on the sequels. Look out for chapter 4, I will be finishing it by next month.
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Chapter 2: Part 1: A Voyage with Rumareian Griffons
The claw of a griffon covered my mouth and another held me tightly.
‘Do you wanna frickin’ die?! After she risked her life to save you?! Shut up and we might get out of here unscathed!’
I wanted to hear none of it. I kicked the griffon behind me and shook off the other one with my magic, but as I turned around something from behind me hit my head with great force, and I fell on the ground, immediately put out like a light.
When I next came to my senses, I was tied up at the back of the ship, which looked a lot like a large fishing boat. I tried to use my magic to free myself, but found out I was too weak to do so. On the deck were four griffons with very rough dark yellow or black feathers. Another griffon must have been captaining the ship and possibly more could be in the front. I was trying to think of how to escape my current situation and get back to the shore, to help out mother…
Then I realized the reality of the situation and I fell into despair. I started wailing and kicking around the boat.
‘Why WHY WHY! WHY ALWAYS ME!’
A griffon whose voice I recognized from before came up to me quickly, when he heard me.
‘Shut up! By Arcturius shut up you brat!’
He slapped me, but I kept crying. Behind my screaming I could recognize the voice of the griffon speaking. It was the same griffon, who had stopped me before. Anger filled me almost immediately.
‘You, you bastard, chick of a bitch. If you hadn’t stopped me, I would have-’
‘What? Wasted your life away trying to save your mother? Getting yourself killed after she risked her own life to give you a chance to get away? You were very fucking lucky, you know that? And now you wanna throw all that away? Regardless, I was paid good money to get you and your mother across this sea, so be grateful. Now that I think about it, I owe you half the price, don’t I? One passenger instead of two. Want the check now or later?’
I was enraged. I had just lost… everything and he was laughing at me.
‘Demon! I swear it, I will kill you!’
‘I am a demon now, aren’t I? To be honest, I think you had better shut the fuck up and think of your situation, you ungrateful piece of shit.’
I used what strength I could still muster and hurled a bar lying beside me, at him, which he received right in the face. Apparently, though, it didn’t do as much damage as I wanted it to.
‘Okay, okay, I get it. You lost your ma and you are frustrated and sad and all. We’ll leave you alone. But you are gonna be frickin’ bound like that till tomorrow. Can’t have you having any funny ideas about jumping overboard and getting yourself killed. Not that it would hurt my business, but rather my conscience, what little of it is left anyways. Food will be served shortly. Unless you had food in those bags of yours, food will be fish and just fish, really.’
Using telekinetic magic, I got hold of a fish from the sea that had happened to swim near the boat and hurled it in his face.
‘There’s your fish, mister!’
The entire crew broke into laughter but he, who I suppose was the captain, simply turned and walked away. The whole comedic feel of the scene made me stop crying for a short while, but once I brought mother into my thoughts again, I just curled up in the corner, where I was bound to and started crying again. What else did I have to live for? All those dear to me were now gone. Father was gone, mother was gone and most likely…. No, no, no I did not want to think of that. I wouldn’t be able to bear it now. The low chatter of the filthy ‘fishergriffs’ annoyed me, so, at least, I was switching around between anger and depression, I suppose. Soon thereafter, I fell into a deep slumber and woke up only when it must have been midday the next day.
When I woke up the captain was standing above me.
‘Oi, you slept without eating a thing yesterday. You are eating today whether you want it or not. Nobody dies on my watch.’
Then he saw that I was bound again.
‘If you promise not to jump overboard or do anything stupid, then I will untie you. Deal?’
I growled but nodded my head in agreement and he took out a knife and cut the rope knots around my legs.
‘My legs feel so very sore! I can barely stand.’
‘That’s normal considering you went two days bound and not moving them at all. I am sorry for that, by the way, but better I deliver cargo alive rather than dead.’
‘So, I am ‘cargo’ now? Like a slave of sorts.’
He lifted a heavy box but kept speaking, while moving it towards the entrance to the bottom deck.
‘If you are on the ship and I was tasked with handing you off to some place then yes, you damn straight are fucking cargo. Also, I am sorry for the rude manners, but that was a thing I was never taught.’
He finally got the box down. I suppose my luggage was inside. Mother had sent most luggage to be loaded a few days before we were supposed to leave. The griffon turned to me again. His appearance was as rough as his voice. His sailors looked the same way, but he was a lot worse.
‘The name’s Alaric, Alaric Dawnbreaker.’
‘Rosa Maledicta.’
He looked as if he expected me to say something else as well. But he just heaved a sigh of disappointment.
‘Well, I guess the ancient house of Dawnbreaker has declined so much as to not be known to the outside world, let alone to a pony. Maybe our barony of Rumare may be more well-known, as a tourist spot, that is.’
I will be honest, I cared very little for what he was or where he was from. But considering I didn’t have much else to do and crying now wouldn’t really fix anything, I inquired further without any particular goal, per say.
‘And what would a ‘baron’ be doing on a fishing boat in the middle of nowhere?’
I didn’t know what the word ‘baron’ meant, but I guessed that it was some kind of rank of nobility.
‘Well, normally I would tell you an obvious lie, but you would notice sooner or later. I am out here smuggling arms. Specifically, to Brodfeld and more specifically to Kloseu and his royalists fighting for the kingdom there in the civil war there.’
‘Which most definitely sounds more noble-like than fishing.’
‘Well, I gotta do what I have to do, to send money back home. Rumare ain’t gonna be able to live off fishing and small tourism businesses really. But I feel what I do is like a drop in Lake Rumare. I worked smuggling arms, as an outlaw, as a mercenary, you name it and Rumare is still in the gutter. Can’t even find a griffon on my ancestral lands that speaks Rumareian anymore. Great! Just great! And now, father Recimir bit the dust and I am ‘recalled’ to Rumare to lead the nation. Yeah, yeah, and now my ghost will go abroad to pay the bills of a nation with barely any income.’
I don’t know if my expression spoke my feelings loudly enough, but I really did not care. But Alaric kept on talking.
‘And then I have to re-teach my own language to my nation and then get back our lost territory from Griffonstone. And, and, and. It all gets overwhelming sometimes. Ah right, I forgot to tell you your mother most likely did not die.’
When I heard that I jumped up extremely fast, as if I had been hit by lightning.
‘Why did you not mention that sooner!’
‘I mean it is not as if you will be seeing her any time soon. That’s why. But rest assured I think she is alive. Her assailants, I would say, are pretty much not, though. Damn, I am never gonna witness such a spectacle ever again. Fire and lighting literally rocked the dock. But still those she dropped down and I thought she had killed them, rose up again, but when they did, they fought for her, not against her. Wondered if she was mind controlling them. Anyhow, she was wounded, but she did not fall. From the shadows in the distance, we could tell that she must have instead been apprehended. Or so we observed. Now we might be wrong but I don’t think we are.’
I lightened up when I heard that and then quickly my expression darkened again. Alaric was right. Even if she is alive, the chances of me meeting her again are slim to none. I had better forget about it. Really, I did not know what was worse, to know my parents are alive and to be forced away from them or to be away from them while knowing they were dead. In the second case, at least, I wouldn’t have any expectations of meeting them again. I could not let such emotion cloud my judgement now. I hated to admit it, but this Alaric was right. If I went back now, which was nearly impossible in of itself, I would most certainly be hunted down in Equestria. Even if I, somehow, managed to escape and get back together with mother, most likely we would be attacked again and next time neither of us may be lucky enough to make it. Oh, mother, why? No, no, this is not the time. I am not a child anymore. Besides, every time I let myself despair, the Wendigos feed on it. They are most likely the reason for what happened in the first place. They might have realised that mother knew about them. I looked up at the sky. It was cloudy and grim. Were they always watching us? Waiting for us to mention them, so as to know their next target? Their name truly must not be mentioned. Mother was wrong. Even if one is told what a Wendigo is, one must still not utter their name. Still, I wonder: Are necromancers the only ones who have a suspicion of the Wendigos or is at least some other being monitoring and influencing the events happening in the world?
‘Alaric, could I ask you a question?’
‘That’s unexpected. Go ahead.’
‘Do you think that maybe some events that happen in the world are caused by beings and forces beyond our control?’
Alaric was apparently dumbfounded by the question. He scratched his head with his claw and sat at the edge of the boat with a confused face.
‘That’s a weird question. I suppose Arcturius does, according to scripture, intervene at times in griffonian affairs but that’s in very exquisite cases. So, I guess, maybe, if something is very important, then Arcturius and the other gods do intervene.’
‘I meant intervention in literally anything. From national events to the very small things in the daily lives of creatures.’
‘If that’s the case, then, no, I don’t think so.’
I thought for a bit and decided that the answer did not really satisfy me.
‘Then a different question. Would you ever ally with a communist?’
The entire crew stood on edge, just in case they heard Alaric give off an unexpected answer.
‘Of course not! They are vile radicals and nothing more. Don’t you know what they have done in Brodfeld?’
‘Well, leaving Brodfeld aside, would you really never accept a proposal that is from the communist point of view? Even if that proposal aided your griffons?’
Alaric looked left and right as if checking his distance with the rest of the crew and then apparently deciding it was adequate pulled me close and whispered into my ear.
‘Yes, but if you tell anyone, I will make damn sure to gut you open, got it?’
‘You know that you do not frighten me.’
‘Well, you damn well should be frightened, considering I am the only way you are getting on dry land anytime soon.’
‘Well anyways, I don’t plan on telling anyone. Do not concern yourself, Alaric.’
I pushed him to the side as I said that. My suspicions were correct though. Creatures with more experience of the world, even if they do not know about the Wendigos, tend to have their suspicions about the events happening around them. Otherwise, Alaric would quickly dismiss the communists entirely without thinking twice about it, just like his crew would. That is, because Alaric has more knowledge than his crew, or at least that is what I think the reason for the difference was. Apparently, Alaric was put off by all the hypothetical questioning though. He looked uneasy.
‘Why the hell, do you even care about all this though? Who are you to be able to do anything about it?’
While that response angered me initially, I could not object to the fact that this was the most rational thing to ponder about, from the perspective of a griffon who thinks using common sense and experience alone.
‘I am nopony from nowhere, who lost both my father and mother to events that I could absolutely not control, lived with a kind of ponies to whom I do not naturally belong, possessing abilities which cause me to be hated by others of my kind and ended up on a boat heading for a different continent to the one I was born on.’
Alaric listened to my answer in sheer amazement. He looked as if he was going to say something but I was not yet done.
‘Oh right, and I am an absolute lunatic who thinks all these ‘cruel’ things that happen to me but also to the world are the work of beings above and beyond me and who I think I can defeat. Yes, this nopony from nowhere whose only certification of ‘incredible potential’ are the words of her mother. But I chose to believe. There are many things I have yet to understand. And I do understand, that I am still but a leaf in the winds of change that are governed by people unimaginably more important than I, nobles, governors and rulers, all of whom have up to now made decisions, that have led often, in my experience, to harm, pain and suffering for those below them. But I know those big heads in their gilded offices are always only partially to blame. Because there is also something else out there. Like a curse, it binds us to an invisible ‘fate’. And we are blind to our bounds. And yes, I think the nopony from nowhere is the perfect person to deal with this and uncover the Truth.’
Alaric smiled and turned towards the direction to which the shores of Griffonia would be, or so I supposed, and he began to speak in a more composed tone than usual and by that, I mean that for the first time he did not sound, at least to me, like a thug.
‘Well… I tell you what. You and I ain’t so different, you know. I mean I am a ‘noble’, supposedly, but look at me. Out in the sea smuggling arms for a living. I love Rumare. Tis home, you know. And it was hit time and time again by people who wanted to take from it, that the Rumareians themselves had no way of stopping. I or my ancestors had no way of stopping those people as well. Tortured like a fish in a barrel. Yet we somehow survived. It is easy to press buttons in an office and then let the creatures just deal with the changes. Yet, what about the creatures? Nothing at all. Soon, I will have to become one of those creatures in the offices. Pressing buttons. Deciding whether one will suffer or one will prosper with no regards to who or what one is. When I was young and fought against the Republicans in the Empire, I killed who I was told to kill with no regard to anything. Someone just pressed a button and said I want the people in that town dead. And often, I thought I had a choice. To kill or not to kill. Thing is I didn’t. If I disobeyed, probably a thousand of my friends wouldn’t. Griffons and all creatures think that they need this kind of direction and rule lest they know not what to do. Thus, self-will is but an illusion. Maybe you are right. Maybe greater forces drive things to escalate, creating fear, anger, distrust, hate, regret. Maybe those dark forces also influence the people pressing the buttons. When you choose to say no to them though, they will strike you down. The big heads will use their fancy levers to get rid of you. Not all of the Republicans were evil. Yet the levers were pulled for all of them to die or to be forced out. So, it was in 978. The republican cause was a mess as was proven by its fate of being basically exiled to Cloudbury and then falling into warlord-ism, but not all griffons in it were ‘evil’. Their fate? Dead regardless.’
He made a pause there as if trying to organize his thoughts.
‘My point is that your goal is commendable and inspiring and all that. But things rarely go as they should. It ain’t so easy to bridge the gap between who does what above and what actually happens below.’
I had no objections to that and not wanting to ask anything further, I simply nodded in agreement.
Despite small talk with the griffons about life in Rumare or Wohnsitz and the Highlands, the days went by without much of note happening, other than the usual change of colours to disguise the ship, so as to fool some patrol boat of a different nation. Sometime later and that must have been around three or four months since this journey had begun, and while passing south of some islands most likely belonging to Asterion, we were approached by several weird looking ships on the horizon, coming from the east. Alaric warned his griffons and they all took up arms quickly. Then he came and spoke to me.
‘Alright, princess, things are gonna be getting out of claw very soon, so I strongly recommend you go below deck.’
‘Who do you take me for? I am staying whether you want me to or not! What is happening anyway?’
‘Pirates. Fucking deer from Austurland. Fawns of bitches the lot of them. Must be two or three ships over there. Cowards can’t even go against us one on one. But it’s alright. They messed with the wrong griffon today.’
I used my magic to extend my vision.
‘Four ships.’
‘What?’
‘I said there are four ships, not two or three.’
‘And how in the name of Arcturius do you- ‘
As he turned to my face to speak, he saw my eyes had turned all white and understood.
‘You know what, I don’t wanna know how. Just keep yourself in cover. Gonna get very messy here in a bit.’
Then the raiding ships got close, but they did not open fire, since they didn’t want to harm their possible loot. They shouted something at us but from the looks of it, the griffons did not understand Austerlandic. Who would have thought! However, judging from what the marauders opposing us were saying, Austerlandic is not too different from Olenian and I knew a bit of Olenian from books I had read back in Equestria. Due to that, I could tell, more or less, what the deer opposing us were saying.
‘They are saying you should surrender and they will not harm you. They will take the ship and your goods and drop you off the coast of Gryphus.’
‘Tell them Gryphus doesn’t cut it, I gotta be in Sydia in a week. Actually, no, fuck that.’
Alaric turned to the griffons around him and shouted incredibly loudly.
‘Yma o Hyd!’
The crew responded in unison.
‘Yma o Hyd!’
And they fired at the first ship, which was very close. From the looks of it the enemy assailants were a few centuries too late to be playing the old marauding warriors of Olenia and someone had not dropped them the memo, that flintlocks are not the top-notch technology anymore. They tried to fire back but Alaric and his crew with their breech loaders and repeaters made very quick work of them with astounding accuracy. But the Austurians used their ships to start coming around ours and hit it from all sides. If that were to happen, Alaric and his merry band would have no choice but to give up. And I could not be bothered with going around with a bunch of thugs other than the ones I was currently with. So, I went to the front side of the deck and began conjuring my spells. Around me both sides were screaming and firing their weapons at random, but it was only the Austurians actually suffering any casualties. On my end, I raised droplets of water, turned them into ice and let them fly at one of the ships. The icy shards tore through the flesh of the deer like swords turning them into mincemeat in seconds, unless they were lucky enough to be beneath cover. Many of the dead bodies were ripped so badly that at first, I felt disgusted to even be watching the scene, let alone having caused it. I vomited in the ocean and felt dizzy. It was my first time killing another creature, or better said, several creatures. Allaric noticed.
‘Hey, no spacing out now!’
I came back to my senses and focused on the ship I had hit again. I caused a wave and that put the ship in the way of the next ship coming, causing them to collide. With those two ships thoroughly incapacitated and the front one under heavy fire from our ship, I went to the back side of our ship, where the fourth raiding ship was maneuvering to. As I went, I dropped more icicle shards on the other ships killing and wounding more of the attacking deer. By the time I reached the back, the raiding ship had come too close. I quickly conjured a destruction spell that sets a given surface ablaze and cast it on the deck of the enemy ship. For some reason, I didn’t feel sick anymore watching the deer on the other side burn to cinders, while they mindlessly cried out in agonizing pain. I still felt disgusted, but certainly not sick. On the contrary I felt differently. Strong, in a way. On the ship in front only the dead and dying corpses remained. The wounded and alive ones were carried off by the two other ships up front, which, after taking the wounded, promptly fled the scene after witnessing the horror of the fate I brought upon their fourth ship. As for the crew of the fourth ship, it goes without saying that my spells are overly too effective. Nothing remained of the ship or its crew but blackened pieces of ash in the ocean. That is, save for one deer, who managed to jump into our boat and was injured in his back legs by rounds fired by the crew and thus was immobilized at the back of the ship. Alaric went there to finish him off. I stopped him.
‘What is it?’
‘Don’t kill him. I want to try something.’
Alaric looked at me in a wondering manner.
‘Alright, I suppose…’
The crew took the deer’s gun and his knife and shot his front legs as well. I rolled my eyes as they did that and the deer cried out in pain. Was that even necessary? Wasn’t as if he was able to move in the first place.
I went over to the deer and looked him in the eyes. He was very young or at least he looked that way. Certainly, he was too young to be doing all this outlaw business. And in his eyes, he was petrified, frozen in place by fear. I wouldn’t blame him; I was going to use him as a test subject after all.
I used a simple spell to choke him dead by basically squeezing the air out of his lungs.
‘That’s all you wanted to do? Well, we’ll just throw the body in the ocean now then.’
‘No, wait!’
I stepped back a bit and then imagined him alive, as I had for the few seconds that I had watched his eyes while his heart was still beating. I closed my eyes and painted that picture, and then my horn started glowing purple and I felt the old, pleasant warmth rushing through my body. This lasted for around ten minutes. I then opened my eyes, but felt close to collapsing. No, not today! Today I will make it through with this! I grit my teeth and stayed up. As my vision cleared, right in front of me I saw the deer, previously dead, standing on his four legs and staring into my eyes in a cold, blank way. While I am a necromancer, this was indeed my first ever full bodily resurrection. I commanded the body to move to the side and back and it did, just like a puppet. Rest assured; I was overjoyed. If I wasn’t worried about being seen as silly, I would have been jumping around now and shouting ‘Hurray, Hurray!’. I contained myself and then turned around to Alaric and his crew. Their eyes were filled with horror. Alaric gulped and found the courage to speak up.
‘What in Arcturius’s name is … that?’ and he pointed his claw at the deer.
‘Oh that? It is a resurrected body, of course!’, I answered playfully.
Alaric gave off the impression that he wanted to delve more into the subject, but he shook his head and waved his claw.
‘No, okay, no. Whatever you did to THAT, I absolutely do not want it being done again, while I am there to watch.’
The rest of the crew shook their heads in agreement. I just sighed. It was not as if the moving corpse was going to hurt them unless I told it to.
‘Can you, please, dispose of the ‘thing’ now?’
‘I do not understand what you find so appalling about it. It’s not as if it is a walking skeleton, though that is what it basically is.’
‘I do not like to see the dead walking among the living every day. There is just something fundamentally wrong with that. Anyhow, just dispose of the thing.’
I commanded the corpse to fall into the ocean and with a jump, it did exactly that. I also disconnected my magic from it, so that the body would finally die off as well. Still, I felt very happy at that moment. And for some reason the fear that the unique sight had brought into my ‘allies’ made it all the better. Maybe it was because I always had to be cautious or scared of others or because this made me feel powerful and strong. For whatever reason, I felt fulfilled. Yet, I had a lingering thought that feeling so good about this was extremely foul though I didn’t pay heed to that at that time.
‘Is anyone wounded? We’ll pass first aid now.’
I walked up to Alaric, poked him and got his attention.
‘Let me see to the wounded. I can fully heal them as well.’
‘Ah no, but no thanks. I wouldn’t want to have you do to them what you did to- ‘
I made my eyes go white and start glimmering in purple light and spoke in a darker tone than usual.
‘I do not think you have a choice.’
Alaric gulped.
‘Now, let me see them.’
I spent the next hour or so healing the wounded griffons, many of whom exclaimed they were feeling better now than even before they were wounded. I just simply smiled and accepted the gratitude, which replaced the fear from before. I am pretty sure, I also did not have to have scared Alaric to get his consent but, on a whim, I felt it was far better to get to quickly aiding the wounded, rather than having to argue with Alaric about it. As for Alaric himself, he had been shot on the side, but it had somehow missed any important organs so, while in pain, he was not in danger. He had insisted that his griffons were to be tended to first, though. When I walked to him, he grinned.
‘How does it feel?’
‘What?’
‘Don’t feint ignorance to me, I am not a stupid griffon. I do not lose rock, paper, scissors to ponies.’
‘Wanna bet?’
‘Most ponies. But don’t play dumb. The feeling of being strong. To be able to determine someone else’s fate, for better or for worse. I have felt it too, so I know. I can see it in your eyes. This sounded poetic, but that’s how it is in reality. Especially when you have someone else’s life in your claws, or hooves, in your case.’
‘Yes, I understand what you mean, Alaric.’
‘Then you will listen closely. If you wanna do what it is that you have set as your purpose, you must never ever again let yourself feel that way.’
I recalled the scene from before with the burning ship and I do regret having felt that way now. However, because I was deep in thought, I made an uncalculated move and basically twisted a needle made out of energy in Alaric’s wound. He winced in pain.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.’
‘Yeah, be careful with that. Anyhow, as I was saying, you cannot give in to such emotion, Rosa. Exactly, because it feels good, it means you will discredit anything else to feel that way. You will make others suffer to feel that way. I know this very well. No dynasty, the Groverian included, ever needed more land than they already had in Griffonia. Yet, it felt good. To feel powerful, great, strong. To make all others bow before you. To have more resources, when the ones you already had, were plentiful enough. You will understand it someday. And you are strong, so it wouldn’t surprise me if you were the one to make such a choice someday.’
‘But don’t you want the same for Rumare?’
‘Absolutely not. The Ruiniad happened, because in older times Rumare wanted to be like this. To be a ‘big player’, while it was absolutely fine where it was, on Rumare island, Wohnsitz and the Stone Highlands. We wanted more, we were greedy and Arcturius made us pay for our sins. We lost a great deal of our ancient civilization and language, as well as our ancestral lands on Wohnsitz and the Stone Highlands. All I want for Rumare is to go back, reverse the Ruiniad, make our people speak our language again, retake and resettle Wohnsitz and the Stone Highlands, and just stay out of everything else forever. Have my people be prosperous and happy and I want nothing more.’
‘That’s quite idealistic of you.’
Alaric laughed loudly. As he was calming down again one of the griffons of the crew came up to him with a newspaper, saying they got it from one of the dead deer on the ship in the front. From the looks of it, it was very recent.
‘Where is this from? It is in Herzlandic, so it is not an Austurian paper. Date, 16th of March. Hmmmm, ah here. That’s from Gryphus. Alright, let’s see what the world has been up to, while I was gone. Civil war in Longsword. Damn, as if Brodfeld wasn’t enough already. The Riverland games, okay, duly noted. Wait, and in the morning hours, …, proclaimed dead?!’
Alaric suddenly stood up. He should thank Arcturius or his other gods, that I was already done lest he would be in a lot of pain right now.
‘Oi lads! Grover’s dead!’
‘The weakling bastard’s dead? We are talking about Grover the fifth, right?’
‘Yeah, he is fucking dead. Fucking finally!’
Almost simultaneously the entire ship broke into singing.
‘Some say the devil is dead, the devil is dead, the devil is dead,
Some say the devil is dead! And, buried in his palace!
More say he rose again, more say he rose again, more say he rose again,
Just with a different number!’
They all cheered heartfully. Then they drank to the death of the old emperor. I was very perplexed by the scene. I thought the Dawnbreaker house was connected to the house of Grover. I decided to inquire with Alaric about this.
‘Why exactly, are you all so happy about Grover’s death? Wasn’t the Dawnbreaker family descended from the matrilineal line of the house of Grover?’
Alaric responded immediately, as if he had been repeating the same answer to every single creature who had ever asked him this particular question before.
‘Oh right, you don’t know, do you? I suppose they don’t write that in history books, but the Rumareians were around from before the Kingdom of Griffonstone ever existed. That matrilineal line preceded the dynasty of the Grovers by several centuries. Traces of it can be found as far back as the times of the Empire of Undeath. The Griffonian Empire stole both our dynastical line and our religion and then it brought us into wars we had no place in, thus leading to the gradual degradation of our culture and language, which we Rumareians call the Ruiniad. So, of course, we are glad, to learn, that we still exist to bury yet another one of the Grovers!’
Apparently, there’s a lot about Griffonia that my books have not taught me yet and since I will be staying here for quite a long while, I had better learn these things. On another note, I did not manage to sleep that night. And no, it was not the boat rocking from the waves of the sea, but instead the griffons rocking my airwaves with their horrendous voices. And the gunfire and flares they were firing all over the place all night. My ‘lullaby’ that night was the song ‘We’ll roll the old island along’
‘Well, the death of Grover the fifth wouldn’t do us any harm
No, the death of Grover the fifth wouldn’t do us any harm
No, the death of Grover the fifth wouldn’t do us any harm
And we’ll all hang on behind!
And we’ll roll the old island along
We’ll roll the old Wohnsitz along
We’ll roll the old Highlands along
And we’ll all hang on behind!
Well, we’ll bury him in the ground and we’ll bury him deep
Yes, we’ll bury him in the ground, let them mourn around his keep
Yes, we’ll bury him in the ground, may his nobles live to weep
And we’ll all hang on behind!
And we’ll roll the old island along
We’ll roll the old Wohnsitz along
We’ll roll the old Highlands along
And we’ll all hang on behind!
Then, I’ll go back and I’ll wonder round no more
Well, I’ll go back, to Rumare’s shining shore
Well, I’ll go back, let the Herzlands curse and roar
And we’ll all hang on behind!
And we’ll roll the old island along
We’ll roll the old Wohnsitz along
We’ll roll the old Highlands along
And we’ll all hang on behind!
By the next day we could see the multitude of the islands of Asterion on our left and the lands of Gryphus on our right. Alaric woke me up at midday, since I had ended up sleeping through the morning, since I wasn’t able to get a single minute’s sleep last night. He was still a bit tipsy from it all, I could tell, but his tone was more composed now, at its usual raggedy levels.
‘I hope you slept well last night, princess.’
He had taken this habit of making fun of me lately, which greatly annoyed me, even though I knew he didn’t mean any harm by it.
‘Anyhow, I woke you up to tell you that in around three hours we’ll reach Sydia, the second most important city in Brodfeld, after Kivessin. We will have to go on shore to pass off the weapons and get paid, so we reckon we will be out till night.’
‘Drinking.’
Alaric broke out in laughter.
‘Well, that is part of the job, too. Still, you should be sick of the old ship, so if you want, you can go and roam around Sydia as you like. Just remember to be back before midnight. You shouldn’t worry about the communist guerillas there. They are still a long way from Sydia.’
‘Who said I was worried?’
‘Okay, okay, I get it, you are extremely powerful and on top of everything. If you go out in Sydia be back by nightfall. That’s that. Got it?’
‘Yeah, I suppose so.’
Author's Note
Rumare in the Equestria at War universe is based off real life Cymru(Wales). I didn't have them speak Welsh so as not to complicate things. 'Yma o Hyd', the sole welsh phrase used, means 'Still Here'.
