Post by -- x panorama on May 11, 2007 12:05:36 GMT -5
And in the veiling of the sun
We shall walk in bitter rain...
Chapter One ;; Falling Rain
c a n . y o u . h e a r . t h e . s o u n d . o f . t h e . f a l l i n g . r a i n ?
Shan stood on the rocky outcrop, the wind moaning across the barren landscape. The scent of blood was carried on the air-stream. It had been there for days, and all through-out the land there had been the stench of death. It unsettled even her, this foreboding darkness. The forests were still and silent, the terras were deserted, and the birds and beasts seemed to have fled. It was like standing in the path of a hurricane, or stranded in the eye of a great storm. Everywhere she looked, the lands around her were still, an eerie silence smothering the landscape. The sun had not risen for days, and the perpetual darkness had enrobed the land in a misty shroud, muffling any sound that dared to reverberate through the still air. She had roamed the mountains for several days now, meeting nothing more than dead vegetation and animal carcasses. In a land that usually teemed with life, it made her feel as if an enormous eye was watching them through the fog. Watching, and waiting. Waiting, perhaps, for the moment to let all hell break loose upon these valleys.
These tears we cry
Are falling rain
For all the lies you told us
The hurt, the blame...
As she stood alone on the cliff edge, the rain began to fall. It fell heavily, until her pelt was soaked and her mane lank with the water. And it fell and fell, drowning her in the overwhelming grief she had bore these long years, until it overflowed. And, for the first time in her life, Shan cried. The bitter tears of pain and hurt mixed with the rain as they streamed down her face, and in each tiny droplet, there was a reflection. A stallion, rearing and plunging above a young foal. A dam, pushing the newborn filly away, lashing out at her accidental child. A lonely equine standing on the border of an unknown land. A pitch black night swallowing her figure as she walked away to meet her fate. Her life.
And you will weep
To be so alone
And you will weep
When you face the end alone...
Eventually the rain stopped, and the tears ceased, and she cursed herself for choosing evil, those long years ago. But she could never turn back, never change, never retrace those steps. It was to late, and she to was far gone.The endless beating had left many scars - scars that would stay with her, forever and always. And the scars were upon her mind also, gnawing away at her, day by day, week by week, year by year. She was no longer strong and proud, she was weak and diminished. Her time had passed, her body no longer imposing and unyielding. The mare that had once challenged that stag long ago and won, had now been worn away by fear, fear of a phantom, a shadow in the night. For even as she walked in the shades of blackness, there was a deeper hint of ebon in the gloom, relentless, unforgiving. Memories of what could of been - what should have been.
And as she stood there, battling those thoughts, she made her choice.
These tears you cry
Have come to late
Take back the lies
The hurt, the blame...
Chapter Two ;; Blood Upon The Walls
d i d . y o u . g e t . w h a t . y o u . d e s e r v e d ?
The sound echoed through the cavern, shattering the ringing silence that hung in the air like smoke. Her steps were slow and uneven, and her breathing shallow and ragged. She had vowed never to set foot inside this cave again. But here she was. Upon the walls, she spotted flecks of blood, spilt long ages ago, by her father's fathers as they battled for survival. just as she had. And she, unlike so many others before her, had won. She shivered, the icy cold of the tunnels penetrating her thin summer covering, chilling her to the marrow. The sound of her hooves striking the granite rang through the cavern like many pealing bells, bouncing off the walls and repeating, creating an eerie atmosphere. She had to know. She had to be sure he was gone for good. All these years, it had haunted her - how he might come for her, imprison her again.
The passages were long and twisting, and with each bend and turn another horrific memory arose from her subconscious. Long-distant childhood memories, back to haunt her once again. That fine-tuned primeval fear, that instinct of fight of flight. The senses and instincts that had kept her alive for her short time in these gloomy holes. As she rounded a corner, she gasped, stopping short as she spotted it. A carcass, now just a pile of bones, scattered across the floor. The animal had evidently died a violent death, and there was a long crack running down the center of the ivory-hued skull. The hind leg was broken, and still in places she could smell the fainest traces of his blood upon the floor. She stood there, imagining the scene. Another stallion had presumably cornered him, breaking her father's leg in the process. Her sire had dragged himself down the long tunnel, only to have his cranium smashed against the wall of the cave. She couldn't be sure it was him, but she sensed she was right. It was in the air around him, a feeling of foreboding, and the same stench of death that hung about the valleys of the Realms. Still too horrified to think any more, she stepped back out of the cavern and wound her way back down the passages, satisfied her tormentor would never come after her again...
Chapter Three ;; Darkness Falls
w h e r e . o n c e . w a s . l i g h t, n o w . d a r k n e s s . f a l l s
As she crossed the border and made her way back to the Realms of Risk, her mind reeled with what she had just seen. The brute that had treated her like a slave, beating her, tormenting her, was dead. That opposing figure, so strong and unbeatable, was dust. Dust and bones, strewn upon the ground. It was an impossible concept for her to grasp, and as her brain grappled with the idea, her mind turned to other things. Like where to go now. All her life she had roamed, never settling. But now, maybe it was time to s - no, she could never do that. She was made for this life, born for it. Nothing else would do, and she knew that, deep down, finding a partner was inconceviable too. Whatever madness had drove her to those thoughts a moment ago was well out of her mind now, and as her pillars carried her across the parched ground, the mist swirling round her head, she knew she was condemmed for a life alone.
Chapter Four ;; City Of The d**nned
i . s a i d . n e v e r . a g a i n, b u t . h e r e . i . a m
As Shan made her way across the deserted land, she found herself heading back out of Realm of Risk - towards a land she knew all to well, and had sworn never to enter again. but somehow, it felt as if she had to, as if something was drawing her there. And after dithering some time upon the border, she crossed into the land the horses in the surrounding terras named 'City of the d**nned'. - and with good reason. It was the place where they went to die. That barren wasteland held no vegetation, no water. And no hope. No living thing that entered there ever returned, unless by some great miracle they were not attacked, or did not perish from lack of water. As the sun beat down upon her pelt, she spotted a lonely figure in the distance. It'd nck was low to the ground, and even from a distance she could see the bones protruding from it's sine and rump, a walking skeleton. The wretched beast had most ikely three, perhaps four days to live. It was a long, drawn out death, here in the wilderness. The choices were not pleasant, and most either died of thirst or heatstroke. Packs of wolves would often trail horses that were near their time, and for some it was a more preferable death to the slow and painful alternative. But Shan knew all this and more - for this was 'home'. This was the place she had been foaled, a decade ago, and her mother had brought herself here in the hope that Shan would die. But she had not succeded, and Shan had got away. But perhaps, she mused nw, it would have been better if she had never made it beyond the border. Because what had come after that had been worse than death. Far, far worse.
The figure on the horizon was closer now, and Shan could pick out features upon it's face. As she approached, the horse stumbled, and fell to the ground. Breaking into a trot, Shan reached the spot where the equine lay, and in a moment, she realised.
"You."
But in dreams
We shall meet again...
To be continued....
We shall walk in bitter rain...
Chapter One ;; Falling Rain
c a n . y o u . h e a r . t h e . s o u n d . o f . t h e . f a l l i n g . r a i n ?
Shan stood on the rocky outcrop, the wind moaning across the barren landscape. The scent of blood was carried on the air-stream. It had been there for days, and all through-out the land there had been the stench of death. It unsettled even her, this foreboding darkness. The forests were still and silent, the terras were deserted, and the birds and beasts seemed to have fled. It was like standing in the path of a hurricane, or stranded in the eye of a great storm. Everywhere she looked, the lands around her were still, an eerie silence smothering the landscape. The sun had not risen for days, and the perpetual darkness had enrobed the land in a misty shroud, muffling any sound that dared to reverberate through the still air. She had roamed the mountains for several days now, meeting nothing more than dead vegetation and animal carcasses. In a land that usually teemed with life, it made her feel as if an enormous eye was watching them through the fog. Watching, and waiting. Waiting, perhaps, for the moment to let all hell break loose upon these valleys.
These tears we cry
Are falling rain
For all the lies you told us
The hurt, the blame...
As she stood alone on the cliff edge, the rain began to fall. It fell heavily, until her pelt was soaked and her mane lank with the water. And it fell and fell, drowning her in the overwhelming grief she had bore these long years, until it overflowed. And, for the first time in her life, Shan cried. The bitter tears of pain and hurt mixed with the rain as they streamed down her face, and in each tiny droplet, there was a reflection. A stallion, rearing and plunging above a young foal. A dam, pushing the newborn filly away, lashing out at her accidental child. A lonely equine standing on the border of an unknown land. A pitch black night swallowing her figure as she walked away to meet her fate. Her life.
And you will weep
To be so alone
And you will weep
When you face the end alone...
Eventually the rain stopped, and the tears ceased, and she cursed herself for choosing evil, those long years ago. But she could never turn back, never change, never retrace those steps. It was to late, and she to was far gone.The endless beating had left many scars - scars that would stay with her, forever and always. And the scars were upon her mind also, gnawing away at her, day by day, week by week, year by year. She was no longer strong and proud, she was weak and diminished. Her time had passed, her body no longer imposing and unyielding. The mare that had once challenged that stag long ago and won, had now been worn away by fear, fear of a phantom, a shadow in the night. For even as she walked in the shades of blackness, there was a deeper hint of ebon in the gloom, relentless, unforgiving. Memories of what could of been - what should have been.
And as she stood there, battling those thoughts, she made her choice.
These tears you cry
Have come to late
Take back the lies
The hurt, the blame...
Chapter Two ;; Blood Upon The Walls
d i d . y o u . g e t . w h a t . y o u . d e s e r v e d ?
The sound echoed through the cavern, shattering the ringing silence that hung in the air like smoke. Her steps were slow and uneven, and her breathing shallow and ragged. She had vowed never to set foot inside this cave again. But here she was. Upon the walls, she spotted flecks of blood, spilt long ages ago, by her father's fathers as they battled for survival. just as she had. And she, unlike so many others before her, had won. She shivered, the icy cold of the tunnels penetrating her thin summer covering, chilling her to the marrow. The sound of her hooves striking the granite rang through the cavern like many pealing bells, bouncing off the walls and repeating, creating an eerie atmosphere. She had to know. She had to be sure he was gone for good. All these years, it had haunted her - how he might come for her, imprison her again.
The passages were long and twisting, and with each bend and turn another horrific memory arose from her subconscious. Long-distant childhood memories, back to haunt her once again. That fine-tuned primeval fear, that instinct of fight of flight. The senses and instincts that had kept her alive for her short time in these gloomy holes. As she rounded a corner, she gasped, stopping short as she spotted it. A carcass, now just a pile of bones, scattered across the floor. The animal had evidently died a violent death, and there was a long crack running down the center of the ivory-hued skull. The hind leg was broken, and still in places she could smell the fainest traces of his blood upon the floor. She stood there, imagining the scene. Another stallion had presumably cornered him, breaking her father's leg in the process. Her sire had dragged himself down the long tunnel, only to have his cranium smashed against the wall of the cave. She couldn't be sure it was him, but she sensed she was right. It was in the air around him, a feeling of foreboding, and the same stench of death that hung about the valleys of the Realms. Still too horrified to think any more, she stepped back out of the cavern and wound her way back down the passages, satisfied her tormentor would never come after her again...
Chapter Three ;; Darkness Falls
w h e r e . o n c e . w a s . l i g h t, n o w . d a r k n e s s . f a l l s
As she crossed the border and made her way back to the Realms of Risk, her mind reeled with what she had just seen. The brute that had treated her like a slave, beating her, tormenting her, was dead. That opposing figure, so strong and unbeatable, was dust. Dust and bones, strewn upon the ground. It was an impossible concept for her to grasp, and as her brain grappled with the idea, her mind turned to other things. Like where to go now. All her life she had roamed, never settling. But now, maybe it was time to s - no, she could never do that. She was made for this life, born for it. Nothing else would do, and she knew that, deep down, finding a partner was inconceviable too. Whatever madness had drove her to those thoughts a moment ago was well out of her mind now, and as her pillars carried her across the parched ground, the mist swirling round her head, she knew she was condemmed for a life alone.
Chapter Four ;; City Of The d**nned
i . s a i d . n e v e r . a g a i n, b u t . h e r e . i . a m
As Shan made her way across the deserted land, she found herself heading back out of Realm of Risk - towards a land she knew all to well, and had sworn never to enter again. but somehow, it felt as if she had to, as if something was drawing her there. And after dithering some time upon the border, she crossed into the land the horses in the surrounding terras named 'City of the d**nned'. - and with good reason. It was the place where they went to die. That barren wasteland held no vegetation, no water. And no hope. No living thing that entered there ever returned, unless by some great miracle they were not attacked, or did not perish from lack of water. As the sun beat down upon her pelt, she spotted a lonely figure in the distance. It'd nck was low to the ground, and even from a distance she could see the bones protruding from it's sine and rump, a walking skeleton. The wretched beast had most ikely three, perhaps four days to live. It was a long, drawn out death, here in the wilderness. The choices were not pleasant, and most either died of thirst or heatstroke. Packs of wolves would often trail horses that were near their time, and for some it was a more preferable death to the slow and painful alternative. But Shan knew all this and more - for this was 'home'. This was the place she had been foaled, a decade ago, and her mother had brought herself here in the hope that Shan would die. But she had not succeded, and Shan had got away. But perhaps, she mused nw, it would have been better if she had never made it beyond the border. Because what had come after that had been worse than death. Far, far worse.
The figure on the horizon was closer now, and Shan could pick out features upon it's face. As she approached, the horse stumbled, and fell to the ground. Breaking into a trot, Shan reached the spot where the equine lay, and in a moment, she realised.
"You."
But in dreams
We shall meet again...
To be continued....