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 Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:13 pm
 Ampheres sniffed at the air, looking for a particular scent - ah, yes, there it was.
Ozone.
He had never met a Soquili besides himself, his mother, and his brother who produced that scent. It came from the arcs of energy that traveled with them always, and it was unmistakable.
And where are you, brother? Islington had roamed away from the fledgling 'herd' - herd at least in Ampheres' mind - and gone astray - in Ampheres' opinion. If his plan, the one his sire had tacitly approved of, was to succeed... well.
He'd need Islington, too.
The young stallion trotted down into the squelchy mires below, splashing through the water and muck without paying it much heed. What did he care about a little damp? If this was where his brother chose to be, so be it.
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:34 pm
 Islington stood still as a stone beside the place where a spring came bubbling up out of the marsh, a rill of clear water spilling out and down, rapidly muddied by the muck around it. He liked to watch it. Nothing remained clean in this world.
A sound and scent interrupted his meditation; a steady splashing approached, confident steps. The crackle of ozone hung in the air, unmistakable. His mother, or his brother. He turned to wait for his visitor, ears coming up. He liked so very few Soquili, but he liked his family. Blood would tell.
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:38 pm
A faint buzz and a quiet splashing was all the clues Ampheres needed to zero in on his brother's location. The other stallion was standing still near a small spring, his light reflecting on the muddy water, flashing on the clear before it too was made filthy by the swamp.
Ampheres frowned. Perhaps that was a sign, a metaphor- he shook his head. Best not to think of portents now. "There you are, brother," he called out, pad-splashing up to Islington with a whip of his tail. "I have much to tell you. I have learned much from my observations... as have you, perhaps?" He tilted his head to one side. Islington certainly had been staring at that spring, but he was no foolish lesser Soquili prone to stare at anything for no reason. There must have been some purpose behind that action.
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:57 pm
"I am always learning. I never stop learning," Islington replied, his tone gentle. He lifted his head, shook his mane. "See how the water is clear there, muddied as it seeps outwards. This water around my hooves, that too was once clear water. It begins pure, but it is inevitable. That is all right. It is the way of things."
He took a deep breath of the humid air, huffed it out in a long and peaceful sigh. "You do not frequent the wet places, brother. What brings you here?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:00 pm
"The way of things..." Ampheres mused, then lifted his head. "I have spoken to our sire and to Mother. We are... something new, Islington, something different on these shores. We are special. Do you see it when you close your eyes, brother? The visions of a place beyond this one? We are its messengers. We are the proof that such a thing can be real... and I believe I have found a way."
He took a deep breath. "Growing. We will not be like the water." He stamped one hoof for emphasis. "We will not grow muddy as we spread outward, but pure, bringing vision to life as we emerge. Even as our sire brought us into the world, spreading Mother's vision... so, too, must we. A herd. Can you see it, shining with light and metal?" Ampheres' eyes were bright.
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:16 pm
Islington tossed his head, but with excitement, not negation. The vision Ampheres spoke of was a vivid one, coming easily to life in Islington's mind's eye. Pure and glowing. Sleek and powerful. A way ... a better way ... He tossed his head again, mane whipping around his face. The buzz of the energy that always hovered around them sang in his ears.
"I see it, brother. I see it," he said reverently. "We will make it so. Purity and light! Oh I see it, and it is golden. Mother will be happy." Islington's eyes glowed bright with his happiness. This was right.
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:22 pm
"But not with violence," Ampheres added, to temper his zeal, bring himself back to earth. "Father was quite firm on that front, and I agree. We will not bring the masses down on our heads with such actions. The first generations... we will leave that struggle to our children, our children's children." He smiled, the expression not entirely pleasant. "Otherwise we will be muddied, wiped out. Like the pure water." The stallion dipped his head to sniff at the spring, even take a quick lap right from the center, where he could feel the pressure on his tongue.
"I believe Mother and Father will reproduce again," he added, offhand. "The seeds must grow strong."
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:37 pm
Something strange and dark flared behind Islignton's eyes, but passed quickly. "We will teach our children, teach them well, let them pass the way on and grow strong," he agreed calmly. "It is good. We must increase the flow of purity before it can purify the muddied places."
"We will have siblings?" he asked, sounding pleased. "Siblings and nieces and nephews. A family."
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:41 pm
"We will grow, and we will learn, and we will build - two-legs cannot be the only ones allowed to do this." True, they had hands - but with their herd, no, their new race coming to the fore, who could deny that such power to manipulate and change the environment might not come into their possession someday? His tail swished back and forth, pleased.
"Not now, not just yet, but I hope soon." Ampheres' ears pricked up, and he whuffed. "A proper herd that nobody can deny. Four can be ignored. Six, seven, not so easily... but the two of us, we will have to find proper mares. Ones that can enrich the line, not muddy it."
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 9:58 pm
"We will succeed." Islington swished his tail placidly. "We cannot but succeed."
"Have you any candidates?" he asked. "They must be beautiful and strong. Intelligent and devoted. Right-minded. A proper herd, strong and bright and beautiful."
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:10 pm
Ampheres shook his head. "I had to seek Father's counsel, first, to confirm - and to speak with Mother." Their meeting had been quite brief, but they had touched noses and their sparks had jumped between the two of them, and that had been enough. "And yourself?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:13 pm
"I have been much a recluse." Islington preferred the quiet wet solitude of his marsh to the company of others; but for this shining vision, he would venture out. "I will speak with Father and Mother also." He tossed his head again. Dry land and the scent and sound of other Soquili. Perhaps a mate, if he found a female amiable enough, a companion of the heart and mind.
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:15 pm
"Indeed you have. I'm sure Mother has missed you, Father too. She would come to this place, if she could." While Ampheres all but worshiped his mother, he had to admit she was fragile of mind, and his sire's gentle guidance and protection vital to her safety. A precious vessel. "Will you come back with me, then?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 10:23 pm
"I will come. Thank you for seeking me out, brother; I have been meditating long, and needed the reminder that there is a world beyond this place." Islington lifted one front foot, shook the mud off it. That would be a good first step towards purity.
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