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 Posted: Fri Feb 13, 2009 11:22 am
No sound permeated the frigid air, save for the gentle rustling of the dead grass beneath his hooves. The stallion's breath came out as a reverent sigh as his blank eyes scanned the cursed grove. The trees were bent and twisted, blown back by a supernatural wind. Their bark was blackened and left with gnarled and gaping maws that seemed ever howling in agony. The grass was the color of ash and dry as straw beneath the stallion's hooves. His breath froze in the air in front of him as he let out another sigh. He knew this place well, and though all other creatures had abandoned it he still visited from time to time.
Here is where his curse was visited upon him many moons ago. He had been but a foal but he remembered the night well. A two-legger had been here performing strange rituals and in his curiosity Agares had made an enormous error. He had interrupted that shaman's spell and in doing so changed the course of his own fate forever. His eyes had burned and the color had vanished from them. The light and color of the world around him had gone and all he could see was the gray oblivion of the spirit realm. The souls of the dead were visible to him as well as the living.
This grove was the only place Agares could find peace from the spirits, for even they gave this place a wide berth. This was the reason the stallion could be found here tonight, and he breathed in the hallowed air slowly as he stood in the center of the grove. He often mused what his life could have been had that fateful night not occurred, and these were the thoughts that plagued him this night as he shut his pale eyes against the glaring view of the spirit realm. He shook his head slightly as he relaxed, oblivious to the world outside of the grove.
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 6:19 pm
 Ananke had always been drawn the darkest of places -- she had been told that was how her parents had met: in the darkness of a forest, when her mother was a child. The dark was a comfort and the chill in the air of this place was both intriguing and pleasantly frightening. She stepped lightly, hooves making not a sound on the ground as she made her way further into this cold place... Abruptly, she had the feeling to pause, and her spirit coiled it's long tail about her neck and resting on her back, picking teasingly at her mane. have you any reason to stop, darling? it whispered, red spot eyes peering around with her, before it laughed, a sound far too throaty. She whickered quietly, tossing her head to displace the little beast, before stepping forward again. These steps were slow, careful, and her eyes watched out for any who may be... And there he was. Anake stopped short, watching, staring at this stallion who stood still in this darkened place, surrounded by chill winds and hints of spirits... "Sir...?" she said carefully, flicking her tail a little. "Are you well?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 6:52 pm
The stallion had grown accustomed to abrupt interruptions on his musings. Spirits often called out to him when made aware of his presence, so he was not startled to hear a voice from nearby. With a subtle twist of his neck he opened his lids to glance in the direction of the voice. He studied the mare for a few moments, trying to determine in what manner she had died. After all, he'd never seen a living creature intrude upon this grove, nor had he seen a living soquili with such an ethereal companion. He moved slowly, deliberately, as he turned to face her, his hooves making only the most gentle of rusting in the dead grass. This must be a strong spirit to be so focused and solid, he mused.
"You address me too formally, Lady. I am but a solitary stallion with no station. Call me Agares and tell me, by what means have you reached me?" His voice was even and low, the cold and silence of the grove carrying the sound further than normal. He felt something odd about this spirit. She was too solid, too focused. There was something off about her that put Agares on his guard. He had encountered malevolent souls in the past and he hoped that this was not one of them. Perhaps it was the unnatural cold that always surrounded this cursed place, or perhaps it was just the grove itself, but Agares felt something strange about this mare. Is she dead at all? And if not, what sort of mare she must be to brave this godforsaken place. He stared at her with his blank eyes, searching for answers.
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:08 pm
As the stallion turned to face her, Ananke felt a shiver go through her and she flicked her tail, stamping one hoof lightly on the dead ground. The one before her both intrigued and frightened her, as he watched her with those blank eyes. She almost didn't hear his questions. Her companion yanked at a lock from her mane, and she snorted lightly, before stepping forward a bit more. The grove did not scare her -- in fact, she barely noticed it, so focused was she on the stallion before her, this... Agares.
"I am Ananke," she said quietly, flicking an ear -- her voice was soft, as though she could not bring it above a whisper, but still clearly heard in the still air. "I have come to you by my own legs, sir, I assure you... and no, I am not dead." Her companion laughed again, whispering to her, but she blocked him out for now, flicking her tail impatiently at the little bird. "May I ask what you are doing in this place, Agares...? It seems so quiet and cold. So lonely."
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Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:23 pm
"By your own legs..." he whispered softly, still studying her. Her proclamation that she was not dead intrigued him. Why would she assume he thought she was? This was no ordinary mare, of this he was positive. He shook his mane lightly, small frozen drops of dew breaking free and coasting to the ground as he did so. "What am I doing here? I am doing the same as you, conversing with a stranger." His voice was neutral, revealing nothing. "As for being lonely, I would say it is decidedly not so." He broke his intense gaze and took a few steps towards the gnarled trees, looking at the gnarled faces in the bark as if seeking answers from them. His ears flicked slightly as he listened for the thing he heard. He had been sure that the flying spirit surrounding Ananke had made a noise, though if it were a sentient being he did not know. "What do you know of this place?" His voice was little more than a reverent whisper.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:07 am
Ananke could not help but to chuckle at Agares' words, nodding slightly in understanding and stepping forward a bit more, feeling bolder and more comfortable with this stallion the more that they spoke with each other. There was something so... intriguing about this one, when most just annoyed her or her companion, and were usually driven off by her oddness. "I know that is is a place of cold and a place of solace," she replied, looking around slowly and flicking an ear when her bird nipped at it playfully. "The dead come here to rest, sometimes. What do you know of it?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:17 am
He remained watching the trees, as if looking for a reaction in their twisted knots. "The cold never leaves this place," he said, "It is a place of transformation." He turned slowly to gaze at her once more with his seemingly blind eyes. When he gazed upon all other beings there was only gray. Light and dark, day and night, these things no longer mattered to him, as he saw everything through the veil of the spirit world which was ever illuminated by a dull gray light. Looking upon this mare he saw her. She was a vivid purple and seemed possessed of her own light, though this could be an illusion born of his ability to see her colors. He wondered at this phenomena and what it could mean to him. Was he regaining his ability to see reality, or was this mare simply connected to the spirit realm in a way unlike himself? "This is a personal sanctuary," he said after a long moment. "I know this place very well, for I was here when it became this cursed and twisted grove of shadows."
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:20 pm
Ananke was intrigued as Agares spoke, shuffling a step closer, before sighing when her spirit yanked on her mane again, making her stop. Too close is too rude, it snapped, making her feel a touch guilty -- but there was hardly a reason to truly feel bad about being so curious. Something about this stallion made her want to be close and curious, when she would normally find other horses not worth her time. The fact that this stallion seemed to be on the darker side of life, as her family was, gave him some points...
"Did you? How long ago was this?" she asked softly, blinking slowly as she stepped closer, ignoring the pull at her mane but for a light snap at her spirit companion.
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Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:07 pm
Curious, he thought as she stopped short, as though something was holding her back. He thought he heard a noise again and focused his gaze on the little black spirit that followed the mare. He took a few steps closer to her before answering her question. "When compared to the vastness of life this event occurred very recently, though it feels like a lifetime ago." His face bore the slightest hint of a smile as he looked around once more, reliving the experience. He decided to share his story then, to tell this mare what had happened to him. Perhaps it was loneliness that bade him to share his tale, or perhaps the strange kinship he felt to this female but whatever the reason he would expose himself to her. "I was but a foal at the time, barely out of the basket and getting into trouble already. My curiosity was insatiable, my energy boundless." His eyes, blank as they appeared, seemed to take on a wistful look. There was a longing there, a desire to return to simpler times. Though he was a young stallion he bore the burden of seeing too much. He felt his youth was stolen from him by a twist of fate. "When I first saw this place it was by the dancing light of a fire. There was a two-legger here, ancient even then. The trees were not as they are now. The grass was lush and the animals still lived here. Indeed the creatures seemed to flock to the two-legger as he chanted and sang to the night. It was... magical," he said quietly. "It was unlike anything my young eyes had seen." He paused, lost in thought.
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