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 Posted: Thu Jun 10, 2021 5:40 pm
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Aiolos had traveled far and wide in his exploration of the Kawanii lands. He felt like he'd seen as much as he could see. At least in the landscape. He'd seen the vast forests and the wide meadows. He'd seen the tall mountains in the distance and even made a pilgrimage to be near to one, to stand at the very bottom and stare up at it until his neck felt sore from the position. He'd seen the long rivers and the lakes, which, like everything else, wasn't anything new to his eyes. These things he had back in his homeland. But the ocean! Once, he had followed a river, just to see where it'd go. He expected a lake. Instead, he found a body of water so large, he couldn't see the end of it. It stretched as far as the sun as it sunk down behind the water's edge. He'd been so transfixed by it, he barely was aware of night approaching. He'd settled down on the coastline to fall asleep with the crashing of the waves in his ears.
The next day, he'd walked along the coast, curious to see how far it would go. It seemed to be endless, always stretching further and further. No matter how far he walked, he couldn't find the edge of it. Crazy! He'd heard many a tale of water like this. He knew them to be true, for there were breeds as small as him who were built for the water. But to see it with his very own eyes? Amazing.
After a few days of walking along the coast, another amazing thing had happened. Or at least it was amazing to him. From a distance, while Aiolos was nibbling on a bush, he'd spied a very big stallion. There was nothing unique about this stallion. He had been dark brown in coloring, with black hair and large, white wings. What had attracted Aiolos' attention, however, were the pairs of tiny wings behind his ears. Much like his own. He never knew the larger equines could have traits just like his own Putti breed did. Did they function like his did, creating tiny gusts of wind? He wanted to ask. But tiny legs being tiny, trying to keep up with this larger beast was difficult. Aiolos kept following the trail, knowing eventually even a stallion as large as this one had to stop and rest.
Thankfully, it didn't take long. Sooner than later, the bay stopped, nosing at a gem on the ground. As Aiolos watched, the male pierced himself with his horn, letting the blood drip on the gem.
Unable to contain himself, the little Putti stallion came forward. "Why would you do that?" |
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Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 4:10 pm
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Sarathiel's travels had taken him down by the ocean. Long before he heard the sound of the waves on the sand, he could smell the salty breeze blowing towards him. He'd stopped, taking a deep breath in, letting the scent linger in his lungs, than blew out slowly. It was a nice smell. A nostalgic smell. Though not one he liked to stay around for too long.
Sarathiel had been born near the ocean. He was no stranger to this smell. His parents had been big lovers of the water, even had a fair few Mer friends that Sarathiel hadn't seen for many, many years. Likely they had all went further and deeper out to sea, now that his parents were gone. Now, before you start thinking this was the Angeni's origin story of why he was so devoted to his job of making charms, his parents were never slaughtered by anything, on land or in the water. No, they had merely gone for a swim and been taken by a strong current. He had almost been fully grown by then and, though deeply saddened, had been able to easily survive on his own. But it made him uneasy to be near the water. As if he expected it to reach out and grab him, taking it down to its depth as it did his parents. But he wouldn't let it affect him forever. If a Walker was aware of this weakness, they could hide away near the ocean. He had to cover as much ground as he could to be the most effective at his job.
Sarathiel had walked on a bit more, oblivious to the smaller stallion tagging behind him, lost in his own thoughts of the past and listening to the ocean in his left ear. When he neared an area of a trap, he dropped everything to the ground and got to work on a few new gems. That was when he heard the voice. He turned his head slowly, calmly. When you dealt with Walkers all your life, you tended to be hard to sneak up on.
It was an Usdia? Or, no. He was something else. He had tiny wings by his ears and tail. Interesting.
Sarathiel smiled in a friendly manner at the little equine, letting his blood drip onto one gem after another. As if what he was doing was common place. "I am making charms." It never crossed his mind that anyone didn't know about Angeni and their special powers. |
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Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2021 4:19 pm
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Making....Charms? Who made charms with their own blood? Or made anything with their own blood, for that matter! It was disturbing, to say the least. Crazy. Was this stallion a bit dark in the head? Should he get away before something happened to him? If you could do something like this to yourself, there was no telling what you could do to someone else.
Aiolos took a step backwards, his eyes horrified and large. The big stallion noticed and a look of concern came over his face so strong, it almost made the Putti step forward out of sympathy for making this giant feel bad. Imagine, feeling bad for this one, who just pierced their own skin to sprinkle onto a rock!
"Hey. Calm down. You must not be from around here."
That was an understatement. Aiolos was not from around here. Not anywhere close to here. He had traveled so far with the other Mini herds, that he had earned a reputation among the other leaders as being unreasonable and bossy. Not that it bothered him. If you weren't doing something right, you weren't doing it right and someone had to tell them! If no one else would, he would. And did.
"Where I am from is besides the point!" Aiolos countered, dancing a little in nervousness, awaiting the moment this stallion would attack him. He could run but how far would he get? His legs were more than half the size of this bay! He'd never get far. "You just stabbed yourself! Who does that?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 5:43 pm
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Sarathiel blinked in a very confused manner at this little stallion. Yes, it was very clear. He was not from around here. But than where was he from? As a very busy stallion, Sarathiel wasn't as aware of what was going on around him as others might be. Oh, what the Walkers were up to, he managed to keep wind of that through various eyes and ears, but what the others breeds were doing slipped his notice. It was a skill at this point, how ignorant he could be of the world as a whole. It just didn't matter as much to him what everyone else was doing. He was too busy trying to keep them all protected in the way only he could do.
"Well, I do," Sarathiel answered in a very matter-of-fact way. Because it was a fact. Not that he was going to look down upon this tiny stallion for not knowing this fact. Again, clearly he wasn't from around here. "So do some of my kind." When the tiny stallion gave him a confused and annoyed look, the Angenicorn returned it with a big grin of his own. So he had to explain something that was very widespread among the equines in Kawani. That was okay.
"Where are you from?" That seemed as good a place as any to start off. It would likely shed some light into why this winged Usdia didn't understand what he might be doing. It was also possible he wasn't from anywhere at all, that he simply had lived a very sheltered life up until now. As unlikely as that was. It was, or at least it should be, on every parent's list to teach their foals about the dangers of Walkers and how to identify them.
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 9:03 pm
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2021 6:56 pm
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Sarathiel kept back a retort that it did, indeed, explain a lot. The little guy was already worked up over what he saw and the big stallion didn't want to upset him further. He didn't blame the other for his reaction to what he was doing. Even to those who knew why and what, it could be a bit upsetting, watching someone else pierce themselves like this. He'd felt the same when his young foal eyes had watched his parents doing the same. Naturally, he was well used to the sight, but it was rather disturbing to those who weren't.
He lowered his head a bit, for he was so much taller than this pale blue guy. Sarathiel was often taller and more muscular than other stallions. Part of what made his job all the more easier, he could really throw his weight around with a Walker to get a charm on them or protect someone from an attack. He had the scars over his body to prove it. Fortunately not many were on his face, just over his legs, shoulders, and torso. Wouldn't want to ruin this handsome face.
The little stallion backed up more, his eyes betraying his fear. Suppose he thought he was about to be attacked himself.
"I am an Angeni," Sarathiel said proudly, flicking both his ears forward and putting on a friendly grin to try and make himself seem less intimidating. "And I am coming to the conclusion I don't know quite what you are, either." A normal Usdia would have known what he was, surely. Walkers were becoming more and more plentiful as the years went on, there was absolutely no way this little guy could have remained in the dark about them until now.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 3:23 pm
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Once more, Aiolos began plotting his escape from this lunatic. And, once again, he was faced with the truth that there was nowhere he could go. There was nowhere to hide and his short, stubby legs would never carry him fast enough to escape this massive stallion.
Would it be worth a try regardless, he wondered. If he was dead anyway.
"Never heard of such a thing," Aiolos couldn't stop himself from saying. At least he didn't think so. It seemed to ring a small bell inside his head, though he didn't know why. He knew most of the other terms for the different kinds of large equines in this land. Wind, Kirin, Unicorn, Flutter. Angeni was not one of them. He stood up straighter, showing off his own proudness over what he was as he answered, "I am a Putti."
The bay raised his head, a thoughtful look coming to his face. It seemed he had also not heard of Aiolos' breed.
"And what does a Putti do?"
Aiolos frowned, not wanting to tell this stallion anything more about himself. "What does an Angeni do?" he asked, instead. Besides stabbing themselves for no apparent reason.
The massive bay raised his head all the way to its natural angle as he pushed forward the charms he had been working on, intending them for closer inspection. Aiolos didn't rise to the bait, still too afraid to go any closer to this beast. That'd be the perfect opportunity to strike and he wasn't about to give this big guy the chance to do anything of the sort.
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Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2022 5:43 pm
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The big bay stallion noticed all this, but took no offense to the obvious lack of trust. As an Angeni, he was used to other Soquili, especially the older ones, giving him instant respect and trust, based solely on his breeding. It had always made him uncomfortable. Even now, when he was doing something so good for the world that he, too, would agree he deserved the respect, he wasn't sure if he liked it. It always made him feel weird. As if the entire world was watching his actions and judging him according to how he behaved.
At the same time, he had dove completely into it, taking on the biggest burden his breed could. Not because he wanted the recognition for it. He was only doing what he felt was right. That he felt he should do. He was born with this gift that no other breed but his own could do. It would be a shame to not put it to use.
"I promise, they are not going to bite you," Sarathiel tried to sooth the tiny stallion. "Strange though you are, I am sure you are aware of the powers a lot of us posses. My breed holds more. Even our blood has powers. I am using it to create charms." When the tiny blue stallion didn't respond, just continued to give a look of distrust Sarathiel's way, he continued. "To calm Walkers." Still, the same look. Now it was the Angeni's turn to tilt his head in confusion. "Is it possible you've never heard of a Walker?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2022 6:57 pm
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Powers. Yes, that was believable. He and all the other Minis had their own abilities. Such as, if he flapped the wings on his head, he could create little tornados of air. Not very spectacular, but useful to get at grass or other plants hidden underneath a pile of leaves or snow. He had never heard of magical blood, though. Or Walkers. The temptation to run was great, but also his curiosity was greater. It seemed this stallion had a story to tell and Aiolos wanted to hear it.
He admitted he didn't know what a Walker was and sat back on one heel to listen, keeping his distance and remaining on alert.
The bay stallion began by telling him more about what his breed did. That they were creatures from another world, or so he was told himself by his parents. He had been born here, just like all the other equines. He made it sound like they were Gods, beings far stronger and more ethereal than a normal mortal horse. By his actions, that was hard to believe. He didn't carry with him an air of self-importance. At least not beyond his own ability. Aiolos got the impression the large stallion was only as confident as was deserved. He didn't see himself above anyone else.
Walkers, on the other hand, he learned, were beasts of a different nature. Aggressive and mean-spirited, there was little to do with them to redeem them to a better nature. The best they had were the charms that the Angeni had been making when he was interrupted. They latched onto Walkers and cleared up their mind. Some went to good. Some remained the same. But it was at least something pro-active against their destructive and chaotic nature.
It was all very hard to believe, to be honest. Aiolos had been here for long enough, he would have thought he'd have run into a Walker or Angeni. But he couldn't recall ever doing so.
"I see you are doing a very...Compassionate thing here and I am sorry for interrupting you. I will leave you to it."
"If that is your wish," the bay stallion answered, bowing his head as Aiolos walked away.
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