The Weight of Ones Choices

“Patience, young one.”

“Who are you calling ‘young one’? We are the same age.”

“I’m certainly wiser than you, which makes you the young one.”

“Whatever.”

The conversation could be heard as the two stallions made their way along the long road through the valley. The smaller of the two, a Quirlicorn, was looking around trying to hide his awe at the towering peaks, the farms dotting the valley, and the shining city in the distance.

The taller one, a Kirin, walked a slight step behind, not seeming to care about the natural beauty of the area, or having any nerves of what was to come.

“Do you think the Queen will see us?” the Quirlicorn asked, and the Kirin snorted slightly.

“She would be a fool not to… young one,” he replied, with a teasing tone.

The Quirlicorn sighed. “Come on, Thalor. Be serious,” he replied. “I’m about to ask a lesser deity, queen of the most land I have ever heard of, to endorse my mission. It’s terrifying!”

“She is a kind Queen, Arasine. From everything I’ve heard, she does well by her people, and travellers. A herd of Kirin wouldn’t live in her lands if not,” Thalor pointed out.

Arasine sighed slightly. “Are you just saying this because she is a Queen who is kind to Kirin? Seems a bit biased.”

Thalor snorted. “Even if she didn’t have a herd of Kirin, everything I have heard about her has suggested that she will be more than happy to help you,” Thalor replied. “Hasn’t everything we have heard while traveling through her land sounded the same to you? The people are well fed and happy, they speak of the queen with love, and they have all been encouraging about your journey.”

Arasine considered that, then looked down at his hooves. “I don’t know, I guess I’m still a bit nervous,” he admitted. “I’ve never met a queen.”

“Your goal is noble, Arasine. Khaalida is smart enough to realize this,” Thalor said gently.

The city gates drew closer, and the pair fell silent. The tall walls glittered in the light, and Thalor watched as Arasine pulled himself together.

A stallion stood at the gates, his body seemingly made of gemstones and black markings on his body. From what Thalor had drilled him on during their journey, there was a high chance this could be one of Khaalida’s sons, Zehar if he recalled correctly.

Arasine came to a stop, Thalor at his side, and the pair bowed their heads slightly.

“We seek an audience with the Queen,” Arasine said, taking a deep breath to continue his well rehearsed speech, but the gemstone stallion cut him off.

“She is expecting you,” he said. “I’m Zehar, follow me.”

With a look shared between the two stallions, Arasine and Thalor followed Zehar. The young prince pointed out various things about the city, and Arasine was torn between looking at everything in wide eyed awe, and focusing on the task at hand. His knees felt a bit shaky, and he wasn’t quite certain if it was from all the walking recently, or from the impending meeting, but he was glad to be able to stop for a few minutes when they reached… a castle.

“And here is the manor,” Zehar was saying, with a wry grin.

“Manor…. Right,” Thalor said with a snort, and Arasine shot him a look. But the young prince only laughed.

“I’ll get Ma, you two rest here. Refreshments are on the table,” he said, as they entered a wide hall filled with tables, a large fireplace to one side.

“Goodness,” Arasine murmured, looking around. “Are we sure we know what we have gotten ourselves into?”

“Relax, Ara,” Thalor said. “You already have your plan, you are only looking to make it easier on yourself.”

“I know…” Arasine muttered, but before he could respond he heard the sound of hooves on stone, moments before the double doors leading further in the castle burst open.

“I had begun to worry!” Khaalida, Queen of Espeor, Lesser Deity of the Mountains, proclaimed as she entered the room.

Arasine had to remember to not let his jaw sit on the floor as he gazed at the Queen. Her coat sparkled with stars, hues of blues and purples and darkest blacks, and those white markings, styled like bones setting it apart. Pale eyes seemed to glow as they rested upon Arasine and Thalor. Her hair was unbound, and she wore no ornamentation that proclaimed her a queen or a lesser deity, but there was no way one would not simply know by the force of her presence. For Arasine, having not yet even discovered his first magic, it was stunning.

A throat clear from Thalor, accompanied by a gentle kick, had Arasine blinking and quickly closing his mouth.

“Er… Pardon, begun to worry?” Arasine said, before mentally chastising himself. He had planned a grand speech to flatter her and hopefully bring her to their cause, and yet he found himself simply dumbfounded and repeating her words back to her.

“I saw you coming, but you are a bit late,” Khaalida said with a twinkle in her eyes. At Arasine’s puzzled look, her expression turned into a straight up grin. “Seeing into the future, dream visions, all that fun stuff?” Khaalida pointed out, and Arasine looked down, a bit embarrassed. Of course she would know he was coming, and why. The fancy speeches were unnecessary. She could probably know every single thing about him if she tried. Every worry, every fear, every hope, just laid bare before her, if she chose to look.

Oh goodness, this was more terrifying than Arasine had imagined.

“Come, let us talk in a more comfortable place,” Khaalida said, gesturing for them to follow. Zehar gave an encouraging grin as they passed, and Arasine tried to offer one back. But coming face to face with a deity was making him swiftly realize just how unprepared he was.

The ‘more comfortable place’ ended up being what looked like a study. Arasine had never spent much time around civilization, having been raised in the forest with a herd of kirin, but from what little he knew this was luxury. Fine clothes, leather bound books on wide shelves, soft pillows, pure luxury.

Khaalida settled on some of the pillows, and gestured for Arasine to do the same. As the young stallion settled, he glanced at Thalor, who had taken a position by the door. It made Arasine uncomfortable to see his friend acting as a true guardian, but he supposed the positioning was intentional. This was Arasine’s meeting after all, not Thalor’s.

If Arasine was to achieve his vision, he would need to stand on his own hooves.

“So tell me, what brings you here?” Khaalida asked, and Arasine decided to just… be himself. All the speeches he had prepared had left him anyway.

“Wouldn’t you already know, with your seeing into the future powers?” Arasine replied, with a bit of a smile.

“Perhaps, but I would like to hear what you have to say about it,” Khaalida grinned.

“It is a long story, if you are prepared to hear it?”

“I shall call for refreshments.”

So Arasine told Khaalida of his tale, of a foal abandoned in the cold snow, of the herd of Kirin who raised him, of the wonders of the natural world, of the Kirin mare who raised him alongside her own son, of the mother who died, and the change that had come. He told Khaalida of the treachery, the war, the scattering of the herd. He told her of the ritual and ceremony that bonded himself to his Kirin brother, so they could be stronger together, and never part. He told the queen of his journey, his goal, his hopes and dreams. To gain land and power, so that he could protect those he cared about, to be able to offer a refuge and home, to be able to keep the balance of life and nature and all that was good. Perhaps it was naive, but the young stallion didn’t care. He let his emotions, his hopes, pour into the world like he could speak them into reality.

When Arasine finally fell silent, he found Khaalida watching him with a considering eye. She was silent for many moments, before nodding.

“Your aura does not lie,” she said simply.

“My… what?” Arasine asked, her response not being at all what he expected.

“Your aura, I’ve been reading it while you talked. You tell the truth, and your intentions are pure,” Khaalida explained.

Arasine looked at the Queen, a bit baffled. “Uh, I’m glad,” he responded, not quite sure what to say.

“That is a good thing,” Khaalida pointed out.

“I wasn’t entirely expecting to have my aura read,” Arasine admitted. “But I shouldn’t be surprised that it is one of your powers.”

“One of yours, in the future,” Khaalida said, that twinkle in her eye again.

“One of mine? Did you… see that in my aura?” Arasine replied.

“Nope, but I did glance into your future. If you are to take this route, there will be times that test your resolve, your will. You will face danger, and hardship. There will be times that things feel like they are impossible, or things that feel like they are too much to handle. If you are prepared to accept that, I shall assist you,” Khaalida said.

Arasine looked over at Thalor, who nodded slightly, before looking back to Khaalida.

“I accept this, for it is a part of life and change,” Arasine replied, and Khaalida smiled.

“Those are wise words. Arasine, I offer you the friendship of my lands, and by that, my alliances. May they aide you on your quests.”

Arasine felt the proclamation settle over him, and smiled.

“I thank you, Queen of Espeor,” he responded.

Khaalida laughed then. “Oh no need for formalities. Among friends, I am simply Khaalida.”