Cursus Honorum – Bestiarius

It's a foggy and freezing night as a lone ballator makes their way through the forest. The experienced huntress is on the lookout for prey and moves quietly through the darkness. But of course, she hadn't always been as skilled as she was now, tracking and culling animals more for fun than survival. Zenobia remembers her first hunt very well, as it was also the day she met her best, non-ballator friend and handler.

Even as a filly Zenobia has always been fearless, or rather reckless, looking for adventures wherever she went. It wasn't uncommon for her to sneak away from her parents to discover secrets and explore the world. Generally this wouldn't have been such a big issue if she, like any normal foal, had kept a safe distance to dangers like cliffs or snakes but oh no, she was not the type to be cautious.

It was a sunny and warm day as Zenobia's mother was grazing on a quiet meadow, the foal running around with her head inside the tall grass, looking for bugs. It was always fun chasing them, especially the fast ones like grasshoppers and she often tried to catch them with her mouth, only to spit them out again. She thought they tasted worse than stinging nettles. «At least the nettles fight back», she always said to her parents.

As Zenobia followed a large, but slow flying bug, she eventually reached the edge of the meadow, where the forest began and the trees kept her from looking what was up ahead. She always loved forest, sure that they were hiding secrets around every corner.

«Zenobia! Don't stray too far from the clearing, okay dear?»

Of course Rain had noticed her walking away, but the mare wasn't too concerned just yet. She'd go looking for her foal in a short moment, just as usual.

«Yes mum!»

Zenobia rolled her eyes, but her mother wasn't able to see that. The young appaloosa had no interest in staying on the boring grasslands all day.

Slowly the filly walked into the woods, looking for any small critter she could watch and chase, like mice or maybe she'd even find a skull! Zenobia really wanted to see a real skull, so this would've been her greatest discovery, but so far she hadn't been lucky enough to find one. After walking around the woods for a while, looking behind every trunk and under any rock she was able to lift, she suddenly stopped and snorted in disappointment. «There's nothing going on here! So boring.» As she stood there for a moment, she listened to the birds sing their songs and enjoyed the shade of the trees, with only a few rays of sunlight trickling through the leaves above. The light was creating shapes on the ground that were moving slightly, like glittering water. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movement and heard a rustling in the bushes closeby. Curiously she followed the sounds, the creature she was tracking clearly not noticing anything was following behind as it kept moving through the undergrowth without care of the noise it was making. Finally Zenobia was so close that she could pounce, although her prey was still hidden from sight. Her instincts kicked in and she felt the blood pump through her small body, ready for the kill! As she jumped out of the bushes, ready to catch whatever was in front of her, something large suddenly moved right between Zenobia and her prey.

«STOP!»

Taken aback by this sudden change of situation, the young ballator gasped and stumbled backwards into the bushes. But then something grabbed her leg and pulled her out, the filly unsure if she should be curious or scared by what was happening until her head emerged from the leaves and saw the creature in front of her.

It was of a female, humanoid shape, but strangely blue and on the back of the head there was a large, orange flower attached! Weird... Then her gaze fell to the small animal beside the humanoid – a young badger cub it seemed. It was surprised by Zenobia's sudden appearance and hid behind the two-legged figure, slyly peeking out from behind it.

«Are you okay? I'm sorry if I scared you, I thought something was about to attack my pet. I didn't know you were just a foal yourself. Hmm...but you're not a normal horse, are you?»

Zenobia couldn't help but wonder what that creature was saying. She couldn't understand a word, but it seemed nice at least! It's voice was soft and calm, and the humanoid cautiously stepped back to leave the filly space after she had sorted out her long legs and was securely standing on the ground again.

«My name is Ambersea and I am a Sylvari. This here is my young badger cub, Mortimer.»

Now that Zenobia felt that the two-legged creature wasn't dangerous, she took a closer look at it and sniffed it curiously. Not only the back of its head, but its whole body seemed to be made of plants and tree bark! Like a plant-person. Its scent was that of nature, moss and blossoms. Now the badger waddled up to Zenobia, stared at her tail in fascination and clumsily tried to reach for it, hopping up and down and pawing at it like it was a toy. Zenobia still felt the rush of the hunt, but knew she couldn't hurt the cub. Still she needed to get all that adrenaline out and jumped around the cub with excitement, challenging it to play. The badger seemed both happy and scared as the ballator foal was already so tall compared to it, but it joined the play, kept hiding under ferns and then lept out at Zenobia again, chasing her away only to run back into hiding afterwards. This was still a great opportunity for the ballator to practice, as the badger kept moving around and she had to listen and watch where it went while it was out of sight.

Ambersea laughed at the scene and was happy to see this strange horse and her pet get along so well. She was still new to these lands, but her dreams had called her here, perhaps for this exact moment.

«Zenobia! Where are you?»

Suddenly Rain's voice sounded through the forest as she was looking for her foal. For the Sylvari it was nothing but a neigh, but she felt it had to be the foal's dam.

«It is time for you to go, young one. I'm sure we will meet again! Now take care and don't go stumbling around the woods on your own. It could be dangerous.»

She winked, then picked up her cub and disappeared behind the trees. For a moment Zenobia wasn't sure if it had all been just a dream or even an illusion. When she told Rain about it later, after they had returned home, the mare nodded with a smile.

«I believe you! I've heard of ballators who'd seen dryads and similar creatures, before but I'd never met one myself. Supposedly they are very kind and only show themselves to those with courageous hearts!»

A courageous heart? «Yeah, that sounds right», the filly thought proudly. Even if her first hunt hadn't been a success, it would be a great story to remember and tell!