Uwaritace
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R I X E N I had come to this place only once before, to contribute to the Matron’s tree. On that day I received the gold pendant that I now wore proudly around my neck, and whose magic I had not yet figured out. It was a dark night. Why did I think it was a good idea to venture here alone in the dark again? Who knew. On most nights I bedded down someplace sheltered and did not wander about. The Rift was a dangerous place and I didn’t want to be caught off guard in the dark. I much preferred running into the Rift’s surprises in the daylight, when I could see what I was up against. At any rate, I was here now and I wasn't about to turn back. As I walked, I admired the night sky. The stars shone brightly down upon the earth, twinkling like diamonds in the sky. The sheer number of the stars multiplied in all directions like a rebellion in the heavens that was slowly attracting more and more support as it progressed. As I stared up at them, I thought about the stars. How did they hang there? What was that larger one to the north? Did they have names? The stars from my foalhood did. Each one had a name and a story behind it. When I was young, we would gather around and listen to the herd elders tell the story of each star and how it came to earn its place in the sky. Perhaps the stars I saw now were the same stars from my past, connecting my past life to this one. It was entirely possible that the Rift wasn't such an entirely different world after all. My thoughts were interrupted by a strange sound coming from somewhere nearby. It was not the noise of a horse, but hissing murmurs followed by a twisted chortling, a sound as startling to the ear as nails scraping across a chalkboard. Curious to see who - more like what - else was wandering about at such a late hour, I followed my ears to the source of the noise, the pale moonlight guiding my hooves. The trees parted to reveal a clearing, and sure enough I was wrong. Standing at the center was a gray horse who was turned away from me, looking up at the sky. I had most likely found the source of the noise. Scanning the figure, I could faintly make out the shapes of her ribs jutting out of her thin hide. She was well-aged, by the looks of her. But I was not yet close enough to see the exact details of her appearance. The mare was busy babbling to herself now, and I could not make out what she was saying. Approaching slowly as not to startle her, I called out to the stranger. "Who are you?" "Talk." they heard me singing and they told me to stop quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock |
