» choose your path

Okay, so Yves shouldn’t have been such an antisocial jackass at the Protector’s party. Fine. The field guide is nothing short of incredible, and the little herbs that have begun to sprout up around his hooves when he is stationary secretly fascinate (dare I say, delight?) him. What are they? Are they safe? What properties do they have? Are they affected by the seasons? That old familiar itch of intellectual curiosity pulses through his brain, and it feels good.

Then the next call comes.

“What do I look like, a goddamn errand boy?” The dappled stallion mutters to himself, his good mood rapidly evaporating, but he trudges grudgingly off in the direction of his summons. Look, he said he was going to help Virga – he owed it to him to keep up with current events, and it wasn’t like he had far to go to reach the next gathering. The canyons don’t suit Yves; too dry, too jagged, too… red. He has always been more of a woodland kind of guy. But hey, it’s nearby. Hopefully this will be quick. A short walk across that dry and humorless landscape later, and he finds himself settled at the perimeter of yet another crowd, gathered around yet another supernatural entity. Phenomenal.

Yves listens. “The Helovian gods didn’t steal shit, so you can jot that down…” He grumbles to himself as the doe continues her story. Strike one for starting out with a lie. But while Yves opts for the ‘hear her out’ route, the aforementioned Virga goes with a more explosive tactic. He is a spitfire, that much is true. Yves watches, and he knows he should come to his partner’s aid, and yet... somehow he can’t compel himself to move. Tucked into that crowd of characters, all so prepared to heed Deer Girl’s instructions, the futility of it all strikes him. He has seen this play out before; he knows the passion with which devoted citizens will fight to save a dying land. Their dying land. He knows how this story ends. Virga can protest all he wants - hell, he is absolutely right - but at least one of these cursed Rift gods will be coming back. All Yves can do is make sure they get the right one.

Reszo.

Look, the gods obviously need all the damn wisdom they can get. Out of the available options, Reszo is clearly the least of four evils; at least the pathfinder stands a chance of having the foresight to stay out of mortal affairs, and of keeping whichever deity comes with him in line. Yves can play both sides of this field. Virga doesn't even need to know.

As the midnight black pegasus readies himself for fisticuffs, Yves remains quiet at the outskirts of the crowd. At his hooves, soft green shoots begin breaking through the cracked red soil.

Yves

elegant--tragedy & unsplash