The Sorcerer's Horses (Closed)

[Rahegalhoff]

Underwood, yesterday at sunset, in Sir Rahegalhoff's bedchamber in the Hogsmeade inn.

Rahegalhoff lay on his bed, memories floating past in his mind's eye. It was quiet outside, for Hogsmeade sat away from the main roads through Underwood. Rahegalhoff had not one single distraction in his room, for aside from a plain oak writing desk, and an equally plain wardrobe, there was nothing further in the room beyond the bed and it's occupant.

“Gildrem, he was helpless, so very helpless. I should've slain that cruel black knight outright. He deserved it for taking my family away from me. But what good would that have done? Violence only begets violence, and he paid for it with his life in the end anyway. Yes, I made the right choice, but what now?” Rahegalhoff thought to himself.

Gildrem was a foul and evil knight who had been a wanted murder. Among his victims were Rahegalhoff's wife and son. He had hunted Gildrem for years, until at last he turned to The Omnisource and captured Gildrem at long last.

Now he was Omni's champion, a divine Paladin of the light. Now that he had accomplished the one goal that drove his life, what was there for him to accomplish now? He was a knight without a purpose, without a mission. Perhaps he should buy a horse and go riding across the lands looking for a new purpose. A horse, no, he wasn't a complete knight yet. All knights had horses of their own. Companions to take them into battle, for a mounted knight was a formidable opponent in many situations.

“I need a horse, that's what I need. Then I'll find myself a new purpose with which to serve Omni.” Rahegalhoff said out loud to himself.

“I'm sorry, but I must point out a flaw in your logic there, friend.” a familiar voice that echoed with golden power of light said.

Rahegalhoff fell out of bed as he rolled over to see the voice. Sitting on the writing desk was a being that was not there moments ago. An Arch-angel, with two sets of wings, wearing golden white robes was looking at him with his hypnotic eyes; eyes that were nothing more than shifting clouds of light. His face, seemingly made of gold, twisted into a benevolent smile.

“Your purpose is to serve The Omni, that never changes. It is a task which you lack, and be thankful, for I am here to change that.” the holy being said.

“Aridle, why can't you knock like a normal person?” Rahegalhoff asked as he picked himself up off the floor.

“I am not a normal person.” Aridle said, stating the obvious.

“You can be very irritating, did I ever tell you that? So, what's this new task?” Rahegalhoff asked.

“In Concordia forest, there dwells a Sorcerer with ill intent. He studies the blood of the holy equines as a means of rasing the dead. His path will only lead to necromancy, and as if that wasn't enough of an affront to the natural order, his means are even more abhorrent, using that which is holy to create that which is profane. He hasn't quite succeeded yet. Go now, don your armor, take your sword, and subdue him, that I might take his powers from him. The Light does not wish him dead, and indeed, this will mark the beginning of many painful lessons for him. Eventually, we hope he will repent, and begin a new life on the side of Light.”
Rahegalhoff winced inwardly at the term Light. It meant it was the collective opinion of most of the good deities that this was how it should go, which further meant that he was going to be closely watched. One thing bothered him. If this was happening, then surely he would be expected.

“I will do this, but I must ask, surely I am expected, or someone like me. Won't he have guards? Even still, a sorcerer of any strength is rarely easy to subdue. May I get some assistance in this task?” Rahegalhoff asked.

“Indeed you may. I will send a summons to another to assist you with this task. Now go.” Aridle said, and disappeared.

~

Concordia, current day, afternoon.

Rahegalhoff wandered the paths of Concordia blindly, not sure where exactly he was supposed to meet this other person. All he had been told was to look for the sign would be in the birds. Finally, needing a rest, he found a descent sized boulder on the side of the road, and sat on it, deciding to wait for whoever would come.

He was unmistakably a warrior by appearences, wearing a skullcap, a chainmail shirt, and holding a sword all made of the same strange white metal with gold seams. One might think it Mythril, but it felt different. It was infact, the very essence of The Omnisource itself. The powerful god who claimed to be everywhere had given it to him as a gift for becoming a Paladin. The blade was inscribed with the word “Justice”, and appeared to be a normal Longsword. Underneath his chainmail shirt, Rahegalhoff wore common Leather armor, and had an ordinary steel shield strapped to his arm. If anyone doubted this man was on the side of the holy, one only needed to be in his presence to understand he was truly a Paladin. Rahegalhoff felt Holy, due to his Holy Aura.

Sparrows flew past, making Rahegalhoff look up. Perhaps someone was coming. He looked through the trees, and up into the green canopy, looking to see who was coming, if anyone. Eventually, he got off the boulder and looked down the paths seeing if at last, his unknown companion had arrived. He strained his ears, but all he could hear were crickets in the distance.

[Sweet Polly Oliver]

“I don’t understand why we had to leave Underwood,” Polly complained. “I liked Underwood.”

“You like every place we visit, Polly. You’re pretty much just an amicable person,” said the little bird perched on her shoulder. That bird happened to be Passer, the small God of Sparrows, and her travelling companion. As his sole remaining follower, Passer kept a close eye on her. If she stopped believing in him or died, he might possibly cease to exist, so he had something of a vested interest.

The two were currently walking down a well-worn dirt pathway in Concordia forest. Early morning sunlight shone through the green branches of oak and maple trees, and the forest made its usual noises and general humming of life and growing things. It was nice, Polly supposed, but she did miss the farmlands she’d grown up in, with their fields of grain and easy living. She sighed. It had been nearly a year since she left home for the life of a missionary and an adventurer, but Polly was still young—not even twenty. She missed her home.

“Would it cheer you up if I told you that I have a quest?” Passer offered hopefully.

Polly perked up at this immediately. “A quest?” she said, her voice eager. “What sort of a quest are you talking?”

“Well,” Passer said. “I was contacted by some of the uh, higher up gods. Not you know, more important per se, I’m just as important as them, they just um, have more followers…” He sounded uncomfortable.

“Okay,” Polly said. She had missed most of Passer’s little rant when a bunny rabbit walked across the path and she felt the need to watch it.

“Anyway,” Passer said. “Basically, there’s this evil sorcerer in the center of Concordia forest, who’s breeding special divine horses or something and using their blood to let him practice necromancy.”

“Necro-what?” Polly asked, already confused.

“The art of the dead from their graves. Evil stuff. I’m a bit fuzzy on the details myself, but we’re supposed to meet this guy Rahegalhoff and ‘provide assistance.’”

Polly bit her lip and pondered this for a moment. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to remember that name,” she said. “I can barely even pronounce it.”

“Well you better,” Passer said, “Because I’m pretty certain that’s him sitting on that rock up ahead.

As they drew closer to the figure on the path, Polly became certain that this had to be the man they were searching for. For one thing, he was unmistakably a paladin from his dress and demeanor. More than that, he simply radiated holiness. She could feel the divine energy emanating from him.

Polly felt a little bit nervous, and inferior. She stood at least half a foot shorter than this man, and he seemed much more experienced and confident than she. At least there was no mistaking that she too was a warrior. Although lacking a divine weapon such as his, she carried a spear of nearly five feet in length. For armor she wore a breast plate emblazoned with the silhouette of a sparrow, as well as gauntlets and an iron helmet. She did her best to puff herself up and look impressive.

The two stood staring at each other for a moment, and then Polly proffered her hand.

“You must be mister Rahe…Rahejelly…Rahe…um.” She paused. Passer whispered in her ear. “Rahegalhoff! I’m Polly Robinson,” she said with a little more confidence. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Passer fluffed up his feathers and chirped. “And I am Passer the Sparrowfather. We’ve been sent by the Omnisource to your assistance.”

[Rahegalhoff]

“It's a pleasure to meet you both as well. I am Sir Rahegalhoff Mesquchoku. I once told a fellow my full name, and he blessed me thinking I was having a sneezing fit. Well, enough pleasantries, shall we proceed? If I remember correctly, it's to the north, and east, of Underwood, which is the exact center of Concordia.” Rahegalhoff said, never one to waste time when there was work to be done.

He turned and marched off in the appropriate direction. A gentle breeze stirred through the trees, and the further they progressed, the less they could hear of the creatures that inhabited Concordia forest. Eventually, when Rahegalhoff stopped for his bearings, not a single sound could be heard. It was silent, and still. A sound split the air in the distance, a horse of some sort.

“It would seem we're here. In an effort to maintain the element of surprise, Passer, would you scout ahead for us,to tell us what we're up against?” Rahegalhoff asked.

Passer nodded and flew off. Through the trees he winded, looking ahead. He'd break through to a clearing, where a herd of the most beautiful horses were kept. Long flowing manes graced their neck, powerful muscles showing beneath their skin, each step light and graceful. Some had horns, some had wings, and some had both. It was no wonder these were referred to as sacred horses, they were magical unicorns, Pegasus, and Alicorns.

At the other end of the field was a large stone building. Fifteen men armed with halberds lounged around inside, not really expecting company. A back door was casually left partially open facing the woods. There was no sign of any sorcerer, or any horrendous experiments, but then, one would expect those to be well hidden.

Not one person was keeping a lookout, and the guards were talking about which women in Underwood they wanted to bed the most. A distinct feel of magic tinted the air. A wall parted inside, and out stepped a man in back robes. His skin was ashen gray, his eyes white. He held a black cat in his hands, stroking its fur lovingly. Its green eyes darted about.

“Yes, you sensed it too, didn't you Mr. Tallywick? A nasty ugly disgusting bird penetrated our perimeter. Take care of it for daddy, would you Mr. Tallywick? There's a good puss.” the sorcerer crooned in a sing-song tone to his cat.

The cat jumped down and trotted out. It didn't take him long to spot his pray. The hunter set out after his prey, seeking to end Passer's life.

~

Meanwhile, Rahegalhoff crouched behind a bush waiting for Passer's return.

“So, is The Sparrowfather a god? If so he's only the third god I've ever encountered. The first was an entity I pray I never get anywhere near again. Being near him was like being unbalanced on the edge of a yawning chasm, you felt like you were going to fall and lose yourself at any given moment. The second was The Omnisource, whom I now follow.” Rahegalhoff asked.

Rahegalhoff never noticed the arch-angel crouching behind him...

[Sweet Polly Oliver]

Passer fluttered about the enemy camp completely unnoticed—or at least so he thought. Who would care about a plain little brown sparrow? The guards didn’t even spare him a second glance as he perched on a nearby post and eavesdropped on their conversation. He listened intently, and then chirped with annoyance. In myths or stories if someone was spying on an enemy camp, the enemies would always release some vital information about their devious plans. That was how it was supposed to go!

These guards discussed what they had for lunch. Then they discussed what they might have for dinner. If birds could groan, Passer would have. How unbearably boring. Thus far his little espionage mission had been a fairly uninteresting one—although he supposed that Rahegelhoff and Polly would be interested in learning just how outnumbered they were.

Rahegelhoff. Passer wasn’t quite sure what to think of the man. He seemed experienced—incredibly serious—and utterly focused on the task at hand. He wondered how that would mesh with Polly, who had a tendency to get…well, a bit distracted.

Oh, why lie to myself? She’s a bloody idiot and I know it, Passer thought to himself. But she’s my bloody idiot, so there is that at least.

Perhaps he would have better luck with spying if he snuck into the building. The back door was cracked open a bit—he took advantage of that and swooped in. He found himself in a medium-sized, dimly lit back room. No sunlight beyond the tiny sliver the door let in from outside illuminated it whatsoever. He flew up to the high ceiling and perched among the rafters, looking down at the scene below.

What he saw was horrifying. A single unicorn was roped down to the cold stone floor of the chamber. It appeared to be alive, but just barely. In places it no longer had any hair, and its skin had been flayed off entirely in areas. It looked as though its stomach had been at least partially dissected. Its horn had been sawed in half. Blood was spattered all across the floor. By all rights it ought to be dead, but some means—perhaps the creature’s natural healing ability—had kept it alive long past its due time. The poor creature’s eyes were bloodshot and filled with madness.

If Passer had been a human, he no doubt would have puked at this horrific spectacle. There was no longer any question that they were dealing with a dark wizard indeed. No one but that would experiment upon an animal in such a way—certainly not such a noble one as this. He felt unclean.

He was so distracted, in fact, that he didn’t even notice the cat sneaking up on the rafters behind him until it was too late and it had already pounced on his tailfeathers.


* * *

As they walked, Polly explained her relationship with Passer, and Rahegalhoff listened intently. He seemed to find it strange that Polly and her god were essentially friends—what with them teasing each other and joking and the like. Polly shrugged.

“Just down to the fact that we spend so much time together I suppose,” she said with a little shrug. “I mean I am his only follower, so we’re kinda stuck together.”

“That may change if the Omnisource is pleased with how we handle this situation,” Rahegelhoff said. Both were silent for a while after that, lost in thought. Polly wasn’t quite sure she wanted that to change. Passer was her friend—if he had to pay attention to other godly duties, he wouldn’t spend as much time with her! Then what would she do? Maybe that explained why she hadn’t been trying quite as hard in her missionary duties as she could have been. Hmmm.

As she walked, she whistled, just a few notes at first but then a melody. Whistling helped her think, sometimes. As she whistled, the birds in the trees joined in and began whistling the same tune. Polly paused. Then she whistled again, a few more notes, and found that the songbirds mimicked it. She giggled.

“How are you doing that?” Rahegelhoff asked. He sounded impressed.

Polly shrugged. “Birds just like me I guess,” she explained. “How much longer do you suppose before we meet this terrible sorcerer guy?”

Rahegelhoff pondered this for a second. When he spoke it was oddly ominous. “Not far at all.”

[Rahegalhoff]

Aridle continued following the pair, silently. He didn't want his presence known, so it was kept from them. Even if they were to turn around and look, they would see nothing. He made no sound, stirred no wind, and in no fashion, interacted with his environment.

He had been told that Kajeenith, the dark god who was in truth the spirit of Nothingness, was worshipped by this sorcerer. Kajeenith had sworn to annihilate all of creation, and return it to the zero state of non-existence. If he acted, it would take more divine strength than what Passer currently possessed to stop him.

~

The sorcerer stooped next to his cat and watched as Passer struggled for his life.

“An innocent young bird, unaware of the grim fate that awaits it.” the sorcerer's hollow voice said, ringing out through the hall.

The guards gathered round to watch Mr. Tallywick and Passer fight. They of course were all cheering on Mr. Tallywick. The Sorcerer stooped down to get a closer look at Passer. The sorcerer only saw a plain brown bird, and never knew this was no ordinary bird.


“Well, everyone deserves to know something of their fate, even if they are ugly birds. Young sparrow, have you ever heard of Passer Sparrowfather? I haven't, or I didn't until my master mentioned him. From what I was told, I understand he's a former god, without followers. He can generally be considered good, which is why my master is interested in him. Good gods cannot exist, if the world of darkness is to be brought into being. Do you know why there are no sparrows like you in this part of the forest? I have thrown them all into The Void where my master, The Spirit of Nothingness, dwells. Yet, because the almighty Kajeenith demands it, I will hurl you into The Void too, because my dark savior desires it. He wants Sparrowfather, to rip his existence to pieces, and destroy him bit by bit, stringing out his end over the course of Eons. One less god for people to turn to in their despair, one less source of light to illuminate the dark world.” The sorcerer said.

He stood, and noticed the guards had knelt in reverence at the mention of Kajeenith. He was pleased to see due reverence displayed towards The Consuming Darkness. Turning, he moved to an alter, and quickly dusted it, and sprinkled it with unicorn blood. Dark power flickered in the Altar. The light seemed to weaken considerably in the building.

“Come, Mr. Tallywick, bring that miserable creature over here, that I may open a Nexus to The Void and place him inside.” the sorcerer said.

~

Rahegalhoff and Polly soon broke into the front of the clearing. Sensing his holy Aura, a few unicorns trotted over, feeling like he could be trusted. Nearby, a pregnant Alicorn lay on the ground, preparing to give birth. She looked at him, a plea in her eyes to not let her children be born into this life

Inside the barracks, a guard noticed the gathering of the Unicorns. He motioned for his fellow guards to turn around and look. Even the sorcerer took notice. This caused all to forget about Mr. Tallywick and Passer momentarily.

“What are those fool unicorns interested in now? My magic keeps them all here, so it can't be an escape. Go find out what's going on.” The sorcerer ordered.

“Listen friends, we're here to save you, but first we need assistance getting to the sorcerer. Can you help us in any way?” Rahegalhoff asked.

The unicorns looked at each other, and nodded. Glowing points of light appeared on their horns, as they communicated with the rest of the herd through magic. The mares all filtered off to one side of the field, while the unicorn and Alicorn stallions formed a line and lowered their horns at the guards. As a single beast, they charged, and took out the only four guards that didn't make it out of the way in time.

“They've organized a rebellion again!” one guard shouted.

“With our help!” Rahegalhoff shouted as he rushed a group of five guards.

Five horses joined him two unicorns, two alicorns and a pegasus, while a similar group stayed near Polly. The guards quickly regrouped to repel this sudden invasion. The sorcerer meanwhile growled, and forgot all about the sparrow and his cat, turning his attention to the fight.

[Sweet Polly Oliver]

A cat? Why’d it have to be a cat?

Passer and the fat feline fought and scrambled all over the sorcerer’s room. The cat would pounce; Passer would fly just out of reach. Passer would swoop down to claw the creature’s eyes out, and it would bat an enormous paw at him, claws outstretched to grab at his feathers. At the very least he was smarter than the stupid thing, but the cat was at least three times as large.

Now, Polly liked cats. This fact was a chief point of contention between her and Passer. Polly liked little, adorable kittens with big round eyes and fluffy fur. Passer pointed out that most cats aren’t like that at all—they’re big mean monsters who will gladly chew a bird up and spit out its feathers. The sorcerer’s cat was a fine example of the later kind. Its body was fat and misshapen, and its face was covered in scars, probably from battles with other cats. The cat was a war veteran, in other words.

The cat leapt up and grabbed at Passer, but he flitted just out of reach. Oh, Mr. Tallywick, he thought. You and I could do this dance forever.

Then he noticed something: a vulnerability in the cat as clear as a castle with only three walls. Mr. Tallywick’s left eye was blind. A thin milky veil covered the eye, and the cat’s reaction times on that side were noticeably slower. Finally, a weakness he could exploit.

Passer dove in from the left side, claws outstretched, planning to end all nine of this feline’s lives in one fell swoop.


* * *

“I’m just saying, I didn’t sign up for this,” Robert Miller said. “Wasn’t, y’know, the sort of work I thought I’d be doing.”

“And what sort of work did you think you’d be doing?” the sorcerer hissed.

Miller was the head guard at what the staff thought of as ‘The Farm.’ He, like all the others, had been recruited from Underwood a few months ago with promise of decent pay and an easy job without manual labor. The employer even provided the weaponry and uniforms! What he’d done since then was a lot of sitting around and drinking, and not a lot of fighting.

“Well y’know, sitting around, looking intimidating,” Miller said with a little polite cough. He’d worked for evil wizards and wannabe overlords before, but this fellow seemed especially deranged. Best to tread carefully. “Basic henchmen stuff. I definitely can’t recall fighting a herd of unicorns being included in the package.”

“You’re not supposed to fight the unicorns,” the sorcerer said calmly. “If you kill or injure them, you’re damaging the stock.”

“Yeah but, the problem with that is, sir,” Miller said. He gestured at the battlefield around him, where unicorns and pegasi were either trampling his guardsman underfoot or spearing them with their horns—more often than not both, actually. “The unicorns is fighting us.”

“The unicorns and pegasi aren’t the problem,” the sorcerer said. He sounded deadly calm, which worried Miller. The sorcerer was never calm. If he sounded calm, that probably meant he’d passed through steaming hot rage into that cold, wintery country on the other side known as pure hatred. “It’s the paladins! Kill the man and the girl and the revolt will be over in no time.”

“But sir—” Miller started to protest.

“But nothing! You get out there and fight, or I’ll flay the living skin off your body and animate your decomposing flesh!”

Now that was a compelling argument. Miller grabbed his halberd and headed out to fight the revolt. He scanned the chaos and found what he was looking for: the red-headed girl who seemed to be one of the sources of this attack.


* * *

Polly had never seen creatures fight quite as viciously as the unicorns and alicorns did that day. Sharp horns ripped and tore and hooves stomped and mashed until all that was left of some of the sorceror’s guards was a bloody smear in the grass. She wondered why the animals hadn’t revolted before if they were this strong. It seemed as though the sorcerer had somehow broken their spirit, but with Polly and Rahegalhoff at the lead the creatures felt free to release all their pent up anger and frustration.

One of the unicorns in the group surrounding Polly nuzzled her with its nose, and she looked up in surprise. It flipped its mane and gestured to its back, inviting her to get on. Polly lifted herself up on to the elegant white creature and immediately felt happy and safe. The unicorn’s presence and touch was incredibly reassuring—just being in the presence of something so undeniably good put her at ease.

The creature touched her with its horn and her mind was flooded with images. The unicorn didn’t think in words, but in ideas, shapes, colors, smells, pictures. In the space of a few seconds she learned much, though. This unicorn was a male, its name Yleti. Yleti remained one of the few unicorns here who had been born in the outside world and taken captive, rather than bred on what they all apparently thought of as the Farm. He longed for freedom and thanked Polly for giving him and his family the opportunity to achieve just that.

“Oh it’s um,” Polly said, not quite sure what to say to such a noble and elegant creature. “It’s no trouble at all, honest.”

Now we must fight, Yleti thought at her. He turned his head, and horn, to the battle and Polly readied her spear.

Time to go to war.

[Rahegalhoff]

“Enough of this child's play I am the sorcerer Asquidas, not some garden variety bandit. I will not be taken down so easily.” the sorcerer shouted after only a few bandits remained..

He raised his arms to the sky, then brought them before him and pressed his hands together and knelt on the ground in prayer. Tendrils of black energy, as though darkness had become a solid thing, extended from his body and entered the bodies of his fallen guards, reanimating them. As they rose, all color left their bodies, save for black, and white. Not one trace of any other color, even gray, showed on any exposed portion of their bodies.

Rahegalhoff shrugged, and turned on the zombified guards. He sliced clean through one bandit, and even the equines were surprised when the guard continued on as though it were a mere scratch. Rahegalhoff sliced again and again. These were not normal zombies, no normal zombie should be able to continue on after being hacked into pieces. The magic should have left their bodies, the dead should have toppled to the ground.

“Surprised? These were animated through the powers of The Void. They absorb half of all damage dealt to them, from any source, without exception.” Asquidas said..


Rahegalhoff hit the zombie again and again, until it shattered into a black mist. He noted with satisfaction that it took four hits to fell what he decided to term a “Void Zombie”. A roll of thunder announced an impending thunderstorm, or so he thought, when he noticed Asquidas smiling at the sound. The distraction cost him, as guard sliced into his side. His armor did its job, and blocked most of the blow, but now he had a small wound in his left side.

Two more Void Zombies accosted him. He blocked one blow with his shield, but impact aggravated the wound in his side, causing his parrying blow to miss as he winced in pain. Fortunately, the blow merely glanced off his shoulder, still, it was a hard blow that bruised his shoulder. As both went for a strong overhead blow, Rahegalhoff ducked and stepped under the swings, turning as he came back up to face their backsides. Not wasting the movement, he swung his blade as hard as he possibly could, using Multi-strike to deal even more damage to them. Both turned, swinging their blades through the mid-section.

Rahegalhoff blocked with his shield, and hit the zombie on the left in the right side. He back stepped to avoid a strike from the zombie on the right, then stepped again to hit the zombie on the right in the left side. He groaned inwardly, as both zombies changed position, going for a pincer attack. As one swung for the front mid-section and one for the back mid-section, Rahegalhoff turned slightly, and blocked with both his sword and shield. The pain in his side and shoulder was agonizing, but he had no choice, he had to hold out. The zombies pressed their attack, hoping to overpower him.

Rahegalhoff lashed out his left foot, kicking the zombie to his left, sending it stumbling backwards. This allowed him to turn to the right and kick that zombie as well. As the right zombie stumbled backwards, he turned back to the left just in time to see the left zombie coming back for another overhand strike. Barely, he raised his shield in time to avoid being beheaded, the blow glanced up and hit his forehead. The Skull cap deflected most of the damage, but his head was still ringing from the blow.

He gave the zombie a similar blow, and turned back, the other zombie had fallen, and had just gotten back up. He turned back, and gave the zombie he was near one last strike with his sword, felling the abomination forever. He turned, jumping as he did, bringing his sword around with the strike to bring all the power he possibly could to the blow, and slashed through the zombie with such unexpected might that it destroyed the zombie instantly.

Seeing no enemies coming for him, he decided to take a moment to catch his breath, and clutched the wound in his side. It felt like it was on fire. He had twisted and turned to much, it was probably worsened by his fight to save his life. Looking for a Unicorn to see if it would heal him real quick, he was surprised to see most of them cowering in the corner. Bolts of energy ran through the creatures. Asquidas had gotten up to deal with them.

“You know I don't like having to hurt you, but if you don't stay here on the farm for your own protection, terrible beasts are going to find you and devour you. This is for your own benefit, so you understand that I'm your guardian, I'm your friend, I ask for so little in return.” Asquidas was saying.

“Friend? Guardian? What friend or guardian keeps his charges somewhere against their will if there is no danger. You say a terrible beast is going to find them and devour them, and what creature would that be, an imaginary one? It is well known that most creatures are friendly to Unicorns, and those that aren't, find out a unicorn's magic isn't always beneficial. As for Pegasi, they can fly away if they get into too much trouble. Alicorns? They've got the best of both worlds. Truth is, your lying to them. Your the only terrible beast in this forest.” Rahegalhoff declared.

He ran for Asquidas, forgetting the wound in his side, and rammed into him with his shield. The impact broke the energy holding the equines down, and made the edge of the clearing vibrate as the spells used to keep the creatures in weakened slightly.

[Sweet Polly Oliver]

Asquidas? Polly wondered. Does everybody here have a ridiculous name?

The unicorn she rode snorted in amusement. Having it read her thoughts was slightly unnerving, but Polly supposed that riding it was only a temporary situation, after all. Not something she’d want to do forever or anything, as beautiful a creature as it might be. Suffice it to say, the unicorn was a bit of a jerk. Even in the midst of battle he seemed just as interested in checking out lady unicorn’s derrieres as he was in fighting the groups of enemies that assaulted them.

Oh yeah! the unicorn thought as he speared another guard in the chest. The guard collapsed to the ground, bleeding from his abdomen. Horn kill! Polly smacked her hand against her forehead.

The enemies they fought had gone from bad to worse. At first they’d been human guards, but then the sorcerer had cast some sort of spell and all the corpses had been raised from the dead as zombies. Polly looked at them eagerly—she’d never seen real, live zombies before! This adventure was real holy knight business! The zombies, however, were a little bit disappointing. Weren’t they supposed to shout BRAAAAAINS at everybody? Instead, these just seemed like slowly walking, not very smart people. They were resilient, but easy enough to fight since they lacked the intelligence for any sort of strategy—including basic but vital tactics like “Stay Away From Pointy Things.” Polly slashed at another one’s throat and it fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes dropped from a farm loft.

Ohhhh, check out the horn on that filly over there, Yleti thought. He made a sound between his teeth that Polly suspected was the unicorn version of a wolf whistle. Ugh. Teenage males were the same everywhere, apparently.

It seemed like Rahegelhoff had decided to engage the sorcerer, so Polly chose to keep the remaining enemies off of his back. She and Yleti moved through the battlefield like a weasel through a chicken coop, picking off prey so easily it almost became fun. The combination of her spear and his horn were enough to keep anyone at bay—and it didn’t hurt that they had the entire herd of alicorns, pegasi, and unicorns at their back.

One of the few guards that remained alive and not a zombie ran up to Polly’s side, and she prepared her spear for a horizontal slash.

“Wait!” the guard said. “I’m not here to fight you! Look, I joined this place for an easy job near my house that didn’t require too much thinking, not so I could get turned into a zombie and then a kebab by a horse with a horn.”

He wants to help us, Yleti thought.

“You want to help us?” Polly said. The guard nodded eagerly. Polly pondered this for a moment. “What’s your name? Is it ridiculous?”

“Does Robert Miller count as ridiculous?” the guard asked.

“Nope! Welcome aboard!” Polly said gladly. A zombie shambled up to them, and Miller took it out with his halberd, as if to prove his new loyalty (or disloyalty?). Very good.

Polly went back to fighting, but it wasn’t long before she was interrupted once more—this time by a small bird. “Oh, there you are Passer,” she said. “What happened to you?”

Passer perched on her shoulder and observed her and Yleti fighting in a casual way. “There was a cat,” he said. “Bastard almost got me.”

“Is that so?” Polly said, with vague disinterest. “You didn’t kill it, I hope?” She turned and stabbed a zombified guard in the abdomen.

“I should have, but no I didn’t,” Passer said. Then he continued with an evil glint in his eye. “Let’s just say, though…I don’t think Mr. Tallywick will be having any little baby Mr. Tallywicks anytime soon.”

[Rahegalhoff]

Asquidas teleported away from Rahegalhoff, and into the house. Cursing his bad luck at having to capture a teleporting sorcerer, Rahegalhoff ran back into the mansion to try and capture the man. He found him cradling his dying cat. In the midst of neutering Mr. Tallywick, Passer forgot to close the wound up, and now the cat was bleeding to death.

“No! My friend, my companion. Why? Why did this happen to you? Who did this? Master, please, send me a black storm to match my sorrow.” Asquidas asked.

Rahegalhoff tried to put a hand on Asquidas, but was surprised to find his hand went right through him. He turned, thinking this was just an illusion. Asquidas had in fact used a different spell, one that made him and his cat temporarily intangible. His mind reflected back on the day he first met Mr. Tallywick.
It had eight years ago, on a blustery night in Radasanth.

Asquidas was just a novice back then, barely able to cast light. It wasn't warm in the small room he occupied, but it wasn't cold either. Between the candles and the fireplace, it was at least tolerable. Asquidas was doing research into a group of cultists who worshiped a dark god who proclaimed he didn't exist. A curious group, at best. A pitiful mewling sound brought Asquidas's attention to the door.

He got up to see what was going on, and there, huddled in his doorstep was a small pathetic lump of dirty fur. Taking pity on the creature he picked it up, and washed it off. He sat beside the fire where it was warmest so the small thing could dry off. Presently, he picked it up after it was dry, and found it was a kitten, barely weaned from momma. Somehow in the storm outside it had gotten separated, and lost.

Asquidas got a dried piece of fish from his humble stores, and offered it to the kitten. The creature looked at it curiously, sniffed it, then cautiously tried it. Delighted, he gobbled it up, and rubbed up against Asquidas's legs as if to say, “thank you”. The young sorcerer knew he couldn't just turn out such a young defenseless creature, and even the cat somehow knew it found its new home. Asquidas picked up the kitten once more and looked at him closely.

“White with a black tail. How curious. Why, you look like a candle, puss. Yes, a candle, and your tail would be the wick. Hmm, tail, wick. Yes, if your going to stay, you'll need a proper name good sir. I hereby dub thee, Mr. Tallywick.” Asquidas said.

Asquidas looked at his dying friend through tear filled eyes, and put a hand on his head. Green energy leaped from the cat to Asquidas, and in short order, Mr. Tallywick lived no more. He placed the cat on the alter, and knelt before it, resting his head on his dead friend.

“Forgive me, Mr. Tallywick, it was the only mercy I could show you now. Yet, with your sacrifice, know that your demise shall be avenged.” Asquidas said.

Four years ago, trapped in a fallien prison, the only routine visitor was a cat, white, with a black tail. It kept getting in and out through a hole in the wall no one had yet repaired. Asquidas was imprisoned for escaping the outlander's quarters without the proper pass. He had declared that he was a scholar, and had a right no government could repress to study history. The law didn't agree with him though.

Asquidas was all alone, save for Mr. Tallywick. The cat it seemed, had been carrying messages back and forth through magical means between his master, and a mysterious beautiful woman who agreed that he should be able to continue his studies on The Darkness, in person. As their high priestess, she just wanted one thing from him, an oath of loyalty. So it was, through Mr. Tallywick, Asquidas made his oath, and was freed when a freak sandstorm came out of nowhere and demolished the prison, grinding it to dust. Only the sorcerer and his cat were spared, yet the storm carried them off.

Asquidas took something from the alter and hid it in his robes, then he picked up his dead cat, and carried it outside. By that point, Rahegalhoff, who was searching everywhere else, realized that it may have been magic that kept him from Asquidas when he tried to put a hand on his shoulder. He dashed outside in time to see Asquidas blast a hole in the dirt, and lay Mr. Tallywick inside, then cause the dirt to be moved back over it.

Rahegalhoff tried to tackle him, but went right through the space where Asquidas was. Asquidas bowed his head, and mourned his best friend's passing one last time. Then the sobbing stopped, and Asquidas looked up, anger and hatred burning in his eyes. He looked at the Equines, at the invaders, and that damn bird. None of it mattered anymore, his friend was gone. What point was there in studying the secrets of holy blood, when it wouldn't bring his friend back, not as he was. What use was there in a brainless, emotionless, zombified cat? The guards were defeated by now, useless pests.

“Murderers.” Asquidas breathed.

He slowly stood, and Rahegalhoff simply pointed his blade at him. Thunder rolled, as lightning crashed out of a clear sky. Rahegalhoff looked up in time to see black clouds forming in the blue sky.

“Murderers, to cause the death of my friend, my brother. You'll pay for this.” Asquidas said.

Rahegalhoff nearly had a heart attack when everything flickered, like a bad illusion on the verge of winking out of being. Asquidas had noticeably changed, all the gray was gone from his skin, it was solid white, save for his eyes, which were as pools of black ink, and his lips, which were as coal. His robes seemed to absorb the light.

“Kajeenith's presence, it grows stronger here!” Aridle thought worriedly from the branch where he had been sitting.

“You'll all pay for this. The unicorns, the Alicorns, the Pegasi, and most especially, that damn bird.” Asquidas said.

Everything flickered, and went black momentarily. Then light returned, and Asquidas had pulled the object out of his robes, that he had taken from the altar. It was a horse skull, decorated with Unicorn horns, made to look like flames coming out of the skull's eyes and mouth. Another flicker, and Asquidas had the object raised above his head.

“Behold, my greatest prize, and the result of my experiments here. A creature worthy of only the most terrible of knights.” Asquidas said.

His power went through the skull, and after glowing brightly, it disappeared. Lava filled a nearby spot, and as thunder crashed, it began to boil as several pairs of eyes appeared within. Slowly they began to rise, carrying the lava with it. Rahegalhoff took a step back in apprehension as the lava began to fall, washing off the creatures within. The eyes of each one, they glowed red, their skin was as onyx. Great leathery wings adorned their back, and fangs replaced teeth. These were no ordinary horses, these were demons! The males stood a full twenty hands tall, the females, 18 hands tall. They were demons, they were monsters, and as the lava disappeared to reveal claws instead of hoofs, Rahegalhoff knew, they were completely unnatural. As a single beast, the demon horses reared up to claw the air with their forelegs. The scream they released at the same time, accompanied by great gouts of flame from their nostrals was not the sound of any kind of horse Rahegalhoff had ever encountered before. They were the screams of a creature whose own existence was a horror to it, a creature who had never known any sensation beyond pain. They settled back down momentarily, and in their glowing red eyes, one could see only one purpose, death, and the release from their pain that it brought, for these were creatures of pure evil. In the blackened sky, beneath the now pouring rain, Asquidas smiled. Only one single command escaped his lips.

“Kill them all, and suffer not a single creature to live.”

As the demon horses bellowed their fury a second time, Lightning crashed down between them, and the rest of the clearing. Then, the demon horses charged, as Aridle leaped down off the tree no longer hiding his presence.