Terrastella was a place of beauty and Orion? Well. Orion was more than pleased to visit some place that wasn't the inner chambers of the Delumine capital. He loved his home with all his heart, but sometimes he had to wander off. Somnus had told him that he needed to get out more often anyway, explore perhaps, meet others. He was Emissary for a reason, meeting other courts was a part of his position, and while he had taken care of his own people first and foremost, it was time to start meeting others and forging bonds and friendships.
The cliffs carried a cold breeze of autumn, and his horned head lifted slightly as he squinted, feeling the cool rush over his sides. Autumn was a lovely time of the year, he found he enjoyed watching the leaves change and the world prepare itself for the crisp snows of winter.
Pausing, he rested himself a ways away from the edge of a cliff, casting his gaze over to the horizon. It was a lovely vantage point to see the rest of the lands of Dusk Court, to admire the view of the changing trees below, and the swamps that were beginning to hibernate. An ear flicked, and he turned himself a little as he heard hooves, pausing his wandering thoughts only to smile as he saw a vaguely familiar being, like the sky at night.
"Ah... Umbra, wasn't it?" he asked, polite, welcoming. Company was always nice.
I could hear the crunching of leaves below my duo toned hooves. Though not all were duo toned instead three were brighter blues reminding one of tropical waters, while the last left front was ivory in color with a slight cream hue. The color itself probably came from the white almost cream hued marking that I wore against the blues of my hide. The afternoon’s sun caused a shimmer across deeper blues and slight purple hues that I snuggly wore. A contrast against the brighter portions, something that I was weary of walking through uncharted territory. A place, one of many, that I hadn’t ventured into as of yet.
Bright golden eyes gazed out across the tops of trees which changed ranging in a variety of warm, fiery colors. The autumn’s breeze found it’s way twisting through the trunks of trees and permeated my lungs. There were tingies of scents tingling on my tongue, many were old and many were new. One captured my attention, one that I had stumbled upon just previously. Long limbs kept me still unmoving as I wondered why we would be crossing paths again. Coincidence perhaps? I adjusted my direction only a fraction before heading in his direction. Though the name didn’t come to my mind, did he even give me his name? I wondered.
It wasn’t until I had made it to the small clearing where the trees refused to grow that he stood out like a sore thumb. Dressed in mute colors ranging from a variety of whites to greys, the horns protruding through his cranium. Ah yes, I’d remembered his name Orion wasn’t it? Before I could react with an introduction, he’d spoken. Dainty ivory lobes lined with their own darkness twisted forward listening to the rather calm welcoming tune. I felt the twinge of my slightly fleshy colored lips pull upward attempting to be polite. This was not my strong suit, ”You are correct, and if memory serves your calling is Orion.” I mused my own vocals were kind, generous even.
To be honest I was still unsure how things worked on this island, but I assumed in pleasant greetings a smile was permitted. How strange this place was compared to where I had come from. Though with all of this smiling with the last few days it was uncomfortable, but not in the unpleasant sort of way. It was a change of pace to say the least.
"speech"
UMBRA
the bombshell
@Orion | ooc; hopefully this isn't too terrible | image by huniidu@dA
It was nice to see a face that was somewhat familiar outside of the lands of Delumine; it reminded him that he was beginning to get to know others outside of his own court. While he could name a good majority of the ones that lingered in Delumine, there were hardly any he could mention outside of its borders. The sovereigns and regimes of the other courts were a given, but almost everyone knew of those faces and names, it was simply common knowledge.
His horned head dipped slightly as he heard her, relaxing himself and turning his gaze back out over the lands that the cliffs overlooked, the trees merely a carpet of color at their height from their perch. "That it is," he mentioned, the smile tugging on his lips as he watched over the lazy afternoon. It would soon be evening, but that was fine with him; he could spend the night somewhere in Terrastella and make his way onward as always. Perhaps meet the regime or forge an alliance.
Tilting his gaze,he glanced at Umbra, smiling from the corner of his lips. She was lovely looking, like living stars walking on the ground. "You live here in Terrastella, don't you? ..do you ever stand back and simply enjoy the sights? Like the trees changing color? Or do you prefer to see other lands?" It was a simple enough question. He preferred the latter himself, wandering in to new lands and taking in the sights. His own home was beautiful but there was always something nice about seeing other places.
There have been very few that I have met on my travels through the realms. I had remembered one in particular a rather burly man with an appetite that matched his size. If memory serves correctly his name had been Thor, someone that I had spoken to adjusting to that island of misfits. Bonding over both food and drink at one of the local taverns, but that seems like years ago now that I had traveled beyond the reaches of that shrouded forest. I wondered whether he would reappear now, or if he would become just a faint memory. The other two had been only recently Quinn the brown shimmering steed of eagerness and of course the mellower more monotone creature standing before me overlooking the waves of warm-earthy tree tops.
I mulled in my thoughts for some time after Orion had commented on his name. There wasn’t much aside from trying to learn these new surroundings, the territories that bordered the landscape I considered home for the time being. Whether it was my choice or not felt more like standing in line and taking a number, guessing on where I’d belong. It wasn’t too terribly long before my mind was pulled from my thoughts by the calm tune that found its way into my own dainty lobes which twisted and perked to the tune. “I suppose so.” I spoke through slight fleshy colored lips returning my golden gaze to the scarred ivory faced equine. “Scenery is one thing I enjoy about new lands, I haven’t really met any others from this island aside from yourself and Quinn of course.” I mused with a bit of a laugh. I hadn’t branched out in order to meet many others either.
I turned my cranium away from the mute stallion to overlook the waves of color. It was a beautiful sight, but I also wondered what the winters would be like here in this isle. Whether some parts would remain frozen in their autumn scene, or if things would become bare blanketed by white as far as the eye could see. Though I knew well enough the farther North I traveled the more colorful the sky would be in the night, the aurora that stretched out hinting on the horizon. It made me feel closer to the home I had once known, one that I had nearly forgotten before the downfall of the village.
"speech"
UMBRA
the bombshell
@Orion | ooc; hopefully this isn't too terrible | image by huniidu@dA
As Umbra spoke, one ear flicked toward her, though he did lay his milky gaze on her as well, wanting to be polite. She was living, breathing, stars on the surface of the earth. As if someone had made a blanket from the heavens and draped them on an equine, allowing them to wander. A beautiful thing she was to see, and he counted himself lucky to be among such company. He was the sort to admire those that held a beauty about them, but then he'd been raised in royalty for the first two years of his life, so it was an ingrained thing to be near those that held power and beauty. They could be powerful, and it was an old habit to keep about him, one that he second guessed many times and attempted to straighten out.
Old habits, however, always die hard.
"It sounds like you could do with some wandering," he mentioned with a soft laugh. "I kept myself sequestered within the Dawn Court a bit too long, so I don't know many outside of it. I wouldn't recommend making my error in judgement. It leaves one feeling woefully unknown." More like uneducated, unable to tell who was who in the many faces in the sea of Novus.
He drew in a breath and let it out, turning his attention once more to the view he had atop their little perch. "Autumn is a wonderful time of the year here," he admitted. "I never would have seen this if I'd kept my nose buried in books back home."
There had been much that I hadn’t shared about my history. Things that I would forever keep locked away; Things that often plagued my mind caused me to seek shelter within solitude. More often than not I had pushed those that cared away protecting them as much as I could and dealing with my own demons. I wondered whether that was the right path to take, but I didn’t see another option. I was a warrior, a woman forged from steel. A heart that had been locked away within layers of ice, but I knew in order to break away from the past to right my wrongdoings I needed to become humble to those around me, but keep them at limbs length.
I was lost in my thoughts by the time I heard Orion’s soft comment. My golden gaze still plastered against the fiery colors of autumn only allowing an ivory lobe to flicker into his direction. “I am a wanderer at heart.” I murmured softly not speaking directly to the mute stallion that stood to my side, but to myself. It was all I could do, keep moving try to find a place. Not that I really belonged anywhere, but on the roads which I traveled moving searching for the impossible. Though what Orion had said next caught my attention, turning my cranium slightly to see him out of one golden eye, “Unknown, or uneducated about those that surround you?” I wasn’t as dense as a brick, I had a mind that I was often lost in. Though I could tell by his tune alone that it was something he had wished to change about himself.
Perhaps I would find his company welcomed in my travels through this isle called Novus. “You are a scholar then?” I gave a soft laugh, it was something that I hadn’t imagined. I wasn’t one to judge as I have held a lot of judgement against my own ways, but I figured he would have been from royalty or around it based on the way of his speech as well as his body language. Though I could have also been wrong, as I had been before.
"speech"
UMBRA
the bombshell
@Orion | ooc; hopefully this isn't too terrible | image by huniidu@dA
Well then. Perhaps wandering and some education about the courts, to learn what she liked here and what she didn't. Many came and went in the courts, generally joining up with one and moving in to another once they learned more about them and chose their deities (if they were religious). It was the way Novus worked, and each court had once held their proverbial doors open for all that walked in. There was unrest now though, leaving things quite uneasy with the arrival of Tempus once more and the other deities.
"Either or, I suppose. Outside of the court, I hardly know anyone, so I suppose uneducated about others would be the thing to say here," he mentioned, chuckling. It was something that could be remedied with simply wandering about the lands and getting to know others, not a difficult fix. Scarred lips twitched upward somewhat, and he exhaled as he looked out upon the blanket of leaves and trees, the sun in the sky, and the clouds that wandered. "A scholar of sorts. I'm the Emissary of the Dawn Court, so it does me good to read up on Novus. While I'm not new to the position now, there's still many things I have yet to learn about courts that one can only learn in person."
It was an easy admittance, with no shame attached to it. "I know you haven't been in Novus for long, but how does it compare to where you came from? It's always eye opening to hear about how different places are." His own home, before, when he was but a boy, had been torched and burned. He had lived his life with a band of nomads and healers from then on, and had eventually moved on to Novus. Civil unrest was something that put him on edge, and while he looked relaxed, there was always the tick of it in the back of his mind.
Elegant ivory lobe twisted toward the hum of Orion’s tune. Listening intently it was hard to miss the slight laughter he’d given at the end of his speech. It was true, a thing like meeting new faces would be rather easy by wandering and running into others. A simple fix for a small problem in the end, or at least for others it may have been. I, on the other hand, was a more complex being preferring a life of solitude in the mountain side. Mostly to keep others at arms length to keep them protected in case something from my past was to rear its ugly head in the future. I was a loner, a stranger in my skin trying to figure out how exactly to move on from my past misdeeds. That was really one reason I had refused to judge others based on both appearance and past, as in my own opinion we all had something to hide in the end.
The slight twist of his vaguely fleshy colored lips bound by scars captured my attention again, “That is one of, I assume, many reasons why you have chosen to venture out beyond your books then?” I questioned pleasantly. I couldn’t quite remember the last time I had sat down with a book, but based on my life's events I suppose it would have had to have been when I was still a child. Reading learning how to better the crops for a fruitful season with my family, before of course, the end of that village. A flash of memories came before my golden gaze passing by like aging pictures bound in blacks and whites. I could feel my own heart beginning to be pulled, plucked, like a violin’s strings. Though a soft shake of my head the still framed memories receded back into the closeted space within my mind. There was no reason to allow the past to upset me, after all.
I took a few moments to overlook the scenery from our clifftop perch. The sea of color spreading out before us both. Autumn’s afternoon sun setting a light golden glaze across the fiery coloration of the dying leaves. I heard Orion’s question, it wasn’t easy to block out the soft hum of a tune like his own. For a few moments I pressed my velvety kissers together thinking how to compare something I hardly understood to the home I had known long ago. “My homeland wasn’t rich, and we depended on one King for protection.” I mused for a moment slowly feeling my gaze seeping away from the fiery hints of autumn, instead receding back into the few memories I held fondly. “Most of us were farmers, or merchants. Few were in the company of the king, and many didn’t agree with his way of thinking of course.” I spoke softly slowly returning to my sense of self. Turning my ivory painted skull away from the ocean of fire and toward the monotone stallion listening.
“The home I knew is gone. Scratched from the books of history, specks of ash on the wind really.” I finally finished not delving into the complete detail of what had happened. A refusal of marriage, an angry noble, and the bulk of payment to the masked figures that ransacked the village. Ending not only the parents I had, but everyone who had tried to fend them off. "Tell me, was your home different from this place?”
"speech"
UMBRA
the bombshell
@Orion | ooc; hopefully this isn't too terrible | image by huniidu@dA
"Yes. One of the many I've ventured out. Being an Emissary means I need to know many faces and to have ties in all the courts. I should be forging alliances, but since the Summit, I have been sorely lacking. The gods have returned and it's quite a stirring they've created." This is the time where he should be most wandering in to places, speaking to other Emissaries and beginning to think of ideas for the courts so they could survive the next storm that was brewing between the gods and their subjects. Change was coming, he had said. Change would indeed be coming, and they all needed to be prepared.
Shaking his horned head a moment, he looked away from the trees, closing his eyes and exhaling softly, slowly. He listened though, ears twitching toward Umbra as he heard her words. He allowed himself to visualize some of it, drawing up images in his mind of farms and merchant stalls. It reminded him of home, somewhat. A place where many had lived outside the castle walls, had grown their foods and read their books by firelight. It had been peaceful, for a while, until the vagabonds had mounted their attack. Slowly, Orion pushed the thoughts away, his head lifting and ears flicking as he looked over toward Umbra once more, lips pulling up in to a small smile.
"It's a shame that many homes seem to vanish... and in the long run, it seems, many that lose their homes end up here." It was a soft breath that he used to speak with, but he shook his head a little bit. He easily pushed the thoughts away, instead shuffling his weight on his hooves as he pondered. "My home was very different from here. I lived in a castle, where the lands were rich and well grown. Many farmers lived there too, but... it drew the attention of vagabonds and rogues. I remember bits and pieces, the castle being torn apart, the burning crops. I was smuggled out when I was young and escaped, and I know the castle survived. Home is there, at least, in the sense of the castle being there. My real home itself is gone."
I had realized the more I stood socializing with this equine by the name of Orion that the features of my face, particularly my cheeks, had begun to become sore. I didn’t want to offend or come off as rude if I wiped the half-smile from my features, though at the same time I was sure I would regret it later. Instead I pressed my velvety pink hued lips together as I listened to his tune. Was this true? Gods lived within the realms of this isle with their creations? All of the Gods I had known, stories from my travels, never hinted at such a thing before. The last isle I had become a part of before leaving abruptly had something similar, but not something I would openly willingly trust. A silent nod of my ivory cranium as I listened waiting for him to finish so I could ask my uneducated questions about this particular land.
“You speak about the Gods as if they are returning here among us?” I questioned hinting on subtle laughter. This was something unheard of, at least back in my homeland when it still existed. The gods never came down from their home within the sky, somewhere beyond the stars or perhaps the stars themselves. We had temples of course to worship, but they would have never stepped a foot into the living realm. “I apologize it is a strange concept for me to grasp.” I added after a few moments. I was unsure what to really think of ‘Gods returning’ of course with that image within my head I could also imagine why it would have created quite a stir within the equines that find themselves at home here within these lands. Novus was quite a strange place indeed.
There was more to tell from my story of home, of course. Things that I wouldn’t utter to someone I had just met. These things were the build up to the raid of the village that I had called home. What had happened after, being the only survivor, was a journey in itself. Taken under the wing of a special fighter who had fended off the mercenaries. Trained under them until I was of age to join the war that raged without his blessing. Using what he had given me, taught me, through those years against others of our kind slaughtering them where they stood. I remembered plenty of cobblestone streets that had been flooded with the sticky red liquid that was considered life's blood. Before the war ended… Afterwards I had realized my misdeeds, one reason why I don’t believe I deserve the happiness I see others holding onto so dearly.
A shake of my ivory cranium brought me from my thoughts the past fleeting away in a matter of moments. The heart within my chest felt as if it was pounding attempting to break the bones and escape into Novus on it’s own. I took a deep breath, and another beginning to slow it down remembering I wasn’t in the times of old anymore. I was somewhere new, unknown to those that surround me. Though it would be something I wouldn’t be able to hide, forever. “It seems there has been plenty of heartache to go around. At least there is this place, Novus, that allows a sense of home.” I wasn't sure if it was the sense of home I was getting, or if I would eventually come to call this isle home. For now I would wander and decide later.
"speech"
UMBRA
the bombshell
@Orion | ooc; hopefully this isn't too terrible | image by huniidu@dA
