???
One year ago…
B
leary eyes slowly pried heavy lids apart, the sharp crust of an uninvited sleep poked at the raw and sticky flesh that surrounded them. Pain was the first sensation to register, its raking tendrils slashing across his face with little mercy as the young mule began to regain his consciousness. A strained groan escaped his dry lips as he stirred against the cooling grass. The earth beneath him felt wonderful against his ragged form, its enticing dampness attempting to lull him back into the blackness of the back of his skull. As tempting as the offer was, the dappled equine refused, feeling it urgent to come to his senses. Time felt… Strange to the injured mule. He couldn't remember how long he had been out for. Trying to think about it made his mind screech loudly in protest, the poor colt wincing at the throb that spiked his head. He'd have to revisit that. Instead, he set his foremost focus upon rising to his hooves. Shakily, he began to push off of the grassy floor. His legs buckled beneath him, rapidly reuniting him with the ground and knocking what air he clung to out of his sore lungs. The force stirred up a fit of coughs, ash clawing up his throat and coating his tongue as a silent reminder of what could have caused his current state.
Was there a fire?
Is there a fire?!
The instinctual fear jolted the mule to his hooves instantly, the sudden rush of blood surging upwards causing him to grow dizzy from the effort. Quickly shaking his head free of the haze, the teak colt spun around in search of the orange beast. His muffled gaze fell upon a line of bright light slicing across the horizon, the pink sun watching over the blaze through the thick plumes of black that grew from the sparks beneath it. Pretty, if it weren't inherently horrifying. However, judging the distance he found himself at now, he could only assume he escaped the worst of it. Relief dripped from his face, or rather blood did.
That was definitely blood.
A shocked bray rushed out of the mule as he bucked around in a panicked circle. Adrenaline bristled down his mane, and he felt the need to run. Not even two steps into his gait, however, he found himself kissing the grass once more, hooves flying over his head as the world spiraled around him. He slid to a halt, unearthing roots and fresh soil as he did. Another defeated moan of pain crept out of his throat. What on earth tripped him up? Eyes rolling about his head freely, the colt slowly turned his head to look behind him. Once his pupils focused, his vision fell upon a journal, one now sat up and splayed in the commotion.
Huh?
Temporarily setting aside his initial panic in wake of curiosity, the mule grabbed a hold of the hard covered book, dragging it towards himself with a weak power about him. He let the journal float before him, twirling it around in his grasp and flipping through the pages. Pieces of it fell to the floor, diagrams of various plants scattering about at his hooves. These images seemed… Vaguely familiar to him. Flickers of memories sparked through his mind, each synapses setting his mind on fire as he tried to remember anything. Nope. Wasn't coming to him today. The curious mule turned to face the front cover finally, his covered eyes widening at the sight on it.
A name, etched in gold stared back at him with a burning intensity.
Nicodemus.
The name rang out in his mind like an alarm bell, chiming throughout the space and awakening memories once more. He heard the name called to him in a voice he knew wasn't his own. He saw fire, everything danced in flames as he fled deep into the forest, leaving the figure and the fire behind him.
Nicodemus
He was Nicodemus.
Nicodemus hummed quietly after a few moments, affirming that he was Nicodemus, this was his journal, and he had a surprisingly vast knowledge of medicinal herbs according to the notes scribbled within the pages he held before himself. Helpful, all things considered as he watched droplets of blood splash against the aged paper that had settled in the grass below. Quickly he scooped up the pages between his teeth and stuffed them back into the confines of the book, worried that his mussed face would ruin any more of the torn pages.
Now equipped with some knowledge of the world he found himself in, Nicodemus held the book tightly to his bruised chest. He had to push forward now. Where he would end up, he wasn't quite sure yet, but he'd find out once he got there. Taking the first steps to his new and mysterious life, Nicodemus trudged deeper into the woods that surrounded him.
What he didn't catch, however, was the glow of red that emanated from within the pages of the leather journal. A spark of life to some degree. A stirring of the bowels within those inscriptions that he'd soon discover...
