The stallion stalked through the realm. Novus. The word was still foreign on his lips, his tongue still struggling to form the word. Not much time had passed since he and his sister had arrived, finding solace after fleeing from their cruel father. Shaking his head, he let the memories swamp him as he moved.
“You will never be the leader that I trained you to be. You are a disappointment to myself and to our subjects. Your sister is no better. I would have been better off ending that disappointment when it hit the soil.” His father’s cruel words to him. The words that had spurred him to leave. To take his beloved twin sister and take her far from his terrible influence. To protect her before she could become more like him.
Grisha had always been the purer of the pair, the light to his darkness. While they had been graced with the same powers, the shadows that danced in their blood, Grisha had never been the dark being to wield them for her own gain. She used the shadows to soothe rather than harm. That was why he needed to get her out. To protect her.
To do what no one had done for him. Rhysand was the darker twin, the crueler one. Or at least that was the mask that he had been forced to don to protect himself from further pain. A soft snarl escaped his lips as he thought, his seafoam eyes taking in the mountain before him. There had been whispers of the peak, of the place to seek the gods that ruled this land. Taking the first steps, he let his limbs carry him toward that place.
“Your mother was the greatest disappointment. She gave life to you both, coddled your sister. She tried to keep you from me as well, though I would not let her. You were to be my heir. You failed.” The words had been venomous and filled with rage. That had been before the strike. The crack that echoed through his mind as hoof connected with ribs.
The top of the peak was a shock to the stallion. His dark head lifted, eyes taking in the statues around him. They meant nothing to the stallion, who had never had a god to follow. Stepping forward, he reached the center of the peak. He was alone, a fact that soothed the stallion as he reached for his magic without thought. The slumbering ice in his veins was a different type of blow. Oh how he missed the shadows that had once danced around him and could be channeled into infinite directions. There was something so painful about not being able to touch his magic. It made him wonder if Grisha felt the same.
Selecting a random statue to focus on, he lifted his head higher and glared at the god with cold eyes. “What good is a god when those that look to you are suffering? What better way to reach those that are hesitant to believe in anything than to reach in and help one that begs in silence for any assistance?” The words held venom so familiar to him that he flicked his ears back. If he wasn’t careful, it would be all too easy to become more like his sire than he planned.
“Do you see outside of your beloved realm? Do you care for those that cannot see you? Or would you rather let others suffer at the hooves of tyrants instead of caring? I had to protect Grisha… No one else cared to be there for us. The hard decisions, the pain that I had to endure to protect her from that bastard. No, I would never change the past. But why can’t someone screaming for help be important to a god?” He snapped as he dropped his gaze. A single tear slid down his cheek as he tried to understand, to make sense of the turmoil within his heart.
“I hold no resentment… not truly. But I can’t promise that I will align myself completely with one of you. What connection can I have with a statue that doesn’t even care for the sun and the moon. I am neither. No light belongs in my heart. I gave up the light long ago. I am the shadows, the darkness that can either soothe or harm. Perhaps in time I will be more deserving of the god’s care… All I ask is that you are there for Grisha. She will need some solace in this new world. Somewhere to belong.” He murmured, his words drifting away as he looked at the statues one last time before turning and descending the mountain once again.
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Notes: 790 words according to google docs <3
