Breim Plot 301: Letter by Dove

The room was still, candles flickering in each corner casting long shadows onto the tatami that covered the floor. Donagi released a heavy sigh, ears perked towards the sliding door waiting and listening for the voices that were sure to come. His pelt crawled with anxiety, shoulders tense as the silence seemed to drag on for hours. The stallion was sure only a few heartbeats of time had passed since he had last slid open the paper thin door, dark eye's peeking out into the garden just past the temple's wooden gates. 'no...' he thought, mind racing with possibilities for the upcoming gathering. 'Kaia has never let me down. She has willed this to come and come it shall.'


A soft ruff from behind broke the magi from his thoughts and with one last look at the door he turned to head back into the inner rooms. He could hear a light humming fill the air, quiet enough that only the stillness revealed its presence to him. The old wood floor creaked beneath his weight, each step drowning out the gentle tune until it stopped all together. His stomach twisted in his gut as the faithful stallion stood outside the room where Judith lay. He had not left her side since Kaia had surprised them both with her gift, not like the others that turned and fled what they could not understand. They were along here now, in the old building surrounded by trees but it was not so bad. The life of the dedicated had always been simple and quiet.

With a soft touch of magic, Donagi slid open the door to reveal his Priestess lying quietly on the futon he had so carefully laid out for her. Blankets draped her shoulders, covering her small figure in a way that dwarfed her even more. The tiredness in the mare eye's had yet to fade after the birth of her first foal but a smile still graced her lips as she lifted her head in welcome. Beneath the clothe, the impression of the foals sleeping form rested, pressed against her mother's belly.


Despite a hard labor, Judith had taken to motherhood with ease; instinct guiding her every move. With her Magi's help, the new mother had all but forgotten the differences that shimmered along her filly's back. 

A subtle knock sounded from the main room, causing Donagi to jump a bit with surprise. His momentary peace was now at an end and they would have to face the horses on Nariah if the young family was to move within the herd once again. 

Judith and Donagi

---

There was a nervous tickle in the air, one that had washed over the stallion with every heartbeat that passed. He could not help but pace for a moment before moving toward the door in the main prayer room. From outside he could hear the soft breaths of the visitors, each of them assuredly wondering why they were here. Quietly he stood, only but a reach away, hesitant as he thought about their plan. Judith had told him over and over again it needed to be done. That they simply could not hide in Kaia's Temple forever, hidden from the herd like cowards. Sooner or later someone would come, wither it be in need of a prayer or blessing, or simply to find out why the grounds lay abandoned. No, Judith would not allow that to happen. She had given herself, her whole self, to serving the Goddess. 

Flicking the anxiety off with a shake of the head, Donagi reached forward pulling the door open. He was sure his expression was somber but his worry kept him from dwelling on the details. Nodding to the guests, he motioned them inside letting his gaze come to rest on the cushions that were laid out on the floor. There was one for each of them, a small square pad used for the worshipers who stayed at lengths to pray. It was enough, as he assumed they would not need it for long. 

As the last of them entered the room, the Magi threw a quick glance to the courtyard to assure no one was left. On the far side, near the gate he spotted a figure whose curious gaze met his own. He did not recognize the face as one of the Priests or Priestesses of Nariah but then again not all of them had come. Perhaps they had sent a Magi in their place? But there was not time to contemplate the matter and from afar the stallion ushered the other in as well. 

Once everyone was settled, Donagi shut the door, careful not to make more than a click as the two wooden frames met upon closing. "I am sure you are all wondering why you were called here today..." his voice was gruff and quiet but still strong enough to be heard throughout the room. "But I can assure you this is a matter of great importance. One which all of you must be aware." He could feel their eye's on him now, touching his skin with curiosity and anxiety. Perhaps it was just best to show them.

"Priestess Judith will explain the rest to you, as it would be best to hear it from one of her standing. I shall retrieve her now." A simple bow released him from the room and slowly he walked back to the door the pony lay behind. 

"Miss Judith," a subtle pause was given before sliding open the door. The bundle beneath the blankets had moved, meaning the baby had awakened and none too soon. "They are ready for you."

~*~

Judith heard the hoof steps as they approached, lifting her head from the bedding that cradled her tired form. She felt Bea move against her belly, snuggling closer before repeating her motion of rocking into her side. The mare smiled as her filly whispered her name, feeling all to proud of the creature that lay beside her. "Hush baby, you are safe."


"Miss Judith."  She could feel her Magi's nervousness before he slid open the door, a feeling that had become all to familiar to her. "They are ready for you."


She felt a weight drop in her gut, leaning heavy against her baby's head  as the child pushed closer. She needed to be strong. She was the light for many looking for her Goddess's words of wisdom, a bridge between a world none could see. Carefully she rose, allowing the blanket to slip from her shoulders and onto the floor. Bea remained covered, the shiny blue bridge of her nose all that could be seen of her. "Bea, baby, there are others here who wish to greet you." Judith wondered if it was the right thing to say, wondered if that was the only reaction the others would give to her foal. No harm would come to Beatrice, that Judith was sure of. But could she protect her from the generations of fear that engulfed her herd's minds? "We must welcome our guests into the temple, into our home."


Allowing the filly to rise to her side, Judith slowly made her way out into and down the hall, into the prayer room where the others waited. This was the moment that would make or break the history of Breim. 

Haruka | Priest (Argus' Temple)

    Upon being invited inside Haruka, being the first to have arrived, was also the first to enter. He gave the room a quick sweep of his eyes before he seated himself down on a chosen cushion. A gentle sigh of relief escaped his lips at finally being seated. His ears twitched as Donagi spoke, but before he allowed his mind to swarm with more questions he bid himself to be patient. Misty eyes turned towards the other horses who had been summoned along with him. He recognized the red mare from the palace, his family's home, and the bay; Casius of Cascade's shrine. But there were a few here that he had trouble recognizing.

    At the sound of Judith's name the roan turned his attention back towards Donagi. The room was nearly as silent as the city outside and Haru couldn't help but feel a knot of anxiety twisting in his gut. The priestess' entrance into the prayer room brought some relief to him and he bowed his head in greeting, managing a small smile that suddenly faltered at the sight of the child at the mare's side. Haruka knew his sight wasn't the strongest and that it only worsened within each passing year, but his eyes couldn't possibly be deceiving him now. "Judith..." His soft voice broke the silence as he steadily pushed himself back up to his feet. On his face was an expression of awe that lasted only a moment before his narrowed brow transformed it into that of worry. "Please tell me that my eyes deceive me." The priest's words were whispered in order to escape the ears of the foal beside her. "That cannot be a kirin at your side." Haruka's eyes slowly widened as he perked his ears towards her. "How can this be?"

    Worry grew into fear. Kirins were a creation of Ignacio, the god of fire and flame. The reason for the war that forced Breim to seek refuge beneath the surface and away from the skies. After the fires in Nariah only three months ago, what sort of mockery was this that a child, a kirin nonetheless, would be born in the midst of such a time? To Haruka, this seemed nothing less than a terrible omen.

Word Count: 385 | Posts: 2

     Vasko had entered quietly, but was suddenly at odds with his surroundings as the temple opened before him in an unfamiliar way. This wasn't Argus' temple, but Kaia's!
Realization swung and hit him squarely in the chest - what was he doing here? How had he gotten so turned around in his travels? His mind began to race as his pace slowed. Dropping his muzzle close to the floor - something he did in all new places to avoid hitting the walls or a flight of stairs - Vasko followed the murky shapes of the others as he entered. Ears pricked upward for their best use, he now cautiously raised his head from the floor as they entered a larger room. The polite click of the door's closing turned one of his ears backward as the hoofsteps approached the small group. Vasko bowed his head as they passed him, a sign of respect.

    "I am sure you are all wondering why you were called here today... but I can assure you this is a matter of great importance. One which all of you must be aware." The gruff voice sounded burdened with something, the same way one would expect an old storyteller sitting around a fire to begin their tale.

Vasko glanced to those around him, trying to catch language cues in their stances. He could make out shapes that seemed just as curious as he was and noticed that some were resting near the ground, most likely on the mats placed in temples for some to pray. Vasko remained standing, carefully cocking a back leg and listening with patient interest in the events playing out around him.

    "They are ready for you."

More approaching hoofbeats found Vasko's head bowed low. Somehow, he had become a part of this special meeting of Priests and Priestesses. He understood that, now.
With his head low and ears up, he caught the tinkle of smaller hooves on the solid floor. A mother and a foal; they were introducing everyone to the newest member of the herd!
Excitement began to bubble in Vasko's mind as the hooves drew ever nearer and then stopped.

    This must be an extremely special occasion, if the priests and priestesses of Breim were welcomed, he realized.

But then, his joyful excitement hit a wall.

    "Judith... please tell me that my eyes deceive me."

Vasko's head snapped upward from the bow, eyes desperately trying to see what could possibly have led to such dread.
Staring blindly at blurry silhouettes, he managed to glimpse the small figure for just a moment. Light from behind hit the foal's shape and bounced off...

    "That cannot be a kirin at your side."

He stood stock-still, unsure how to react. His mind, ever turning, froze like a gear stuck within a broken clock. Time itself seemed to hang in the silence that surrounded the small party.

    The silence broke with the song-like voice of the bay mare. "May I approach Miss Judith?"

Vasko remembered to breath. He hadn't realized that he'd been holding it as the tension had thickened.
This was a kirin, surely, but the ones he had heard of were massive, strong creatures filled with fire and bloodlust.
The foal before them stood close to the mother's protecting form, as if timid.

    Had they scared a baby?

Suddenly ashamed by his jumping to conclusions, Vasko dropped his head to the little one, gazing at them with his star-filled blind eyes and waiting for the mother - Judith was her name - to respond to the mare's question. 
He would welcome this foal into the herd like any other - they were a Breimian, after all.

Clearly, there was something much larger happening around them, and the gods had something to do with it. Vasko trusted in Argus. He would keep them safe.

Word Count: 638
Post: 2

Haruka | Priest (Argus' Temple)

    The sudden scream from the little filly was all too much for Haruka's sensitive ears; which were accustomed to peaceful silence and the quiet sounds of temple life. He backed away almost instantly, ears turned back towards his rump as his pale indigo eyes watched the child dart back into the room she had just come from minutes before. Fear had his heart beating frantically in his chest. He didn't have enough time to see what it was that had frightened her, but Haru did know that her scream had been out of fear. Now his own had begun to subside and was instead replaced with guilt. Judith's daughter seemed like a skittish, jumpy little thing. How could he have gathered up such judgement on a young child as dear as this one?

    Haruka took a few steps forward from where he had retreated. His eyes searched through the individual blurs of the other equines within the prayer room before he sorted out a brown and white blur to which he familiarized as his fellow priestess. "What has frightened her?" He asked, misty gaze traveling from Judith to the others. But as his eyes searched his attentive ears were focused on something else entirely. His ears were picking up...sound, noise from outside all of a sudden. It was no longer silent.

    The priest's silver tail lashed behind him anxiously as he looked from one equine to another, his gaze favoring those whom he knew better. The silence had been broken. Haruka had been through this holiday many times in his life but never had he felt so uneasy on this sacred day. The child. Was what his mind whispered but his heart refused to hear it. "Something has happened..." it was murmured almost too quietly for anyone else to hear.

Word Count: 310 | Posts: 3

    Ears flattened against the sides of his head as the shrill, terror-filled squeal of the filly shattered the silence of the world.
It made his blood run cold and as icy fingers laced up through his veins, Vasko felt fear grip him suddenly.
The sound of a child's scream had never really graced his ears until now, and it hit him in a way he couldn't explain. His skin crawled as a small yelp left his own lips and he tucked his head inward, lifting his topline and flattening his tail to his body; the complete movement happening almost in a single moment.
Blind eyes wide with shock, he stared at what would be the floor as his ears picked up the tinkling sound of the filly's hooves as she fled at an awkward gait.

Vasko let out a breath and slowly felt his body relax, lifting his head to blindly take in the small congregation. Tension hung in the air around them now, thicker than it had been before.
He heard a voice to the left of himself apologize and picked up the word "We". It was then that Vasko became aware of a familiar's presence. He hadn't picked up a scent, however, and was suddenly curious at to what this mystery creature could possibly be.

    What would have scared a foal? He supposed it probably didn't matter much anymore now, as the deed was already done.

It was then that he became aware of a different sound. One that was outside of the small bubble of discomfort that held the group. A sound from outside.
    
    "Something has happened..."

The words made his blood freeze again, as Vasko realized he wasn't the only one to hear the commotion from beyond the walls of the temple. Had the filly's yelp broken the silence on the Day of the Wisps?

Word Count: 313
Posts: 3

Judith | Priestess 

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The mares ears flattened against her head as Bea let out a blood-curdling wail, a noise so defining it threatened to pierce through her skull. But just as quickly, the cry stopped followed by the clip of hooves against the floors as her daughter turned to run back to the safety of their room. Judith moved to follow her baby, longing to comfort her cries and sooth her fear, but would it have done any good?Beatrice was still afraid of the world and consciously the Priestess wondered if it was her fault for keeping her hidden for the first week of her life. She had not been prepared to be a mother, not in the slightest. It had merely been a thought for the future, possibly a dream she would have only longed for. But now, in the chaos Breim had fallen into, it was more than a surprise it was terror. 

Judith sighed, pulling back the step she had taken toward her child. A glance toward Donagi was all he needed to know what his job was and wordlessly he left the room to remain by Beatrice's side. "I am sorry," came Judith's reply to the stunned looks, pulling her gaze from the hall as the stallion disappeared. "She has always been skidish but I may have encouraged that. I was afraid to bring her out into the world, into Breim, so I hid her. She has known nothing but that room since she was born so I am sure the world is overwhelming now."  She smiled polity as Casius offered his help, a remedy that may calm the foals nerves. But a mother knew, no medicine would sooth this. Only time and patience would tell if Bea would be able to overcome her fears. 


Ear's perked as the others began to mention their worries about the outside and with some straining, Judith could hear the voices too. Her heart sank as Zahara spoke, her words cutting the silence and causing the Priestesses hooves to move across the room. Quickly she grabbed hold of the door, sliding it against it's worn groove only to hear the city of Nariah alive with worry. There was no wisp to be seen, no blue glow to shine against the cavern walls. They were all gone and Judith had a sneaking suspicion she knew why. 

A light whistle brought a dove from a nearby tree, a red ribbon tied around it ankle to indicate its messenger status. With haste, Judith grabbed a pen and scrap paper writing uneven scribbles against the fine fibers before tying it to the birds foot. "Bring this to Priestess Yuki at once," she commanded before sending the bird off. Perhaps they would have a clearer explanation of what had happened.

Cecillia | Royal family


Cecillia had started walking towards the priestess already when more of the conversation reached her ears and she stopped. A dove? She shuffled her hooves a bit, growing hopeful as the priestess announced them needing to come to another temple. Or well, the priestess needed to come and she was inviting them really. She shuffled after them as fast as she could, Aiko mindfull to guide her and not afraid to give a dissapproving to whomever dared not be carefull when coming too close to the cream unicorn. Cecillia's heart beat fast, remembering that it was Kaia's temple that priestess Judith resided in. It was the earth goddess who had blessed her. The effects were a little less impressive than she anticipated, but she was still gratefull. She hoped she would grow to master it like Sir Ozzer did. He had been able to sense the horses even though he could not see them at the time either.

She spent her time anticipating that the earth priestess would have answers, but was sadly disappointed as she heard they were expecting news from outside. She quickly placed the voice, nerves cracking at it's familiarity and her mouth opening to let out a waterfall of words: "Cousin 'Ru!" she called, moving to stand her trembling body in front of him. "There was a really loud noise, l-like something screamed and it was a scary scream and they said the wisps went away but I couldn't tell and something felt bad but I don't know what? Did Argus tell you anything? Is he mad? Is Kaia mad? They made the stone fall twice. I tried to be nice to them. I really did! Why are they angry?" Her rambling came to a halt, the filly breathing heavily and tears clinging to her eyes. She always had looked to her elders for guidance. If she had questions, they answered. If she needed guidance, they led. If she was scare, they soothed. But it seemed now they themselves had no answers and were lost about the situation. What was she supossed to do then?

Post 4 | 350 words