Saerit has a minion!

Backup the Morosteed

The Night Mare

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You come to in a dark place...

You are aware that you are standing and little else. As you stare off into the void, you gradually begin to perceive the flat, scrubby grassland you've found yourself in, broken only by a deserted stretch of cobblestone road. Cobblestones? How odd. You can't recall being around cobbles much, if at all; but, then again, you can't seem to recall much of anything.

As you ponder this, a sounds falls upon your ears. A sort of gentle, far-off thudding. It is rhythmic, and somehow soothing, but all the same you feel yourself stiffen in instinctive fear.

The thudding nears, and with it comes a rumbling sort of accompaniment. But before you even have time to wonder at this new development, a strange and exciting phenomena occurs.

A misty sheen takes hold of the landscape, and a dark blur rushes into view. You realize the source of the sounds as it screeches to a halt right in front of you: a horse and carriage. The vehicle itself is unassuming enough (if one spends much time around such things). It is a high wheeled phaeton, black with fine silver trimmings and a canopy stretched taught over the velveted rear seats. You peer cautiously inside to find that both this bench and the tall driver's seat are devoid of life.

You glance at the horse, wondering what force brought it to this spot, and fall back in surprise.

The first thing you notice about the creature is its immense size. Huge and black, the mare looks at you with intelligence in her... red?... eyes. Do horses usually have red eyes? You can't seem to remember that, either.

She tosses her mane - an astounding feature in and of itself: impossibly long and wavy - and stomps a shining hoof against the stones below her. You look more and take in a healthy - if a little skinny - solid black Friesian mare, with feathered ankles and a prettily arched neck. She looks at you again and snorts.

It is then that you realize she wears neither bridle nor tack of any kind. No traces or reins reach to her from the carriage. How strange! But she looks impatient, and you feel drawn somehow to join her on this journey.

Carefully, you step into the phaeton, trying to decide between the bench cushions or the drivers chair. You decide on the latter, but before you can take your seat, the horse takes off, and you are thrown onto the bench with great force.

Oddly, you feel no pain. Only excitement for the ride ahead.

Scenes pass before you, taking over the grasslands with their light. They are of you life, played at hyperspeed as you race through the void. As the memories come rushing back, good and bad, one last time, the mit thickens and the visions draw to a close.

You feel yourself pass over a kind of threshold.

The carriage slows. Everything slows. The world fades into nothingness... and peace.

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premade profile by Chen
art by septemderon
background from tumblr user
story by Ryou