The constant wind across the plain streamed through the loosened tendrils of Rilana's silvery hair where it had come loose from her usual herringbone braid. Even now, in the height of summer, the stiff wind was cool where it blew off the glaciers to the north and east. The moon fey leaned forward, urging the horse beneath her to greater speeds, the heels of her soft boots barely touching his flanks. His hooves kicked up semi-circular clods of dry grass and black permafrost as he thundered towards the wall of rock and ice in the distance. But Rilana wasn't done with him yet. The Fjord-horse was stout and muscular, his white and black mane cut short so that it stood up from his neck in a wild mow-hawk. Rilana knew he could work for hours, would revel in the exertion, and needed the practice.
"Yee!" She cried, twitching the reign in her hand almost imperceptibly, yet the lead earned an almost instant reaction. The Fjord jerked his stocky head to the side and leaped high, changing direction with a controlled lashing of his hooves. He landed with a snort and took off the other direction, tail flying like a dark banner. "Hol!" Rilana called, twitching the other hand, and the tempestuous equid repeated the motion but back to the left this time. If Rilana had been any less of a horsewoman she would have easily lost her seat, but she kept her slender thighs firmly clamped to the animal's bare back. Her thin, pale brows furrowed in concentration over her glacial blue eyes, Rilana could see the horse's ears twitching back in her direction, attuned to her and waiting for the next command.
"Woa." Tugging both sides equally and leaning back, she reigned her mount in to a rapid stop, the horses hooves sliding slightly and leaving dark furrows in the earth. "Kick!" If they had been surrounded by surging enemies it was likely the gelding would have already added his hooves to the fray, but this was practice. Shifting his weight forward and arching his back, both dark legs pistoned into the air, enough force behind them to easily kill a man.
"Good," the moon fey said curtly in affirmation, using brief sounds of confirmation to let her student know that he had done correctly. She pulled one rein back towards her knee, tapping the horse on that same side with her heel. Neck arched slightly, tail swishing, the creature side-passed away from the tapping, firstly at a walk, then gaining speed as he moved sideways. Wanting to work both sides of the animal equally, Rilana repeated each task on the other side. The stretches sped by, the clear sky above them lightening as the sun rose up in the east. It was an important day for this particular horse, and Rilana wanted to make sure he was ready to be sold. Ready to do well and be a representative of not just the RimeFire ranch, but of her own skill as well.
At long last, the early-morning session complete, both of them breathing heavily on the long trot back to the city, Rilana glanced up at the mountains that seemed to rise sharply and almost suddenly from the flat plains. On clear mornings like these, when there weren't roiling snow-storms raging across the ice plateau above, she could actually see the colourful, glittering light of the sun as it refracted through the ice above. And even more stunning and beautiful were the carved spires and walls and bridges of ice and white stone that comprised the city of Frigmount itself.
Out on the plains she and the horse had been alone, but as the pair strolled back to the ice city, other figures moving around on the switchback road leading up to the mountains were easier to see. A pair of frost giants, each one dragging a cart behind him that two horses couldn't have pulled, paused their ambling tread to watch her go by. Glancing over to the laden wagons, Rilana noted twine-bundled furs and wooden crates, and guessed that they were bringing goods from the taiga forest just south of the plains. Seeing the brown and ginger summer pelts of rabbit, fox, and stoat served to remind Rilana that it had been a long time since she had spent a significant amount of time in the wilds. A flicker of guilt at abandoning her frostfell friends spurred her to reach down and pat the horse on the neck, a gesture that comforted her more than the beast. She then reached up to a silver chain that hung from her graceful neck, her pale fingertips caressing the incredibly detailed figure of a leaping gryphon.
The time Rilana had made the climb towards the city and turned off to take the ice bridge across a narrow chasm towards the small valley, the sun was high in the sky, and the ice and the granite rock around her sparkled in the light. The Druid didn't always feel comfortable in the ornate city, but she had to admit that it was beautiful. The valley was a patchwork of paddocks in the bright green grass, the shapes of dozens of the prize Fjord-horses either grazing lazily or being worked by other trainers in the round arena. Here and there, the dark green shapes of stalwart spruce stood out against the white and blue, taking advantage of tiny pockets of nutrient-rich loess that hadn't been blown away by the wind or washed away by the summer's melt-water.
Following the path that lead down into the ranch, Rilana's eyes scanned the ornate polished marble arch as she passed under it. In the Moon Fey language it read "RimeFire Ranch", but to most non-fey it was simply a pretty, albeit assymetrical, design. Out of the wind, the valley was almost warm, and Rilana's nostrils filled with the scent of dry stray and hay as she slipped from the horse's bare back and slid the metal bit loose from his mouth so that he could lead him into the barn and the long row of box stalls.
Just as Rilana tugged the supple leather bridle free of his head and let the horse prance into his stall, she heard the sound of soft footsteps scuffing over the straw-littered stone floor behind her. Turning, she found herself face to face with Lady Myra, the owner of the Ranch and one of the Elders on the city council. She was also Rilana's employer, and the Druid had nothing but respect for her.
Instead of greeting her right away, Lady Myra was looking down at a folded piece of thick vellum, its surface scrawled with black writing, a broken wax seal on one edge. The older woman's brow was gently furrowed into a frown, and she seemed to be lost in thought, even as she stopped in front of Rilana. Waiting with an eyebrow raised expectantly, Rilana couldn't help but grin as the steppe horse craned his neck out and rubbed his head up and down her back, nearly knock her off-balance.
The horse-trainer reached back to scratch the horse's ears, knowing that if she didn't fill his bowl with oats soon he would do more than just head-butt her. "Lady Myra," Rilana said calmly, encouragingly.
The woman looked up, her sea-green eyes blinking, somewhat startled. "Oh. Rilana. You're always here so early. How is Bruin coming along?" Together, the two lithe women turned to look at the horse, who swiveled his ears at them and seemed to be gazing mournfully, trying to convince them that while they socialized he was surely starving to death!
"I believe he is ready. He will make a fine addition to Lord Ferar's estate. I just needed your final approval before taking him to the other side of the city. And then, if you have no objections, I think it's time I visited my friends again. It has been several weeks since I saw Khona."
The older fey pressed her lips into a thin line, unable to deny the longing that Rilana was attempting to conceal under her casual tone. Hearing it only made what she was about to say more difficult. She gave a brief sigh and gave the letter in her hand a flutter.
"Bruin isn't going to the Ferar estate, 'Lana. I've received a letter from the Outside, all the way from Ebonfort. One of these southern Lords has requested as fine a Fjord as can be bought, and wants one sent before the middle of Mauven." She tried to keep her face passive, but looked sad, steeling herself for Rilana's refusal.
True to Myra's expectations, Rilana's pink lips parted with disbelief as she reached for the letter. It was extremely rude to take without asking, but Lady Myra relinquished it so that they could look at it together. In the silence, as Rilana read and Myra re-read the letter, it occured to him that neither of them had been outside the Frostfell lands claimed by the city, nor did they know anyone who had. It was somewhat strange, and neither of them were sure why it would be so. But the disconcerting feeling that something was off about the world, though it happened to both women simultaneously, was not something that they shared with each other.
"But, Lady Myra, surely if one of these southerners wants a horse they should have the decency to come and get him. And why should it be Bruin? We have others that are just as trained as he is..." She couldn't bare the thought of seeing her beloved Bruin being sent across the world, given into the hands of the brutish humanfolk of the warmlands. Glancing up at the horse, his muscles twitching as he watched her, she felt a loss.
Myra reached out and clasped the younger woman by her upper arms, a comforting gesture. "'Lana. You know you're the most skilled trainer I have. None of the war horses are as well trained as the ones you work with. It's been a long time since anyone actually heard from one of the souther cities, though I'm not sure why, and the Council thinks it wise to maintain a good relationship with them. And if this..." she had to check the letter again, "Lord Kharik...wants his gelding by mid-Mauven then you will have to leave soon. Who else do you think could make good time better than you?"
Rilana sighed, her small shoulders sagging under her suede jerkin, knowing that the journey would keep her away for months. Excited but also dreading the prospect of venturing into lands unknown. She turned her back on the other woman and carried a wooden bucket over the the oat stores to fetch Bruin his breakfast, trying to steel herself against what she knew she was going to have to do, trying desperately to see her way out of it. She wanted to refuse, but ultimately Bruin was not hers to decide his fate, and she didn't want to trust the task to anyone else.
The sweet smell of the oats filled the air as Rilana dumped them into Bruin's wooden trough, and she hung the bucket back on its hook with a wooden clatter. The horse danced forward in his stall and thrust his head into the trough, smacking happily at the meal. Rilana watched for a moment and then took a deep breath, deciding that regardless of how much she didn't like it, she would do her best to rise to the task. Perhaps some small part of her resonated with a thrill for the adventure, a self-respecting Druidess could hardly pass up the chance to see more of the wilds than ever she had before, but mostly she wanted to pay back Lady Myra for all her past kindnesses. And some stubborn part of her wanted to meet this human Lord herself.
"I will leave before first light," Rilana consented, unhappy but practical enough to be already making mental preparations for her first foray into the south. "I want to have time to see Khona before I leave." Lady Myra nodded, folding the letter and handing it to Rilana, who tucked it away into her leather clothing. "Thank you, 'Lana."
"You'll be well-paid upon your return. I'll have Ursal bring travel rations and some other things out here for you in the morning. Go with the wind, my dear. And try to get back before Winter comes. You know as well as I that the passes can be treacherous."
Rilana was watching Bruin eat, which didn't take long. Reaching out to a shelf on the front of the stall, she picked up a stiff brush and moved gracefully into the small space with the animal, closing the half-door behind her. Used to the presence of the nimble fey at his side, the creature shifted slightly and nickered, lipping at her hand in the hopes of a hand-out. With a pat on the horse's whithers, Rilana began to brush his pale golden fur with short, quick strokes, freeing the loose hair and steppe dust from his coat in small puffs that glittered in the sunlight filtering through the open windows. Distantly she was aware when Lady Myra left, her soft foot-steps growing quieter as the woman moved out into the paddocks to speak with the other fey and few chillborn who worked for her. Rilana didn't bother to say anything to her, even when she finally finished brushing Bruin until the horse nearly gleamed. There was nothing else to say.
"Yee!" She cried, twitching the reign in her hand almost imperceptibly, yet the lead earned an almost instant reaction. The Fjord jerked his stocky head to the side and leaped high, changing direction with a controlled lashing of his hooves. He landed with a snort and took off the other direction, tail flying like a dark banner. "Hol!" Rilana called, twitching the other hand, and the tempestuous equid repeated the motion but back to the left this time. If Rilana had been any less of a horsewoman she would have easily lost her seat, but she kept her slender thighs firmly clamped to the animal's bare back. Her thin, pale brows furrowed in concentration over her glacial blue eyes, Rilana could see the horse's ears twitching back in her direction, attuned to her and waiting for the next command.
"Woa." Tugging both sides equally and leaning back, she reigned her mount in to a rapid stop, the horses hooves sliding slightly and leaving dark furrows in the earth. "Kick!" If they had been surrounded by surging enemies it was likely the gelding would have already added his hooves to the fray, but this was practice. Shifting his weight forward and arching his back, both dark legs pistoned into the air, enough force behind them to easily kill a man.
"Good," the moon fey said curtly in affirmation, using brief sounds of confirmation to let her student know that he had done correctly. She pulled one rein back towards her knee, tapping the horse on that same side with her heel. Neck arched slightly, tail swishing, the creature side-passed away from the tapping, firstly at a walk, then gaining speed as he moved sideways. Wanting to work both sides of the animal equally, Rilana repeated each task on the other side. The stretches sped by, the clear sky above them lightening as the sun rose up in the east. It was an important day for this particular horse, and Rilana wanted to make sure he was ready to be sold. Ready to do well and be a representative of not just the RimeFire ranch, but of her own skill as well.
At long last, the early-morning session complete, both of them breathing heavily on the long trot back to the city, Rilana glanced up at the mountains that seemed to rise sharply and almost suddenly from the flat plains. On clear mornings like these, when there weren't roiling snow-storms raging across the ice plateau above, she could actually see the colourful, glittering light of the sun as it refracted through the ice above. And even more stunning and beautiful were the carved spires and walls and bridges of ice and white stone that comprised the city of Frigmount itself.
Out on the plains she and the horse had been alone, but as the pair strolled back to the ice city, other figures moving around on the switchback road leading up to the mountains were easier to see. A pair of frost giants, each one dragging a cart behind him that two horses couldn't have pulled, paused their ambling tread to watch her go by. Glancing over to the laden wagons, Rilana noted twine-bundled furs and wooden crates, and guessed that they were bringing goods from the taiga forest just south of the plains. Seeing the brown and ginger summer pelts of rabbit, fox, and stoat served to remind Rilana that it had been a long time since she had spent a significant amount of time in the wilds. A flicker of guilt at abandoning her frostfell friends spurred her to reach down and pat the horse on the neck, a gesture that comforted her more than the beast. She then reached up to a silver chain that hung from her graceful neck, her pale fingertips caressing the incredibly detailed figure of a leaping gryphon.
The time Rilana had made the climb towards the city and turned off to take the ice bridge across a narrow chasm towards the small valley, the sun was high in the sky, and the ice and the granite rock around her sparkled in the light. The Druid didn't always feel comfortable in the ornate city, but she had to admit that it was beautiful. The valley was a patchwork of paddocks in the bright green grass, the shapes of dozens of the prize Fjord-horses either grazing lazily or being worked by other trainers in the round arena. Here and there, the dark green shapes of stalwart spruce stood out against the white and blue, taking advantage of tiny pockets of nutrient-rich loess that hadn't been blown away by the wind or washed away by the summer's melt-water.
Following the path that lead down into the ranch, Rilana's eyes scanned the ornate polished marble arch as she passed under it. In the Moon Fey language it read "RimeFire Ranch", but to most non-fey it was simply a pretty, albeit assymetrical, design. Out of the wind, the valley was almost warm, and Rilana's nostrils filled with the scent of dry stray and hay as she slipped from the horse's bare back and slid the metal bit loose from his mouth so that he could lead him into the barn and the long row of box stalls.
Just as Rilana tugged the supple leather bridle free of his head and let the horse prance into his stall, she heard the sound of soft footsteps scuffing over the straw-littered stone floor behind her. Turning, she found herself face to face with Lady Myra, the owner of the Ranch and one of the Elders on the city council. She was also Rilana's employer, and the Druid had nothing but respect for her.
Instead of greeting her right away, Lady Myra was looking down at a folded piece of thick vellum, its surface scrawled with black writing, a broken wax seal on one edge. The older woman's brow was gently furrowed into a frown, and she seemed to be lost in thought, even as she stopped in front of Rilana. Waiting with an eyebrow raised expectantly, Rilana couldn't help but grin as the steppe horse craned his neck out and rubbed his head up and down her back, nearly knock her off-balance.
The horse-trainer reached back to scratch the horse's ears, knowing that if she didn't fill his bowl with oats soon he would do more than just head-butt her. "Lady Myra," Rilana said calmly, encouragingly.
The woman looked up, her sea-green eyes blinking, somewhat startled. "Oh. Rilana. You're always here so early. How is Bruin coming along?" Together, the two lithe women turned to look at the horse, who swiveled his ears at them and seemed to be gazing mournfully, trying to convince them that while they socialized he was surely starving to death!
"I believe he is ready. He will make a fine addition to Lord Ferar's estate. I just needed your final approval before taking him to the other side of the city. And then, if you have no objections, I think it's time I visited my friends again. It has been several weeks since I saw Khona."
The older fey pressed her lips into a thin line, unable to deny the longing that Rilana was attempting to conceal under her casual tone. Hearing it only made what she was about to say more difficult. She gave a brief sigh and gave the letter in her hand a flutter.
"Bruin isn't going to the Ferar estate, 'Lana. I've received a letter from the Outside, all the way from Ebonfort. One of these southern Lords has requested as fine a Fjord as can be bought, and wants one sent before the middle of Mauven." She tried to keep her face passive, but looked sad, steeling herself for Rilana's refusal.
True to Myra's expectations, Rilana's pink lips parted with disbelief as she reached for the letter. It was extremely rude to take without asking, but Lady Myra relinquished it so that they could look at it together. In the silence, as Rilana read and Myra re-read the letter, it occured to him that neither of them had been outside the Frostfell lands claimed by the city, nor did they know anyone who had. It was somewhat strange, and neither of them were sure why it would be so. But the disconcerting feeling that something was off about the world, though it happened to both women simultaneously, was not something that they shared with each other.
"But, Lady Myra, surely if one of these southerners wants a horse they should have the decency to come and get him. And why should it be Bruin? We have others that are just as trained as he is..." She couldn't bare the thought of seeing her beloved Bruin being sent across the world, given into the hands of the brutish humanfolk of the warmlands. Glancing up at the horse, his muscles twitching as he watched her, she felt a loss.
Myra reached out and clasped the younger woman by her upper arms, a comforting gesture. "'Lana. You know you're the most skilled trainer I have. None of the war horses are as well trained as the ones you work with. It's been a long time since anyone actually heard from one of the souther cities, though I'm not sure why, and the Council thinks it wise to maintain a good relationship with them. And if this..." she had to check the letter again, "Lord Kharik...wants his gelding by mid-Mauven then you will have to leave soon. Who else do you think could make good time better than you?"
Rilana sighed, her small shoulders sagging under her suede jerkin, knowing that the journey would keep her away for months. Excited but also dreading the prospect of venturing into lands unknown. She turned her back on the other woman and carried a wooden bucket over the the oat stores to fetch Bruin his breakfast, trying to steel herself against what she knew she was going to have to do, trying desperately to see her way out of it. She wanted to refuse, but ultimately Bruin was not hers to decide his fate, and she didn't want to trust the task to anyone else.
The sweet smell of the oats filled the air as Rilana dumped them into Bruin's wooden trough, and she hung the bucket back on its hook with a wooden clatter. The horse danced forward in his stall and thrust his head into the trough, smacking happily at the meal. Rilana watched for a moment and then took a deep breath, deciding that regardless of how much she didn't like it, she would do her best to rise to the task. Perhaps some small part of her resonated with a thrill for the adventure, a self-respecting Druidess could hardly pass up the chance to see more of the wilds than ever she had before, but mostly she wanted to pay back Lady Myra for all her past kindnesses. And some stubborn part of her wanted to meet this human Lord herself.
"I will leave before first light," Rilana consented, unhappy but practical enough to be already making mental preparations for her first foray into the south. "I want to have time to see Khona before I leave." Lady Myra nodded, folding the letter and handing it to Rilana, who tucked it away into her leather clothing. "Thank you, 'Lana."
"You'll be well-paid upon your return. I'll have Ursal bring travel rations and some other things out here for you in the morning. Go with the wind, my dear. And try to get back before Winter comes. You know as well as I that the passes can be treacherous."
Rilana was watching Bruin eat, which didn't take long. Reaching out to a shelf on the front of the stall, she picked up a stiff brush and moved gracefully into the small space with the animal, closing the half-door behind her. Used to the presence of the nimble fey at his side, the creature shifted slightly and nickered, lipping at her hand in the hopes of a hand-out. With a pat on the horse's whithers, Rilana began to brush his pale golden fur with short, quick strokes, freeing the loose hair and steppe dust from his coat in small puffs that glittered in the sunlight filtering through the open windows. Distantly she was aware when Lady Myra left, her soft foot-steps growing quieter as the woman moved out into the paddocks to speak with the other fey and few chillborn who worked for her. Rilana didn't bother to say anything to her, even when she finally finished brushing Bruin until the horse nearly gleamed. There was nothing else to say.
