[I]Ridahne could feel the weight of the Sota-Sol's eyes on her like boulders, crushing her where she knelt. The woman was ancient by even elf standards and she had lost none of her razor sharp intensity and wit. Nor had she lost her wrath, which Ridahne was now feeling in earnest. Kneeling there on the marble floor, Ridahne began to doubt what she had seen; maybe it hadn't been a true vision but a dream born of all her fears and the last surges of anxiety before she passed from this world and finally met the Keeper. Maybe it was guilt? No, she thought with hard resolve. No, she did not feel guilty for what she'd done. It needed to be done. She was only sorry she had to be the one to do it. A new wave of determination flooded her and she looked boldly into her Stoa-Sol's dark amber eyes.

"I have no reason to lie to you, Sol. Not about this."
"Actually you have many reasons to lie, Torzinei," the ancient woman snapped, venom in her tone. "Such are the empty words of a soul condemned to die. And weightless from the likes of you, traitorous snake. Go now and await your death. It's all you deserve."
Ridahne cringed but steeled herself against the crashing wave that was her ruler, her leader. "I won't deny that. But I know what I saw. You of all people should know important the Great Tree is to all of Astra and it's currently worse than you ever imagined, Sol."
The woman's voice was a cold snarl of anger. "You presume too much, eija. You do not know your station and it is the reason you are here now. Do not speak to your Sol that way again."
Ridahne kept her head bowed and her voice cool and even, but even she trembled at the nerve of her next words. "My Sol has disowned me, I have none to command me nor stay my tongue." 

Ridahne heard the crack of a hand against her cheek before she felt its sting, and though it galled her and went against everything she knew, she stayed still. "War will come to your door, Sol, should she fail. And all of Azurei will burn and suffer if I don't go. Astra will fall into chaos and ruin. This isn't about me, it's about her. About this...seed bearer. Will you leave her to struggle alone, whoever she is?" When the Sota-Sol was silent, she continued, "Send me, Sol, and I will not return unless I fulfilled my purpose. If I never find her, I will remain in exile. If I return before fulfilling my purpose, kill me." 

The woman seemed to have lost some of her ire, though she did not regard the young elf kneeling on the floor of her palace kindly. For all her treachery, she had a point. The Tree mattered above all else. [/I]


Darin's words brought Ridahne out of an almost haunted reverie and she offered a ghost of a smile at Talbot's antics. "Really he's doing most of the work for you...he's a fine horse. But first and foremost you need to relax and move with him. Loosen your hips and let them sway with his body as he steps. Keep your back straight, like this," she demonstrated proper posture, making sure to point out just how much her torso pivoted on her hips, allowing her upper body to remain somewhat still instead of swaying from one side to the other.  

"And erm...typically with horses, you squeeze with your legs to go a little faster. The harder you squeeze, the faster they go. And usually to stop them you pull back on the reins but...Talbot is going to be a little different. Unless he is trained otherwise, the legs are still a good signal to speed up, but to be honest I don't know how to tell him to slow down without reins, not without knowing how he was trained or how he is. Same goes for giving him directions I...." she shrugged. "Tsura requires a lot of control but Talbot is different, you'll just have to experiment. Besides, I'm sure he responds differently to you than anyone else." Ridahne gave a little smile. "I'm not sure he would suffer me. As for posturing, I can help you there. You need to be comfortable on horseback. We'll be spending lots of time like that but also if you're ever pursued, you don't want to be thinking about how to ride. You want to just...do it. So you should practice galloping, cantering, trotting--everything. Daily." This last part was said firmly, like an instructor speaking to a student.