Dream Breaker
The Accursed
Prologue
Broken was the night when the quickening steps of a creature rips through the silent forest. Gallops are heard with the trotting of diamond-hard black hooves, impressing their shape as they are pounded into the damp trail, horn rising and falling with the movements of the creature. Dancing flames seemingly spilling from the creature’s neck and tail contrast with the black sky and the flitting flashes of the stars. With light extruding from the half-moon looming over the great forest, the cream colored fur of the horse-like creature glistens as the moisture in it responds to the eerie glow. The Rapidash runs with a clear purpose in mind; make the destination in time…or else.
Only just when the horse runs into a clearing can you see the burden on its back. A young woman slumps onto the Rapidash’s neck, face meeting flame yet not burning. Her slim, yet curved figure adjusts to every shape of the horse. She has strange, almost luminescent blonde hair falling neatly onto her face. Without taking a second look at her obvious weariness of her travels, you can see her regal features impressed onto her expression. Taking a closer look, ice crystals are beginning to form in her hair and eyelashes on this cold, winter night. Her shapely nose protrudes a little from her face and her full lips barely quiver as her teeth chatter inside her mouth. A silver tiara lays between her cupped hands, the blue gems shining malignantly, in an odd sense, upon contact with the moonlight.
Looking beneath her face, her tattered gown hangs just beneath the underbelly of the creature. Dull and ripping at most of the seams, an apparent bulge can be seen below her chest. The woman is definitely pregnant, and very close to delivery.
Behind the lady, another person’s figure can be seen. Husky and rather large, the Rapidash’s strength falters not despite the weight of the passenger. However, unlike the woman, he is awake; alert at every unusual sound and movement he senses in the wooded surroundings. Scruffy brown hair obscures his vision slightly, but his squinted eyes appear to have every intent of slaughtering whatever and whoever attempts to take a chance at the woman. One hand on the woman and the other on the abdomen of the Rapidash, the man stares forward, watching for something as his rugged leather skin clothes writhe in the wind.
The man pats the Rapidash, urging it onward. They have been together for a long time, apparently, and know the consequences if they make it to the destination too late. His brown eyes turn to the pregnant woman and a worrisome look crosses his face. The horse grunts and speeds up ever faster.
Very suddenly, a flare rises into the sky; a vast pillar of flame reaching its way to the stars as the man relaxes just a little. They’d made it. The blaze dissipates into a thousand glinting embers that fall back to earth as a dozen or more creatures appear from the sides of the forest. Several of them identical to the Rapidash, large horns and blazing manes with matching tails trot into a circle-shaped procession around our horse. However, some smaller versions of the Rapidash also were beckoned to the guiding party. They had identical flames to the larger horses, but were lesser in size compared to the others. Same cream colored fur and black, diamond-crushing hooves, they were known as Ponyta to humans.
The woman opened her eyes a bit and smiled at the sight of the creatures. She knew that they had made it after all their traveling. With a deft movement of her hands, she pushed the shining tiara off the back of the Rapidash and it fell onto the grass…at least for a split second until it was trampled into dust by the hooves of the fellow creatures. With one last look at the Ponyta and Rapidash, she turned to the man, gave him a smile and then to the Rapidash she was upon. She rubbed its neck affectionately and buried her face into its silky coat.
Thank you, Lirenion.
You’re welcome, mistress.
The procession marched into the night and into dense forest once more before disappearing all at once into a lit tunnel of trees and shrubbery.
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So, the debut of the prologue of my long in progess fic. Titled, a Procession to Infinity, the central setting would be a land set in medieval times, nearing the end of those however. This won't be following a certain timeline in our history, as some inventions will be introduced earlier, such as a gun later in the story. Keep in mind, this is not real world based.
Thoughts, critiques, advice would be greatly appreciated.