Date: Fall, Day 04, 511 AV
The wind blew across the moonlit sea, sparkling ripples of rain-soaked grass lighting up like a million blue fireflies in the light of Leth. The sky was a dark blue, the stars shone like blue-white fire, the grass appeared a pale blue compared to the shimmering golds and greens that Syna’s light brought. There was not a cloud in the sky, and yet the land bathed in the rain that fell from the nothingness of the sky, as if Leth were crying on the world, as if his light was melting into the gentle shower that fell. Wave upon wave came across the surface of the grass, driven by the wind. It truly was an inland ocean, this Sea of Grass. The pounding of the rain mixed with the thumping pound of heart beats, hoof beats, the sound of a herd of wild horses crossing the plains. In the middle of it all stood one feminine figure, bathing in the light of Leth, the tears that he seemed to shed.
In the middle of it all, it was Caoin who stood, adorned in a simple navy blue dress that hugged her figure tightly before billowing out around her pale legs. Her long brown hair, what of it that wasn’t clinging to her skin as tightly as her soaked dress, whirled about her. The starlit beads of rain that found her flesh gathered on her skin, until gravity pulled them down towards the soil below her, leaving trails along her body. Her head was tilted back, her face exposed to the sky, her arms raised at her side. She was spinning, dancing, the billowing bottom of her dress flowing around her like rippling water. Her lips pressed together in the faintest of smiles, parted and soft laughter spilled forth. The tips of her fingers stretched out, brushing against the grass around her, and then she wasn’t touching grass anymore, but a soft, velvety fur.
The pounding of the running horses was all around her now, a herd of them circling her. Striders, the horses of her people. The horses that were the spirit of her people, their life and blood, their ancestors. Caoin’s gaze left the night sky above her and as she danced, she stared at the horses who circled her, her fingers brushing the coat of each as it passed by her. She stared into the gentle eyes of each beast as it galloped by her, eyes with burning points of fire in them, a flame that she could only imagine represented the life of the Endyrkas people, the life that she felt driving her to dance.
Liath, her own dun strider, was there. Eoachan, the mare that had claimed her brother before his death. Her father’s strider, her mother’s. Striders she didn’t know, striders belonging to people she had never met, striders who had long since passed. All of them circled once before galloping off through the grassy sea, fading into the grass like ghosts. Their hooves pounding against the earth, Caoin moved to the pulsing sound, her heart beat with theirs and she danced to that beat. Her legs began to move, carrying her long as she started to run along with the stampeding striders, spinning and dancing around them, between them, her body moving through their bodies. She could smell the sweet scent of the grass and the rain. She could smell the sweat of the horses as she moved amongst them, and her own sweat, all of it mixing with the rain that trailed down their bodies, falling into the grass and dirt at their feet.
The cool wet of the muddied ground felt good against her bare feet each time they met the earth. Running with the striders, her hair whipped wildly as her body twisted and turned in a dance as free as the spirits that ran with her. Caoin laughed, she cried tears of joy, and she danced across the grassy blue sea.
MizNo Word Count661
The wind blew across the moonlit sea, sparkling ripples of rain-soaked grass lighting up like a million blue fireflies in the light of Leth. The sky was a dark blue, the stars shone like blue-white fire, the grass appeared a pale blue compared to the shimmering golds and greens that Syna’s light brought. There was not a cloud in the sky, and yet the land bathed in the rain that fell from the nothingness of the sky, as if Leth were crying on the world, as if his light was melting into the gentle shower that fell. Wave upon wave came across the surface of the grass, driven by the wind. It truly was an inland ocean, this Sea of Grass. The pounding of the rain mixed with the thumping pound of heart beats, hoof beats, the sound of a herd of wild horses crossing the plains. In the middle of it all stood one feminine figure, bathing in the light of Leth, the tears that he seemed to shed.
In the middle of it all, it was Caoin who stood, adorned in a simple navy blue dress that hugged her figure tightly before billowing out around her pale legs. Her long brown hair, what of it that wasn’t clinging to her skin as tightly as her soaked dress, whirled about her. The starlit beads of rain that found her flesh gathered on her skin, until gravity pulled them down towards the soil below her, leaving trails along her body. Her head was tilted back, her face exposed to the sky, her arms raised at her side. She was spinning, dancing, the billowing bottom of her dress flowing around her like rippling water. Her lips pressed together in the faintest of smiles, parted and soft laughter spilled forth. The tips of her fingers stretched out, brushing against the grass around her, and then she wasn’t touching grass anymore, but a soft, velvety fur.
The pounding of the running horses was all around her now, a herd of them circling her. Striders, the horses of her people. The horses that were the spirit of her people, their life and blood, their ancestors. Caoin’s gaze left the night sky above her and as she danced, she stared at the horses who circled her, her fingers brushing the coat of each as it passed by her. She stared into the gentle eyes of each beast as it galloped by her, eyes with burning points of fire in them, a flame that she could only imagine represented the life of the Endyrkas people, the life that she felt driving her to dance.
Liath, her own dun strider, was there. Eoachan, the mare that had claimed her brother before his death. Her father’s strider, her mother’s. Striders she didn’t know, striders belonging to people she had never met, striders who had long since passed. All of them circled once before galloping off through the grassy sea, fading into the grass like ghosts. Their hooves pounding against the earth, Caoin moved to the pulsing sound, her heart beat with theirs and she danced to that beat. Her legs began to move, carrying her long as she started to run along with the stampeding striders, spinning and dancing around them, between them, her body moving through their bodies. She could smell the sweet scent of the grass and the rain. She could smell the sweat of the horses as she moved amongst them, and her own sweat, all of it mixing with the rain that trailed down their bodies, falling into the grass and dirt at their feet.
The cool wet of the muddied ground felt good against her bare feet each time they met the earth. Running with the striders, her hair whipped wildly as her body twisted and turned in a dance as free as the spirits that ran with her. Caoin laughed, she cried tears of joy, and she danced across the grassy blue sea.
MizNo Word Count661
