Revelation (Solo)

[Vanator]

Timestamp: 19th Day of Fall, 510AV Location: Endrykas, outside the Denusk Pavilion Vanator stirred from a restless sleep. Eyes cracking open, he could see the prone forms lying around the dying fire. Shifting, he realized some merciful soul had brought furs from the pavilion to cover the sleeping men. Van's cousins had insisted on a few drinks to celebrate his pending nuptials. His kin had enjoyed more than their share of ale from a pilfered cask intended for the next day's celebration. The groom had nursed his mug instead, having no desire to go through the ceremony with a splitting headache and dry mouth. Now his brethren lay about the fire in a drunken slumber, snoring and farting like swine. Sitting up, Vanator hugged the warm fur about him. He felt a sudden compulsion to visit a friend, one that, since the announcement of Kashik's pregnancy and the preparation for the wedding, had not received much attention. Still wrapped in the hide, Van stood and slipped away from the fire. The cold night was quiet, only the bark of a stray dog and the low of a startled Zilba drifting on the crisp air. By Leth's pale light the Drykas made his way to the Pavilion's herd of Striders, calling softly to Backlash. In short order the buckskin mare appeared, quickly trotting to her companions side. Rider and mount nuzzled, the Strider pressing her head against the horeseman's face. "I am so sorry, things have been so hectic. I miss my time with you." He stroked the horse's forelock lovingly, then looped his arm under her neck in a hug. Backlash nickered softly as if in agreement. "It is time for our family to grow, Khiara will join us, and then there will be Kashik's and my baby." He grinned at the horse. "I want you to be the first Strider our baby sits on, is that alright with you?" Vanator laughed softly, combing his fingers through her long black mane. Then Backlash did something she had never done before. Gently lifting her head, she carefully took the end of one of Vanator's braids between her teeth and tugged at it. Van chuckled again, pulling the hair from her mouth. But the mare repeated her odd tugging. It was deliberate and more pronounced the second time. Van again pulled his braid from the horses teeth, slightly annoyed. But the feel of his hair being pulled drudged up a memory, a small recollection that touched on a deeper emotion. A sharp seizing sensation suddenly grabbed Vanator's heart as he remembered the source of that familiar feeling. Tamar used to tug at his braids teasingly, her playful way of saying yes without actually saying it.

[Vanator]

A cascade of memories over the past few years came next, small remembrances that seemed insignificant at the time. Backlash miraculously finding Hex deep in the Sea and bringing his friend back to him as he lay injured. Countless equine signs of affection, knowing nods and derisive snorts, acceptance and rejection of certain women. Vanator had always suspected that the soul of some lost relative resided in the vibrant mare, a phenomenon not unheard of among the Drykas and their Web-connected mounts. He had never pursued the suspicion, almost afraid to discover it if were true. But now, suddenly, his curiosity was piqued and his heart thrummed at the possibility he now considered. He had to know if it was....her. Glancing around, the tent city a quiet ghost town at that late hour. His eyes met the moonlit gaze of the buckskin horse. Her large brown eyes were always soft with compassion and twinkling with intellect. The Drykas lowered himself to sit in the grass next to her, closing his eyes and trying to subvert the pounding of his heart and the turn in his gut. Concentrating, his mind's eye perceived his connection to the Web, and them, so close to him, Backlash's strand of thread that linked her to the djed network as well. She had always been nearby as he worked his webbing skills, but the distracted webber never paused to examine her image in that state, she was just...there. Now, he focused on the Strider, reading the detail in fluctuations and ethereal data he had learned to decipher. Several chimes he studied the horse's magical avatar, until he suddenly saw it. It was there...she was there. Unmistakable indications of someone he had lovingly studied over and over again. Tamar's essence was laced through that of his beloved Strider. His eyes caressed the information as if his djed-gaze could express affection. His own web-form was nearly overwhelmed, longing to draw closer, to find a way to entangle itself with the being of his lost wife that inhabited the horse's djed form. For countless moments he lingered, basked in seeing his wife, a part of her very much alive within the horse's djed. He wanted to stay, to find a way to be with her, but he couldn't. The temptation was growing too strong and with great regret and much effort, Vanator withdrew from the shimmering Web to return to his chilled physical body. His body quickened with a gasp. Instantly his heart beat frantically, his breath seizing in his lungs. He looked at Backlash wide-eyed, fully realizing what he had just seen. His arms wrapped around the mare's strong neck and he pressed his face against her long face. "I didn't know, I didn't know." He repeated softly, apologetically to the Strider. Again a flood of memories of all that had happened showered over him, understanding now that Tamar was with him all along. Then, for the first time since the day he found his wife dead, Vanator wept.