Solira: The Ocean: I will always be there looking over your shoulder

alone I walk the winding way
it's over, no longer, I feel it growing stronger
I'll live to die another day, until I fade away
why give up, why give in...it's not enough, it never is
so I will go on until the end

- Breaking Benjamin, "until the end"

I could not sleep in the forest, not with the likes of that…that creature wandering about. Yes, creature…he looks like a horse that is true but I can not bring myself to think of him as one, there is something very wrong about him. He does not frighten me by any means but I can not trust him. Slumber leaves one with all defenses down even for a light sleeper such as myself and I do not like to surrender to dreams in a place where I can not feel at least marginally secure. Part of that insecurity stemmed from his presence and the possibility of others like him while the rest came from the forest itself, I have never liked being that closed in. At any rate I did learn some little bit about these lands of Legend from the surly and anti-social Severus creature. He gave the distinct impression that he had no intention of telling me anything but I am not stupid, in fact I am quite clever if I do say so myself, and was able to glean tidbits of information from his blunt statements and half truths.

So it is that the darkest hours of the night find me making my way towards the only region that struck me as at all hospitable. That forest was the last place I intended to take up residence, the heat of the desert would drive me insane, I am not interested in mountainous terrains and that leaves only the seaside. In all honesty I would just as soon not stay in these parts, or any parts for that matter, at all but an odd thing has come over me ever since I crossed the boundary. Anytime that I so much as think of leaving them a wall seems to form around me preventing progress in any direction and remains until I let go of that apparently offensive thought. Yet another strange happening that I can not explain, there appears to be no end to such occurrences in this place. Well, if I can not leave then I can not leave and I might as well make the best of it.

Long strides at last carry my liver stained figure out into the open and grassy expanse running down to cliffs, beach and the ocean. The smell of salt assails my nostrils but I suppose it is not so bad a smell as to be intolerable, after a time I likely wont even notice it. A glance at the sky shows a spattering of stars in between thickening clouds and I decide that I had better get some sleep before a storm sets in making that endeavor impossible. Moving cautiously out into the field until I am about half way between the tree line and the beach I settle myself into a comfortable stance, my head beginning to droop, my eyes to close and the fogginess of half-sleep to set in. Just before dreams take over the sound of youthful voices intrudes.

Wide awake again I decide to investigate. The wind must have carried those voices far, an emphasis on the silence of this night, for I am upon the sands before I see hide or hair of the culprits. Standing back an acceptable distance I survey the situation not failing to note the figure of the mare standing down the beach aways. The group is composed of a colt who is still young enough that his legs are too big for his body and two adolescents one male the other female. It is clear to me by the way the the latter two move together that they are well acquainted. It is clear also by their likeness to snakes in the grass that they are planning some sort of mischief, a mischief that this unfortunate colt will be the victim of. With my curiosity satisfied I would normally move on about now but two things hold me to the spot, one being that I like children. The second reason is the strongest however, there is no likeness between this colt and my son aside from age and yet seeing this boy brings images of Billis flooding into my mind.

The accusation of the elder two reaches my ears followed by the response of the younger ringing with uncertainty and confusion. Murder indeed! What a thing to accuse one so young of and over what? A crab! I can not repress a derisive snort at this absurdity. There are those who would deem all life sacred and any act of defiling it murder, I am not one such. That is not to say I encourage murder, though I have done my share, just that my definition is not so broad. It is the way of the world for the weak (the crab) to fall pray to the strong (the colt)…a perfectly natural occurrence for the minuscule to be crushed beneath the immense. Maybe it is not right, or entirely moral but it’s the way of things and I would not title the boy a murderer for what he just did.

Unable to remain silent any longer I advance on the three moving around to stand behind and to the side of the youngest. “Being one myself I would hardly call him a murder.” The words are directed to the elder two and then I turn my attention to the colt. “It is not something to aspire to boy.”

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Call me JANTZ for that is my name. Watch out for my 16.2hh, dark LIVER CHESTNUT coated person for I have the potential to be deadly. Trust what I know for I have spent SEVEN long years learning it. The blood of DON, GRONINGEN, TRAKEHNER, MUSTANG, ARABIAN & FRIESIAN runs in my veins. Do not ask the names of my parents for I remember them not. Look for me in SOLIRA under the heading of TRAVELER, know my class as ESPIONAGE within which I hold the rank of NONE and mark my element as UNLEARNED. Tie my heart strings to LOCHSME until the day I die and trace my blood down to BILLIS & RONDI. My strings are pulled by the beautiful TZARRA who should be credited with both my creation and my words.