"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
Once Loka answers his question he turns to her, an encouraging smile upon his gray lips. Yet he cannot help but of feel a bit bad, like he’s luring a trusting and unknowing girl into a trap. He doesn’t mean to, not at all. His intentions are good, but it just seems like she doesn’t understand where she commits herself too. Off course she could leave again, if the icy Tundra wasn’t what she is looking for, but Brynmor hopes she will stay. They needed the company of mares, although Brynmor isn’t sure if any of the warriors would admit that out loud. ”Life in the Tundra is hard, you’ll get used to it, but it is something you should know.” It is the same thing as Hurricane had told him when he had joined years ago. He survived, even though he had been blind. They adapted to the coldness and the Tundra had become home.
”A woman’s life in the Tundra is comparable to the life of a woman in a herd. In the Tundra only men hold the ranks, but that doesn’t mean we don’t welcome the company of females. I would gladly lead you home, dearest Loka” he replies her. The same pleasant smile is upon his lips. And after bidding Phaedrus goodbye he turns back to the golden and white mare, inviting her to follow him along.
Brynmor keeps their pace low, not wanting to rush and tire her. His blue eyes move towards her from time to time, curious to see how she would take in all this new environment. She was new to the lands of Beqanna, he was sure of that, as she smelled different. ”The Tundra’s lands are covered with snow during most of the time of the year, but you’re lucky. Right now the lands are green because of the summer, yet it’s colder than in the other lands.” He starts to tell her, wanting Loka to know how the things are like in the Tundra. ”Hurricane is our king and right now there aren’t that much habitants, but it’s something that we will hopefully change soon. There are other mares too, Roan and Oona, I hope you’ll get along with them.”
Then the ice wall dooms up for them and Brynmor turns to look at Loka with a smile upon his lips. ”That is our southern border. The ice is magical, it doesn’t melt during the summer days while the snow has long disappeared” he is grinning slightly when he speaks, picking up the pace as he is eager to get home faster now. Brynmor feels at home there very much and although it had been hard when he had been blind, it’s the first and only home he had ever known.
”Welcome to the Tundra, Loka” he says when the pass through the only hole in the wall. It was the only entry to the Tundra – except for those who support wings of course.
After saying a farewell to Phaedrus, Loka began to listen to all Brynmor had to say. It was true that she was worried, a bit scared of course, but only because she had never done anything like this before. She was raised naive and never had the chance to see for herself how brutal the world could be, but she hoped the Tundra would removed her innocence. As Brynmor explained that she would hold no ranks, she felt slight disappointment. However the way Brynmor clearly felt of the Tundra made her eager and rushed to see it, because he clearly felt strongly about his home. More then anything Loka hoped to feel that way about the Tundra, and to find herself falling in love with cold air and icy walls he talked about.
The grey stallion's pace was slow and steady, which she was used from her long distance travel. Although she didn't know how far away the Tundra was, she suspected it to be a long ways away. A land covered in snow must be far away, right? Also, this Hurricane stallion that ruled the land, would he be kind? Would she be accepted? She kept those questions to herself, and decided that she'd find out soon enough.
Another growing curiosity of Lokas was of Brynmor's past, and how he had found himself in Tundra. Yet she kept her mouth shut and let Brynmor's words fill the air, because after all, his past was none of her business. "I'm sure Roan and Oona are very kind, and perhaps more horses will come to the Tundra later" She commented when he spoke of the mares, although her words were more of hopes then statements. Her imagination took hold of each word Brynmor said, and she added, "I'll get used to the cold, and I've always been fond of snow." Her heartbeat speed up as she saw the walls of the Tundra in the distance, and she felt Brynmor's pace quicken, so she matched his. Glancing at Brynmor, she whinnied in amazement, "Brynmor, I've never seen ice like that, it truly is magnificent."
On Brynmor's welcoming words, Loka felt a shiver of wonder fall down her pale spine, and her eyes widened as she entered into the Kingdom.
Well, it was true that mares held no rank in the bachelor kingdom, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have a task. To state it brutally; they had to bring children into the world and raise them together with the brothers to become the new generation. Other than that the warrior man could use the companionship from females from time to time, or at least, Brynmor did. Yet he didn’t really knew how to explain this all to Loka without making her feel like a common whore. Because she wouldn’t be, but how to explain such a thing?
The Tundra wasn’t the most fancy kingdom around, with snow covered plains and little vegetation and shelter. But it was home. And it was a good home. Maybe a little harsh, but nothing to not get used to. And on top of that Hurricane had been the only one who had wanted to take the blind man in.
The graying male turns his head a little to look at her with a smile. ”I certainly hope so. Although our numbers are growing, it’s still too quiet for my liking” he replies her, ears pricking forward. She’s kind hearted and seems just as enthusiastic about the place as he is, which was good. Brynmor knew that Roan would stay, but he was unsure if Loka and Oona would do the same, he hoped so though. ”If you like the snow and the cold, I don’t think you’ll have trouble to get used to it at all.”
He can only grin and step back to look at her, knowing all too well how the wall of ice had surprised him when he had first seen it. ”I know, it really is. And it keeps those who don’t belong here out.” His voice is laced with a bit of humourism, finding his own joke quite funny. But it was sort of true. Nobody would enter the Tundra without knowing you passed its border, there was no way that anybody would miss the giant ice wall.
Giving her a little while to look around calmly he positioned himself in a comfortable spot. Brynmor dug his nose through the snow, pushing it away to reach the frozen grass underneath it. Not the best meal, but tasty anyway. Looking up at the golden and white mare he nickers softly. ”Shall we continue?” he asks gently, nudging her shoulder softly, before he turns around to walk towards the middle of the kingdom, towards the caves.
