Shadowmere
09-10-2025, 01:05 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-10-2025, 01:07 PM by Shadowmere.)
I’ve bled for less, for sure, then best…
Another day passes with no sign of equine life, aside from the shapeshifter that wandered the clearing. Her only loyal offspring. She looked to him, framed against the morning sky overlooking the cliffside toward the sea, her pride blooming in her chest. What a fine stallion he grew to be…unlike my other bastard children…, she thought to herself bitterly. Of course she thought the worst of all of them, claiming their betrayal of her rather than realizing they escaped her abuse. She snorted and shook her scarred head, freeing the thoughts of her prior kin from her mind and focused on another task that needed her full attention, growing the kingdom.
She knew it couldn't be just she and Havelock. They needed more bodies…more souls to stoke the fires of the Chamber's dying embers, and set the world ablaze with their power as a kingdom as they once had in centuries past. She took one last look toward the far side of the moorlands to Havelock's distant silhouette and set off toward the tree line. The dark queen shivered as a cold wind swished through the pine boughs and cut straight through her fine coat to her skin. ”Curse this damn coat of mine…”, she spat like a perturbed feline. She could not wait to make it to the meadows' warmth and possibly find some willing victims to lure back to the Chamber.
She took her time, each step with her front leg stinging delightfully, still healing from her sacrificial slice at her fetlock. Pain was nothing more than a thrill for the dark mare, and she reveled in the aura of night that now glimmered and pulsed around her. It felt like she had a cape of night stars, all she needed was a crown. Suddenly a rustle sounded above her, one of which she had heard every day since coming to the pine laden land. She stopped in her tracks, snow creaking under hoof as her weight settled into snowy path, and looked up to scan the treetops. Nothing…she shook her head and continued on for a few more steps before the rustle happened again. This time, before she could raise her horned head to look above her, something black crashed down upon her face, croaking and flailing with a mad fury as black iridescent feathers flapped over her eyes and sharp claws scraped the curved bridge of her nose. Shadowmere reared back, a loud squeal piercing the frigid air in a coil of steam, and shook her head violently. As quickly as it came, it righted itself and flapped up in front of her face, glassy black eyes surveying her with curiosity as it settled itself on a nearby branch. ”HELLS! Damned stupid bird…you're lucky you managed to right yourself, or else I'd have pitched you to the ground and crushed your puny skull…”, she snorted with annoyance and turned away from the large bedraggled looking bird but it only let out a gruff caw and followed her, soaring from branch to branch and showering her with pine needles. ”DAMN IT BIRD! WHAT DO YOU WANT OF ME!?”, she squealed and struck her hoof to the ground with irritation. How was she supposed to think with this damned creature following and disturbing her so. He must have been the same raven she heard cawing every morning, though she was unsure of why he insisted on following her around since she came back to the Chamber.
The raven only stared at her a moment before letting out a deep and grumbley “gwow” sound and flew off into the trees before returning with something clutched in it's talons. ”Hm? What in the hells are you doing, bird!?”, she said as it landed upon one of her horns and placed something sharp on her brow. The pain caused a delightful tingle across her forehead and she whirled on her haunches to plow through the snow drifts towards the river. Peering down, the raven flapping haphazardly off of her horn as it lost its balance, she took in her reflection on the glassy surface of the river. A crown of thorns? She huffed a gnarled laugh, as she looked up to the raven that was now perched on a branch close to her. ”You must be a mind reader…I guess this will do..”, she was about to keep speaking when the raven croaked its strange “gwow” again and flapped off toward the direction it went for the crown of thorns. She waited, curious now, for it to return. And it did. This time with four gleaming rib bones, two clutched in each clawed foot. It settled upon her horn again and she felt it plucking around atop her head before it flapped away again with a loud “CAW!”. She looked down to see the four bones curving up to frame the front of her horns and she smiled, this wasn't looking too bad…again she could hear the raven returning, as it flapped through the pines clumsily before landing on her horn once again. She felt it fiddling, the sound of bone clinking in her ears a delightful song. The bird let out a satisfied “gwow”, and flapped to the branch ahead of her once more, dipping its head low. She took another look in the river's surface to see the crown complete, a raven skull placed in the center of the curved rib bones, bordered by the tangled bramble branches that pierced into her brow. Her lips curved into a wicked smile as she admired her new crown, and drew her head up to regard the bird once more. ”So, bird. I guess your presence isn't too bothersome. How would you like to keep me company?”, she said, a slight ping of….whimsy? That stung her heart as the bird shook its patchy feathers and seemed to nod at her before it hopped to the end of the branch and took off to perch upon her horn again. Guess I have a loyal companion now, seeing as he crowned me himself…, she thought to herself as she turned to head back to the main path, continuing her trek to the meadow with her new companion in tow.
She knew it couldn't be just she and Havelock. They needed more bodies…more souls to stoke the fires of the Chamber's dying embers, and set the world ablaze with their power as a kingdom as they once had in centuries past. She took one last look toward the far side of the moorlands to Havelock's distant silhouette and set off toward the tree line. The dark queen shivered as a cold wind swished through the pine boughs and cut straight through her fine coat to her skin. ”Curse this damn coat of mine…”, she spat like a perturbed feline. She could not wait to make it to the meadows' warmth and possibly find some willing victims to lure back to the Chamber.
She took her time, each step with her front leg stinging delightfully, still healing from her sacrificial slice at her fetlock. Pain was nothing more than a thrill for the dark mare, and she reveled in the aura of night that now glimmered and pulsed around her. It felt like she had a cape of night stars, all she needed was a crown. Suddenly a rustle sounded above her, one of which she had heard every day since coming to the pine laden land. She stopped in her tracks, snow creaking under hoof as her weight settled into snowy path, and looked up to scan the treetops. Nothing…she shook her head and continued on for a few more steps before the rustle happened again. This time, before she could raise her horned head to look above her, something black crashed down upon her face, croaking and flailing with a mad fury as black iridescent feathers flapped over her eyes and sharp claws scraped the curved bridge of her nose. Shadowmere reared back, a loud squeal piercing the frigid air in a coil of steam, and shook her head violently. As quickly as it came, it righted itself and flapped up in front of her face, glassy black eyes surveying her with curiosity as it settled itself on a nearby branch. ”HELLS! Damned stupid bird…you're lucky you managed to right yourself, or else I'd have pitched you to the ground and crushed your puny skull…”, she snorted with annoyance and turned away from the large bedraggled looking bird but it only let out a gruff caw and followed her, soaring from branch to branch and showering her with pine needles. ”DAMN IT BIRD! WHAT DO YOU WANT OF ME!?”, she squealed and struck her hoof to the ground with irritation. How was she supposed to think with this damned creature following and disturbing her so. He must have been the same raven she heard cawing every morning, though she was unsure of why he insisted on following her around since she came back to the Chamber.
The raven only stared at her a moment before letting out a deep and grumbley “gwow” sound and flew off into the trees before returning with something clutched in it's talons. ”Hm? What in the hells are you doing, bird!?”, she said as it landed upon one of her horns and placed something sharp on her brow. The pain caused a delightful tingle across her forehead and she whirled on her haunches to plow through the snow drifts towards the river. Peering down, the raven flapping haphazardly off of her horn as it lost its balance, she took in her reflection on the glassy surface of the river. A crown of thorns? She huffed a gnarled laugh, as she looked up to the raven that was now perched on a branch close to her. ”You must be a mind reader…I guess this will do..”, she was about to keep speaking when the raven croaked its strange “gwow” again and flapped off toward the direction it went for the crown of thorns. She waited, curious now, for it to return. And it did. This time with four gleaming rib bones, two clutched in each clawed foot. It settled upon her horn again and she felt it plucking around atop her head before it flapped away again with a loud “CAW!”. She looked down to see the four bones curving up to frame the front of her horns and she smiled, this wasn't looking too bad…again she could hear the raven returning, as it flapped through the pines clumsily before landing on her horn once again. She felt it fiddling, the sound of bone clinking in her ears a delightful song. The bird let out a satisfied “gwow”, and flapped to the branch ahead of her once more, dipping its head low. She took another look in the river's surface to see the crown complete, a raven skull placed in the center of the curved rib bones, bordered by the tangled bramble branches that pierced into her brow. Her lips curved into a wicked smile as she admired her new crown, and drew her head up to regard the bird once more. ”So, bird. I guess your presence isn't too bothersome. How would you like to keep me company?”, she said, a slight ping of….whimsy? That stung her heart as the bird shook its patchy feathers and seemed to nod at her before it hopped to the end of the branch and took off to perch upon her horn again. Guess I have a loyal companion now, seeing as he crowned me himself…, she thought to herself as she turned to head back to the main path, continuing her trek to the meadow with her new companion in tow.
~ s h a d o w m e r e
Auto Quest (1036 words)- Shadowmere gains a clumsy Raven companion.
She also claims her rib bone, raven skull, and bramble crown <3