through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered
The heat….no….the inferno....was unbearable. Melted flesh and eyes were the lovely results of Grumbles’ second, and final test for our poor old stag. Flames roared on, Fascade’s wails now melding into the sound as the torture continued, as the flames grew hotter, and our stag could take no more, he felt something like….a truck or train hitting him, he almost was on the verge of losing consciousness when Grumbles finally hit the switch that turned off the massive kiln. Slowly, the halter began to work its magic a little, making it so Fascade regained his eyesight after his retinas being pretty much melted off. He was dizzy with pain, his cooked body raw and bloodied, hurt as he took a wobbly step forward.
”Gru….Grumbles….whe..where are you….GRUMBLES!?”
His words were frantic, as if he were looking to his captor for guidance. What? Why? Why would he feel this way….this nasty little fae practically killed him over and over again and yet he feels a kinship to him? What was this insanity!?
Though, there he stood, after all that horrid martyrdom he had put Fascade through, with a look a terrifying delectation on his face. His gravely, yet high pitched voice sounded just a tad bit comforting.
”AH...yes...it is done. Well done Fascade, I did not expect you to come out of this successful, due to your age….but you did well. Come now, let’s get you to your stall. You must be a little tired.”
His last sentence was a deliberately sarcastic understatement, but Fascade’s exhaustion was too extreme for him to be pissed off or even give him an equally sarcastic comeback. Instead, he stood at the door to the waiting to be lead back to his dark dungeon stall. His head low, sides still heaving from all his panicking and running around. All he wanted right now was home, his family, and his beloved Use...but none of those would come to him...for they were no longer there. All he had, unfortunately, was Grumbles. His pained eyes watched as the small fae bobbled to him on knobby bowed legs and reached out to snap a golden lead onto his halter. With a painful stroke to the cheek, Grumbles then gave a little tug on the gleaming lead and Fascade instinctively followed him slowly. His body ached all over, including his insides from when he was drowned. The screams that once terrified him in the torture chamber became just a muffled background noise, and he continued on toward the long corridor that lead to his stall.
The walk seemed like it took an eternity, his heart ached as he heard voices screaming out from behind the countless stall doors at him, “Please, Please someone get me out of here! Please help me!!”, all he could do was walk on. Knowing that there was nothing he could do to help them. All he knew was that they had the same fate as he did, though even now his fate was unknown. Grumbles was going to torture those poor horses like he tortured him, and they too would have Grumbles collect them when he saw they were “ready”, even though he had no idea what that meant.
Soon enough, they reached Fascade’s stall. He slowly followed the fae man in, turning around to face the door as Grumbles unsnapped the lead from the halter. Grumbles pat him once more.
”Alrighty now...I will see you tomorrow….have a good sleep, you are going to need it.”
He snickered and then disappeared.
Fascade was too tired to read into what that meant, his charred eyelids were heavy and his body hurt. Sleep was what Grumbles said he needed, and he was not going to argue with that. He wondered what tomorrow would bring. Slowly his eyes shut, and his body fell into the deep, warm, sweet smelling straw.
Sleep took over.
Morning, the sounds of another scream passing by his stall door woke him. His eyes fluttered heavily, blinking the sleep away. Yesterday was fresh in his head, and he was still a bit exhausted from it. He hoped he would not have to go through that again.
grooooowwwwllllll….guuuuurgle….
His stomach practically gnawed at his backbone he was so hungry. Instinctively he got up and stretched himself before finding that lovely sweet food he liked so much. After eating a few mouthfuls, he realized something strange….his muzzle did not pain him when he touched the coarse feed… He turned his head slowly, his long neck cranked to the side so he could see his hind end. What his eyes beheld was beyond his comprehension…
His body….it….it was fine.
He was taken aback. The hair...his skin…..it had melted clean off and was bloody and raw when he was finished with the torture...but….he was back to normal. His hair was grown back, there were no scabs….it was absolutely ludicrous. He was burned to a crisp, how the hell was this possible!? He heaved himself up off his perfectly form fitted nest of straw and gave himself a good shake. But, something felt off….his tail felt….heavy. So did his head. He was scared to look behind him….but he did anyway. His eyes widened at the sight…
da fuck?
There, where his bushy black tail used to be, was a long bluish green scared dragon tail with sharp spikes running all the way down where the tip ended in a three pronged trident, as well as two spikes on the sides of his tail just before the trident tip. He looked down, where his white stockings used to be were also strong bluish green scales, and spikes took the place of where the shaggy feathers on his fetlocks used to be. He couldn’t believe his eyes...he began to shake a little. He had no idea what was going on. But, he had to face whatever it was head on. And speaking of heads...his felt strange. His mouth felt odd and his head was heavy. He slowly stepped toward the round water trough...his eyes looking down into the dark, reflective surface. There, staring back at him was a creature he could barely recognize as himself. Though the halter remained the same and his head was still dished and bay, he was….different. Where his blaze used to be was more scales, and on the bridge of his nose, just between his nostrils were two spikes, in the likeness of a rhino’s yet not as large. Atop his head were two spiraling horns, and his cheeks were also adorned with spikes. What really spooked him was the fact that his mouth had been elongated to just about his cheek bones and inside his mouth were sharpened teeth like an alligator’s and his tongue was pronged like a snake’s.
”Grumbles you demented little freak, what the hell did you do to me?!”
He spoke to himself, more freaked out than mad. Our stag began to pace a little, his mind was blown. This was strong magic that healed him like this...there was no other way he could have come out of that completely scorched and then overnight be healed completely. He didn’t even know of a horse in Beqanna with that sort of healing power. Not to mention his new look. This was something he could never EVER understand, but he didn’t really care. He was healed, and he looked like a complete badass as well. That was all that mattered to him right now.
But as he was thinking about all of this, and taking this all in, he felt a small tickle in his throat. Naturally, he coughed a little to ease the itch, but as he did, a few large sparks clicked out from the back of his throat and out his mouth. His eyes widened…
”What the actual fuck what was that…..”
The tickle remained...he wondered what the hell that was all about...sparks? How? Why?
The tickle became stronger.
He coughed again, harder.
This time, the click was louder, sparks jet out from his mouth and with a second cough, the sparks ignited into flame, bursting forth from his maw. Dark eyes widened with fear, his voice boomed.
”WHAT THE HELL!?”
He paced frantically. FIRE? He breathed fire?! What the hell was this….This was not right...he was a plain horse, a horse with no traits whatsoever. And here he is, spewing flames from his dark mouth. No...this couldn’t be happening. He wondered if this was some messed up dream after being tortured so much the previous night. There was no other logical explanation other than that.
As he paced some more, he heard a high pitched cackle...he knew that voice anywhere. He whipped around, his new tail swung heavily and quickly around him making a deep “woosh” sound. There, atop the sweet feed bucket, sat Grumbles. He looked quite pleased, his black eyes sparkled despite the dimness of the stall.
”Hehehehe! Boy oh boy your reactions are priceless!! I see you slept well, I also see you look well. I am digging your scales...very fitting for an old warrior like yourself. Though that fire breathing needs some work. I don’t think you have noticed since you are in a small space, but you also have the ability to move at lightning speeds if need be. I would have unlocked more abilities for you, but I didn’t think an old man such as yourself could handle it.
Grumbles snickered some more, and Fascade’s sarcasm bubbled up in a snarky response.
”Oh shut up. I’m not that old!!! I made it through your hell, I think I can handle other things now....ALSO! It’s not like I have been able to do this all my life. It’s hard to teach an old nag new tricks. Let’s see you try it!”
Of course, Grumbles’ eyebrows furrowed and a sly smile spread across his lips.
”Oh yeah? How’s this?”
His mouth opened wide and he drew in a deep breath, suddenly he let out a huge ball of fire with his exhalation. Fascade was left with his now large maw wide open. Of course he would do that with ease….he was the one with magic stronger than any he ever knew of. With that, the knobby little imp hopped down from his perch and clipped the gold lead to Fascade’s halter once again and gave it a tug as the heavy bolted door opened on it’s own. He walked on slowly beside Grumbles, quietly.
”Come on now, we have work to do. You need to get that fire breathing down, as well as learning how to maneuver and use your new tail and other defensive features on your body. Welcome to the coliseum.”
With that, they came to a massive double door, which opened with a loud rumble. Fascade’s eyes grew wider…..Inside, there were creatures of all sorts. The ground was supple dark earth that felt nice and bouncy on his feet, and cold, yet it was not slippery like mud. The walls of the battle arena were not quite walls, they were a gleaming iridescent barrier of sorts, shimmering and incredibly strong. The only walls started at just about half way round the ring where stadium seating and a balcony made of beautiful and cold Bloodstone crystal. Fascade was blown away, this place was incredible. Grumbles chuckled and gave him a light tug on the halter to lead him further inside the coliseum. As they walked in, they passed by dragons, dire wolves, and many other creatures. Grumbles looked him over one more time, taking time to give him a pat on the shoulder before unclipping his golden leadrope. Fascade’s nerves started to eat away at him a bit, and began to make his body tingle strangely. He wasn’t sure if he was excited or terrified, either way, this was beginning to look a little dangerous. Some of the creatures were about ten times his size, even though he had defensive and offensive abilities and qualities, he sure as hell was still terrified. As if Grumbles could read into his thoughts and feelings, which he probably actually could, he began to snicker once again, but inside his sarcastic, piercing words, sounded like reassurance? Being strangely fond of the small tricky fae now, he really did start to feel a little better.
”Hehehe nervous eh big guy?! You will be fine. I will be watching from up there, Maybe I will give you tips…...maybe I wont. But you must learn to use your abilities and learn how to defend yourself. The road ahead will become much bumpier than this one I assure you. So, get out there and crack some skulls, Old Man!”
Old Man, there he goes again with the age jab. Though now it was becoming less annoying and more of a term of endearment. He nodded and turned to reply, but Grumbles was gone, already perched up in the quartz crystal throne, tapping his foot impatiently. Fascade knew this was no time to dottle. It was time for battle. He charged forward, his gait was an animated and lofty, rolling canter. His neck arched and his head tucked, nostrils flared with streams of smoke spiraling forth from them. He charged his way toward his first chosen target, a Satyr, he had no weapons, but he did have strong metal bracer with spikes protruding from the outside edges. He had to be wary of those things, but he figured this creature was the least difficult choice for his first opponent. He gathered himself and darted faster than he ever has moved from side to side in front of the strong Satyr. He yelled a battle cry and came forth, his movements were precise, but Fascade was quick. His eyes picked out his opponents weaker points, the legs, since those were similar to his own previous legs without the scales, his thin human-like neck, and his fragile exposed belly. Fascade felt strange, almost like he wanted to hurt this creature. Normally he would be protesting this, not wanting to hurt another living thing, but now he had a thirst to maim and kill….it was something he had never experienced before.
He darted to the side, gathering his tail to swing it’s spiked end to the side, driving it hard into the Satyr’s stomach, It wailed and it’s brows furrowed. A deep booming voice sounded from the creature. It stumbled back, clutching it’s now bleeding puncture wounds, but it did not want to give in yet, he noticed now the glowing collar around it’s neck making a strong ringing sound...was it forcing the creature to fight to the death? He wondered if his own would do that if he decided to stop, but he did not want to find out now, this thing wanted blood. It rushed forward, it’s arm tucked in toward his chest, it’s muscles in it’s bicep was large and veiny. Fascade went to dart away, but the Satyr was too quick. It rammed it’s arm with the sharp spiked golden bracer hard into his neck. Fascade squealed in pain, while the bracer was still in his neck, he tried to cow kick to the side, using his own leg spikes to hook into the creature’s delicate suspensory ligament. It worked, and he managed to hook into it’s leg and drag it forward, causing the creature to come crashing to the damp earth. Fascade took no time to stand and think, his first and only instinct was to rear up and drive his front hooves down into it’s skull. Crushing it like the shell of a walnut. It lay lifeless at his feet, he then heard a clapping from the balcony. Grumbles applauded him with a pleased look on his face, but soon he settled and waved Fascade on to face something even larger and more difficult.
He turned, and was taken aback when he was literally face to face with the head of a huge lion...but this was no ordinary massive lion. His back feet were goat’s legs and instead of a lion’s tail, he had a long, broad headed green viper for a tail...and beside his massive lion head, protruded two more heads, a greenish blue scaled dragon with a long neck and smoke coiling from it’s nostrils, and a goat head. It stood about four feet taller than Fascade, and was much broader in shape as well. A Chimera….
”Oh shit..”
This one was going to be much more difficult than the Satyr.
Fascade took a deep breath as the Chimera challenged him, it’s three heads tossing as if it were saying “come on, come get me, I dare you”. His hypothetical brow furrowed, his eyes blazed, a challenge he was most definitely going to dare to take up. His old soul finally burned and felt purpose. He had not felt like this in a long time, a very long time. His crooked smile was devious, cocky old bastard was feeling his oats now. He stood his ground, puffing out his strong bay chest and drawing in another deep breath allowing the sparks in this throat to ignite. With a bellow, his breath exploded forth, flames blasted from his elongated mouth, making his shining sharp teeth gleam red from the glow of the flames. His tail lashed back and forth as he took a few stomping steps forward showing his newfound fearlessness. As old as he is, and with all the hell that damned imp Grumbles put him through, he was not going to step down. This was the change he yearned for. This was his time to make something of himself before his days on earth were done. The Chimera stepped back, seemingly taking a second to rethink challenging Fascade. He snorted, and squealed a challenge, smoke pluming from his nostrils and he did a faux charge in the Chimera’s direction. In the balcony, Grumbles watched with eagerness as his fledgling warrior charged fearlessly in the face of danger. Despite being small and old enough to be crushed by the beast, he did not care. He wanted to show he was no old nag with no purpose.
The Chimera kept backing as Fascade showed his dominance, but playtime was over….the creature retaliated, the dragon head letting a low rumble come up from his scaled throat. Fascade knew he was getting ready to spit fire at him as well, and he gathered himself up to dodge the flames. As the dragon head spewed it’s fire, Fascade moved quicker than lightning, his hind end was seared by the flames and he let out a squeal of pain, and the large lion paw swiped out at him as he wizzed by, gauging three long wounds into his flanks. He tried to ignore the pain and dart behind the creature to attack from behind, but, he was caught off guard. Forgetting all about the viper tail. It caught him round the throat just as fast as he came behind the creature and it coiled round his neck tight, squeezing him as it hissed in his ear. He couldn’t let it bite him….for it’s bite was filled with deadly venom. He squealed and lashed out with his scaley front legs as it tried to strike at his face, but his flailing did no good. It almost landed a bite, but his scaled blaze acted like armor and the snake’s fangs could not penetrate them. Too close a call. TOO CLOSE. He was not ready to die yet, but he started to feel a ping of fear in his heart, afraid he would not be able to break from the snake’s coiled grip. His eyes once again rimmed with white and he strained to look at Grumbles, of whom was tapping his pointy booted foot and shaking his head. He knew Grumbles wanted him to think, to think with a clear head under pressure.
Then it occurred to him, swing his tail again. So he wound up and swung his long spiked tail hard, ramming it’s spikes into the eye of the unsuspecting goat head. It bleated sharply, its cry piercing his eardrums, the snake lessened its’ hold as it was distracted by the goat head’s pain. Fascade knew this was his time to make a move. He used his speed and strength to pull back, skittering to the right away from the three headed beast, taking the snake with him. He pulled with such force that the snake was torn from the Chimera’s body. Where it’s base was began to shoot out blood in a steading pulsing stream. The three remaining heads screamed, and while they were distracted once more by the pain, he took a few steps back and then charged forward with as much force as he could muster, his head arched, aiming his horned face toward it’s soft sensitive flesh just behind the elbow. He shoved his head hard into the creature’s flesh, his wide smile with teeth exposed was too creepy. The Chimera wailed once again, and as Fascade nudged once more, as if he were stabbing someone in the side and twisting the knife, the creature’s wails became unbearably. He them tossed his head upward hard, tearing the soft skin with him. The creature bled even more, it’s tail base still bleeding. It became slowed, woozy even from the loss of blood, The main lion head roard and tried to take a bat at him with it’s sharp claws, but it’s slowed movements were no match for Fascade’s speed. He began to laugh hard at the suffering creature that still wanted to kill him despite being half dead.
”HA! That’s right you big beasty….you are no match for me. I can outrun you, hell, you have three heads and yet I am still clever than you. You still want to kill me after all I have done to you? I’d like to see you try!! I AM NOT READY TO DIE YET AND IF I WAS IT WOULDN’T BE BY YOUR HAND!!”
With that he stepped backward again, the creature still trying to make passes at him with razor-like claws, and he let out that loud ear shattering Arabian stallion squeal and charged forward again, this time head on, aiming straight for the creature’s chest. As his lightning fast charge commenced, the creature was too dizzy to bat him out of the way. He dipped his head low just as he reached the lion head’s chin and then shot his head upward with all the force he could possibly manage. His spiraling sharp horns pierced up through the creature’s chest and right up into it’s heart. It screamed, and then began to gurgle. It’s head’s swaying back and forth as blood began to trickle and sputter from their lips. Fascade ripped his horns out from the beast’s chest and with one final bellow from it’s heads, it collapsed onto the blood stained earth. Fascade’s adrenaline was pumping, his entire body was shaking, his sides heaving. With flared nostrils he screamed into the air for all the other creatures in the arena to hear.
”YOU SEE THAT?! YOU WANT THAT!!! WHO IS NEXT! I WILL DESTROY YOU!!!”
His high pitched battle queal made his dark lips quiver, the viper still draped around his neck like an olympic gold medal and the blood still trickled down his neck from the puncture wounds the Satyr’s bracer caused. But, he was too filled with adrenaline to even notice the pain. He wanted more, more blood, more challengers. For some reason, he felt he needed to impress Grumbles now, even though just the day before he wanted to kill the torturous bastard. But, how could he want to harm him now after he gave him such wonderful gifts and a new will to live. Though at the moment he couldn’t think into it now, for his urge to battle and use his dandy new abilities and qualities was stronger than any other feeling he had. He struck his hooves outward in challenge to anyone else in the arena.
He was not tired yet, and he sure as hell was just getting started.
”BRING IT”
Standing tall and proud, ready for the next challenger, Fascade was becoming a beast himself…..and good ol’ Grumbles was rubbing his hands together in delight at how much his new favorite old man was developing into a battle fiend. But what he had up his sleeve next was a complete mystery….
What was next for our old stag...and would he be able to handle what was to come…
Only time would tell.