Hearthfire The Sands Of Time

by Predman1227

Chapter5:The Road Ahead

Chapter 5: The Road Ahead

Theran Razorblade

Theran was sitting in his living room by the fireplace of his home, reading a book on Alteration magic. The room had a lot of things in it, most of them trophies and medals from his time in the legion. The others were ornaments his wife had made in her spare time at the forge. She had a real talent when it came to crafting. His talent however was magic and there was one type of magic he was really good at. It wasn’t in the book he was reading though. This book contained the know and how on how to alter a pony’s physical abilities. Theran’s ears twitched when he heard his front door open and from the sent that was blown into the living room by the wind outside, he could tell immediately it was his wife. “Theran I’m home.” His wife called.

“I’m in here.” He called back.

After a few seconds his wife appeared with her large bag on her back. He smiled the moment he saw her beautiful silver coat and white mane. She had bits of black in her coat from the forge she owned and worked at. There was one feature he had always loved about her. No matter how hard she worked or how tired she got, her bright sapphire blue eyes were always full of life. “Oh Theran.” She said excitedly, hopping on one hoof after the other. “I heard the news, everypony was talking about it at the forge.”

Theran put his book to the side and leaned forward in his chair. “And what news have you heard my lovely Ashtrid?”

Ashtrid was literally jumping in the air with joy. “You got promoted to Arch-mage by the earth god himself, oh Theran I’m so proud of you. Tell me, what was it like being in front of Prince Terrato himself?”

Theran just shrugged and didn't sound very enthusiastic . “I guess it was an honour to meet him in person for a change. But I got to admit he is really big.” It had been the first time he had ever met the prince in person and even though he didn't like him Theran couldn't help but be in aw at his shear size.

Ashtrid just smiled as she walked up to him. “Oh come on, be more positive. You do realise you’re in charge of Western Legion magi now, not to mention you are the youngest Arch-mage in recorded history so buck up.”

She gave him a light punch on the shoulder and he laughed. “Ha yeah. So, how did work go?”

Ashtrid pulled out a sheet of paper and showed it to Theran. “I got that order of nova-bombs finished and shipped off to the East.”
Theran’s eyes widened in surprise. “You made them that quick! Wow, how much did you get from it?”

She smiled at him. “Oh lets say, 10000 bits.”

Theran’s jaw dropped. “10000 bits!? You should get more orders like the last one and we’ll be rolling in bits.” He jumped from his chair and embraced Ashtrid in a strong hug. “Oh I’d take you to the moon if it was possible.”

She hugged him back and kissed him on the cheek. “Got something for you.” She whispered in his ear.

“Oh, what is it, Oh wait is it a muffin.” Theran asked.

“Close your eyes.” Ashtrid said in a playful voice.

Theran frowned at her but he did as he was told. “Ok, now what?”

“Put out your hooves.” Theran did so and something heavy and made of leather was placed on his hooves. “Now, open them.”

Theran opened his eyes and what was laid in his hooves, was a sword. “Where did you get this?” Theran asked in amused surprise.

“I made it for you when I heard about your promotion, I hope it comes in handy in your new line of work.”

Theran was shocked. “You made this in a short amount of time. But how did you do it?”

She smiled at him and touched her nose. “That’s a forgers secret. Well go on, pull it out.” Theran pulled the sword out of the black leather sheath with his magic and was rendered speechless by the craftsmanship. From the blade’s arrow shaped tip to the gems that ran down the sides were absolutely stunning. But the red crystal at its centre was what held his gaze. “It has two enchantments. One keeps it from getting dull and the other can cut through magical barriers.”

“Its beautiful.” Theran said in aw, though he did find that ironic since this blade will see ugly combat soon. “You truly are the best mare a guy like me could ever have.”

“Oh Theran stop it, you’re making me blush.” Ashtrid said with a smile.

Theran gave her a cheeky grin and kissed her on the lips. “Oh I know other ways of making you blush.” He said playfully.

“Oh is that so?” She moved past him and brushed her white tail across his nose, sending shivers down his spine. “Well then, I’ll see you upstairs.”
Theran watched the way she exonerated the way her flank swayed from side to side as she dropped her bag and went upstairs. She looked over her shoulder and winked at him with a cheeky smile. Theran knew what she was inviting him to but before he could follow her he heard a voice. It was a filly’s voice, female by the sounds of it and she was calling his name. “Theran wake up, Theran wake UP!”

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Theran woke with a gasp and sat up, breathing in the cold air around him. “Wah…what?” He blurted in confusion. He looked to his right and found Haze sitting next to him. “Haze, what’s the matter?”

“You.” She said, “You were kicking about in your sleep and mumbling some kind of name.” Haze paused then added. “Ashterid. Who’s Ashterid?”

“Its Ashtrid.” Theran corrected, looking down at his hooves.

Haze frowned. “Ok but who is this Ashtrid?”

Theran kept looking at his hooves with a sad expression. “Some…somepony I used to know a long time ago.”

“Oh…I see.” Haze was a little down cast after hearing that.

Theran looked up from his hooves and was half surprised to find Violet was still here. She was still asleep and the covers looked a little snugger around her. He watched as her breath came out of her nose like white smoke and the odd flap of her ear when the wind went by. He half expected her to slink off in the night and vanish into the hills. She was obviously smarter than she looked or just couldn’t be bothered. “Well I guess she’s staying with us for a while.” He got up and moved over to his saddle-bag and found it open with the bread gone “Um Haze?”

“Uh…yeaaaah?” Haze replied rather hesitant.

“Where’s the bread?” He asked suspiciously, eying her over his shoulder.

Haze looked uneasy as she gave him a worried smile and shifted her eyes from side to side. “Oh, the bread…about that ha ha um… what I said to the squirrel…”

“You ate the BREAD!” Theran yelled.

“I didn’t eat the cheese.” Haze mumbled, tapping her hooves together.

Theran ran a hoof down his face in frustration. “Do you know anything about rationing?” He asked Haze.

“Um…what’s that?”

Theran growled in anger. “Of all the times I take my eyes off my stuff a nagging brat eats my…” Theran stopped ranting when he saw the hurt expression on Haze’s face. “Ah shit, I’m sorry Haze I didn’t mean that.” He floated the cheese out of the bag. “Look on the bright side, we still have cheese.”

Haze stuck her tong out and said. “I’d rather eat my hooves.”

Theran snorted and went over to Violet who was still sleeping. He tapped her on the side of her ribcage and she groaned. “If you’re not here to kill me then piss off.”

Theran raised an eyebrow and with his magic he stole the covers making her yelp as the cold assaulted her body. “We’ve slept long enough, come on get to you hooves.” She looked up at him angrily and he gave her the same look. Stiffly she got to her three good hooves while the one in the sling was up to her chest. She hopped on her front leg as she walked past him and made a huffing sound with her nose. Theran put the cheese away and put on his bag. He then floated his dented black helmet over and placed it on his head, the snapped straps hanging under his chin. He gestured with his head for Haze to come along and she hopped over to him.

“So.” Violet asked, “Where are we going?”

Theran hovered the map in front of her and said. “You’re going to take us to your camp.”

Violet’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at Theran. “What why would you want to go there?” She asked in disbelief.

“Haze said you had a lot of food up there so unless there’s more bandits…”

Haze interrupted. “You know you could’ve asked me where their camp…”

“Shush Haze.” He didn’t look at her angry face as Theran turned back to Violet. “So are we going?”

Violet just looked like what he was asking was the worst thing he could possible ask of her. “Do I have a chose?” She asked with little hope in her voice.

“Not really.” Theran said flatly, and with that they trudged on through the snowy landscape.

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They had been walking for about a half an hour now and Violet stopped walking and lay down on the snowy ground groaning. “Why have you stopped?” Theran asked with impatiens in his voice.

“My shoulder is killing me and I feel sick.” Violet whined. “And my good leg feels like its on fire from all the hobbling I’ve had to do no thanks to you.”

Theran wasn’t in the mood so with his magic he grabbed the back of her mane and made her stand. She yelped in pain as she got to her hooves. She glared at Theran who just looked at her blankly through his helm’s eye slits. “Rest when we get there or I’ll magically drag you behind me till we do. Got it?”

Violet lowered her head and got to hobbling once more. Theran turned and looked at Haze who looked at him unimpressed. “You don’t have to be so mean.” She lectured.

Theran just snorted and continued to follow Violet. They went through a narrow passage way between two low hills. Theran always wondered why it had to be narrow places bandits liked to dwell in. Why couldn’t it be in open places? The moment they got to the end of the passage Theran saw the edges of some tents and he stopped Violet with a hoof. “If there are any more bandits in there, if this is a trap…”

“It’s not.” Violet said, cutting Theran off. “The only ones here were the ones you killed.”

Theran lifted his head up and sniffed the air. He couldn’t smell any musky scents but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a chance somepony might be there. He causally moved up to the tents and hid behind one. He pocked his head out around the corner and scanned the area. The camp was in the shape of an “O” with the fire-pit at its centre. Loot and crap was all over the place. Bits of barding, swords, torn clothing and piles of other junk. “Typical bandit hording.” Theran thought. “They never change.”

Theran looked back at Violet and Haze and waved them over. “Its all clear!” He called out and waited for Violet to hobble
over to him. She looked ready to collapse, panting heavily with beads of sweat dripping off her nose.

As she spoke her words came out in ragged breaths. “Can…guh…can I…rest now?”

“Which tents yours?” Theran asked.

She weakly waved her slung hoof in the direction of one very small tent that looked very unmaintained. “That…one.”
She started hopping toward it and Theran couldn’t help but wonder why she was so tired. Sure she was hopping on one good front leg but they hadn’t gone that far. Theran followed her through the camp while Haze was looking around the other tents.

He let Violet go in her tent first and he followed right behind her into what was a very poor set up. Her bed, if you could even call it a bed was nothing more than a few rags and the ground was wet. “You really lived in here?” Theran asked with a hint of disgust in his voice. He wrinkled his nose when he smelled something foul. “It smells like shit.”

Violet lay down on the rags and looked like she was going to throw up. “Can…can you get, some small green bottles from Hammer Head’s tent?” She looked like she was turning green herself. “There in a big box…you can miss um.”

Theran raised an eyebrow at her request. “What aren’t you telling me?” Theran asked suspiciously.

“Just get them…please.” She asked with a hint of pain behind her words.

Theran rolled his eyes and backed out the tent. Hammer Head’s tent was obvious because it was the biggest off the lot and the well maintained. As Theran walked over to the massive tent he spotted Haze looking around one of the pile of junk.
“There’s nothing in that crap worth taking Haze.” He called over to her and she looked up at him. “Check the tents.” He didn’t wait for a reply as he went inside Hammer Head’s tent. The moment Theran stuck his head in the tent he was met with a rather pleasant set up. The inside was neat and tidy with a bookshelf in one corner, a real bed in the other and a desk in the middle. “As always the leaders get the nice tents. Some things never change.” He muttered to himself. Theran saw the box Violet was talking about. It was under the desk, so with his magic he floated it over to him and left the tent. When he got back to Violet’s tent he found her shaking uncontrollably on her bed. “Hey what’s wrong!?” Theran asked keeping his cool. He set the box down and went over to her. He put a hoof on her for-head and found it was red hot. “You’re burning up but how…?”

Violet weakly pointed her good hoof over to the box. “Bottle…g…give me one.”

Without another word Theran got one of the small bottles with his magic, pop the top and gave it to Violet. She immediately downed the bottle in three gulps and let out a heavy sigh of relief. Theran put his hoof on her head again and the burning was gone. He looked at the bottle in confusion, until he saw the writing on the back. It was a drug mad by the Ophlidites a reptilian race of slavers and this drug was their main way of controlling their slaves. He looked at Violet with suspicion. “Where did you get this?” He demanded. Violet stayed quiet so Theran wanted to confirm his suspicions directly. He put a hoof around the back of Violet’s neck and unclipped the sling. “Get up and take off your fur coat.” Theran ordered.

Violet glared at him and yelled. “I’m not…”

Theran cut her off with the sound of his hoof blade extending. “Now!”

She shakily got to her hoofs and with a worried look on her face she unbuttoned her fur coat with her mouth. When she was done she let it drop to the ground and Theran found what he suspected was there. On her right side was the Ophlidite mark of a slave, burned into the skin so her fur didn’t grow back. Theran felt a wave of pity hit his mind as he watch tears trickle down her cheeks.
“Now you know.” She sobbed, her tears starting to flow even more. “I’m a slave.” Theran now felt bad for being so hard on her but how was he supposed to know she was a slave.
“What are you going to do with me now that you know what I am?” Her tears were barely contained in her purple eyes.

Theran took off his helmet, went up to her and made her sit down. He then wrapped one arm around her and held her tight. “I’m not going to do anything except help you get through this.” He felt her wrap her own arms around him and she buried her face in his neck, crying long and hard, her tears flowing freely now. “That’s it, let it out. You’ll feel better.” He laid his chin in between her ears and rubbed her back as she continued to cry. Theran hated slavery, he couldn’t stand the thought of being hooked on drugs that caused you pain if you didn’t get a daily dowse from your owner. He had to hand it to the lizard bastards they really knew how to stop a slave from running. “Why didn’t you just tell me?” Theran asked Violet, Letting out a deep sigh.

Violet’s voice was shaky from her crying. “I…I was scared if you knew…you would sell me to another slaver.”

“And the drug?” Theran inquired, still rubbing her back.

“I hopped I could escape it, but you made me come here and now you hold them like Hammer Head did.”

Theran made her look up at him, her eyes were glazed over and blood shot. “I may be many bad things but a slaver is not one of them.” Theran saw a hint of hope in her purple eyes. “Trust me when I say I’m going to help you.”

“Like her?” Violet asked in a whisper.

“What?” Theran was confused.

“The filly, I know you protect her.” She looked up at him with a hint of a smile. “It was me who gave her the food, the last time she snuck into the camp.” She then looked at the tent flaps. “I was in the storage tent when I found her looking through the boxes of food and I could tell she was starving. So I gave her a loaf of bread and told her to run but the scout saw her shortly after I pretended I didn’t see her.” She looked back at Theran. “You don’t want to know what Hammer Head would have done to her if he had got his hooves on her.” She shuddered as if a memory came to mind.

“The brat’s…special. It seems I’m the only one who truly understands her…unique talents.” Theran just sighed. “I diny know what I’m going to do with her, I’m not…”
“THERAN!”

Theran stood up in alarm. That was Haze and she was screaming. He bolted out of the tent and was met with a tall, skinny bandit who held Haze by the throat with a dagger. Theran glared at the bandit. “Why you mother F…”

“Diny take another step!” The bandit warned. “Or I’ll bleed her dry.” Theran was stuck, he couldn’t move or the bandit would kill Haze and he couldn’t use his because he would see it. Theran watch her being held up on her hind legs as the dagger was pressed to her neck. Theran knew this was the camping archer he had shot that arrow back at. He could tell from the neat wound in his right shoulder. “Now drop that sword and your bag, nice and slow like.”

Theran gave the bandit a death glare as he dropped his stuff on the ground. “If you so much as scratch her, I’ll rip out you guts and burn you alive you asshole!”

“I’m sorry I didny catch that.” He put the dagger on Haze’s chest and cut her. Haze screamed in pain and started to cry.

“YOU DAM FOAL OF A NAG!” Theran roared in rage at the bandit. “You just made the last fucking mistake of your life mate.” Theran’s voice had gone so low his every word rumbled in his throat.

“LONG BOW STOP!” Violet came hobbling out the tent and stood in front of Theran. “Leave the filly alone she didn’t do anything.”

“Shut it Vi.” Long Bow spat. “Get his things and get over here.” Violet looked over her shoulder at Theran, she looked very sorry and took his stuff. Theran watched in anger as she dragged his bag over and behind Long Bow. “Were you two going at it in there Vi? Are you going to give me a kiss?” He made a kissing shape with his lips and Violet looked disgusted.

“Go fuck yourself.” Violet spat.

Long Bow just shrugged. “Ah well I’ll have fun with you later then because you’ll do anything I ask you little slave nag.” He looked at Theran again with a disgusting grin. “Bad luck mate, this yins loyal. Now I want you to…”
As he spoke Theran watched Violet pull his sword out of his bag with her mouth and move up close behind Long Bow. She winked at him and with a swing she cut Long Bow in between his shoulders. He cried out in pain as he let go of Haze and rounded on Violet. He lashed out with the dagger and cut her face. She cried out as she dropped Theran’s sword and fell over. Theran himself, charged at the bandit with both hoof blades extended. Long Bow turned around in time to get double impaled in the stomach and froze up in shock. He gasped and coughed up blood as he looked into Theran’s enraged eyes. Theran did 100% what he said he would do. Theran cut down in an “X” shape and opened the bandits belly and a pile of gore poured out. Long Bow looked at Theran in confused horror. Theran also burned him alive with a nova spell that incinerated him completely. Leaving nothing behind but a pile of ash.

Theran’s blood rage wanted more though, it screamed at him for blood. He looked down and saw Haze on her back with Violet laying beside her. She was putting pressure on the large cut on Haze’s chest while ignoring her own wound. Theran felt his blood rage fade away as worry filled his mind. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he rushed over to a whimpering Haze and worried Violet. She was crying in pain and shock as she held her hooves on Violet’s, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked up at Theran. “I…I don’t wanna die Theran.” She hicked and gasped for air from all the crying.
“Don’t be a silly filly Haze.” Violet said, the worry not well hidden behind her words. “You’re not going to die.” She looked up at Theran, Her own tears falling down her cheeks. “She’ll be alright right? You can fix this? You can can’t you?”
Theran had no idea. He had never done a healing spell on a changeling before, he didn’t even know if it would work on a changeling anyway. They were resistant to all kinds of magic, even healing magic. Theran sat down and put a hoof to his mouth in worried thought. If he couldn’t do this Haze might die. “Let me see it.”
Violet took her hoof away and showed Haze’s blood socked wound. Her modified blanket had sucked up a lot of the blood, turning its light brown into a dark red. The wound itself wept small amounts of blood and it didn’t look too deep but on Haze’s small chest it was a big wound. “Ok yeah ok I think I can do this.”

“You think?” Violet scoffed. “You mean you can?”

Theran glared at her. “Oh yeah no pressure this isn’t as easy as it looks.” Haze squealed in pain and Theran shut up. He thought of the spell and his horn begun to glow. Slowly the wound begun to close but Haze started screaming louder. She shouldn’t be screaming it was a healing spell.

“Theran stop its hurting her!” Violet had shout over Haze’s screams.

He stopped and let out a breath he was holding. He had closed his eyes as he caught his breath. Healing magic took a lot out of you and he wasn’t even finished. Theran opened his eyes again and saw the wound was now a small scratch but Haze was out cold. “Haze?” He lay down beside her and put a hoof on her for-head. She was burning and Theran looked at Violet. “That wasn’t supposed to happen, it wasn’t supposed to hurt her.” He sat up and scooped her up in his arms. He cradled her little body as bad memories of his past started to flood his mind. “Come on you little brat, open your eyes.” Her eyes stayed closed and Theran was starting to tear up.

Slowly her eyes opened and she looked up at him. “Wha…what happened?” Haze weakly asked.

Violet moved up close and stroked her mane out of her eyes. “You’re fine now kido." Violet said with a smile, tears still running down her cheeks "Theran's made it all better.”

Haze weakly frowned at her. “But why did it hurt so much?”

Theran didn’t reply, he just sat there with her as looked at Violet’s wound. “Do you want me to…?”

Violet stopped him before he could ask. “No you take care of her first. I’ll be fine.” She paused and looked past him to the pile of ash that was once Long Bow. “That was a little overkill don’t you think?”

Theran just shrugged as he got up, carried Haze to Hammer Head’s tent, turning back to Violet momentarily and said. “Thank you for saving her.” He caught her smile as he entered the tent to give Haze some much-needed rest.