> Volken: They call me, Prophet
>  by TheTwerp
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Fanged Saviour
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


"You do not take from this universe. It grants you what it will."


- The Elder Hunter



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Cold.

Wind.

Endless white.

She was so cold.

She lay in a smattering of blood and broken ice as the demonic winds gnawed at her bones. It was a cold so fierce it sapped her soul while choking the very life from her. She couldn't see at first, her brain still in shock over what had occurred. She had to take very slow and careful movements to avoid loss of conciousness. Pulling her head up she finally managed to open her eyes.

Pictured before here was a land that howled and screamed as great winds ripped along it's surface. It was a place that seemed to go on forever with lakes of white powder stretching to the edges of the world. The sky was full, darkened by the passage of many clouds that saw to shower the whole place in light fluffy snowflakes. It was dark, the little light that did remain reflected off the white canvas, illuminating the horizon.

Letting out a snort she looked down to find herself sprawled on her back, wings pinned painfully underneath. Her landing had been rough, leaving her achingly aware of a few broken bones. A few prods to her ribs and back confirmed this as she groaned in pain. 

She lay still for a few more moments taking deep breaths to try and regain some of her strength. As she lay blinking the snowflakes from her eyes, the sky parted to reveal a wondrous vision. The sight of the lunar Watchtower and it's numberless fireflies filled the inky dark. The beauty of the moon and the stars nearly lulled her into a sleep as waves of exhuastion crashed into her. 

"Ugh, I need to get up." Her mind rattled, emotion lost to the pain and cold. The young alicorn named Twilight Sparkle stirred again, rose and slumped forward. "Need heat."

Acting on an instinct ingrained with over twenty years of practice the mare drew her power forth and pushed it toward her forehead. Twilight begun the simple calculations for the heating spell. As she started to push the energy out, a large burst of fresh agony smacked her fragile skull.

"UWAH!!" Twilight slumped over again the spell sputtering out painfully. "Wha?"

Something warm began to seep down her face and along the snout. It ran into her eyes tainting her vision a dark crimson. The mare placed a hoof to the area of pain. Horror flooded her as Twilight found that her horn, her beautiful horn, the object of her magical prowess was broken. It had been cracked all the way down with blood dripping out in large droplets. Shaking she gently touched up her horn finding the top had been snapped off.

"Ah!" Twilight cried again. "Oh nononono!"

Panic laced her shivering form as the whole situation sunk in. Under a more normal situation a doctor would have cast a long term healing spell upon her horn. It was a painful process which left unicorns magicless until it had been completed.  While under the spell a unicorn's horn would regrow over a period of six months, give or take. It was akin to the spell that fixed broken bones, only that spell was much faster. If a unicorn did not get the spell to fix their horn then something much worse could happen. The magic in their body would slowly erode and without the focusing effect the appendage provided their body would eventually stop producing magic at all. Not all magic of course, even earth ponies have some magic, but it was enough that no spell could ever reverse.

"Oh what I am going to do!" Her mind raced as she tried to sit up. Placing her hooves behind her the alicorn shakily pushed off the ground.

"AHH!" Another pained screech was loosed into the howling air. A another burst of pain originated from her back. Feeling even more confused Twilight glimpsed behind her to find the source.

*Sniff*

"Oh no..." Twilight said horsely.

Her wings had been twisted beyond recognition. The left was stripped of feathers leaving a bloody mess of bone and sinew, a common effect of teleportation gone wrong. The other was crumpled, probably from impact damage. Large fragments of bone poked from underneath the skin. They hung limply at her sides sagging with the weight of snow, ice and frozen blood. 

*Huff*

"Great." Twilight whimpered. The cold wind picked up again, its horrible breath searing her sides. "M-Mhm, O-Ok."

An idea had formed, one that Twilight was loath to do. The mare could still use magic with a broken horn, it just was painful and very dangerous. It was the reason unicorns got somepony else to cast the spell. The pressure on the body became so intense it would often stop the heart. 

The other problem was that if a pony ignored it and managed to cast multiple spells they run the risk of blowing their head off. The horn acted as a focus for all the energy, if it was damaged then the focus was lost and only the most powerful of mages could guide the magic to the correct place in the spell.

*Sniff*

"N-no ch-choice." Twilight gasped between sobs. 

Still Twilgiht Sparkle was not the sun's favoured foal for nothing. If the heating spell was not cast she would die of hypothermia, if the mending spell was not cast soon then the wings would be deformed for the rest of her life. It was unfortunate but the only way, Twilight had to cast the bone healing spell first followed by the heating spell and hopefully the horn healing spell last.

Taking another deep breath the mare braced herself, if she didn't focus the mind it was likely to channel the magic wrong and explode. Letting out a shuddering breath Twilight began to channel the magic. 

"Oou, this is gonna hurt." Twilight uttered while biting her bottom lip. A cascade of violet energy washed over her back, crawling its way up her tattered wings. Once the spell was in place it began the mending process.

"Here goes." 

*Crack*

"AH!"

The crumpled wing was straightened. Bone fragments drew back under the skin with sickening squelches. 

*Crunch*

"AHH-HA!" 

The skinless wing was lathered in fresh blood as new tissue started to form and weave its way back into place. Tiny feathers sprouted from the bloody appendage.

*Snap*

"WHAH! Ha-ha-ha-aaaaa!" 

With a final blast the spell completed. Shaking, sobbing and hurting she collapsed onto her belly in the soft white powder. Red had mixed with white leaving a pool of gore, feathers and discarded bone. Despite the pain that coursed through her as she lay, her face let out a weak smile. The wings were still damaged but not so they would never heal. Given a few months they would be back to full strength. 

"Well at least its over quickly." Twilight muttered fluttering her wings a little. A stinging sensation arose, showing the nerves were reconnecting properly. Reaching a shaking hoof up to her horn Twilight sighed. "That will take a lot longer."

The cold made it's point again as another blast of frigid air slammed at her sides. "Uh, heat."

Twilight's horn ached as she noticed fresh blood pool in the snow beneath her muzzle. Little rivulets of crimson ran down her forelegs as she prodded her horn again. Letting out a groan Twilight began to gather energy again. The spell this time was small only required a little energy that was used quickly. With only a few scattered whimpers the mare cast a spell normally used to heat food. An orange bubble appeared around her, the ice and snow immediately starting to melt. Adjusting the spell so as not to cook herself alive Twilight stood up and shook herself off. Water, blood and bone fell out onto the ice.

"Ugh." Twilight heaved. "Disgusting."

With a few heavy plods she shifted away from the mess to settle down a some hoofsteps away. The warmth of the bubble was already seeping into her being. The effects of the horrible chill Twilight had suffered under were now leaving her in great wafts of steam.

"Whew. Much better." The mare sighed dreamily. 

She felt utterly spent, the accident had drained her of most of her power. Another great blast had been used for the healing spell. Now using every ounce of will Twilight poured the last vestiges of power into a spell she had always dreaded to use. 

Once as a filly, Celestia ruler of Equestria had taken her magic away from her. The act was not malicious, in fact the Princess did it because she loved Twilight dearly. The young girl had suffered a bout of horn rot, an illness with a much more dangerous name than it really deserved. Horn rot was named such because it made a unicorns horn turn black. It's akin to a cold for magic users, leaving the horn unstable and unfocused. Most ponies just ride it out, utilising as little of their magic as possible. 

The sun's favoured foal however had no such luck. Due to Twilights immense power at such a young age the magic had to be sealed away until she recovered. If not her magic would of caused mayhem while Twilight was ill. The young girl had cried her eyes out after the spell was cast, not out of any physical pain, but having your magic removed is quite traumatic.

*Whimper*

"O-Ok!" Twilight breathed wiping moisture from her eyes. "You can do this! You're a big mare now, just let it go."

With another painful surge Twilight closed her eyes. The violet power moved forth, wrapping gently around her horn. White lines of magic blossomed from the ground around her, forming ghastly ethereal chains. They hovered around her head for a few moments before settling firmly around her horn. In a flash the power disappeared, replacing the usual heat of magic with a dull emptiness.

"Ugh." Twilight retched as her power fell away. Prodding the sore attachment again Twilight muttered. "Well that's done. The heating spell will last a few days at least. They should find me by then."

A sudden wave of tiredness washed over her. Wriggling in the warmth Twilight placed her head down onto the fast melting ice, her mind no longer able to keep awake, she drifted off into a fitful sleep.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


*Clip, Clop*

Twilight had been walking for what seemed like an eternity. It was hard to tell the passage of time in this place. The whole plain just looked to go on forever. Only occasionally did the landscape change, peaks of icy rock jutted from the ground with small cracks in the floor. A single misstep and she would be falling a long way.

*Clip, Clop*

Each plod on the ice felt heavy, crushing, as if her hooves were slowly being filled with iron. Twilight knew the cause of course, exhaustion and blood loss were hard to miss. If she had been a normal pony Twilight was certain she would have died back there. The only relief was her body, now in the shape of an alicorn, was tougher significantly. Not so much that she had no need to fear, but enough Twilight had hope.

*Clip, Clop*

Her mind cast itself back to how she had started. Twilight had awoken in a puddle of surprising warm but hideously filthy water.

"Ew." 

Sitting up, padding herself down in the process, the mare took a quick glance around. The world around her was tainted in a sickly orange glow. "Well the heating spell is still active."

Standing up on all fours Twilight took another look at her coat. Where she had lain had painted her in a reddish colour. Her whole lower body was covered in soggy blood stained water.

*Heave*

"Oh Celestia, this is awful." Twilight stammered. 

Trotting out of the shallow grove worn into the ice Twilight took a few deep breaths and shook herself like a dog would. Red splatters showered the whole area around her. Grimacing at the horrid sight Twilight moved as far away from this whole scene as she could. Pulling herself forward toward a small jut in the snow the mare sought a vantage point. The winds had died a quiet death, only now gently brushing her mane and ears. Settling a top the mount Twilight glanced around again looking for any sign of a land mark or civilisation.

"Whew, nothing." Twilight stated. Sighing a little she took stock of her condition. "Well at least I've got enough strength to walk."

"Now, wings?" Twilight had fluttered the damaged limbs a little. "Ugh, painful but healing at least."

*Poke*

"My horn isn't bleeding either! Oh good." Twilight let out a great sigh of relief. "Wings I could live without, horn not so much."

"Mhm, the sky is clear." It was early morning, the sun was no more than an hour away from rising. The moon was just about to lower beyond the gaze of the world, the stars following close by. Twilight took a moment and cast her sight around the shimmered lights. "Ah! Taris the seeker!"

Taris the seeker was a star that Luna had placed in the sky to commemorate the famed explorer of the same name. Taris had captured the night Princesses heart and soul. Always out adventuring he went to many famous places and saw many wondrous sights. He would always relay the stories to Luna who had been no more than a filly at the time. Of course with adventuring came great danger and one day he set forth for a land of magical wealth in the east, never to return.

Luna had been heartbroken, her grieving caused the sky to darken with no light shining on the day when she had finally given up hope of his return. The next day as a memorial Luna placed a star in the sky, in honour of a conversation she had partaken with the explorer. 

The rambunctious stallion had often stated that without a compass he could never find his way. That was the doom of many young adventurer, he had told her. So to prevent any other brave pony wandering aimless in a forgotten wilderness Luna had placed a great light in the night sky that always shone north. It was the least she could do.

Twilight Sparkle was certainly giving praise.

"Ah ha! So if Taris is there and that low...that means I'm north of Equestria!" Twilight gleefully clopped her hooves together. "Quite a ways north, but if I just head south I'll be walking straight home!"

Feeling the airy touch of hope, the mare rose and pointed south. "Ok! Lets do this! Even if I have to walk for a few days it'll be Ok." 

Bringing a hoof to her chest. "No doubt the others are looking for me so I should be fine. Sometime soon they will pop over the horizon and presto! I'll be home before I know it!"

*Clip, Clop*

That was how she got here, in a cycle of endless plodding forward. The march had lasted all day with darkness only now starting to creep into the sky. 

*Growl*

"Ugh." Twilight moaned. 

The endless walking had made her incredibly hungry. The last meal she had eaten was the morning of the accident, a long time ago in retrospect. Twilight again remained thankful for the new alicorn flesh she possessed. Along with hardiness and long life, it was capable of going a long time without food. 

*Growl*

"Shut up..." Twilight grumbled stopping for a moment to poke the offending organ. "Look I know I conditioned you to get hungry at the right time but this is silly!"

*Grouu*

"..."

"I know, I'm hungry too." Twilight sighed wistfully, starting the process of placing one heavy hoof in front of the other. "Won't be long now. ...I hope."

The hope Twilight had possessed at the beginning of the day was rapidly diminishing as it was becoming clear she would have to spend another night here. The heating spell was holding for now but it could only last so long. The weather appeared to be taking a turn for the worse to. 

Twilight watched fearfully as dark storm clouds now rose to rest on the horizon as huge omens of fierce winds and ice. "I think I need some shelter."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


*Snort*

He turned around again, eyes ever watching the dark clouds. Not that any storm here would really bother him but a keen hunter would not use that as an excuse to be lazy. He would not be ambushed in a weak storm such as this. Though in comparison to the monsters that roamed the sea of flowers, his home much further north, this was no more than a gale. 

It had been many cycles since he had come here. A favoured spot of his for hunting, a pleasure he did not often partake in these days. The sea of flowers was his duty but it offered so little sport.

Well that was what he was originally doing, until he felt something nearby. A massive signal, a beacon of magical energy had blossomed a few days walk from his camp site. A clear indication of a mage using spells and out here that meant only one thing. Another Volken was hunting in his territory. The code dictated, this area was his hunting ground and no young upstart was taking it from him.

He was eager, hoping for an honourable challenge. It was a shame really it had been so long since the last time he had spoken to another living being. Still the code dictates, he had left clear signs and notes to any travellers that a warrior was here and actively hunting. Only a desperate fool or bandit would dare to try and take another warriors hunting ground.

"Or maybe another true warrior looking for a good death." He smirked. "So little of them around in this age."

*Sniff, Sniff*

"Close." He muttered, eyes narrowing. "Smells weak...bloody..."

Hope faded quickly, if his target was injured then there would be no sport. His ears flattened as he let out a despairing sigh. "Figures, another bandit cast out and left for dead. Bah." 

Turning around he felt the storm's pace quicken, the rolling heads of dark mist shifting to blacken the sky. "Well I have no time for this." 

He went to leave, an injured outcast was not his concern. If it was a bandit then he probably deserved to be taken by the storm anyway. If it was a warrior then he would not appreciate the help either, and if the injured being was a coward then he didn't want to aid it anyway. As he began the trot back to his hovel a strange thought cropped up.

"What if it isn't a Volken?" 

He slowed to a halt as the errant thought sank in. He became conflicted as the code of the hunter dictated that he should abandon the being, but that only really applied to Volken. Taking another breath of air he searched again for the source of the scent. Finding the trail again he focused on the direction.

"Remember son, all life should have a chance to grow. No matter how small and tiny." An old voice whispered in his ear, causing it to flicker.

Memory overrode his mouth as he uttered the next sentence ingrained in his mind. "Even prey?"

"Prey is subjective son, you could be prey to somecub. In the end you are a Warden, you will have honour and a code to uphold." He smiled at the elder voice's passion. "You are a пророк! You will be a great hunter and protector of the land! I know this because you are my son."

"Yes father." He intoned wistfully. With a huff and a scowl he marched forward toward the scent. "The code of the warden dictates. Better be worth my time."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The wind was smashing into the little alcove Twilight had dug in a snow bank. Flutters of drift occasionally blasting her in the face. The wind's chill while tempered by the heating spell was still seeping into her being. 

"Brr." Twilight shuddered. 

After seeing the storm she immediately began construction of a shelter, which if given the time would of been a great place to stave off the storm. However the winds picked up there pace and Twilight had scrambled for this meagre offering of cover.

*Put-ouwe*

"Ugh, damn snow." Twilight grumbled spitting another blast of ice from her muzzle. "Hmm, I'm soaked."

Unknown to her a hunter had caught her scent and was now approaching her location. Each step was stealthily hidden by the oncoming snow. The hunter knew his targets location and was eager to find her. A shift in the snow caused her to perk her ears.

"..."

"...h-hello?" Twilight called out weakly. "Is somepony there?"

Only the howling wind responded. "Ugh, going crazy..."

*Crunch*

"Uh oh." The mare looked up, the snow bank she had carved her hovel out of suddenly crumbled under the weight of fresh snow. "Whah!"

Screaming as the tumble of snow nearly collapsed on top of her, the mare ran out into the open field. Twilight watched with half-lidded eyes as the whole of her shelter was buried. 

"Great." Twilight roared her anger rising. "Just. Bucking. PERFECT!"

Twilight stomped the floor in fury causing the snow to crunch and crackle underneath. Jumping up and down little puffs of powder blossomed at her hooves. Swirling around Twilight was greeted with a strange sight. A shadow was sat just outside of her vision, snow drifts were clouding the air between her and it.

"Wha?" Twilight mumbled confusion replacing anger. 

Moving forward and pushing through the snow Twilight burst through another drift to find a tall slender beast crouched low to the ground. A muzzle littered with sharp gleaming fangs, coat shaggy and wild with a smattering of rags and packs on its back that fluttered and rustled in the fierce wind. It had possessed one bright blue eye, like the deep waters of a summer lake while the other eye was a twisted sickly green, a colour that she was sure the changeling's would favour.

It was a Volken.

Twilight stopped dead, her heart nearly stopping as well. As ice cold fear laced her veins, her ears flattened and she shrunk down slightly. Twilight knew that Volken and ponies did not get along well, even worse than ponies and changlings. Twilight had heard the tales of Volken who had come and eaten villagers in out lying places north of Equestria. Now she was stood doe eyed in front of one, a beast that would eat her whole given the chance. 

"...Пони?" He spoke in his native tongue. "Это далеко за пределами завесы?"

The beast didn't move for a moment, he merely stayed still. His twisted eyes searching and probing her being. With a flick of his ears he surged forward claws extended. Twilight reacted on instinct as fiery adrenaline flooded her system. Turning around she delivered a firm buck to the side of the creature. Twilight watched him tumble away in a flurry of movement, that he quickly recovered from.  Surprise filled him as he had clearly not expected this action. His lips pulled back to reveal a horrific snarl.

"Вызов." He barked. He surged forth again, this time teeth bared. "Наконец-то!"

This time her body reacted on another instinct, flight. "AH!" 

Twilight bolted faster than she had ever run before. Each step carried with it a sampling of snow slower her down. The earlier feeling of iron in her hooves had vanished to be replaced with a feeling of limitless energy. Crashing through the snow banks Twilight reached a section of clear flat ice. Breaking into a full gallop she chanced a glance behind her. The Volken was just breaching the ice plain lagging far behind her. 

Twilight Sparkle was out running him. 

"HA! I'm doing it!" Twilight felt a burst of prideful energy as she pushed herself even harder.

*!*

*CRACK*

"WHUA!"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Unknown to her the real reason she was outrunning the hunter was because he wasn't stupid. The ice here was fragile and unstable. Even a cub could see that this was going to end badly. So he slowed and waited for the stupid prey to cause it's own demise.

*CRACK*

"WHUA!" The pony screeched, hooves flailing as it tumbled out of view.

*Snort*

"Stupid creature." He scoffed.

In most cases he would of simply turned and left at that. But this was a hardy pony indeed if it had been trying to survive here. "Mhm, better check."

Padding forward gently so as not to test the wiles of fate, the hunter closed on the preys last location. He expected to see it speared on the ice below, or at least splattered from the immense drop. Instead he was greeted with a purple pony clinging desperately onto an outcropping.

*?*

She was scrambling to gain a pawhold with her hind legs while her forelegs struggled to maintain grip on the outcrop. Nickering the mare spotted him. "P-puh-please help-p." 

*!*

"Help!" He raged internally. "You challenge me and then beg for help!"

"P-Please..." She called out shivering.

He merely sat still, shock evident on his face. Her legs made another meek attempt at grabbing a pawhold. Amused he watched as the little purple thing desperately held on for dear life.

"The code dictates."

Jumping a little, the wolf glanced around finding nothing but him and her. "Grr, don't insult me eldar."

Growling fiercely, he reached down and gripped the mare by the scruff of the neck. With an almighty toss the hunter dumped her onto the ice.

"Ompf!" She uttered in a pained squeak. In an instant she was up and limping away from him.

"You cannot run little pony." The hunter called out. She froze, turning around slowly her ears swivelling with her. "The storm is still young and she will not let you go."

Padding forward to bring his muzzle inches from her shrinking form. "Neither will I." He snarled snapping his jaw.

"Wait!" She yelled pushing her hooves out to fend him off.

He stopped snarl worsening. "Wait? For what little pony?" 

She appeared to think for a moment before adopting a large smirk. Taking a deep breath she bellowed loudly into the sky. "I-I am Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria! If-if you attack me then there will be repercussions upon you and your people!"

He stood stunned, first over how loud that had been, second over the sheer audacity of this little creature. Frist it attacks him, then declares that if he stuck back he would suffer for it! 

"Heh." He chuckled. "Hehe, AHHAHAHA!"

Her smirk fell away rapidly as he began to fall over in hysterics. "Wh-What's so funny!"

Blinking away the tears that had followed the out burst of laughter, he let out a another wicked smile. "Take a good look at where you are little pony." The hunter growled. 

*?*

The prey looked left, then right clearly seeing nothing but endless fields of stormy white. Twilight frowned for a moment before the point sunk in. Her face contorted into a mask of dread as she now understood something she had missed earlier.

They were alone.

Twilight shrank back as he moved closer. "Here in this storm, here in this place, here beyond the edge of the map there is no law." 

He moved over her shivering form and placed a paw to her chest as he moved to whisper in her ear. "Do you really think anycub will care if I eat your flesh and bury your bones in this ditch? Do you really think anycub will find you? Do you even know where you are? Does anycub else?"

She started to violently shudder at this revelation. "Puh-please..." Twilight choked quietly, great sobs racking her chest. "Please d-d-don't e-eat me-hee-heeeee!"

"Why not!" He growled, before taking her neck in his fangs and vicious shaking her. After a pained squeak he threw her to the floor.  "After all the trouble you've caused me!"

"You come into My hunting ground! Scare away my prey! Challenge me! Then have the balls to beg for mercy!"

Anger boiling over the Volken turned to face up and loosed a loud howl unto the sky which shook the very snow and ice around them. "Give me a reason, Pony!"

His anger burned bright as he lowered his gaze at the offending creature. His fury was replaced quickly however at the scene unfurling before him. The little creature had slumped down, defeated. Her legs tucked under her being as she curled into shaking ball. The eyes became wide and watery as the mare quietly sobbed. Ears flattened against her head as the tattered remains of what used to be wings covered her tear filled eyes with . Little pools of blood coiled around her head as the crimson ran from the bite on her neck.

"M-Ma-Make it qu-quick." Twilight sobbed.

*!*

"Please make it quick."  Another female voice echoed, stunning him still. 

"Летние?" He whispered into the raging wind.

He glanced down at the blood that seeped into his coat. He had shamed himself. The code dictated and he had nearly broken it. Not just the code of the hunter but the code of the warden as well! 

"How many oaths have I nearly broken today?" 

The prey perked a little, eyes widening and searching. He glared firmly, her form shrinking away from the fiery gaze. 

"Grr, get up prey!" He shouted finally.

"Wha?" Twilight said meekly.

"UP!" He barked, the pony jumping to her feet in an instant.

Pushing his muzzle to hers he spoke. "Why are you here?"

"I-I, uh..." Twilight stammered her words tumbling out in a rush.

"Quickly pony before I change my mind."

Squeaking she shuffled about before answering. "I'm l-lost."

"Oh for the love of the great hunter..." He placed a paw to his snout. "I can see that you fool!"

She slumped back down again in terror. "What I want to know is why you are lost here! This is months away from your puny empire."

"M-Months?" Twilight questioned.

"How. Did. You. Get. Here!" He roared.

"Eep! Iwascaughtinamagicalaccident!" The mare blubbered.

"..."

*Snort*

"Figures. You ponies and your weak prey magic." He said glowering down at her. Twilight said nothing as she lay in the bloody snow. 

"Mhm, I am going back to my camp." He said after a moment. "You can stay here or you can come with me."

Her head shot up in shock as her mouth gaped open. "Wha?! You're letting me live?"

"Hmph. For now." He said, stalking away from the stunned pony. She watched him walk out of sight back into the drifts before jumping to her hooves and scrambling after him. Only to be felled by a sharp pain in her hoof.

"Ah! Owie..." Twilight crumpled back down onto the ground. He turned back to see her looking at her foreleg. The mare had clearly twisted it funny when he had thrown her.

"Grr."

Stalking back he stood over her again. "Be still." 

Gathering himself he pulled his pack off, to reveal a pair of feathered wings. She again gaped at the hunter as he ignored her gaze and summoned his power. Blue and green lines of magical power surged forth bringing out a marking across his fur. The winds picked up only to be blasted away, leaving the pair in a clear bubble of air. He reached out with his ethereal touch and gathered her up.

"EEP!" Twilight cried in newly found terror at being lifted up so easily.

"BE STILL!" He roared again.

Twilight went limp in his magical grasp. He tried again, wrapping her broken form in his magic. The lines of green and blue glowed from his eyes and twisted around her like vines. The magic moved around her broken horn, wings and injured hoof. With some amount of effort the hunter repaired what damage he could. Her wings and horn had already been under a magical spell, likely her own. It had dulled her magic and made the horn useless, he reasoned that it was to protect it. With little to do there he moved to her neck and leg. That was much easier to fix, a few punctures with a twisted ligament.

A few moments later he lowered her to the ground. Grinning a little at her stunned expression he turned around and stalked off again. "If you're coming then hurry along little pony!" He called over his shoulder.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"He's a mage!" Twilight thought to herself. "A powerful one too!"

Her face blushed a little at the memory of his touch. It had been wild, untamed and yet firmly focused. Twilight had felt him probe her wings and horn, something that made her blush harder. Doing such a thing in pony society was an intimate act, to do so without permission, offensive. Yet his magic had been so strong, Twilight was sure she would not of been able to fight him off easily even in her normal state. He had plucked her up as if she was a doll. 

Her eyes slid back to him, he was stalking a little ahead of her, sniffing the air. Twilight watched with interest as every movement was placed carefully, never too heavy to cause a print. His wings were still unfettered though they remained tucked at his sides. She had never guessed that Volken had wings or magic, Twilight had always thought that they were like earth ponies. The magic sealed inside allowed to slowly bleed out into their natural environment over the course of their lives. It was a surprise to say the least. 

Her gaze followed along his slender back to the packs that he carried. They had been repositioned to his rump leaving them to dangle of his tail a little. The tail was a long bouncy thing that the winds caught and tussled a wild, ragged looking thing. 

Everything about him was fascinating. The Volken never really bothered with Equestria too much, aside from the village raiding thing. Their culture was a bit of a mystery and if Twilight loved something it was a good mystery. She was gushing at the chance of talking to this beast and learning things about it. Until Twilight saw his teeth again.

*Gulp*

"Still scary..."

"What are you doing?" Twilight asked after a moment, intrigued at his sniffing and desperate to get her mind onto something else.

"Mhm? Smelling the storm." He replied muzzle still in the air.

"Why?" 

"To see when it will end."

Twilight looked around, the wind was more fierce than it had been since it started. Snow came down horizontal, lashing at her mane and tail. Ice in the ground pushed her hooves back with every step.

"A while I take it?" Twilight called out.

"Nope! Any second now!" He replied with a smirk.

With that the storm all but ceased, the snow falling down in flutters as the wind died around her. Twilight balked at the sudden change in climate.

"Huh?" Twilight stated looking around at the sky.

"It is the area. With nothing to hold them back these storm come quickly and pass just as quickly." He answered. 

"I see." 

They plodded forward for a little while before she asked another question. "How far away is your camp?"

"Few days walk."

"D-Days?" Twilight said wilting.

"Days that you clearly don't have." 

"What?"

The Volken stopped and sighed. Pointing just past her, he indicated the orange glow that permeated her being. "The heating spell around you. It is about to fail."

Twilight glanced around to look at the bubble. She hadn't noticed before but orange glow that once burned a bright warmth was now almost gone, a shimmering haze left behind in its wake. 

"Oh."

Without it Twilight would clearly die of the cold in a matter of hours, with no coat or cloth of any kind. "What do we do?"

A grumble was all he uttered before settling his packs down onto the ground. "Hold still I will teleport us to the camp."

"Teleport?!" Twilight said, confused. "You can teleport?"

"Hmph. A little trick I picked up off one of your pony mages. About the only useful spell you ponies seem to know." He grinned maliciously. 

"Hay!" She shouted feeling indignant. "We know lots of powerful spells!"

"Yet none that could save your life." He finished. Twilight had no quip to that and fell silent, face flushed with anger and embarrassment. "Regardless, be still for this. I have not done this in a long while." 

With a rush of power he unfurled his large wings again. Her face became paler as Twilight saw taunt muscles flex under the coat.

"Celestia! He could rip me in half if he wanted to." Twilight grimaced.

After the wings beat twice a rush of power was felt around her and then the world distorted. A normal ponies teleport is a blinding flash, leaving the user unaware of what occurs during transit. It was usually a quick blast of energy, any more and the user could end up over shooting the area required. This was something else entirely. Her body dissolved into tiny fragments of purple dust that glittered and sparkled. The world sank away beneath her gaze, the clouds becoming the new floor. Her mind was locked in a stunned state, the world whisked by below. The ground becoming a beautiful blur of white and blue. She felt ecstatic at the method of travel. All to soon the world rose before her sight, her body reforming into the correct shape.

With a gasp Twilight collapsed to the floor, her body still in shock. "Wh-What was that?!" 

"A teleport?" The Volken wondered aloud. "You ponies invented that you know."

"That wasn't a normal teleport!" Twilight cried, stumbling back to her hooves. 

"Hmph. I had to adjust it for my magic." He muttered.

"It was amazing!" She gushed racing forward and gripping his shoulders. "You have to show me what you did!"

"..." He fell silent as his gaze became rock solid. "Get. Off. Me."

"Oh!" Stumbling back Twilight shook her head fiercely. "Sorry." She added meekly.

*Grunt*

He gathered his packs before moving over to a patch of snow. With a snort the hunter began to dig into the bank of snow, blots of it flying past her as Twilight ducked for cover. After a few moments he disappeared under the white powder. Twilight blinked placing her muzzle over the edge of the hole she saw a dark tunnel. 

"Uh?" 

"Hurry up pony!" The hunter called up the tunnel. 

Frowning she shrugged and let herself slide down the hole. The cramped tunnel was easier to navigate than Twilight had guessed. The walls were slick and slippery, allowing her to glide down. Picking up a bit of speed Twilight started to panic as she felt her body rush forth.

"Whah!" The mare cried as she exited the other way in a tumble. "Oof!" 

"Are you ponies always this clumsy?"

"Sh-Shut up!" Her face flushed. Looking around Twilight gazed at the ice cave she found herself in. Despite being made of solid ice it was surprisingly warm in here. "Wow, pretty." 

Her eyes followed the deep blue that was featured in the walls. The evening sun could still be seen shimmering through the icy dwelling. Looking back down she saw the Volken looking at her with a frown, his head tilted to one side.

"What?" Twilight asked sheepishly.

"...nothing." He muttered, turning around. Placing his back packs onto the icy floor he began to glow again. The magic shifting around him to create an ethereal fire in the centre of the room. Instantly true warmth fluttered into the cave. 

"Ahh..." Twilight sighed dreamily, her hooves guiding her close to the purple blaze. Just in time too, the orange bubble had finally collapsed. "This feels great."

Her eye lids drooped, as the heat soaked into her coat. The Volken moved forward, lowering himself down on the other side of the fire. He began to groom himself, licking his chest to scour the dried blood from his coat. Twilight tried to avert her gaze out of embarrassment, as she looked away another thought came along. Twilight realized she did't know his name.

"Um..." Glancing back out of the corner of her eye.

"What?" He paused, glowering at her.

"Oh, well I just wanted to thank you..." Twilight uttered meekly bringing her gaze to point at the fire.

"You're welcome." He said returning to his ministrations. Only for him to grunt when he noticed she was still looking at him. "What!"

"Um! I just- uh...what's your name?" Twilight picked at the ground with her hooves while staring at the fire.

"Пророк."

"P-Poprock?" Twilight tried.

If he had been giving her an angry glare before she was sure he was trying to kill her with his gaze now. "S-Sorry I didn't mean-"

"Пророк. It means Prophet." He stated.

"They call you Prophet?"

"Yes." 

"Oh."

"Go to sleep pony. You need rest."

A little apprehensive at just falling asleep in the same room as a being that tried to kill her earlier. The mare fidgeted and shuffled trying to prolong the effects of wakefulness. Prophet merely rolled his eyes and finished his grooming. Letting out a snort he plopped his head down sealing his eyes shut. Another wave of sleepiness washed over her again. Deciding to let it go, Twilight slumped her own head down to rest on her forelegs. Within a few moments she was fast asleep.

Prophet opened his eyes to look at her intently. Once he was sure she was sleeping he rose to pad quietly over to her resting form. It was infuriating that this pony had her looks. Although more rounded of course, she was a prey creature. Still the thoughtful gaze, the kind mouth and nose, all the things he remembered from her now rested on this thing.

The sleeping pony shivered, even with the fire her coat was still to short, a being built for summer plains not the frigid north. That and the blood loss from earlier, it was a miracle she was even alive. He retrieved a pelt from his pack and lowered it over her. In seconds she let out a sniffle and snuggled into the warmth.

"Летние? Вы вернулись к мучить меня?" He whispered a tear streaming his muzzle.
> The Wardens Oath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


"You've heard of prey chewing off a leg to escape a trap? There's an cowardly kind of trick. A true hunter would remain in the trap, endure the pain, feigning death that he might kill the trapper and remove a threat to his kind."


- The Warrior Priestess: Gaius, talking with the young Hawk



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


It was warm, soft, like she had been wrapped in a blanket of pure comfort. Snuggling down with a quiet yawn Twilight Sparkle let herself doze for a while. Her mind reflecting blearily on the days past, the time Rainbow had won the Best Young Flyers competition, Applejack and her impromptu trip to Dodge Junction, or the more recent time of finding herself as a Princess alongside her mentor and friend Celestia.

Her doze was interrupted when a sudden tickle filled her nose. Twilight grimaced a little before letting out a sneeze. "Ah-Chu!"

*Sniffle*

"Ugh, gross." Twilight uttered wiping her nose. Opening her eyes she was greeted by the sight of a wall of cloth, or fabric, she couldn't tell. "Huh?"

Pulling the lip of the soft quilt over her head she found herself in a icy cave. Memories of the accident, the walk and subsequent  encounter with a Volken returned in a flurry. 

"Oh yeah."

Twilight let out another snort before rising reluctantly from the warmth. She cast her gaze about the place, the fire had lowered it's blaze to a smoulder with the light it cast off mixing with streams of sunlight that filtered down through the walls in a crescendo of colour. Twilight smiled at the display while her gaze wandered the cave looking for the individual who had saved her the previous day.

"Prophet?" She called weakly. 

The small echo of her own voice was all that answered. Examining the cave she came upon a small wooden bowl filled to the brim with an assortment of petals and leafy greens. Frowning, she lent down to take a whiff of the plants. They smelt of the berries that grew in the summer heat on the hills near Ponyville. As the fruity scent entranced her senses, her stomach annoyed at being ignored for so long announced it's presence.

*Gruwl*

Twilight jumped a little at the sudden noise, her face turning pink slightly. Glancing around to find no trace of the Volken, the mare let out a small chuckle as she patted her rumbling belly. "Ok I get it, I guess he left these for me?"

Shrugging the mare nudged the bowl closer to the fire before settling down to eat the offered breakfast. Sifting through the assortment of food Twilight began to eat. She decided to try the petals first. The dainty looking things were pinkish in colour with a subtle white trim. Plopping a few into her maw Twilight chewed tentatively before guzzling the rest down.

"Wow! These are delicious!" She said her voice muffled by the food. 

Once the petals were consumed she moved onto the leafy greens. The leaves were a deep evergreen that spoke of richness and vigour. Riding on the assumption that they would taste good as well, Twilight shoved a whole bunch into her hungry mouth and chomped down.

"Urk." In an instant Twilight's jaw locked in place as the foul taste offered began sinking into her tongue. "Bleh!" 

"Oh Celestia! That was awful!" She yelped whilst spitting, trying to remove the horrid texture.

Deciding to ignore the leaves Twilight made sure she could find no more petals before she pushed the bowl away from her. Her stomach was pacified a little at the breakfast but not by much. The organ still churned, begging for more food. Letting out a sigh the mare rose again and trotted back over to the comfy sleeping bag.

"I wonder where Prophet is?" Twilight thought idly.

Her body shivered a little so Twilight lifted the edge of the quilt with the intent of dragging it back to the fire. That was until she noticed something she had missed earlier. The sleeping bag had fur attached to it.

"Oh no..." She said her face losing all it's colour. "This isn't..."

Flipping the quilt over, she watched in total horror as it thumped back down to reveal itself. The quilt was actually the skin of another creature. She placed a hoof to her mouth as she felt the breakfast rise to her throat.

"Oh it is!" Twilight yelled backing away from the thing. "I slept in that-"

*!*

"I'm gonna be sick!" Twilight dashed up out of the tunnel which was mercifully short to blast out into the morning sun. 

Leaning over and placing a hoof to her chest the mare took a few deep breaths, slow and deliberate. Pacing her breathing Twilight was able to calm her fluttering stomach. Once sure she was able to hold her food Twilight took a good look at the area. The winds that had plagued her all day yesterday had vanished. Only a mute breeze flushed past, whistling gently as it went. The morning sun was glaring harshly off the icy floor, as it reflected the light into the clear blue sky. Momentarily forgetting the skin down in the den Twilight plopped her rump down to admire the scene.

"It's pretty here." She said to herself idly tracing a hoof in the snow. 

The beauty of this place was undeniable, the quiet thrums of nature, the endless fields of shimmering white. She would never think of living here, but it was somewhere she would like to return too. Maybe when she had some equipment and her friends. 

Twilight felt her thoughts drawn back to the more immediate, down in the den was the skin of another creature. Up here was the cold and snow. She was conflicted over what was worse when a shiver assaulted her, deciding the internal debate.

"Brr." Shaking a little Twilight picked herself up and reluctantly returned to the den.

Twilight's mind worked with the rational, logical centres as it tried to justify the reason for the pelt. "Of course a Volken is going to use a pelt, the Griffons do the same." Her mind reasoned.

"Doesn't mean it's not disgusting..." She muttered to herself, pushing past the pelt to stand over the fire. Looking around Twilight felt a little concerned at how messy the den was. Bags and tools lay strewn about the place, the pelt she had slept in was now cast aside and the bowl of food still had a spit-wad of disgusting leaves in it. Twilight felt the obsessive need to keep everything orderly and tidy rear its head. 

"Mhm, I better clean this place up."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


He had almost forgotten this feeling, the thrill of the hunt. Prophet couldn't stop his grin from surfacing as he stalked forward toward the prey. He had been tracking this particular animal all morning, a snow fox. He could of gone for something bigger, there were deer roaming the wastes a little further south. But he didn't need all that food, he was only needing to feed himself after all. 

"Thou Shalt Not Hunt More Than Thine Needs." Prophet whispered gently.

The hunter was perched atop a snow drift waiting. Prophet had followed all the training and experience he had learned, placing snow in his muzzle to hide his breath, shifting to bury himself slightly to hide his coat. The snow fox would have to be really lucky to evade him. It had burrowed into the ice for the moment probably to create a den for future offspring. 

"Spring is fast approaching." The hunter mused.

As Prophet sat waiting his mind wandered back to the purple being he had left in the den. He had awoken to find the pony still slumbering away. The injuries she had sustained from their encounter had healed nicely. The wings were still tattered but there was not much he could do for that, healing magic wasn't really his thing. Minor things like twists and punctures was something all Volken learned to heal as a hunter, regardless of magical aptitude. The ability to fix oneself was paramount to be being a living Volken as opposed to a dead one. 

Still true healing magic had never meshed well with Volken. The few mages produced were always snapped up by clan leaders to serve as battlemasters. The Volken people had often just purchased the time of willing Griffon or even pony healers, when they could be convinced. 

Prophet could of used magic to savage this prey that lay before him. The Elder Hunter knows how many young mages think they can just use magic for everything. He smiled at memories of his own youth where he had tried to convince his father that the old methods of hunting were wasteful.

"Do not speak as if you know boy!" The old man's voice swished by his ears. "Do you think your power is endless? What happens when you find one better than yourself? The old methods are not there to punish you boy! It is to give you an edge, when all else fails you. Remember this."

Prophet knew his father was right, the youthful version had scoffed back then, but now he knew better. 

"So much better." He mumbled.

A few moment passed before a movement in his vision stilled him. The fox poked it's head out of the hole, sniffing the air cautiously. The little creature dipped back down for a few moments before raising out of the ground. The hunter grinned, his teeth glinting in the sun. The trap had been set, a small offering of berries that the fox's here consume for sustenance during hard months of winter. The little beast shifted over to the small pile of red berries and began to nip at them. 

Prophet stilled his breathing, closing his eyes as well. With a burst of adrenaline he surged forth from the snow, flakes of ice showering the area behind him. The little creature looked up to see a snarling monster rushing toward it. Turning tail and sprinting back to the den it had built it scrambled for it's life.

Prophet felt the rush of power as he closed down on the little fox. It was just about to escape it's head ducking down into the den. Just as it moved to escape he thrust his own muzzle down and latched onto the fox's tail. It let out panicked squeaks as he dragged it back out into the plain. Throwing it down it scrambled to recover and dash for it's life when Prophet clasped his fangs around it's neck. With one almighty shake the spine was sundered leaving the fox to fall limp in his grasp.

Letting the diminutive thing fall from his muzzle the hunter allowed his body to calm itself. The fiery energy simmered down to be replaced with more normal feelings. Not forgetting the Code he lowered his gaze to the fox's body.

"Be one with the wheel." He droned dutifully whilst placing a paw to the creatures head. "I thank you for this bounty Elder Hunter, let the world know that I shall not waste." 

Once satisfied that his duty was complete the Volken picked the prey up and placed it in a holding pack on his back. The restraints of magic lifted by his hunt, Prophet let out a burst of energy sheathing himself in a cloak of energy. To an outsider he simply shimmered into nothingness, with only a set of paw prints left in the snow. Normally he would of trotted back to camp under no spell but it was easier to travel this way, the bandits of late had been pushing further and further north. The last thing he wanted was to be caught in a battle with outcasts. 

Flexing his wings the hunter kicked off the ground with an almighty shunt. Taking to the air he flapped hard and fast, eager to return to the den.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Whew!" Twilight sighed happily. "All done."

Twilight had set to work earlier in an effort to clean the cave. It was the least she could do after Prophet had saved her life. First she had taken the bowl and dumped the contents in a small hole near the den. Using the snow to scrub the bowl a little she had returned to place it back near the fire. Next she reluctantly collected the pelt, folding it over in the process. Taking the square of fur she started to organise the area around her side of the den. The square becoming the resting place for the bowl.

After that was done she moved over to the Volken's side and started sorting through the tools. Various things from hammers to claw devices were left strewn about. Frowning at what the uses for them might be she glanced idly at the square of fur. Shuddering Twilight decided against thinking about it and just settled on sorting them out. 

An hour or so must of passed as Twilight moved things about the cave. After she was done Twilight settled down onto the ground in front of the fire, her eyes wandering a little. It was much tidier in here now, bags and packs now rested in order of size, tools all settled in order of sharpness rested on a patch of cloth, which she was sure was cloth this time. 

As Twilight sat the mare fluttered her wings a little, remembering the damage done to them. Looking over to her back she saw the tattered limbs shudder a bit as she flexed the muscles. They stung and prickled as the nerves around them announced that more time was needed to heal. Still hope filled her as she knew that if the nerves were working, she was at least recovering. 

Twilight let out another shaky sigh as she lifted a hoof to prod gently at her other wound. The horn affixed to her head still let out pangs of pain every now and then. Her hoof traced gently up its length, feeling the crack that ran its course to the top. Sniffling a little the mare hesitated for a moment before placing her hoof to the very top, feeling the broken section that had snapped off.

*Sniff*

Tears began to stream her face as the usual power that resonated in her horn was gone. Only a dull empty feeling remained there reminding her of her loss. Brining the hoof down sharply to cover her eyes she let out a few despairing sobs.

"I-It'll be Ok." Twilight repeated in a mantra. "It'll h-heal just f-fine. You'll s-see."

*Sniffle*

Feelings of despair rose forward and reared their ugly heads, her mind racing with panicked ideas. What if the Princesses cast her out? What if her friends no longer liked her? What if she never healed?

*Stomp*

A purple hoof cracked down onto the ice shattering the in front of her. "No! Stop it!" 

"You'll be fine!" Twilight shouted wiping the tears away. "You're being silly."

A plunking noise drew her attention, the bags in the corner of the cave had fallen spilling their contents over the ground. Eager for a distraction the mare lifted herself over to the bags. The largest pack had deposited a few trinkets. Twilight sat down and picked up a large wooden flower that had been painted rather sloppily. Turning it over she saw an inscription on the back: Луна.

*?*

"Nyha?" Twilight tried. "Wonder what it means?"

The thing was well cared for, clearly important to the Volken. Placing it gently back into the pack, she looked over the other trinkets. A few feathers, a smooth black stone and an assortment of quills. As she shifted through the mess, placing each item back into the pack her gaze fell onto the final item.

"A book?!" Twilight uttered, stunned at the the tome. 

It was bound it what appeared to be synth-leather, a creation that ponies had come up with to protect old tomes, but she guessed it was probably the real thing seeing as it was a Volken book. Swallowing the queasy feelings again she pushed past it to open the book. It was written in the script of the Volken, unreadable to her. She gasped in frustration at her misfortune. Still the book did contain a large helping of illustrations.

"Hah! These are so pretty!" Twilight said gushing over each picture.

The book looked like a story book, every other page depicted a large Volken in various scenes and situations. It's large wolf like features seemed to dominate every page. At the start it seemed to show the large wolf as some kind of warrior seemingly always engaged in battle.

"I wonder if he was a local hero of something?" Twilight placed a hoof to her head in thought.

The book continued, showing scenes of the mighty warrior fighting endlessly with many creatures. After a few more pages the story clearly changed, a single scene showing the mighty warrior stood still. He seemed to be stunned into submission by the image of another Volken, a female by the look of things. She was covered in wreaths of flowers as a single bird perched upon her muzzle.

"Wow. It must be a love story!" Twilight felt her inner filly giggle madly at this revelation. Everything else was blissfully forgotten as the happy mare flipped from page to page.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


*Vo-fum*

Prophet cracked his wings again shunting the air away from him. He was starting to sweat. The energy to run the cloak along with his flying was beginning to tire him. His mind wandered a little, thoughts of his meal soon filling most of the space. It had been so long since he had eaten something he had caught himself, he was nearly drooling at the planned dinner.

*Vo-fum*

Another crack of the wings and he entered the plain his den was located in. The sun was glaring down onto the plain, causing the ice to shimmer like glass. If he had been visible Prophet was sure he would have been able to see his reflection. The winds were starting to pick up again as the effects jostled him some.

He crested the last hill to see the few spikes of ice that jutted from the floor, the markers of his lair. The warmth of the den and it's fire were calling him as he pushed himself harder. With his lair in sight his mind cast about to remember the guest that had slept there last night. An ugly thought arose. 

What if the pony was still there? 

He let out a snort at the absurd notion. The pony was clearly frightened by his mere presence, as it should be. He suspected that the silly thing had taken the first chance she had gotten and bolted. His mind glowered a little, if she had taken anything from his lair she shouldn't have then they were destined for another encounter.

*Vo-fum, fum, fum*

With a few more flaps of his wings the hunter lowered himself to the ground. Releasing his hold of the magical current the Volken fluttered back into existence. Fluffing the wings a little he tucked them back to his sides, placing the packs over them. It was better this way, last he needed was for others to note his wings. A stray pony seeing them was one thing, many would disregard her claims, but a Volken would cause a lot more trouble.

Shuffling again he padded toward the cave entrance, noting that the snow didn't appear to be disturbed. Frowning he lowered into the tunnel. A airy giggle wormed it's way up the tunnel to reach his ears.

"It can't be." Prophet said with a dire frown.

Pulling himself out of the tunnel he was greeted with a very odd sight. The den which often looked like a bomb had gone off inside was now clean and tidy. His packs laid out neatly alongside the tools he carried. The pelt that served as the ponies bed was now neatly folded up with her bowl laid out on top. He allowed his gaze to settle on the culprit in question, her tattered wings dancing excitedly about her form. She was snout deep into what appeared to be a book, a book which he recognised. 

"Ahem!" Prophet grunted loudly.

*!*

The mare froze solid, the noise stifling all giggles and stilling her wings. The ears wilted as she slowly turned her head to his location. Prophet stood there his face a mask of anger. Shrinking down as he padded forward to bring his muzzle to hers. 

"Please explain to me. Is this a pony thing?" Prophet asked.

"W-What?" The pony said meekly moving back, book toppling out of her grasp.

"Well among my people, routing through another's things is...very rude..." His lips parted to reveal his vicious looking teeth. His mind was ablaze with fury. Why was she still here? Why was she messing with his things? 

"O-Oh I um...sorry." She uttered. "I j-just was cleaning up and w-well your pack fell over..."

"You cleaned up?" Prophet remarked feeling bewildered as his anger faded a little.

"Y-Yes. I made a bit of a mess with the food you left me." She stammered. "So I thought I'd clean up."

Her hooves picked and pawed at the ground nervously as her eyes remained locked with a speck located near his paws. He was confused, a pony of all things had offered to clean up his den. It was unexpected to say the least, Prophet could only gape at the sight of his lair that sparkled with cleanliness. Still he was well within his right to cast her out of his den now, he was not joking about the routing in others things. 

"Are you mad?" The mare asked looking up at him.

Prophet jumped back as if he had been struck. Her face was the spitting image of her. It was the same unsure pained visage that his Summer had worn when he had first meet her, so many years ago. The wilt in the ears, the soft frown of worry, the way she shifted her forelegs in a flutter. It was so painful, that look she was giving him.

"N-No!" Prophet barked, causing her to flinch. "I just..."

*Sigh*

"I just expected you gone from here." He finished.

She looked down again, her face contorting in despair. "Oh, I s-see."

The pony shuffled about for a moment before lifted off the ground to stand unsteadily on her hooves. Prophet frowned as she moved toward the exit, her back drooping in sadness. Prophet momentarily wondered what she was doing, until it became clear she had taken that as a cause to remove herself.

"Wait." Prophet called after her. She halted mid step to look back, tears welling in her eyes as those soft lips quivered a little. 

"За любовь к Матроны." He breathed, his gaze turning away from the pitiful sight.

"Forgive me pony, that was not a cause for you to leave." Prophet spoke stiffly. "I meant that I would have expected most ponies to leave the moment my back was turned. The danger I pose is enough to cause most prey creatures to flee at first chance."

"W-Why?" The mare asked between sniffles. "You're not going to hurt me right?"

"You're not going to hurt me?"

*!*

Prophet shook his head franticly, the voice of his beautiful Summer echoing the mares statement. She frowned at the sudden flurry of movement he gave off. 

Recovering, the hunter scowled angrily. "Do not insult my honour." Prophet snarled.

"Wha?" The pony started.

"Forget it." He interrupted with a sigh. "Just come and sit."

Pointing to the fire the Volken turned his back on her and stalked over to the packs. Checking the assortment of tools to see if the damn mare had broken or lost anything, he found that each item had been cleaned and neatly laid out. Huffing with appreciation he turned to the last pack. The items inside were very valuable and if the mare had touched-

"S-Sorry." He heard from behind him. "Some of those fell out."

His anger rose again, as he turned to snarl at her. "I p-put them back! I swear!"

"Except the book." Prophet stated.

Her face flushed with embarrassment. "...sorry."

Snorting he looked over the items, all of which had been jostled a bit but clear to her words none had been touched to much. At least she hadn't tried cleaning them. 

"Fine." He turned around to flop onto his belly in front of the book still laid on the ice. "It has been a while since my things have had the touch of a female. Seems you are the same no matter the species."

Her face seemed to turn even redder as the broken wings flitted behind her. "Thank you. I think."

"Hmph."

Prophet lowered his gaze to the book. He reached out gingerly and collected it in his paws. He held the thing as if it were the most precious thing in all his life. The mare's eyebrows rose as she watched the display of affection to the tome. His paws flitted over the pages, flicking from one to the next, his eyes glazed and dull.

"What is it about?" She asked.

He stopped to look up at her before responding. "It is a story. It tells the tale of the great knight Seph."

"Seph?"

"Yes." Prophet nodded. "He was an mighty warrior that slew many foes." 

Prophet let his gaze wander back to the tome. "In the olden times of the world he stalked the dark places of this land and he knew only the paths of the warrior, all who fought him died swiftly."

Twilight began to move closer, shuffling over to listen better. Her eyes filled with awe at the story being told to her. "What happened to him?"

"He fell in love." Prophet stated unaware of her movements. "One day, as he stalked the plains of Wintersbane he encountered a female."

The tome parted to reveal the picture of the female Volken, wreathed in flower and smiling lovingly at the animal. Twilight had now moved over so far that she was sat next to Prophet. Her gaze following his as he scanned the pages. 

"He stopped stunned at her beauty, lost in the sound of her voice as she sang along with the wiles of nature." Prophet continued. "He was so blinded by her that he dropped his sword, something that no warrior would ever do less they shame themselves."

"He move forward to speak to her, and beg her that she might grace him with her name." Prophet turned the page, revealing another picture of a mighty Volken on his knees before the female. "She told Seph her name was мечтатель, or Dreamer."

"The great knight Seph was so be-smitten that he begged her for a chance to prove his glory, so that she might take him as her mate." Prophet said his voice drying up, becoming a monotone. "He bade her stay and await his return, for which she agreed. The knight wandered for a day and a night to return with a great deer he had slain to impress her."

"Dreamer saw this and broke down into tears, her sorrow clouding the sky." Prophet let out a long sigh. "The great knight could not understand why she was saddened, the hunt had been glorious and the bounty plentiful." 

"Dreamer asked Seph why, why had he taken the life of this being when he need not all that it's bounty contained. Seph was left wordless as she sobbed, his mighty heart shamed." Prophet turned to the last page. "It was then Seph threw himself down onto the ground and begged for forgiveness, unable to bear her disappointment. Dreamer broke from the great deer to stand over him and then she spoke to Seph of her sorrow." 

"She explained that the world was a wheel, that all life filters back into the great cycle. He had taken many lives and had placed then into the wheel before their rightful time. He was not a great warrior she claimed, but an unfeeling murderer." 

Prophet placed a paw to the picture, it rested on the image of Dreamer, her face cowled in flowers and light. "Seph broke into a madding state of despair, the knowledge of his crimes flooding his breaking mind. The sword with whom so many had been slain was left strewn behind him. Dreamer merely cast a single gaze at the instrument before it suddenly disintegrated along with all the evil Seph had poured into it in his long life. Dreamer then turned back to Seph, her own being not without mercy. She placed a paw to his chin, raised him up and spoke unto him the way of a true warrior. It's prime tenet engraved into his very being."

"All life has the right to grow. No matter how small or insignificant." Prophet chanted his voice taking a mask of utter reverence. "It was then Seph, the stalker of the plains was remade, from the broken ashes of his past sins the great Elder Hunter arose reborn. Once he had sworn to uphold the Code, Dreamer revealed herself to be The Matron of the world, the deity of life and death and only then did she lay with him."

"Through their union did the first of the great hunters come. Filled with honour and virtue the Elder Hunter and his loving wife taught their sons the meaning of the Code. The methods to hunt, to fight, to survive and the wiles of magic. Once done the couple left this earth to return to Elysium the birthplace of The Matron, the great hunters ever thankful to their blessed parents for the gifts of knowledge, honour and the Code."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"..."

"..."

Silence had settled over the cavern, the Volken was not making any other movements, his mind lost in the meanings of the book. Twilight sat stunned, her own mind desperately trying not to cry at the beautiful tale. The story had left her speechless, it was an origin story, a tale of the Volken birth as a species. She was practically bursting with curious energy. A need to grab a quill, notepad and tea set in preparation of some serious note taking was starting to physically hurt her.

"That was..." Twilight stammered wiping tears away. "That was beautiful."

"Mhm? Hmph, it is just a tale for cubs." Prophet said dryly. 

Twilight was a little taken back at his dismissal, the way he read that spoke volumes to her. Twilight may have once been a wallflower but even she knew when somepony was cared for something deeply. The way he cradled the book was proof enough that if she had damaged it, well she probably would be wandering out in the cold by now.

*Slam*

Twilight jumped as the Volken slapped the book together and stood. He padded over to the packs and put the tome back into the largest one. Once he secured it he walked back to her and nudged her with his muzzle.

"You better leave for a moment pony." He muttered.

"Oh! But I thought-" Twilight stuttered rising unsteadily to her hooves.

"I said a moment pony. Unless you want to watch me gut and skin a kill?" Prophet smirked his teeth showing.

Twilight felt her stomach turn and face pale as she quickly trotted to the exit. Grappling her way back up the tunnel she plopped down onto the ice outside the hole. Pushing the sickening thoughts of what was happening down there she let her mind wander to the story. It was such a wonderful story, it reminded her of the Mare in the Moon tale she had read fatefully many years ago.

Twilight sniffled a bit as she thought of her beloved mentor, her friends, her family, Spike and all the others that were so far away from her. The mare rubbed idly at her eyes wiping the moisture from her face when a shout drew her attention. 

"Pony! You can come down now!"

Frowning the mare lowered herself back down the hole. Once she had returned the smell of blood assaulted her nose, its effect twisting the contents of her belly upside down. 

"Oh Celestia!" She muttered loudly, her hooves covering her snout.

"Mhm?" Prophet was sat in front of a pot that now rested over a burning fire. "Oh the smell, give it a moment pony."

Grumbling Twilight sat down across from Prophet her snout still covered with a hoof. "I have a name you know."

"What?" Prophet said looking up from the contents of the pot.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria." Twilight muttered, indignant.

"I know? You roared that into my face yesterday." Prophet raised an eyebrow.

"Huh? Well why don't you call me by my name!" Twilight thumped her hooves down outraged at the Volken.

Prophet's gaze fell back to the pot with a frown, he stirred the contents for a bit before looking back up at the waiting pony. "Hah, amongst my people it is not customary to give a cub a name until they earn it or are given one by an elder."

Twilight merely tilted her head, too confused to answer. "I had been searching for a name to give you...but I guess that is unfair to you, not being a Volken after all." Prophet continued.

"Why give me a name?" Twilight asked.

"It is our way, the name would reflect on what we think of you. For example a male may be called Trapper, due to his proficiency at trapping prey."

"So what were you going to call me?"

"свет, it means light."

"Why Light?"

Prophet let his gaze lock with her own, his one sickly green eye lighting up, it's magical fire burning away the trappings of the mortal plane. "Because your spirit is saturated with it. It ebbs and flows around the core of your power, it's very beautiful to behold."

Her face flushed, ears flicking about in embarrassment. She was always embarrassed when somepony examined her with a mages eye. "Oh well thank you but just call me Twilight...please."

"Twilight then." Prophet said the power in his eye dwindling away. 

"What did you mean earn it?" Twilight stuttered trying to pry more information from her companion.

"Well, it is akin to your "Cutie Marks" and how they define your place in the wheel." Prophet pointed his paw to the magical start that adorned her flank. "When a cub feels up to the test, he or she is to present themselves to the Clan Elders and show off something they can do to benefit the Clan."

"Then they get a name?" Twilight asked intrigued.

"Yes." He answered. "Twilight Sparkle is not a name we the Volken would accept, it is simply to vague, but if you are truly a leader of your people then you deserve that respect."

Ending the conversion, Prophet glanced toward the wooden bowl. A flutter of power and it drifted over to him as he began to pour a slop of food into it. Her mind alternated between envy at the use of magic and disgust as she remembered that she had eaten out of that earlier today.

"Allow me to eat mine first, then I will fetch you something." Prophet said noting her facial expressions.

"Oh! that's Ok I'm not-"

*Growl*

"..."

"I think your stomach agrees with my plan." Prophet chuckled heartily.

"Hehe." Twilight flickered her ears in shame. "Stupid stomach!"

Prophet ate quickly, bringing the bowl over to the pot to help himself to more of the slop that was inside. Twilight watched as he adopted a face of mild pleasure, the joy stemming from eating a good meal. Curiosity overrode common sense as the mare couldn't contain her inquisitive nature.

"What have you made?" Twilight braved.

"Mhm? You sure you want to know?" Prophet asked.

After she gave a hesitant nod he continued. "First I took the kill and after gutting and cleaning it cut the chucks of meat up and placed them into this brew. I melted some ice for the water, placed some of the flowers and some vegetables from nearby alongside to create a stew."

"Volken eat vegetables?" Twilight asked turning away and hiding her desire to vomit behind her hoof.

"..." Hearing nothing Twilight glanced up to see the hunter glowering at her. "We are not savages, pony." 

Her face went cherry red as she realized the insult she had just cast at him. Looking down at the floor she stammered. "I didn't mean-"

*Snort*

"You are far to easy too wind up!" The Volken laughed. 

*!*

"He's teasing me!" Her mind reeled as she watched the Volken titter at her expense. 

"Hmph!" She grunted, cheeks puffing up with a pout.

The look she gave him could of killed a raging manticore, but he simply laughed harder. The chuckling of the hunter brought a small grin to her own face. She let the warm smile seep over her muzzle as she lowered her head down to rest on her forelegs, the hunter consuming the rest of his food. After a time Prophet downed the last of his stew, dropping to bowl into the pot. 

"Right, I'll fetch you something to eat." He rose and padded toward the exit before slowing to a halt. "Did you prefer anything from what I left this morning?"

"Oh yes those flowers were delicious! Um but the leaves were...nasty..." Twilight wilted a little. "But if that's all that's available then I'll eat them." She said trying not to sound ungrateful.

"Fair enough, makes it easier on me, the flowers are plentiful here." He snorted. "I went further a field for the leaves."

"How did you find flowers here?" Twilight asked as he turned to move away.

"You only see what's on the surface. The flowers grow underneath the frost, they are found on a berry bush that the creatures of this plain live on." He called over his shoulder as he rose to disappear up the tunnel. "I'll be back soon Twilight."

With that Prophet left her alone.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Prophet kicked another chunk of ice, he watched as it skittered away. He had been walking for a while. He had left the den in a jovial mood, company had not graced his presence in a long time. He had allowed himself to drop his guard, laughed with her, teased her and offered to look for food for her.

"What am I doing!" He snarled his teeth gnashing. "She is prey! Nothing more!" 

*Sigh*

"Shouldn't of called her by name." He growled at his own stupidity. "Should of just filled her up and sent her on her way."

He couldn't do that of course, his honour demanded that he make sure of her survival before he could cut her loose. Prophet sighed with resignation, he would of made sure anyway, no creature should really suffer the injuries she had. 

"Getting soft." He grumbled under his breath.

Prophet let his mind wander to times gone, to his Summer and Moon. The mare looked so much like Summer, yet her mind was inquisitive like the little Moon he had told stories so many years ago. As he stood looking out into the night a image of an old wood log cabin appeared in his minds eye. The whole building radiated warmth as a great hearth blazed brightly from inside. 

Prophet approached and placed a paw to the door, gently nudging it open. He breath could taste the scent of bread baking, cinnamon mixed with berries and the silky touch of a woman. "Summer?" He called weakly.

He pushed into the house while an assortment of toys and playthings lay strewn on the floor. He smiled painfully as he recalled all the places he had bought those things to please his little Moon. Breaking past the mess he entered the kitchen to find a figure dressed in a simple blouse and apron, a frilly bonnet wreathed her head.

"Summer?" Prophet whispered, his eyes glazing over.

"Mhm? Prophet?" An airy voice called as the figure turned around to show a pair of soft violet eyes framed by a tumble of dark locks. Her warm smile shone from underneath the bonnet as the Volken moved closer to place a tender paw to his face. "My love?."

The image of his beloved moved closer to place a single kiss to his cheek. Prophet sat, his eyes closed and breathing hard. The touch was ethereal, magical, something from his youth. 

"I miss you..." He called weakly.

"I know." The female answered her voice distorting.

With a frown Prophet opened his eyes. Instead of seeing the love of his life, mother of his child, he was greeted to the sight of a dark purple pony. Her smile warm and loving as the mare placed another kiss on his other cheek.

*!*

All at once the image disintegrated as Prophet collapsed into the snow swatting the last vestiges of the mirage away. His mind reeled at the realisation of what had just occurred. His breath hitched as a torrent of great sobs rocked his chest.

"Why!" He bellowed to the sky. "Have you sent her to torment me! To remind me of my failure!"

Shuddering with sorrow the Volken was startled when the sky answered him back. "Life is a cycle son. I said that one day you'll see them again, to take comfort in that fact."

"I didn't want to see them again." Prophet gasped between sobs.

"Whether you want to or not is irrelevant, the world turns and if you cannot keep up, it will leave you behind." The airy voice of his father filtered down from the sky.

"Why her though? She is so much like them..." Prophet said voice barely audible.

"I know my son. What we do is not to cause you pain, never forget that. What we want you to do is your duty boy. Remember that you swore an oath to me and your mother."

"All life has a right to grow. No matter how small or insignificant. We as the Great Hunters will serve to protect that life no matter the cost to us." 

"That's right. You must look after her Prophet, she is far more important than you realise.

"Her?"

"Don't make the mistake of thinking that little thing is some weakling. Even broken as she is her magic far outstrips any you have encountered before. She is young but the power to remake the world lies within her."

"Remake...the world?"

"You will see. Keep her close Prophet and she will remake you too, as your mother did me."

*!*

"Father?"

Only the empty air answered this time. Prophet lay for a while longer before the winds picked up again, wafts blustering their way down the white plains stirring the snowflakes in the wake of their passing. Letting out a snort the Volken collected the remaining flowers and headed back to the den.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Twilight was bored, her hooves idly picking at the ice underneath. Prophet had been gone awhile and her mind was starting to worry again. She was loath to admit but she was deathly afraid he would just up and abandon her. He was harsh and scary but the only companion she had, if he left she would be in serious trouble.

She again cast her mind over his actions, his sudden switches between joking to dull indifference. It was clear to her that he was not used to dealing with others, maybe even of his own kind. The way he was constantly checking her position, wary of any sudden movement she made reminded her of the stray dogs that Fluttershy kept sometimes. 

She also couldn't help but wonder if he was just saving her for a meal when he was really hungry. The idea seemed silly, but it was a Volken. His story from earlier told of a Code that involved protecting life but he still killed a fox and ate it. What if he suddenly turned round and devoured her in the night? A scraping noise drew her gaze to the mouth of the entrance. After a moment Prophet's muzzle poked through.

"Oh good you're back!" Twilight said rising to her hooves. 

"Worried I'd leave you?" Prophet chuckled darkly as he clambered through the hole.

"N-No!" Twilight halted unsteadily, becoming flustered.

"Whatever. Here's your dinner." He placed a pack of those pink flowers in front of her. 

"Ah ha!" Twilight trotted over to begin shovelling the plants into her maw. "Mmmm." 

She took the offered pack and shuffled closer to the fire, munching happily as she went. She watched as the Volken placed himself down on the other side of the fire. He picked at his coat, shimming pieces of snow and frost from the pelt. As she devoured the plants the concept of food bothered her again. 

"Say Prophet?" Twilight asked gulping down a section of meal.

"Mhm."

"Why didn't you...eat me?" Twilight felt her hooves tremble at the thought. She watched as the Volken stopped his cleaning to stare at her vehemently.

"What did you say?" Prophet growled.

"Well it just seemed like it would of been easier for you to just eat me instead of helping me." Twilight said meekly lowering her gaze.

"..."

"...a few thousand years ago I might of done." Prophet said eerily. 

"What?" Twilight gulped.

"Relax, you remember the story?" Prophet asked watching the mare nod her head. "Well that didn't really tell everything. Back in that age a pony like you would of be hunted and eaten in no time."

Twilight suddenly lost her apatite as her face felt pale. Prophet merely smiled devilishly before continuing. "It was a dark time then Twilight. We hunters killed each other and anyone that crossed us, a nation of violent and bloody killers." 

"When the teachings of the Code came to us we as a people changed and became better as a whole, the killing and eating of those who bear the mark of sentience was a sin." Prophet began to clean his pelt again.

"Of course not all went with the change, some would not, some could not. We did what we could but most had to be wiped out. It was after we left behind that life did we find out something in particular about the devouring of sentients."

"What?" Twilight asked her voice a whisper.

"That it drives you mad. Many of the olden were insane due to the amount they had consumed. That is why I will not eat you Twilight. I have little sanity and I will not waste any more just to eat your pretty little flank." Prophet said with a smirk.

Twilight nearly choked at the comment, her hooves still trembling at the thought of being eaten. "I see."

"Worry not Twilight, I am not so fearsome." Prophet chuckled. "I bet if you had your horn and wings you could easily kill me if you desired."

Twilight tried not to choke again at the horrid thought of killing somepony, even Prophet. Pushing it aside Twilight again attempted to eat the offered meal as she idly watched the Volken stand up and move over to her. 

"Tell me Twilight what do you intend?" He asked plopping down next to her.

"Mhm?" She grunted her cheeks puffed full of food.

"Do you intend to remain in this plain? Start your way south?" 

"Mmpf!" She swallowed with a loud gulp. "Ahem, excuse me. Well I was starting my way south when that storm hit."

"So you intend to leave." Prophet nodded in satisfaction. "Then I shall ask something else."

"What?"

"Do you wish me to travel with you and help return you to your home?" Prophet now stood looking the mare firmly in the eye.

"What!?" Her eyes bulged from their sockets. "I c-couldn't ask you to do t-that!" 

"So you are saying you know the lay of the land? You know how to survive here? You know which plants are edible and those that are not?" Prophet glared at her.

"Oh..." Twilight wilted as the thoughts of common sense sank in. "Well..."

*Sigh*

"Twilight, let me take you home?" Prophet asked letting a paw gently brush her shoulder.

"O-Ok!" She squeaked at the touch. "But why?"

"To make up for a failure I made long ago. Besides it's been a long time since I travelled south. I would like to see the world and what has changed in my absence. Maybe after you are delivered home I will wander to the southern straights and see the Griffons again." Prophet said his eyes drifting off into memory.

"...well thank you Prophet." Twilight said her face suddenly very hot and sweaty.

"No trouble, eat then sleep, we will set out in the morning." Prophet turned away from the flustered mare and laid down near the fire. He was exhausted, the plant scavenge, then the hunt this morning followed all that happened this evening was just crushing. In a mere matter of moments he was asleep leaving the confused alicorn to finish her meal.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


*Sniff, Sniff*

"Mmm, close..."

"How close?"

*Sniff, Sniff*

"Few days hike, west."

"Well we better get moving. Can't let this go to waste."

"How much power do you think it'll have?"

"Enough to get us further south, back to the holds, back to get revenge on the Clans."

"From one prey? You truly think so Snatch?"

"You didn't see it Blaze. I did. It was a beacon of magic..."

*Growl*

"...and I want it."
> Founding of the Clans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


We will purge our old ideals and traditions as we begin anew. Now, while our minds are open and yearning for new insight, we will remould them and fill them with the truth of our destiny. 
For we are destined not only to be different from those in the past, but also better. 


- Nomad speaking to his kin.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Twilight felt the soft rays of light filtering down through the ice. They caressed her face with gentle laps of warmth, tussled her mane, gently pried open her fluttering eyelids. With a long yawn the small alicorn rose and pushed off the pelt she had used, again, as her blanket. She had at first thought to not bother with it but when the temperature dropped she had quickly changed her mind. 

Shaking off the morning grogginess the mare sat up and glanced over to her companion. The Volken was still sleeping his head resting upon his forelegs. She could vaguely see the rise and fall of his form. His soft shaggy coat seemed to reflect the light that shimmered down onto it. 

A smile graced her lips as she watched him for a little while, her mind still waking up. A low groan from her stomach soon redirected her attention. Turning her gaze away from Prophet, Twilight stretched and began to rummage around for some left over plants to eat. Twilight found nothing worth eating except for a few petals left over from the night before, her stomach eagerly hungering for them.

After quickly eating the few petals left Twilight felt the urge to breathe fresh air. Moving back over to the tunnel Twilight cast any other look at the Volken who, unsurprisingly, was still slumbering away. After climbing back up the little passageway she heard the wind bustle for a few moments before she popped her head outside. The instant her face was exposed she felt the cold slap her hard.

"Brr." Twilight shuddered.

While the air was cold and fierce, the actual sky was clear. Great swaths of sunlight burned brightly across the great blue canvas, painting the morning in a sea of rich gold and pink hues. Twilight let out a joyous smile as she watched the sun finish cresting the horizon, the cold forgotten as she gazed at the glowing orb. 

Ever since her transformation into an alicorn her eyes had changed dramatically. The normal pony could not look on the sun for long without hurting themselves, but as an alicorn Twilight could look for as long as she wanted. She could see the very lines of magic that swirled about the orb, its colour indescribable as the magic that kept the world bathed in light twisted and pulsed.

Twilight would have sat there a lot longer if not for the cold that now started to cause her back to ache. Frowning the mare flickered her wings again, the action eliciting a sharp grunt of pain. The tender limbs were nowhere near ready for flight but a quick inspection showed they were healing faster than expected.

"Prophets healing spell must of helped a bit." Twilight mused as she rubbed the left wing gingerly. Thinking back to the Volken still snoozing away down below Twilight turned her gaze back up to the sun. "Mhm, better wake him up."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Twilight stood over the sleeping predator, his form now twisted leaving him to lie on his side. Prophet's mouth had parted to reveal his sharp silver teeth to gleam in the sunlight. For the last few minutes she had tried verbal methods of waking that ranged from gently whispering, to angry whispering, to desperate whispering. 

Twilight was now stuck in a dire situation, her logical side was simply screaming at her to just call his name loudly, but the other more sensible instinctual side was screaming to leave him alone. Finally she decided on physical methods of waking him, namely prodding him. Of course that had been ten minutes ago. She was still unsure on the correct way to prod him. Her hoof trembled a little as she carefully moved closer. 

"Prophet?" She whispered feebly trying to draw attention. "It's time to get up..."

*Grrr*

Twilight's hoof shot back in a flash as the purple mare's instincts kicked in. Darting back she did the only thing she could think of, dive under the pelt and hide. It was only after a few minutes of blind panic that she realized Prophet was still sleeping. Feeling like a silly little filly, she roused and stomped over to poke him in the ribs.

*GRRR*

After emerging from the pelt a second time Twilight decided against waking her new scary friend. "Maybe he'll wake up if I make some noise." She grumbled idly to herself.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


It was unusual, he was wrapped in a deep slumber, the shapeless void covering him in a dreamless state. Normally Prophet was a light sleeper, his ingrained hunter training not allowing to much rest lest it make him slothful. A few hours at most was all that was needed to really sate him. Still the last few days had significantly drained him. So much so that he was awoken rather rudely by a purple hoof prodding him in the back of the head.

"Uwah?" Prophet grunted his eyes flickered open. Turning over as his eyes opened he took note of a purple blur shifting awkwardly in his vision. It resolved to show Twilight looking very embarrassed.

"Twilight?" Prophet shook his head quickly in an attempt to clear his gaze. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, well, I just thought maybe it was time to get going." Twilight shuffled her hooves about nervously.

Prophet sat up and stretched, his back popping as he arched it. Flecking his wings around he cast a look about the cave noting it was really bright inside. 

"What time is it?" He asked still shaking off the deep sleep.

"Uh I think it's about midday..." Twilight trailed off.

"Midday!" Prophet barked, his mind quickly waking up now. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I'm sorry!" Twilight fell down onto her belly, her fore-hooves covering her head. "I wanted to but every time I went to wake you...you started...growling at me..."

Prophet watched the little pony shake a little as she explained that her first attempt at waking him resulted in a rather lengthy trip back under the blanket in fear that he was about to pounce on her. His first thought was to clock the silly thing round the head, until further images of a crying mare clouded his mind. Instead his next thought and action was to start laughing.

"It's not funny!" Twilight shouted, her form upright with a red stained face turned away in a pout. "I was really scared!"

"Why?" Prophet continued with a chortle. "I already told you that I wouldn't hurt you!"

"Hmph!" 

"Nevermind, come on then Twilight." Prophet turned around and began to pack his things. "Help me pack and then we'll be off. May as well get going as soon as we can, it's not to far to then end of the plains..."

*Grouuu*

"...there are quite a lot of plants there too." Prophet smirked as he watched the pony clutch her belly in embarrassment.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


It had taken a while to pack the various tools and trinkets that the cave stored. Twilight was straddled with an assortment of small bags and bundles filled with various plants that Prophet had darted out to collect an hour earlier. She had eaten quickly noting that Prophet had forgone his own meal. As the last of the bags were filled and placed she turned around to see her companion standing in the middle of the cave. 

"Are you ready?" Prophet asked, eyes shimmering with a strange edge.

"Uh, I think so." Twilight mumbled, mentally running a check-list of various things she thought were necessary.

"Good. So let's get some ground rules down first." Prophet started his voice carried by the empty lair.

"Ok." Twilight replied standing directly across from her guide.

"First, don't eat anything without my permission." Prophet said trotting around the mare as she stood in place, head swivelling to keep track of the Volken. "There are a lot of plants we will see on the journey and quite a few are very poisonous."

Twilight let out a solemn gulp as she thought over what the term "Very Poisonous" could entail. "Ok. Don't eat anything, got it."

"Good." Prophet nodded in satisfaction. "In most cases the plants will just give you belly ache but some could kill you, so be careful."

Prophet now twisted around and padded to sit in front of her. "Second, if you have to go the toilet be sure to bury what you leave behind."

Twilight flushed as she heard this remark. "Really now Prophet-"

"I'm being serious Twilight." Prophet snarled. "These rules are important, many bandits and outcasts are here in the northern wastes. Leaving things that can be tracked is bad for our health."

"Ok!" Twilight stammered her head nodding vigorously as the flush rapidly drained away. 

Prophet rose to stand nose to nose with her. The closeness of the situation making Twilight very nervous. She could smell his breath, a scent of copper and metal, something she had not expected. His mismatched eyes felt as if they were boring holes in her as his face contorted into a snarl. 

"Third, if you see anything out of place, a shadow, a blur on the horizon or anything like that..." Prophet leaned in even closer as he pressed his forehead to hers. "...tell me. Understand?"

"Yes Prophet." 

In an instant his face returned to the usual blank indifference as he pulled back. "I'm sorry for shouting but I'm just making sure you remember this. This place is dangerous but as long as you follow those rules this will be an easy trip."

Twilight merely nodded hoping he was being truthful. She turned around making her way to the exit her ears swivelled to take note of the Volken following her. As she reached the exit she turned again to find Prophet glancing over his form, clearly checking he had everything, before padding forward and moving past her. As he did his body stopped and his head flicked over to her.

"Oh! Another thing to remember." He said as her ears perked to listen. "If we encounter any other Volken and they offer you a glass of Vodka, it's in your best interest to drink it."

"What is it?" Twilight asked her gaze locking with Prophet's as curiosity began to burn within her.

"V-Vodka? You know the alcoholic drink?" Prophet sputtered as his face filled with confusion.

"You drink alcohol!" Twilight balked. "Why?"

"...You're kidding." Prophet's face lost the confused look to become a mask of pure shock. "...Ponies don't drink?"

"Not alcohol! It's poisonous!" Twilight said bringing a hoof to her chest in a gesture of horror.

"Don't you think you're being a little extreme?" Prophet snorted as a new look of amusement danced across his features.

"No!" Twilight stomped her hoof down and adopted her lecture tone. "Alcohol is a type of liquid used in the manufacture of many explosives and medicines, but when ingested causes severe neurological problems. Alongside this it also can cause kidney damage and can destroy your liver! Anypony that thinks drinking alcohol is a good idea is clearly stupid!"

"..."

"..."

"Twilight I tell you this now for your own safety. I'll except insults from you as I know that you are not knowledgeable of my culture. However if you ever repeat that to another Volken they will lynch you...Ok?"

"...Ok..."

*Sigh*

"Let's just get going."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


They set off just after midday, the winds that had run through the plains earlier had now eased up to become rather gentle. At first Twilight had made good progress moving quite well through the snow and ice. However after a time the cold was quick to seep into her bones, especially the injured wings. Prophet had found an easy solution to the problem. He took the pelt and quickly tore off a section big enough to cover the mares back. The haphazard cloak may not of been to comfortable to carry but Twilight was very much in favour of suffering that than the bitter cold. 

Prophet had set a fast pace leading ahead of Twilight by about a pony length. The predator padded through the snow occasionally making odd turns to avoid something Twilight couldn't see. His own packs bumped and rattled against his fur, the small collection of cloths fluttering in the breeze.

The couple travelled in relative silence. The wind may have eased up but it was still difficult to make out speech. Twilight followed Prophet with an unexpected feeling of excitement. A whole new world was about to be explored with a new friend. Of course as the day wore on Twilight noted how the "new world" mainly consisted of great empty plains of white snow and brittle ice.

"You seem disgruntled." Prophet said dropping back to allow his voice to be heard. "What's wrong?"

"Oh!" Twilight jumped as he spoke. "N-Nothing."

Prophet merely gazed ahead unmoving from his current position. Twilight meekly attempted to pull ahead only to find that the Volken could keep any pace she set.

"Ugh, fine." She muttered, huffing a little in annoyance and a little from the workout she was undergoing. "I just was really excited about this trip, seeing a whole new place, then finding nothing but endless white."

"Ah I see, well give it about an hour and you'll surely change your tune." Prophet said with a smirk. The Volken pulled ahead again leaving Twilight confused.

"What'd that mean?" 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


*Huff*

"Keep up Twilight, we're nearly there!"

*Puff*

"I'm...trying!" 

Twilight was stumbling forward with a great amount of effort. Prophet had settled on a rock that appeared to be the start of a decline in the land. Twilight had noticed some time ago that the horizon had disappeared. Her mind pictured a slow ramp down toward the land below. Remembering Prophets earlier words about plants she also pictured a place of trees and green.

"R-Right I'm...here." She gasped coming up behind the hunter. 

Prophet merely glanced back and smiled a devilish smile. With a flick of his head he called her over, the Volken moving to allow her to sit alongside him. Twilight grunted as she climbed the rock, her cloak discarded to ease her burden. As she crested the edge of the rock the mare felt her entire stomach twist in fear. The rock was on the edge of a cliff that dropped to depths that could not be seen due to mist that covered the ground. Twilight yelped and clung to Prophet as he burst into a series of bellowing laughs.

The view off the rock was astounding. A huge vista of snowy peaks that cleared away the clouds, the cragged spires reaching almost as high as the cliff they stood on. Down below the mountains were deep emerald green trees that had been sprinkled with snow. Had it not been for the incredibly precarious position she was in Twilight would have been awed.

"Eee, that was good. Haven't laughed like that in-" 

"Can we please talk about this while not sat on THE EDGE OF A CLIFF!" Twilight interrupted.

"Oh be quiet." Prophet sniggered. "I've got you so what are you worried about."

"Please..." Twilight pleaded drawing closer to his chest. "I don't like heights."

*Sigh*

"Ok, Ok." Prophet relented gently handing her back down to the ground. Twilight quickly grabbed the cloak and moved away from the rock. 

"Wait come here." Prophet called to the retreating mare. She turned around to look at him incredulously.

"Why? I'm not going over there! What if the cliff breaks?" Twilight shouted still backing away.

"Twilight these cliffs have been here for over five thousand years! They aren't breaking any time soon."

Still unsure of the Volken, especially after the prank he just pulled Twilight elected to do the sensible thing and stay where she was. Rolling his eyes Prophet padded over to her.

"Twilight the cliffs go on for miles in either direction. There is no food up here and the whole trip down by paw will take over a day." Prophet put a paw to her shoulder. "Come here." He said in a much sterner voice.

Whimpering a little Twilight followed him over to the edge again. "O-Ok, so if it's going to take so long what are we going to do? I can't fly and you can't carry me."

*Grr*

"Twilight." Prophet growled while turning to give her an annoyed look. "Be quiet."

Her muzzle clamped shut at the tone in his voice, her body trembling a little. No matter how much he had helped her the natural desire to far away from something that had as many teeth as he did was overpowering.

"S-Sorry." She mumbled. Twilight waited with her eyes downcast until the sudden feeling of magic began to permeate the air. Looking up she saw great strands of blue and green energy wrap around Prophet's hind legs, his body rising into the air. Only after a moment did she realize what he was doing.

"No w-"

With a great rush of energy she was again lifted into the air, her body becoming a cascade of glittering purple dust. The cliff jumped away from underneath her as she rose high into the sky. The clouds shifted and left swirls in their wake, the shimmering energy parting the very fabric of the world as she moved up. The same feeling of pure ecstasy coursed through her soul, the very edges of her mind blurring with pleasure. With a brief lull at the apex of the jump Twilight felt her mind drift down. The effects were coming to a close and all to quickly her mind was shot down past the edge of the cliffs. Her body was reconstructed at the base where sections of clear blue water pooled under the massive heights of above.

"...ait..." Twilight finished as she tumbled over to land painfully on her side.

"Twilight!" Prophet padded over in a rush to see to the mare. "What's wrong?"

Meekly pawing at the air, her hoof connected with his face. "You've got to teach me that." 

That was all she uttered before passing out.

"Черт возьми, не снова."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The crackle of something burning was echoing in her sleep, the smell of potatoes and greens filled her senses as the mare fought to shake off the void her mind was cloaked in. Opening her eyes she saw a orange blur of fire, tongues of flame licking the inky darkness around. Looking around Twilight saw she was in a clearing of trees. Huge pines towered high above hiding the sky in the murky depths of their branches. 

"Mheh..." She groaned as she licked her dry lips. "Wha?"

"Evening." A male voice rumbled out from behind the fire. "Sleep well?"

Twilight slowly pulled herself up into a hunched position as she let out a deep yawn. Her body trembled a little from the cold so she scooted closer to the blaze. Settling her gaze on the direction of the voice she found Prophet tending to a small pot that lay over the fire.

"What happened?" Twilight asked blearily. "Where are we?"

"First, you passed out. I'm sorry it must be something to do with my teleporting skills, I'm not the best at it." Prophet said.

Oh...I don't know about that... Twilight thought sheepishly to herself. 

"Next we are still at the base of the cliffs, we weren't going to go to far anyway so I found us a good place to set up camp." The Volken finished.

"Oh." Was all Twilight could muster. She noted the slight edge to his voice as if something was causing him pain. "Are you Ok?"

"Mhm." Prophet grunted keeping his gaze locked on the pot. 

"Um Ok." Twilight said deciding to leave it be. She sat for a moment before taking a depth intake of breath catching the scent of something delicious. "What is in that?"

"Soup. I've found a few plants, potatoes to be exact." Prophet picked up a bowl and poured the contents of the pot into it. "You want some?"

*Gruu*

"Hehe, yes please." Twilight said eagerly taking the bowl and ignoring the sounds of her grumbling belly. Examinng the bowl Twilight found it contained a simple soup, a warm brown colour, flecks of green littering the liquid. 

"Potato soup is my favourite non-meat based meal." Prophet grinned spooning a mouthful with a flick of magic. "Some prefer fancy things but I always like the simple nature of good honest soup."

"Mhm." Twilight agreed as she poured some of the delicious food down her throat. "Tasty."

They ate in silence, the only other sounds being the persistent crackle of the fire. After a time Twilight finished her meal and laid down. Despite her forced rest earlier her mind and body was still tired from the whole trip so far. Watching the Volken she noted he was grooming himself again. Lifting a foreleg to her nose Twilight took a intake of her own scent.

"Bleh!" She choked as her own stench filled her nostrils. "I smell awful."

"Go take a wash then." Prophet stated his paw pointing down a bank toward the pools of water nearby. 

"Uh, are you sure it's safe?" Twilight uttered standing up and looking where Prophet indicated.

"Yeah I can't sense anything else but us, besides if you get in trouble just shout. I'll hear you down there." Prophet went back to grooming himself as the mare began trotting down to the riverbank.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Twilight wandered down the path while her eyes roamed over the clear blue waters. The shimming fluid rippled and danced about as the falls from the wall tumbled down into the lake. Her breath was taken away as she watched the moonlight play with the colours of the water.

"Wow." Twilight shivered. Edging closer to the water Twilight placed a hoof timidly into the liquid only to retract in a moment later. 

"Brr!"

The water was as cold as ice. Her whole body began to tremble again as the warmth of the fire was rapidly leaving her body. Shaking all over the mare began to turn around, no amount of stink was worth jumping in that pool. She trotted back until she was almost back to the warm fire. As she rounded the last hill her nose detected the her own stench again.

"Ouu." Twilight grumbled. "I can't stay like this..."

Her face began to turn cherry red as her mind began to image what Prophet was thinking. She knew Volken had much better senses of smell, to him she must smell like a garbage can. Setting her face into a grimiace Twilight forced herself to trot back to the river. 

"Whew!" Twilight called to herself. "You can do this just jump in and start scrubbing!"

Looking down at the rippling water she took a deep breath. "Ok, One..."

"...Two..."

"...Three!"

With the final call she leapt high into the water with an almighty splash. The instant her body sank into the icy depths she regretted her choice. Yelping the young alicorn scrambled about desperately trying to pull herself out of the water. Twilight felt all her muscles begin to lock up with a constant shivering making it difficult to move. As panic moved in she breached the surface.

"Help!" Twilight sputtered choking on the freezing water.

Looking around in a state of distress she found Prophet sat on the embankment. His face pulled into a really strange expression.

"H-Help!" She tried again. 

Why won't he help me! Her mind screamed.

With a sudden start the Volken began to laugh. His chest throbbed with energy as he fell backwards in hysterics.

Huh! What is he doing! She thought as fear began sinking in. I'm going to die!

"Puh-Please!" Twilight begged her body scrambling trying to get closer to the bank.

"Bwah-haha-haha-ha!" The Volken continued placing a paw to his chest. "Wh-What are you doing! Just stand up!"

What! How can I just...Oh.

With a sudden moment of clarity she forced her hooves down. Pushing up she found that the water was merely waist deep. 

"HaHaHa-Ha!" Prophet continued falling over and pawing at the air. 

Twilight just stood in the water staring at her own reflection with a pained expression. She noted that even in the darkness she could see the crimson blush covering her face. 

"Ok! Fine! Big laugh!" She snorted turning around and trying to walk off only to wander deeper into the lake.

"W-Wait, haa, haa, whew." Prophet breathed his body settling down. Pulling himself up she noted that his muzzle was twisting into strange positions as he desperately tried to keep himself from laughing again. "I-I meant just rub yourself d-down! If you want an actual bath let me cast a heat spell on you...Pfft Bwah-haha!"

Twilight contemplated just storming back up into camp and letting him deal with her stink, which admittedly was probably lessened now anyway. Taking a moment she turned back and stomped up to him, keeping her gaze firmly locked off to the side.

Holding his sides and snorting the Prophet let his wings unfurl as the green fire of magic seeped from his eye. The emerald swirl of power washed over her. In an instant the cold was gone only to be replaced with a gentle warmth. Twilight let out a sigh of relief as her head flopped forward to leave her chin resting on her chest.

*Snort*

"...T-There." 

"Thanks." 

Twilight spun on the spot and trotted deeper into the lake until her body was completely submerged, leaving only her head visible. Turning back she found the Volken had left with his form becoming a shadow that stalked back to the glow in the distance.

"S-Stupid." She growled.

Looking at the wall again she pushed that embarrassing scene from her mind as she began to paddle about. It had been a long time since she had swam. The last time had been with Pinkie Pie in the summer before her coronation. She felt a frown form as she thought of the fluffy pink baker.

I wonder what she is doing now?

Does she miss me?

Twilight shook her head vigorously. "Don't think like that. You'll be back home soon."

Paddling back to the shallows the purple mare lifted herself up until she was stood knee deep in the water. With a gentle start the mare began to scrub down her legs and belly. Her hooves rhythmically massaging sore muscles and joints. The heat spell Prophet had cast was tainting the water a slight green.

"Phew." Twilight sighed dreamily. 

Her body enjoyed the sensation of warm water and being clean. As she finished scrubbing herself her hooves began to tenderly touch her back, careful not to jostle the wings to much. They were always sore but even with the bout in the water her body was not registering much pain, just discomfort. Her happiness tempered off slightly as she raised a hoof to gentle examine her horn. 

"Ow." She yelped as she brought the limb away. The cracked appendage was still very tender, causing a lightning bolt of pain to shoot through her head. Her own reflection was to dark to make out the damage but her mind began to run wild with what the scaring might look like. That and the memoires of how she damaged it in the first place began to play back but she quickly shoved them away.

No time for that now. She thought.

Taking a deep breath she plunged her head under the water and began to scrub her mane with her hooves, remaining careful not to accidentally bang her horn.

"Bwah!" Twilight gasped as her head shot up from under the now emerald water. "He-he, much better!"

She stood for a moment enjoying the feeling before her mind wandered to the subject of her companion. Laying down in the water she submerged most of her body again. 

I wonder how his species works? He mentioned Clans, I wonder if there is a ruling Clan? Her mind pondered.

I should ask him! This is the best opportunity to learn more about Volken!

With a grunt Twilight lifted herself up and onto the bank. Shaking the excess water free she began to trot up to the camp.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Prophet had padded back with his breast still trying to contain the laughter it so desperately wanted to release. Still as he encroached on the camp the sudden thought of his ward wandering off into the deep end and being sucked away by the current began to swirl in his mind.

"Mhm, better keep an eye on her." Prophet murmured dejectedly.

Prophet had known females and no matter what species they all hated it when they were observed bathing. A thing he had found most annoying in his life. Creatures were mostly naked in all societies, except for the Minotaur's, and even then they were still mostly naked. However the moment they enter a bath it suddenly becomes taboo to stay in the same room as them! 

Letting out a derisive snort the predator gathered the energy from his form and swirled it around himself. As the magic swept over him his body slowly dissolved into a flash of blue fire. An instant later he was invisible and melding into the bushes. He found the purple mare paddling deep in the lake. He lowered his head down onto his paws as he watched over Twilight. 

The little mare's body was submerged leaving only her head exposed. Her movements were slow and weak clearly demonstrating that Twilight was still perilously frail. Prophet flicked his ears as he distinctly heard her mutter something. The waterfalls covered the actual words however and he nestled his head back down.

Twilight paddled back to the shallows. Her body gently left the confines of the water as she stopped knee high. Prophet felt something in his back begin to itch as he found his gaze locked on her. The moonlight danced about her head as droplets of water slipped off her form. Her body was not that muscular but her hind legs were well toned, little rivulets of water tumbled down them. Her mane clung to her swan like neck as flecks of water nestled in her eyelashes.

Prophet couldn't breathe as he watched the mare begin to scrub herself down. Her hooves gently rubbed at her legs and body, caressing each section until she seemed satisfied. His back itched, his breathing hitched and he couldn't move. The image of a beautiful Volken female overlaid the image before his eyes.

"красивый." He whispered before he slapped himself hard. 

Shaking off the itchy feeling as best as he could the hunter shot out from his hiding place. Prophet dashed back to camp, falling over in the process on a twist of branches. 

"Глупо!"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Twilight felt her ears flicker as the sounds of her hooves clicking on stone gave off a muted echo. The bath had been good, the feeling of being truly clean was very refreshing. As she trotted she slowed to run a hoof through her mane that sagged against her coat. She let out a sad sigh at the fact she had no shampoo or soap to really spruce up her mane or coat but at least she didn't smell any more.

Twilight entered the ring of the camp site. The fire had lowered its blaze to a simmer, hot coals giving off an angry red glare. She shook herself over to free the last vestiges of water from her form before moving over to the fire.

"Whew!" Twilight chirped. "Much better!"

Her gaze settled on the Volken who sat off to the side his own eyes fixed upon the fire. He wore an angry scowl and merely grunted at her presence. Twilight raised her hooves to allow some heat to enter while shuffling around to become comfortable.

Casting the brooding male out of her mind for the moment Twilight took a moment to look at the forest that surrounded them. Twilight had seen pine trees before but these were truly something else. Her inner geek gushed at the history these trees must have witnessed. Each one stood tall with great trunks, their bark a mix of deep earthly brown and emerald green. Twilight looked back to the lake, the blue water had been something to behold as well.

*Sigh*

"It's really beautiful here..." Twilight sighed wistfully.

"Mhm." Prophet grunted in reply. Twilight looked back to her companion and found him still staring at the fire-pit. 

"Um, are you Ok?" Twilight asked, frowning at his sudden shift in mood.

"Fine."

"Oh, good." She replied. Taking a breath Twilight rubbed her hooves together before tucking them underneath her.

Mhm, Should I ask now?

He seems mad...maybe I should wait-

"How did you get here?" Prophet asked suddenly his frown fading.

"Huh?" Twilight jerked a little not expecting the Volken to speak. "O-Oh, um..."

Her mind cast itself back to remember the night of her arrival here in this frozen place. Twilight felt a slight tremor in her chest as the memories flooded back.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want too." Prophet called while poking the fire.

"No!" Twilight stammered. "No, it's fine. You see Princess Celestia had called me to Canterlot...you know who Princess Celestia-"

"Yes Twilight." The Volken interuppted with a roll of his eyes.

"...Right of course. Anyway I arrived in the city and she greeted me at the train station."

"Train station?" Prophet asked. Twilight froze a moment her mind clanging to a stop. She looked up to see Prophet holding a perplexed look on his muzzle. 

"Uh it's like a carriage but it works by using steam to power an engine that pushes itself along." Twilight explained. "Volken don't have trains?"

"Oh probably but I have been in the north for a long time." Prophet said with a flourish of his paw.

"But trains have been around for-"

"A long long  time Twilight." Prophet stated ending that line of thought.

"...Right. So Princess greeted me and asked me to help her with a magical test." Twilight continued. "You see we have been trying to come up with a way of creating a device called "Emergency Teleport Matrix Controller" or ETMC." 

Twilight shuffled around to free her fore legs and gesture to the fire. "A lot of ponies in remote areas have poor emergency services. If a fire breaks out or a pony gets hurt it can take a long time for anypony to help." 

"So you were developing a system to teleport help to outlying areas to save lives." Prophet said in understanding.

"Yes!" Twilight gushed. "It was going to be so useful."

"Till it dropped you here?" Prophet grinned with a degree of smarminess.

"Hmph." Twilight snorted looking away as she began tucking her legs back underneath herself. "We'll get it to work."

"I'm sure you will." Prophet said. Twilight flicked her head back to see the Volken with a more sincere look. "But you still didn't say how you actually got here."

"...A friend of mine...broke something." Twilight said her ears wilting back. "They were messing around with a few levers and turned it on when it wasn't ready. The power started to get out of control so I locked the place down...but I could not do that without being inside of the machine."

"I see..." Prophet spoke. "Do you blame your friend?"

"What? No!" Twilight barked with an incredulous look. "It was an accident."

"Fair enough." Prophet nodded leaving the matter be.

Twilight let out another sigh as she watched the fire crackle away. The Volken poked it a few more times trying to entice more heat out of the smouldering coals. As he did so Twilight remembered her earlier thoughts during the bath.

"Prophet?" Twilight called.

"What?" The Volken replied.

"Oh well, um, while I was bathing I just thought maybe you could tell me more about the Volken?" She asked in a timid manner.

"Hmph." Prophet snorted chucking the stick into the fire causing a few sparks to fly. "I suppose so. What do you want to know?"

"You talked about Clans..." Twilight started looking at him with a hopeful gaze.

*Sigh*

"Почему бы не начать с чем-то легким?" The Volken muttered irritably in his own tongue. Prophet rose from his position to begin stretching. As his back arched Twilight spotted the coiled muscles flex. A strange sensation ran through her as she watched in a daze, the one side of her mind instantly worried for her safety while the other felt a giddy warmth form on her cheeks. Her eyes never left him as he padded around the fire to sit next to her. She looked at him with a frown as he settled down next to her.

Tucking himself into a similar position as her Prophet left one foreleg free. Extending a razor sharp claw the Volken started to draw on the ground in front of them both. Twilight watched with morbid fascination as the deadly thing wrought crude symbols in the ground. The first was a shield with a bird on it, the next was a sword cutting a piece of ribbon, the third was a claw and the last was a hammer with a vine like thing wrapped around it. Once he had drawn the shapes he retracted the claw and put his paw back to the first one.

"There are fours Clans. The first is the Shield Eagle, the wardens of the land." Prophet said with a serious tone. Each name he called out moved his paw across the symbols. "The next is Night Bear, the crusaders of the father. Then Snow Raven, the minds of our society and finally Stone Viper, the builders of all."

Prophet seemed to hesitate for a moment before drawing a fifth symbol. The shape took the form of a broken axe, its break in the centre of the handle and along the edge of the blade. 

"Aside from the Clans there is the group who live life of the bandit or pirate. While they don't really have a symbol we use this to denote criminals." Prophet said turning to Twilight who nodded in understanding.

"Fascinating." Twilight whispered her starry eyed gaze sweeping back and forth over the crudely drawn symbols. "I wish I had my note book..."

"Don't fret to much." Prophet chuckled. "If you want me to re-cap any of this when we get to your home I'll tell you again."

"Really!" Twilight burst her body shaking with glee. 

"S-Sure." Prophet said leaning back slightly. 

"Oh this is so exciting!" Twilight giggled. "So how do they interact?"

"It's a simple process on paper." Prophet nodded toward the symbols again. "The wardens protect the land while the crusaders protect the borders. The merchants of snow raven buy and sell commerce while creating new inventions. All the while Stone Viper builds new homes, farms or towns. Each and every Volken belongs to one clan or another."

"Amazing." Twilight sighed dreamily. "Its like a perfect balance of harmony. Each of you work for the betterment of your race."

"Mhm." Prophet grunted.

"So how did they come about?" Twilight asked.

"Ah well that's a long story." Prophet replied. "I suppose it started when the Great Hunter Seph left this world with his beloved. When the couple departed for the beyond they left behind all the children they had created thus far, scattering them about the land in the process."

"These Volken were stronger and more powerful than any other. The blood of two gods coursed through their veins as the children began to explore the world and find their place. Once they got settled they started to draw other Volken to them and created, well I suppose you could call them proto-clans." He levered his paw onto the first symbol. "When they met each other things were tense but eventually they came to an understanding and the true Clans were born to cope with the nature of the Volken race."

"Huh did they not know each other anyway?" Twilight asked puzzled.

"No." Prophet replied shaking his head. "The method of creating demi-gods is strange Twilight. The Great Hunter Seph and The Matron bore each child in secret and gave them to smaller Volken to raise. Only journeying to visit every so often."

"Why?"

"Who knows." Prophet shrugged. "The whims of the gods are not for us to predict."

"Oh."

"Anyway the first of these great hunters who ruled the early Shield Eagle Clan was known as The Hawk." Prophet stated looking to his companion. "The Hawk was a kind and benevolent ruler who stood by his charges. He believed that a warrior with honour was destined to protect the weak and helpless from threats. As such he formed the Code of the Wardens based on the Code that the Great Hunter Seph laid down with The Matron."

"Yes I remember." Twilight giggled. "A Code to protect life."

"Mhm, not quite." Prophet replied with a shake of his head. "The Code of the Great Hunter was designed to protect Our lives. By not taking more than we needed then we secured our land and lives. By not taking from those who bore the mark of sentience we secured our minds."

"Oh..." Twilight said frowning.

"The Hawk however believed as you do, that all life is precious and encouraged his warriors to eat non-meat based meals when they could." Prophet said looking back at the symbols. "Of course they still ate meat just only when they really needed to, a Volken can go a long time without meat if we eat healthy and filling plants."

Twilight nodded her head fervently, her ears flicking as she absorbed all the information like her life depended on it. It brought a smile to Prophet's face as he found himself enjoying the act of teaching another. 

It has been a while. He thought.

"As a Great Hunter himself The Hawk's magical power was unfathomable to the normal Volken mage along with his wisdom. He developed the Code of the Warden to protect his own kin." Prophet then placed a paw on the next symbol. "Then he met with his brother, Psycho."

"P-Psycho?" Twilight stammered wilting back a bit. "Was he evil?"

"Ha!" Prophet let out a barking laugh at that remark. "No, Psycho just liked to be called dangerious things. He had many names in that vein but in the end everyvolk settled on Psycho."

"He was at odds with The Hawk due to the fact Psycho had developed his own Code from the teachings of their father." Prophet began to snigger to himself as he continued. "They would never admit it but they were so close in their own philosophies that it rankled them to think that they were alike."

"What do you mean?" Twilight probed.

He's talking like he knew them? She thought in the back of her mind.

"Psycho believed that a warrior was born to battle and challenge himself." Prophet stated moving his foreleg forward to flex the muscles in the limb. Twilight watched with an embarrassed fascination but Prophet didn't notice the red hue adorning her cheeks again. "By training every day and by battling fearsome foes a Volken became more like the Great Hunter and it was said Psycho was the one who missed the love of his father the most."

Prophet let out a wistful sigh and looked down at the symbols for a moment. Just as Twilight went to prompt him the hunter carried on. 

"In any case Psycho and his ilk believed that if you fought something weaker than you then you were just lowering your honour, an unacceptable idea to them." Prophet turned to look at the purple mare. "So while they did not hurt the weaker Volken they didn't really help them like the Wardens did."

"I see." Twilight murmured. "That's not so bad then."

"No it was a reasonable life for them. Psycho still had the wisdom of his father and while blunt and crude did rule fairly, looking after his towns quite well in fact."

"So why did he fight with The Hawk?" Twilight asked feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Like I said the Codes were different and each believed the other was wrong and they should follow their own ideas." Prophet said seriously. "Anyway, as they butted heads over various things they bumped into thier sister."

"The third Great Hunter, Jester." Prophet placed a paw onto the third symbol. "She had her own Code based which advocated the idea of making friends with many beings and sharing wealth and commerce with many Volken."

"She was a merchant?" Twilight asked.

"Yes and a damn good one!" Prophet replied with a chuckle. "While she was not as able as a warrior, her mind was faster than any arrow and sharper than any knife."

Prophet tucked his paw away and shuffled a bit. "Her Code encouraged Volken to make their mark on the world by trade and the idea of finding a way to survive without the harming of species that were valuable. So you could say she was a scientist as well."

"She sounds wonderful." Twilight gushed.

"She was something..." Prophet sighed. Twilight flickered her ears as she cast her gaze on him. Prophet noted the confused look and quickly stumbled over his words. "I mean that's what the history books say!"

"..." Twilight opted to merely remain silent as the Volken let out a cough and carried on.

"So, yes, Jester." Prophet unfurled a wing to point at each symbol in turn. "The Hawk, Psycho and Jester. They all met with varying attitudes about how the Volken should continue as a species."

"Attitudes?" Twilight asked.

"Well The Hawk wanted to remain isolated and look after their own borders while waiting for the time to join the Great Hunter. Psycho wanted to venture out and challenge other beings to war and determine if they were worthy of following their father. While Jester wanted to trade knowledge and wealth to find a way to reach their parents." 

Prophet used his free wing to place a single feather on the last symbol. "War was going to occur, each side was easily matched to each other. Psycho had scores of warriors while The Hawk had mighty forts and Jester had large amounts of high grade weapons and armour."

"Wow..." Twilight whispered with a slight tremor of awe.

"If they had fought I fear my race would have died out." Prophet huffed sadly.

"Why didn't they?" Twilight gently whispered.

"He came." Prophet pointed at the last symbol again. "You see a lot of Volken were not under any banner with many of my race left to fend for themselves as the skirmishes began to break out. So when a Great Hunter larger than any other wandered out of the frozen north bearing no banner or hold. Well many flocked to him and sought his aid."

"Who was it?" Twilight asked.

"His name was Nomad." Prophet uttered drawing his back. "He was the largest of the Great Hunters and the most powerful. He was found wandering the outlying lands of the north. A small village of Volken saw him destroy an Ursa that crossed his path."

"He killed an Ursa Major?!" Twilight balked staring at the last symbol with a degree of awe.

"It was said so." Prophet huffed. "Such an act was not uncommon, all the other Great Hunters were capable of doing this but this particular tribe had never seen any of the Great Hunters. After the titanic battle they approached and began to prey to the nameless Volken."

"When asked for his name he merely shrugged and went to leave." Prophet let out a small chuckle. "One Volken would not let him leave however, as the he had battled the creature he had inadvertently broken somevolk's house. This one female demanded he stay and repair the damage."

"Really?" Twilight stated with a smile. 

"Yes and he did!" Prophet laughed. "The Great Hunter built the female a palace if the story is to be believed. While he built this for the female news reached the town of the battle that was approaching. The Volken whom the townsfolk had named Nomad heard of this and after building the house left promptly in the direction of the main lands."

Prophet paused here as he rose up from the ground. Twilight fluttered her wings a bit watching the Volken pad around the fire-pit. Her mind churned with the amount of new information she was absorbing. The despairing thought of not having a notepad drew its ugly head yet again as she let out a huff. 

The Volken disappeared into the forest for a few moments, returning with a bundle of sticks in his maw. Tossing the bundle into the burning flames he then padded back to her, flopping onto the ground lazily beside her again. His side pressed against hers as he scuffed about getting comfortable.

"Mhm, that's better." He mumbled. "Don't know about you but I was getting cold."

"..." Prophet turned his head and found the purple alicorn looking away, a strange expression on her face. 

"Twilight?"

"Hm? O-Oh yes, cold." The mare coughed. "S-So what happened to Nomad?"

"Heh, after arriving in the south Nomad had gathered quite the following. The townsfolk of the first village had followed him and spread word of his benevolence to the lesser Volken. By the time he had reached his kin a veritable army followed in his wake."

"Was there a battle?"

"Not between my race only between the Great Hunters. Nomad called the meeting of all the Great Hunters and declared that if one did not appear before him then he would count them as an enemy of the Matron, thus becoming his enemy."

"None of them wanted the others to gain the favour of another Great Hunter so they all appeared at the appointed time. Nomad spoke to them and announced that they war could be allowed to start, so he challenged them all to a game of their choosing."

"A game?"

"Yes, each Great Hunter would pick a game and if they lost it then they would defer to his ruling. Psycho was the first to go and merely called for a game of strength, three rounds starting with a marathon around the southern lands, followed by the lifting of many mighty weights, ending with a duel."

"Nomad agreed to the terms and the pair set off around a course assigned by Psycho. The pair ran non-stop for a day and a night, travelling so fast no other Volken could even spy them as the wind howled in their passing."

"Wow..."

"Mhm, they say that because Psycho himself believed that no other Volken could match his strength, he deliberately slowed to give the other a sporting attempt. Unknown to him Nomad had already passed him and was leaving nothing to chance. By the time Psycho had returned Nomad was already preparing for the next round of the game."

"I bet he was angry." 

"Oh yes, Psycho howled in rage thinking the other Volken was mocking him. He raced forward to the weights and chose the largest had slew it over his back."

"What did they use for weights?"

"Boulders. One as tall as this tree and as wide as four rested upon his back. Psycho screamed and thrashed in agony as he turned to the other Great Hunters to prove his strength. However he then spied Nomad, his back held All the other weights and he held then without a shimmer of pain or effort."

"That's...ridiculous!" Twilight shouted flailing her hooves. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Your Princess moves the sun and the heavens..." Prophet snorted. "Believe what you want."

"S-Sorry, but the Princess uses magic!"

"So do the Great Hunters." Prophet said rolling his eyes. "Do you think Celestia pushes the sun with her hooves? Both Psycho and Nomad were using magic to lift the weights on their backs. After placing them they used all their magic to power their own muscles in the bodies. By using magic to give them maximum strength they could carry the load."

"Oh."

"Nomad had shown that his magical power outdid Psychos. Both in speed and strength, the only thing the warrior had left was combat."

*Whimper*

"Was it bad?" Twilight sniffled.

"Yes. The ring was drawn in the sand by Jester, who had offered to act as a referee. Once the howl was given both charged at each other, tearing, biting and clawing. Psycho knew battle well and used his knowledge to his advantage keeping the stronger Volken out of range. Using the magic he had Psycho drew large sharp swords from the ground and slashed at his foe. It seemed that for all his strength Nomad's knowledge of combat was limited."

"Oh..."

"I said it seemed. After a few minutes Nomad was thrown to the ground as Psycho laughed heavily. Thinking he had won the Great Hunter turned his back on his foe. Just as Jester was about to call the victor Psycho was tossed into the air. Nomad had summoned a monumental font of magic and blasted his foe into the air."

"As Psycho landed and recovered he found the other Volken stood before him completely unharmed. Psycho was taken aback for he had seen the blood and wound. Psycho launched another attack again cutting down his brother, only for him to stand again and again."

"How awful..."

"Psycho began to succumb to something that had never afflicted him before."

"What?"

"Fear. The Great Hunter had never before encountered a foe he could not beat in single combat. It was then that Nomad declared that he was finished humouring his brother and began to attack with new found vigour."

"It was then that the Great Hunters saw their newly found brother in a new light. You see Twilight this Great Hunter had lived beyond the great walls we lie beneath tonight. He had lived a life of battle since he was a cub, fighting the eldritch monsters that live far beyond the edges of the map."

"Is that...Is that why you were there?"

"No, and I am not talking about that tonight." Prophet snarled startling the little alicorn.

"S-Sorry."

"Mhm, regardless when Psycho learned this he was left lying in a pool of his own blood, his wings torn off and his magical font destroyed with much of his body."

*Sniffle*

"As Psycho's body began to die Nomad cast another spell of pure power and revived his brother, repairing the damage to his fallen brother. Nomad then embraced Psycho and wept, surprised everyvolk there."

"He cried?" Twilight said incredulous.

"He was his brother Twilight." Prophet stated flatly. "No matter what his beliefs were Nomad loved his kin. They just didn't know it then."

"Psycho had never had anyvolk cry for his safety or even show him love and kinship before. The warrior who followed him feared him and respected him but did not love him. Psycho may have been fixed physically but his mind crumbled as the fact that he had fought his own brother with the intent to kill him sank in."

"Psycho was said to have wept himself, casting himself to the floor and begging forgiveness from his brother and father for his foolishness. The scene was thought to have brought all of the Volken there to tears as they watched the brothers embrace."

"..."

"Twilight?"

"S-Sorry that was just really sad." Twilight mumbled.

"Mhm." Prophet grunted before continuing. "After all was said and done Psycho submitted to his brothers ruling, swearing alongside to never raise a paw to kin again. Nomad was happy of the agreement and turned to the next contestant, Jester. She had been moved by what had occurred but still could not give up her ideals of expansion. She begged him to let her taken control and lead the Volken. Nomad did not move however and declared that she could if she bested him in her own game."

"What did she choose?"

"Well Jester was no match for him in strength and magical aptitude so she challenged him to a game of knowledge and philosophy. They were going to attempt to create a useful invention that would benefit the entire race."

"Huh that's not what I expected." Twilight murmured.

"It was an odd challenge, the host of Volken that had so far watched this were all warriors with only a few villagers that had followed Nomad. Of course he accepted, Jester was said to have grinned mischievously and strode off to her tent leaving her brother outside. For his part Nomad suddenly closed his eyes and remained perfectly still."

"He didn't invent anything?"

"I didn't say that." Prophet smirked. "Jester was said to have banished all from her tent and spent two whole days constantly designing something, the banging of metal to metal echoing the clearing with her form spending little time in the night to eat and sleep. Nomad never moved from his place and never said a word, even when Psycho questioned him."

"It was said The Hawk had done little so far, not even speaking to his new brother aside from the agreement to the challenge. It was said then as he watched the new brother, his eyes ever sharp that he spoke to Psycho and declared that Nomad had already won this contest with his sister."

"So it was the day came when both were due to show what they had created. Jester left her tent, grinning with a triumphant smirk. For she had also watched her new brother and noted his lack of movement. Jester had made the fatal mistake of marking it down as stupidity. As the others gathered she showed her newest creation, a new type of armour that was light and hard, not even Psycho could pierce its plating."

"Armour?" Twilight asked. "Didn't they already have that?"

"Yes to a degree." Prophet nodded. "But this was something new to most of Psycho's warriors. She argued that if they went to expand then the race needed a new way to protect themselves from hostile species. All the others, including Psycho agreed with her assessment and went to hail the victor. Only The Hawk turned to his brother and asked what Nomad had to show for himself."

"He beat her didn't he." 

"Hehe, Nomad finally opened his eyes and turned to The Hawk. With a smile the Great Hunter asked his brother for a sheet of blank cloth and black paint. The Hawk complied and summoned servants to deliver the materials. Jester was said to have looked confused and worried as she watched the Great Hunter take the brush in his maw and began to paint strange symbols on the cloth."

Prophet unfurled his wing once more and cleared the four Clan symbols on the floor. His wing wrote a series of small symbols in turn. 



А	Б	В	Г	Д	Е	Ж	Ѕ	Z	З	И	
І	К	Л	М	Н	О	П	Ҁ	Р	С	Т	
Ȣ	Ѹ Ф	Х	Ѿ	Ц	Ч	Ш	Щ	Ъ	Ы	Ь	
Ѣ	Ꙗ	Ѥ	Ю	Ѧ	Ѫ	Ѩ	Ѭ	Ѡ	Ѻ	Ѯ	
Ѱ	Ѳ	Ѵ



By the end Twilight's eyes were hungrily devouring the image before her. "It's an alphabet..."

"Yes Twilight, you see my people then communicated orally, all information was passed down from parent to cub. Jester watched him paint the symbols and once complete he lifted the banner high into the sky so all may see his work. Then he sounded each and every symbol out so all may know his work."

"What happened then?"

"Jester fell to her knees in shock. Her own mind had never thought to create something so simple and yet so important. Nomad argued that armour and arms would always be improved or discarded, the language and history of our race must never face the same problem. By writing it down we would learn from the mistakes of our past and consistently improve our future."

"His sister, disgusted with her own invention cast it aside. Nomad approached her and wrapped her in a loving embrace, speaking softly in her ears. What was said is not known but when he released his sister Jester was ready to bend her knee to his rule."

"Amazing."

"Mhm, the greatest invention ever to occur to my race. We still use the original script Nomad wrote down that day. Some consider it to be holy..."

"That's so wonderful!"

"Heh, anyway now it was The Hawk's turn. He spoke little and asked only for a game of wits."

"Wits?"

"Yes, both agreed to a board-game. It was known as Flags. Very similar to chess I believe."

"They decided the fate of your race by a chess game?"

"Ha! Yeah but you are looking at it like a game, both Volken knew the true purpose." Prophet sniggered. "It was used then by generals to teach them tactics and strategy. The Hawk believed that if Nomad could best him in this game then he was fit to rule the land. Nomad understood that and gave it everything he had. After a week of playing in silence neither side had made any head way."

"As they played The Hawk began to speak. He questioned the validity of his brothers intent, whether he was prepared to rule this land. At this remark Nomad raised a brow to his brother pausing his turn." Prophet coughed before lowering his pitch. 

"Do you believe that I want to rule brother?" Prophet intimated. "Do you not see how badly I would rule?"

"He sounded like that?" Twilight asked with a giggle. 

"Hmph! Forgive me for trying to add a little to the story." Prophet grumbled feeling a blush crawl across his skin. "A-Anyway! The Hawk frowned and asked him what his intentions were if he didn't want to rule."

"Nomad responded that he was trying to secure his race. Because one day, they were all going to pass on from this world and only a fool would leave behind his children without guidance. With that said he placed a piece on the board, winning the game."

Prophet shuffled about, yawning and stretching his wings while he moved. Twilight watched the Volken's mouth extend with its sharp silver teeth bore to the world. She would have shuddered if not for the fact that him yawning had set her off.

"Mhm, sorry." Prophet apologized, shaking himself then carrying on with the tale. "So as I was saying, Nomad bested his brother leaving The Hawk baffled. The cryptic remark threw everything he had thought about his new brother out of the window as he looked down to see the game was over, with his loss apparent. As he looked back to the other Volken he found Nomad stood over him ready to speak once more."

Prophet coughed drawing a paw to his chest as his tone dropped and he began to speak in a chant. His eyes took over a glossy look as the hunter sighed deeply before letting out his voice.

"Four, Nomad proclaimed, will be the foundation
Upon which our true society will be built."

"Labourers to till the land, to do the tasks:
They shall have our undying gratitude,
For they are the muscle behind us all."

"Merchants to buy and sell with fairness:
They shall have our commerce and respect,
For they are the bones upon which we are built."

"Scientists to create and discover:
They shall have our awe and our attention,
For they are the mind of our society."

"And last, the Hunters who will protect:
They shall have our cooperation and worship,
For they are the blood and soul of us all."

Tears began to spill down the Volkens cheeks as he spoke these words with fervent devotion. Twilight felt herself shake as she listened to the conviction that echoed in the hunter's voice.

"With that Nomad declared all to be equals, with each having his and her place within the new society of the Volken. With that our race had purpose, reason, rhyme. Nomad had shown that we were all brothers and sisters, that without each other we would all fall into blackness, that when the day came for the Great Hunters to leave following Seph and The Matron we would still have what they made for us..."

Prophet seemed to sag as he began to cry quietly, his wings flourished about his body as each sob racked his chest. Twilight herself felt a great welling of emotion as she watched helplessly. With a degree of effort the broken mare lifted a tattered wing and draped it over Prophet's back, stilling him instantly.

Sighing he brought a paw to his face and wiped away the tears. "Sorry, this story always hurts to tell."

"Why?" Twilight whispered gently.

"It...It just does..." Prophet said choking slightly "E-Enough now, it's late."

With a sudden burst of energy Prophet stood up and padded away from her. "It's going to be an early rise tomorrow, these hills are filled with dangerous beasts and we must stay to long or they will begin to track us down."

"Beasts?" Twilight stammered clearing her eyes.

"Ah don't fear tonight, I've placed wards." Prophet corrected. "No beast will come close to the camp but they will not stay that way if we remain here any longer than a few days." 

Twilight nodded her head letting out a deep yawn as she settled down. The fire was now a smouldering ruin but its heat was still surrounding her. Twilight's mind raced over the facts she had learned this night but after a few minutes her eyes clamped shut as a deep sleep took over.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Keep up Blaze!"

"I'm trying."

"Well your trying is pathetic!"

*Grr*

"Don't! Growl at me boy..."

"..."

*Sniff, Sniff*

"We any closer?

"Yeah...were closer..."