//------------------------------// // Before Recorded History: The Sphinx // Story: The Pony, the Sphinx, and the Immortal // by HapHazred //------------------------------// The plains, which seemed to stretch on forever, rustled with wind. The sounds of faraway animals reached Zerephonzidas’s ears, crawling across the grass and bush and creating a symphony for him to listen to. In the meantime, he stared intently at the solitary tree, standing in the middle of the flat grassland. His sphinx eyes never blinked. Never flinched. When they looked at something, really looked, there was no distraction. Not far away, Salenorzabul yawned. The larger, more unkempt sphinx was less than interested in Zerephonzidas’s observations. He rolled onto his back, scratching his stomach. “It’s just a tree,” he said. Zerephonzidas never stopped staring at the tree. “You’ve been neglecting your sight, Salenorzabul,” he said. “Of course all you see is a tree.” “Aren’t you bored?” “No.” “Why not?” Zerephonzidas finally blinked. He had seen all he wanted to today. “Because it’s a magical tree.” Salenorzabul groaned. “Again with that obsession of yours,” he said. “Come on, why don’t we find some food.” It was times like these that Zerephonzidas remembered why his kind were loners. Sphinx didn’t have lifespans like the animals around them. They didn’t have any real objective in life other than what they set themselves. They weren’t a species that had goals, he thought. Rather, they had hobbies. Interests. Salenorzabul’s hobby was napping and eating. Zerephonzidas’s was observing magical phenomenon. The pair did not get along. “I’m not hungry yet,” Zerephonzidas said. “Why don’t you go get some food alone?” Salenorzabul frowned. “Safety in numbers,” he said. “Remember Alagonvorizad?” Zerephonzidas remembered. He didn’t care. Alagonvorizad had been a fool for getting too close to those mammoths. “Don’t be careless, then,” Zerephonzidas replied. “Go on. It’s the plains: we’re hardly in dangerous territory.” Salenorzabul’s brow furrowed, but he got to his paws. “Fine,” he said, visibly angered. Why couldn’t Zerephonzidas have just been left alone? He didn’t care for company. Salenorzabul skulked off, disappearing into the grass. Zerephonzidas was over three thousand years old at this point in history. He put his hoof on the bark of the tree. “How curious,” he said. Sphinx eyes weren’t like normal eyes. They could see past the mere physical, if you trained them right. Zerephonzidas prided himself on having trained them very well. He could see the veins of magic course up and down the tree. He could see thoughts move through its trunk. The tree was sentient. Zerephonzidas wasn’t going to tell Salenorzabul. The other sphinx took sinister pleasure in ending lives and tormenting lesser beings. Zerephonzidas, however, was quite content to leave special things alone. He was by no means a nice creature, but he simply didn’t see the point of meaningless malice. Sphinx were not nice animals. Zerephonzidas, having been exposed to Salenorzabul for a long period of time, knew this well. They were carnivores. Zerephonzidas knew that this self-awareness didn’t make him better than a more ignorant creature. It just meant he had more knowledge. Zerephonzidas liked knowledge. He loved it, even. What else was he supposed to fill his head with? A sphinx had as much time as they wanted to do anything at all. They were the sum of their wants and ambitions. Zerephonzidas had travelled miles and miles just to see a little magic in this wide open world of theirs. He couldn’t wait to see how much it’d change. He heard panicked bleating in the distance, and his expression darkened. If he was fortunate, he would witness the change without having to put up with Salenorzabul. He turned his attention back to the tree. He put his paw on its bark, and slowly stroked it. Perhaps, if it was sentient, he could communicate with it? Now that would be fascinating indeed. Zerephonzidas only had a small amount of magic he could use on his own. He had seen various creatures be able to tap into spells on their own, but not Zerephonzidas. It was a major irritation that he had to work much harder to influence magic than other animals in this world. The bleating in the distance continued. Salenorzabul had caught something. It sounded like a pony. Zerephonzidas did his best to ignore it. Salenorzabul was probably going to take his time with it. He was almost as savage as the animals living in the plains. It was a wonder he could talk at all. He had no ambitions higher than eating and sleeping and surviving. What a waste. Zerephonzidas sank his claws into the bark. Instantly, the magic in the tree went haywire. Ah, so it could feel pain. Now, that was an interesting discovery. What else could it feel, Zerephonzidas wondered? He licked his lips, and retracted his claws. The currents of magic inside the tree had definitely been altered. Oh well, Zerephonzidas thought. It had been worth the experiment. In the distance, Salenorzabul continued to play with his captured prey. Zerephonzidas scowled. He had been happy to entertain Salenorzabul’s savagery up until now, but now he was getting distracted. “We’ll continue this later,” Zerephonzidas said, and stalked off. He slid through the grass, silent and invisible. Sphinx were apex predators, and not even another sphinx could hear one who was trying to be quiet, and was good at it. Perhaps if Salenorzabul used his eyes, he could see Zerephonzidas through the grass, but the idiotic creature was too busy grinning over the damaged body of the quadruped he had caught. To be fair, Zerephonzidas didn’t begrudge him for thinking little of the silly species of coloured equine. They were a dull species indeed, bereft of thought and magic. Their bright colours were supposed to frighten off predators, but all it made them was a target. They were a species evolution had ignored. What Zerephonzidas begrudged was Salenorzabul making a mess. Zerephonzidas crept up behind the larger sphinx. Salenorzabul was chuckling as he brought his claws across the pony, slowly and with surgical precision. The little animal whined and moaned. It took one swipe from Zerephonzidas to end its misery. Salenorzabul froze. Not out of fear or shock, but anger. He slowly turned towards Zerephonzidas. “Don’t play with your food,” Zerephonzidas told him. “It’s disgusting.” Salenorzabul looked like a volcano about to erupt. “Sometimes,” he began, “I wonder if you’re simply suicidal.” Zerephonzidas growled. So, was this how their travels together was going to end? It was a long time coming. “Eat your dinner,” Zerephonzidas said. “Try not to disturb me whilst I’m thinking.” Sphinx eyes could see past restrictions like the present, if they looked hard enough. It was for this reason that Zerephonzidas easily dodged the lightning fast attack. Salenorzabul was furious. “I was just having some fun,” he snarled. “It makes such a stupid noise! And besides, all you do is look at stupid trees. Maybe if you actually did something entertaining for once in your life, I wouldn’t have to make my own fun!” Zerephonzidas said nothing. The fool’s eyes weren’t nearly as evolved as Zerephonzidas’s, and he didn’t even realise it. “I know,” Salenorzabul growled, “Since you broke my toy, how about I see what kind of noises you make?” Their exchange lasted mere moments. Salenorzabul crumbled, clutching his eyes with both paws. He was screaming as blood flowed from his injuries. Zerephonzidas retracted his claws. “You’re right,” he said. “Apparently, sphinx do make entertaining noises.” The stream made a pleasant rippling noise. Birds tweeted from the branches of trees. Zerephonzidas sunk his now crimson claws into the water, and began to wash away Salenorzabul’s blood. Entertaining or not, Zerephonzidas had made sure it was quick. Even an animal like Salenorzabul deserved that much. From across the stream, Zerephonzidas heard movement. His eyes shot up. He saw the little quadruped, transfixed with fear. Zerephonzidas raised an eyebrow. Truly, ponies were a dull species. Too stupid to run from a predator when they saw one. Or perhaps smart enough to realise that there would be no point? Zerephonzidas wasn’t sure. A question that time, perhaps, would answer. If there was one thing that living for a long time was good for, it was answering questions. It was too bad Salenorzabul hadn’t understood that. Now there was one less sphinx in the world. There could only ever be less sphinxes, never more. The pony across the stream was still staring at Zerephonzidas. The sphinx examined his claws. No, he thought, he had just cleaned them. No need to make them dirty for no reason. Besides, Salenorzabul had already found him a perfectly serviceable meal. Zerephonzidas found himself intrigued by the prospect of ponies being smarter than they looked. Perhaps he ought to take a moment to study one. It wasn’t like he was going to run out of them, after all. Besides, the way they lived in herds, quite unlike sphinx, was curious. How did they do it, Zerephonzidas wondered? So much to learn. So much to discover. He made up his mind. He was going to keep a close eye on ponies for the foreseeable future. Besides, it was always good to keep a food source handy. Perhaps they could be tamed? He shot towards the pony like an arrow. The dumb creature flinched, but still remained transfixed. Zerephonzidas tilted his head. “Hello,” he said. “I don’t suppose you know where the rest of your herd are?” The pony, being nothing more than a dumb animal, whinnied. Zerephonzidas frowned. Whinnied, he wondered, or tried to communicate? Zerephonzidas, now enjoying the tranquility of solitude, watched the herd of ponies from atop his hill. The few sphinx that had tried to meddle with his experiments had quickly learned the error of their ways. He threw a skinned lizard into his mouth. His eyes tracked the colourful ponies with mild interest. He really wanted to see what they’d do about the little mud hut he had made for them. He hummed to himself. He could spend years doing this. It was a nice change of pace from looking for magic all around the world. Of course, he’d get back to that eventually. Perhaps in a decade or two. His eyes widened with interest as the ponies went in and out of the hut. Ah-ha, he thought. So they were braver than he gave them credit for. He licked his lips. He looked forwards to seeing what they’d do in bad weather. Would they hide in the hut? Could they figure out how to repair it? Oh, he hadn’t had this much fun since he found a waterfall that flowed backwards. He ate another lizard. Sphinx, he thought, might not be a nice species, but he liked to think that his curiosity and thirst for knowledge redeemed him somewhat. After all, it was what he had chosen to do with his existence. He might as well feel good about it. And who knows? Perhaps the ponies would benefit from it somewhat as well, although Zerephonzidas doubted it. He rolled onto his side, still staring at his test subjects. He breathed in. He hadn’t realised how much more pleasant exploring the wonders of the world was without Salenorzabul. The sphinx had a saying: keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Zerephonzidas preferred to keep both at a comfortable distance of several hundred miles. Perhaps one day he’d find someone worth sticking around. Until then, he had his hobby.