Zebra Nations and Battlecasters
written by Twilight Sparkle
If Equestria is full of peace and control, the Zebra Nations are one of the few Wilder Nations that can truly compare. Though the Zebra Nations were formed outside of Equestrian law, they are easily recognized as one of the most prosperous of the Wilder Nations in the world. What seems so unusual about this particular nation that perhaps makes it so successful is how deeply spiritual its people are.
The Zebra Nations are deeply rooted in tribal customs, often resorting to a multitude of Runic Magic spells to commune with ancient spirits and summon up elemental magicks to manipulate the natural world around them. Those that gain excessive skill in the use of Runic Magic in wild lands, at least in Zebra lands, are known as Druids. Druids are particularly skilled rune-users that can conjure up runic circles without needing to craft their runic circles before the casting of the spell.
Druids are very peace-loving, often having gardens and forests and animals that they tend to. (Author's Note: Perhaps speaking to Fluttershy about this would be beneficial; it's possible that she may know details from Zecora that are lacking in my books) However, Druids were not always of such a mentality. It was quite often that during the decades before Equestria and the Zebra Nations formed a peace treaty and became co-existing countries, the Zebras had to fight intense battles to retake what they wished to keep, and continue fighting for it before they could be fully integrated into the natural world they longed for. Thus, the Druids who fought, who tasted battle and bloodlust, who became so in-tune with the 'truth of nature' as they call it, became known as Battlecasters.
Battlecasters were greatly respected for crossing the line between peace and bloodshed and being able to come back to the side of peace, many believing that the bloodshed is too tempting to leave in the past for any amount of time. This belief stems from the general fact that using overwhelming force to gain what one desires is the way most things work in the natural world, and converting oneself from being the prey to being the predator can be an intoxicating power trip. Many Unicorns involved in shady dealings have fallen to this simple truth as well, only wanting to gain and build more and more power, using criminal activities to indulge in the violence and brutality needed to truly build one's skill with various combat spells.
Battlecasters differentiate themselves from Druids in another way, which is a significant change from what Druids are capable of. Battlecasters, when in the midst of combat, no longer need the time to summon runes to perform their spells, or even use incantations. Instead, most Battlecasters have described the experience as 'an intoxicating transcendence to a primal violent side of oneself that most have not and will not ever imagine, let alone experience'. In other words, in the midst of battle, their affinity for the natural world and their connection to it reaches its peak, sending them into an instinctual state of mind while allowing them to retain their sentience.
Dancing is often seen, and it is a magnificent sight. Battlecasters twirl, flip, spin and flourish their bodies in various ways, seeming to flow with the enemies themselves, every step of their primal dancing seeming to flow straight through almost any strategy or attack pattern that can be set against them. During this dancing, balls of explosive fire, roots of trees, razor-sharp cutting gales, even solid pillars of stone and hard dirt can seemingly be conjured by little more than a hoofstep. It is not unusual to see a Battlecaster's eyes closed and a smile on their lips, not even able to see what they are fighting, but winning the battle regardless and utterly enjoying themselves and what is often a particularly violent slaughter.
Though revered for their mental and emotional fortitude to be able to resist the call for violence that many often claimed to feel during times of peace, Battlecasters were also as feared as they were respected. Zebras and even most ponies that know all about the Zebra Nations are afraid of anypony having that much immense power at their hooves, mainly because of the loss of many societal values both en-masse and individually. Most would openly admit that they would abuse such power, in present days. Just the same, Druids are still around, and Druids are simply Battlecasters that have not waded into battle while wielding their Runic Magic, meaning it would be easy for Battlecasters to become a popular trend in the Zebra Nations again.
When the Zebra Nations were first founded, they were ruled by a powerful Battlecaster that used her might to secure a small area of land outside of Equestria for herself, which Princess Celestia allowed simply because she did not wish for violence or war, on any scale. Over time, this willingness to show restraint even with such power earned Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's respect, causing the small plot of land that could only contain perhaps three villages to be recognized as an official seceded country from Equestria, the Princesses wishing to respect their leader's desires, along with the desires of all Zebras that followed.
Over time, more Battlecasters formed from normal Druids, due to the need to secure more land, many Zebras extending into the forests, flatlands, grasslands and savannahs all around the beginning area of the Zebra Nations. At the time, when the Zebra Nations began to extend their reach, the original leader was old and weak, but with many new Battlecasters taking in new lands and fending off feral creatures of all sorts, as well as befriending the gentler and more subdued ones, there was no shortage of new and willing leaders to take her place.
After a very long period of time, the small amount of 'safe' land that the Zebra Nations originally were soon became a multitude of different Wilder Nations, all consisting of Zebras, that joined and became a part of the Zebra Nations. Unfortunately, with what soon became a more aggressive push into new lands, many small skirmishes and minor wars broke out, which led to many, many Battlecaster-on-Battlecaster skirmishes. These fights were both beautiful, graceful....and devastating.
Sometimes Battlecasters would fight one-on-one, and other times, it could be as many as ten at a time all fighting each other at the same time. Most others originally a part of the fight would flee in fear of being caught in the middle of such a dazzling, horrifying spectacle, mostly because they would only get in the way and likely be killed before getting close to their enemies. Battlecasters fight other Battlecasters the same way they fight any other threat: through dance and use of the elemental forces of the natural world.
When fighting one-on-one, they would circle each other, calling out to the world around them, slowly but surely falling into the mental state they need to achieve the peak of their power. They step to each other weaponless, and try to strike physically, the dance beginning violently right from the beginning, flourishing swings of their hindlegs, flips and twirls around each other, it almost seems as if they are merely trying to beat each other up while almost passionately dancing with one another. However, as these dances speed up and build up their movements and the intensity thereof, many observers claim to feel an 'odd tingling sensation from the air itself'.
Soon, they are smiling, and losing themselves to the aforementioned violent desires and pleasure they derive from it. The world begins to shift and answer to both of them, the terrain being ripped apart by explosive fire, jutting pillars of stone and grass, their combined magical powers clashing with one another and uprooting nearby trees with tornado-force winds that seem to never affect them unless one of them loses their strength for even a moment.
As they both push themselves to the limits of their powers, they flow and dance around each other, often times causing their own attacks to just barely miss the individual casting it, slashing winds just slipping past the throat of the one that called it forth with a swish of his or her tail. Inevitably, someone must weaken, and when they do, they will undoubtedly perish in a most brutal fashion, be it by dismemberment through slicing gales, or burned to death by a blaze of fire, even getting impaled on a pillar of hard dirt and stone or having tree roots stuffed down their throat until it permeates every inch of their body. These are only a few documented deaths witnessed in ancient times.
Now, imagine such battles not just being one-on-one. Imagine the scale of a battle with five Battlecasters on both sides of the skirmish all dancing and fighting against each other all at the same time, their animosity and primal mentality making them possibly even forget who their allies are, who they went into that battle with from the start. One cannot imagine how badly ruined the terrain might be before the battle is truly over, but the very concept is horrifying, and possibly even more powerful than Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. It's no surprise that Battlecasters are mostly a thing of the past, because their power is likely a power that could destroy the world, rooted in bloodlust as it is, even if used for a noble cause.
In conclusion, the Zebra Nations were formed the way one would expect them to be formed, at one with nature in all ways, including taking land by force, expanding their control and taking what they needed to survive. Truly, the Zebras of both modern and ancient times relished the true ways of the natural world more than anypony could ever manage these days. Equestrian ponies have been raised coddled beneath the guiding hooves of two celestial entities given physical form, and by comparison, most cannot help but have great respect for the original founders and the modern Zebras that live in such untamed lands.