//------------------------------// // Prologue: Wild Ideas // Story: Beyond Horizon's Edge // by Broseph_Stalin //------------------------------// Prologue - Wild Ideas A beat of wings brought the air into a flurry, and down swooped the silent form of a large barn owl. With another flap of its wings, the owl descended and plunged through a lit hole in the side of a building. As it circled above and looked below, it beheld a room lit by lamp light and filled with demons. Creatures with tall, ochre, green and brown bodies milled about tables piled with steaming platters and overflowing, foaming mugs; though the creature’s emaciated bodies and protruding ribs gave no indication they could possibly eat that well. As the barn owl made another pass, it regarded the creatures that laughed below it, gnashing razor blades of teeth in a sign of bright laughter. Horns, long and swept back, bobbed up and down to the merriment. The owl had found its target: a young Ekina, pale red eyes, green, mottled fur, short, choppy, jet black mane. He dove down on his target. “Oh- Ah!” the Ekina yelped as the owl landed without an ounce of grace onto the table, spilling drinks and plates of kuta. All the Ekina mumbled and shouted, some throwing playful strikes at the owl’s owner. “For gods’ sake! Why is that old bag of feathers here, Ento?” a tall, green-brown Ekina shouted and then laughed as he took a long swig of his drink. Ento shrugged as he tried to mop up the mess the owl had caused. The barn owl strutted about the empty parts of the table, dropping feathers about. “No idea, Kima. My pap sends him out at night and I think he’s got some sort of…” The Ekina raised an eyebrow, “owl crush on me, or something.” Ento blushed as the gang around him laughed aloud and began chanting, to the lead of Kima, “Barn owl loves Ento! Barn owl loves Ento!” “Ah ha, ha, funny,” Ento slurred as he finished up the rest of the cleanup. “Ah, we’re just feckin with ya,” an Ekina across the table laughed, and winked. “Just drink your Hangg, okey?” Ento obliged, and the rest of the group made a mad dash for their mugs-- a few moments later, a collective crack was heard as the gang slammed the metal cups onto the wooden table. A chorus of cries resounded in the tavern, rifling up the old barn owl. The bird flapped its wings in despair, showering the table with even more loose feathers. A collective shout made it worse for the owl. “Alrght, alright, aright! Get that bird outta here, Ento! Gods damn it!” Kima shouted, his face starting to turn red as his anger burned up with the alcohol. Ento sighed and scooped up the owl, which went slack as soon as it was handled. Shuffling his way through packed tables, he crossed through the heavy door and the din of the bar turned to a muffled stream of noise. His hooves crunched under the grass as he walked away from the tavern. Moonshine bathed everything in a cool light, and the summer weather was just the right temperature. Setting down the barn owl, Ento sat lazily on the short grass and watched it hop around, wings barely opening. The Ekina let out a long sigh. “Why do you have to go mess things up, huh?” Ento searched the owl’s black eyes as it looked back up at him. Another sigh was lost into the night air. “Yeah, I know. You’re tired and old. Stuck to your old ways. Like me.” He smirked. “I need to do something exciting. Something exciting, before I grow old and shriveled in this town.” He jumped a bit as he heard the door open and a wash of noise fill the night. It closed again, just as quickly. Ento kept his eyes focused on the moon above. “All alone out here?” “Yeah, just trying to get my barn owl back home. He’s pretty old… I’m surprised he can still fly, to be honest.” He smirked and looked over his shoulder at the voice. “Mind if I join you?” the other Ekina asked. Her eyes were as bright as her smile. “No, not at all, Chela.” Ento said, and scooted over a bit. The Ekina nodded and sat down beside Ento, her long purple mane rolling about her neck and short horns. She turned to Ento and smiled, a little half-drunk smile that caught him off-guard. Her eyes were shimmering emerald in the moonlight. “What’s up with your bird?” she asked, plain and simple. "He's just old, s'all. About as old as me, actually. He can barely fly and he drops feathers all over the place, good for pretty much nothing anymore. It's gotten me thinking, honestly." "Whattabout, huh?" Ento felt a little groggy, and rubbed his forehead with a hoof to help clear away the four pints of Hangg. “Just… thinking, Chela. About my future.” Chela nodded profoundly, and put a hoof under her chin. “Yeah? And what about it?” “Well, it's just, I’ve been in this town almost twenty-four summers, and I’ve never done anything exciting. Never had an adventure before. Why, I haven't even traveled past Brelset.” He smirked. “The capitols only like a half day trip. That’s nothing. The kingdom is huge.” Chela nodded once more. “So why don’t you just leave?” Her words were flat again. Ento pricked up his ears at the suggestion. “What do you mean, exactly? Leave?” “Well,” Chela said, rolling her eyes, “I mean get out of town. Out of the county. Or even out of the country.” She cracked a wide, devilish smile. “Ha, ha,” Ento mocked. “Wide open ocean east and west, and an immeasurably long desert down south. We’re stuck in Ek’Rael y’know, Chela.” “I wasn’t talking about east or west or even south.” Her ears pricked up in excitement. “Why not go… North?” Ento didn’t even give the Ekina the benefit of a mock laugh this time. “Oh yes, let me just write to the Lord and Lady. ‘Hey guys, just wondering if you could lift the millenium and a half ban on northern travel just for me, I’m having an existential crisis and I need to see the world. Sincerely yours, Ento. P.S. My friend Chela is insane.” He cracked a smile at the last part. The two laughed quietly to themselves. The joy died down, however, as the barn owl flapped its wings violently. Shushing the bird, Ento’s mood fell back into melancholy. “That’s a great idea, Chela, but it’s not gonna happen. You know that.” Chela rolled her eyes a bit at the colt. “Well alright, but I’m just saying.” She shrugged. “I’ve always thought about going North, since I was a little filly. If you really want an adventure… That’s it!” Her eyes grew dark once more; a chill went down Ento’s spine and he did his best to suppress a shiver. “You’re not getting any younger. Don’t let the world pass you by, sweetheart.” With that, Chela placed a hoof gently on Ento’s shoulder, nodded, and went back inside. Ento was left all alone. Fiddling with a pebble along the dirt road, he thought about what his friend had said. Chela was right, of course. Going north would be the adventure of a lifetime. Things would never be the same after, for better or worse. Ento let out another heavy sigh. “So what do you think? Should I do it?” Ento asked the barn owl. The bird just stared back with cold, black eyes. “It seems stupid, I know, but… Something about the idea just seems so right.” Ento searched the owl’s heart-shaped face for some sort of answer. With an oddly sentient look, the owl blinked, and with a flutter of wings, took off into the air. Ento watched as it soared across the tops of the trees, in the direction of the moon. Before long, it had disappeared from sight completely. That was the last time Ento ever saw the barn owl.