Chapter I. – With the Prospect of New Beginnings
After several months …
The night was cool, with wisps of fog beginning to glide around blades of grass in a sort of ethereal sword-dance. The young moon lay high in the heavens, like a silver ball placed lazily in the sky by the child of the above.
Ento breathed in the crisp air that marked the end of winter’s hold on the land. The chill tugged at his heart, but it was not the only entity to hold sway; the beginning of his fly by night dominated his mind. Behind him, he heard the bustling of daily life in the long lodge of his family home.
The subtle feelings of excitement intermingled with the fright of what he knew was a turning point in his life, as it tugged at him like a startled foal on his mother’s tail. This was it: the very same moment he had planned for almost half a year. The excitement was as fresh now as when he had decided to go out on his trip on that cool night.
He took another step off the porch, and was received with the crunch of fresh grass underhoof. A slight shiver ran down his spine as a gentle breeze caressed his form .
Very glad I brought my overcoat, he thought with gritted teeth. Of course, Mama’s soup had warmed him up quite a bit, and he knew it would carry him on through the rest of the night without a problem.
Before he set out fully, Ento decided to take a circuit through town as something of a final sightsee before he disappeared on his journey. Bataro was a quiet enough town. Only some tens of Ekina lived here, but that’s how he liked it. Throughout his stroll, he only came across twenty out on the street; such was the daily goings-on of the quaint town he had grown up in. Bataro was only significant for its blacksmithing trade. Ekina came from far and wide in Ek’Rael to purchase swords, armor and tools from his father, Krya’Ba. The Ba family had been blacksmiths since time began, it seemed.
Stopping by the forge, he let himself become washed with childhood memories. The forge’s whirling sparks danced around in wild, yet intricate patterns, reminding him of summer nights catching lightning bugs. The clang of metal rocked his mind and he broke from the spell as he heard the hammer set down. A horned head poked out of the next room, lit by the warm glow of the furnace.
“That you, Ento?”
“Yeah, Pap. Just me. I’m... taking off now.” Ento had to pause. He wasn’t sure how to put the words.
His father nodded and turned back to go. Just before he disappeared, though, he stopped, and turned back to face his son, stepping out a little bit further from the doorway. A leather smock hung loosely from his neck, along with a wide grin set upon his rough face.
“I remember when I took off from home, too.” He nodded just a bit. “Good luck, son. Wherever the journey takes you, I know you’ll be a different Ekina when I see you again. Enjoy your time on the Great Coasts.”
“Yeah, right Pap. Thanks. I’ll be sure to get plenty of sun for the both of us.” Ento smiled at his father. A little twinge of guilt snaked around his gut at the lie, but his father’s smile calmed it a bit. Regardless if he crossed the northern borders or not, he knew his father would still be proud of the adventure he was going on.
With another nod, his father turned back around and left him alone. The pang of the anvil was Ento’s cue to move on.
As he passed each landmark within Bataro, a memory sprang up at each from his youth.
The collective hooting of the Owlery reminded him of his barn owl. He waved an upbeat hoof at the old couple that sat outside. They responded with rickety bones in the same manner, ensuing in a small storm of feathers as owls and crows settled about their owner’s forms.
The din of the tavern called out to his memories of good times had with friends in the embrace of a lukewarm pint of Hangg. He remembered his conversation with Chela, the push that had started it all, all the zealous planning and mid-day ruminations.
He stopped, his mind feeling drawn out and frightened. He hadn’t even left the town yet, and he was already feeling like running back!
No, he thought, physically shaking away demons of nagging doubt. You’ve started and there’s no going back. This is what you’ve dreamed of! A journey to another land, a place beyond the known realms of Ek’Rael! You’ll be amazed at what you might find... You’ll be just like Entar’Ma the Brave, conquering dragons, finding maidens in danger, and discovering new lands!
At this, Ento chuckled to himself- the things his mind came up with! But he had to admit, the possibility of adventure excited him. It had been, after all, the whole reason he had planned this trip in the first place.
He had, of course, made sure to promise his mother and father that he was traveling east, to the distant coastline, to seek fortune and adventure. As it was he knew, travel anywhere north of the kingdom was strictly forbidden, on pain of death.
Pain of death. Ento grimaced at the thought. Of course, thanks mostly to Chela’s imploration, he had decided after private contemplation in the middle of the day, while everyone else was fast asleep, to head north, right into forbidden land. Out into a territory he knew really was wild and strange.
No Ekina had any knowledge of what lay north of the grand kingdom. But he planned to find out what it was that was so mysterious. Only the royal family knew history’s whispers and could truly discern what lay beyond the wild forests of the north. But the Lord and Lady weren’t exactly advertising what they knew at a corner stand in the capital, Brelset. It was for this reason that he was determined to find out what it was that actually lay beyond the mists of intrigue and broad speculation.
Ento suddenly realized he had come to the sign marking the outskirts of town, it’s lettering outlined by creeping moss. He stopped and filled his lungs deeply with the chilly air. He exhaled, taking careful notice of the hot breath as it hissed out between his sharp, serrated teeth and dissolved into the gentle breeze of the night sky.
He was ready.
Taking an apprehensive glance over his shoulder, he said an ancient Ekina prayer, asking Alik’Kr for fair weather, and for Tuni’Ro to ensure a safe journey. He started and took off running, hooves thumping down the weathered pathway.
North.
. . . . .
The time was the same, the place different. Princess Twilight Sparkle sat reclined at the ornately carved table, having just finished her tea. As she set the cup down she looked up, smiling to Princess Celestia, who was just finishing her tea as well.
She let her eyes wander, and looked around at the grand room she was in; the gilded walls were awash in deep crimson and violet, and star maps and charts lay haphazardly around the chamber, overshadowed by telescopes that aimed to different regions of the sky. Each one existed to observe the cosmos in the seven different spectrums of magic.
The Observation Tower at Canterlot Castle was an excellent place for stargazing, and the bi-monthly meetings she had here with the princess during the winter season were always something to look forward to, even if this were the last one for the year.
Twilight broke her gaze from the room, settling it in front of her as she politely waited for the Princess to finish off her tea. A question blazed in her mind like wildfire, gears clashing and connecting, forming outcomes, possibilities, statistics, answers.
Celestia glanced over her cup, and broke into a grin as she saw the expectant look on her equal’s face.
“I know you far too well, my dear,” she said as the china tinkled onto its setting plate. “Now, tell me, what is the question you’ve got forming in that brilliant mind of yours?”
Twilight stuttered as she tried to both apologize and ask her question at the same time. Celestia’s tender laugh sounded throughout the room.
“Take a breath, my little pony, and then ask your question,” she said mildly.
Twilight obliged, letting a deep breath out before she began; her hyperactive mind was distracted as she keenly observed the wisps of her own breath on the gentle breeze. Finally, she started.
“Well, Princess, I took a trip to the Canterlot Archives the other day, looking up, well, specifically Equestrian history. As a Princess of Equestria, I’ve had a serious drive to know more about the past recently, especially ancient magic and related species, mostly ancient unicorns and dragons, because they seemed to take the largest part in shaping how the kingdom… uh, well I’m going on about nothing,” she remarked, face reddening as she realized what she had been saying. Celestia’s laugh twinkled again.
“Twilight Sparkle, my dear, you never bore me with your details, I promise. Now please, do go on..?” she said, smiling expectantly at Twilight.
“Yes of course. Well, uh, I was reading a very old script, Ancient Relations of Equestria, and I came across something I’ve never heard of before...” She paused. Her mind flashed, bathed in anxiety. Certainly there’s a reason why I didn’t find anything else about them, she contemplated uneasily.
It’s fine, Twilight, the Princess will understand, she knows how I am with learning new things. I am a princess after all! She should be open to sharing information! she finally rationalized. Okay, here I go...
“… It was something called an, uh, Ekina? I checked twice, asked all the mages and historians in the Archives; not a single pony knew what an Ekina was… Can you shed some light on this for me?” she finished, with a nervous glance at her mentor, biting her lip.
To her horror, the princess’s face soured, but only for a moment. It quickly returned to its usual stately calm, and looked to Twilight. The calm turned to concern as Celestia saw the apparent shock on the alicorn’s face.
“Twilight, I think you misunderstand my reaction,” Celestia consoled carefully. ‘’My upset was not aimed at you; in fact I applaud your tenacity to find the answer you’re looking for.” Celestia beamed down at Twilight, and was matched by Twilights softening gaze at her old mentor as she realized she was in the clear. Phew…
“It’s just that, well... Luna and I, we simply have a bad past with the… Them.” Celestia’s well-tuned voice cracked slightly, failing to say the name in the process. “Their choices and actions in the past have been… well, shall we say, malicious. They hurt a young and vulnerable Equestria, and almost ceased it to be. I appreciate your persistence, really I do, but I want you to keep the past buried. It’s for the best, I think. Do you understand?”
Celestia’s gaze met Twilight’s: a stern look, but mixed in somewhere was… Fear? Resentment? Doubt? Twilight had little time to guess, as the sentiment disappeared into thin air and Celestia’s trained visage returned to normal.
“I, well. I mean…” Twilight started, arguments falling invalid as she glanced again at her unyielding expression. “Okay, Princess. I promise I won’t,” she grumbled, admitting defeat, and looked down at the muddled grey remains of the tea leaves in her cup.
“Thank you, Twilight (She could hear the Princesses’ well practiced smile in her voice). Please understand, my dear, it’s not that I want to intentionally hold you back from discovering something new, I just don’t think you will find anything on the... them, that would satisfy your appetite for knowledge.” She beamed down on her student. Twilight noticed that she had sidestepped using the name, again.
Twilight mumbled a response, mind racing and further from the table than it could have ever been. She gazed off, over the courtyards and let her mind take off, proverbial hooves beating down the cobbled path.
South.