//------------------------------// // 3: Story of the Veil // Story: The Chronicles of Ravensong // by Ravensong //------------------------------// Somehow, by some grace, the rest of the night was peaceful. Raven awoke to the bright morning sun dancing in her eyes. She yawned and stretched, and cringed at the crunching noise as her hoof went through the wall. A loud squawk was a precursor to Graz entering the room where she was staying, and wordlessly pointing with a wing at the hole in her wall. His beak gaped as he tried to say something, anything. Raven gave Graz a sheepish grin, and said "I am so sorry… I’ll… um…" She took a closer look at the wall and cringed again. "Fix it?" Graz continued to point and made an odd squeaking noise as his beak tried vainly to produce coherent sound. Pleasant laughter sounded in the hallway behind him, as his mother made an entrance. "You will fix it." She said. "It will keep your hooves busy." Cavatina laughed, and nudged her son, startling him out of his shock. He fluffed his feathers and started to leave the room, grumbling all the way. His mother's voice stopped him in his tracks. "And you, my dear son, will help her." She winked at Raven, while Graz hung his head and sighed. ~ * ~ * ~ <> <> <> ~ * ~ * ~ The mixture was thick, and Raven was starting to have trouble stirring it. Graz supervised and instructed Raven on how to create the mixture that they would use to fix the home's wall. Raven mumbled around the stirring stick, "Wha ha’n’d las nigh?” With a sigh, Graz hung his head, "This is really something more that mom should tell you about." Raven spat the stick out and sat back on her haunches. She shot an annoyed look at her raven friend. She took a deep breath, and was about to finally let loose her annoyance, when Cavatina came outside carrying a bowl nestled daintily between her wings. The sweet scent of the fruit made both Raven and Graz's mouth began to water. "This is not the manner in which I wished to have this conversation.” She sighed as she sat the bowl down near the pair. They dug into the fruit, Graz eating a grape daintily while Raven crunched an apple. Cavatina poked the stick, now firmly standing upright in the solid mixture. “Too much sand.” She mused and shook her head. “This will not work.” She tugged at Raven’s mane, pulling her toward the house. “Graz, would you be a dear, I need to speak to our filly.” Graz looked from the unusable mixture to his mother dragging Raven away and back. He grumbled obscenely under his breath and took flight to the storage alcove to get another bowl. ~ * ~ * ~ <> <> <> ~ * ~ * ~ Cavatina gave Raven a slight peck, nudging her inside the home. She closed the door behind them and chuckled. “I had hoped that we wouldn’t have to do this quite so soon. But last night, well…” She paused. A male voice, smooth and deep, continued the sentence. “Our hand has been forced.” Raven’s eyes went wide and she felt a heat raise into her cheeks. The voice put her in mind of spring. It evoked the rush of life as new growth pushes to the surface of the soil, the feeling of the first warm rays of sparkling sunlight that caress leaves and call sleeping animals to wake. She sat, mutely as the speaker seemed to appear from the shadows in the corners of the room. He hadn’t been there before but it was like he had always been there, that any place he was he would belong there. It was a stallion, sleek and built for speed, with a mahogany coat and mane the color of new growth. But his eyes, Raven tore her gaze away and to the ground, he eyes were not normal. They were black, but not solid black. They held stars within their depths. “No need to be dramatic, Fás.” Cavatina said, a hint of annoyance in her tone as her feathers ruffled ever so slightly. The strange stallion chuckled. “Cavatina.” He savored every syllable of her name. “Ever the...” He paused, those unnatural eyes mocking. “correct.” He finished. “Is this ‘Trope’s replacement?” A million questions burst into Raven’s head. ‘Trope? Heliotrope? The dead dragon whose spirit had taught her to fly? How did he know her? Did he mean her, Raven? Replacement? What did he mean replacement? She bit her tongue and stayed silent even as her mind whirled ever faster. Cavatina nestled down next to Raven, her manner protective. “The council has not decided yet. There is not enough evidence.” “Not. Enough. Evidence.” The stallion shook his head. “You mean they have hidden their heads in the proverbial sand and focus on Corvid’s borders rather than examine this filly.” His eyes narrowed. “Tell me, Cavatina, in your heart, is this ‘Trope’s replacement?” “She… “ Cavatina looked at Raven, almost sadly. “She has some of her powers. My son has seen them. But… she has no training. She can’t repl-” “This manner of ascension is not unheard of. Rare, but there is precedent.” He nodded. “She must appear before the Aes Sidhe Council.” “She’s not ready!” Cavatina burst out. “Eyes Sheath Council? What’s that?” Raven burst out, unable to hold in anymore questions. Both the stallion and Cavatina stared at Raven. Cavatina patted her gently on the head. “Not eyes sheath… Aes Sidhe. Oh! There is so much to explain and I don’t know where to start!” Raven bit her lower lip, wishing she wasn’t causing her friend’s mother this grief. “From the beginning.” The stallion settled down for what was going to prove to be a long dissertation. Cavatina comforted Raven as his words washed over them. Outside, Graz listened to this familiar story, anger building in him, as he fixed the hole in the wall. ~ * ~ * ~ <> <> <> ~ * ~ * ~ His name was Fás Erraigh, but he did not mind being called Fás. In the language of Equestria, he would be known as Spring Glory. He was not a pony, just using a form that she would be comfortable with, but he was Aes Sidhe. Aes Sidhe. Aos Si. Daoine Sidhe. One people. Split. At war. Once, long ago, all the races lived in harmony. All the worlds were one. Then the cataclysm happened. The worlds split. Resources that were once plentiful became scarce and new races were born. The resource most changed was magic. For with the breaking of the world from one into many, magic became fragmented and rare. Conflict broke out over the usage of magic. War came to the realms. In an effort to save the peoples, wise minded beings of many races came together and drew ‘lines’ separating out the lands of their respective peoples. Equestria would become one of those lands. The ‘lines’ were a construct, created to protect and limit the usage of that now most valuable resource, magic. That construct came to be known as the Veil. It separated worlds. This is why Raven had never heard of Corvid. It was a separate world all together. But a faction of Fás’ people did not agree with the creation of the Veil. They held that magic was the greatest gift of creation and should not be trapped away and doled out spoonful by spoonful. To them, it was their birthright to use magic at will. It was their drive to tear down the Veil. So, the guardians were chosen. Usually they were chosen from among the elder races. Usually dragons, sometimes Corvid, rarely lesser known races. Never Aes Sidhe. And now, a pony. A pegasus. Raven. The gift that Heliotrope gave to Raven when she taught the little filly to fly was more than just a gift. It was also a burden. It wasn’t just Skull terrorizing her and murdering her family. It wasn’t just an ice spider attacking phoenix. It wasn’t just the creatures that had attacked Corvid the night before. It was every world. The Aos Si had felt Heliotrope’s death. There was a break in the defenses surrounding the Veil. It had to be fixed. Raven had to fill that void. She was out of time. ~ * ~ * ~ <> <> <> ~ * ~ * ~ She sat there, eyes wide, as the words jumbled together. It was too much! Way too much! She stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence when Graz burst into the house. He was fluffed up as big as he could get, every feather standing on end, and he hopped right up to Fás’ face. “Oh no you don’t!” He fumed, as Cavatina gripped Raven’s foreleg with a sudden fear. “She’s too young!” “Stand down.” Fás glared at Graz. “I won’t!” “I said. Stand. Down.” Fás stood up, glaring down at Graz. “No! She is too young! Heliotrope didn’t save her for you to send her to her death because she was unprepared.” “You know the code.” Fás snarled, his green mane starting to writhe like vines. “Better her death than inaction.” “She doesn’t.” A soft voice interjected. Cavatina silently pleaded with her son. Graz stood down and she continued. “She is from Equestria and does not know the code. She should at least… know that.” Raven blinked a few times and stood up, shaking off Cavatina. Her eyes wide with shock, still trying vainly to process the story Fás had told her, she shakily moved to Graz. She gave him a quick nuzzle then looked back at the strange stallion. Raven swallowed and stepped closer to him. She was struck by the sharp scent of the deep forest that surrounded him. The scent was wild and primal. It made her uneasy. She swallowed again. Graz looked on with mounting horror as Fás shot both him and his mother a triumphant grin while Raven approached him. He covered his eyes with a wing when he saw her eyes narrow at his grin. She whirled and kicked, hitting him square in the jaw. She bolted, out of the house and out of sight. Fás roared and started to chase her but stopped short. Cavatina was laughing. “What did you expect, my lord?” She asked. “She is a child.” She reminded him softly yet ever so firmly. Graz left to find Raven. The day had just begun and it was already going to be an extremely long night.