Castus
Castus bolted up with a scream, and he kicked his legs and waved his arms as he looked around. He turned and saw two hunters rushing into the tent...wait tent.
He looked around again, confused. Where was he? What?
Then he remembered. The Moot. The Equestrians. His people.
"Fire Man, are you well? Marcus told us to keep you safe." One of the hunters said.
Castus blinked, then looked at the hunters and nodded, "I...I'm fine...I...you two get me the Huntmasters. Now!"
The hunters nodded and ran off, leaving Castus alone to think.
How long had he been out? What had happened since he passed out?
And what was up with that dream? He shivered remembering it.
He had been back in Ponyille, laying on Fluttershy's couch. He had been resting when he heard Fluttershy...and then felt her get on him. After that it had sort of gone from cuddling to kissing....then....other things....very pleasant things...
...but then...Fluttershy pulled out that crop....and then the had a ball gag....
"Ahhh! What is wrong with me?!" Castus said, gripping his head.
He shook his head and decided to focus on the now. Time enough to figure out his....fetishes later. He had more important things to do.
And as he heard the sound of many footsteps approaching, Castus was glad that he wouldn't have to spend time to his thoughts.
"Most of the Moot is gone. All the clans have taken heavy losses. Though it would have been worse if not for the efforts of Arvak and his smiths. A great many people hid out at the forge, its distance from the camp kept it safe from the ponies passage. I don't think they even noticed it." Marcus said.
"The slingers had been advantageous. They kept the ponies back for a time to let others run to hide in the caves in the nearby mountain and the forest." Ulric said.
Castus nodded listening to the reports. Some of the clans now only had a few dozen members left, and some would need to decide upon new Huntmasters.
"And the food reserves?" Castus asked, fearing the worse.
"All gone. The tent and its contents were burnt in the fires. We salvaged what we could, but it won't be enough to last the clans through this unending winter." Marcus said.
Castus hit his fist against his leg, ignoring the pain.
"We can't stay here. What if the ponies come back?" One huntmaster asked.
"They won't...not for sometime at least," Castus said, "I saw to it that their forces got scattered. We have a day...maybe two."
"Then we are doomed." Krul said, "we can't move the entire Moot in two days."
There was a deep silence in the tent. The feeling of hopelessness was heavy. Yet despite the circumstances, Castus felt a distinct calm coming over him, radiating from his chest. He stuck his hand down his shirt, and pulled the amulet the Tree of Harmony gave him, the feeling growing stronger as he held it.
"There might be...someplace to go." Castus said, "gather your clans and pack up all that remains. I will return in a moment. I need to pick up something."
The huntmasters nodded and left to do as instructed. Castus slowly got up, feeling his muscles ache and his body desiring further rest. Despite the front he had put up for the Huntmasters, the battle previously had left him exhausted and he had pushed himself too far. Though his strength in the Wind had grown some in the last three years, he had been working at his limits. The attack had forced him to push beyond those, and any wise Wind channeler knew that wasn't a good thing. It was like filling a glass with too much water, eventually it overflows and the volatile nature of the Wind made doing such a thing to much or too often very dangerous.
If he wasn't careful...he might end up killing himself.
But he could worry on that later. He had people to look after.
And a prisoner to collect.
'Time to put the bastard to some use.' Castus thought as he walked out of the tent and toward the hiding spot. Hopefully he was still unconscious.
It was sometime later that Castus stood before the gathered remains of his people. He also saw a great big bonfire built, and the bodies of their dead gathered upon it. Beside him lay a clothed wrapped bundle, a large bundle. Castus gave it another kick at the top to make sure it was still and silent before addressing his people.
"We have all been witness to a great tragedy here my people. We have lost our homes, and friends and family. But we must not let our sadness weigh us down. We must take that despair and turn it into the fuel to keep our fire of resistance and strength strong. We will be like the iron we have learned to forge, and with the flame that burns in us now, we will reforge ourselves stronger then before." He said. He wasn't much of a public speaker back home, but his amulet helped him get over the stress of addressing so many.
He then spoke the customary funeral rites, before nodding to the hunters as they set fire to the pyre. He would merely gather the ashes this time, as he would need all his strength to open a Waygate toward their destination.
The pyre burnt brightly, and all watched its flame burn away the dead. Castus brought out the ashes from amongst the fire, but instead of a singular ash pearl, he merged it all into a singular pearl, the size of grown mans fist. All the people watched and gasped, mutters of confusion.
"This tragedy has effected us all....and so it is thus that I make this great ash pearl not for a singular family to remember a passed loved one, but for all of us to look upon and remember this day. Let us never forget this day, and let us work to never let it happen again." Castus said as he gently placed the Great Ash Pearl into his hands, holding it gently as he would a new born baby.
The people all nodded, some even fell to their knees and muttered things he could not hear. It was in that the Castus felt sure that he had just made something the equivalent to a holy relic to his people. It made hi a bit uneasy, but he understood the power of relics had over people in dire times....maybe this was something they needed.
With that, all merely watched the pyre burn till the last flickering flame died out. Then, as one, all the people gathered their things. Castus hefted up his wrapped bundle over his shoulder, and held the Great Ash Pearl tight in his other arm as he turned and opened up a Waygate toward their destination.
'God...need to lose some weight.' He thought readjusting the weight of his bundle on his shoulder.
With all gathered and ready, the line of humanity made their way through the Waygate, and into the calming embrace of a crystalline light within a wide cavern.
And as Castus gazed up at the crystal tree, he felt that strong sense of calm radiate around him...and the strange sense of welcome that came from the tree.
Welcome back, he felt from the tree. And Castus could not help but smile.
"It is good to be back." he said to himself...and to the tree.