The Lerris Chronicles, Three
In a blue cloud of telekinesis, Beau pulled a flailing grasshopper out of a glass jar and skewered it on a dangling fishing hook.
“See how scrawny this one is?” Beau asked.
“Er… yes?” Kera blinked as she leaned over to look.
The young stallion hung the line over the edge of the wooden dock where the two were seated. Lake waters rippled in front of them, reflecting beams of silver overcast. The air was moist, but common. Due north, the rivers stretched in winding patterns, reflecting the cold gray mountains broiling with distant black thunderstorms.
“You wanna save the fat juicy ones for later,” Beau said with a smirk. He tipped his pole down, dunking the impaled insect into the murky current. “The key is to get the fish’s attention first. Then, once a few of them have gathered around, you can give ‘em something big to fight over. That means you’ll catch the larger ones in the end.”
“Must be really big fish to wanna chew on grasshoppers,” Kera remarked.
Beau shrugged. “They’re not so much big as they are mean and ugly.” He smirked. “Funny how the latter get the more muscles.”
“How long you gotta wait for them to bite?”
“Long enough,” the stallion said. He leaned back with a relaxed breath, smiling peacefully at the rippling current. “Fishing isn’t about being a hurry. Going out on a raft with a net? Now that’s different, but that’s when it becomes a team effort with two or three other ponies.”
“And… you’ve been doing this all your life?” Kera pointed at the waters. “Just sitting around--on wooden decks or in wooden boats--dangling grasshoppers over hungry fish?”
“Well… it’s what occupies most of my days, certainly.” Beau nodded. “But it’s not all I do,” he said with a smirk. “After all, I don’t want my marefriend thinking I smell like fish all the time!”
Kera rolled her eyes. “Seriously. You gotta be bored out of your mind here.”
“Not entirely,” Beau said. “I’m not exactly glued to this town like Uncle Hap may have you believe.”
“You mean you’re only visiting?”
He chuckled, dangling the fishing pole up and down. “What I mean is that I make frequent trips to other villages in the valley.” He smirked over his shoulder at her. “The downside of being a strong, young set of legs is having to gallop them from place to place and run errands for the ponies who are too old to do it themselves.”
“Yikes.” Kera frowned. “That’s gotta suck.”
“Eh, not really.” Beau smiled as he gazed out at the cloudy, murky skies hanging softly over the lake waters. “It gives me time to think, to meditate, to do my devotionals.”
“Hap made it sound like you’re super religious.”
“Oh, did he, now?”
“Yeah. The other day as he was chatting with Belle and Pilate.” Kera smirked wickedly. “They probably think my hearing was bad cuz of all the foals giggling around me, but I could tell they were pressing him about a bunch of Xonan stuff.”
“I thought you were having fun with the other foals…”
“Oh, sure. They’re nice n’all. A tad bit wimpy, but whatever.” Kera shrugged. “Still, I can’t forget about my friends.”
“These… Native Jewels...”
Kera giggled. “‘Noble Jurists!’ Come onnnnn. It’s not that hard!”
“Getting to know a group of strangers is rather daunting.”
“But you guys aren’t strangers… r-right?” Kera’s brow furrowed. “I mean. I know you. Some of you.”
“Do you, though?” Beau glanced away from the line and towards her. “I mean, I’m enraptured to see ya again, filly, but I can’t fault you for forgetting a whole town.” He smirked at himself. “Though why a pony would find this town unforgettable is beyond me…”
Kera sighed. She turned around three times and sat on folded legs beside him. “I remember… stuff.”
“Good stuff or bad stuff?”
“Meh. It’s all gray.” She glanced up at the sky. “Just like these clouds. Just like everything.”
“And…” Beau fidgeted slightly. “And your family?”
Kera bit her lip.
“I’m terribly sorry,” Beau said with a sigh, casting the line out further. “Uncle Hap said I shouldn’t pry.”
“They were alright, I guess,” Kera murmured. “My Mom and Dad, that is. I mean, my real Mom and Dad. I-I mean… gnnnghhh…” She burrowed her muzzle in her forelimbs and groaned. “They’re not even that!”
“Trust me. You never get used to it.” Beau shrugged. “And yet you do.”
Kera glanced up at him with a dull stare. “How’d you come upon Lerris?”
“It was a miracle, really,” Beau remarked. “I was scooped out of a zeppelin crash on the side of a mountain. I was an eight year old foal, nearly suffering from hypothermia. When a bunch of traders found me, I only had one marking on my body.” He turned towards her and pointed at the jagged triangles bordering the base of his horn. “See there?”
“Uhhhh… sure?”
“Oh, right. My bad.” Beau chuckled. “It’s the mark of a warrior. That means my biological father was likely a fighter in the upper echelon of the Xonan military.”
“Huh…” Kera blinked. “So you’re Second Born.”
“Heyyyyy…” Beau smiled. “You do know your stuff!”
“Well… s-some of it…” Kera fidgeted. “The only pony who was able to tell me anything about Xonan ways was… a stallion who’s no longer with us now.”
“I see.” Beau nodded his head. “My condolences.”
“Oh, please. He wasn’t a picture perfect dude. In fact, he was responsible for a whole bunch of us getting captured, since he was disguising himself as a Ledomaritan and all.” Kera sighed out her nostrils. “His name was Dalen. And in spite of all the nasty stuff he did, I could tell he was fighting to get from Third Born back to Second Born… or whatever that means.”
“It means that he’s dealt with the short end of the Xonan caste stick,” Beau said. “I often hear stories of Xonans turned into indentured servants on account of some sort of social demotion that they’ve suffered.”
“Just what’s the big deal?” Kera shrugged towards the lapping waters. “Why put each other in stupid binds? I mean, isn’t life tough enough that we gotta divide it up like crazy bread?!”
“I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of it myself,” said Beau. “Which is one reason why I’ve stayed in the valley here.”
“And yet… you got all of the rest of the scars added to ya over time.”
“Heheh… I do believe the appropriate term is glaan muus. ‘Penitent lines.’ They’re a sign of one’s devotion to Nagu’n through adherence to the Spirit of Xon over the course of the twelve stages of equine life. I’m currently in heen thall. Stage eight.”
“Stage eight?” Kera blinked. “Wowsers, you’re far along. What’s stage twelve?”
“Heheh… that’s when we start getting into afterlife and chakras.” Beau winked. “But let’s not dump too much spirit stuff on you all at once.”
“Huh…” Kera brushed her green bangs back. “So, you were marked as a warrior’s foal at birth, huh?”
“Just about. Uncle Hap says that a child must be ‘anointed’ with the glaanas muusielen by his or her second moon.”
“Yeah, okay.” Kera gulped and pulled her bangs back, tilting her exposed horn for the stallion to see. “What… uhm… wh-what do mine mean?”
“That you were found past age one by Radiant and Benevolent.”
“No, I mean… the markings. What’s my caste?”
Beau looked at her, squinted, and said with a smirk. “You really wanna know?”
She droned, “I’m third born, aren’t I?”
“How’d you guess?”
“Meh…” Kera tossed her mane back and glanced out at the waters. “Something Dalen told me before… uhm… before bad stuff happened to him.”
“You’re a great deal more experienced than you give yourself credit, Kera.” Beau turned towards the waters and cast the line again. “I know that you haven’t exactly had the best of experiences.”
“Last few months have been a blast if you ask me,” Kera said with a smirk.
“Heh… yes, most assuredly. Ahem. But being abducted? Being forced into Ledomaritan slum life against your will?”
“Hey. I had it good in Nightshade’s tower.” Kera tilted her head up with a proud expression. “I chose to bust out of that place with my super awesome magicky magic!”
“And… you lived on the streets for a while, yes?”
“And I could handle myself!” Kera gulped. “Even if… I went hungry from time to time.”
“Why’d you bust out?”
“Because Madame Nutsack was going to chop off my horn, that’s why!”
“Heh… like I was saying…” Beau smirked. “You’ve encountered some hard times. I think it’s shaped you up to be a very mature filly for your age. I can’t say I would have wanted to have experienced such bad luck myself, but I do envy you in some ways.”
“Huh? How?” Kera blinked. “Why?”
“You’re tenacious. What’s more, you have some remarkable self-confidence. I was quite the opposite when I was your age.” Beau paused to sigh, then continued. “I was very confused, worrisome, anxious, and clingy. I sometimes think Radiant Moon and Benevolent Blue took you on because they wanted to be rid of my whining all the time.” He flew a glance aside. “That last one is a joke, of course.”
“Lemme guess. Xonan humor?”
“No, just lame Beau humor.”
“Heh. I can dig it.” Kera nodded. “You were saying?”
“It took me a while to figure out where I stood, you know? Did I want to go the way of Nagu’n, follow the Spark, or set forth on my own path?”
“You chose the first option, right?”
“Actually, I like to think of it as having chosen the third,” he said. “My walk in glory of Nagu’n is a decision of my own choosing. I didn’t decide because I was born Xonan… or because I was raised relatively Ledomaritan.” He smiled gently. “The Spirit of Xon gives me strength against adversity. It helps me practice patience and maintain equilibrium with the ponies around me. My ambitions are kept in check, and yet I am able and willing to defend my integrity at any cost. It’s a peaceful life, and I am happy to have lived it this way.”
“As opposed to going east and learning how to rip ponies in half…?”
“Yes, I don’t believe I have the fortitude for that.” He winced. “Much less the sadism.”
Kera giggled. “Well, I’m glad you found your place, Beau.”
“Where you live is only a part of finding your place.” He looked at her again. “A greater part of it entails the way in which you’ve chosen to compose yourself. Which is precisely why I envy you, young Kera.”
“Huh…?”
“You’re so strong, so mature, so together for your age. Now, I’m not trying to rule out any fears or insecurities. We all have them. Regardless, when I look at you, I feel inspire. I’m personally convinced that if you were to choose to stay in Lerris or stay with the Jackals--”
”Jurors!”
“Er… right. Ahem. Either way, you’d be at home, because you’d still be yourself. Do you feel me?”
“I… I guess…” Kera murmured.
“That’s just the way I see it, anyways.”
“So, you think I’m good to go, then?” Kera glanced up at him. “To stick it out with the Jury on the long run?”
Beau was silent.
Kera sat up straight, blinking. “Beau…?”
“Can you travel to the distant edges of the world with your companions?” Beau shrugged with forelimbs, almost dropping the pole. “Most certainly. As I’ve stated, you’re a strong and resourceful young pony. But the thing to consider is: this is your life. And it’s as much decided by what you want than what you need.”
“You think I don’t wanna stay with Pilate and Belle?”
“I don’t know what you want, Kera,” Beau said. “And I’m not about to pretend to know. Would I be happy to have you around here? To see you grow up? To know that a piece of something precious that was ripped out of the heart of this town was returned? Absolutely. But… at the same time… I would be happy if you left as well.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because…” Beau paused to choose his words carefully. “Because I’ll have known--from this visit--that you are healthy, whole, and--dare I say--happy.” He smiled a calm smile. “And that closes the book on a blackened chapter in my life. It’s as if Nagu’n is rewarding me for my patience, as She always does. Just having a chance to speak with you is a blessing, and--if nothing else--I’ll have you in my prayers when or if you decide to travel beyond the frozen seas.”
“So… you can just live with that?” Kera gulped. “With closure, I mean?”
“It’s one of the more succulent morsels of existence.”
Kera hung her head, staring with dull eyes into the rippling waters.
“Do you not agree?”
“I… don’t know.”
“An honest answer.”
“If you say so.” Kera sniffled, cleared her throat, and glanced at the pole. “There hasn’t been a bite yet.”
“It’s like I said. There’s no rush.”
“Seems like an awful waste of a grasshopper,” Kera muttered. “Where I used to ‘slum it out,’ I didn’t have any fish to toss them to.” She looked up at him. “Why, I even--”
“Hmmm?” Beau muttered through a mouthful, slurping down a combed leg as he gulped a massive insect down his throat.
Kera blinked. She gazed at the jar full of grasshoppers, then up at him again. Her mouth hung open. “No way! You too?”
Beau smirked. “Grasshoppers aren’t the only things indigenous to this part of the continent.”
“Get out of town!” Kera’s voice cracked. “I thought I was the only one!”
“Not many ponies in Lerris understand the delicacy,” he said with a wink. “Nor were most of them born with Xonan stomachs.”
“Oh? Is there--like--really a difference?”
“There are. Tiny ones, granted. Xonans tend to be taller, have longer horns, and… as it so happens.. tougher stomachs.” He telekinetically lifted a grasshopper out of jar and levitated it towards her. “Both mentally and organically.”
“Heh…” Kera grabbed the poor little thing and eagerly chomped its head off. “Mmmmf… Lucky us. Mmmf?”
Beau chuckled.
Kera gazed over the waters, eyeing the distant mountains shadowed by thunderstorms. “It’s kind of peaceful… in a scary-looking way.”
He gulped down another insect and nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“Are they ever gonna come down and wreck us?”
“Hmmm?”
“The stormclouds, I mean.”
“If they would, we would know ahead of time.”
“It must be a brave thing to live here.”
“Hmmmm… practically courageous…”
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I'm loving all this Xonan trivia! And Beau seems like a cool guy (colt?)
MMm...grasshopper...
The more we learn of the real Xonan religion, the more I wonder how Lasairfion ever swayed so many with a creed based on bloodshed and chaos. Some are just that desperate for 'evidence' I guess.
Beau's a pretty cool guy.
He eats grasshoppers and ain't afraid of anything.
Beau seems pretty chill, and surprisingly wise for, I presume, a still-young stallion.
And I wonder what the hell is up with those storm clouds. I thought about that a few chapters ago. Are the mountains to the north just... perpetually stormy? Seems kinda ominous. As is this:
What, is the whole village like a sentinel keeping watch over a contained evil? Might put an interesting twist on the "dangerous life on the Noble Jury" vs "a safe, peaceful life in Lerris" dichotomy.
Somehow, I think this will make things easier for Kara.
3931246
I think rainbow dash is keeping an eye on the clouds. She did offer to earlier.
Oh Beau!
Yup, seems like something's up with the clouds. Of course the former weather pony would be the first to notice.
~Basso
Gotta love the number twelve.
Im wondering about the base 12 thing, given best seems to be 4 legs an 2 wings, before they disovered binary etc per limb. Hmm, forward back, left right per limb, 12 singular positions, or 4096 binary count?
Kera gets fat grashoppers to eat, but Im still thinking the guy is telling her to run for it in some way.
Kera confirmed for Best Puppy.
3931246 I doubt they are containing some sort of ancient evil. They just live in a location which semi-regularly encounters really strong storms. Back a couple chapters it was remarked that their buildings were very sturdily built, and the response was:
3932196
Oh, I missed that when reading through! Thanks for commenting, 'cause that is freakin' adorable.
This is Australia...
3932213
Heh, maybe so. Something about this story - perhaps the long, winding trail of mishap and misfortune winding through it - has brought out my inner conspiracy theorist. I was mostly joking about the contained evil bit, but it still strikes me as a bit ominous, even if it is just extremely violent weather.
I wonder what grasshoppers taste like. Too bad I'm too scared to eat one.
Sounds like Kera's having some troubles. Poor kid; I'd never want to make a choice like that.
I wonder if Kera is First Born, would explain how she was able to avoid quite a bit of crap in Xonan custody.
Has it been mentioned if Kera's still a blank flank? If so, I predict she might gain her mark here in Lerris, perhaps upon making her decision.
Although escaping from Nightshade and learning to fend for herself in Blue Nova might have earned her cutie mark already. (Headcanon: grasshopper.)
3932703
At the risk of being made fun of again...
Don't eat grasshoppers. They contain internal parasites you really don't want to put into your body.
... At the very least, pull their heads off. This takes the guts out with them. Then pull the big legs off and the wings off and thread them onto a skewer, baste them with teriyaki sauce, and grill them thoroughly.
Don't even ask me how I know these things
Storm's a'comin'...
yay! moar grasshoppers!
3934300
They'll pass through soon enough.
The 90% rule also helps.
3934125 Because grasshoppers are a commen delicacy in large parts of Africa, southern Asia and Middle and South America? Adding New Zealand to it, I think there's more people on earth eating grasshoppers than there are people who don't.
Love Beau
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Ah...peaceful chapter. I liked it, makes you think. Whether Kera decides to stay or leave, I think that she'll have been changed for the better. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
You mean... a Picture Perfect Pony?
More reflection, and a bit of feels,
-Spirit
3931146 hes like Rainbow's age if ive done my memory-mathematics right. roughly 11 when he raised kera? now 5/6/7 years later? s:
Some good ol' bonding for Kera. This is a good thing, as the decision that is soon to come will be less of a shock . . . hopefully.
Oh god, delicious worldbuilding... and grasshoppers. Damn, is it fine.
Finished disk six of Towering Above the Rest, onto Disk Seven!
Tasty dialogue, grasshoppers, and stormclouds.
move down a line.
_______________________
inspired
__________________________
3933479
It says in this chapter that she was Third Born.
Although it makes it confusing on to why they'd treat her to a massive luxury bath in Sacred Hold. But it was confirmed here she's not First Born.
3931736
I was going to upvote you, but then I saw the amount you have.
Truly a wonderful number.
7010466
They treat all borns well. They also see glory in combat, alas Dolan wanting to get back to 2ed born.