The Roof of the World: A Journey through Mustikk

by Prince_Staghorn

Chapter 4

The author's flight recounted. She is conducted into Henosis and is given brief respite. The wizard Olórin described. A description of the country and its inhabitants. The description of the Nachtkrapp, a large bird of the northern latitudes.

How long I ran from that amorphous beast I do not know, nor can I clearly recall what went through my mind during my desperate flight from it.

I ran long after the creature had given up pursuit, and continued until I collapsed from exhaustion amongst a stand of conifers. Here my vision faded to black, and I knew no more.

I was awakened by a gentle voice, and opened my eyes to find myself in a small cottage, being tended to by an Arctic Unicorn^.

"Welcome back to the real world," the mare said with a small smile. "You're lucky Olórin found you before a sabre did."

I slowly rose into a sitting position, taking in my surroundings. I was in a simple medical hut, judging by the other beds and the wooden cabinet full of poultices, herbs, and potions. The mare continued speaking.

"You were out in the open for about half an hour, so you were rushed here as quick as possible. What exactly made you decide a nap out there was a good idea?"

I immediately sprang into a spiel about the horrible thing I had seen, but the speed at which I spoke made me nearly incomprehensible. That was when a male voice chuckled.

"I see your guest is awake, and she has a fondness for adventure."

Turning to the speaker, I saw a large light grey elk, his beard almost reaching to the first joints of his forelegs, wearing a storm-grey cloak.

That was when the name the mare had used clicked into place.

Olórin! If you had heard only a quarter of what I have heard about him, and I had only heard very little of all there is to hear, you would be prepared for any sort of remarkable tale! This was an elk who had taken part in the War of the Deer! An elk who had travelled far and wide across the world! The mentor of Starswirl the Bearded himself!

Olórin is a fairly well-documented figure, and the most famous of the 5 great elk wizards known as the Istari. His contemporaries were Curunír (who became corrupted by Grogar), Aiwendil (a hermit who dwelt in the woods, tending to animals), and the two Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando (about whom not much is known besides their names). Olórin was indeed the mentor of Starswirl the Bearded, but unlike his apprentice, the elk preferred to stay out of the politics of whatever countries he travelled as much as possible, only becoming involved when some major threat was looming.- Quill Scribe, head of the Canterlot Archives' Historical section.

The grey elk leaned down, looking directly at me.

"You're a long way from home, young one. Surely you have the time to tell an old Wizard how you came here?"

I told the great magician of my self-imposed quest, and in turn learned of my current location- the northern country of Henosis.

Henosis is the northernmost of the continent of Equus' countries, a vast land dotted by stands of conifers. It has only one major city, Omin, and this is the site of Dawn Castle, the Henosian capital and seat of royal power. It was in a shelter near the city's edge that I now rested

This land is also the main producer of the fabled Frostwind Ice, a magical material of strengthness nearly matching adamant and mithril. Frostwind ice is valuable for making weapons, and does not melt.

Like Equestria and Concordia, this is a land ruled by alicorn royalty, in this case a mare named Princess Iridia. From the few pictures I had seen and descriptions I had read, she was a white alicorn, blonde of mane, with blue eyes and a rainbow cutie mark, dressed in a green cloak with white fur trim, a gold and silver crown atop her head.

Many who have seen or heard of Princess Iridia note her striking similarity to Queen Iris, the first alicorn ruler of Equestria, and have speculated that they may be related in some way. However, as Queen Iris died when her scribe and successor Lauren Faust was 20 years of age, no one can be sure. It is entirely possible that it may simply be a case of near-identical individuals, as shown by the resemblance between Faust herself and Princess Rosetta of Concordia, two unrelated individuals who share physical aspects in all except the style of the latter's mane- Gene Nome, author of the History of Alicorns in Equus.

The main inhabitants of this country are Arctic Unicorns, though a few pegasi are also present.

Most importantly, this country marked the border between the continents of Equus and Mustikk.

I was finished with the first part of my journey.

Before I begin the second part of my journal, I feel compelled to share an experience that gave me my first real taste of the true North.

I was watching several foals play a small game of some sort, having fun as foals do.

There was a flurry of black feathers and screaming, and a winged form was lifting away a foal in its talons.

The adults acted immediately, firing stunning spells at the bird. several eventually did hit it, and a pegasus caught the foal as she fell.

When I examined the bird, I found it to be a huge raven, but with a more robust bill and red eyes. This was something I had never before heard of, though the locals knew it as a Nachtkrapp. I was informed that this bird was a fierce predator, and would often prey on foals if given the opportunity, though apparently seeing one during the daylight was uncommon, and hinted that something more sinister might be going on...

Author's Note:

^More correctly known as an Omminari, distinguished from the common unicorn by their thicker fur, slimmer frame, and longer, slightly curved horns.

Henosis is the creation of Equestria-Prevails

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