Chapter Nine - The journey of the soul
CHAPTER NINE
The journey of the soul
We sat together by a small black stone font set in the centre of one of the empty building’s rooms. It was a place with a peculiar sense of calm, too. Niggling at the back of my mind I sensed a subtle background thrum of magic, similar to that on the plateau, but here it was more… ‘personal’ somehow. Ember, the most eloquent of Shadow’s sisters, was so quiet I had almost forgotten she was with us. She silently passed around a woven basket full of the plump silvery berries. What caused me some consternation however, was that the once talkative thestral female now avoided eye contact with me completely, turning her head away if I even so much as glanced in her direction.
“Eat. Both of you.” Star Beard motioned towards Shadow and I, taking a particularly juicy one for himself.
I’d already ‘eaten’ earlier of course, but I could still feel the warm tingle of magic from the berries lifting my reserves. A sudden worry popped into my mind. “Star Beard, Thorn told me he believed we’d been betrayed,” I began. “That ambush had been prepared long before we got here. We’re fortunate to be alive.” I put a hoof on Shadow’s and smiled at her. “We all are.”
Star Beard smiled at us both and nodded in his usual knowing manner. “Sometimes the ties of family are so strong they can make us do the strangest things, Captain. Even to the point of driving us to make choices that we know in hearts are wrong.” I saw him looking at Ember who turned her head away in embarrassment. Or was it shame? “Love, even if unrequited, is a powerful force.”
Shadow nuzzled her sister’s neck and they spoke in low voices to each other for a moment before Ember gingerly moved closer to snuggle into her sister’s side.
Star Beard watched them quietly and smiled, “She loves you, you know.”
I watched them for a while before answering. It had been so obvious, I’d overlooked it completely. “I know,” I answered.
We sat in silenced for a while longer before Star Beard stood and walked over to the font. After a few moments he began to mumble words in a language I had never heard before, standing on his hind legs and holding his hooves out across its surface. Before my astonished eyes a silver fog gradually began to rise from it as he lifted his forelegs high as though in prayer. Even with my magical translation device I couldn’t understand any of his words. Listening to them closely they were something quite different to what anypony would normally describe as a ‘language’ at all. It was a gutteral, rumbling sound that ebbed and flowed in time with the swirling fog. This was more like magic, raw magic given voice, and it send a shiver down my spine. My horn was tingling and itching now too, a sure sign of a large magic field building up nearby. And yet even though I was expecting ‘something’ to happen, I still started in surprise as the font suddenly threw out a beam of brilliant red light straight up into the ceiling. As I watched, blue and yellow spirals of energy began to separate from the central beam, travelling up the outside of it, illuminating the room with a kaleidoscope of colour. Star Beard spoke into the light and nodded. He continued to do this for several minutes before bowing to the light as it winked out of existence in complete silence. Strangely, Shadow and Ember were fast asleep, oblivious of the peculiar spectacle before them.
The mysterious old thestral sat back down before me and smiled a sad smile.
“Colonel?” I asked quietly, trying not to wake the sleeping mares.
He fiddled with his satchel for a moment before speaking. “The preparations are complete, my boy. You leave here tonight.”
I sat up on my haunches, eyes wide in shocked realisation. I couldn’t believe it! So, this was it was it? I was to finally say goodbye to this world and leave for my own, back to the land of mortals - Equestria. I was suddenly filled with excitement and fear in equal measure. “What of Shadow?” I asked.
“She will meet you there,” Star Beard replied simply, looking down at the floor contemplatively.
“We aren’t going together?” I asked.
My question unanswered, the old thestral clambered to his hooves while fidgeting with his hat. “Come, Fairlight, there’s someone here who’s waiting to speak to you.” Without another word, he walked out of the room in a tinkle of little bells. I felt a strange resistance as I stood up, rather like something was anchoring me to the floor, but a good push was all it took and I was trotting after Star Beard in no time. “In here, my boy.” He gestured to a side chamber which was glowing from within with a peculiar, yet almost familiar golden warm radiance.
Rather than being worried however, I felt strangely drawn to it. After all the countless days of darkness, the endless nothingness, to feel such a comforting warmth upon my face was… inviting. Unexpectedly a hot need to enter the light thrummed through me. It was so gentle, so comforting, that I was almost overwhelmed with the sheer intensity of its silent call. In a sudden moment of hesitation I opened my mouth to speak, to voice my confusion about this strange phenomenon, but Star Beard had already gone back to the room with the font leaving me alone, bathed in the otherworldly light. Shaking my mane and gathering myself, I entered cautiously. Inside… By the goddess! I looked around myself in complete astonishment. No. No, this couldn’t be real! I’d have to have been eating something seriously hallucinogenic to experience visions like these. Something like... Agh! Of course, those damned berries! The sneaky old goat had probably sent me on some sort of drug induced tribal ‘spirit journey’ like those zebra shaman I’d heard of. But by Celestia, this was so real! The tall field of wheat, heavy and ready for harvest, the trees laden with lush red apples and the winding river of crystal clear water bubbling merrily through it all. I was in heaven. Dear gods, this was it, I was here! It was the Eternal Herd! It had to be, only… Only when I looked back, there in the dark room was Star Beard, Shadow and Ember, lying by the font as I expected. And yet lying between them was another stallion. A very ‘Fairlight’ looking stallion. My heart felt like it was in my throat. I’d moved on! At last I was here, here in the place I’d been so desperate to reach. And yet despite my euphoria I could still feel something niggling at the back of my mind; a bond, a faint tugging, pulling my gaze towards… Shadow. That beautiful ethereal creature, the thestral who had stayed by my side throughout my trials in the Withers. Did I really want to leave her? Did I even have a choice? Goddesses I was so confused...
“She really is quite beautiful, isn’t she? Once you get past the initial impulse to run away screaming in terror of course.”
I knew that voice. Soft and delicate, strong yet still alluringly feminine. “Meadow!” I cried, and flung my forelegs around my beloved wife. “Oh goddesses, Meadow, I’ve missed you so much!” I showered her with kisses, my emotions bubbling over with the sheer relief and joy of seeing my wife again. “I’m here now. It’s all going be the way it should be, Love. We’re in the eternal herd and nopony will ever tear us apart again. You, me, Sparrow, it’s going to be-”
She planted a hoof on my lips with her slender green foreleg. “Love, please, we haven’t got a great deal of time. The goddess has intervened on your behalf to allow us to be here, together, before you have to...” Meadow choked back a sob and then suddenly pulled me towards her, kissing me deeply.
It ended all too quickly. “It’s alright love, I don’t want to go back,” I said with a smile. “I’m meant to be with you. I always was.”
The green mare shook her head sadly. “You don’t understand, Fairlight, my darling stallion.” She stroked my chest slowly, “Your life is still tied to the mortal world, remember? Even now it calls you back. You cannot resist its call, it is… the way of world. We will see each other again, but you must fulfil your destiny first.”
Destiny? What bloody destiny?! Anger surged through my heart, threatening to wash away my joy of being in my wife’s embrace. Goddesses almighty, hadn’t I been through enough? I gave myself a shake. “To Hades with destiny, Meadow,” I huffed. “I want to be with my family. I’ve already been through death and the hell of the Wither World, so as far as I’m concerned I’ve fulfilled my bloody destiny ten times over.”
Meadow shook her head and spoke quietly, “Wait here, there’s something I have to do.”
She trotted off into the next room and up to Shadow. I watched spellbound as, incredibly, another Shadow rose from her sleeping form, blinking and looking around in as much shock as I was in. The two spoke briefly and the thestral mare nodded in apparent agreement. Then, together, they both trotted into the corn field to face me.
“Oh, bollocks…” I muttered.
“Fairlight! You promised me about that swearing!” Meadow laughed and nudged Shadow playfully.
“Sorry, Love…” I answered.
“She doesn’t speak much does she?” Meadow said to me while eyeing Shadow.
“Hey! Who’s being rude now?” I said in mock indignation.
Meadow clicked her tongue, “Oh shush you. Shadow and I are going for a chat now. You stay here and no eaves dropping either, understand?”
I sat in the wheat and plucked a stalk, holding the thing in my mouth the way I’d seen farm ponies do in Ponyville. And they could keep it too. Personally I couldn’t see the appeal – it tasted really bloody awful. Still, the feeling of light and sunshine on my coat was beyond bliss, and I could have just melted away in that moment forgetting all the darkness and strangeness of the Wither World. That was, until something made me sit up suddenly. There was a movement: small, barely imperceptible, but it was nearby in the wheat making it rustle. Unexpectedly a childish giggle made my ears prick up. Huh? Nopony there? Odd… Maybe it was my imagination after-
“You look funny!”
My heart leaped into my throat and I looked down to see where the little voice was coming from, only to see a familiar small grey pegasus foal smiling up at me.
“Hello, Daddy,” Sparrow said happily. “Are you coming home with us today?”
Damn it, I was tearing up again already. I hadn’t seen my beautiful daughter in what felt like a lifetime, and then suddenly, here she was right in front of me. I picked her up in my hooves and swept her into the air. “Maybe if I had wings,” I laughed, “and could… FLY!”
Sparrow squealed in delight as she flapped her tiny wings. “I can fly, Daddy! Weeee!” The diminutive pegasus shrieked, giggled and whooped as she ‘flew’ atop the golden ears of wheat, banking, climbing and diving. I laughed with her and gave her one last cuddle before putting her down. “Who’s that scary lady with mummy?” the little grey foal asked chirpily. “She looks like a skellington.” Sparrow stood on her hind legs, her front hooves either side of her mouth with an intent stare that only added to the amusing spectacle. “Look at me, I’m a big scary black monster thing! Look at my big pointy teeth! Arrr!”
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud, and Sparrow, encouraged by my reaction, continued to stomp around me making growling sounds. “Sparrow!” I chided, trying to control my mirth. “Come on now, you’re being rude. Shadow isn’t a pony, she’s a thestral.”
“Fes...trul,” she attempted.
I shook my head. “No. It’s ‘thes-trull’, see? Thhhhhh.”
Shadow frowned and too a deep breath. “Ffffff…” The look of exaggerated concentration was adorable.
“Oh forget it!” I laughed, and lay down on my back amongst the golden stalks of wheat. Sparrow giggled and jumped about me, her tiny wings buzzing like a bee on a summers day.
Finally exhausted, she jumped onto my chest, snuggling down into my fur. “You are coming home though aren’t you, Daddy?”
“Yes love,” I said mussing her mane. “I won’t be too long. Will you be a good girl until I see you next?” She just stuck her tongue out and I tapped her on the head with my hoof. “Naughty!” We both giggled and waited for the chatting mares to come back. I must have been dozing off for a while there, because when I opened my eyes two pairs of eyes filled my vision. “Wha-!” I squeaked, and nearly choked on the stalk in my mouth.
Meadow smiled and turned to Shadow. “He’s so cute when he’s surprised,” she smirked. “You’ll have to try it some time.”
I lay there unsure as to just what was happening. But it seemed very quiet for some reason. Where was- “Sparrow!” I said suddenly.
“Is back with my parents playing house,” Meadow said, rolling her eyes. “You on the other hoof are going to stay right there, mister, and listen to us girls for a minute.”
I sighed as she put a hoof on my chest pushing me back down with a broad smile. “Yes miss,” I said resigning myself.
“Good boy!” Meadow replied with a playful chuckle. “Shadow and I have been talking. She does become quite chatty when she gets going you know. And, she’s told me all about your ‘adventures’ together.” I think I must have turned white as she added, “And what adventures they were!” I cringed, but Meadow hadn’t finished with me yet. “Well, who can blame you for losing control in that cell when you thought you were going to be executed? Tut, tut, Fairlight...”
I could feel my face burning. “Meadow,” I breathed. “I’m sorry. Oh, goddesses, I’m so… so…”
“Pity I wasn’t there with you two,” she pondered, her eyes searching mine. “Could have made things a little more… ‘interesting’? I liked the part with the berries too. Maybe we can try that out some time.”
“Meadow, please, I don’t know what’s going on,” I blurted. “I’m dreaming, or having a nightmare, or... Oh, goddesses...” I was in a panic and struggled to get away but found myself completely immobilised. Looking up I saw that Shadow was holding me down on one side and Meadow on the other. My heart felt like it was going to burst right out of my chest.
“The goddesses already know what you’ve been up to, Fairlight,” Meadow grinned wickedly. “And now, I do too. We both do.” The mares nodded to each other in perfect harmony. “I want you to show me…” Meadow purred seductively and deftly produced a red berry from the wicker basket that they’d pilfered from the other room. Straddling me, the green mare placed it in her mouth
and moved toward mine, her lantern yellow eyes leaving me in no doubt as to what this pony expected from me. And, as a dutiful sort of fellow, I was more than happy to oblige.
********************
I awoke happy but tired, a warm fuzzy feeling running through me from the tip of my nose to the dock of my tail. The room was in darkness, other than for the faint light offered by two oil lanterns near the peacefully dozing thestrals. I gave my eyes a rub and let out a sigh as I noticed the muzzle pressed into me. The light pressure I’d noticed across my chest proved to be Shadow’s foreleg. She was snuggled in tightly against me, her warmth both pleasant and welcome comfort in that dark place. I looked up to see Star Beard leaning with his back against the wall, eyeing me curiously.
“Back with us my boy?” he murmured quietly so as not to disturb the others.
“Mmmm. I must have nodded off,” I said yawning widely. I ran my hoof gently down Shadow’s foreleg, taking in her wonderful scent. For all her leathery black appearance, she was surprisingly soft. She let out a throaty rumble of contentment and snuggled into me a little more.
“Nodded off? I suppose you were dreaming then, were you?” Star Beard asked pleasantly.
I managed a glance at the door I’d passed through into the beautiful golden wheat fields to be with Meadow, Sparrow and Shadow. I could still feel the warmth of the sun on my muzzle, the smell of Meadow on my hide, the taste of the berries, and a background spiciness lingering in my mouth. On a tide of sated need I felt like I was blissfully floating along without a care in the world. Was it was wrong to feel this happy? Goddesses, let all dreams be like this! In any case, I didn’t know how to respond to the old fellow so simply shrugged.
“For a dream, you certainly seemed to take your time in the other room,” the old fellow continued. “I was surprised with all the noise you three were making that you didn’t wake poor Ember. And as for myself, why, I didn’t know where to put myself!”
I nearly jumped in shock at his words, though concerned about disturbing Shadow I caught myself and tried to settle my racing heart. “How…?”
He sniggered and pulled his satchel over to begin rummaging through the contents. “This place, this city, is where the gap between realms is, as I think you already know, at its thinnest. It makes for easier transition from one to the other. If one knows how to do it and certain, um, ‘conditions’ are met, naturally.”
“Condition’s?” I asked.
“Well, you wouldn’t want to be trotting along one day, say for a dinner date with a lovely lady and then suddenly, ‘poof!’ you’ve blundered into the Wither World, right?” Star Beard grinned, displaying his long teeth. “That could really spoil the mood!” His face suddenly darkened as his voice took on a more sombre tone. “This city was built here for that reason, Captain. It was once a staging post for the armies of the Legion during their invasion of your homeland. From all over the Wither World, thestral warriors, minotaurs, dragons, and others who had heeded the call, would gather here to follow the goddess of the moon to fight for a new future for us all. The large platform up there was constructed that size so it could draw in and focus the Wither World’s magic so as to allow our forces to pass through the veil as quickly and as easily as possible. The city itself however, was a plan which was never fully realised. And maybe… maybe it is just as well.” His eyes took on that now familiar far away look. Shaking himself suddenly he turned to me, then took a deep breath and stood up, “Come on, Fairlight, my pony friend. Let’s get going. Time waits for no-one.” I went to wake Shadow but Star Beard stopped me. “No,” he said gently. “Let the girl rest. You’ve quite taken it out of her you know. What we do now is something only for you.”
I slowly pulled myself away from the young thestral mare, placing her foreleg back down by her side and leaned in to gently kiss her cheek. Letting out a soft moan, she wriggled in her sleep before settling back down once more. Sadly, I walked slowly after the cloaked Star Beard and out into a courtyard lit only by the light of the moon. In the centre was a small circular dais made of the same white crystal material as the platform. It, like everything else here, had that same appearance of something new that had simply been left behind long ago. In some respects it was hauntingly romantic, whilst in others, it could send a chill of ice through your heart. Silently, Star Beard passed me a small bottle of silvery liquid in a nondescript glass bottle. I was surprised at first as there was a distinct lack of materials here in the Withers, so I assumed it to be another leftover from his mentor.
“Right then, come on, get that down you there’s a good fellow,” he encouraged when he saw me examining the contents.
Uncorking the bottle I drank it down in one gulp. There wasn’t a lot in it really, and it didn’t taste of much of anything either. Probably a thestral ‘pick me up’ of some kind. And then a disturbing thought popped into my head. “Star Beard,” I asked, “what are we doing here?” But as I spoke I felt a pulling sensation, soft at first but quite noticeable all the same. “What the-?”
“Quick, Fairlight! Up on the top now, we don’t have much time.” Star Beard pushed me up the short flight of steps to the top of the dais and bid me lay down.
The pulling feeling came again, more insistent this time. Suddenly the cold sensation of fear gripped me with such intensity I looked up at the old thestral in shock, my eyes going wide. “What have you done?”
Star Beard closed his eyes and swallowed. “I’m sorry, Fairlight, but this really is the only way. You cannot survive in both worlds separated in body and soul. Sooner or later you would have faded away into nothingness, leaving your body to wither and die as your soul wandered the black sands for all eternity. I couldn’t let that happen to you.” He looked up at me, his eyes carrying a sadness I never expected to see in the old warrior. “You see, creation is all about balance. For one to live, the other must… die. You must be one or the other, Fairlight. You do understand, don’t you?”
I understood, but goddesses, the cold… Abruptly, a shock of white hot pain racked through me in a howling torrent of agony that made me cry out into the bitter night air. In the distance I could hear the cries of thestrals joining mine. Star Beard held my head and looked into my eyes, small flaming tears rolling down his cheeks. “I’m sorry, my boy. Please, forgive me. If only I could have sent you via the portal, but it simply doesn’t work that way. Not any more.”
I was panting for breath now, burning fear and pain mingling with that great pull from… elsewhere… like a deafening heart beat, strong and demanding. I cried out as another tide of pain flowed from my head to my tail, surging and relentless.
“Your brothers and sisters are singing you to the next world, Fairlight.” Star Beard said softly. “Shadow will join you soon. Be strong, my boy…”
He held my head in his hooves and rocked me as I had done with Meadow so long ago. It was like I could still feel her in my forelegs and smell her sweet feminine scent. I loved her so much… I could still see her now, gazing into my eyes, the scent of… of smoke? The burning smell of wood, the crash of broken glass; heat, fire and the sensation of floating were all around me. I had to let go! It was so easy, and yet at the same time the hardest thing I could ever have imagined having to do. It was all so alien, I was terrified and wanted to run… to escape. But where to? The pulling sensation caught me again and there was a loud cracking sound, like a rubber band snapping. And suddenly I was flying, rushing through images and sounds of… my life? Meadow, Chief Mitre, Dawn, Glimmer, their faces talking to me, smiling, encouraging, whirling around in a blur of colour. And then, abruptly, everything stopped. The brief roller coaster ride of Fairlight’s life had come to the end of the tracks. All around me now was total silence in the black emptiness. I was alone, lost and afraid with only my conscious thoughts to keep me company. I could hear my mother, my father.
Meadow…
Fairlight?
I opened my eyes and looked about at the void. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing. Goddesses help me…
Love, listen to your heart. You have to let go.
“No…” I said, fighting the fear gripping my heart. “No…”
You have to. To be together again, all of us, you have to let go!
“I’m afraid!” I gasped, squeezing my eyes shut. “I’m so scared… I want to go home!”
I know love, it’s all right to be afraid. I was at first. Sparrow and I will be waiting for you, but you need to go back for now. It won’t be long, I promise. We’ll be together again soon the way we were meant to be, waiting for you in the golden wheat fields, the sun on your back and blue skies high above. It’s all there ready for when you come home. Now, go to Shadow. She’s waiting for you.
“Meadow,” I breathed. “I love you so much…”
I know, I love you too my brave Fairlight. But somepony else needs you now, and ponies shouldn’t be alone my love. Go to her now...
Shadow. My thestral mate. I had to go to her, she needed me. I couldn’t leave her alone in the mortal world. How could she survive not knowing anything about it? She’d be like I was in the Withers when I arrived there, scared and afraid. I had to reach her. I had to try… There was deep booming sound that shook my very core, and a voice, a different one this time. It was distant, but somehow sounded incredibly close, like somepony was talking though cotton wool into my ear.
“Captain Fairlight? Come to us now. Come home…” It was a female’s voice. Soft, and curiously alluring.
Another voice. Male this time. “Mistress, it’s useless. Please, you’re taxing yourself too much. We can’t put you at risk for just one stallion.”
The female’s voice strained with effort, “The strength of all is lessened by the loss of one. If there is even the slightest spark left we must try to fan the flames of life.”
“But Mistress,” the male insisted, “I’m begging you, you’ve been trying to revive this one for days! It’s hopeless. Let him go, please, just let him go.”
“NO!” the female shouted angrily. “We will not abandon a pony to the herd without trying our all first. Do you forget so easily how you came to be here? If we had left you when that slightest spark of life was dying out, you would have crossed over. Would you have gladly left than stand here at our side as you do now?”
“No Mistress,” the male replied solemnly. “Forgive me, I spoke out of line. It’s not my place-”
“My child, you have a mind, a life, and the soul of a kind pony,” the female said gently. “We would know your thoughts as we would know your heart. Keeping everything hidden inside is the pathway that allows darkness to enter. This one, this single pony, has something inside him that could help us bring balance back to our land. Help us. Help us to bring him home.”
“Mistress…” The male was sobbing now. “I fear for your safety! You know how I… That I…”
The female’s voice was gentler, full of understanding. “Shhh, quiet now, little one. We know, we have seen your dreams.”
I floated there, listening. I couldn’t help but feel that I was intruding on something that was, well, ‘special’ I suppose. There was a warmth here with these two, and I felt a curiously strong compunction to go to them. Carefully, warily, I reached out...
“Mistress! Did you see?!” a third voice said on the other side of me, excitedly.
“Yes, we see. We have done all we can now. The rest is up to our good Captain now.” The female sounded pleased; satisfied, but weary.
The male gave a sudden gasp. “Mistress? Quickly, catch her!” There was a soft thump and a commotion of hoofsteps and furniture being dragged around. “Take her to her rooms, she’s at the end of her endurance. Take some food and drink for her as well, for when she awakes.”
Several other voices spoke in agreement and there was the sound of a door opening as more came in, apparently helping the owner of the female voice from... wherever I was. With each moment I was becoming more aware of myself, but still felt strangely ‘distant’ somehow. There was a bone weary tiredness and aching running through me - sensations I hadn’t experienced since before I’d arrived in the Wither World. It was an unpleasant reminder of some of the most terrifying moments of my life, and a desperate need to move gripped me. Mentally I forced my body to obey me, but my eyes felt as heavy as lead and the light that flooded into them as I tried to open them was so blinding I nearly cried out. Yet despite the discomfort I slowly clawed my way back to consciousness, inch by agonising inch, battling the desire to simply give up and sleep. But eventually of course, nature won out. The waves of fatigue overtook me and I began to drift away into a blissful haze of rest.
Next to me a voice spoke quietly, “You’d better be worth all this, ‘Watch Captain’. If anything happens to the mistress, I’ll send you back to the underworld myself. And this time… This time
you won’t be returning.”
I vaguely heard the hoofsteps retreating and murmured sarcastically to myself, “It’s good to be home.”
END OF BOOK ONE
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This is awesome!
... you wont delete the original right? 
8795437
Don't worry, I'm going to keep the originals up. Other than being a bit of nostalgia for me, they have all the more intimate bits in them that bump them into the M for Mature category.
8795564
Yay!
Seriously though, thank you.
Why aren't there any character tags?
8813644
Thanks for the comment!
I only use the tags when the main TV series (Or IDW) characters have significant involvement in the story, such as Celestia in When the snow melts and Twilight in All the queen's horses. There doesn't seem to be a hard and fast rule about using them, and personally I was a bit worried about people coming to see a story 'about' their favourite character and they're in the story only briefly.
I'm open to suggestions though
8814401
You posted an entire full length novel all at once. Will you marry me?
8824098
Gotta say, it's the best offer I've had this year!
Still great the second time around.
8814401
Then, why not use the OC tag? If the main OCs in this story were voiced, what would they sound like?
9207385
I've noticed the OC tag, amongst others, seems to have been removed from the usually extensive list that you can choose from when publishing a story. Whether I'm missing something, or it's due to the site's owner streamlining the system, I'm not sure. Either way, it looks to be a thing of the past now.
As for what Fairlight sounds like, in my mind he speaks with a slight English Lancashire accent. It's not surprising considering I drew a lot of Fairlight's experiences from my own real life ones. I have a pretty neutral accent anyway, so other than the occasional use of the word 'Aye' instead of 'Yes', Fairlight wouldn't stand out in a crowd wherever he was. If I was going to have the story turned into an audiobook though, which incidentally I'd absolutely love, I'd be happy with anything really so long as he didn't sound over the top. The girls sound like your everyday equestrians, although Shadow would certainly be the exception. Personally I'd rather leave that to your imagination! After all, trying to micro-manage the narration could spoil the reader's enjoyment, which is something I definitely wouldn't want.
All the best,
Bluespectre
9210511
Journey of the Crimson Deceit came out today, and it has the OC tag. Actually, I'd prefer it if you told me what voice actors the main OCs would have. For me micro-managing the narration won't spoil my enjoyment because I narrate the characters voices in my head when I read stories.
It seems this is part of a larger bundle of stories, it says that this is a Prequel to 'when the snow melts'. Which one do you recommend starting with? I'd say the obvious choice would be the Prequel but that isn't always the case.
10135983
The Fairlight series was written before When the Snow Melts, Ice Fall etc. They are independant of each other, however I would personally recommend reading Fairlight - Memories of a perfect sky first.
10137359
Thanks
You can has review!