The Two Horsemen: The Journey Begins

Well as I have been writing short stories and novels I decided to try my hand at writing a novella. Actually, this wasn't deliberate. I began writing this as a short story and then it just grew longer and longer. This is Part I, and there will probably be either 3 or 5 parts, kinda like chapters. And while there is a somewhat slightly deeper meaning to it, it is NOT am allegory like Gaurded Ember. Well, not entirely... its more an exploration of difrent means to the same ends... you'll just have to read to find out. :D

The Journey Begins

The two figures in the long tan cloaks moved along the winding road as the first rays of the sun turned the sky from the deep blue to violet. The white moon still hung on the horizon as they trotted upon their horses, the beautiful spring day alive with larks and buds ready to burst forth in the cold fresh air. They two slowed their pace and stopped as they neared a fork in the road.

“We are here.” Said the first, removing his cloak to reveal a head of dirty blond hair, his green eyes scanning the fork.

“Well then, I guess this is good bye, brother.” Said the other, revealing a matching dirty blond head of hair and equal green eyes.

The twin brothers looked at each other in the silence of the morning. Their paths were separating and they knew not what awaited them down the roads. Each pleaded with the other to join him, not to take the other path, all without saying a word. Then as both realized their wills were too strong, they simply turned on their horses and departed in the early morning silence.

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The one rode a pure white mare with deep violet eyes. The horse pranced along the path that went straight and true, the tall alders on either side like pillars that let shafts of sunlight cascade across the path. He sat high upon his horse and held the reigns tightly to ensure that nothing would deter him from his course. As he rode his mind wandered back onto his brother.

How could he be so foolish, he thought to himself. If he had only listened to me he would realize that this path is a better one to take.

“I mean look.” He spoke to his horse, “Sophia, you can tell that this path runs completely straight and true, down to the sea. The trees on either side protect us from wild animals and from the lurking unnamed and unseen things that prowl and feed on travelers. Even the wind and rain will have difficulty reaching in here. Why did he have to take that other road?”

The white horse turned her head slightly as if she were speaking to him through her eyes, but kept her steady pace as they continued on towards the far of shore and the large ebony boat that had been sent by their father to take them home.

“You’re right. Soon we will reach the cross roads and there he’ll have another chance to realize his foolishness.”

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The other brother rode upon a gelding of golden chestnut hue with mane and tale black and eyes that were a deep living brown and brimmed with laughter. His hands were buried deep in his horse’s mane, leaning forward so that his heart beat against the warm soft fur of his companion. He scanned the winding path they were on as he spoke softly to his steed.

“Well what do you think Phil? Will we be able to make it to the sea?” He asked as his eyes fell on the hard, rocky path covered with brambles and burs and thorns.

Phil began to trot forward and as he did the hard black stones beneath them shattered like glass, sending splintering shards everywhere. Phil whinnied and back trotted a little before he calmed down enough. The man placed his hand softly on the horse’s neck and spoke reassuringly to his friend.

“There, there. It’s okay. We’ll just take it nice and slowly.” and they began their journey anew, “See, it’s alright. Let’s make for the turn up ahead. I think I see a place in the rock wall there where we can make camp and rest for the night.”

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As Sophia and her master continued down the long straight path, the sun began to set behind them and the moon rose white and brilliantly in the evening sky ahead of them. They rode on until they came to a large oak with brilliant golden leaves which glowed softly and emitted a warmth and the savory smell of a campfire.

“Ah. A fire oak. This will do nicely for a camp.” He got down and tied his horse down to a branch so she could graze around the area but not wander off. He settled down beneath the warm tree with his back against the heated bark. He closed his eyes, not to sleep, but to meditate upon the day and its events.

He opened an eye and looked over to Sophia who was staring at him with her violet eyes, “No, sleep is for the weak. I am concentrating so please keep your thoughts to yourself!”

Sophia seemed to roll her eyes and then continued nibbling on the herbs and flowers that grew lusciously beneath the broad branches of the warm oak tree. Her ears twitched as she heard the far off call of owls and nightingales and the cracking of twigs as something lurked in the shade of the wood.

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The two made it to the cave just as the sunset. As Phil and his companion entered they suddenly became very aware that they were not alone. The man reached into his traveling bag and took out an unlit torch, then tapped it three times against the rock wall. The wiry end of the torch burst into bluish flames which filled the cave with a cold light.

“Who’s there?” he called holding up the torch and tapping its base against the wall.

The torch became brighter and the flames turned from blue to green to yellow and cast their rays deeper into the darkness of the cave. Then suddenly two figures came running towards them. Before he could even think or make out any detail he saw the gleam of a knife. His eyes widened and his breathe caught as he reached back towards Phil.

The gelding raised himself up on his hind legs and whinnied loud and fiercely. He came down hard shattering the black stones like glass and sending the shards flying towards the attackers. Both were hit and fell to the ground. The long curved steel knife also clattered to the floor of the cave and Phil kicked it out with a snort.

“Good job Phil.” He said patting the horse’s back then laughed, “Yes, definitely warranting an apple. Here you go.” He said tossing one out of the bag.

The two figures on the ground groaned and one stood up holding a bump on his head where a rock had hit him squarely. He was a thin, old man, with a scowl on his wrinkled and wart covered face. He had three brown teeth left in his mouth and he smelled like a pig farm. He spat before he spoke,

“Eh! Eh! Youss neee tek niff! Yousss nee heet Sanlah!” He spoke angrily and prepared to rise to strike Phil’s companion with his bony fist.

Phil reared up again and the old man ducked down cowering and covering his head. The man motioned for Phil to stand down and seemed to be looking into the horses eyes as some unspoken message passed between them. The horse nodded and went out of the cave to graze on some of the hard fibrous brambles outside.

“Now then. Don’t worry. Phil won’t hurt you. Did you say your name is Sanlah?” He asked the cowering old man.

Next to the man a small girl stood up. Her hair was dark and wild and unkept and her fierce black eyes glowed with a rebellious rage. She spoke for herself and the man, “This is Sanler. He is my grandfather. We were in the cave first. We thought you were the unseen ones. My grandfather say he wants the knife that is his back. The name that is mine are Prophana.”

“Well, I am sorry about this. Are you both alright?” Asked the man.

“Sanler say he want knife back. He say we in cave first. You find other cave.” She said after hearing a babble of speech from her grandfather.

“Alright. Sorry. We’ll be moving on then.” And with that he left the cave and went to find another place for him and Phil to spend the night.

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The next morning Sophia and her master rode further on, stopping only when it was time for the ritual cleansings. The rode was easy to follow, but there were designated shrines and springs along the way that her master stopped at to perform the cleansing ceremony. She rolled her eyes some more but said nothing.

Soon they were on the road again and the bright spring day heralded beautifully the arrival of baby birds and blossoming buds on all the trees in the forest. As they rode on, suddenly an old man crashed through the alders on the path. He was gaunt and pale and dressed in rags that barely covered his shame. He held a sharp steel knife and babbled fiercely as he advanced towards the horse and her master.

“What is he saying?” Asked the man, then after a few seconds he said, “Alright, I get it! If those are the only words he insists on repeating then I would rather not know! Now I’ll have to purify my ears too at the next shrine!”

The babbling man with the steel knife advanced closer. The man upon Sophia took a deep breath then spoke in a loud reverberating voice that seemed to shake the very ground, “Thou shalt not advance any further, oh groveling child of evil! Thou hast chosen thine fate! Now shalt thou feel the fury of heaven for thine evil deeds!”

And pointing to the man, the world suddenly started getting brighter, as if light was coming out of the very seams of time and space. The old man clawed as his face and screamed as the light surrounded him and then suddenly it was all over. And where the old man had stood now was a large white column. The man reached out and touched it lightly and the column disintegrated into a large pile of whitish glassy sand.

“No, I did not over do it.” He said turning on Sophia, “Not after the things he said. Now come on. We need to find a spring fast. I feel so dirty just being in this fools presence.”

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Phil and his companion had woken up to the bright sunny morning only to find the girl Prophana at their feet, kneeling as she whimpered softly. It seems she had been there all night long. The man reached out and asked, “What’s the matter little girl?”

“My grandfather. He leave me in cave. Say he go to find money. I know he not come back.”

“There, its okay. Would you like to travel with us down to the sea? It’s always better to travel together and I know there is room enough on the ship for you if you’d like.”

The girl with the tears on her cheeks nodded and then buried her face in his shoulder as she wept more. Her dirty face and grimy hands wiped on the tan cloak of the man and she looked much better after having the good long cry. And so he placed her behind him on Phil and they set out on the path.

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Sophia trotted along as she watched her master from the corner of her eye fixing his wet hair after dunking his head beneath the water of the sacred pool several times. She tried not to grunt with laughter as he struggled in vain to make himself presentable, only to realize he had gotten a spot of dirt on his cloak.

“Don’t laugh! Don’t you realize what this means! I must be presentable when we reach the sea! I have to keep this cloak clean! It was given to me specially by my father!”

The horse listened to him go on and on but her attention was elsewhere. In the far off distance she saw the low dark grey clouds begin to roll in. She sniffed the air and could smell the thunder on the wind. Her master was still going on about his cloak when she interrupted his thoughts.

There is a storm coming. We should seek shelter, she thought.

“Hm.” He said thinking then taking his rigorous straight pose he spoke, “We will continue. We will be able to weather any storm and we must make it to the cross roads before dark.”

For someone so wise you are very foolish sometimes, she thought.

“Remember I am the master and you are the horse. We will continue. I know we can make it.”

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“This storm looks like its going to be pretty bad.” Said the man on Phil’s back. “We should find some shelter. We wouldn’t want either of you to catch cold.”

Then getting down he helped Prophana down from Phil. The horse seemed to whiny and pace several times in the hard stone path. Phil and his companion locked eyes for a few seconds and Prophana watched them with furrowed brow.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“I was asking Phil if there were any places nearby that we could shelter in. He said there aren’t so it looks like we’ll have to take shelter in the song.” He said smiling and sitting down on the hard grey stone.

“What do you mean?” Asked the girl confused.

“Here sit down.” He said and Phil lowered himself too.

Then the young man began to sing a song, that began slow and steady and built up with more passion and emotion. Prophana felt herself drawn to the ground, as if she wanted to get as low as possible, to lie on her face in submission to something. Something the song was singing about. The next instant the rain began to fall, but even though it fell all around them it didn’t fall within the circle created by their bodies.

“Is, is it magic?” Asked Prophana wide eyed.

“No.” Smiled the man, “The rain is very reverent. It realizes who is with us and it would never fall upon him.”

“Who?” She asked breathlessly, reaching her hand into the rain falling next to them.

“My older brother.” He smiled with a twinkle of a secret in his eyes. “Or at least his spirit anyway. When we reach the sea you will be able to meet him in person.”

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Sophia plodded on through the rain and the mud. She shot a venomous glance back towards her master, but he pretended not to hear her thought. He continued to sit and try to keep his noble air about him as he clenched the reigns tightly. He was soaked to the bone and sat sulking on Sophia.

Why don’t we seek shelter, or at least sing the song, she thought.

We need to get to the cross roads before dark, he said sullenly.

Why, they’ll still be there tomorrow morning, she snorted.

That’s what I’m afraid of, he sighed inwardly.

Oh, I get it, you’re afraid that if we get there before your brother he’ll think you were wrong about your straight path being faster. Is that it, she thought pointedly.

No, that’s not it at all. I wouldn’t expect a horse to understand, he thought defensively, besides the rain is good. It cleanses and brings greater purity. It is a trail to be enjoyed and endured with much thankfulness and grace.

Sophia simply shook her head and continued on. She had long since realized that the muddiness of the path was slowing them so much and the flow of the rain was so strong that they were barely making progress at all.

Somewhat similar to trying to reason with him, she thought to herself.

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It was early morning before the rains had stopped. The sun was blowing color into the sky as bird calls filled the woods. In a quite sort of place, where the stones were all grey and the woods began to thin out, two roads came together and crossed one another. At the place of the crossroads a small pole with a carving had been set up.

Upon one side of the road the clack of horse hooves on hard rock came faintly at first over the morning sounds of spring. The horse and its riders drew near the crossroads and smiled as he looked up the path that went straight and true to the sea. Coming towards them was another horse and rider. The two animals made eye contact.

You seem somewhat wet, he thought laughingly.

At least my hooves don’t look like I’ve been hacking at them with swords, she thought back.

The road we travel on has brittle glass stones. When I step on them they shatter, he thought grimly.

My master in all his wisdom refused to seek shelter last night so that we may be purified by the rain, she smirked.

That’s enough you two, came a third mysterious thought, they will soon be close enough to hear what you’re saying about them.

The horses remained silent as they neared the crossroad. Sophia’s master raised his soaked head and an eyebrow as he saw the girl on Phil’s back. Before he could say anything the other man called out to his twin brother.

“Dannan, how goes the straight path?”

“Fine. I see you have an addition Milos.”

“Yes, this is Prophana. She’s going to the sea with me.”

Dannan seemed to think that over with knit brow, but didn’t say anything. Then he simply hoped down from Sophia and Milos followed suite. The two brothers clasped hands in greeting and immediately around them a large tent unfolded. Prophana’s eyes widened and the two horses entered with her. Inside it was lavish, with a large fireplace and comfortable chairs. A table was set with three places and a banquet of food was ready.

“Come let us speak as we break bread.” Said Dannan magnanimously.

“Alright. Sophia and Phil, I left a special treat for you over by the fire. I know how much you both like Silverian apples.”

And so the first part of their journey had ended and the two paths had come together. But what awaited them was still far off down the paths they had chosen to take and none knew what would come with the morrow.