Chapter I
In the beginning the merciful goddess granted the gift of life to all plants and animals. Over the millennia’s she observed the organisms grow and evolve into stronger species, all things where bright and beautiful, but the one that stood out the most was the Equine. Impressed by the species adaptation and majestic appearance she developed a sense of compassion towards them. Concluding that the species had been under the reigns of man for far too long she disguised herself in the form of a snow white Arabian mare and founded “The Fields of Aaru.” This remote country would be a paradise for all equine breeds, it mattered not where the country situated, and those who searched for the fields would always find that paradise, no matter what.
When the equines resided in the fields they where contented to find the lands exactly as the white mare told them, peaceful and safe. No predators resided in the fields or humans. The Goddess did not see the brighter side of death; although the horses could age they could not die. Even though the deity had the best intentions at heart, it only took a mere sixty years before the first settlers, practically walking corpses now, begged for death. Eventually it happened; a stallion in his prime by the name of Xabre granted their wish and ended their eternal suffering. Unfortunately the genocidal self appointed God of death enjoyed his job far too much and started stealing the lives of those that ‘should’ have died; like mares in labor, new born foals and those that ‘should’ have perished from disease.
When Xabre eventually ended his own life the Goddess instated him as a God, she had seen the role of death and now one can not exist without the other. So Xabre continued in his duties, mercifully granting death to those who no longer wished to live and stealing the lives from the unfortunate. However not even the dead wanted to leave the haven of the fields, they could not rest in peace while the living trampled over their bones. So the fields where ravished by war, on one side the dead who demanded the living leave the fields as a resting place, on the other the living who fight to keep their home. This is no longer a battle of good versus evil any more... This is something far more sinister. Welcome to Equine Exorcist.
Chapter II
“Can I pose you a question? How do you kill what is already dead?
You worthless mortals! I tire of your melancholy lives and I think it is time to instate some chaos to this paradise. Why? Simply because I’m bored and I can. Good luck, your fight for survival just became more difficult during these desolate winter months!” - Nex
Dark clouds descended upon the land so thick and black that the horses below could not distinguish a single ray of sunlight through the darkness, no matter how hard they searched. The thunder roared ominously overhead as lighting illuminated the sky with frightening hostility, the only brief flashes of light that where available to the suffering inhabitants below. The heavens opened and the lands where drenched with torrential rain that would have stung even the toughest of skins. However the water fell as snow in the colder parts of the region where the innocent white powder congregated to form blizzards so dense that a horse could not see its own forelock in front of its face. The wind, howling like a pack of a hundred ravenous wolves, thrashed at their hides with more cruelness then a human with a whip. Zephyrs from all directions of the compass circled until threatening tornados ravaged the ground, ripping ancient trees mercilessly from their beloved earth.
Just when they thought it could not get any worse, everything was motionless and deathly quite. Turning their heads towards the sky they where relieved that the rain and snow had ceased, yet they could still not locate the sun or any sign of its warm rays of light.
This was nothing more then the eye of the storm, the moment of silence before the final blow is dealt. Lightning suddenly struck the ground and fire took hold of the remaining trees as well as the fallen debris, despite the dampness. With sheer heat and force it devoured everything in its path. Panicked the horses fled to the river where they knew they would be safe if they could only cross it. Swollen by the heavy rain the river had burst its bank and was now a brown raging torrent, it was impossible for any to cross unscathed, let alone alive, with the amount of debris the waters powerful courant carried with it.
There was no where to run and no where to hide, they where trapped by the elements and all had given into despair accepting their fate to die here in the place they once called paradise. The very earth itself trembled under their hooves, now it seemed the very world they stood on wanted to see the end of them. Tremors grew in strength and gave way to powerful shock waves tearing the ground apart and creating gaping fissures large enough to swallow whole herds.
Closing their eyes tightly they cried, prayed and begged for their lives. Shoulder to shoulder they stood together as one awaiting the end to come. Not one of them knew what they had done to deserve this judgment. Very soon they would be burnt, washed away, sucked into the sky or eaten by the ground. Moments passed and all where surprised to find themselves still in existence. Looking amongst themselves they saw the forces of nature stay at bay, it was unnatural yet it wasn’t. Examining the dangers that threatened their lives in more detail, each equine sensed a familiarity with nature on a deeper level. With a blink of the eye the forces of nature vanished and Auru was left intact, even the sweet sound of bird song drifted through the perplexed silence. Their skins where slowly warmed as the clouds parted to release a fracture of sunshine. After a few minutes the clouds dispelled to reveal another magnificent sight, the sun was setting in the west while the new moon was rising in the east. Gazing at the cloudless face of the radiant sky each one of them felt an inner strength, stronger then any emotion they had ever felt before. If there was one thing Nex was right about, it was the fact that from this day on their lives would never be melancholy ever again.
Characters, images and Writing © Their rightful owners