The Balinor Chronicles: The Celestial Herd
Chapter Seventeen: The Leader and the Waiter
This Chapter is dedicated to Melody Bridge, another older reviewer who never got her dedication.
The remnants of the Five had gathered in the middle of the Herd as dusk set. Anria was near by – Panthera rarely left her side now that her swollen belly looked large enough to hold a full-grown Unicorn. Barikah was also with foal, and Canis was eagerly awaiting its birth – what would a blue and white cross with a brown come out looking like? Nearby foals of various colors frolicked. Barikah was glad to see them so happy, for they had come close to never meeting others than those of their same color.
Unfortunately, in contrast to the happiness surrounding them, the Friends' moods were sober. Barikah, who had taken up the habit of checking in on their 'vanished' friends every week, was distraught. China and Arodousna, who had so often appeared in the water as a happily galloping couple, had disappeared from her sight. "Perhaps," Canis had dared to venture, "Perhaps they aren't living anymore. They are in the Mortal Realms, after all."
None of them had spoken for some time after that. They stood in silence, in memory of those who had gone to a place the others could not comprehend, for they had no knowledge, no legends, no tales of such a place. They stood as the dusk slowly descended, as darkness slowly conquered the world again.
He waited. He always waited. As his father had waited before him, and his father before him, he waited. He had long ago had the lesson of patience drilled into his head. He waited.
The Six Elementals had gathered in The Mare's cave. They had all arrived individually; they had all arrived clueless as to why they were there. Each one had picked his way around the pool filled with black water. Occasionally, one of them would cough to muffle the monotonous
…drip….drip….drip…drip….drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…
of the water falling into the Pool. But finally, after they were all there, The Mare appeared. It wasn't that she walked in, or that she emerged from the shadows, she just simply appeared. If the Elementals weren't used to that ability of The Mare, they would have stood flabbergasted, but they are all used to her tricks. Rather, they stand flabbergasted at her words.
"I am leaving. One of you must rule."
After their initial shock, during which all that can be heard is the
…drip….drip….drip…drip….drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…
of the water falling into the Pool, Terrenus breaks the silence. "What?"
The Mare smiles, as she so often does. "I am old. I feel myself aging. I don't want the Herd to be left without a leader. But should all of you rule, the Herd will go back to the Herds before. One of you will rule. I am going outside now. When you come back out, for sometime you must, you will have chosen from among yourselves. The last one out will become the ruler of the Herd." With that, she leaves the Elementals standing in her wake, all staring incredulously as her tail slowly retreats towards daylight at the mouth of the cave. The Elementals are left behind, trying to ignore the strange things around them; trying to pretend that they can't hear the
…drip….drip….drip…drip….drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…
of the water falling into the Pool. And then, the fighting begins.
He waits. His son stands outside his door, shifting from foot to foot. He ignores him. His son, still no more than a boy, will learn patience with time. As his father waited before him, his son will wait after him. Perhaps his son's son as well. But he himself is mostly immortal and can afford to wait. After all, he has all the time in the worlds.
Terrenus knows he won't lead. He doesn't want to lead and when it comes time to rejoin the Herd, Terrenus knows he will be the first to leave the cave. Still, they are no closer to finding a leader then when The Mare had left them. Solaris and Mulciber are still going at it; Hephaestus supporting the former; Orcinus and Aeoleus undecided, but being twins, will most likely side the same. During a lull in the debating Terrenus can once again clearly hear the incessant
…drip….drip….drip…drip….drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…
of the water falling into the Pool. Terrenus thinks that is the perfect time-keeper and he wonders how long the water has been dripping, each drop slaying another second of precious time.
"You could never lead! Your temper will be your undoing!" That was Solaris, throwing yet another insult at his opponent Mulciber. This one though, Terrenus thinks, is true enough. Mulciber's temper is notorious through out the Valley. As Mulciber tosses a similarly insulting truth back at Solaris, Terrenus realizes that this will escalate into a blood feud if it is not stopped. While there cannot be two leaders of the Herd, the choosing can still not be bitter. Terrenus nudges Orcinus, and then walks out the mouth of the cave. Aeoleus follows his twin. Hephaestus is reluctant to leave, but relents and follows his brothers out. For a while Solaris and Mulciber are left by themselves, their only company the unremitting
…drip….drip….drip…drip….drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…
of the water falling into the Pool. Minutes pass before they realize they are alone. When it is noticed, their argument stops
abruptly
and the two stare at each other. They try to will the other out of the cave first. Neither succeeds. Ultimately it is Mulciber who proposes the compromise. It is Mulciber because he knows that neither will win without and agreement; it is Mulciber because he knows his temper and Solaris does not know his; it is Mulciber because he has the patience that Solaris lacks: he can wait.
Mulciber surrenders the lead of the Herd to Solaris, on the condition that the Fire Stallion is second in everything, on the condition that should something happen to the Sun Stallion, Mulciber will rule. He does not intend to pull any tricks and make sure that something happens to the Sun, no, both are too noble for such low tricks. Rather, Mulciber feels it better to be prepared then not to be. So it is Mulciber who leads the way out of the cave, and it is Solaris who leads the Herd.
He waits. It will come sometime. The two have told him that much, even if they did not say it outright. It will come, if not in this lifetime, then the next. So he waits. He waits for everything. He waits.
The Mare watches as Terrenus arrived from inside the cave. A few moments later, Orcinus materialized, followed by the pales Aeoleus. After a long pause Hephaestus steps into the light. The Mare nods. It is between Solaris and Mulciber, then. Both would make good leaders. As no one emerges, The Mare realized that they hadn't chosen, that the duo is still battling it out inside the cave. She sees Terrenus' work in this – he acknowledges that they too must work together for the Herd to stay in tact. A forceful change of leadership will destroy the Valley.
A flash of color draws everyone's sight back to the cave. It is Mulciber; stepping proudly, head high, not looking anyone in the eye. He is followed by Solaris, and The Mare recognizes their chose.
Once again The Mare's cave is as empty as before, as vacancy as any other cave, as devoid of life as a shadow is of light. And still a sound ticks invariably from its depths. It is the
…drip….drip….drip…drip….drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…drip…
of the water falling into the Pool, counting down the time...
He waits, using all of his patience. He has waited this long, a few decades will not make any difference. He waits, for he has nothing else to do, except lecture his son and maybe take his mate to sleep with at night. This is the game that he plays, that his life was made for. He waits.