The Spectre, the Savior, and the Stone
Chapter 1: Strange Things
And they ran.
They ran faster than light itself, as temporary as an eye-blink, as rapid as the Great Falls of Farthen Dur. Their hooves pounded through the foliage, crunching, beating, pressing all obstacles out of their way. The two masses of hair, one whiter than a winter's snow, the other an auburn to rival the autumn leaves, were blurs as they rushed through the trees which seemed to part aside to allow them passage.
On the back of the white horse sat a man, though barely so having lived a mere twenty years. He gripped tightly onto the neck of his horse, for he used neither reins nor saddle, and held his body close against the back of the fantastic beast. The wind passed over him in a constant flood, blowing his blond-brown hair out of his brown eyes, from which tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. Though the man's expression was a grim one, it was an inappropriate indication of the excitement he felt inside. Because this was where he belonged, in the ancient forest of Tudosten and riding on the back of Starlight, one of the fastest steeds in all the world.
Everything would've been perfect, except for the fact that in the race through the wilderness they had enjoyed each morning since their arrival to the forest, his brother Streed always managed to win. And this morning was no exception. For as agile as Starlight ran, Streed's brown horse, whom he had affectionately dubbed Flamefoot, was an even better runner. But this time the two horses were much closer than usual and it was about time that Starlight, and his rider, got their long-awaited victory.
"Faster, my friend," he yelled over the gallop of an octet of hooves pounding over the rich soil of Tudosten. "We can beat this lazy brute who calls himself a rider, and his clumsy horse as well."
Starlight seemed to understand the words, for the beat of his hooves increased until the only sound they gave was a single constant note reminiscent of thunder. "Ha!" the rider exclaimed as he finally caught up to Streed and the brothers rode side by side towards their destination. The horses were nose and nose, as were the men on their backs.
"Come now, Fergrin, you know Flamefoot's about as clumsy as an Urgal is generous."
Fergrin, though he knew the words were true, just smiled at his brother and replied confidently, "I'd like to hear you say that when you come in second at the finish line. Onward!"
Starfire, if it was possible, began to gallop even faster. His golden mane flew back in the wind and right into his rider's face. Fergrin turned aside to avoid the mass of hairs and in surprise saw that his brother had once again taken the lead. Steered raised his head to the sky and laughed heartily as his lengthy black hair blew in the breeze Firefoot's speed created.
Upon hearing his brother's loud chuckle, Fergrin couldn't help but smile as well. Whatever Gods created this wondrous world should be congratulated for their outstanding success.
But as much fun as they were having, Starlight had reached his limit and Fergrin would not even risk trying to push him any harder. Before long, Flamefoot was far in the lead and soon afterwards he disappeared completely into the foliage ahead.
After a few more minutes of riding pleasantly through the woods, enjoying the feeling while it lasted, Fergrin finally reached his destination. It was a wide clearing with a large moss-covered stone that made the perfect bench, and plenty of nearby trees to which the brothers could hitch their horses. The grass was green and healthy, making the perfect breakfast for the tired steeds, and the best part of all was that the two brothers were the only ones in the world who knew of the clearing's existence.
And so Fergrin was taken completely by surprise when he found an elderly man waiting for them, seated on the moss-covered rock and panting heavily, as if having just run a great distance. Streed was just dismounting from Flamefoot when his brother arrived, and approached the visitor cautiously.
"Are you alright?"
The man swallowed and nodded quickly. "Yes, I'm- No!" He stopped nodding and now shook his head vigorously from side to side. With a glance into the trees to his right, Fergrin's left, he explained. "They're after me. I can't run away forever."
Fergrin, who hastened to tie Starlight to a nearby tree with a length of rope, asked, "Who are 'they'?"
"And what are they after you for?" Streed added.
The old man appeared frantic as he replied. "Please, I haven't much time. Here, take these and run away. Far away. As fast as you can go, and as far away as you can get." He reached into a pocket of his brown and battered robes and removed two oval-shaped gems, both small enough to fit easily in the palm of his hand. One of them was colored a brilliant green and seemed to pulse with a life of all its own. The other was a vivid crimson and glowed like a hot red coal.
Streed looked down at the stones with a skeptical look on his face. "Are they worth anything?"
"Far more than you can imagine." The old man thrust his palm forward, offering the gems to the brothers. "Now take them and get moving."
Streed took the red one as Fergrin took the green. He held the round emerald up to the sky and watched in awe as it seemed to actually intensify the light of the morning sun.
"Well, thank you for the gift, but-"
Fergrin was interrupted by the sound of hooves way off in the distance.
"They're coming!" the old man exclaimed as a worried look entered his eyes. "You two must split up. Go in different directions; they can't catch you both."
"We're not splitting up," Streed insisted. "There's strength in numbers."
The old man appeared to realize that they would not be swayed on this matter, and the sound of hooves grew every nearer. "Fine then, but give me back the stone."
"You gave it to him!" Fergrin protested.
The old man ignored him and grabbed the red gem out of Streed's hand. Then he raised it up into the air and cried, "Morgalith vee opkata!" At once the red rock began to glow a bright orange as a bullet of scarlet light fired towards the ground. At the spot where it hit the green grass, towering flames erupted, at lest six feet high and about half as wide. But the thing Fergrin found most odd about these flames, besides the fact that they had been created by some magic words and a stone, was the fact that in the center was a perfect oval as red as blood. As the young men stood staring in wonder, the elder unexpectedly grabbed onto Streed's arm and pushed him forward into the flames.
No sooner had his booted foot touched the red oval then he flew into it, as if pulled by some unseen force. Instinctively, Fergrin grabbed onto his brother's arm and started to pull him back, hardly even aware that Screed appeared immune to the danger of the flames. The pull of the red oval was strong, but so was Fergrin, and neither was willing to give up.
The sound of hooves was louder than ever now and slightly to the North of them. Fergrin was wondering if perhaps they were searching the forest for the old man when he suddenly felt a sharp kick to his shin that caused him to cry out in pain and reflexively let go of Streed's arm, which was quickly sucked into the red oval along with the rest of his body.
Fergrin turned on the old man, willing to kill him if he had the chance, when he raised the red stone again and said, "Oost lee vesapago!" Instantly, Fergrin went flying backwards through the air, and into the dense underbrush that surrounded the clearing. His vision began to blur and blacken around the edges, but he fought to stay conscious. He saw the old man chuck the red stone into the fire through which Streed had disappeared, then glance in the direction of his pursuers before stomping his foot angrily on the ground.
By now, both of the horses were going crazy due to the recent excitement, but somehow the strange old man managed to climb onto Flamefoot's back. With another look back over his shoulder, he untied the horse from the tree it was hitched to and galloped off into the forest. And that was the last thing Fergrin remembered before his vision clouded and everything went dark.
To Be Continued...