-1Inspired by Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Land of the Riders
Far away, in a world you can only dream of, were giant mythical creatures: wolf-foxes the size of horses, ox-cats that are as big as mountains. Sea-birds, which live in water, are as huge as clouds. There were flying unicorns that are as tall as a seven and a half foot man. The best thing about these creatures called Riders, is that there are some you can ride on called Norite.
In the land with them were ten kingdoms: Mouri, Aoi, Ko, La. Roi, Aoji, So, Tei, and Keita. Kairi, princess of Keita, was looking through her window at the flowers in the garden. "Kairi, why don't you go outside?" her mother asked. "No, there are no roses in the garden or someone to play with. Besides, Father said he'd come with a Norite and my lectures are coming up soon," replied Kairi. The queen looked at her eight year-old daughter. She had burgundy red hair with violet blue eyes. The queen left her twilight eyed daughter sitting at the window.
Kairi waited for hours at the window when her lectures were done, and still no sign of her father. Her mother came in and found her sleeping at the window. She put a blanket over her daughter and left the room.
The next morning, Kairi awoke to find a chocolate-brown Norite walking around in the castle garden. She changed into her light blue jumper with cream colored pants and shirt and blue shoes to match. She ran down to the garden, but stopped at the gate to look. The Norite was gone. knew it didn't have wings, so where could it go? She went inside the gate, Kairi closed it, but didn't move any further. "Don't be shy, Kairi. They won't bite," said a male voice. "Father, where are they?" she asked as she approached her him.
I have five for you. They're right behind this wall. When I call for them, the soldiers will bring them out. This one is Ao." Ao was a light blue baby ox-cat which reflected the blue in the sky. "This one is Kaze. She's as fast as the wind." Kaze was white. And true to her name she was a wolf-fox, one of the fastest types of Riders there is. "These two are twins. Lighting and Thunderbolt." Both Lighting and Thunderbolt were blue-grey and had the emblem of a lighting bolt on their foreheads. Their manes and tails were a mixture of grey and yellow. "Were all of them born in captivity?" Kairi asked sadly.
"All of them, except the last one," he replied. The soldiers were holding down the chocolate Norite she wanted to see. It looked at her and stopped thrashing, but it eyed her father a warning. "None of these Norite are adults sir," said a soldier. "Good. Go and get Aojiroi," the King Leon stated. "Can I touch him?" she asked already nearing it. "I wouldn't get too close-" Kairi touched it without it hurting her. When the king came to take her hand off it, the Norite backed away and snorted at him.
"You didn't need to do that. It may be wild, but it won't hurt something it thinks it's its mother," called out a woman. "Aojiroi, it is good to see you." Aojiroi was an albino. Most people feared her, but if they needed a Riders expert, she was the only one around in Keita. "What do you mean by it thinks Kairi's its mother?" he asked. "You took this foal from its mother too early. Not only that, but it's a runt." "Took it from its mother too early? What do you mean?" Kairi asked. Aojiroi smiled at Rira. "This foal was taken from its mother before it could remember what she looked like or smelled." Aojiroi looked at the other foals. "Are they all male?" the king asked. "The one you called Ao and Kaze are female. For Lighting, Thunderbolt, and the other Norite, I don't know if they're male, female, or stallions." "How do you tell?" asked Leon worriedly.
"The stallion will have a horn. The color of its mane when it is older will be the same color as his tail, horn, and tips of its wings. The regular males will have the same thing minus the horn. The wild one has a 60 chance of being a stallion," she said and then left. The king told the soldiers to put the foals in stalls. He also told Kairi she had to take care of the wild one since she was the only one it will go to. Kairi took care of it every day, but every night the other males would taught it.
Thunderbolt didn't take the fact he wouldn't be cared for by the princess nicely. "Why do you think she's your mother, Wild One?" he taunted. "I already told you I was taken from my mother," it answered. "So were the rest of us," Thunderbolt replied. "True, but we were taken a month after we were born," argued Ao. "How old were you when you where taken?" Kaze asked nicely. "The white woman was wrong. I'm not a runt. The king took me at least an hour after I was able to stand. Everything I know about my mother is a blur… except…" it trailed off. "Except what?!" Thunderbolt snapped. "Thunder-" Lighting started. "Except something she told me. She said I was destined to be the one to stop the Riders of Aoi." All of them stared at it baffled. "Well that sure helped!" snapped Thunderbolt.
Kairi kept checking up on 'Wild One', as they called him, every day. She started to notice that he became sadder with each passing day. Kaze and Ao noticed too, but they couldn't do anything. Lighting did the best he could to make sure his brother wouldn't provoke 'Wild One' anymore. A year past and Kairi couldn't take it anymore. But she started to think what she could do. Then it hit her. 'What if I gave it a name?' She started to think at all the possible names for it. The problem was she didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, and whether the name she'd give it would describe it best.
After three days of thinking, Kairi went to talk to 'Wild One'. When she arrived, the other Norite were gone. It was just her and 'Wild One'. "Hello," she said startling it. "Shh… it's okay. I just came to help you." It stopped moving and came closer to her. She patted its head. "I can't give you a name until I know what you are. So, until you and I grow up, until we find out, just wait for the day… when you have your name." While she was saying this Thunderbolt came over the hill behind them and saw them. Thunderbolt charged at them, anger running through him. 'Wild One' saw him and jumped over Kairi while she ducked.
Kairi was surprised that it was able to it out of its stall. 'Wild One' motioned for her to get on its back. Noticing that Thunderbolt was nearing closer, she jumped on 'Wild One's' back and it ran away with Thunderbolt close behind. Kaze, Ao, and Lighting were on their way back when they saw Thunderbolt chasing after 'Wild One' with Princess Kairi on its back. "Brother stop!" Lighting called, but Thunderbolt didn't hear. "What are we going to do?" Ao asked. Kaze howled to let 'Wild One' know where they were at.
It spotted them and started running up the hill. Just then the soldiers came up and saw what was taking place. 'Wild One' finally made it up the hill. "Take… take her from me," it panted. Kaze took the half scared princess on to her strong back. "The chocolate one needs a good rest. Looks like he'll have some competition," said one of the soldiers. "I wouldn't be surprise. The king did say that he would be the one she'd ride," said the other. "Alright, you four will escort the other Norite, while you two come with me and take the princess and the chocolate one to the king," said the captain.
Kairi was set down and asked to walk to the palace. Occasionally she would look back to see him being half dragged, but it'd look at her to tell her it would be fine. At the palace the soldiers explained what they saw. The king knew Thunderbolt didn't like 'Wild One', but he didn't know how much. "Well, what are your orders sire?" asked a soldier. "Keep Kairi away from the stables, and get that Norite up to par," he sighed. Kairi heard this, and without a word, she went to her room and stayed there. The only time she would come out was when her father called her. Everything else was done in her room.
One day her best friend in the castle, Lord Roxas, came to see her. Roxas was a rugged man. He had a nice beard and was very kind despite his appearance. "Princess Kairi, there's something- Wait a minute. Why are you here?" he said. "A few months ago I was visiting the unnamed Norite. Then out of nowhere Thunderbolt came charging at us. When my father found out he said that I couldn't go there anymore. So, I locked myself up in my room," she explained.
"Well if I am correct the unnamed Norite is chocolate-brown, right?" "Yes," she answered. "Well if that is true then you better come to the stables." Lord Roxas left to stall the king while Kairi quietly snuck out the castle. Shortly after Lord Roxas found her they came upon the stables where Kairi was shocked. "What… what happened to him?" she sobbed. "Nothing to worry about. Its wings came," he reassured. "Really? I don't see anything," she choked. "Wash the blood off in the river near by. Then you'll see them." Kairi did what she was told and opened the stall. "I hope you drown," Thunderbolt glared at the winged Norite.
Kairi took 'Wild One' to Freedom Brooke to wash of its wings. Once she was done, she stared into its eyes for the first time. The eyes reflected the sky itself. They were bright sky-blue and looked like the sun compared to Kairi's dark twilight blue eyes. She brushed a part of his chocolate mane to find a crest. The crest was a picture of a cloud which symbol the sky. Kairi traced around it until the Norite brushed off her bang. Kairi caught a glimpse of her own crest in the water which help decide her own name.
The little princess lead the Norite back to the stall with the others. Before she left she made sure to look back into its eyes. Instead of the bright blue, she saw a blue that resembled a tainted lake. Back in her room, she wanted to know why, but then realized that it longed to be free.