Chapter Three: The Empress of the Perriroyal Forests
Following land and river, both night and day, Hersuticus rode Ambu north through many different lands. Ambu was a most powerful horse, able to ride over wild rivers, with or against the current, as if it were merely a slightly steep hill. Through many changing temperatures they travelled, until finally they came to a stop outside a very thick forest. In the middle of the forest, way off in the distance, an ancient castle ruin could be seen. Hersuticus tried to urge his horse forward, but Ambu would go no further.
"This must be the high forest to which the Empress lives. You cannot guide me through it, can you?" Hersuticus asked. The horse shook its head. Dismounting, He called the horse back into the ring and trudged on foot into the forest.
There had been many places Hersuticus had travelled, many had been forests, but none had the same feeling as this place. Perriroyal Forest had quite a sensation to it, as if there was nothing to fear. The forest also seemed to be very bright, as if the canopy of the trees could block no light. Many of the trees were full of life and there seemed to be a presence here.
As night fell, Hersuticus looked to find wood for a fire, but it seemed as if the forest was avoiding him, not allowing the wood to be taken. Wondering what he would do, Hersuticus curled up under a tree and taking his blanket from his bag, he found the ground was comfortable and somewhat warming, and he slept soundly.
The sound of birds awoke him the next morning, and Hersuticus continued his journey. After three days of travelling in this fashion, he came to the edge of a clearing that held the castle. The whole place was surrounded by bushes of wild berries and fruit trees. Hersuticus plucked a pear for himself and ate, and the fruit was more suculant and tasty than anything he had eaten in his life. After trying a few fruits and filling his hunger, he wandered into the castle. It was definately abandoned and seemed to be falling apart. However, he soon found what had to be the throne room. The room was very overgrown with wild flowers and vines. At the far end of the room was a throne set upon a dais which was surrounded by the most brightly colored flowers of the whole room, or even any Hersuticus had ever seen in his life. He took the ring he wore and placed it in front of the throne and kneeled before the dais. A single petal fell from one of the flowers and landed in the middle of the throne, and from it came the image of a woman. She was very pretty and young in her appearence, wearing bright green robes. Her golden hair fell in thick waves down to the floor and held a gold crown of stars, woven with beautiful flowers. In her hand was a sceptre of a giant daisy, but what caught his attention most was that she seemed to be pregnant.
"Empress," Hersuticus said, bowing in his kneeled position.
"Greetings Hersuticus. My Mother spoke of your coming to my kingdom. I am the Empress of Perriroyal Forest and Mother to all living things. I know you seek the wild horse of the Earth."
"Yes, majesty," Hersuticus answered.
"I can tell you that the wild horse of the earth comes here every month to feast of the wild berries and the fruits of which I grow here in my garden and of which you have tasted. You will need to wait here for the day that it will come to feast. When it does, you may try to capture it. Never again will you see a more beautiful horse in your life." The Empress held up her sceptre and little gold lights flew out of it and around the castle. "You are welcome to stay here in my castle until the time you capture the horse, or perish trying. But be warned, you must wait until it is finished feasting before you try to capture it, or else it will lose its magical abilities."
"Thank you Empress, I honor you with these gifts of gold," Hersuticus said, holding his hand up and presenting her with gold coins. The Empress gestured for him to step forward and place them in the daisy of her sceptre. "May I be so bold as to ask you something, your majesty?" Hersuticus inqured.
"Please do," The Empress answered.
"How long until your majesty has her child, to which I offer my congratulations," hersuticus asked.
"I am not of mortal living, and so therefore do not have the same powers as your women. I am eternally pregnant, for I am eternally creating new life upon this earth. Flowers are always growing and bursting with bloom, trees are growing new leaves and animals are forever having offspring. The day all this stops is the day I shall no longer be pregnant." She smiled politely at his understanding. "Go now and rest, for you have had a tiring journey. I promise you that today is not the day the wild horse will come to feast." The Empress disappeared in a flurry of butterflies and Hersuticus looked around. The castle seemed to have turned into its proper self, but all around were the creatures of the wild. Hersuticus rested, ate and drank to his hearts desire. That night as he slept, the hare curled up beside him and the tiger guarded his room.
At the first light of day, Hersuticus went to the topmost tower to look down into the clearing to see if the horse was coming that day. He waited until noon, the hawk and the dove watching with him, until he realised that today was not the day, and he spent the rest of his aftrnoon amusing himself amoungst the castles beautiful flowers and read the many books on nature. For many days he followed this pattern, until finally, one morning, he saw movement in the trees and into the clearing came the wild horse of the earth. It had to be it, for the horse was not of any he had seen before, and the Empress was quite right in saying that it was a beautiful horse. The horse was a deep green, but it had patterns of flowers upon its body. While it had a saddle and harness made of gold, it seemed content with its free living. Its mane and tail were all braided and tied most beautifully, with each tuft of hair at the end holding a different flower.
Wasting no time, Hersuticus raced down the tower and silently slipped out into the clearing. Seeing the horse eating by the wild berries, he slipped into the forest and made his way around to a point close to where it was eating. The horse ate from different trees and bushes all day, and did not seem to get either fuller or fatter. Finally, as the sun began its slow decent into the western horizon, the horse finished eating and began to wander into the forest. Moving quickly Hersuticus jumped and caught the horse around the neck. The horse reared in fright and began running through the forest. Wasting no effort, Hersuticus pulled himself up into the saddle and clung for dear life as the horse ran as fast as you'd like through the trees and shrubs. Many branches ripped at Hersuticus, but this only made him more determined to hold on, pressing his body low to the horse. Finally, after several minutes, they were clear of the forest. Hersuticus took a deep breath in relief, but when he tried to stop the horse, it would not be tamed, and continued to charge. Coming up ahead of them was a large wall of stone that led into the mountains surrounding one side of the forest. At the base of the mountains, Hersuticus could clearly see crushed skeletons of men who had tried to capture the horse before today. The horse continued to charge at the wall of rock. Taking a deep breath moments before they would impact into the wall, Hersuticus waited for the end. When he felt instead was a deep crushing feeling. The horse had run right into the mountain and was travelling through it. It was very difficult to breathe and Hersuticus felt the crushing force becoming more and more as he travelled. Doing what he could he kept breathing, but the sensation of being crushed was becoming too much. Just when he thought he could no longer take it, the horse came out of the mountain. Hersuticus relaxed his body, but still the horse didn't stop. It was charging at another mountain. Readying himself, Hersuticus breathed in again and into the mountain they went. The sensation was just as strong and painful as the first. While he couldn't see much, he did get the faint visions of skeletons of men who had clearly lost their grip or tried to flee in panic. Clinging on even more than thought possible, Hersuticus used every amount of his will to remain on the horse and resist the feeling.
After what seemed like an age, the horse turned upward suddenly, and Hersuticus, while not only finding himself on the surface of earth as oppossed to the other side of a mountain, also discovered he was back at the castle, and the horse had stopped. He patted its neck as he took several breaths and relaxed. The horse was hopefully tamed to him now. He gave it a nudge and they rode peacefully to the entrance of the castle where the Empress stood smiling.
"Well done Hersuticus, you have tamed the wild horse of the earth. Her name is Ertha and she now belongs to you. She knows the way across all the lands on earth, and knows where every city, person and landmark is. But know this, she cannot cross water like Ambu, but she will ride just as hard and well as you need her to."
Dismounting, Hersuticus kneeled before the Empress. "Please your majesty, tell me where to find the next horse," Hersuticus begged of her.
"My husband, the Emperor of the Burning Mountain knows where the wild horse of fire is. Be careful upon your way there, that Ambu does not get thirsty or that Ertha does not get too hot, for it shall weaken them, and remember the horses will not betray their kin."
"Thank you my Empress, please accept this offering of gold to thank you for your aiding me. " Again he presented her with gold coins, and many more than last time, and she took them into her sceptre. Kissing him upon the forehead, Hersuticus felt all his scratches and wounds heal. The Empress then bid Hersuticus farewell and Hersuticus mounted Ertha.
"Ertha, lead me to the Burning Mountain," Hersuticus called. Ertha reared into life and charged off to the east. As they ran through Perriroyal Forest again, Hersuticus couldn't feel the scratches of the branches as he rode through the forest. Ertha clearly protected him from harm now that he was her master. As the last light of day shone across the forests, Hersuticus smiled as he raced towards the next wild horse.
A/N: This chapter is inspired by the tarot card 'The Empress,' the most motherly of cards, the picture of nature and beauty, love, caring, fertility and sex. I hope her representation in this story is well portrayed.