Grigori Blint's Story

Blint was stunned by the beauty of the land. They were on a mountain and surrounded by lush trees with fruit on them. He'd never seen any tree like that, with the most exotic he's seen being hickory. The air smelled of fruit and sea breeze, something that was rare in his homeland. In front of him was an old looking gate with vines covering it. Some of the vines even had grapes on them. He stared at the statue woman with awe.

"We don't have anything like this back home." He told her. He rubbed the gate a bit and wondered if they were going to enter it. "Where are we going?" He asked.

"We are going home." His home was too cold to be anywhere near this place. Even in the summertime Khaliras was cool. "If you plan to leave, do not eat any food offered to you. You will never be able to leave." Blint made a frown. It sounded dark, but he would refrain from eating the food as he wanted to see his brother at least one more time. You may drink the water, but carefully, you do not wish to swallow a water sprite, they will drown you from the inside." As he watched the sprite fly out of her cupped hands he shuddered. "I'm fine. Not thirsty."

Then she turned from a statue to a human, but not one that he had ever seen. Her eyes and skin tone were different from the women back home, who were very white. He blushed a bit without noticing. "What is your name?" She asked him.

"My name is Grigori Blint, but you can just call me Blint." He told her as he nervously sat next to her. She was pretty. So pretty that it made it hard for him to talk to her. He didn't hate it though. "What's your name?" He asked.

"I am Hai Fen, Guardain of Anansai. You, Grigori Blint, you must drink, Not only will you not go thirsty, this water will open your eyes to the true nature of Anansai." He gazed at the water. He decided to do as Hai-Fen said. He cupped the water in his hand and drank deeply. "You will be able to see, with your Fae eyes." And indeed he did. Blint saw small creatures everywhere and a small one at the bottom of of his cupped hands in the water that he didn't drink. It stared at him for a moment before flying away.

Never in his wildest dreams did he believe any of this could be real. In fact he couldn't tell if he was awake or dreaming at the moment. He glanced at Hai-Fen, who looked very different from before. He pulled back his gaze from her once he realized he was staring. "This is amazing. I thought the Fae had all died out long ago. Never would I have though that they still exist." He said as he watched the fairies at play. Filled with the curiosity of small child, Blint began to bombard her with questions. "Are there any cities here? Are there magical foods? Where do you come from? What are you?"

We come from Otherworld, where magic simply is. Magic from our world, bled into this during the great Unrest where the Seelie and Unseelie waged a great war, creating a rift in space. Thus Anansai was created, blending this world with ours, inviting magic along with it. I am a Disir. I protect and guard Anansai from the wicked and tainted. I have existed as long as Anansai has." He had no idea what she was talking about, but the great war part sounded interesting to him. "In my country, magic comes from our goddess in the form of what we call Vir." He told her.

Then an idea struck in Blint's mind. The food she spoke of was magical. What if that food could be grown in Khalidor? Could it? Did they even have crops that could grow on bitter lands with cold wind? The questions were racing through his mind and the only cure was to ask. "Do you have crops that can grow in harsh cold?"

"We lost about half our men. What is left of my men number 50,000 and what is left of your men is 40,000. In all, we will have 90,000 men to defend this fortress. I have already sent a raven to Drake City to request more artillery and Magi. If we play our cards right, we can break the enemy before these walls."

Ninety thousand were quite a few. Combined with the fort's defense and the reinforcements they could easily hold off the enemy. He turned to the commander. "I want you to begin rationing goods and to increase the guard limit for the city. Ready the weaponry for attack and send patrols to the farms. Also send one hundred horsemen to the enemy to ask them if they can give our fallen comrades a proper funeral. If their answer is yes, our men will make makeshift pyres." Wanhope told the man before turning back to Moloch.

"Get your injured to the temple district. There they will be healed to the best of our abilities. Let the rest enjoy the city for now. Tell them to enjoy the liquor and brothels, my treat. Morale is key here." He told his ally. Glancing at the injured, then glancing at the mountains he got an idea. "You do not have any Rangers by chance, do you?"

*****

"To find the crops you seek, we must climb the mountian's peak." Blint glared up at the mountain. The view alone was intimidating enough, let alone the idea of climbing it. "Why couldn't I just have to ride ten miles without a saddle?" He thought to himself. He really hated climbing yet he knew there was no other way to get to the top since he didn't know magic.

"I'm ready."

*****

It had been a long time since Roth tasted venison so it was always a treat. He and his Vanguard were feasting on a hunted deer in a barn owned by a local northern farmer. They were trying to avoid settlements as to not tip off any hostiles in the regions. Only the farmers knew and they were paid handsomely to quietly, but he was sure some would spread rumors. The farmers treated them kindly at least. They were probably the only profession that was always treated well under Khalidoran occupation. Since they grew the food that Khalidor valued, farmers became significantly wealthier and the distribution system gave them the land that they worked on that would normally belong to their lords. Even religious freedom was granted to those in the agricultural professions.

The plan was to travel to a small settlement called Pigs Town to stock up on supplies before they continued to New Castle. Once they were teleported to Khaliras they were only able to use a minimal supply of food since the city, like many others, were frantically using resources to turn the economy to wartime production. He knew the capitol district alone was making a thousand weapons a day. That's what happens in a country where steel and labor is cheap. The fact that the first frost had already fell didn't help either.

Blint's eyes widened as he gazed upon the unicorns. It was said that the first Grand Chief of the Hezar rode a unicorn into battle. It was he who united the tribes against the centaurs and it was he who made the alliance with Khalidor. He thought there was only one in all existence as was according to legend. It was said that the next Grand Chief would ride a unicorn to lead his people once more.

"Understand, You do not choose them, they choose you. But you are a rider, I am sure you know how to approach one." Hai-Fen said and let go of his hand. In Hezar culture, horses were not broken as most do. They were not treated as animals but as partners in life. If man's horse were to die, it would bring dishonor to his name.

In the pickings a man chooses a horse that he can catch with his bare hands. All choice horses are wild and must be caught through running alone. Blint would do the same. As he walked steadily through the herd, many were friendly yet none interested him, until he saw what would be his. A lone unicorn galloped swiftly through the herd. I stopped about ten yards from Blint and stared at him as if it was looking into his soul. It was not an act of curiosity but a challenge. Then it bolted off. With that the man did the same.

It was far too fast for him to catch even at full sprint so he would need to cut it off. He zig-zagged across the plains to a sloped hill that it looked like it was going to pass. Timing his pace, when he reached the slope the unicorn was nearly below it. He then jumped off it and landed awkwardly onto it's back. It went in a few short circles before it allowed him to steer it back to Hai-Fen.

"That wasn't too hard, now was it?" He said aloud with heavy panting not directed towards anyone in particular. "So what do I do know?" He asked her.