Common

to live and burn is
the most exquisite form of self destruction

It took days for the adrenaline of Rade’s battle and impulsive challenge to dissipate. For the glorious fire that burned in his blood to cool, and doubt to emerge from the darkest corner of his mind to reassert itself. The palomino stallion had spoken as persuasively as he could to the bachelors whose ranks he’d willingly joined, but he could not be certain that it was enough to overthrow Cullen. If Fearghas’s challenge had been received so poorly by the Lagoon’s long-reigning Boss, the elderly roan did not doubt that his own failure would end in an even grimmer fate. Not only for himself, but for any who dared to stand beside him in defying Cullen. Fearghas, Fiero, Adelheid, Sciannath. All of them and more would bear the consequences of his actions should his son cling to the power that had all but driven him to madness.

And so— desperate, and driven by that desperation— Rade ventured beyond the Lagoon in search of support.

It was a slender thread of hope that the golden male clung to as he limped out of the trees and into the wide-open space of the Crossing’s common land. But even a single vote could determine the outcome of the election; a vote that could be easily won here. If he could only find a young stallion to drive into the Lagoon, he could then ply for their vote with the promise of their freedom— a reprehensible act, but one that Cullen was likely to embrace if he believed that his power was threatened. And in the end, no matter how determinedly Rade had warred against his nature, he was a creature just as devious and dangerous as the son he now sought to overthrow… if not as needlessly cruel.

From a distance, the palomino roan studied the equine creatures of the Commons. After a long moment of this, he moved forward to approach a likely candidate— not the dark chestnut stallion whose scarred hide promised a struggle for dominance, but a stout brown boy who was scarcely old enough to have ventured out on his own. But before he could place himself between the young pony stallion and the sea, a darker figure intercepted his intended target. Sweeping his tattered ears back into the tangle of his ivory mane, Rade turned a baleful glare on the taller male, bared his teeth— and then froze in shock at the familiar voice that reached him, even yards away. I’m Fearghas, o’ the Savanna.

Fearghas.

Hastening forward, Rade arrived in time for silence to follow his friend’s question. His eyes drank in the sight of Fearghas— whole and unharmed, in defiance of his darkest fears— as he walked, committing the details that he’d forgotten to memory, The dusting of white that crept along the stallion’s belly, the dark spots that decorated the bold white socks he wore. Fearghas was thinner than Rade remembered— his dark eyes sunken slightly from sorrow and strain— but these changes were not altogether surprising. Those who bore the world’s weight rarely emerged from the experience unscathed.

“A place where only the fearless or foolish come, I’m afraid.” The golden stallion interjected smoothly, coming to rest at Fearghas’s left side with a curious tip of his skull. “And which are you, Fearghas? Do you still fight bravely to defy Cullen— or were you hoping to escape his notice by coming to the place where he’s least likely to expect you?” Glancing the short young boy Fearghas had approached, Rade’s amber eyes lingered there for only a moment before returning to the more familiar, dark face of his companion.

“You know Cullen wouldn’t appreciate what you’re doing here. Fortunately for you, I’ve given him greater things to worry about— such as the permanence of his power. And so history will repeat itself again, I don’t doubt… but with myself as the voice of reason to which the others will deafen themselves.”

Snorting a show of his contempt, the old stallion waited, watching Fearghas’s face for the moment that the truth would begin to transform it.

stallion . twenty-three . palomino roan . mustang mix . 15.1hh
debonaire x neassa