the path to enlightenment
A R I S H O K
is paved with ignorance
"One does not need to seek; what they are intended to find will find them."
A deep baritone rumbled these words from behind the pair as an ashen stallion ascends the dune to join mother and daughter with graceful strides that belie his hefty build. His bloodstained chest heaving with the exertion of the climb, Arishok observes the mare with an impassive expression, seeking the signs of hostility or resentment that he is certain will express themselves in time. The outland baa'ri Rhaella had warned him, after all, that the denizens of this land were not fond of being veered from the path they had chosen for themselves. After a moment of silence and mutual staring, he allows his gaze to pass on, travelling to the young one.
A transformation takes place.
Suddenly, the stern and immovable warrior warms, the chiseled rock of his features softening into the ghost of a smile and a flicker of animation in his fathomless eyes. Children were a gift, after all, in any culture - and to Arishok they represented the future, and each young soul held promise. Though he would mold this small creature in preparation for the path intended the same as he would her dam, the process would be gentle. Lowering his burly crown to gaze levelly at the filly, he speaks again at last.
"Your determination is admirable, little one. The heart of a warrior beats within you."
He's not one for greetings, but over time Arishok has come to understand the importance of these name-words to the ashqaad. It would be harmless to humor them, particularly since he hoped that they would be comfortable in his presence and his (their) home. Allowing his thickly muscled crest to elevate his skull once again, he includes both in his gaze as he welcomes them - a phrase that feels, and sounds, foreign on his tongue despite the comfortingly familiar words of his native language.
"Asit-taleb. I am known as Arishok."
a bloodstained gray stallion
standing proud at 16.2 hands and
following the ways of his warlander ancestors
for nine years and counting
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