V​odnik regards the black stallion and for the first time since plunging headlong into battle , he truly sees the other. It is perhaps only a lack of drive or experience that made this stranger such an easy defeat. The stranger is smaller than himself, though most are, but he is not small. He is size enough to hold his own if he had the right technique. His size and build are actually somewhat akin to a friend he had on the mainland. Nero was a skilled warrior. Vodnik's never took him on, but he knows what the outcome would have been if he had tried.

And that is when the idea strikes him.

The Ridge is a large and complex territory. It won't be easy to protect it or patrol the borders alone. Who better to appoint than the stallion who both had the guts to defy him and the sense to respect him? This black stranger could be the perfect balance of formidable and manageable to make the ideal second.

Vodnik's face breaks into a wicked smile. "Indeed", he agrees. Those that knew him on the mainland would have found the misfortune of this brazen and unaware stallion quite amusing. Vodnik doesn't welcome unannounced visitors, and does not take lightly to threats upon his property or position, intentional or not. Perhaps now talk of this spar will spread and he'll glean greater respect from others among these islands.

"Vodnik." There is a pause, and now both ears curiously fix upon the stranger. "And you are?"