The Golden Stallion

"Run, get out of here, run!," Soman, the Scribe yelled out to a petite palace dancer.

"I can't just leave you here, sir!" the petite dancer shouted.

Soman struggled to prop himself up from the floor with his elbows. He was stuck underneath a pile of rubble of the once beautifully painted ceilings of the palace's entertainment room. Instead of obeying the Scribe's orders, the dancer tried to lift the piece of debris that was crushing his legs.

She tried to heave the debris as fast as she could but a piece of wood from the palace's roof structure almost crushed her. The Scribe managed to pull her away just in time.

"Dancer, I'm your master. You listen to me!," the Scribe yelled out in a gruff voice and tugged on her arm so that her eyes were focused on him. He then shoved a gold ring into her opened palm. He closed her fingers around it, gesturing for her to hold on to it safely.

"Take this, search for Hefaru of the Bamboo People. He shall assist you in scouting for The Golden Stallion. Now go!" Soman ordered.

Soman said something else as well, but the dancer had already stopped listening because she felt afraid. Afraid of losing yet another person who has taken great care of her. The dancer stood up, her brown-colored fist clutched tightly with the golden ring inside. Tears began to pool in her dark brown eyes as she gritted her teeth in frustration. Unable to save her master, she bolted out of the room to save herself from the falling debris. Her dancer's attire of blue butterfly wing patterns flowed behind her as she quickly made her way out the door.

She ran through the hallways where various portraits of previous rulers of Andramesh are now broken on the floor, the painted floral patterned walls now cracked. The petite dancer ran as fast as her bare-footed legs could carry her. She kept the golden ring clutched in her hands close to her chest. Her tears now streaming down her plump cheeks. She couldn't think of anything else but trying to escape the palace.

She didn't fully comprehend what her master had ordered. She only understood that she had to find a man who goes by the name of Hefaru of the Bamboo People. The dancer escaped the palace but found that the entire kingdom was frozen. Not frozen in ice, more like frozen in time. The townspeople were halted in their tracks standing so still that the dancer almost mistook them for a life-like looking statue. Even the animals stood still as a rock.

Why was she not frozen in place? She looked down and opened her palm that contained the golden ring to see it having a hue of sparkling gold surrounding it. She figured that this ring was protecting her from the kingdom's strange phenomena. She shook her head in disbelief and kept on running until she was outside of the kingdom. When she was far enough into the Insecta Forest, she glanced behind her back to see a purple see-through barrier had formed around the kingdom.

She gasped in shock at the state of her homeland. All of this was too sudden for her. One minute, she was practicing her choreography for her next performance as Soman watched her. The next, the ceiling started raining down on them. The sky had already darkened to welcome the night. The canopy of tall trees towers over the dancer as its shadows challenge her visibility to navigate through the darkness. Hence why she decided to take a break, it was too dangerous to venture further.

You never know when you could get ambushed, just like that your life is over in the blink of an eye. The dancer didn't want to risk getting killed, she was determined to save her homeland in...someway. She took up residence temporarily at a nearby pond that she stumbled upon thankfully. The pond's glimmering water illuminated the thick tree trunks in a blue tone, giving a sense of calmness as the dancer quietly collected some sticks to build a warm fire. The dancer then lay on the ground next to the fire in a fetal position, her hands clutched tightly onto the ring The Scribe had given her.

After wearily staring at it for a while, she took off the necklace she wore slid the ring through it, and clipped it back to her neck. A long day was ahead of her, so she closed her eyes and fell into a dreamless slumber. Unbeknownst to her, a figure wearing a Kasa (Japanese straw hat) was silently observing her from behind one of the tree trunks.

He had tied a piece of cloth to cover his mouth and nose to hide his appearance, leaving only his eyes exposed. He sat upon the horse's skeleton covered in black ash -very much 'alive'- as he held onto the reigns tightly. He unmounted his horse and lightly stepped towards the sleeping dancer. His shadow loomed over her as he stood in front of her. He slowly unsheathed his katana and held it in both of his large hands by its hilt.

He raised the katana above his head, and the katana's smooth blade shined. As he was about to strike the dancer, her body shifted a little which made the figure hesitate. The water's soft glow illuminated her face, making him question his actions. He hesitated to strike this innocent-looking dancer. He lowered his katana and sighed softly in disappointment.

He sheathed his katana and proceeded to walk back towards his horse. He mounted the ashen black skeleton horse and grabbed the reigns, guiding it toward its next destination. He then whispered to himself.

"So she is Andramesh's potential savior? They must've been desperate if they've sent a petty-looking girl," he whispered to himself.

He then squeezed the sides of the horse with his thighs, gesturing for it to go faster. The horse began galloping through the forest's path as the wanderer's cape violently swayed behind him. He passed a signboard at a spilled path that had the words "Bulohwi" and "Kaede Mori" painted onto the wooden hand-made sign. Soon, morning came as the golden rays of sunshine shined through the small open gaps of the canopy.

A ray of sunlight shined directly upon the dancer's face. Feeling the warmness, she fluttered her eyes open as she awakened from her slumber. She stretched her back and arms as she sat up into a cross-legged sitting position. She then began to plan her journey by writing directives on places she needed to visit and go through to save her homeland from the Gods' wrath.