SA | Ualda | April Fool's 2018

Something was wrong.

Without knowing how or why, Ualda was utterly certain of that fact as she blinked the last of the sleep from her eyes, squinting in the dimness of the ship’s quarters. Beyond the wooden walls, creaking in an all too familiar fashion, water slapped the side of the ship in an unsteady beat. Her meager belongings were secured at her side, and above she could hear no shouts or priming of weapons that suggested they were under attack. Yet still, the mare was unable to shake the sensation that something in the world was well and truly wrong.

The familiar, grounding presence that prevailed in her chest, through her very bones, felt as though it was absent that day. In its place, something altogether foreign seemed to have formed, tugging at her soul in a peculiar way. Unlike the steadiness of the blessing Kaia had bestowed on her all those months ago, this magic seemed to be ever shifting, as though unable, or simply unwilling, to remain trapped within the vessel that was her body, unused.

With tentativeness Ualda reached out to touch the magic that flowed through her veins, the one granted to her by the Earth Goddess herself. Over the past few months she had slowly been honing the gift, able now to conjure a translucent replica of herself. While it currently lacked practical purpose, Ualda knew she simply needed time and practice to improve the skill; and in those moments of practice she had grown accustomed to the gentle tug her blessing required. Today however… Today felt different.

Where once there was something solid, it seemed her will simply slid away from the magic that coursed through her body, incapable of harnessing that blessing that resided there. It was not firm and steady, like the earth itself, but instead it shifted in her grasp, as though taunting her as she attempted to touch it. It dispelled almost as quickly as she could gather it, and a wave of frustration washed over Ualda as she sat up abruptly.

Perhaps the magic had finally taken pity on her, for the moment she did so a wavering, translucent form appeared before her. Despite the darkness that seized the room, the image exuded an almost ethereal light, and Ualda blinked away her blurry vision to regard the figure with a touch of pride.

Fear struck her chest with a painful suddenness. Her heart seemed almost to freeze in her chest as Ualda finally got a proper look at the familiar equine smiling down at her, severing the connection to her blessing as a wave of panic washed over her. It took but an instant for the equine to blink out of existence, and Ualda was already scrambling to her hooves, trembling as she looked around wildly with wide eyes.

It simply wasn’t possible. The vision she had seen… It was not of herself, but of one who was absolutely gone from this world. It wasn’t possible for her to be here; she was dead. Dead and long since returned to the earth of their Goddess.

The pounding of her heart was slow to ebb, the adrenaline that coursed through her even slower. It must have been a dream, or the lack of sleep as of late had finally claimed her mind. Ualda did look an awful lot like her mother after all; with the same stocky statue and golden coats. In the dimness of her small room her vision was all the worse, and silently Ualda chided herself for her childish reaction. Fear had no place in the Bloody Flanks, nor did ridiculous fantasties; especially when one believed they had seen a ghost of a dead mother looming over them.

The travel and sea sickness had taken its toll on her mind as much as her body, it would seem.

Her rationals did nothing to quell the uneasiness in her heart. Something still seemed inherently off with the world, and yet she failed to put a name to it. Sucking in a breath through her teeth, Ualda steadied herself once more; if what her mind required was to see the proof of her normally working blessing, then so be it, she would humour the illogical thoughts. Whatever it took to allow her to sleep once more.

Steeling herself, Ualda closed her eyes as she reached out to her blessing once more, this time forcefully wrapping her mind around the wayward magic. It complied to her command this time, coalescing into reality at her bidding. Successful in her task, Ualda cracked her maroon eyes open to view her handiwork, but found herself gawking at the sight before her.

The sea had not driven her mad; at least not yet. Warm brown eyes returned her gaze, a soft smile spread across the grizzled mare’s muzzle. Her palomino coat seemed to glow with the delicate light, and was slightly translucent; as though she would disappear into the wind if touched. Yet despite the etherealness of her appearance, there was no doubt in Ualda’s ind that the mare that stood before her was indeed her mother.

“Mother?” Ualda finally managed to choke out, stinging tears welling in her eyes.

The smile widened across Myra’s muzzle as she regarded her daughter, giving a slight nod at the question. Without realizing it, Ualda’s hooves had propelled her forward until she hovered mere inches from the projection.

“How are you here?” Ualda questioned, her voice strangled with grief and the tears now spilling freely down her cheeks. “I watched you die. The medics… The medics said there was nothing they could do.”

“I did,” the reply came, little more than a whisper on the wind. Yet even still, Ualda could hear the profound emotion that existed behind it. “You summoned me back, but I can’t stay long.”

“Me?” Ualda repeated in disbelief. “But how..? Kaia gifted me Duplication, it had only ever offered me the ability to replicate myself, never… Never this.”

A sad smile graced Myra’s face as she turned to regard her only daughter. “It would seem there is still a great deal we don’t know about the workings of the Gods.”

Ualda nodded briefly, her voice choked out by the lump that formed in her throat. “I’ve missed you,” she finally said, the words torn from her in a sob unbecoming of the proud mare. Though, she supposed at least it was only her dead mother that was around to witness it.

“And I’ve missed you,” came her mother’s reply in the same breathy whisper, as though she was struggling to remain tethered to her fleeting formed. “I’m so proud of who’ve you become, Ualda.”

“Mother, I’ve failed,” Ualda blurted out before she could think twice about allowed the words to tumble forth. “My brothers fought, Ghosthold is destroyed, we have no home, no supplied, and Vidar…. Vidar I believe is dead.”

Her tears fell through her mother’s image as she took a step closer, trying to take comfort in her mother’s warm presence, despite the void in space that existed where she should be. “I’ve failed my family,” Ualda continued, her voice barely more than a whisper.

“You’ve failed no one, least of all your family,” Myra’s firm reply came, backed by the same brisk tone Ualda recognized from when she was but a foal. “Your brother’s actions were their own, you are not at fault for that. You’ve done what you can to protect your family, and that’s all anyone can do,” she added, turning to meet Ualda’s crimson eyes.

“I am proud of you, and the Bloody Flanks will survive. Our banishment - our execution - was not the end of us; a lack of home will certainly not be the end.”

Myra froze then, her ear flicking back as though she could hear something else in the silence. “I have to go.”

“Please don’t,” Ualda suddenly cried, looking to her mother desperately. Ualda could not remember the last time she had been reduced to begging, yet here she was, begging for the ghost of her mother to stay by her side.

“I must, little one,” Myra replied, this time her voice warmer as she nuzzled her daughter’s tears. “I love you, my dear Ualda.”

Ualda watched as her mother’s pale form flickered then, voice growing weaker as she faded from existence. Without resistance the tears dripped down her cheeks and coated the wooden floor boards as Ualda sank to her knees, sobs torn from her throat. Exhaustion seized her body without mercy, but her mind raced as she tried to make sense of the encounter. It didn’t matter how anymore, Ualda noted miserably, she had seen her mother, spoken to her one last time. She couldn’t count the amount of times she had prayed for that exact opportunity, yet now that  the chance had been offered to her and had passed, there was nothing but an emptiness in her chest.

It was a long while before Ualda summoned the courage to rouse herself from the floor, collapsing back into her cot once more; the voice of her mother replaying itself through her mind.