Seeds of Fate

Dagda sat in the camp he had made and resided in for a few days, cheek leaning on his fist. His brow was furrowed as dark eyes stared off into the distance, deep in thought. The afternoon was easing into evening around him, with crickets beginning their choruses and birds singing as the sun started into the last leg of its daily route. These Minstrel grasslands were serene, the expansive hills and plains holding grasses of gold and green that waved in the breezes. There seemed to be only land and open sky with forests dotting here and there. Dagda wasn’t used to so much open space, it both fascinated and unnerved him. There was so much nothing out here, and yet, if you looked more closely, there was a whole ecosystem at work. One could feel like both a speck and giant in this landscape depending on what they were looking at. Bugs and birds went about their daily tasks and search for food, while snakes basked in the sun. Deer and wild horses grazed the plentiful grasses. It was beautiful and peaceful.

Just a few days ago, Dagda had started the journey from Fiore to a city in Minstrel to grab a part needed to repair his newly-owned airship, the S.S. Endeavor. He and his friend Percy had been working hard to repair it, but it had been sitting in a forest in the Phoenix mountains for many years. It was a lot of hard, physically taxing work, but it had to be done. The part he needed was made especially by a mechanic in Minstrel, so while Percy continued his work, Dagda had made the trip to retrieve it.

Dagda had come across a herd of wild horses on his trip through the grasslands. They were short like ponies but seemed to retain the appearance and mannerisms of horses. Short hair that was a dull gold color coated their bodies, but their manes were a unique mix of cream and black. They reminded him vaguely of the mountain ponies that lived sparsely in his mountainous home. However, unlike those, the Minstrel wild horses didn’t let him get too close. He’d approached one time, but they trotted a safe distance and outposted guards watched him carefully. Dagda decided not to push it, so he stopped and had his lunch while observing them from a distance. They looked like hardy little creatures and provided great entertainment. The herd had a very community-driven system. Occasionally two would get in a spat with hooves and teeth flying, but once one backed down, it was resolved and the herd went back to grazing. Dagda found himself invested in the dynamics of these creatures. There was so much life and fiery spirit among them.

The final stretch to his destination had been made after reluctantly leaving the herd behind. He’d reached the city, had a lengthy discussion with the mechanic that involved some banter about the price, and eventually gotten the part. It now sat in the bag that rested in the dirt nearby. He was on his way home when he had encountered the herd again. It was clear they recognized him, but continued to keep their distance. The Marmor wasn’t in too much of a hurry, so he decided to stop for the afternoon to watch the horses again. It was then that the peace of the grasslands had been broken.

The horses had browsed over close to a small rocky outcropping made of sandstone. One of the young adult males had been munching on some green grass that had grown near a spring in the rocks. Others grazed nearby and some lay in the grass below. Among the sandstone, a rattlesnake had been sunbathing. The wild horse had gotten too close without seeing the serpent and paid the price. Lashing out with venomous fangs, it sunk them into the dun flank.

Dagda had heard the horse’s scream, the shrill sound piercing his ears and sending panic into his heart. The other horses were already charging up to the rocks to help the bitten one, while the foals and some mares fled the area. The titan couldn’t do much to help except use his earthbending to send a rock spire straight through the snake’s neck. It had mostly died, but the other wild horses trampled it into a dusty pulp. When they were sure the snake was dead, they guided the injured horse down the hill and far away from the rocks to the rest of the herd. Dagda had watched on helplessly, his heart pounding. The horses were extra wary now, and despite his efforts, they would not let him near.

Dagda rubbed the bridge of his nose from his seat in the temporary camp he had made. He’d spent days trying everything he could to help, but there was nothing he could do. Over the days, the bitten horse had started to slow down, hanging his head lethargically while the rest of the herd milled around him in concern. He was fading, and the titan was frustrated at his helplessness.

While he mulled over his dismal options for the hundredth time, the horses began to stir in the distance. Dagda had been observing their movements through vibrations he could feel in the ground. Normally he wouldn’t have paid it much mind, but he felt a different set of footsteps through the earth: human. Sitting up straight, he peered in the direction of the herd, confusion on his face. Someone else was here, and the horses had let them in.

Dagda rose and began making his way towards the herd cautiously, trying to keep a low profile in the grasses. As he got closer, he could finally see who was with the horses, and his jaw dropped. It was a young woman walking among them, being welcomed with excitement. She had knelt next to the injured horse, the hood of her ceremonial-looking outfit pulled back. Her skin was a dark, rich brown and her black hair was done in thick braids adorned with golden bands. To the mountainous onlooker, she appeared magical, even holy. Dagda was convinced at once that she was some sort of spirit or goddess.

The herd seemed to accept her as one of their own, brushing against her and nuzzling with their snouts. As much as he wanted to approach and ask questions, Dagda was more inclined to keep his distance and watch. His concern for the injured creature was greater than his desire for answers. Sitting in the grass, he peered through the stems to observe, feeling like he was about to witness something miraculous. Hopefully the young woman would find some way of healing the horse that he was unable to do. The creature had been in pain the past few days, a fact that made his heart ache. He wanted nothing more than for the horse to be healed.

Dagda watched with fascinated eyes as the woman used some sort of magic on the horse. Green mist began to seep from her, converging over the snake bite. The rest of the herd seemed mostly unbothered by the mystical force at work. From where he was, there wasn’t a clear view of exactly what the verdant substance did. Whatever it was, it did the trick. Shortly after it began, the mist faded out. The injured horse sat up, giving some affection to the woman before she encouraged it to return to its feet at her side. Dagda’s heart warmed as it complied, returning to its feet without so much as a stagger or limp. He nearly jumped up in excitement, but barely refrained as not to give away his position.

It seemed that caution was unnecessary. He had been discovered. Some of the horses had seen him and were watching warily and had drawn the gaze of the healer. There was no sign of a threat from her, at least not yet. There was a silence that hung heavy in the grassland as the two observed one another. In some ways, she reminded Dagda of the horses she was surrounded by: cautious, yet spirited and steady. Her green eyes seemed mysterious, and again he wondered if she was a goddess. The green mist and what he assumed to be healing abilities would certainly make her fit the part.

While petting the previously injured horse, the whole herd seemed to relax a bit from Dagda’s sudden appearance. Their ears were still trained on him, but agitated pacing by some had ceased. The woman called out to him, her voice deeper than most women he had met. A thick accent cushioned her words.

It took a few moments of standing there dumbly for Dagda to process what she had said. He’d never heard an accent like that before so his brain was working to make sense of the speech. She’d calmed the herd so he may approach. “Thank you,” Dagda replied, his deep voice filling the clearing. Making his way through the golden grass slowly, he tried to appear as non-threatening as possible. He didn’t want to startle anyone more than he already had by watching from nearby.

The titan stopped a respectful distance away, a gentle smile on his face. The mysterious one greeted him, introducing herself as Cassiti Calixte. She thanked him for watching out for the horses, then explained that she had reversed the injury and the male was fine. Dagda noted the peculiar phrasing - she ‘reversed’ the bite, not healed it.

“Greetings, Cassiti,” he responded, “I am Dagda MacLean. Thank you for treating that horse. I wish I could have helped, but the horses were only being true to their nature. I can’t hold that against them.” One of the younger horses had taken a few steps towards him, full of curiosity but the wariness was evident in its alert ears. The giant man knelt down, slowly extending his hand towards the creature to sniff if it wanted to approach. Crouching down would hopefully make him smaller and therefore less intimidating to the woman and the herd.

Silence hung in the air once more. Cassiti was proving to not be very talkative, but Dagda had no problem with that. The horses provided a distraction in the space that conversation left. He could feel her eyes on him, but for a moment he focused on the young horse near him. It had taken a few uncertain steps forward, but wasn’t quite convinced that he was safe yet.

All at once, he remembered the little bag that was in his pocket. It was full of some oats he had purchased while in the town the mechanic was in. He’d bought it with the intent to leave it for the horses on his way by, but the chance had never arisen since the rattlesnake attack. Now, he removed the bag from the pocket of his pants and dumped some out in his hand. Extending it once again, he offered the treat to the horse.

“Come on, buddy. These oats are really tasty, I promise.” The young horse seemed to perk up a bit at the sight of the pieces in his hand. Being wild, it had never had the same foods as a domestic horse, but it was intelligent enough to know a good bite to eat when it saw one. Slowly it approached, and within seconds had inhaled all the bits from Dagda’s hand and was sniffing around for more. He let out a quiet laugh, entertained by the little horse’s antics. Once it inhaled his scent and investigated him, the dun creature seemed satisfied that he was friendly enough.

Looking back towards Cassiti, Dagda caught sight of her taking a seed from her pocket. With another batch of green mist, it had grown into a full sized fruit of orange and yellow. The healed horse nibbled at it from her hands.

“Are you a goddess?” Dagda blurted out at the sight of her magic, cursing his bluntness. “Sorry,” he apologized, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”

After his sudden question, Cassiti seemed unbothered and proceeded to explain that she was not a goddess. She was an Oracle to a goddess called Aryannrhod, a name Dagda was unfamiliar with. He wondered where she was from, and excitedly wondered if Aryannrhod was anything like the World Spirit that created his people. Cassiti told of the abilities granted to her by the goddess, the power to turn time by a little. “So that’s how you healed him,” Dagda said with fascination in his eyes, gesturing to the horse at her side. This was a new concept, reversing time in a specific area to remove an injury. How practical and interesting it was.

She also spoke of reading a person’s soul, emotions, and memories. Dagda wondered if that’s why she let him approach at all instead of fleeing or attacking. What had she seen or felt? What was the sensation of his aura? He tried to picture what it was like, but came up blank. He knew who he was, but had that shown through his soul’s image?

Aryannrhod had a close connection to horses, according to the Oracle. That was why they had sought her out to help their fallen comrade and let her walk with ease among their ranks. Though they had limited exposure to people, it was as if Cassiti was one of their own herd. They respected her.

Silence fell between the two again as Dagda processed her words. He was getting used to her accent, but it would take some time for him to understand her speech right away. Cassiti piped up again and asked why he had wanted to help the horses. It was not something many people would have the patience or drive to do. Dagda let the silence grow again as he really thought about it.

“Well, I don’t have a healing magic,” he admitted after a minute. “My abilities lie with the earth and rock below, and they aren’t exactly healing materials.” He let out a quiet laugh. “In my pack, I have some healing salve and bandages.” The titan gestured back towards where he had left his bag, realizing it was left behind. “I guess I thought if the herd would let me in I could use those. At home, I was able to gain the trust of mountain ponies with patience, I figured that I could do the same with these horses. I also found some boneset growing out here, which would help with the fever. A friend taught me about some herbs that can be used to help healing processes and I remembered that one.” He hadn’t had the greatest plan ever. Now that he said it out loud, it sounded rather foolish. There was no ability he possessed that allowed for a quick, magical healing for the injured horse. Lazar, the old man who owned a medical shop in Magnolia and his dear friend, had taught him about natural remedies for basic ailments. Dagda knew about the herbs on Tetsukazu from his mother, but knew nothing of the Earthland ones. He’d asked the old man to teach him some basics.

Dagda clenched his jaw a bit. Even if his methods would have been difficult to achieve, it was worth the effort. Hearing that horse’s scream had nearly wrenched his heart out of his chest. “It wasn’t the most well thought out plan, but I had to try something. I couldn’t just leave that horse to die if there was some sort of effort to be made,” he explained, his voice quiet but passionate. While he was raised to hunt for food, he also recognized the importance of healing and helping where he could. As a sentient, intelligent being, he felt it was his duty to balance out the lives he took for food with the lives he could make an effort to save. It was the heart of Marmor culture to be symbiotic with the natural world. They respected the animals they hunted by whispering a prayer for their souls to be reunited with the World Spirit. The titans also used as much as they possibly could from the bodies of fallen animals, even if it was a natural death.

Dagda remembered what Cassiti had said earlier about the goddess Aryannrhod and what she stood for. Balance. That word had hung heavily in his mind for a few weeks now. He’d seen a lot of imbalance on Earthland, especially in natural spaces. A lot of it had come from supernatural sources, but a large portion of it had come from humans. He’d tried to tackle a few issues himself, but he was only one person and could only do so much.

For a while an idea had been brewing in his brain. He hadn’t even talked to Percy about it yet, though he was determined to when he returned to the Phoenix Mountains. What if he could gather a force of like-minded people together as a guild to take on these unbalanced problems? There were already many guilds across Fiore and Earthland, but none had appeared to have those values upon looking into them.

When Cassiti had explained who she was and what she was able to do, Dagda knew at once that she would be the perfect kind of person to join the guild he dreamed of making. Balance was key, and she was literally the embodiment of it. She clearly cared about living creatures. Dagda glanced fondly at the horse she was petting, then the foal near him. These majestic creatures had brought them together and provided him an opportunity to meet someone who could hold these same values.

“So, Cassiti,” he began, reaching out to pet the foal’s cheek beside him. “What do you do? Are you a part of a guild, or would you join one?” It was best to ask if she was already preoccupied. He didn’t just want to launch into explaining his idea if the Oracle didn’t seem available or interested in guilds as a whole.

Dagda nodded in agreement to what he assumed was a proverb of sorts. There certainly was a magic to kindness. Though he’d learnt cynicism from seeing manipulation and corruption throughout his life, the titan knew the power of a little goodwill. A smile returned to his face as Cassiti spoke. There was something charming and mystical about her and she talked with the wisdom of someone beyond both of their years. Perhaps that came with being an Oracle.

He nodded as she inquired about what a guild was. “I didn’t realize you had come here so recently,” he gestured around, realizing the vagueness of his phrasing. It would make sense that she wasn’t familiar with guilds before. She fell silent again and so did he, not wanting to press the conversation too much.

“I see,” Dagda commented as she explained that the guild would have to follow the values of her goddess and not stray from her service as the Oracle. He respected her dedication to her duties.

“I intend to start a guild,” he began, glancing at Cassiti to gauge her reaction to what he was about to say. “It’s been an idea I’ve thought about a lot lately. I’m not from around here either, but since I got to Earthland I’ve noticed that people here don’t always live in harmony with nature.” He let out a sigh. “I’ve seen so much cruelty and imbalance, even chaos coming from the natural world too. I feel like it’s my responsibility to help make things even and restore balance in any way that I can. It’s the way I was raised. But I’m only one person, and that’s why I’ve wanted to form a guild.” Dagda glanced to the side as the foal nudged his elbow. He stroked its neck, the coarse hair soothing beneath his hand.

“I know there has to be more people out there who feel this same way. Those are the kind who I’d want to join me, people like you,” he glanced at Cassiti again, the unspoken question hanging in the air. “But if that’s something you could not do because of your place as an Oracle, I understand.” The goals of the guild he wished to form seemed to align with what Cassiti had said about Aryannrhod, but he didn’t want to assume. He’d only just met her and surely there was a lot more to her duties and values than he could imagine. Still, he deeply hoped she would agree, as she would make a fine guild member and friend.