Darkness Claimed Her Soul

[Dusty's Girl]

Deep in the brush and the trees, along a path which could be described as an Elven Path, she stood. A silvery grulla mare with black legs, black barring on her upper legs, a black mane and tail, and a black dorsal stripe. Deep along this path, she could smell the other horses nearby. Yes, they were close and she could indeed call to them, if she so wished. But she stood, alone and at peace for a mere moment. A flash of silver struck the corner of her eye, a piece of metal that was still attatched to her right front leg, just above the fetlock. The last reminder of her human enslavement. Her head shook as she snorted softly, trying to rid herself of the dark memories from that time in her life. Nothing here could make that happen again.

Too long had the mare wandered along. The deer of the lands had become her dearest friends and she was their protector. Grumpy old Windstorm, protector of the forest, they called her. But where had her name truly came from? Surely it was not normal to see a windstorm in the plains or in the woods of the deer. But somehow she was given this name on the night of the darkest windstorm to sweep through the plains, a night that her mother called ill fated. Surely, that is what she was. Ill fated. Her tail lashed behind her at the thought of what she was and what she had become. No, she would not just be a normal horse anymore. Too much trauma had happened in her life and she was destined to not let it happen once more.

A rustle in the trees caused her attention to flee from the horses beyond the trees and back to where she was standing. A young stag appeared from behind the trees, lowering its thickly antlered head towards the silvery mare. Slowly it raised its heavy head back up and snorted at her softly, speaking slowly and softly about something that arrisen back in her home terra. She nodded and spoke kindly to the stag, telling him what needed to be done. With any luck, the fawns of the doe about which he was speaking would live to be born in the spring. He nodded and sprang away once more, leaving no telling trace of his arrival. She sighed softly and looked back to where the other horses were. She was pulled towards other horses, but her life and its memories caused her to back away from them. She was torn, torn between being a protector of the Elven Path and being a normal wild horse.

[Dusty's Girl]

She stood, watching and praying to whatever gods that she could think of to help her alone her path in these trying times. The past was still evident in her mind, on her body as she stood there alone in the wilderness. Her body posture remained vigilant as she let her mind wander back to the days on the breeding farm.

Captured from the wild at such a young age. The men thought that they could break her. Break her in spirit was never an option, but she allowed them to ride her at times. Though her beauty far outweighed her talents under the saddle, in their opinion. Off to the breeding shed for her. But the conditions there were terrible. No food or water, tie stalls only and stallions that roamed the sheds looking for any and all mares to breed. Too many ropes had she broken as she pulled back to get away from these stallions. Too many halters had been damaged from her attempts to ravage these stallions. A metal ring and chain were attatched to her right front leg. It ripped into her flesh every time that she pulled back, causing her to stand there and take what the stallions were doing to her. Foals were born from her, if they lived. They were all too weak to live or did not survive the winter snows. Too bad for the humans and her as they bred her more and more.

But she grew rank and hard to handle. Pain was the only way to control this mare. But she was left for days in the tie stall with no food and no water, the stallions only causing more pain. Finally the chain broke free from the wall. Years of constant pulling had worn it out of its placing. She had her chance and she ran. She was never sure where she was running to, but she ran.

She gave a gentle sigh and looked back into the forest. Where were her deer? She missed them greatly, but that was yet another part of her story that she did not want to remember right now. Night was falling and she needed to take rest upon this land. Deep in the brush and the trees, she knew that right now she was protected or the protector, she was never quite sure anymore. Of course she was never quite sane anymore either. Her body relaxed slightly and she let her right hind leg drop behind her, resting the hoof along the toe. Her head moved to level with her withers as her eyes slowly closed, though her ears remained alert. Her tail would keep moving though, mosquitoes were still alive and well until the first hard freeze.

[Dusty's Girl]

Another memory brushed her mind. It was soft and faint, like the wings of the butterfly. But it was there and it was something that could not be ingnored. Of course, it flooded her mind then, taking with it a portion of her sanity as well.

A flash of light and she slipped into this world. She did not truly remember that part, but what happened next, she remembered more than anything in her life. It was the worst night of her life, even worse than the horrible stallions at the human's crude barn at night. It was the night that she got her name. The skies were darker than normal that night and the birds were strangely quiet. A slight breeze had sprung up and was sweeping across the plains as she managed her first steps and stood by her mother's side. A lovely moment that would never last. The winds made a horrid sound as they swept down the plains.

A terrible windstorm sprung up that night, sweeping down trees and animals in its wake. The strongest oak tree was no match for the strong winds and the strongest horse was knocked to their knees before they knew that was going to happen. Branches struck horses and killed them instantly, while others were impaled with little or no chance of survival. Windstorm. Her mother screamed at her, naming her in that instantas the branch tore through her midsection. Windstorm was but a tiny foal when it happened, she watched her mother die.

As the winds died down and the herd assessed the damaged done, Windstorm was forgotten. Her little black body was hidden among the debris as she shivered and shook from fear, exhaustion, and hunger. But not for long would she remain alone. A doe and her fawn were passing through as the doe caught sight of the hungry foal. Speaking softly and encouraging the small foal, the doe fed Windstorm what she could and sent the foal towards the rest of the herd before anything else could happen to her. From that day, Windstorm was adopted by another mare with a foal, but she would always have a kinship with the deer.

Slowly, her eyes opened as the memory faded away for that moment. Her tail still slowly lashed behind her as she comtemplated her life, her deer, her motivation, and why she refused to meet other horses. A heavy sigh escaped through her lips as she stood on the path, ears splayed out as she waited for something unknown.