Githraniel

Everyone has a story to tell. This is the story of the brave Githraniel.
(©SunBlind)

[Egg] It seemed, even before he was born, Githraniel wanted to be the bravest creature to step forth into the light. He would be a courageous explorer and travel to worlds never before seen by the eyes of a Winged One. Even as an egg, adventure seemed to find him. Many a time had his egg had rolled out of the safety of the nest only to be found teetering on the edge of a cloud at the verge of falling off. As if the foal wished to see the world below before he could even walk. His parents fretted over the wandering egg and kept careful watch, but the unborn colt seemed to have as many ways of escaping them as he was brave to implement them. And so the egg continued it terrifying journies beyond its nest, though none could explain exactly how the foal managed it.

[Hatchling] It cames as a great relief to two white, winged equines when the swirling egg at last did hatch. The colt blinked at the blinding light of the midday sun and decided that he liked this place. Much more interesting than the inside of an egg. So much more to see and do and especially explore. And he was the bravest foal to have hatched on the Heights, of this he was already sure.

Within hours, Githraniel was trotting, albeit unsteadily, around the cloud where his egg had been laid. He studied each bump and dent in great detail, and always appeared somewhat disappointed when nothing monstrous jumped out at him to test his bravery. He had so little fear of falling from this place in the sky that his parents gasped as he wandered close to the edge and then lean out as far as he could to see what was below.

"How boring," he would think as he looked around his home. "There is nothing to do here. I wish I could fly. It's not like I'm afraid to try." But his parents convinced him that it had nothing to do with being brave and strong. It was something as simple as his wings not yet being big enough. So he would have to wait. In the meantime, he'd jump to clouds which passed nearby, forcing his parents to come and rescue him as he drifted away. "If only they'd wait till something happened. Now that would be fun." But as it was, he was perfectly safe, as well as perfectly bored on his fluffy white home.

One day he decided he would dig a hole into the cloud. He had explored every inch of the outside, but he had never seen what was inside. And so with a small forehoof he began to push the misty stuff aside. At last he broke through the bottom. Much as the view was beautiful and expansive, he was once again disappointed that no fanged monsters had peeked up through the bottom. The next thing he knew was his sire's teeth on his tail, and being hauled up though the hole. Well, it had been worth the try.

[Youth] His parents despaired that he would never stop. That he would drive them insane with requests to explore underground caves and swamps and all those other places where creepy crawly things roamed. They had hoped that by the time he was a youth that he would have outgrown such silliness. But that was far from the case. Now he was old enough to play with the other pegasi foals, and that meant he had someone to be braver than. He took every dare that the other foals could think of. Would he play a trick on one of the elder stallions? Would he annoy that hot tempered mare? Would he jump to that cloud over there, even though he was still too young to fly? That one was almost his last. Githraniel took the dare as he was not afraid, but his young legs just could not carry him that far. His hooves just brushed the edge of the second cloud before he began to fall.

"Now this is an adventure!" he thought as he plummeted towards the ground, the wind rushing past his ears. He spread his wings but that only slowed his descent so folded them again and enjoyed the ride. Until his parents came to the rescue and returned him to the Heights. At first he was disappointed that he was not going to be able to explore the ground beneath the sky, to find the evil creatures that lurked there. But his mother's description of his little broken body upon the ground stopped him from jumping unless he knew he could make the distance between the clouds. He was brave, but he wasn't stupid!

[Teen] Time passed and Githraniel was growing into a fine, strong stallion. The colt was only a little worse for the wear after his adventures with his playmates. And now came the time his parents dreamed of, and dreaded - Githraniel learned to fly. Now if he should fall off a cloud in his explorations, he need merely spead his feather white wings and soar back towards the golden sun. Of course, it also meant he could wander without restriction. There would be nothing stopping him from exploring the ground beneath him now.

But for whatever the reason, the brave adventurer never went to the ground below in any of his journeys and travels to fight the dark scary things that go bump in the night. It seemed for now, that the sky held enough mysteries and excitements to content the young stallion. Every day he went out further and further till he stayed away for days at a time. When he had been gone for over a week his parents began to fret, but soon enough their gallant son returned to them, eager to tell of all his brave deeds. Battles with winged monsters and torrential storms, and him never having once been afraid. Many a time, his friends which travelled with him, turned back when danger lurked while Githraniel went on to see what he could see. Most of the time there was nothing dangerous at all. A couple of time he had been bitten and scratched by whatever creature he had encountered, but still being near the Heights, these creatures were not really fearsome and feared the wrath of the other Winged Ones. But through them Githraniel learned caution and how to fight. The elders agreed that should a truly terrible monster come to their home, this brave stallion would fight alongside the others. And so he was trained.

He proved to be an excellent student, and the training curbed his uncontrollable curiosity, at least for a while. He was much to busy to explore, much to the relief of his parents and friends. He learnt to use his horn and his hooves. He learnt to dodge and parry. He learnt the best way to avoid attacks from above, and those from below.

[Githraniel]

The training had taken longer than Githraniel had realized. By the time he was accepted amongst the other Protectors of the herd, he was a full grown stallion. Wings large and strong, muscles ripling, horn sharp as a diamond star, hooves quick as lightning. He was a truly impressive sight as he was awarded the rank of Protector by the elders, his mane and tail billowing in the wing, sparkling in the early morning light like fire. As the last elder spoke, Githraniel thought, "Now. Now is the time I go below and place my hooves upon the solid earth and feel the grass beneath my feet."

And so the very next day he set off to the world below.

He saw trees, and grass, and earth. He encountered many birds, bugs and sometimes a small animal or two. Nothing that required any bravery at all. And so he searched the land, skimming close over of the tops of the trees, sometimes landing to drink of a crystal clear stream or the rest in the afternoon sun. As he lay there, he saw a small mountain range in the distance. That looked promising. So he took to the air and flew as swiftly as his wings could carry him.

By the time he got there the day had ended and the moon shone like a silver sun, bathing the ground below in an eerie white light. Of course Githraniel did not think it eerie, he was too brave for that. What he did find eerie was a strange hissing sound, truly evil. A shiver of cold rippled across his spine, caution telling him not to go closer till he knew what he was up against, remember, he was brave but not stupid!

But he soon abandonned caution when he heard the whinny of a terrified mare. Bright as a streak of moonlit fury, he dived like a silver eagle from the sky towards the shadowed monster. It hissed in anger, the moon's speeding minion too much for it to take, the light already goading it to return to its cave. The thought of sharp horns and hooves driving it back into the darkness whence it came.

Githraniel landed lightly in the shadow of the mountain wall. He could see the mare take a defensive stance, horn held low. He could also see that she had no wings......so she was a Horned One And she was terrified, most likely thinking that one monster had been replaced by another.

The stallion stepped into the moonlight, and bowing before the beautiful mare said: "Fairest filly, I am Githraniel. May I take you home?" His heart nearly burst with his love for her when she said yes. As they walked towards her home, he found that her name was Rowyn.

And so Rowyn returned with Githraniel, and the love between them grew with every passing moment. Though he lived way above her, in the realm of the Winged Ones, he often came down to see his mate. And as she raced along the beach at night, he'd soar above her amongst the stars. As she wrote poems of love for him, he would quietly nuzzle her and let her rest her head against his neck.

And so they lived happily ever after.

Statistics:
Name: Githraniel
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Sire: Padien
Dam: Don de Dieu
Mate: Rowyn
Offspring: None