Nighttime Magic

Cass eyed the setup in front of her as she brushed down Lady Justice, the rich red of her shirt standing out against the pale coat even in the near darkness of the area. The mare’s blindness had actually proven little hindrance to the sixteen hands tall, cremello horse, but was of interest tonight was the oddity that caused the blindness. The darker rift marking that traveled up her leg and to her shoulder, and marked her face to her eye as well seemed to have an interesting reaction to magic. 

“Well this is going to be interesting.” Clementine strolled up leading a tall, smoky grullo horse behind her. The stallion had a pitch black rift marking along the front legs and up onto the shoulders, and their eyes were the same milky color as Lady’s. 

“Did you expect anything less?” Cass smirked. 

“Not from you.” Clementine shrugged, the fire that shown on the edges of the beastkin’s hair providing a small bit of light in the darkness. 

A second demonkin, dressed in teal and black came walking up leading a nearly pitch black stallion, only the white of the tail and a small sliver of white on the horse’s front foot shown in the darkness. Even the rift marking was nearly invisible, but the stallion had the signature milky blind eyes. “She’s probably trying to get us killed again. That’s the only reason I can think of she picked a night with almost no moon.” 

“Not no moon. It’s roughly a waning crescent, so there’s some light.” Cassandra’s fangs flashed in amusement. “Besides, we’re going to be providing our own light tonight anyway.” 

Ellah gave Cass a bland look. “Okay, but the horses are blind. That means it’s probably better if we can see.” 

Cass regarded the field in front of them and then the other two and the rift marked horses next to them. “Once enough things get set on fire, that shouldn’t be a problem. Mark location in the flashes of light until then, and a short whistle if you’re not sure.” 

“Besides, you’re not going to have any trouble spotting me out here.” Clementine gestured to the ends of their hair and tail. “I don’t feel like getting crashed into on Dig, Gravedigger, Dig anymore than you do. Who is that anyway? Seen ‘em around but hadn’t stopped to read the stall door.” The possum beastkin gestured to the horse Ellah was leading. 

“His name’s Mace Spray.” Ellah checked the straps for the seventeen two hand stallion's saddle and then looked at Cassandra. “And I guess Lady will stand out a bit in the darkness, but you two damn well better not run into the pair of us.” 

“What, no faith in our skills? Or you own?” Cass challenged as she mounted, turning Lady Justice towards the course and waiting for the others to follow. 

Ellah scowled and mounted the silver black horse, Clementine following. At eighteen hands, Gravedigger was definitely the tallest of the mounts. 

“So, what’s the plan?” Ellah regarded the mostly open field in front of them, Mace dancing slightly under her as the stallion’s ears flicked towards the other two horses as if marking their positions. 

Clementine brought Gravedigger up closer, the grullo stallion slightly more visible in the night than Mace, their ear twitching as his dark black tail swished. 

“The field is set up with a clover leaf path with three loops. They loop out pretty far, but we should be able to keep track of each other as we move. Particularly as we light up targets. Nothing is off the board. Any spell you want to throw is fine. Three hits will destroy any of the targets around the track, but you can only hit one on any given pass around a loop. That means it’ll take all of us working together to bring all of them down.” Cass eased Lady Justice up to the beginning of the path that had been made in the field. “Each loop crosses in the middle, and only one of us should be on any loop at any given time.” 

“So three loops that meet in the middle. Only one of us on any loop at a time, and we’re only allowed to hit one target on each pass.” Clementine eyed the course and then Cassandra, Gravedigger seeming entirely disinterested in the other two now that they were close enough to almost touch. “Guessing magic only?” 

“Preferably.” Cass backed Lady away from the start slightly. “Particularly since we all want to see just how that rift mark reacts to it.” 

Ellah regarded the course impassively for a moment, something about it bothering both her and Mace as the stallion snorted impatiently. “The center is big enough for all of us, right?” 

“It is, and if we get all the targets along the path down quick enough, there’s a challenge there too.” Cassandra decided to give away that bit, if only to increase the chances of the last target popping up. 

“Oh joy..” Ellah said flatly, though there was a glint in the demonkin’s eyes that suggested they were looking forward to it. 

“How fast is fast?” Clementine jerked her chin in the direction of the center. 

“I was generous this run since it’s our first time out on this and we’ve all got other interests to consider as well.” Her fingers brushed along the darker rift mark on Lady’s neck, the mare twitching at the contact and clearly ready to go. “We’ve got an hour. I figure we’ll be done in half that if we’re smart about things.” 

“Oh, there’s six targets along each loop. They’re designed to collapse after an undisclosed number of strikes so some may take more than one pass. They’re easy spots as we’re slinging magic and looking for other things too. Call what number you hit as we pass in the middle. Don’t miss.” Cass quipped as she nudged Lady onto the trail at a brisk canter and turned her down the first of the loops. 

“Right… don’t miss. No way she makes it this easy.” Ellah muttered as she set Mace onto the trail and towards the second loop, the dark black horse nearly vanishing in the dark night. 

“Guess we’ll find out.” Clementine chuckled as she clicked her tongue and turned Gravedigger onto the third loop as soon as she could. 

It didn’t take long for the first flare of magic to light up the night. A bolt of lightning crackled through the air, briefly illuminating Ellah and Mace, the black horse standing out in sharp contrast to the flash of white, its silver tail shining all the more brightly in the burst. It was one of the only times the rift marking was truly visible as it glowed faintly with the presence of magic. 

Mace didn’t balk at the presence of magic, or the smell of ozone that followed the strike. If anything, he seemed to pick up the pace a little more. The sudden shift from dark to bright to dark, which would have been a problem for almost any other horse, wasn’t an issue for the blind stallion. He seemed to be relishing the activity. 

A second blast of fire followed soon after from down the third trail. The fire caused the rift mark to light a pale red as Clementine torched the first of the dummies on the path the pair were on. Gravedigger reared, not in fear but in excitement, forcing Clementine to take a firmer grip on his mane as the light from the fire was lost in the stallion's black tail. 

Cassandra kept half an eye on the other two, having ridden trials like this hundreds of times with different people. None quite this specific in goal, but close enough she had few concerns about the matter. She launched a bolt of ice at one of the dummies as she rode by, keeping Lady to a fast canter as they came around the loop. The path was smooth and even, designed for maintaining a steady pace. The rift mark on Lady shimmered ever so faintly with the flash of pale, blue ice, the cremello mare seeming excited by the surge of energy near her. 

Cassandra turned Lady around the back half of the loop, marking the location of the other two riders as they all headed for the center. So far they were all moving at approximately the same pace. All three had ridden together enough times to be familiar with certain tendencies, but different horses could always change up the scenario and pacing. At this point they’d compensated well for the differences, but as the horses’ endurance came into play they’d have to watch closer. In some ways, it was harder on a shorter course, even if they could see each other. There was less room to compensate. 

All three horses and riders hit the middle at almost the same time. Clementine and Gravedigger were a little ahead, but not by more than a pace or two. The horses may have been blind, but they weren’t deaf. Even in the darkness, the horses knew how to avoid each other and none seemed to rely on the three riders for direction. 

As the trio met in the middle Cass called out “Two.” She provided no context, waiting to see if the other three caught on. 

Ellah and Clementine were quick off the mark. 

“Three.” Ellah called, turning Mace down the next loop. 

“One.” Clementine shouted as they guided Gravedigger onto the opposite loop. 

Cass smiled, her fangs clearly visible as she guided Lady down the next loop. It was fun to ride with people she didn’t have to fully explain the tactics to. 

Lady couldn’t see the trail, but the mare was a smart horse. She followed Cass’s signals as the demonkin guided her around the loop, a spark of fire striking the third target on the path. It was the same one Ellah had attacked on the first pass. The goal was to eliminate them as fast as possible, though in this case the stakes were remarkably low. 

When her strike didn’t take out the training dummy, she let out a bark of laughter and turned her attention to the other two riders. Maybe her staff had upped the ante a bit, which could make tonight more enjoyable than anticipated. 

Ellah caught the flash of fire out of the corner of her eye and from the position knew immediately it had to be Cassandra. She squeezed her legs, urging Mace to just a slightly faster pace. As training courses went this one was still comparatively tame, which made her worried as to what was coming next. Her lightning struck true on the first target, the dummy bursting into a flash of fire and disintegrating.  

The flames caused the white of Mace’s tail and the sliver of white on his front hoof to show orange, but what was truly interesting was the fact his rift mark seemed even brighter than the first pass and the way his speed increased as he responded to Ellah’s signal. He practically surged forward with double the energy and enthusiasm she’d anticipated. 

A quick glance to check Clementine’s position confirmed a similar issue was playing out for the possum kin and Gravedigger. A burst of red hot fire on one of the targets cast Clementine and the grullo stallion in an almost silhouette like manner, only a moment of burning red along the edges of the rift mark stood out in the sudden flare of light. And then the horse was running as fast as he could around the rest of the loop. 

Ellah once again urged Mace faster, the stallion having no qualms about the request and doubling down on his efforts in making the center of the loops. The paler, cremello color of Cassandra and Lady were doing much the same. 

Clementine blasted the target and while this time Gravedigger didn’t rear up, the surge of magic from the fire seemed to charge the dark colored stallion up. The magic seemed to trace along the rift mark as he bolted around the loop. He wasn’t out of control, exactly, or fearful. He just seemed so full of magic that holding him back was going to prove next to impossible. 

She caught sight of the other two riders picking up the pace as well, so she didn’t even bother trying. The surge of power along his black rift marking had only lasted a moment, but the burst of energy seemed to be lingering a lot longer. 

The three crossed in the middle again, calling out the target or if one went down. The three rift marked horses seemed to draw on each other, the rift marks seeming to shine in response to their proximity. It was almost as if they were passing magic back and forth between them, and their enthusiasm seemed to mirror this theory. 

Cassandra took Lady down the next path and set another target ablaze, watching with a pleased smile as the darker rift mark on the cremello mare flickered with red from the fire. To the demonkin’s chagrin, the mare reared, letting out neigh of pure delight and excitement. Cassandra kept her seat easily, her own ecstasy matching that of her horse. 

Echoing cries came from Mace and Gravedigger as the two stallions seemed to draw power from the magical strikes of their riders as more targets along the course went down. 

A burst of lightning from Ellah lit the world white and sent a flicker of white-hot power rippling along the black mark on Mace, and a searing blast of fire sent the black rift mark on Gravedigger burning red with heat. 

There was barely time to call out information as the horses and riders once again passed in the middle. Whatever theories the three riders had about the rift marks seemed true, the mare and two stallions both responding to the magic in the air with ever increasing energy and excitement. What was more, the marks seemed to work in tandem as they crossed each other in the middle, sharing the different energies between them.  

As the last of the targets along the loops went down, there was a tremor as a large target seemed to appear in the middle. A massive figure designed to be blasted by magic repeatedly as the riders circled it. It was part of why the center of the three loops was so large. Cassandra hadn’t been sure how the horses would react to magic and wanted space in case of incidents. Now she was certain it would be a wild ride. 

As the three horses and riders entered the middle, they began to circle the target without any instructions being needed. Mace’s single white marking near his hoof and his near white tail stood out. Gravedigger was occasionally nearly lost in the shadow, but a faint glow of his rift mark left no doubt as to his location. Lady, the only pale colored horse, stood out in the darkness. 

“Only one spell at a time will work, so we need to time it.” Cassandra called out, bringing Lady in closer to the target so she could be heard more easily by the other two over the thundering hooves of the horses. 

Clementine struck first, bringing Gravedigger closer into the target. The air round the target turned hot as fire seared the night. Gravedigger veered away, his motions too smooth to be born of fear, but it didn’t seem to be at Clementine’s direction either as he passed almost dangerously close to Mace and Ellah. 

Ellah nearly shouted a warning as Clementine and Gravedigger got too close for comfort to Mace, but the two rift horses seemed to be acutely aware of each other. The two stallions matched pace for several yards before Gravedigger fell back. In that time, something seemed to pass between them. It wasn’t a visible thing, but more a feeling of energy in the air. 

Mace surged forward, looping into the middle without hesitation or significant direction from Ellah. The demonkin took the hint without needing any prompting, lighting striking the target as the air took on the smell of ozone. 

No sooner had the spell struck than Mace turned out wider, nearly colliding with Lady and Cassandra. Or at least it seemed as if they were about to collide. Instead the two blind, rift marked horses, one dark as night and one the color of cream, came up perfectly alongside each other. They were so close Ellah and Cassandra wouldn’t have even needed to reach out to touch. If they simply leaned over ever so slightly they’d be in contact with each other. Though at the speed they were currently traveling, neither wanted to chance it. 

The same feeling of power crackled in the air as something passed between the horses, and then they were splitting off, Lady heading for the center as Mace fell back to allow her ahead. Cassandra wished she could say it was expert handling, but at the moment the horses almost seemed to have more control than the riders. She’d have to check in with the others after it was done to see if their experience was similar, but she had a hunch it would be. 

The horses continued to circle, cutting in and out with little prompting or instruction from their riders as flares of magic lit up the night. The feeling of power continued to grow from the horses as they continued to nearly brush up against each other on the exchanges. 

Ellah was the one to get the final spell off on the large dummy that had popped up in the middle, the night flashing with magic as Mace raced by the target. The dummy in the middle burst into a dark fire, a combination of the magics that had been washing over it giving the flames an unnaturally dark edging. 

Cass tried to pull Lady to a slower pace, knowing she’d run the mare hard. Or, rather, the mare had run herself hard. Cass had done surprisingly little since the last part of the course had started. The mare had known her work, and fed on the magic. There was no doubt anymore. Lady seemed to have other plans, instead tossing her head and resisting the instructions with a ferocity the cremello mare rarely displayed.

As she passed Clementine she knew instinctively the possum beastkin was having a similar ride. Gravedigger’s dark rift mark practically glowed as the grullo stallion drew closer, his dark markings moving like shadows in the night. He seemed to be tightening the circle as well, bringing them closer and closer to the dark, flickering fires in the middle. The sparks from Clementine’s hair trailed behind her as she leaned into the horse's speed, no longer even trying to slow the stallion. 

Mace moved with the others, bringing him and Ellah closer into the circle. Like Cassandra, Ellah tried to pull Mace into a more reasonable pace and give the pitch black stallion a break, but the stallion had other ideas. His one, small white mark on his foreleg flashed in the dark fire as he raced closer and closer towards the source of power. Any attempt to slow him was met with an angry toss of his head, though the black stallion remained silent as he pulled against the restraint. The demonkin on his back eventually yielded and settled into the pace, watching as the circle had now grown close enough a collision seemed inevitable. 

The three horses kept their pace, inching closer and closer on each pass until the three riders could feel the brush of the passing rider’s knee on each crossing. All of them had smacked a tree or other object on a ride, as horses sometimes forgot a rider was present, but none of them relished the idea of striking something or someone who was moving at nearly as quick a pace as they were. The three riders made one last attempt to slow the nearly frantic speed of the three sightless horses they rode. 

This time the effort proved more effective, the three horses easing their pace as the training dummy fully collapsed in a spark of magical embers. Their rift marks seemed to glow and shimmer with the last glimmers of magic as the night grew darker around them. 

Mace and Ellah were the first to be nearly lost in the creeping darkness, only the stallion’s silver tail and single white marking consistently visible in the dying light of the fire. 

Gravedigger, his coat lighter from the dun coloring, was next, his body still mostly visible in the darkness but his legs and head were little more than detail less shadows in all in all save the occasional flashes from the flames. 

Lady was the most visible of them, her light, creamy coat standing out in the night and reflecting the colors of the dark fire that sputtered and sparked in the middle. 

The three horses finally came to a halt right next to each other at the same time. Cassandra wasn’t entirely sure when they’d aligned like that. She’d been so lost in the ride and the flow of power around and between the three horses that she’d stopped paying attention to much of anything else at some point. From the look on the faces of the other two, it had been much the same for them.  

The remains of the large training dummy had burned down to barely embers, glowing faintly in the darkness. 

Ellah was the first to move, breathing almost as heavily as her mount, the tiefling dropped to the ground heavily, stroking Mace’s inky black neck affectionately. The blind horse turning his head to her almost as if he could see and nuzzled at her before turning back in the direction of the lingering warmth of the fire. 

Clementine was next, Gravedigger prancing ever so slightly as the beastkin hit the ground and ran a hand along their smoky, grullo coat. She murmured something softly to the stallion, but the words were so low as to be lost. Gravedigger nibbled at her shirt sleeve and then looked back to the embers. 

Cassandra was loath to dismount, but she could feel Lady’s energy begin to wane. How it hadn’t done so earlier was beyond her, but with the fading of the magic it seemed the drive of the mare was fading as well. She hit the ground hard and reached up to stroke the darker cream rift mark on Lady, the mare barely acknowledging her with a swish of her long, curly tail. 

Instinct found her reaching up to undo the mare’s bridle, Lady’s ear twitching before the mare turned to nip at Cass’s hair, the action affectionate rather than hostile. “Yes, Lady, I understand.” Cassandra smiled, unusually warmly for her, fangs flashing in the darkness. 

“Well, that was a ride.” Ellah came up alongside Cassandra, holding Mace’s bridle with his saddle slung over her shoulder. 

“No kidding. Figured there’d be a reaction, but not that strong.” Clementine walked up on them, Gravedigger’s tack slung over her shoulder casually. 

Cassandra nodded, watching the three horses as they stood by the embers. “Let’s go. They know where the water and feed are out here, and I think it’s best they take whatever rest they want after the ride they gave us.” 

Clementine and Ellah both nodded and stepped away from the horses, none of them taking their eyes off the rift marked trio. There was still a soft glow around the tracks of the rift marks on each of the horses, though none of them was sure if it was a trick of the light or the lingering remnants of whatever energy the horses had drawn from the magic around them. 

Once they were at the fence line of the field, the horses nothing but shadows in front of the low burning pile of rubble, they leaned up against the fence and tried to catch their own breath and admire the sight for a little longer. Cassandra wasn’t entirely sure, but she figured the other two were riding much the same high she was, and she wasn’t quite ready to let that lingering energy go. Not just yet.