Deactivated

is anyone still out there?

I'm going to assume we're waiting for Val?

Dusk grunted as he was tackled by the EVA soldier, Chainmail. His dagger was knocked out of his hoof and the wind was knocked out of his lungs. With his body racked by panic, fear, breathlessness, shock, and simply being weaker than others, he could do nothing about his assailant. He tried to force him off, but to no avail. Chainmail, in his EVA armor, was far too heavy. So Dusk simply covered his face with his hooves and did his best to avoid any sort of injury.

Luckily and rather surprising to Dusk, the Prince of Ravens came in to stop Chainmail. As the soldier got off Dusk, he quickly sat up and looked himself over for any sort of serious injury. He was glad to find that he was in rather good condition. Once he was done checking himself, he looked up and around. His dagger was out of his reach, the Black Knight was still standing there, and the Prince of Ravens was still doing whatever it was he was doing to stop Dusk from using magic. Now he was even more helpless then before, he didn’t even have a weapon. He had calmed down a bit, though. With his thoughts straightened out a bit, he was able to think a bit more clearly. He saw absolutely no escape route, and dying pointlessly didn’t really suit him. He started getting up to his hooves, and as he did so he came up with a solution that would let him keep living, hopefully long enough to escape, and maybe even take some revenge, even the slim chance of completing his goal. There was just one problem with it, but his desire to survive, and the chance of power and revenge, outweighed it, if only slightly.

Once Dusk had his hooves under himself again, he dusted himself off, readjusted his cloak and saddlebags, grabbed his hat and put it back on his head, then kneeled before the Prince.

[colour=#996633] “I understand that I have very few options here, and many of them result in me having less skin and being a lot less lively. So, I’ve come to a conclusion, the only one that ends with me being alive, and having a chance at freedom again,” [/colour]he then took a deep breath, and lowered his voice a considerable amount[colour=#996633],” I, Dusk Umbrosa Verenae, offer myself as Tov’kin to the Prince of Ravens. I will serve him till he releases me, or till he dies, or till I die.”[/colour] He looked about a bit, then walked over to his fallen dagger, picked it up by the blade, and went back to kneeling in front of the Prince. He then took the dagger in one hoof and placed it against the soft center of his other hoof. “I swear this,” he then pressed the dagger in his hoof and pulled it down, cutting himself and letting blood flow out of his hoof, he then slammed his cut hoof on the ground, letting the blood slowly spread from it[colour=#996633],” in my own blood, which I would never betray.” [/colour]He then looked up slightly, so he could see the Prince past the brim of his hat, waiting to see how his offer would be taken.

You need to do something to get your character involved.

I did, I'm currently backed up against a wall, threatning the Black Knight, Chainmail, and The Prince with a dagger. I was waiting for someone to respond to that.

So, who is planning on posting next?

[colour=#996633]“Chainmail,”[/colour] Dusk repeated once the soldier told him his name. He pondered on it for a few moments, then returned his focus to Chainmail when he asked him what he was doing. Before he could say anything though, a husky voice directly behind him spoke up. Dusk turned about to see a great, black armored stallion. Without thought, he tried to take hold of the magic source, but before he could, the black armored pony struck him with an amazingly strong hoof, sending him across the corridor to strike the wall. He gave a grunt as the hoof hit him and another when his back hit the wall. He sat there, catching his breath and trying to focus his thoughts again as the Black Knight, apparently, went on a tirade about his combat prowess and all that would happen to Dusk. He didn’t really listen; he was busy trying to figure a way out of this. Once he started to formulate a plan, it was shattered when another voice spoke. Dusk lifted his head and turned it to see who the voice belonged to. His breath caught and his heart raced. The Prince of Ravens was standing there, ordering the Black Knight to stand down.

He continued to look at the Prince until he, for the first time, heard the word ‘Bel’Rahmane’. He reached up and groaned when he realized his hat was missing. So, all the ponies surrounding him knew he was a unicorn, one that used magic. He started standing again, thinking on what he should do. Maybe if he caught the Prince off guard, he could escape. He once again tried to take hold of the magic source, but found he was unable to do so. He tried again, and again, and after his third failure he knew that, somehow, the prince was stopping him, or at least, making it harder for him to use magic. Whatever it was, Dusk wasn’t able to use magic. He started to hyperventilate, his pulse racing, his eyes rolling this way, then that. He pushed himself flat against the wall, reaching into his saddle bag and pulling out a small dagger. He could see all of his exits, all of his plans, come crashing down right on his head. He started pointing the tiny weapon at all of the ponies surrounding him, panic taking his senses and throwing them out the window.

[colour=#996633] “No, you won’t take me. I’ll find a way out, I always do. I can’t be trapped, I’m Dusk Umbrosa Verenae!” [/colour]he started to babble. He kept trying to get a hold of the magic source, each time he failed causing him to try harder. [colour=#996633]“You won’t kill me, you filthy, soft hoofed Blood!”[/colour] he shouted, pointing his dagger at one after another of the ponies around him.

Dusk froze as he turned from the door. There, standing right in front of him, was an EVA soldier. The soldier was standing with a spear in his hooves, looking straight at him. At first, Dusk thought he was dead; no doubt this was the first of a whole battalion of soldiers sent to find him. [colour=#00ff00]“H-h-halt!” [/colour]the soldier said in a shaky voice. This gave him pause, and caused him to look at the soldier again. This time he noticed that the hooves holding the spear were shaking, and that the soldier didn’t look very confident. So, no back up, no great warning call going throughout the palace, and best of all, no Rahmane. Knowing that no soldiers, or Rahmane, were coming after him, and that it was only this one soldier that had found him gave him more confidence. Not to mention that this soldier seemed rather scared.

Dusk tilted his head and gave the soldier a smile. [colour=#996633]“Now now, no need to shout. My name is Umbrosa Verenae,”[/colour] he said, his smile getting a little bigger[colour=#996633],” and I’d really like it if you stayed silent.” [/colour]Once he finished, he stepped a bit closer to the soldier. [colour=#996633]“Now, I’ve given you my name, care to give me yours?” [/colour]he asked, tilting his head to the other side. [colour=#996633]“Oh, and don’t even think of using that,”[/colour] he pointed at the spear with one hoove.

Dusk wandered deeper into the palace, staying to the servants’ corridors. He avoided other ponies as best he could, which was rather easy since it seemed all of the servants were located somewhere else. He occasionally passed doors, but he didn’t dare open them. He knew that if he was caught, he was dead. He was fairly certain that he could get to his goal and get out without being caught though. Despite all of his certainty, he was still lost within a few corridors. That did little to diminish his confidence though, so he continued to wander down corridors, getting ever deeper and deeper into the Palace.

After several minutes of walking, Dusk finally decided that simply walking and trusting to luck wasn’t getting him anywhere. From what he could tell of his surroundings, he was in a storage area, quite possibly a pantry since the last few doors he had passed had the distinct odder and sound of bustling kitchens. He was actually rather nervous, all it would take was one servant heading out for or returning with ingredients and he was caught. He stopped beside one door and leaned against the wall with a sigh. [colour=#996633]“I should have planned this better”[/colour] he said to himself. He tilted his head slightly to the side as he started thinking on what he should do. He didn’t get very long to think before he heard the sound of hooves coming his way. He jerked his head up and turned it to look down the hallway behind him. He didn’t see anything but he didn’t wait around. Without hesitation, or thought, he opened the door closest to him and slipped inside. He closed it as softly as possible and placed his ear against it. He didn’t let loose his breathe until the tapping of hooves had come and gone. [colour=#996633]“That was a close one”[/colour] he said to himself.

“Huh, what’s that?” a somewhat dusty voice said from further in the room. Dusk spun about, his cloak swirling with his movement. His eyes jerked about the room until he found the source of the voice. It was a rather old looking pony. He might have had a rather vibrant mane once, but it was now gray with age. The old pony was sitting amongst several sacks of flour, and he was wearing a well kept servant’s uniform. He was currently struggling to his hooves, squinting at Dusk as he lifted himself from his makeshift bedding. “Who are you? Have you come to get some flour for the kitchens?” he asked.

Dusk shifted nervously. The old pony didn’t seem to be any threat, but looks could be deceiving. [colour=#996633]“Um, err, no”,[/colour] he stammered[colour=#996633],” I was just… checking to make sure everything was… good… in here.” [/colour]He thought as quickly as he could while he blundered through the sentence. [colour=#996633]“And it would seem everything is. Um, what are you doing here, anyway?” [/colour]he asked.

[colour=#000000]“Me? Well it’s my job, I’m supposed to make sure that there is no unauthorized taking of flour”, [/colour]at that point he gave a loud snort, a somewhat startling sound[colour=#000000],”In truth, it’s just a nice way of saying ‘stay here old one, no need for you to get in the way’[/colour]. Ah well, it at least gives me plenty of time to catch up on my sleep” he finished with a rough laugh. Dusk gave a halfhearted laugh along with him, edging slightly towards the door.

[colour=#996633]“Well, I won’t stop you from your rest, I’d best get back to the, err, kitchens”[/colour] Dusk said, half turning and reaching his hoof toward the door. He stopped in mid-reach though. A thought had struck his brain, and he turned with a slight grin to look at the old servant again. “But, before I go, do you think you could give me directions?”

[colour=#000000]“What? Directions? Don’t they teach you new servants how to get around here anymore? Ah well, where you need to get to?”[/colour] he asked.

[colour=#996633] “To the quarters of the Prince of Ravens, I need to get some dinner to him.”[/colour]

[colour=#000000] “Well well, a rather important job, even if it is just his dinner. Come over here, I’ll tell you how to find the way”[/colour] he said. Dusk’s grin had become much wider as he stepped out of the store room, giving his thanks to the old servant pony as he gently closed the door behind himself.

I'm not sure, I'm having a bit of writers block so I'm waiting until I think of something or until someone else posts.

posted!

Dusk stepped back into the alley and placed his looking glass back into his saddle bag, then took them up and placed them onto his back. Once the bags were in place, he walked out the opposite side of the alleyway. He needed a way into the palace, one that wasn’t overwhelmingly guarded, and that didn’t lead into a highly populated area. That was going to be hard to find, since it was the Imperial Palace, which was, on a whole, overwhelmingly guarded and highly populated. He was confident he could find a way though.

The other end of the alley let out into a smaller street, this one ending in a cul-de-sac. Dusk walked out into the street, heading towards the alley at the other side. He looked at the surrounding mansions as he moved. They were very large, most likely the homes of High Bloods. He snorted; Dusk didn’t like the blood, especially the High Blood. He was glad to enter the small, poorly lit alleyway, which cut his view of the mansions. He much preferred the alley to the Blood mansions; he would prefer a muddy hole to the Blood. He really didn’t like the Blood.

The street at the other end of the alley was much like the first one, however, it lead up to an entrance of the palace which only had two guards by it. It was a small entrance, most likely used to admit and release servants. It seemed like an ideal spot for Dusk to enter through. He checked the other end of the street, which was empty, and thus started walking towards the two ponies. They were dressed in imperial guard armor. They also had a sword belt and sword strapped to their backs. Each one stood as still as statues, neither looking at each other or at Dusk as he drew near. At least, it seemed that way. As he got closer, he saw that their eyes were tracking him from under their helms, but no other part of them indicated they saw him. When he was a yard and a half away from them he stopped. For several moments they just stood there, staring at him, then one of them spoke up.

“What is your business here? You are neither a servant nor a messenger, so what are you?” the one on his left said. He was slightly taller than his companion, and his shoulder knots showed that he was one rank above his fellow. Dusk put his gaze on the guard and simply stared at him, tilting his head to the side slightly. The guard stared back. After about a minute of staring the guard opened his mouth to speak again. At that point Dusk laughed lightly, letting his head tilt even more. The guard closed his mouth with a soft clack of teeth.

“He’s probably just some drunken pony, send him back out into the city.” His companion said. Dusk turned his head to look at the second guard. This one was almost identical safe his slightly shorter stature and slightly lower rank. Dusk gave him a crooked smile along with the tilt of his head. The guard gave a small quirk of his lips which might have been a smile and said, “Yes, hello there. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave” in a rather polite voice. Dusk laughed lightly again. The guards smile got a little bigger when Dusk felt a hoof land on his shoulder.

“You heard him, leave.” The first guard said, as he started pushing Dusk towards the other end of the street. Dusk reached up and grabbed the guards hoof and with that, seized hold of the magic source. His horn started glowing with a dusty bronze aura beneath his hat. As soon as it did, electricity started flowing through his leg and into the guard, who gave a sudden jerk as hundreds of volts coursed through him. Dusk stepped to the side and the guard fell to the ground, faint tendrils of smoke rising from him. He turned to the second guard. The guard already had his sword out and was preparing to strike at Dusk. Being an imperial guard, he was well trained and didn’t spend any time worrying over his fellow guard. Dusk dodged to the side and the guard’s sword clanged against the ground. Dusk lunged at the guard before he could recover. He poured all the power he could into his attack, sending massive amounts of electricity into the guard. The guard was twitching and smoking when Dusk was done. He quickly stepped over the unconscious guards and through the palace doors. He also gave silent thanks that his hat covered his horn.

I'm going to try and make a post.

Dusk wandered along the streets of Ashen Gate, doing his best to travel through the capital city during the Festival of Lights. That was rather difficult though, since he was in the middle of a rather large, slow moving crowd of ponies. He was walking at a pace of a few steps a minute, and if he tried moving any faster, he would walk right into somepony for sure. He really didn’t like it. With a grunt, he forced his way out of the crowd onto the side of the street, next to some impressive buildings. He lightly dusted himself off and then went over his belongings, making sure everything he had been wearing was still being worn by him. He looked over his shoulder , checking on his gray traveling cloak, which normally would have been rather plane, except it now had several pins decorating it, each pin having a long colourful ribbon attached to it. Lifting the cloak a little showed a pair of straps on his back, which were attached to his saddle bags. He quickly lifted the flaps of each bag to check on his possessions. His eye caught on a rather large yet sadly deflated money purse. He sighed slightly and let the saddle bag close again. He reached up and reset his grey hat, which had a rather large brim meant to keep the sun off his head, which was largely pointless, due to it being night time.

With his woefully small amount of possessions in check, he turned back around to look out at the crowd covered street he had just forced his way out of. The street was bathed with light, some of it coming from festive lanterns, and some of it coming from the moon high overhead. Along with the lights came the sounds, hundreds of ponies all mingling together in massive crowds, entertainers going about their business, venders and stall owners yelling about their wares or offering food. Finally, complementing the sounds and lights, were the sights. The beautiful buildings had dozens of colourful lanterns and ribbons hanging from their eaves. The ponies in the crowd had ribbons too, as well as hoof-held lanterns and colourful clothing. With this just being day one of the festival, it was expected that it would probably get even more festive tomorrow.

Dusk looked the crowd over, trying to find some sort of opening or way through. Of course, there was none. He sighed and started walking alongside the building, which was slightly less crowded then the street itself. Still, he moved at an agonizingly slow speed. He made it to an intersection in a few minutes, which would have taken him a few seconds if the street wasn’t so full. Luckily, he was already fairly close to his goal, only a block or two away. He took a right ad started heading along the street towards his goal. As he got closer, the crowds thinned another point of luck in his favour. The crowds stopped completely a block away from it, but Dusk kept heading towards it. When he was halfway down the block he turned right into an alleyway. He sat down on the alley floor and shrugged his saddle bags off his back. He reached into one of the bags and pulled out a small looking glass.

With the looking glass in hoof, he went back to the alley entrance and peaked around the corner. He lifted it up and peered through it down the street at the Imperial Palace. He tilted his head slightly as he looked the impressive structure over. [colour=#996633]“Of course, I’m certain it’s in there”[/colour] he mumbled to himself.

I think I'll have my post up pretty soon here.

I guess this means I'll be posting now, give me a sec to think of what to write and I'll get to work on it.

[colour=#222222]Ha ha! My application successfully copied and pasted! Anyway, I made a few slight changes to him, nothing of import. Hope he is still acceptable to this, Valence, I wish to continue aggravating the blood with my character. [/colour][colour=#996633]And he will continue to speak in this colour.[/colour]

Name: Dusk Umbrosa Verenae/ Dusk the True Shadow/ Dusk the Shadow of Truth

Sex: Male

Age: Stallion/ unknown number of years

Species: unicorn

*Nationality: Coltara

**Organization: none

***Social class: Commoner

Eye colour: grey blue

Coat colour: dull bronze

Mane/tail: Black

Physique: Slightly smaller than most regular ponies.

Cutie mark/Destiny mark: [colour=#222222]A tarnished, steel cog with a scalpel in the center, with electricity arcing between the two objects. He received it on the night that it was discovered he was using magic. He was chased from his home, and became a wanderer, never actually able to settle down anywhere for fear he would be found out and killed.[/colour]

Origin/Residence: he was born in a small village of little importance beyond farming crops. After his magical abilities were discovered, ran for his life. He is currently living on his own, wandering the world in hopes of finding more power.

Occupation: Whatever he can get, or at least bluff his way through.

Personality: He is greedy, paranoid, selfish, power hungry, and can be cold when needed. His attitude changes according to the class of the pony he is talking to. A commoner, he’ll be kind and happy, as long as any work he does he is paid for, and they don’t insult him. To any of the Blood, low or high, he will either act as an equal, or treat them mockingly, even insultingly, due to his hatred of them.

Family: He has two older brothers, and his mother and father still live in his old village as far as he knows. He no longer maintains any contact with them, and grows uncomfortable when asked any question about them. He is a unicorn from his grandfather, who was himself a unicorn, whom he never knew.

Back story: He was born into a small village, his family already consisting of two older brothers, his mother, and his father. His Father was the town surgeon, healing the sick and wounded, while his brothers were training to become soldiers in the EVA. His mother was a housewife who wanted to get higher up in class, becoming a Low Blood. She always hoped that one of her sons would achieve greatness in the EVA, thus letting them become part of the Low Blood. Unfortunately, Dusk was born a runt, and a unicorn, stopping him from joining the army. His mother saw him as useless, and spent little if any time with him. His father, however, found something else for Dusk to do. When he started school, his father started teaching him his own trade, medicine and surgery. Having grown up with two brothers who spent most of their time practicing fighting and building muscles, with a mother who would look at him and shake her head, he was captivated by both school and his father’s teachings. He quickly learned how to read, and soon after that, to write. He learned quickly, staying at the top of his class as the years went by. Unfortunately, every rose has its thorn. The other ponies in his class would often pick on him since he was smaller, weaker, and a unicorn. He spent most of his time alone, or helping his father.

One day, while he was reading a book beneath a tree in the schoolyard, he found himself surrounded by several thugs/fellow school ponies. They started off as they normally did, insulting him, laughing at him. He responded as he always did, huddling against the tree and reading his book with his nose jammed in it. One of the thugs grew tired of simply jeering at him, and grabbed his book away from him. This was the first time any of them had taken something of his, at least, in his presence. Staring up at the thug in shock, he watched helplessly as the thug dangled the book in front of him and laughed at his feeble attempts to get it back. As it went on longer, Dusk started to feel angrier and angrier. Falling down on the ground, panting as much from anger as from exhaustion, he glared at the thugs as they laughed at him. When one of them snatched the book from his fellow and reached for a page as though to tear it up, something finally snapped in Dusk. Having spent most of his life with books as his only source of comfort, aside from his father, he couldn’t bear to watch one get mutilated. He knew that using magic was dangerous, but right now he could care less. In a rage, he took hold of the magic and lashed out at the thug with it. His horn glowed and small bolts of electricity arced across it. He didn’t know what he did, but the results were similar to a large hoof hitting the thug in the stomach, although nothing visible struck him. The thug doubled over and fell on his side, with his fellows looking at him in shocked silence. Dusk would have stopped to gape with them, but with the book on the ground and no one looking at him, he took his chance and ran. After that, it took several weeks before any of the other ponies would even look at him. He could have cared less. That small moment of magic was like the sweetest honey he had ever had, mixed with fowl water from a swamp filled with rotting corpses. Yet that wasn’t the best part for him. For a moment, he had had more power than any of the other ponies surrounding him. That single fact was enough for Dusk to try and learn more about using magic.

Several more years past, filled with study of surgery, science, and magic. He learned anything he could about magic, whether on his own or from ancient books and tales. He made certain that nopony knew what he was doing, fearing what would happen to him if the Blood discovered. It wasn’t easy, knowing what he could do. He spent even more of his time alone now, either in his room, or outside the village. The only time he spent with his father was during surgeries. The first few years of magic study and use seemed to have no affect on him. But, nearing his last few years of school, he started to notice strange things. He would sometimes hear sounds, seeming to be far off and distant, like water or sometimes falling rocks. Occasionally he would even hear faint voices, so quiet that he could only make out every tenth word. This added to his being solitary. He would sometimes just stop, and tilt his head, as if listening to something. He would even do this while talking to others. In his last year of school it got even worse. He would sometimes start laughing for no reason, and then keep going as if nothing had happened. Other ponies avoided him as much as possible now, even the ones who had tormented him so often before. He didn’t care, he only cared about learning more about magic. He had learned so much in those years, yet he knew there was more he could learn. So much more. As graduation day came closer, he started wondering what he would do after he graduated. He was top of his class in mechanical science and surgery. But his mind was set on one path now. Magic and the power that came with it. He had seen how everypony stopped picking on him after he started studying and practicing magic. He saw how others became uncomfortable around him. He knew it was because they could sense just how powerful he was now. And he wanted more power. He knew he could do it, he had heard tales of unicorns in the old days, having powers unparalleled by others. The idea of gaining such power consumed him.

Unfortunately, other ponies at his school had started to suspect what he was doing. Seeing how strange he was acting, spending hours outside of the village. Some of them went to the Low Blood, telling them about him and what they suspected he was doing. It wasn’t long before they sent a Sul’jin with Rahmane, and a few soldiers to his house. Coming to his room, they tried opening it, found it locked, then forced their way in. The soldiers walked in to find a confused Dusk, his horn glowing and a nearby bunsen burner lighting itself and floating three feet off the ground. Dusk’s confusion turned to shock and fear when he saw the Sul’jin and her Rahmane. He knew what was going to happen to him now, execution. The guards fanned out and the Rahmane and Sul’jin went straight towards him. As the pair got closer, Dusk huddled down on the floor, whimpering in fear. “So, this is the one that we had to bring a Sul’jin for. He doesn’t look so tough” one of the guards said. Dusk’s whimpers stopped. His eyes swept across the surrounding four ponies. He noted everything about the room. Then, with a deep breath, he let the magic flow through him, that sweet, vile honey. His horn glowed and the bunsen burner that had fallen on its side suddenly let loose a large flame, engulfing the hoof of the soldier standing next to it. He turned his attention to the Sul’jin and Rahmane. The Rahmane’s horn was glowing too now, and the Sul’jin was pointing at Dusk and shouting something. She didn’t finish it though, He wouldn’t let her. The glow around his horn brightened and electricity arced from it to connect with the center of the collar. The pair connected to the Soulshackle gave a convulsion as the electricity coursed through them. Once they fell to the floor, unconscious or dead, Dusk didn’t care, He turned his attention to the last soldier. The soldier was reaching for his sword. Dusk didn’t bother with him, he simply leaped over the pair on the floor and ran. He didn’t stop running until the village was out of sight. It was only then that he realized, standing there slathered in sweat and panting, that his destiny mark had appeared. He simply stared at his chest, watching as it went up and down. “What could have caused you?” he asked the picture on his chest. He thought back to the short battle, if it could be called that, in his room. He started laughing. Something like that, pretty much destroying his whole future, could also show him his future. “Alright” he chuckled, “I guess I need a new name. How about… Dusk... Dusk Umbrosa Verenae. Dusk for short”.

His hatred for the blood came from the years following, during his wondering. He has visited many towns and villages, and he has met several dozen ponies of the Blood. Each one he has met has lowered his opinion of them, and strengthened his dislike.

Go to your best friends house. NO! Your boyfriends house! If you have one. if not, then the best friends house. I am the voice in the back of your head that commands you, OBEY!!!

Dusk finished cleaning his teeth, letting go of the magic as he smiled at himself in the mirror. He never liked letting go of the magic, but he had to so that nopony else found out he used it. He took up his mirror again and walked back into the small camp. He placed it back in his saddlebags and placed those on his back. Once he had the pickhammer in place, his hat on his head, and his cloak covering his back, he was ready to go. Except for one thing. He took a small loaf of bread out of his pack and stuffed it in his mouth. He trotted up to stand next to Silvan, his nightingale, and Soul Slasher while he chewed the bread. He turned his head to the others and smiled, quickly swallowing the bread when he realized his mouth was still full of it.

“Morning fellows, morning your princeliness” he said with a mocking bow. “Now, seems like we’ll be getting the rest of the way up the mountain today, which brings a question to my mind. What is at the top of this mountain you want?” he asked Silvan. For once, the words he spoke to the prince had no bight or mocking tone in them.

After half listening to the tale that the Nightingale had to tell, Dusk picked up the pickhammer and stood. “Well, this has been just grand,” he said without really meaning it,” but I’m afraid that sleep calls. Good night to you all and may you wake in the morning” he said to the two ponies who were still by the fire. He walked off without waiting for a response. He stopped at his bedroll and saddlebags, setting the hammer down within short reach and he lied down on his bedding. He pulled a blanket over top of himself, even though he didn’t need it with the bracelet around his leg. Thanks to a long day of walking up the mountain, he fell asleep fairly soon after.

He awoke when Silvan and his Nightingale went around the camp waking them. Dusk felt better having had a night’s worth of sleep, but he did not look forward to walking the rest of the way up the mountain. With a sigh he lifted himself off the ground. He reached into his saddlebag and took out a mirror, then walked off into the woods. He stopped when he was far enough away from the camp as not to be spotted. He propped the mirror up with a rock so he could look at himself in it. His mane had several new knots tied in it, and his tail was a bedraggled mess. The rest of him was fairly dirty, no doubt thanks to all the walking he did yesterday. He tsked at his reflection. Having grown up with a surgeon as a father had taught Dusk that cleanliness truly was close to godliness.

He lowered his head so his horn was parallel with the ground. He felt a thrill and disgust as he took hold of the magic. He focused and small arcs of electricity skittered up and down his horn. His hair lifted and waved, untangling itself, surrounded by a grey aurora. The dirt on his coat lifted out, also surrounded by a grey aurora. He enjoyed using magic, even for something as simple as this. Fairly soon, his coat was clean again, his tail was back to being straight and sharp, and his mane was still disheveled, but not in any knots. He smiled down at his now clean reflection.

Read the comics and laugh. I command you!!!

No Time for names! Get up and get ready for the day! It's a big old world out there, no time for lying in bed. Move it!!!

Dusk walked alongside the others, glancing at them every now and then. He never trusted anypony, least of all guards and those of the Blood. He glanced at his traveling companions again, thinking on each of them. The guard, the Nightingale, he could see an attack coming from him. Of course, he would only do that if he was ordered to. Silvan, an Imperial family member, he could attack, he probably had some kind of weapon on him, despite the lack of a weapon to see. He turned his glances to the next pony in line. Soul Slasher, he could, maybe even would, attack, in fact, attack would most likely come from that one. Dusk kept in mind that, when they made camp, he should bed down as far from him as possible. The last one he glanced at, the gravedigger, Gallows, the least likely one to attack him, yet he didn’t put it past the pony. Dusk looked back to the mountain coming up in front of them. He never put anything past anypony.

The higher they went, the colder it got. Despite that, Dusk was sweating from the trek. He glanced at the other ponies, envious of their stamina. He hated it, he hated the cold, he hated walking, he hated envying others, and he hated it when others had an advantage over him. He sighed with relive when they stopped in a clearing near sunset, falling to the ground in his exhaustion. He accepted the bracelet that Silvan offered him without question, but he waited to put it on till after one of the others did first. The bracelet spread warmth through him, starting from the leg that it was on and spreading from there. After a few minutes letting his body rest and warm up, he stood back up.

He removed his saddlebags and set them down on the spot he intended to sleep on. It was a short distance away from the others, yet still in the clearing. He pulled out a blanket and a bedroll, setting them down in the same spot. Once his sleeping arrangements were complete, he picked up his pickhammer and walked over to join the others around the fire. He sat down with his hooves folded underneath himself. He set the pickhammer down in front of himself, studying it in the dying sunlight and flickering fire.

"...it is so nice to look at the stars...back in Ashen Gate, all the city's lights made the sky completely black. This was something I had missed, all those years ago..."

Dusk lifted his head to glance at the Nightingale, then kept looking at the pickhammer. He had never cared for looking at the stars. Whenever he looked at them, all he saw was a bunch of lights in the sky, nothing fantastic about them. He preferred finding beauty in more earth bound things, like gold, or gems, or the weapon in front of him.

"So...what are your dreams? Any hopes for the future you'd like to share? Please don't say that you haven't got a dream...because I don't like liars."

Dusk didn’t lift his head this time, he simply listened as the others spoke their dreams first. He sniffed at Gallows dream and made no sound over Soul’s. He waited to see if the others had anything more to say. In the pause, Soul got up and stormed out of the camp. Dusk looked after him, then turned back to the pickhammer.

“I dream of finding power” he told it,” that way nopony will be able to say I’m weak, ever again. Hmph, I’d like to find knowledge, too, that would be nice, and maybe some place where I can live in peace, nopony to bother me, especially the Blood.” As he spoke, he reached out and started stroking the weapon, seemingly oblivious to the other ponies around the fire.

“Don’t call me master. I am no one’s master but my own, and I wouldn’t even use the term then. Dusk is my name, and that is what you, or anypony else will call me” he had a slight edge on his voice. He had never liked the word 'master'. “Now, yes, one-hundred gold marks sound fantastic. Quite generous, actually, especially considering where you came from” he said blandly. He eyed the guard when he grunted, then turned his attention back to Silvan. “We just keep heading along this path, for now. I trust you will decide when we stop to make camp, and when we get up?” he asked Silvan.