Obsidian
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
Title: Obsidian
Author: Dark Rose
Twas not long ago on the day before All Hallow's Eve that I had wandered into a little pub in a seaside town. I had just gone in there to treat myself to a satisfying glass of ale. I sat at a table with my ale as I overheard an old man telling a tale to a few young men. Being curious as I was, I inquired what he might be talking about, but decided that doing so would be intruding. I didn't want to seem rude, so I was going to finish my ale right then and there, and leave out for the next town. That was until I thought a moment.
I was tired and lacked any excitement at all. Nothing interesting had looked me square in the eye for ages, and I was in the mood for something new in life. I walked over there and sat in an empty chair.
The old tale teller just looked at me nicely and smiled. "Am I too late to hear the story?"I inquired. He just grinned at me and said,"My lady, the story's only just begun. Feel free to have a listen. An old man has nothing to do but waste his days away telling tales of the way things used to be." The old man cleared his throat and started his story over.
'it wasn't terribly long ago the story was told of a young bard who had everything, but at the same time had nothing. This is where our story begins." I nodded and listened intently. "There was a young lad by the name of Alphonse. This young boy loved music, and also loved people. He had it all, but he knew not of what he had. Alphonse lived on a beautiful patch of land where there was plenty of wildlife, yet not many evil beings that wished to do him harm. They lived in a lovely and large house, and they had many horses and cattle. Young Alphonse was not very fond of the livestock however. He saw his job of tending to them as a waste of valuable time that he could've been spending entertaining the people. They lived in a peaceful area though, and not many people lived there. To his parents, it was perfect. To Alphonse however, it was a living nightmare.
There was one occasion where the boy had an argument with his parents over the living conditions, and how they could live in such a very secluded area. He ended up getting very angry, and eventually the lad ran off into the forest with only a small lute and a few gold pieces in his pocket. He didn't know how he would live in this forest, but he was hoping to find a nearby village and live at the inn for the rest of his days. Not the best thought out plan, but he thought it was a fairly good one. As he journeyed through the forest on foot, he saw many a monster. He had nothing to protect himself with, but a small dagger, and the boy had no fighting skill whatsoever.
Well...he had managed to run for awhile, that was until a large group of ettins had the boy cornered. The boy could've died right then and there. His young life was on the line, and Alphonse was defenseless."The old man said.
"What happened to him?"I asked, sounding hopeful that it was a good thing that happened.
"Ah, M'lady, just continue listening and you will here."he replied to me. "It seemed all hope was lost...then, there was a nitemare."
"We already know that it was a nightmare."I said,"but what happened to the boy?"
"I told you m'lady. It was a nitemare that saved the boy. A nightmare stallion bolted through the wood and started killing off the ettins one by one. One of the species the boy most despised saved his life. The boy couldn't help but thank the horse heartily. He decided that it would be wise to travel with such a creature, and he warily got on his back. The creature was tame and allowed him to ride quite easily, and as for a name, he just looked at the shiny black coat of the horse. It resembled a shiny, polished black obsidian rock. And that is where the horse got his name. Obsidian. They went from town to town. Of course Alphonse's family worried, but there was nothing they could do but wait. Little did they know, the boy was safely traveling all around the land, discovering and seeing things he had never seen with his own eyes before.
All was fair until one day when the boy went to the bakery to get himself a loaf of bread to hold him over, as he was growing hungry and low on supplies. He told Obsidian to stay, and he did. Alphonse went in got his bread, and when he came out, he saw a burly man sitting on Obsidian's back! "Sir, that is my steed you are riding."Alphonse noted as the man started riding the horse around in circles with a gleeful look on his face. "No Sir. This would be my long lost Black.", the man replied.
The man told the story of how he had gone around killing different animals go get gold and things to be able to buy supplies. He had tamed a nitemare steed there that he had named Black and had been riding another horse. He had been battling something, as was 'Black' when suddenly the horse dissapeared into the wood to fight things. The man had his hands full already so he couldn't get his horse back. When he was finished battling, his nitemare was gone. That was when Alphonse took his turn in telling the story. He told him the story of how Obsidian had come and killed off the ettins that had put his life in danger. "We have a predicament here don't we?"the burly man said.
The boy nodded. "I'll tell you what. If I ask you to fight alongside me to get some gold and things for a quest I had been set off to complete, would you accept in exchange for 'Obsidian'?" The boy nodded and smiled. They fought together and the man finished his quest. Obsidian and Alphonse decided to continue their adventures into dungeons and such just for ad adventure. That was until Alphonse grew old and grey. Obsidian was still as energetic as usual though, and is still that way today.
"Where are Alphonse and Obsidian now?"I asked the old man. "Well I'm sure that Alphonse is telling stories of his travels somewhere and Obsidian is probably out grazing behind a building somewhere."the old man said.
I finished my ale and thanked the man for the story. It seemed to me that there might be a chance that Alphonse and the elderly man were the same, but I shook it off. I headed off on the road beside the bar, and I noticed a beautiful shimmering black stallion grazing. "Hello there, Obsidian."I said, realizing that I was correct. All the old stallion did was raise his head in the air and let out an ear-splitting whinny. "It seems you are just as spirited as the days I heard about from the old man."I noted. The horse just put his head back down and started grazing again. I walked over with an apple I had kept for my pack horse and held it out to him. He ate it readily and whinnied one more time. I smiled and set off again on my little grey mare with the pack horse following us as I made my way to the provisioners to get some more apples. After that, I decided I would go tame myself a nitemare stallion.
I had a new found confidence after hearing of the old man's adventures.