Scattered Hoof-beats Sound
"Up!" cried Storm of Amber and a bronco leapt a rampart he'd placed on the valley floor. "Hyaa!" he called and the horse plunged into a deep furrow beyond, sinking into water up to its flanks. "Ko!" he shouted and the bronco strained its muscles, struggling against the mud to reach the opposite shore. The proud Marukani horse shook itself when it reached dry ground and tried to run free, but Storm of Amber held it firm by the end of a strong leather cord bound to the bridle and forced it to trot a steady circle around him.
"You're angry," said the Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory from her seat on a nearby rock. Unlike the Exalt, who had put aside his armor in favor of a simple red and yellow hanfu, the goddess still wore her slender suit of plate and chain. The Essence-fibers fit her like a second skin and shone in the sun, lending her an even more heavenly quality.
Storm of Amber didn't turn to look. "The Hekatonhire, Storm's Eye Hill, the rat plague... The Mask strikes at us in every way he can."
"But it's not him you're angry with."
The Exalt tightened his hand on the leather strap and the bronco reared up at the added tension. "I hate him."
"His deathknight used your face to steal a thousand-forged dragon, you shook open your nation to stop his plague and your own people curse your name in council. You hate him, but you're furious with yourself because you stood by and let it come to this."
"What did you say?" Storm let go of the strap and the horse ran off.
"And you know that you did."
"You're wrong." The Exalt looked at her now, his eyes half-screwed shut. Hurt and anger dripped from his voice.
Sweet Brass rose to her feet. "I'm not."
"Didn't I save you?"
"Storm..."
"Didn't I ride across the miles and find you backed against a wall by a thunderbird? Didn't I drive him off?" Storm was glowing, now, as he let his Majestic Radiant Presence shine forth.
The goddess bit her lip, but pressed her argument forward. "A thunderbird was beneath your talents, even then! Everything you do - everything - says 'please, ignore my greatness. Move around around my nation and don't crush us.' It's careful, it's calculated to make you seem harmless. You're trying to do your work without angering too many worthies along the way."
"I went with you to Takahara!" Storm took an angry step towards her and thunder cracked overhead as rich golden clouds rolled in from nowhere.
Sweet Brass pressed a hand to her heart. "You went with me! I'm the goddess, you're the scion of the Unconquered Sun! It's my job to follow you!"
"Me and who else?" The Exalt gestured to the empty valley around them. "The Nameless Ravine will strike down any target you point him at and bite your hand when he's done. Rivers Between Us would rather lock himself in his forge than use it to build something useful. Every step Leaf Shakes the Wind takes is full of fear. Are these the Solars you follow? Is this the army I'm leading to war? They and you?"
"If it came to it, shouldn't that be enough? Seven Solar Exalted and a war goddess? And if it's not, why ignore the seven dragons that sit under your banner, and the elementals and amalgams besides? We are your blade; wield us!" As if from nowhere, Sweet Brass held a sword in her hand.
"Against what? I've asked for targets before, and been given nothing."
"When you first came to me, you came in glory. You bathed in light and new ideas walked the world. Your voice was clear and there was no one who wouldn't walk through fire at the sound. You never had to ask for targets. Where did you go?"
"I have been here. I've been with my people. I've been stretched over the miles until my soul was thin as gauze." Storm of Amber let out a long-held breath and the storm grew quiet. Softly he said, "and I have been afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Of the chance that I might fail. Of the thought that I am wrong. I wake up every morning ready for a fight, but I only go to sleep tired. I don't want to feel this way anymore."
"You don't have to." Sweet Brass walked to him, empty-handed, and wrapped her arms around him. "You never have. You're Storm of Amber. What does that mean?"
"I am a Resplendent Sun; a Hammer of Heaven." Storm lay his head on the goddess' shoulder.
"And what else?"
Storm of Amber closed his eyes. "I am a horselord."
"Say it again," she whispered into his ear.
"I am a true horselord." The Zenith lifted his head.
"Once more."
"I am a true horselord, wild and unrestrained."
"Show me."
"Four months. Me, the horses, my Essence. Four months, and I'll show you what sort of man a horselord is." Storm of Amber whistled, then, and the bronco raced back to his side.
