Before Time, before light, lost in the ever-shifting sand’s that shape the dunes in the desert of time are the true origins of the purest and oldest beasts to walk the earth – the horse. It is written in the Koran that Allah created the horse from a handful of southernly wind saying: “Thy name shall be equus and virtue bound into the hair of thy forlock. I have given thee the power of flight without wings.” What was missed in this was those that had the power of flight with wings, the mythical beasts of legend, their names and their stories have been echoed throughout the centuries told to each new generation, but belief in them being a childish dream. The steeds of mythological warriors that carried them so bravely into battle.
Here in the 10th Kingdom, those mythical beasts once ruled. The light king Meriadoc with his Queen Babieca, rulers of all that was good and green in the world, there followers loyal to them, respect offered freely. But where there was good, there must too be a corresponding pair, for without dark how could there be light, and so to set the balance straight, there was the Lord and Lady of shadows, Lucifer and Cyanide. There followers too were loyal but for fear of their rulers wrath, for the two did rule with an iron fist. With these two pairs, there were spawned many more mythical beauties. And so the land did grow, the numbers were vast, everything was prosperous and well in the Kingdom. Where the four monarchs seemed to respect each other as much as they needed, those that were of lesser power, began to bicker amongst themselves, battles between the two alignments began to take place. These were relatively small but eventually, when word reached the ears of Lucifer and Cyanide of the duals, it was obvious how they would take the situation.
The inevitable did happen. The differences between the rulers were too great, and so war fell upon the Old Kingdom, there were many smaller wars fought, but, in the end, what brought the Kingdom’s downfall was the Last Battle. The largest armies ever seen upon the earth met, they clashed upon a vast expanse of land, which before the pounding hooves of many warriors had decimated it, had been full of life, green and plentiful. This was later to become the Wastes. How long the war raged on for, days weeks, months even, until at last, it seemed that those of the lighter nature had prevailed. Lucifer and his queen were slaughtered and eventually the darks did fade into nothing ness, there spirits crushed with the loss of their rulers.
With their lands once again safe, Meriadoc and Babieca continued there life, ruling in peace until the end of their days. With the passing of many ages, the lights remained leaderless, and with no one to direct them, they slowly began to flounder, there lives no longer holding much purpose and slowly the races did diminish and the mythical horses became just that, Myths. What was once a land full of magical equines was now the home to the normal horses. The existence of mythical horses had become but a mere story.
But not so long ago, a foal came into being, a tiny filly white as snow, she seemed so normal but it was not until she aged that she truly showed himself, for she was the first mythical, the Iliad gene had somehow found it’s way into her system, and granted her not wings, nor horns, no visible appendages, but she had the gift to give magic willingly to any other equines she chose. Instead of offering out powers to anyone, a tournament was set up, the victor receiving a mythical ability. This has continued ever since, continued on to the present day in fact. Yet she was not to be the only mythical, for somehow, the Iliad gene had become more common and many more foals were being born with mythical abilities.
Today, the land is divided. There are lands for the mythicals and lands for non-mythicals. All are supposed lights, but in so many different lands there has been word of darker horses, descendants of Lucifer and his bride. An uprising and perhaps, the threat of a war to end all wars. For now though, this is just a mere rumour, for as we all know, everything is good in the Kingdom....
