The Dark Legend (Star Stable) (Under Editing/Re-Write)

Chapter One: A New Beginning

As the horizon rose, it soon revealed the great fortress of Fort Pinta rising from the horizon. But the sunlight shone down to reveal an unknown girl watching the ocean by the ferry's railing. The wind gently ruffled her long, wavy blonde hair catch the morning light. As the sun continued rising into the dawning sky, her bright blue eyes shone like the sea. Her skin is fair and lightly tanned from her time in the sun. She was dressed in a purple t-shirt with a blue neckerchief around her neck. She also has dark blue pants that's folded at her dark brown riding boots. She strapped on her brown fingerless riding gloves onto her hands. The girl's name is Erika Thrymson.
Erika was looking around curiously from her seat in the ferry boat. Erika sighed and inched closer to her seat, she looked over over the ferry's railing. The landscape had changed dramatically. Her village was long gone behind her, and the sea lay in front of her. Erika could hear the sounds of the sea, but when she looked down she saw all sorts of sea life underneath the shimmering waves of the sea. She saw a pod of dolphins herding a school of fish underwater. Erika caught a glimpse of a group of seals playing in the water. She watched as the ferry sailed through a thick fog and heard the cries of a flock of sea gulls. But once the fog parted, Erika was stunned at the sight before her.
She saw some craggy gray-brown mountains looming overhead, a few still have some last vestiges of snow on the peaks. It wasn't long till she saw the strong fortress besides the mountain and some houses outside of the huge, castle-like fortress. She knew the history of Jorvik, but some things are still shrouded in mystery.
She had seen astonishing pictures of Jorvik. High mountains, gentle rolling hills and slopes, and a rich shade of emerald green that almost looked photoshopped. The sparkling, vast blue sea around the island seemed endless. It brought the stories of colorful fairy tales she'd read when she was little to life. She inched closer to the railing, not willing to be seen by anybody. Erika waited a few more minutes and watched as the others they either gotten off the ferry or had gotten onto the ferry. But it wasn't long till she had arrived to Fort Pinta. 
The boat finally came to a stop, the ramp lowering to meet the wooden dock as the guard rail lifted. Multiple men immediately climbed aboard and began to unload the crates. Erika didn't say a word to any of them as she slipped past and walked from the boat onto the dock, pulling her suitcase behind her. It felt weird, having a solid surface be still after four hours of rocking, but it didn't take long for her legs to adjust and remember how to work. She looked at the fortress with wary admiration and curious fascination before focusing on her task at hand.
Erika lifted a hand to shield her blue eyes from the sunlight as Erika looked around the pier.
When her father, Graham Thrymson, was a teenage boy, he had went out to the countryside of Jorvik to learn who he was. Graham had heard tales of riches, but he wasn't interested in destroying the gorgeous lands of Jorvik. There were tales of farming, but he was too adventurous and curious for his own good back then.
It wasn't long till he found an advertisement in Silverglade Village. They were looking for new riders to help keep an eye on the cows, sheep, and unclaimed horses. The animals were owned by a nice older couple. They kept a few hundred animals under control in the fields. Riding wasn't as easy as it looked. Graham had saddle sores and pulled muscles, but he eventually gotten used to it and bonded with his English Thoroughbred black stallion named Windstorm. He didn't mind the simple food and long hours of work.
But during the annual Light Ride by himself and Windstorm when he was unknowingly joined by another rider and her mare, who had spotted him and his stallion by accident. After he had went through Aideen's Whisper with only Windstorm for company, he heard the gentle sounds of hooves and spun around to see the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. When their eyes had first met, he almost forgotten to breathe. That's when they fell in love with each other.
Her mother's name was Marayna Wiseheart. She was raised in an orphanage when she was adopted by the druids in Valedale Village and had bonded with a beautiful silvery-gray Jorvik Warmblood mare named Stormflight. She was friends with Elizabeth Sunbeam, Rhiannon, and Catherine Moorland. But her mother had passed away when Erika was five, Erika doesn't remember much about her mother and only heard stories about her from her father.
To bury his grief, he took Erika to Jorvik City and sold their horses to Rhiannon in case he might come back. But Erika was forced to fend for herself in the city and her father was busy with work, which doubled her loneliness.
Erika struggled to calm down the raging emotions storming through her when she saw the woman from the picture that she had seen a few days ago. She was leaning against a horse-drawn carriage that's being pulled by a flaxen chestnut North Swedish Horse with a unique lightning bolt marking on his face that Erika recognized as Nix.
"Rhiannon?" asked Erika as she hesitantly approached the woman and Rhiannon turned around to look at her.
"Hey Erika." Rhiannon smiled at Erika as she approached the woman. "I'm so glad to see you again." She smiled and ruffled Erika's hair, in which she smiled at. "You've grown so lovely."
Erika smiled as Rhiannon put her suitcase and satchel into the carriage as Erika petted Nex's chestnut coat. Nix nickered softly and she smiled softly at the stallion's greeting. "Hi Nix."
"Lets get going." Erika soon climbed into the wagon and sat down. She turned to see that Rhiannon had sat down in the front seat and it wasn't long till Nix had started pulling the wagon onto the Hollow Woods trail.
Erika checked her phone, but there were no new messages on it and she sighed sadly. Rhiannon saw that at the corner of her eye, but she didn't say anything. But Erika peeked out of the wagon and saw a completely destroyed, burnt down house on the top of a rocky hill and halfway hidden in the trees.
Erika suddenly had a dizzy, tilting feeling that the hill was sliding down towards her. Darkness flashed before her eyes, and then a strange image within bits and pieces like a puzzle being put together.
She saw that the house has been sent on fire and felt a faint cold chill could be felt in the warm air when she suddenly heard screaming from inside of the house as it went up in flames. But that's when Erika thought she had saw an outline of a man on a black horse running towards the aflame house.
The sight had faded away from Erika's mind and looked around warily, feeling slightly startled and nervous from whatever she had saw earlier. Erika took some deep breaths and struggled to calm down her trembling from her vision. She placed a hand over her chest as she felt the rapid beating of her heart and calmed herself down with exhales.
What just happened? Erika thought as they continued heading towards the village. What was that?
"We're here." Erika poked her head out of the carriage at Rhiannon's voice. It's an hypnotically beautiful landscape surrounding them. Her eyes roamed over the unique, crooked roofs of the druids' houses. A waterfall can be seen in the distance as it filled the river with its water. On the other side of Silversong River was an open-fielded stables filled with Irish Cobs, Fjords, Haflingers, and North Swedish horses accompanied by some more druid houses and a bridge over the river. She saw horses grazing in the meadow below the cliffs. There's a few shops that sells riding gear, clothes, and food that lines up towards the riding club's arena, along with a thin inn a little away from the stables and the stores. She saw gorgeous rose bushes in some particular areas. Everything was peaceful and beautiful, like a painting. The vision that she had earlier seemed to have disappeared like it was just the brush of a bad memory or a dark thought.
Once the horse-drawn carriage had came to a stop, Erika gotten out of it carefully with her bags and gain a a better view of the village around her to see it was bigger than she first expected. A wide, stony road ran the length of the village. There's some homes lining both sides of the road. The architecture was a hodgepodge of its own design. There were no crowds, no street noise, but there's a few people in cloaks or tunics.
She saw some people walking around and had horses with them, but Erika had caught the eye of a city-looking girl on the beach with her horse. The girl has long, tawny hair and an open, lively face that brimmed with courage and wisdom. Her bright hazel eyes shone with hidden leadership and bold mischief. By the girl's side is a small, muscular golden chestnut horse with a long, wild yellow mane and tail. The horse is actually really pretty, with an unruly forelock and mischievous air. But when Erika realized he was looking at her, his big brown eyes felt almost... human? If she didn't know any better, she would have thought he was trying to tell her something. That made Erika feel really uncomfortable, so she looked away.
Who was that? wondered Erika as she started walking away and looking around the village curiously. Is it true about those horse rumors? If it is, how come it feels like I'm the only one who feels it?
But now, she wants a partner more than anything in the world. Not just a human partner or a pet partner... She wants a horse partner to be at her side. She had seen a huge deal of people with their horses and they almost seemed to be... bonded with each other somehow. Erika wants to have that bond too with her own horse just as well.
Erika's eyes shone with a stunning light as she remembered her dream and continued walking past a good deal of horses that were either in the stables or in the pastures.
Erika smiled when she saw a paddock filled with horses. About a dozen horses stood inside of the circular fence. Some were drinking water, others were standing about. A couple were grazing, clearly wanting a snack. A few playfully nudged one another, clearly friends. A few foals chased after each other as if they were playing a game of tag. They varied in the colors of bay, brown, flaxen chestnut, palomino, gray, black, white, and much more. Some have white markings on their coats.
It wasn't long till Erika was brought towards Rhiannon's home and the young woman brought Erika's things into the cleaned up attic. She gazed at the small dresser and writing table complete with a stool to sit at in awe. There was a sleeping bunk with a blanket and a pillow by the wall too. Between those items alone, the other half of the room bare of anything other than the bags of stuff she'd brought with her. There's also a window that faces the forest and the river. It was perfect.
Erika smiled at the simple sight of it. It's nothing fancy, but she likes it anyways. Though, she has a slight heartache as she remembered how grim and lonely she was, roaming the city's streets and everyone had started avoiding her for some reason. Many people tried to avoid her for some reason and she does the same, but some people hurt her and she keeps away from other people. Erika was all alone and she felt the familiar pang of loneliness creep into her chest. She would think that after living in the city with her father for years, she would get used to being by herself... but she never did. Her nomadic lifestyle was fun and beautiful in its own way; no fights with anyone, no set schedule, she was living off the land, taking on challenges, and so on. But she longed for one thing: friends. The people she usually came across out here were either liars or thieves, so there were no real opportunities for friendships.
She looked at the window and hugged herself as she struggled to push her thoughts away. Irma closed her deep blue eyes with a weary sigh and gazed up at the sky wearily.
It was the only time when she suddenly felt that she wasn't alone anymore and the only friend she might find in the countryside. With any luck, Erika might finally find her own soul partner.