There was something new, something sharp in the air. It was in the way the wind whispered through the trees, whipping around corners and seeming to howl that something was coming. Something mysterious. Something dangerous. And Pan was in for the chase.
The green colt took one last longing look at the sea, whispering his goodbyes to the sand crabs and sea lions, turning toward the north, and climbing toward the source of the newness. Far ahead, he saw the maze. It looked, from a distance, like little more than a patch of green on the horizon. But the closer he got, the larger the hedges seemed to stretch, higher and higher into the sky. They grew tall as the trees, winding and twisting in a labyrinth further than he could see… but Pan was drawn toward it like a moth to the flame. Despite the dangers he figured it held, a sense of curiosity spurred him forward, and a heat of adventure coiled in his belly.
The maze was fringed with an otherworldly mist – perhaps a sign to most creatures, but for the scaled colt, it only drew to his appeal. Stepping past the thin veil of white, the wind seemed to scream at him “go back, go back”… but he pressed onward. And as he passed through the first ring of maze, the trees seemed to shift to lock him in, uncovering another ring, and another of puzzles. This was the ultimate game, and Pan stopped to strategize, his smile widening with determination as he carefully picked the left-most trail to follow.
Fireflies blinked ahead, but the sky seemed go grow dark with clouds, until only a sliver of moonlight seemed to illuminate the bramble-fed path. But still, Pan moved forward, humming as he walked to stave away the quiet. Gone were the birds, the others, and the din of day. Now, there was only night and a singular purpose. To find what the maze was hiding. Nevermind that the quest wasn’t one for him… Pan still found himself drawn to solve the unsolveable puzzle. So he marched onward, step by step, breath by breath.
Only when the leaves to his right began to shiver with motion did he stop, tensing for the briefest of moments as he turned to stare, finally asking the darkness ”Who’s there?!”
He hadn’t expected anything to come of the Relic, for he and no one he had met thus far had seemed to find it. Granted he hadn’t been looking very hard for it himself, but he had made it all the way from the southern reaches of Terrastella to the northern border of the Dawn Court, nearly half the continent of Novus. And there had never been a single hint that something otherworldly was in hiding nearby.
But it wasn’t long after reaching his homeland that he had started to hear new whispers, ones of a shadowy figure cloaked in the hide of an ancient beast who performed spells far beneath the mountains. A being who never ventured far outside of his dark caverns yet knew all things about the four courts and the lands dividing them. If anyone had information on the Relic, it would be this shaman, the whispers had told him. And Ipomoea couldn’t deny that this piqued his interest far more than a simple relic could—for people could talk and tell stories; items were harder to interpret. So when his wanderlust and need for adventure had set back into his veins, Ipomoea had listened and conceded—albeit reluctantly, for it pained him to leave the home he had finally found, but greater was his desire to keep moving. This time there had been few detours, for it seemed every wandering equine had beaten him to the same spot in the center of Ruris, allowing him a straight path directly to the maze he had been warned of.
Again caution was thrown to the wind when he stepped boldly into the midst of it, refusing to flinch when his entrance was closed off behind him. He, unlike many others, was not entirely alone after all; Alorus flit to and from before him, his silent presence a comfort to him. But even with two minds put together to solve the puzzle of twists and turns, they had gotten nowhere. The day had come and gone, leaving darkness in its wake that brought dropping temperatures with it. And for the first time, Ipomoea felt unsure, stopping in his path as the songbird returned to him.
“I think we’re lost.” He whispered the confession to his companion, worry etched across his speckled face. His bonded didn’t answer, as was his custom, but simply pressed his beak against the equine’s neck, wings flopped out to either side of his crest in seeming exhaustion. With a sigh, Po stepped forward carefully, holding his head as still as possible to not disturb his now-slumbering friend. ’So much for an extra pair of eyes,’ he grumbled to himself.
He too could feel fatigue slipping into his bones, but his mind was far too awake to allow him to give into it. He saw shadows dancing around every corner, and each time the wind rustled the leaves he jumped visibly in response. Once or twice he could have sworn he heard footsteps behind him, but each time he turned to face the threat he was met with empty air. That is, until a voice called out directly to his left, a sudden intrusion to the silent night air that caused Po to nearly drop to his knees in fright.
“I’m here!” he called out a response by instinct, the slightest tremble causing his voice to shake. Expectantly he turned to the hedge beside him, as though expecting to see some sort of monster jump out, ready to swallow him whole. Was this a trick? Or was he really no longer alone out here? Tentatively he stretched out one foreleg, pawing once at the brambles in his way. Unsurprisingly they didn’t budge. “Where are you?”
“I’m here” The words rang to Pan, and he wondered for a moment who “I” was. The voice on the other side of the hedges didn’t sound particularly dangerous, but if Pan knew one thing, he knew that mazes tended to hold perils. At Ravos, he’d seen some very strange beasts in a maze-like setting. Wild things, like Manticores and demons. Still too, there had been the gods, leaving gifts to those who were seeking… so it is that promise of blessings that keeps him pressing onward. Racing to the end of the aisle, he tried to find the voice, calling as he went to the boy on the other side of the hedge.
”It’s me! It’s Pan!” His voice was flush with excitement as he pushed through the greenery, ignoring the way the brambles scratched against his silver and green scales, ripping one of them from him as a battle wound. He flinched only once as the bushes closed behind him, blinking into the mist as he followed the voice. The boy ran too quickly though, bumping into Ipomoea with an ungraceful sort of energy. ”Oomph, sorry. I didn’t see you there.” He felt the edges of the other beast, not quite seeing through the heavy fog, making out the warm fur of a horse and then a strange sensation of feathers near his neck. No matter… Pan was friendly with all types.
”Don’t go back that way – the bushes, they closed behind me. Let’s go North.” Normally, his compass would have spun to show the north, but in the maze it seemed to just spin erratically, this way and that. Instead of following the pointing of his compass, he followed the stars, which blinked brighter as the fog seemed to lift away. Now, in the moonlight, he could see his new friend more clearly. It was a spotted horse – a pinto, he corrected himself. And, a bird… not a horse with feathers. That, of course, made more sense. Offering the second male a lopsided grin, he danced in place, glad to find company in the maze. ”I like your bird. Does he have a name?” It was so like the scaled boy to make small talk regardless of the situation. Looking around them, he followed up with a second question. ”What are you looking for? Did you find anything? I haven’t seen anything but fog, and bushes… until I found you. What’s your name?”
Pan and his companion stood alone in the maze, while the winds began to change again. It started very quietly, like a low rumbling thunder in the distance, but as he poised to flee, Pan knew what was coming next. ”Run!” He spared one last glance to his companion before diving between the rows, racing to beat the maze as it shifted around him once more. With a flurry of leaves and a howling sort of wind, Pan ducked his head to his breast and ran headlong at the closest opening he could find, weaving in and out of the shrubbery before it disappeared once more.
Once he came to, he opened his eyes to find himself in another part of the maze, blinking against the sunlight which had suddenly cleared above him. Here, the trees seemed thinner, and the fog seemed to lift – and in the distance, Pan saw a bobbing silver light. Tink? Hazel? For the briefest of moments, the green colt forgets his companion and the bird on his shoulder, racing toward the light and hoping to find his fairy friends, but as he grew nearer, the light seemed to move, bobbing one step ahead of him as it led him through the tunnels of maze.
He followed the light for what seemed like hours, until at long last, it led him from the maze and back to the clearing where he’d started. Curious, he turned back to see the hedges once more, only to find them fading into nothingness. Wait! He called to Ipomoea, worried suddenly for his new friend as he raced toward the fading maze… but as he nears the entrance once more, the boy is met by little more than empty air and a field stretching as far as the eye can see. Devastated, the green colt turns from this place of mysterious magic, and makes his way back to the Dawn Court.
