Soul Shards

Name: Soul Shards

Age: 3

Species: Horse

Breed: Arabian

Gender: Mare

Description: Soul's body is littered with festering scars that might never truly heal. Her tresses are long and tangled, unkempt, and her dark eyes are hollow and devoid of life. Her pelt and eyes are dark crimson - the colour of freshly-spilled blood.

Height: 15hh

History: Soul was born into a family of five: Mum, Dad, Brother, Sister and herself. One day, the Judges brought some horses to round them up to take them back to the Arena and enslave them. The Arena was where the judges kept horses penned up, only released when they fought another horse in front of spectators. The horse who won went free, while the loser was brought back, penned up again, waiting for the next fight. They wouldn’t come quietly, and in a fit of rage, the Judges ordered her family members to be killed, leaving the youngest and the one with the oddest colouring: her. They brought her back and penned her up, but she wouldn’t comply with their orders. The Judges ‘brainwashed’ her, confusing her and twisting the truth to make her believe that she was in the wrong and they were punishing her in the Arena, letting her atone for her mistakes. Slowly, her memories faded, and all that is left now is a shell of her former self.

Personality: Soul pretty much has no personality at the moment. She feels only blankness and an overwhelming sense of guilt for failing her family, but is slowing beginning to experience other feelings. She doesn’t remember what love is, or kindness, or caring, or consideration. Soul has no idea what to do with her life now that she’s freed, and has supposedly ‘paid for her crimes’ and was set free. She views this new-old world as a young foal would do: with innocence, curiosity and a brimming hopefulness. Soul’s still extremely wary of others, as the only contact she’s had was beatings and pain in the Arena.

Image (optional):

Reference Image:

Sample post (I used this post to win her):

SXOXUXLXXSXHXAXRXDXS[/size]

I would do anything for love,
But I won't do that

Blood.

Guilt.

Pain.

Her head hung, muzzle brushing the floor. Ragged tresses hung limply, grimy from filth. Her eyes were dulled, reflecting her tattered heart, destroyed from the dirt within her. Her eyes glazed, body still, shoulders slumped.

A year. It had been a whole year since she had seen the error of her ways. A year since she began to feel the grime that drowned her. A year since the three horses that meant the world to her had died. A year since she begun to hate herself. A year since Soul Shards had died. A year since a living corpse had taken her place.

Everyone she had ever known had died. Her whole family. Father. Mother. Brother. Sister. Dead. Everything she had lived for, everything she had held dear. Gone, forever.

Darling daughter…
Beautiful sister…
Loving child…
Cheeky sis…

Maybe they were right. Maybe she was cursed. It was the only explanation. She didn’t deserve to live. She deserved this life of pain. It was her punishment for not being able to protect them when the Judges came to test their defenses and to round them up.

What was love? It was something… Something so important. Something she once cherished with all her being. At last, a twitch of life in her blank eyes. Her monotone breathing hitched and a flicker of something akin to panic surfaced her scarlet eyes, before fading away, sinking back into the hidden depths. For when, at last, she thought about it, she found she didn’t remember.

A caressing warmth,
A gentle gesture,
A protective figure.

It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered anymore, except serving out her punishment and paying her debts. The Judges saved her, bringing her here where they gave her a purpose, nourishment, after her family died. They dealt out her punishment fairly – it was what she deserved for killing her family. She didn’t resent them or her life now.

She resented herself.

She looked at her reflection in the water and she saw only blood. The blood of her family was on her body, in her eyes within her very soul. She looked at the reflection and saw an image of a bloody mare with blank eyes and festering wounds that would never heal. She wouldn’t let them. She didn’t deserve the relief it would bring to her.

She had grown used to the screams around her; they didn’t bother her anymore. Screams of pain just meant that another was paying for their crimes, like her. Subtly, a sense of disdain permeated her expression. These horses, they did not know how to take their punishment gratefully and appreciate the chance they had been given to atone for their mistakes.

Vigorous hoofbeats rapidly approached.

“Your turn. Out, now.”

Soul stared incomprehensibly. There was no realization in her eyes, no fear, no anticipation, as the one standing outside of her door had come to expect of others. He looked at her, surprised, letting the door swing open with a creak of its rusty. Under his gaze, she remained gazing blankly at him.

“Your. Turn. In. The. Arena. Now,” he repeated, enunciating each word clearly as though she were dumb. A flash of irritation, but she quelled it. She was not supposed to feel.

The cool wind brushed her face and touched the wounds from her last battle. Soul walked forward slowly, her joints aching from disuse. She walked, each step bringing her closer to her salvation. It was there she would be given her rightful punishment for the death of her family. How grateful she was to be given the chance to atone for her mistakes again!

In front of her, Soul saw the glimmer of light that preceded the grills that led out to the Arena. Just as she reached there, the grills lifted and a rough nudge propelled her into the empty area. She closed her eyes against the flash of brightness, before opening them again.

She glanced round, her eyes landing on the judges, before sweeping into a low bow. Soul walked forward a few paces, eyes fixated onto the blurred shape at the other end. Bowing to her fellow convict, she wondered what crime the other had committed.

The signal sounded. Soul leaped into action, silently charging forward, muscles burning as she covered the short distance, giving a clumsy leap into the air as she opened her jaws and tried to clamp on to the other’s ear, biting down immediately, whether it was air or flesh she had between her jaws.

Heart pounding from the exertion, Soul stood still, waiting for the other horse to deal out the punishment for her. One day, her debt would finally be repaid, and she would finally be punished enough for her crimes.

Then, she could finally live her life without guilt.

******

Words;; 799

I know you can save me
No one else can save me now but you

any reason the post is so tiny we have to copy and paste into word to read it?

accepted though lol

Whoops xD Maybe 'cos it was in proboards format? xD And thanks (: