The morning sun peeks over the horizon of the Saddle Arabian desert, casting a shade of red that melds with the orange and white of the expansive sands.

A shadow crept over Radahn’s large equine form as he rested his back against a dry tree with yellow stringed leaves, which offered some respite against the slowly rising temperature.

His face depicts a struggle as he seems to be deep in a dream, hindlegs plowing through the sand and burying themselves beneath the resulting mounds.

“N-no…”

---

---

“NO!!” Radahn shouts, sand thrown into the air, breaths rapid, and his voice echoes throughout the general area as he lunges out of unconsciousness with an extended…hoof?

“W-what…?” he observed the outstretched limb with shock plastered on his face. “By the might of the Redmanes, what is this?”

Radahn lifts his other hoof, looks them both over, and lowers his eyes to his dark-purple-coated lower body portions before trailing off to the red tail that brushed and rested on the sand, which matched the long crimson mane that drapes over his shoulders and runs down his back.

There were…other things he’d noticed along the way, but that wasn’t important. Not now, anyway. Then again, he’d need to look into that later. Those are what made any man a man, he reasoned.

No. That wasn’t right. He wasn’t a man, not exactly. He wasn’t even human anymore. He was…

“I’m a…horse?” he then felt something twitch at the top of his head before it folded against his skull, causing him to blink, “Huh?” he said as he raised a forehoof to touch…

Touch. How could hooves touch things? The notion was absurd, yet it felt no different from the sensation of his fingers. In fact, this has a vast range of possibilities, like he could stretch his grasp beyond the simple act of extending his arms out to grab onto something with his hands. Back when he had hands, that is.

But there was something else present there. It was as if this new body had already possessed some level of gravitational mastery, but one that only focused on his hooves, which paired well with its strange sense of touch.

He couldn’t say for sure, but that’s how it felt.

He had to wonder…was this how it always was for Leonard? However, the thought of his loyal companion, his brother-in-arms, washed away his shock of being a horse in favor of worrying about his steed.

“Leonard,” the man-turned-horse mutters somberly.

Wait.

The realization then dawns on him, causing his eyes to open wide. “Leonard?!” he calls out, instinctively trying to stand bipedally while turning his head. “Where ar-?! Ope, there goes gravity…”

Attempting to stand upright made him immediately lose his balance, forcing him to fall to the sand upon his four limbs with a soft clump sound and a deadpan expression.

“Right,” he mused to himself, spitting out grains of sand that managed to enter his mouth on impact. “I’m a quadruped now.”

He lifts himself onto his haunches with a grunt, sitting like a dog and staring at the ground in deep thought. “Ok… So Jerren cast that strange sorcery; I’m now a horse in some desert with no knowledge of exactly where I am; Leonard is nowhere to be found, and-” he spots a particular mark present on his flank as he looks himself over, “...someone branded my ass.”

Based on what he saw, the brand depicts three black boulders - the third being slightly obstructed, shooting through the air like a trio of meteors via gravity magic, evidenced by the unmistakable purple aura of the prowess he was all too familiar with.

“Is that my…Rock Sling technique?” he curiously leaned to his side to look at his other flank, which sports a perfect copy of the insignia.

The dark-purple stallion sat there in silence, trying to make sense of everything as a black stinkbug landed on his right ear, which twitched in response, scaring off the desert-dwelling critter.

The marks on his flanks sparked realization and prompted the equine’s desire to test his abilities. But first, he needed to master his new-found anatomy. Caring for horses and breeding mighty war steeds was another renowned trait for the Redmanes, but being a horse was quite different.

Regardless…a challenge presented itself. And he welcomes it!

Radahn grinned as he slowly, determinedly, and strugglingly lifted himself onto his hooves, admiring the muscles that flexed as they brought him up along the way. Nice.

Now standing at his full stature of a little over 10ft, by his estimate, a far cry from the titan of a man he once was, the stallion takes a deep breath as he begins to ooze confidence and lifts his head up high.

“Ahahahah!” he boisterously laughed at the sky with closed eyes. “Jerren, you son of a bitch! I don’t know what you’re playing at, but once I get back to Castle Redmane, I’m smacking you right on the head with-” his forelegs step forth fluently, but his hindlegs get caught on one another, causing his back section to collapse as he dragged it through the sand.

“Hmmm,” he hummed, looking back. “I’ll need to get used to that.” the stallion then adjusts his hind legs and raises his rear, a fine quadruped once more.

“Should I use gravity magic to assist me?” the idea was tempting, but there was a risk. “No. I shouldn’t be so hasty. It might be best to refer to Master Slab’s teachings.” he closes his eyes, taking a deep and comforting breath as if preparing to meditate.

“This requires a calm mind…meditation is key. And since I’m a horse now…” he exhales slowly. “I should be able to do this…while standing…”

Moments of silence passed by as Radahn tested his theory. Wild horses often slept while standing, an evolutionary trait that worked to ensure their survival, which remained engraved even in their domesticated counterparts. He figured that, given his current condition, he should be able to create an equine variant of the typical position for meditation.

Granted, he could try to assume the position as if he were still human, but… No. He refused to tear a muscle or sprain something due to ignorance, not to mention the fact that he’d need to search for food and water soon; such injuries would only be a detriment to his survival.

The shade provided by the tree at Radahn’s rear began to stretch as the sun’s rays slowly shifted while bombarding the obstacle. There he stood, silent as the desert all around him. A sudden breeze presented itself, fluttering his crimson mane and tail, but one that only appeared as the stallion remained in his state of clarity.

And as the wind slowly picked up in strength, a purple aura began to surround his form, all while his master’s recollected words played in his psyche.

‘Remember, my faithful student. There is a crucial difference between using a staff and using one’s own essence to manipulate that which we Alabaster Lords hold in high esteem.’

Radahn remembered just how deep and powerful Master Slab’s voice was - like two large stone slabs slamming into one another. It was quite fitting, especially since his master’s kin, Alabaster Lords, are a race of ancients with skin of stone who were said to have risen to life when a meteor struck the Lands Between long before the man-turned-stallion’s birth.

‘The glintstone etched onto most staves protects the user, thus allowing them to use sorceries safely so long as they provide the necessary focus pool and other such costs. The fallen amber from the stars essentially does everything else for the caster.

However…doing so with your own body is dangerous. To do so takes discipline beyond measure and requires a dynamic price to be paid due to a truth pertaining to many forms of sorceries.

Their source can be traced back to the Primeval Current.’

Sand is lifted from the ground and starts to swirl around Radahn, orbiting the ever-present lavender aura surrounding the equine.

‘The Primeval Current is a current of energy that flows throughout creation and can be harnessed and accessed by glintstones. And the current itself connects to the primordial birthplace of the stars—the void.

That is where the threat lies in using your own body and mind.’

The wind generated from the phenomenon rustled the leaves of the nearby tree, some even being pulled towards Radahn while others were blown away. But the shade provided by the tree became noticeably thinner as only the remaining bark now acted as a barrier.

‘Of course, you have already come to understand this. I never would’ve taken you on as my student if I hadn’t seen promise in you. Your mastery over gravity without any further need for a glintstoned staff is a testament to your accomplishment.

The beauty of mastering this prowess with your very essence, Radahn, is that no matter where you go, and should the Primeval Current have a presence there, it will always be at your beck and call.

As for the price you paid, well, I think we can both agree that it’s been more beneficial for you rather than costly. You did grow to an even greater size than you already were because of it, after all.’

A smile grew on the stallion’s face. Regardless of how many throughout the Lands Between felt about the Alabaster Lords, which fluctuated between positive and negative, even sparking several conflicts, the student-teacher relation between Slab and Radahn stood firm and was just as genuine as those often formed in the Academy of Raya Lucaria.

Maybe even more so as, unlike those forged by scholarly and magical pursuits, theirs was born from the most faithful bond of friendship.

‘One final thing before you head off to face your destiny, Radahn. To bear witness to the Primeval Current is almost no different from staring into the abyss. Should you ever be careless, I trust I won’t need to remind you of what could happen.

Fortunately, I have taught you the necessary precautions, so always exercise them.’

‘I will. Thank you for your tutelage, master. Now I have what I need to challenge the stars…and those that lurk among them.’

‘And to ride Leonard, hmm?’

‘…I thought we promised not to talk about that?’

‘Openly, yes. But when it’s just us? I made no such promise.’

“Hah! You bastard!” Radahn laughed outwardly, eyes opening. “I thank you, old friend!” he then raises a forelimb, brings it back, and roars out while thrusting it forth with all his might, creating a purple gravity wave that travels out just shy of 20ft in a cone shape, parting the desert sands.

He nearly fell over in doing so but quickly caught himself via his hind legs.

But when the dust and grains of sand began to settle after the attack, mounds on either side of the parting that shift and collapse in on one another, the stallion was admittedly disappointed as he observed the results.

“I see,” he said while looking at his hoof that struck the blow. “It would seem that this smaller body has also limited my powers. That makes sense, but I have to wonder, is this some sort of race amongst the beast folk of Farum Azula? Hmm. I suppose I won’t know until I return to the Lands Between.”

Radahn looked in every direction as if searching for something, glancing over several types of cacti and other desert-dwelling plant life that formed small patches in the sandy terrain.

“I don’t see any signs of the Erdtree, so this is definitely a far-off land. I could try to float myself to a certain altitude to get my bearings, but I should master the art of walking in this form first. Sounds ridiculous, but It’ll help me to conserve FP.”

A thought occurred. “Speaking of the Erdtree.” the stallion places a hoof on his chest, closing his eyes as his face contorts in concentration. “Heh. There you are- wait…” he opened his eyes in concern, “What is this? My Great Rune feels like it’s…slumbering.”

He slowly removed his hoof from his chest and began pulling out the Great Rune. As he did so, the rune burned vibrantly as it simply phased out of his flesh, causing absolutely no harm to him, although there was a feeling of losing a part of himself.

The rune floated above the palm of his hoof as he held and looked upon it with horrid realization.

“By the Elden Ring…”

His Great Rune wasn’t just inactive…

It was broken in half.

Next Chapter: Chapter 5~ Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 23 Minutes