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Description
This is the reason why I haven't done any commissions

My third and final piece for the competition over at
Please download to see the details better. :3

MotC| Preparing for war| Part 1    MotC| A Lesson in Swordplay| Part 2

-----------------------------
     Artax made his way along with other competitors to a large hall. He glanced about uneasily. They were being assigned partners for the Beast Battle, the one event Artax was least excited about. He had heard some pretty gruesome tales of past fights with monstrous creatures that had been bred for the sole purpose of killing. The rebel just hoped he would be assigned someone who knew what they were doing.

"Hmmm, sturdy build and strong limbs, probably low intelligence." Sounded a voice behind Artax, he turned realizing with some irritation that whoever it was, was talking about him. The speaker turned out to be a tall stallion who matched Artax in height, and had a dark coat with flaxen main and tail. "Excuse me?" Artax asked with a warning tone in his voice. The other stallion grinned, "Oh, I'm Kalari. And lucky for you, you're my partner for the Beast Battle." Artax groaned internally, he had known this stallion for about a minute and he was already fed up with his cocky, know-all attitude. The grey stallion noticed the other pairs heading off to a practice arena. "Shall we start training?" He asked. Kalari tilted his head as if thinking. "Nah, everyone else is practicing now the arena will be cramped and dusty. Besides they are practicing on half tame beasts like lions and bears." He said with obvious disdain. "I'll come get you later and we can go practice." He added and with a swish of his tail he trotted off. Artax returned to his room to wait till Kalari returned, but the other stallion seemed to have forgotten and in was nearly midnight when Artax decided to get some sleep.

Just as he was settling down a knock sounded on his door. Hurriedly Artax tossed his cape over his back and opened the door, it was Kalari. "Ready to go?" The other stallion whispered with a mischievous glint in his eye. Artax stepped out of his room and followed Kalari. "Where are we going?" He asked realizing they were heading the opposite direction of the training arenas. "You'll see." Kalari said mysteriously. The rebel rolled his eyes and walked on thinking about how he could be in bed right now. "Nice scars." Came Kalari's voice through the quiet. Artax's red cape had shifted aside and he saw the other stallion staring at the lines that crisscrossed his back. Self-consciously he shifted the cape to cover the scars, he wasn't exactly sure what to say. Thankfully he was spared a reply when they stopped at what looked like a vault door. Kalari produced a heavy looking key and with a screech of metal the door opened. "Stole the key off one of the dumb soldiers guarding the dinner hall last night." The dark stallion boasted as he followed Artax down a shadowy stone stairway. Artax was starting to become more interested, the stair led straight down for what seemed like miles, only an occasional torch lite the way. Finally the stair ended and left the two in a vast stone hall with odd looking holes scattered about the high walls. A closer inspection revealed that the holes where actually caves with heavy metal gates across their entrances. Low growls and other noised sounded from the caves, which Artax realized must act as cages for the monsters used in the Beast Battles.

"We must be far below the castle." The grey stallion said taking in the vast chamber. He realized he was talking to himself, he turned to find Kalari fiddling with a lever next to a particularly large gated off cave. "DON'T OPE-" Artax warned but too late. With a grinding of metal the heavy gate, pulled by massive chains, slowly began to rise. Kalari joined Artax. "Aw come on! We need practice with real beasties. Besides whats the worst it could be? Some giant bear with dyed fur or something." Kalari said with a laugh. Artax wasn't so sure, the cave was awfully big for even the largest of bears. The gate had fully risen leaving the cave open but nothing stirred in it's black depths. "Darn, must be empty." Kalari said moving towards the lever to close the gate. "NO! STOP!" Artax cried, something was wrong. Kalari darted back just as two burning eyes set in a massive dark form burst from the cave. A terrible sound halfway between the howl and a scream filled the chamber as the giant beast leaped past them. Atrax and Kalari watched in horror as whatever the thing was rose to it's full height and stopped and circled back towards them. The beast seemed to be a mixture of dog and bear but with spines along its back, and much much bigger than any natural beast should be. It's burning eyes locked on the two horses standing in the center on the room. They made a move for the stairway but a heavy paw blocked their escape. With a snarl the beast charged at them. With only seconds left to escape, Artax shoved Kalari towards the open cave. "Get inside!" Artax said urgently, he glanced back and got a nice view straight down the beast's open maw which glowed as if it's insides where on fire.

The two stallion galloped into the dark of the cave, stumbling over old bones till they reached the very back. The ground shook as the giant creature stopped just outside it's former cage. A terrifying sound issued from it's fiery maw and with a jolt of fear Artax realized it was laughing. It knew there was no way out of that cave. With a victorious growl it crawled into the cave, it's hot breath reaching the two horses waiting at the back. Kalari looked at Artax and nodded, they knew what they needed to do. With defiant neighs the two raced towards the beast who seemed utterly surprised. They jumped over it's reaching paws and past it's head which snapped at them, too slow. In an instant both Artax and Kalari where out of the cave. "The lever's gone!" Kalari cried as they heard the beast trying to turn around in the confines of the cave. The lever lay on the stone ground, where it must have been torn off as the beast re-entered the cave after them. "The chain." Kalari said a sudden burst of hope in his eyes. Without thinking twice Artax sped towards the metal chain which held the gate up. He passed the yawning entrance of the cave, the beast must have turned about because Artax caught a glimpse of burning eyes and glowing mouth full of teeth rushing towards him. One massive paw shot out slapping into the rock in from of Kalari who slid to a stop to avoid colliding with it. Artax reached the chain and slammed his fore hooves into the rock where the chain was anchored. While the metal was strong the rock was old and as Artax hit it repeatedly it began to crumble. "Hurry!" Came Kalari's warning, the beast's terrible snarls echoed closer from the cave. Artax slammed his hooves into the rock one last time, feeling the impact jolt his legs and crumble the remaining rock anchoring the chain. With a shower of dust and rock the chain flew free and the gate fell shrieking down right into the beast's outstretched paw. It screamed in pain and yanked it's paw back, allowing the gate to fall into it's place. The beast threw itself against the gate but it held. Without a moment's hesitation both Kalari and Artax ran.

They didn't stop running till they were up the stair and the vault door was sealed behind them. Then they stood laughing as they gasped for breath. "What the hell was that?" Artax gasped. "I have no idea." Kalari replied with a breathless laugh.
It was nearly dawn when Artax collapsed on his bed. Kalari might be cocky and reckless but he was sure brave to go and open that cave... or incredibly stupid. Artax wasn't sure which.

-------------------------------------

*le dies

Description
This is the reason why I haven't done any commissions

My third and final piece for the competition over at
Please download to see the details better. :3

MotC| Preparing for war| Part 1    MotC| A Lesson in Swordplay| Part 2

-----------------------------
     Artax made his way along with other competitors to a large hall. He glanced about uneasily. They were being assigned partners for the Beast Battle, the one event Artax was least excited about. He had heard some pretty gruesome tales of past fights with monstrous creatures that had been bred for the sole purpose of killing. The rebel just hoped he would be assigned someone who knew what they were doing.

"Hmmm, sturdy build and strong limbs, probably low intelligence." Sounded a voice behind Artax, he turned realizing with some irritation that whoever it was, was talking about him. The speaker turned out to be a tall stallion who matched Artax in height, and had a dark coat with flaxen main and tail. "Excuse me?" Artax asked with a warning tone in his voice. The other stallion grinned, "Oh, I'm Kalari. And lucky for you, you're my partner for the Beast Battle." Artax groaned internally, he had known this stallion for about a minute and he was already fed up with his cocky, know-all attitude. The grey stallion noticed the other pairs heading off to a practice arena. "Shall we start training?" He asked. Kalari tilted his head as if thinking. "Nah, everyone else is practicing now the arena will be cramped and dusty. Besides they are practicing on half tame beasts like lions and bears." He said with obvious disdain. "I'll come get you later and we can go practice." He added and with a swish of his tail he trotted off. Artax returned to his room to wait till Kalari returned, but the other stallion seemed to have forgotten and in was nearly midnight when Artax decided to get some sleep.

Just as he was settling down a knock sounded on his door. Hurriedly Artax tossed his cape over his back and opened the door, it was Kalari. "Ready to go?" The other stallion whispered with a mischievous glint in his eye. Artax stepped out of his room and followed Kalari. "Where are we going?" He asked realizing they were heading the opposite direction of the training arenas. "You'll see." Kalari said mysteriously. The rebel rolled his eyes and walked on thinking about how he could be in bed right now. "Nice scars." Came Kalari's voice through the quiet. Artax's red cape had shifted aside and he saw the other stallion staring at the lines that crisscrossed his back. Self-consciously he shifted the cape to cover the scars, he wasn't exactly sure what to say. Thankfully he was spared a reply when they stopped at what looked like a vault door. Kalari produced a heavy looking key and with a screech of metal the door opened. "Stole the key off one of the dumb soldiers guarding the dinner hall last night." The dark stallion boasted as he followed Artax down a shadowy stone stairway. Artax was starting to become more interested, the stair led straight down for what seemed like miles, only an occasional torch lite the way. Finally the stair ended and left the two in a vast stone hall with odd looking holes scattered about the high walls. A closer inspection revealed that the holes where actually caves with heavy metal gates across their entrances. Low growls and other noised sounded from the caves, which Artax realized must act as cages for the monsters used in the Beast Battles.

"We must be far below the castle." The grey stallion said taking in the vast chamber. He realized he was talking to himself, he turned to find Kalari fiddling with a lever next to a particularly large gated off cave. "DON'T OPE-" Artax warned but too late. With a grinding of metal the heavy gate, pulled by massive chains, slowly began to rise. Kalari joined Artax. "Aw come on! We need practice with real beasties. Besides whats the worst it could be? Some giant bear with dyed fur or something." Kalari said with a laugh. Artax wasn't so sure, the cave was awfully big for even the largest of bears. The gate had fully risen leaving the cave open but nothing stirred in it's black depths. "Darn, must be empty." Kalari said moving towards the lever to close the gate. "NO! STOP!" Artax cried, something was wrong. Kalari darted back just as two burning eyes set in a massive dark form burst from the cave. A terrible sound halfway between the howl and a scream filled the chamber as the giant beast leaped past them. Atrax and Kalari watched in horror as whatever the thing was rose to it's full height and stopped and circled back towards them. The beast seemed to be a mixture of dog and bear but with spines along its back, and much much bigger than any natural beast should be. It's burning eyes locked on the two horses standing in the center on the room. They made a move for the stairway but a heavy paw blocked their escape. With a snarl the beast charged at them. With only seconds left to escape, Artax shoved Kalari towards the open cave. "Get inside!" Artax said urgently, he glanced back and got a nice view straight down the beast's open maw which glowed as if it's insides where on fire.

The two stallion galloped into the dark of the cave, stumbling over old bones till they reached the very back. The ground shook as the giant creature stopped just outside it's former cage. A terrifying sound issued from it's fiery maw and with a jolt of fear Artax realized it was laughing. It knew there was no way out of that cave. With a victorious growl it crawled into the cave, it's hot breath reaching the two horses waiting at the back. Kalari looked at Artax and nodded, they knew what they needed to do. With defiant neighs the two raced towards the beast who seemed utterly surprised. They jumped over it's reaching paws and past it's head which snapped at them, too slow. In an instant both Artax and Kalari where out of the cave. "The lever's gone!" Kalari cried as they heard the beast trying to turn around in the confines of the cave. The lever lay on the stone ground, where it must have been torn off as the beast re-entered the cave after them. "The chain." Kalari said a sudden burst of hope in his eyes. Without thinking twice Artax sped towards the metal chain which held the gate up. He passed the yawning entrance of the cave, the beast must have turned about because Artax caught a glimpse of burning eyes and glowing mouth full of teeth rushing towards him. One massive paw shot out slapping into the rock in from of Kalari who slid to a stop to avoid colliding with it. Artax reached the chain and slammed his fore hooves into the rock where the chain was anchored. While the metal was strong the rock was old and as Artax hit it repeatedly it began to crumble. "Hurry!" Came Kalari's warning, the beast's terrible snarls echoed closer from the cave. Artax slammed his hooves into the rock one last time, feeling the impact jolt his legs and crumble the remaining rock anchoring the chain. With a shower of dust and rock the chain flew free and the gate fell shrieking down right into the beast's outstretched paw. It screamed in pain and yanked it's paw back, allowing the gate to fall into it's place. The beast threw itself against the gate but it held. Without a moment's hesitation both Kalari and Artax ran.

They didn't stop running till they were up the stair and the vault door was sealed behind them. Then they stood laughing as they gasped for breath. "What the hell was that?" Artax gasped. "I have no idea." Kalari replied with a breathless laugh.
It was nearly dawn when Artax collapsed on his bed. Kalari might be cocky and reckless but he was sure brave to go and open that cave... or incredibly stupid. Artax wasn't sure which.

-------------------------------------

*le dies