Latest / The Monster Catcher's Journal / Mare Beast

Transcript

Mare Beast · The Monster Catcher's Journal

0:37
Hello Travelers and Monster Catchers abound.
0:39
I'm Stella Ferris and you've crash landed on
0:42
the Monster Catchers Journal podcast. Welcome
0:45
back. We call this glyph the Merebeast. Most
0:53
glyphs are born from something. Fire gives rise
0:57
to flame lizards. Shadow weaves into night stalkers.
1:02
Even grief and memory can take shape in a body.
1:07
But in the grasslands beyond the drift and marsh
1:10
there rooms one glyph that hunters Say was not
1:15
born from anything at all. They call him the
1:17
mayor beast He looks like a horse at first glance
1:21
broad chest heavy hood with a dark coat that
1:24
shines in the Sun But then the differences emerge
1:27
his hide has no scars No marks not even the faintest
1:32
hair Whirl His muscles are too perfect as though
1:37
carved by a hand that never faltered. His eyes
1:41
are deep brown, almost human yet empty, never
1:44
showing fear, hunger, or joy. Unlike other animals,
1:48
he does not graze or hunt. The grass spins under
1:52
him, but is never eaten. He never lowers his
1:55
head to water, yet his body never grows weak,
1:58
never tires. Hunters who tried chasing him found
2:02
that he could gallop for days without slowing,
2:05
and his hooves never wear down. The mere beast
2:08
doesn't roar, nigh, neigh, or cry. His silence
2:13
is unnatural, louder than sound. Other animals
2:16
avoid him. Wolves will not hunt him. Birds scatter
2:20
when he enters a field. Cattle shivers in their
2:24
pens when his hoofbeats echo across the plains.
2:29
Some hunters tried to bring him down, with spears
2:32
and arrows, every shot struck true, but the beast
2:35
did not bleed. The weapon slid off, leaving not
2:39
a mark, not out of magic, it seemed, but because
2:43
he is too real, too solid, as if the world itself
2:47
refuses to mar him. No glyphid marks glow on
2:53
his body, no story explains him, he is not tied.
2:57
To memory, emotion, or force of nature, he is
3:00
simply an animal that should not exist, and yet
3:03
he does. That is why the hunters fear him more
3:06
than any beast born of fire or storm. For the
3:09
mirror beast is proof that something can exist
3:11
without cause, without story, without the veil.
3:14
A living creature with no origin, he walks the
3:17
earth because he walks the earth. Nothing more,
3:20
nothing less. The mere beast is a glyph no one
3:26
can agree on. Some hunters swear he's only an
3:29
animal. Others argue that no animal could walk
3:32
the way he does. Silent and without end. He looks
3:37
like a horse, but darker, heavier, built from
3:41
strength alone. His coat is black at a distance,
3:45
but up close it gleams with the sheen of polished
3:48
stone. obsidian, smooth and sharp beneath the
3:51
sun, no scars, no wear, no blemish. It's as though
3:55
nothing in the world has ever touched him. No
3:58
one has ever seen him eat. For a long time, hunters
4:01
believed he didn't need to, that he simply existed
4:06
without hunger or thirst. Then came the stories
4:09
from the miners. Lanterns left burning in deep
4:12
caverns flickering and went out, or flickered
4:16
and went out. Piles of coal hauled for the next
4:19
day's work were gone. Only trails of black dust
4:24
left behind. It was said that if you hid in the
4:27
dark it long enough and if luck was cruel, you
4:31
might catch a glimpse of him. The mare beast
4:33
lowered his great head to the rock piles, his
4:37
jaw working silently, his teeth grinding through
4:40
stone as easy as bread. Not grass, not grain,
4:45
not water, coal. That secret meal explains the
4:49
shine. Every lump devoured feeds the fireless
4:53
black within him, hardening his hide, polishing
4:56
his skin until it reflects like obsidian glass.
5:00
It is not magic that makes him unscarred, but
5:04
the endless fuel of the earth swallowed in silence.
5:08
But here's the strange part. He never eats when
5:11
eyes are on him. If you watch, he will only stand
5:15
still, hose planted, gaze fixed. He waits until
5:18
the cavern is empty, until every witness is gone,
5:22
before he feeds, and in the morning the coal
5:24
is missing. That is why many hunters say he is
5:27
not a beast, not a glyph, not a spirit, just
5:31
something older, a creature written wrong into
5:33
the world, a living body with no birth, walking
5:37
endlessly, feeding in secret on the bones of
5:40
the earth itself. Logged by Stella Ferris, 2
5:46
.11 a .m., Cole's Spine Minds. It was that very
5:50
day, listening to Professor Orian tell the story
5:53
by lantern light, that I made my decision. The
5:56
mere beast wasn't just a myth, not to me. Orian's
6:00
voice carried the weight of warning. He spoke
6:04
of missing Cole, of hollow tunnels, of the animal
6:06
that ate in secret and shone. like obsidian in
6:12
the sun. He told me no hunter had ever caught
6:15
it, and none ever should. Stelliferous, he said.
6:19
Some things walk the world without reason, and
6:22
that is reason enough to leave them be. But the
6:26
words only burned in my chest. If no one else
6:29
would prove it real, then I would. When I stood
6:33
to leave, Orion caught my wrist. Don't chase
6:35
him. He doesn't belong to us. He doesn't even
6:38
belong to the Vell. His eyes were sharp, pleading.
6:40
but my mind was already set, so I went. The coal
6:45
spine mine are endless veins of black. Each tunnel
6:52
echoed with its own heartbeat. My lamp swayed
6:55
as I walked deeper, and with each step the air
6:58
thickened, dust rising in my throat, silence
7:00
pressing against my ears. I expected bats, or
7:04
the rustle of rats, or at least the groan of
7:07
stone. Instead, there was nothing. The stillness
7:10
was heavy, unnatural. Then I found it. The cart
7:14
had been full when the miners left it. Not only
7:17
scraps of coal dust clung to the wooden boards,
7:21
as though something had licked it clean and beside
7:25
it a line of hoof prints led farther down the
7:29
shaft. Broad, heavy, too perfect. I followed.
7:39
The light from the lantern caught the walls,
7:43
and for a moment I thought the stone itself was
7:45
gleaming, but then it moved, a body larger than
7:48
any draft horse, its coat shining like polished
7:52
black glass, the mare beast. He stood still as
7:56
a statue, head raised, eyes fixed on me. My heart
8:00
pounded so loud it felt like he could hear it.
8:02
His chest rose once, then fell, no sound, no
8:05
breath, no whining. I tightened my grip on my
8:09
lantern. If I blinked, I feared he would vanish,
8:14
and then, without sound, he turned. His hoof
8:16
struck the stone floor, echoed like drums, and
8:19
he vanished deeper into the dark. I ran after
8:23
him. I never thought I'd manage it, but somehow
8:26
the mere beast was cornered. The tunnels of the
8:35
coal spire, mine, twisted and narrowed the deeper
8:39
I went. He must not have realized how the passages
8:42
curved back on themselves, or maybe his instinct
8:46
to flee blinded him. Either way, I found him
8:49
pressed against a wall of unbroken stone, the
8:52
way a head cut off. For the first time, the mere
8:57
beast showed emotion. His body trembled, not
9:01
violently. But a subtle shiver that ran along
9:04
his obsidian hide like a ripple of black water.
9:07
His nostrils flared, and for the first time I
9:10
heard him breathe. Short, sharp, ragged pulls
9:12
of air. His chest roll rose faster, and the light
9:17
from my lantern reflect the wild whites of his
9:20
eyes. Fear. He had never been caught before.
9:24
never been trapped for all his endless wondering.
9:27
No one had forced him into a corner, and now,
9:31
confronted with the walls with me standing in
9:33
his way, he panicked. The sound came first, a
9:36
deep grinding scrape like boulders breaking.
9:39
I realized with a chill what he was doing. His
9:43
jaw had opened, and he was gnashing his teeth
9:46
against the stone walls themselves, desperate
9:49
to carve a way out. Bits of rock splintered and
9:54
fell, his mouth tearing at the cavern like a
9:57
wild thing, clawing for escape. Sparks flared
10:01
in the dark as his teeth struck veins of iron.
10:05
His hooves shimmered like, sorry, his hooves
10:09
slammed at the ground, echoing like thunder claps
10:13
in the confined space. Dust rained from the ceiling,
10:18
my lantern quivered in my hand, and for a moment
10:20
I thought the whole tunnel would collapse on
10:22
us both. I should have turned back. Orion's words
10:26
rang in my head. He doesn't belong to us. He
10:28
doesn't even belong to the Vell. But I couldn't
10:31
move. My eyes were locked on him. Not with fear,
10:35
but with awe. This wasn't the unshakable legend
10:40
the hunters whispered about. This wasn't some
10:42
ghostly wonders. Wanderer of the plains, this
10:47
was an animal, a creature that felt fear, that
10:51
fought with every ounce of strength not to be
10:53
caged. I tried to speak, my voice came out hoarse.
10:58
I won't hurt you. The words bounced against the
11:02
stone and fell flat. The mayor beast didn't stop,
11:05
his hooves pounding, his teeth raked the walls,
11:08
his whole body strained for freedom. The obsidian
11:13
gleam of his coat seemed sharper in the lantern
11:16
light. Every muscle struck tight like a bow about
11:22
to snap. Then his gaze caught mine for a heartbeat
11:26
the world stilled, his breath ragged, his eyes
11:28
wide. I saw something there, not emptiness, not
11:32
myth, but the simple, raw terror of a living
11:35
thing. I lowered the lantern slowly, carefully.
11:38
The light dimmed, shadows swallowed us both.
11:42
I heard the rhythm of his breath slow, just slightly.
11:45
The frantic grinding of his teeth softened. He
11:48
stood trembling, a trapped animal realizing the
11:51
hunter before him hadn't struck. And in that
11:53
fragile silence, I understood. He wasn't a monster
11:57
to be captured. He wasn't a prize to be claimed.
12:00
He wasn't an accident of the world, alive, by
12:03
no story. And he wanted only to run. But whether
12:07
I understood or not, He was still cornered, and
12:10
the next move was his. The mere beast still stood
12:19
before me, pressed against the cavern wall, trembling
12:22
so violently I could hear the rattle of his breath
12:25
echo in the stone. His legs shook, his eyes rolled
12:30
white, and every line in his body screamed with
12:33
panic. For the first time I saw him not as a
12:36
legend, but as a terrified creature trapped with
12:38
no escape. That's when I heard it. Hoof beats.
12:43
Slow, heavy. Every strike against the rock was
12:46
louder than the last, deliberate as a drum beat.
12:49
The sound came from behind me, filling the tunnel
12:52
until it felt like the earth itself was walking
12:56
closer. I dared to turn my head. Out of the black
13:00
came another shape, larger, broader. Her hide
13:06
was darker than the colt, polished like volcanic
13:09
glass that caught and twisted the glow of my
13:13
lantern. Her mane shimmered with hard, sharp
13:16
strands like blades of obsidian, and her eyes
13:18
deep, molten, protective, locked on me with a
13:22
weight that rooted me where I stood. The mirror
13:25
beast in front of me froze at the sound. His
13:28
trembling didn't stop, but it changed. His head
13:30
lifted, ears pricked forward, nostrils flaring
13:33
wide, terror. still ran through him, but now
13:37
it was fixed with something else. Relief. Recognition.
13:41
I realized too late what was happening. The stories
13:44
had always painted him as a lone wanderer, a
13:47
beast with no beginning, no ties, no reason to
13:50
exist. But they were wrong. He wasn't alone.
13:53
He wasn't born of nothing. He had a mother. And
13:57
she was behind me now, closing the tunnel, her
13:59
hoofs striking sparks as they kissed the stone.
14:03
The smaller one pressed tighter against the wall,
14:05
his muscles tout as bowstrings, still trembling,
14:11
but no longer frantic. Sighs flickered between
14:14
me and the great obsidian mare behind me, as
14:16
if waiting for her to decide his fate. And in
14:19
that suffocating space between them, I realized
14:22
I was no longer the hunter. I was caught. A single
14:26
step forward and I risked spooking the trembling
14:28
child before me. Step back and I might feel the
14:32
full weight of his mother's wrath. The tunnel
14:34
was too narrow, the silence too sharp, and for
14:37
the first time since chasing him, I wished I
14:40
had listened to Orion, because now I was standing
14:42
between a terrified beast and the one thing in
14:45
the world that would kill to protect him. The
14:53
tunnel shook. The mother slammed her hooves into
14:56
the stone, obsidian shards clattering loose from
15:01
the ceiling. Each stomp was a warning, leave
15:04
or be crushed. Her head lowered, muscles rippling,
15:08
ready to drive me into the wall with all the
15:11
fury of the earth itself. I froze, my lancet
15:14
rattled in my grip. My throat was too dry to
15:17
shout, too tight to breathe, but before she could
15:21
charge, the smaller mare beast moved. Still trembling,
15:26
still wide -eyed with fear, he pushed himself
15:28
off the wall and stepped into the narrow space
15:30
between us. His legs wobbled under him, but he
15:33
planted his hoofs firm and let out a sound I
15:37
can only describe as a broken cry, a high, quivering
15:40
cue that echoed strangely in the cavern. The
15:43
mother's charge halted mid -step. Dust sifted
15:47
down from above as her body went rigid. Her eyes
15:51
burned with protective fire, but her Ears flickered
15:54
towards the sound her child had made. Another
15:57
call followed, softer this time, layered with
16:00
tones I couldn't hope to understand. It wasn't
16:04
words, but it was a language all the same. I
16:10
stood froze, my chest tight. I couldn't comprehend
16:15
their exchange, but I felt it. The weight of
16:17
meaning, the little one was speaking to her.
16:19
pleading, maybe explaining, his voice trembling
16:22
like his body, but he didn't back down, or back
16:29
away. Then something happened, I never could
16:32
have expected. The young mere beast turned his
16:35
head toward me, his eyes still wide, still quaking
16:38
with fear, locked onto mine, and slowly, hesitantly,
16:43
his muzzle dipped toward the satchel of mine.
16:48
Before I realized what he was doing, his teeth
16:51
caught the strap. With surprising care, he tugged,
16:55
pulling one of my empty glyphids free from its
16:58
pocket. The crystal casing clinked softly against
17:03
the stone as he lifted it, holding it loosely
17:07
between his teeth. I stood there stunned, the
17:09
same creature who, minutes ago, had nearly shaken
17:12
himself to pieces with terror, was now offering
17:15
me the very thing I'd come to collect. He held
17:18
the glyphid as if he understood, as if he was
17:22
choosing. Behind him, the mother gave a low,
17:26
rumbling snort that rolled through the cavern
17:28
walls. Not rage, not an attack, something more
17:32
like resignation. The little one's legs quivered
17:37
as he stepped closer, Glyphot still clutched
17:40
in his teeth. He wasn't calm. His flanks heavied.
17:45
Sorry, heaved. His eyes darted, but he was trying.
17:52
Trying to trust me, and in that moment I realized
17:54
something that left me breathless. He wasn't
17:57
just frightened, he was curious, and for reasons
18:00
I couldn't yet fathom. He was willing, after
18:02
everything, to consider. coming home with me.
18:06
I reached out slowly, my hand trembling worse
18:08
than his legs, terrified that a single wrong
18:11
move would shatter that fragile thread of trust
18:13
binding us together. I held my breath as the
18:18
young, mere beast weighed it, eyes wide and trembling,
18:22
Glyphid still clutched in his teeth. I moved
18:25
slowly, careful not to startle him. Every inch
18:28
felt like walking on glass. Finally, I reached
18:31
down and gently took the glyphid from his mouth.
18:33
He flinched at the touch, but didn't pull away.
18:36
My hands were shaking as I placed it on the cavern
18:40
floor. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then,
18:43
almost impossibly fast, the glyphid activated.
18:46
A shimmer of light wrapped around him, warm and
18:48
gentle, pulling him inside as if welcoming him
18:52
home. In seconds, he was safely contained. I
18:56
lifted the newly filled glyphid and tucked it
18:59
carefully in my bag. My chest swelled with relief.
19:02
I stood and turned towards his mother, who had
19:05
been watching the entire exchange. Her massive
19:08
obsidian frame loomed over me, muscles coiled,
19:12
yet every line of her body radiated caution,
19:15
not aggression. She lowered her head as to snout.
19:20
She lowered her head so her snout was just inches
19:23
from mine. I pressed my hand to her cool, gleaming
19:28
nose, feeling the solid strength beneath her
19:30
obsidian hide. It's okay, girl, I whispered.
19:34
I'll take great care of your little mare. I'll
19:36
bring him back for a visit someday, so promise
19:38
me you'll be here. She sniffed her warm breath,
19:43
washing over my hand. Then, after a long, tense
19:46
moment, she left. let out a low, rolling snort,
19:49
a sound that carried a mixture of a warning and
19:53
understanding. Without another glance, she turned
19:56
and trotted off into the tunnels, her hoofs wringing
19:59
against the stone, fading into silence. I watched
20:02
her go, my heart still racing. The baby mare
20:04
beast had already stopped trembling. curled inside
20:08
his glyphid, safe and silent, and though I couldn't
20:11
yet know what the future held, I felt a strange,
20:15
unshakable bond linking the three of us, mother,
20:18
child, and the hunter who had dared to step between
20:21
them. For the first time, the Mere Beast story
20:25
didn't feel like a legend or a cautionary tale.
20:28
It felt real, alive, and somehow miraculous.
20:34
I knew I had to tell Orion immediately. There
20:37
was no way I could keep this to myself without
20:40
stopping. I went straight to Luan's Academy and
20:45
right to Orion's classroom. My bag heavy with
20:48
the young mayor beast's glyphid. I caught him,
20:51
I said, practically bursting with excitement.
20:55
Orion spun around in his chair, eyes blazing.
20:57
You defied me? His tone was sharp, each word
21:00
dripping with controlled anger. I'm glad I did,
21:03
I exclaimed, unable to contain myself. I found
21:06
out something incredible, the mirror beast. He's
21:08
not a lone creature. He has a mother. For a moment,
21:13
Orion's face froze, his eyebrows knitted together,
21:17
the corners of his mouth tightening. He leaned
21:19
back slightly, studying me as though trying to
21:22
measure the truth in my words. Well... That's
21:26
rather peculiar," he said slowly, his voice losing
21:29
some of its fury, replaced by measured curiosity.
21:33
There is nary a mention of mothers in any of
21:35
the mere beast's tales, none at all. I pulled
21:38
the glyphid from my bag and set it on the table,
21:41
watching as the light shimmered over the obsidian
21:44
surface. I know it sounds impossible, I said,
21:48
but he's real, and he has a family. I saw them,
21:51
the mother, she's massive, obsidian shining like
21:54
the legend legends say, but alive, protective,
21:58
and beautiful. Orion's eyes narrowed, a mixture
22:02
of skepticism and fascination crossing his face,
22:05
so the stories we've relied upon, they've been
22:08
wrong all, all of them. Not entirely, I replied,
22:12
leaning forward. The mirror beast still has the
22:14
obsidian shine, the cult -eating habits, all
22:17
that's true, but the part about him wandering
22:19
alone, that's a lie, or at least an incomplete
22:23
truth. Orion excelled slowly, rubbing his temples,
22:26
curious, most extraordinary, and dangerous to
22:30
think we've been wrong for so long. The implications
22:35
for glyph ecology, marvelous and alarming. I
22:39
grinned, which is why I had to defy you. I couldn't
22:42
let the truth remain a story. He's not just a
22:45
myth. He's a living, breathing creature with
22:47
a mother. And now we know. we have to update
22:50
the records." Orion studied me for a long moment,
22:54
then shook his head, a small reluctant smile
22:56
tugging at the corner of his mouth. You are impossible,
22:59
Cellopharis, but I suppose this is why you are
23:02
the one to uncover the truth. And that, my friends,
23:09
fellow travelers, fellow glyph -catchers, is
23:12
another story for another week. And may the lights
23:17
and the stars and the moons and the suns of Nibiru
23:21
shine their beautiful light down on you. Until
23:24
next time, have a great and wondrous year. Bye
23:31
now.