The Soulmate Conspiracy Chaper 4 of 4
Chapter 4 - The Cursed Gold of Centaurs
The first sign that something was different came the morning after Davin had put the bracelets around his wrist. It didn't seem significant at the time, but later it seemed obvious to him. He'd awoken to find that the stolen warhorses no longer shied away from him, but on the other hand none of them would let him mount up. Davin supposed that they were probably right, it would be a long walk, but they could keep him company rather than simply act as transportation. A quick incantation disintegrated the saddles and other tack, turning it to a fine powder that fell away from his companions' flanks.
The journey turned out to be pleasant and relaxing, it was good to have companions again after so long on his own. There was definitely a bond growing between them, the ex-warhorses often came close to sniff and lick him. He in turn began to understand something about how the horses reacted to things, the urge to sprint just because they could and the way there was a sort of herd consensus. He wished Chiraevon could experience this. Chiraevon! Davin's eyes widened in shock and he halted where he stood trying to make sense of what had just happened.
Checking the phase of moon it was obvious that a considerable time had passed. Now that he was fully alert again it was easy to understand, the protective aura of the herd was almost magical itself and was in tune with the centaur magic in the bracelets. The result had been that he'd become so relaxed that he'd let the herd consensus do the thinking for him. Oh they'd headed in the right direction, all right but their path had been mapped based on good grazing and water rather than the most direct path. Davin ran his tongue over his teeth picking out a blade of grass and wondered how long he'd been sharing the herd's diet.
Picking up a few fresh blades he chewed experimentally, deciding that it tasted just fine, a bit like lettuce but with more bite. He hoped that his stomach could stand it, because it was definitely more-ish. He chewed the grass thoughtfully and felt the peace of the herd begin to take hold again, he snorted and shook his head trying to keep focus. Failing, he reached for another handful of grass and began to chew.
Davin!
Davin awoke with a start, looking around desperately; it had been Chiraevon's voice. Or rather it had been his lover's mind desperately alone calling to him. This time the herd consensus had lasted much longer, weeks or even a season had passed. He immediately felt a deep pit of guilt open up within him that he'd almost forgotten Chir. He could feel his mind already beginning to relax, but this time he knew how quickly he could get caught by it and set up defences around his mind before doing anything else.
Carefully he stood and checked himself over, feeling certain that the centaur gold had been at work whilst his mind slept. His pack was long gone as was his shirt; some deep memory had insisted he keep his pants and leggings. His shoes were also gone, and the soles of his feet had hardened either from the magic or the walking. There had been some physical changes as well, he felt a tickling along his spine, reaching around he touched the beginnings of a mane running up toward his head where it merged with his original hair which itself was longer, particularly up the centre and toward the back.
In the dim light he noticed that the three horses had turned their heads and were looking at him intently, suddenly he was feeling tired again, relaxed. Satisfied the three horses turned as one and continued on their way. Davin followed a vacant smile on his face, inside a part of him was screaming.
Several weeks later, Davin dreamed that he was stood on the Plains of Sunlight stood in front of a mighty Centaur silhouetted by the sun
"Greedy human thief" Said the Centaur Spirit "You have had three lunar cycles to realise your error and take off the gold, and now it is too late for you, the trap is sprung. You are now a centaur to the very heart of your being, loyal to the needs of our race above all else. Everything you knew will fall, you will be the cause and you will have no regret."
Davin wanted to tell the Centaur Spirit about Chiraevon and how this had been his plan all along, but knew that he couldn't be heard, the message had been left within the Bracelets, triggered now by the fact that the enchantment had run its course.
He opened his eyes and immediately felt uncomfortable within his skin, he tried to stand but his balance was off. It took him a moment to figure out that what was missing was his rear torso and back legs, he was a biped and it felt hideously unstable. Leaning against a tree (the only one for miles), he checked himself over, from the waist up everything was right, pointed ears, handsome nose, a mane that seemed to need a comb through, and short chestnut fur up his back and around his sides under his arms. He could tell that under his pants and leggings his legs and cock were still completely wrong.
The horses turned toward him again and he could sense that they were trying to bend his will as they had done before. This time he was truly immune, and sent a quick mental stab of his own, reminding them that Centaurs don't take nonsense from horses. The three snorted and took a few steps back before bowing their heads. He could hear them thinking in their slow way that the game was over and that they clearly had to follow the new Stallion as he was their superior in all ways.
He sniffed the air, instantly recognising the Plains of Sunlight and knowing his exact position on the vast featureless land. The Stand lay only two days ride further east, he should go there, put on the full regalia and become Stallion in Chief. He smiled to himself, recognising the compulsion for what it was. Sure he was going to The Stand, but not to wear the full regalia, if anyone was going to be the new king of the Centaurs it would be Chiraevon, not him.
He glanced at the herd. When he'd started the journey there had been three, somewhere along the way another twenty had joined them. He vaguely recalled stamping and kicking at the farmer who'd been mistreating them. Doubtless the presence of so many had helped to keep his partially transformed mind soft and pliable.
The stallion stepped forward and then bent down so that it rested on its front knees. Now that the herd consensus was his, Davin understood that he was expected to ride. His wrong legs would have slowed them all down and they all knew that it would never be needed or offered again.
* * *
The Stand was exactly as he remembered it, which was odd because he'd never seen it before; a ridge of rugged time weathered rock sat in a dip in the plain, hidden below the horizon until you were right on top of it. A few hundred yards away lay the bones of the last centaur and those who had volunteered to stay and die with him over 300,000 years previously. Davin felt a growing rage that the humans hadn't even bothered to bury the evidence of their genocide.
Close up, Davin could see that The Stand was covered in centaur cavepaintings evidence that this place had been important to his race right back at the very beginning. Toward one end of the ridge was a natural archway festooned with gold, the Regalia of the Stallion in Chief all of it enchanted with the same spell as the bracelets. The bracelets wanted him to put on all the gold and step through the arch. Davin smiled grimly and held his ground; the power of the arch spell wasn't something he was going to touch, not without Chiraevon safely transformed and at his side.
Something moved in the sky and he glanced up to see one of Quiliam circling. He had no idea if the Dragonet had followed him the entire way or simply waited at The Stand. Taking a bracelet of Regalia from near the arch he quickly imprinted a message to Chiraevon onto it and threw it into the air. The Dragonet stooped and grabbed it in his talons, and began the long journey to Salisarum, every stroke of the wing an effort.
Satisfied that he had done all that he could for his beloved Chir, it was time to sort out the problem of his own lingering humanity. Moving to the lesser outcrop, he took a deep breath and poured spellcast energy into it, making the ochre paintings glow white hot before pulling the tide of energy back into himself. Going outbound his spellcast energy had still been stained with remnant humanity, by passing it through The Stand it was filtered of the alien taint and boosted to awesome levels. Like lightning attracted to a lightning rod the centaur energy took the path of least resistance, straight through the remaining bracelet, speeding the glacier slow transformation enchantment.
He felt the odd pressure within release suddenly and expand outward until he felt normal. It seemed somehow anti-climactic to expend energy like that only to be left feeling entirely ordinary. He swished his tail entirely satisfied.
He sniffed the air, where earlier the fact that the mares were in heat had been of theoretical interest, he now found that he had needs of his own. The fact that he was about to be unfaithful to Chiraevon was something he considered seriously but eventually discarded. He knew Chir had had to 'make do' with willing Baronet and this was the same, and what he was warming up to also fit with centaur culture, love was between stallions, and breeding was what mares were for.
Of course he'd have to catch them first, the little minxes liked to play hard to get.
* * *
Read Prince Chiraevon's Stand at this point
* * *
Epilogue
Davin felt Chiraevon mount him, the Prince's newly transformed cock rammed deep deep inside his hind-body. A human might have been damaged internally by such an impressive lance, fortunately for them both the centaur race had evolved with the expectation that stallions would mount each other as a matter of course. Chir's arms wrapped around his torso, tweaking his nipples. Davin twisted around so that they could kiss. Centaur Cum gushed inside him by the gallon load, life was once again perfect. Between his legs his own cock began expanding out from it's sheath, the cold air making it sensitive and stiff ready to give Chir his first experience of what he was currently dishing out.
Meanwhile the Centaurs that had once been the cream of the Protectorate army chased eagerly after the mares, their memory of previous lives already fogged and dissipating under the assault of feminine allure and rampant need