[Cheeb]

fable name:
entry:

their reflection is not the you that is, but the you that could be.

[roadkill.]

fable name:
entry:

mark. i looove kirins.

[☼ morgana]

fable name: morgana 1012721
entry: notes for myself for story - looks into the water and sees himself as his kingdom's downfall/ a villain, and loses his mind trying to change time and prevent it, ultimately becoming the villain in his insanity, all that remains is a small hamlet, a castle in ruins who's shadow hangs over the hamlet.

[Meekins12345]

fable name: Taichi
entry: TBA WIP

[L.V.L]

fable name: Ahuizotl
entry:

----------My breath caught as my eyes landed on it. It shimmered under a veil of mist, its crystalline surface undisturbed by time. I knew the tales since I was young - ancient legends spoke of its power; when a Fable approached its sacred waters and peered in, their true self would be revealed - not just how others saw them, but the deepest truth of what they really were. Some saw greatness. Others saw despair. I hadn't come here seeking glory; I came for answers. My hooves made little to no sound as I stepped towards the edge of the water, leaning forward. I saw what everyone else sees, with my reflection staring back, waves of glimmering blue scales and elegant fins catching the light shown through the holes of the cavern. I looked strong and graceful.
----------But then the water rippled. My reflection shifted - my mane darkened like the deep, dark ocean blue. Eyes burned with hunger, not warmth. My mouth twisted into something sharp and wrong. A monster.
----------"No," I whispered staggering backwards, "That's not me."
----------But the creature in the water didn't vanish. It stayed, mimicking every breath I took. Eyes locked with mine. And then it spoke - in my voice but it was thick with venom.
----------"You knew I would be here."
----------My chest tightened - "You're not real." my voice echoed through the walls with doubt.
----------"I'm the storm you buried inside. The fury you choked down." its lips parted and smiled with teeth I didn't know I had.
----------This couldn't be true. It couldn't be me. I squeezed my eyes shut in hope it would disappear, "I'm not like you."
----------"Oh, but you are," it hissed, "You just don't want to admit it."
----------"I've hurt others." I whispered, dropping to my knees, claws diggings into the stone. The truth cracked inside me, "I've hidden. I've lashed out. I came here because ... because I don't know where I end and the anger begins. I just want to let go." The water shifted, but the creature of me remained.
----------"You wanted to forget me."
----------My voice broke, "Yes."
----------The word shattered something inside me. I wanted to take it back, but it hung in the air. Yes - I had wanted to forget the fury. Yes - I had wanted to be rid of the thing snarling beneath my skin. Yes - I had lied to myself.
----------"I tried," I whispered, trembling. "I tried to be gentle. I tried to be what they needed, what they asked of me. This beautiful, fragile vessel." I watched as the reflection's grin widened, something I hated how familiar it felt. "I let them carve me into something quiet. But the silence was never mine. It was a cage, a lie. And you..." I got up and stepped closer, my hooves steady now. "You are the only thing that ever told the truth."
----------The creature in the water stood taller, proud. I stared into its jagged smile and saw my own - reflecting perfectly. A strange peace settled over me, firm and sure.
----------"I'm done pretending I was ever just harmless. There is venom in my kindness. There is rot in my soul. There is you - and you are me." And it felt good, like a chain snapping into place. "I am not what they wanted. I am not pure, nor kind or good." The wind howled softly through the cavern for the first time and it did not protest. I leaned over the water, pressing my horns to its surface - the reflection did not shift away.
----------We merged. And when I stood again, I was no longer at war with myself or her. I didn't need to fight the monster - I had to become her. I now stared back at us - scales darker, the shimmer duller but real. My steps no longer hesitated. The world would whisper new stories - of a Fable who went to find the truth and never returned.
----------But I had found it. I was the storm. I was the lie. I was the truth they were to afraid to name. And I had never felt more whole.[/list]

and if we can include a song: "Experience" by Ludovico Einaudi

[hellevi]

fable name: wip
entry: wip

marking.... :0

[lilpupin]

fable name: Roost
entry: (winner is allowed to keep art!)

[Tilluels-Paradise]

fable name: Acheron
entry:

Acheron had spent years digging in libraries already long abandoned, begging for even a scrap of information from anyone he could, digging through jungles barely able to stand just for the hope of getting to this fountain. This beautiful, enchanting, ethereal fountain. He needs to know, he needs to know what will stare back at him when he looks in, he needs to. This pull, this inescapable drag in pursuit of this fountain, it nearly brings him to his knees as he inches forward terrified, and exhilarated, stuck between two highs of emotion that can’t seem to settle. He does drop when he is at its edge and the pull drags him down to the ground, he needs to see. So he pushes up against the invisible chains and he stares down into the water. And his mind goes blank. Suddenly free. Chains gone from his body, the sting of cuts on his body forgotten, the tiredness evaporated just by the glance of these waters. He feels at peace and for a moment he wonders if this is death? Was this his purpose in life had he achieved what he was meant to? Did his life lead to this point from the start? Or did he push too far, was his body lying at the edge of this fountain as his soul drifted into the water? He didn’t know, but this rush, this unworldly pure essence of life and sereneness that soaks into his body as he stares at the waves. The waves, the water, he can’t describe it with words, at least not ones he knows. They are everything. They make every other thing in his life, in the world seem bleak and meaningless compared to them, compared to these indescribable waves. And he pauses. Waves. He hasn’t seen his reflection yet. But the water is slowing, and slowing, and finally they become like a glass so utterly still and yet still other worldly as he blinks down and finally looks down to see what will stare back at him.

What he sees is not him. Not in any way that he could explain to another. This being in the water is not, could never be him. But when he looks in the eyes of the reflection he feels himself. He is not the creature, but he is part of it. He doesn’t know why, but the thought of that fills him with joyful anticipation, he wants to be one with this entity. And somehow he knows he will be, he knows he will not leave this fountain the same, if at all. He can feel the way that by looking he is tied to the being, to the fountain. He is meant to be here. It wasn’t a mistake. He needed to be here, to see this future, this truth whatever it may be. He needed to see, and he does. He doesn’t know what the creature is, a guardian? A spirit? A simple reflection? But it has a feeling that it pours into him as he stares, a sense of peace, of fulfillment, of happiness, of kindness, of so many other things he can’t begin to describe. But he can feel what the entity gives to him. He feels the anger, the tiredness, the longing fade as he is consumed by the magic of the waters. He feels so at peace as he stares at it again, it seems to blend into the waters so perfectly he can’t tell where either starts or begins but he can see it’s eyes the same deep amber staring back at him, it’s scales and fur seeming almost crystalline as they glitter in the water. He feels like he could stare forever. A part of him, the longing for this, for this being in the water he didn’t know he’d find wishes he could stare forever. But the rest of him knows, he won’t. That there’s more, that his story is not over staring at this creature. And he’s not. The entity moves when he does not, it reaches its head till its nose is lying just under the surface. He feels a pull again, a softer kinder one, asking him to do the same. And he does so, he lifts himself up further and gently lowers his head till his nose touches the water. And while there is no creature there. He feels it, he feels a cold that doesn’t seem to bite, a force that presses back on his nose, a feeling of warmth in his soul. He cannot touch this creature but that does not take away its existence. It is there. He can feel the warmth, the love, and the bond that he has with this being that he can’t understand. But it is real, and for a moment a fleeting thought pops into his head. A thought that he should go in. And he does. He tips into the water and he nearly cries when the water, the being, tells him no. When he knows that it is not time yet. And the tears begin to fall as his heart wrenches at the denial, the connection to the waters and the entity inside them are so sudden and overwhelming he can’t imagine walking away and he tries to share that as best as he can with his pleading eyes. And while it doesn’t relent it presses its snout against his again and sends warmth and comfort to him. A promise that while cannot join them now, he can, and will when he is meant to, it just isn’t now. So he accepts and he climbs back out and leans on the cool bricks with only dew on his scales to say he was ever in the fountain. And now, he gives himself a moment before getting up on the wobbly legs of a foal as he makes his way home. He feels lost as he wanders, but not without purpose. He has found it, he just has to wait. But he will know when it is time. And he will be there. And they will be one. Just not yet. (1024 words)

[almond.milk]

fable name: Muirgen
entry:
i am from whence you came, old friend

[Aldersnap]

fable name: TBN
entry: aa mark!