Dullahan

Recollection

THE SKY IS DARK even for the nighttime, thick clouds obscuring the stars and moon, not even allowing a glow to suggest the latter's presence. The streets are quiet and dark, their mount's hooves ringing out on the cobblestones they run over. A light mist hangs low around the houses, and their passage leaves a trail through it, a ghostly after-image that hangs in the air behind them, before the swirling tendrils close in and swallow all trace of their coming and goings.

They travel down this small town's only cobbled street, tall houses looming over them. None dare even look out their windows, too scared are they to confront the ill omen that passes them by this late evening.

Searching and searching, they travel from cobbles to packed dirt once more, the thunder of hooves now muted and soft. They long for a chase, a hunt, quarry to harry and kill. They search restlessly, for it is their purpose in this world, their singular desire. Open fields sprawl out before them, the last of the townhouses fading into the mist behind them as they return to the hedge-lined road of the countryside.

A sudden wind picks up, pulling mist away and bringing with it the sound of matching hoof beats. Both mount and rider tense in anticipation of a chase, the horse accelerating, long stride devouring the road between them and what is to become their targets for the night. The rider leaves the reins loose, remaining of one mind with the beast as they tear through the countryside, singular in purpose.

They crest a hill, landscape spilling out before them, and it is then that the pair catch sight of the party. The horse pulls up, front hooves lifting off the ground momentarily as they pivot to the side, snorting and blowing air in excitement. A small group of five, riding close together in tight formation as they travel. The rider smiles, sensing the magic each possesses and relishing the challenge that the simple fact will bring. Their course is set, the small group taking a fork in the road that brings them ever closer, the road before them winding out into a path directly to the waiting pair.

The rider does not need to spur the horse on, the beast turning seemingly of its own accord and launching into a gallop, directly down the hill in preparation for the clash.

The group is made up of a mix of folk, the man in the lead holding a shield in one hand, the reins of his horse in the other. The two directly behind him are dressed similarly to the man, wearing light clothing with a plain cuirass over their torsos. The two behind them, the last of their group, wear heavier armour, full breastplates, vambraces and greaves, not dissimilar to the rider's own armament.

Mouth splitting open in a grin, the rider cannot help the laughter that wells up from within. They lift their head high into the air, fitful laughter their war cry. They have come prepared, or as prepared as they think they could be, and the very thought amuses the rider to no end.

The collision seems inevitable, the ground between the two groups quickly shortening as mounts bringing them close and closer. The three in front, the least prepared of the group, split off, falling behind the pair behind who have produced a heavy net, corners weighted down with metal spheres that hang over their saddles. The rider draws their sword, the smooth metal gliding from its sheath on their own saddle, a clear ring sounding out in the space between them as its point clears the opening, and the rider welcomes their attempt with open arms.

They move apart, the two holding the net diverging to cast it wide between them, and the rider charges forward, leaning to the side to slash diagonally across the span, sharp blade slicing through the rope with ease. One half falls limply to the ground, pooling as the two opponents canter past, while the other catches in the rider's other arm, weights momentarily pulling them off-centre as their horse carries them forward. They disentangle themselves quickly, moving the long blade deftly to cut through the caught loops and letting the net fall without consequence.