Longma.
You say that you posses the best of both prey and predator.
You claim power, and you claim bravery.
And yet, it is all a lie.
You have in your veins the power of one of the greatest predators to have ever hunted.
And yet, you cower before it. You seal it way like some curse.
One cannot have the best of both, for the one is mighty, and the other mere prey.
It is the prey that is the curse! It is the prey in your veins that makes you weak!
Shun it! Cast it away, and take your rightful place at the top of the food-chain! Do this, and the masters will welcome you to their endless FEAST.
If you do not, then you shall be as all of the others: hunted and eaten.
Ah, OC, how... quaint of you to visit our halls. I always wondered how you are able to get around so easily, but I digress.
Allow me to address your... accusations.
Yes, we are longma. And yes, we possess the best qualities of both predator and prey. The deerfolk control our polar opposite, quite literally, their powers great in their own way. But theirs is the gift of the ice sprites, not the predator. The cows, sturdy in form, strong of hoof, and mighty of horn, awesome be their strength, is the strength of prey, not predator. Even the ungulates of Baaaaaaaa, with their sheepdog protectors, may control the power of predators, but they do not blend it as we do with the strength of the prey.
For there is strength in prey. The strength of Honored Father. The strength in numbers, of the herd. The predators do not know this strength. The wolves of old had their packs, the lions their prides. This is not the same. How could the strength of a dozen meager predators ever compare? The thunderous roar of our army marching in lockstep is echoed in our blood to the crashing hooves of our ancestors as they galloped across the plains. The predators may have their weak little hunting groups, but our is the stampede, the inexorable avalanche of hundreds moving as one, stretching from horizon to horizon, crushing any foolish predators who can't move out of our way fast enough.
There is nothing that can compare behind the doors
mere prey have sealed. The Devourer sits on top through power and power alone, without it your masters wouldn't even have that coordination. They would be nothing more than savage beasts, equally happy to tear each other's throats out as that of their "prey." They know nothing of a common cause, the strength of unity. If you truly are so deluded as to think your preaching might spare you your masters hunger, even for a second, then I am truly sorry for you.
If there is one single, scrap of what could be seen as insight to leave your mouth it is that yes, we
are descended from one of
the most powerful predators to ever cross the face of Foenum. The dragons were the alpha predators, second only to
the Devourer itself in terms of power, and that strength is ours. Honored Mother, temperamental, brash, and vicious as she is, saw the strength of Honored Father, and realized the import of their union. For the solitude of a dragon could never wield the strength of the horse. A single dragon could terrorize a village; imagine the strength of an entire
army of longma with her power.
As for bravery, I will not be lectured by some mewling coward hiding behind the strength of his masters. You are but a child, hiding behind his dam's skirts, telling us to be afraid because you have
such big, scary friends who will
totally beat us up. If you want my attention, then I am happy to test your
bravery. If you are brave then face me yourself instead of slinging threats you don't even intend to uphold yourself, cur. And maybe then your soul might finally be washed clean by the purifying flame. A pity you won't live to feel it.