In Helovia, towards the end of Frostfall in the sixth year of the New Age, a child was born amidst the roots of a Memorial tree. It was night and the full moon glowed silver bright, as though smiling upon the frail child - for she appeared to mirror the beauty of itself, pale and slight of built and promising of great beauty. The birth had been difficult and while Erthë was healthy save for a persistent cough and dimmed sight on one eye, her mother - Shadow - fared less well. When the ministrations of a passing healer could not completely heal her it was decided that they would travel to the aid, and together the small family set out towards the North, despite the misgivings of the child's father, Vadim.
The journey was long and arduous, and when they arrived upon the doorstep of the northernmost herd land, the ill-reputed Aurora Basin, their reception was less than warm. At first disinclined to allow the small group shelter, the mighty Lord Thranduil - one of the three ruling lords at the time - was persuaded by his soul-bonded to receive them, for the sake of the newborn child. Though still reluctant the Laurelin gave in and called for the resident healers, and through their ministrations Shadow was restored to health. They were given permission to remain within the boundaries of the herd until Erthë was weaned, and gratefully they accepted.
Erthë was a bright child full of energy, intelligent and possessed by great curiosity. Already from an early age she was prone to wander away from the eyes of her watchful parents, and upon doing so she learned that the world was vast and immensely beautiful.
During her first long expedition away from her mother's side she came upon a curious red forest, enchanted and peculiar. While exploring, she stumbled upon the battle of two Gods - the Lord of Time and Spark who governed the blessed lands of Aurora Basin and the foul, gargantuan monster from whom the red forest had been stolen - the Bear God from the Rift. Terrified the wee babe became witness to the mighty struggle, and when other mortals arrived to assist the Time Lord called the name of the child's name along with the names of others, urging them to assist. Unable to resist his bidding, Erthë did as she was asked; dangerous though it was, she found herself protected by many and felt her heart swell with gratitude and purpose. She realized that she found pleasure in being needed, and that she wished to protect others rather than be protected herself. Bravely biting back her frightened tears the moon-bright child picked up a stone from the ground and threw it towards the battling Bear God, and the stone found its goal in the eye of the dying deity. But with this act Erthë made herself a target; searing blood rained from the giant's many wounds and it burned her already flawed eye, causing it to go blind.
Long the battle raged, but with the collective effort of valiant warriors and the Time God's might, the Rift lord was slain. Injured and weak, terrified from the violence and death she had witnessed Erthë fled the battlefield and set out on the jouney back to her parents, who were mightily angry that she had been away for so long.
Time passed and the child grew, and with her the thirst for adventure and freedom. When she realized that containing the child would be impossible for long Shadow gave in and allowed the foal to accompany her on her own journeys, for the black mare came of a vagrant flock and had never truly settled anywhere. Far and wide they traveled and visited many corners of Helovia, and Erthë met many horses across the land; some were friendly and others cold, some with horns and others with wings and more still who possessed none. At times they quarreled with each other, but she loved them equally with a generous heart that saw no difference - for her own parents were of different species and she loved them both dearly.
The seasons changed and snow melted, bringing spring and the time of Birdsong in its wake. As Erthë explored a curious landscape by her mother's side, vast and winding as a green labyrinth, they came across a peculiar gathering of horses that centered around one mare of all species, so powerful and fair that Erthë knew she could only be a God. Entranced by Her might and beauty the child drew closer, and in doing so she learned that it was indeed the Lady of Wind and Darkness, called the Goddess of the Moon; and the foal felt her heart swell while gazing upon Her perfect visage and craved to impart a greeting upon Her. But by leaving her Mother's side she exposed herself to danger; a foul entity appeared amidst the gathered and challenged the Moon for the verdant land She had claimed as Hers. The Lady was not cowed, and upon revealing itself as the twisted Wolf God of the Rift it challenged the Lady unto battle. Chaos ensued as devilish clones of the Wolf God erupted amidst the mortals, and though the presence of the Wolf struck fear in her heart Erthë was enraged by it's insolence towards the Goddess she had come to admire. A mere babe, Erthë picked up a weapon from the ground and charged one of the many clones, but though she landed blows her size was such that she was swiftly pushed aside, landing by the feet of the Goddess and her son. Mesec, turned into a warg by his Mother's might, lashed out towards the babe as her sudden presence enraged the berserking beast; terrified and traumatized for life she escaped uninjured, but would carry a fear of wolves ever since.
Again battle raged around her, but the number of courageous Helovians was too much even for the might of a god. The Wolf fell, and as it did so the Goddess harvested from its fallen body many prizes and distributed them amidst the warriors she found most worthy. Bewildered by this act that would seem foul in the eyes of a child Erthë found herself presented with one of the beasts fangs - gratefully she accepted, not because she desired the gift but because she loved the Moon and felt heartened knowing it had come from Her hand.
Illness spread across Helovia with the appearance of these strange new lands, and Erthë, young and frail, found herself afflicted with each new plague. In an attempt to cure herself she met the healer from her infancy, the gentle gelding Badger, who taught her about herbs and their medical uses; but she found that common healing could not affect the magical plagues. Along with many others she continually sought answers about the sickness, and also about the Rift that held such horrors. From denizens of the faraway place, pushed through the same magic portals as the new lands, Erthë learned that the Rift was a place of chaos and magic, a dangerous land where there was no peace. She found through conversation that the Gods of Helovia sought out these new lands in order to expand the borders of Helovia and create space for more new life; two lands had been claimed already but her homeland held Four lords, and so she, along with many others, feared that more battles were to come.
Their fears would appear to be realized when again a and emerged in the far south that had not been there before. But though many gathered and prepared themselves for battle, the radiant Lord of Sun and Light came before them and promised that no battle would take place on the beautiful sands of the Halcyon Flats, because he would watch over the land and not let any evil come through. Relieved the mortals scattered, and Erthë made this blessed land her new playground when Shadow sometimes left her.
But no sooner had the denizens of Helovia settled in by the beautiful land than the Sun Lord's word was sullied and his beautiful promises turned false. A cunning beast of the Rift had disguised itself with illusions and deception and tricked them all into believing the Flats to be safe, and when they least of all expected it he struck, attempting to steal back these lands beneath the Sun. Shocked and disappointed in the Fiery Lord Erthë found herself alone on the battlefield once more, but though she knew she ought to turn and run she decided to fight, driven by a desire to protect her homeland and the many friends she had come to care for. Courageously she aimed to blind the Crocodile God and alongside several others she managed to impair its vision, but the cost of approaching the titan was high. By a flick of its mighty tail the child was sent flying across the battlefield and landed hard, damaging a leg so badly that not even magic would be enough to completely heal it. Spotting her child amidst the raging battle as she came to collect her, Shadow the brave pegasus mare descended upon the Crocodile God and barred its path to her child. But the tyrannical entity, enraged by pain and disappointment flicked its tail again, and before Erthë's terrified eyes her mother was struck down and did not rise again.
The battle continued to rage all around them, but the child noticed not. Injured and in much pain Erthë crawled to her mother's side, weeping upon seeing the deep wounds in the chest from which her life-blood escaped with every fading heartbeat. Regretting not her act of defending her daughter, Shadow imparted upon her only daughter her final words and left her with three tasks; to carry the message of her death to Vadim, to find Kari, the long lost older brother Erthë had never known about, and to return a piece of broken horn, taken from a defeated unicorn named Psyche, back to its owner. Finally, after speaking the name of the man she had come to love, Shadow died.
Heartbroken Erthë returned to her father in the far north, carrying the possessions of her mother's along with a magical weapon, a bow crafted by the Sun God from the spine of the defeated Crocodile. Feeling responsible for the death of her mother Erthë tearfully related the events to Vadim, and though he grieved the stallion comforted her, and decided that they should leave the cold herd land as it reminded them both too much of their loss.
As spring progressed into summer they arrived at the borders of the World's Edge, the mist-veiled herd land by the sea that the Moon Goddess governed. Though still grieving, Erthë was invigorated by the acceptance into the new home, as she still felt warmly for the Dark Lady and had come to know many who already lived within Her lands.
Slow to heal from the tragic events in the South, Erthë immersed herself in the life of the Edge as a method to cope. Exuberant and lively she became a frequent face along the borders to welcome new faces into the herd, and when a new Seer was appointed she begged Alune to let her become his apprentice.
But peace would not last long. Refugees from the Rift were abundant within Helovia now, and the Earth God had yet to return. Frustrated with her own lack of knowledge about the Rift Erthë searched for ways to learn, and in doing so she found herself back in the south, in time for the appearance of the last new land. Swimming off the shore of the Flats she was dragged out to sea by a strong current, and emerged upon the Riptide Islands as they were pulled from the Rift. Grimly determined not to let the catastrophe from last battle to happen again Erthë went to battle wielding her mother's enchanted bow, and her ice cold arrow flew straight and true deep into the chest of the Tiger Goddess of the Rift. But the beast was a vengeful one, and in retaliation she made a swipe with her mighty paw; helpless to escape Erthë was struck, and felt her left foreleg shatter by the force of the blow. Fainted from the blow she learned afterwards that the Earth God had moved her out of harms way, and though two healers worked together to mend the shattered bone they managed only to set the fracture, allowing the adventurous child to hobble around only slowly and with great pain.
Embittered by this injury though the Goddess had been slain, Erthë returned to the Edge and tried to find peace within the borders of the forest. Her restlessness was great however, and though she through many struggles learned how to master the use of her wings and thusly became more mobile, she still suffered from great pain. In a desperate move she administered a powerful opiate upon herself, taught to her by Badger in the past, and to her initial relief Erthë found temporary relief in chewing the red petals. Gradually, her inexperience soon caused problems to arise. The pain of the injury would not go away and her growing dependency upon the potent herb was growing dangerous. Upon consulting the healer Evangeline in the Edge the filly learned that she would have to bequeath a God to mend her, and to her great surprise a great legend offered to aid her, the Sun God's beloved Ophelia herself. The Amaranthine guided the child towards the south together with Tembovu, Erthë's long time friend and the newly appointed King of the Edge, but though they journeyed long towards the abandoned shrines by the gods hallowed land, the mission went unaccomplished. Duties called upon both her companions and Erthë was left to wait, enduring her condition in silence as the seasons slowly changed and her first year in life came to an end.
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