The first step into the darkness was a wonderfully triumphant moment. Only a line divided the rest of the world from the Sanctuary, but it felt as if there was a great divide, one which Ampere eyed for a moment before gathering the strength to cross. She knew what the outside held in store, she had passed into it often enough when overwhelmed with moments of weakness during her stay in the caves, and each time had been disastrous.

Yet the caves were no better in their own right.

Breathing deep, as if preparing to plunge into cold water, Ampere too the leap of faith. In that moment she put her fate in the hoofsteps of the divine palomino, trusting in his judgement; it was not an act she took lightly, never having the bravery to lean so wholly on someone else before. It was unknown, and because of that, it was frightening. Today though, it felt right. He was delivering to her everything she had been wanting since being forced into the underworld and she would be a fool to decline it for the sake of independence and trivial fears.

Each step behind him was a stiff motion as her muscles were pulled taut with worry. She visibly winced, as if expecting to be torn apart by some infected lingering just outside the cavern entrance. After a few strides and her remaining life however, Ampere released her breath, not even aware she'd been holding it. With that exhale all of her tension, her grief, her doubt, it just fell away. In response Ampere stretched out her wings, marveling in the freedom.

She turned her head to the new dawn, gasping at the beauty of its spread and the meaning behind its arrival. The light seemed to burn away the clouds of discord that had cast deep shadows upon the region, cleansing portions of their homeland. Sadly the same could not be said of the wraiths, whose horrible armor did not chink beneath the sun's presence, but instead recoiled from it like heretics, lost in the shroud of mayhem. Ampere watched them fall to the wayside with a buoyant sorrow; they would all need healing sooner than later, especially to secure the success of their topsoil herds. Shadow.

"I am truly in the presence of a god, Ampere recognized. Where there had once been a sour disregard she now felt a shy hesitation, as bashful as a filly standing before a colt for the first time. It didn't help that he was a handsome god, though if she had the mindset she would have realized no deity was particularly ugly, at least not physically so.

Occasionally she glanced back at Africa, the unsteady whisper of the girl's single wing reminding Ampere that she did not share this moment alone, for which she was grateful. Ampere might have had reservations about the grey mare's ruined appendage and her shared bond with a bird, and though those issues remained buried beneath Ampere's skin, their importance was dwarfed by the glow of the Sun and the warmth of companionship.

Africa's presence was especially appreciated when their journey came to a halt at the rim of the desert land. For a moment Ampere wasn't certain they'd gone the correct way, so different was the Throat that lay before them. It had never been a home for Ampere, so she could only imagine the effects of the changes upon Africa, but even so the strangeness of it all struck Ampere to her core. "So this is the cost," she murmured as her gaze swept the landscape, rimmed with a sadness like grey rain. So much had happened to her here - was it all so easily forgotten with a rising sea? "Gaucho..."

A stiff wind rolled across the red dunes, mixing with Ampere's mane and causing her to turn her head down. "We will not fail," she said after Africa, a stubbornness coloring her tone. The darkness had enveloped them for a reason, she would not let its need arise again.

Intending to look at Africa now, Ampere found the crown weighed heavily on her poll. Its weight would be a constant reminder - was that why he had bestowed the circlets to them? Never forget....
Ampere licked her lips, anticipation roiling in her gut like bad grass.

"Let us discuss the new age of the Dragon's Throat."