Fire of the Diviner

Alina had never seen magic such as this. An eternal fire; it’s flames reaching for the heavens without end. It glowed orange, red and yellow before her eyes; twisted, turned and cracked. It was soothing in a way. Maybe because fire symbolized warmth and warmth was something the girl worshipped. Maybe she ought to worship the Sun God as well? But how did one pay respect to something that one had never encountered? Where she came from religion had not existed and the only ones who were worshipped were the leaders. I need to learn more about him. the dove decided.

She looked around in the night. It was cold - one of two reasons why she was at the Fire. Since the dove’s chest, belly and the inside of her legs were not covered with pristine white hair anymore the slightest chill in the air made her shiver. And now when Orangemoon was upon them the desert nights grew colder with every passing day. The other reason why she stood by the fire was Africa; the dappled, one-winged mare whom she had met at the end of Tallsun. She wished to speak to her again and she had heard that the Diviner was tending the Fire. Maybe it wasn’t magical after all?

A shiver traveled through her slender body. A dull pain emitted from her half healed wounds and a soft grunt escaped her. Some time had passed now since her run in with Ricochet and her burns were healing nicely. A few patches of her raw skin had even obtained a healthy pink color. However she knew that it didn’t matter, because when the real cold came she would freeze to death anyway. Maybe she would be alright of the stayed at Helovia’s Heart throughout Frostfall? But there were not much to eat or drink over there. What if she stood by this fire every night? If Frostfall wasn’t too harsh daytime in Dragon’s Throat would be bearable, wouldn’t it? There must be some way for her to survive. She didn’t feel ready to die now. She had so much more to experience! She wanted to take a position in the herd; help Onni with her work maybe? And the thought of leaving this world before knowing the joy of motherhood was maybe the most frightening. To die without leaving a part of her behind; she didn’t want that!

A sigh left her body and then the dove shook her head. Her pristine mane danced upon her thin neck and she forced a smile to her lips. She knew there was no use dwelling on this matter, but truth be told she was a bit scared.

Turning to the fire again the dove thought of all the new friends she had made and all the nice horses she had encountered in her new home. She thought of Virus and Skuggi. Gaucho and Onni. Of Africa, Dust and Midas. And she felt like her heart lit up with warmth; as if the Fire did not only burn before her emeralds eyes but also inside of her chest. Dragon’s Throat really was her home and the thoughts she had had when she started her somewhat failed exploring expedition (that she would move on when she didn’t find Helovia interesting anymore) were far from her mind now. This time she would stay, this time she wouldn’t ponder if the grass was greener somewhere else; this time she had found her way home.