Another arrives after me. Hector. I nod my head at him, and murmur my thanks to him, sincerity plain over my entire face and in my blood red eyes. I stay quiet as the Sun God acknowledges my presence. He has no reason to treat me with favor, or even kindly. I rise from my bow and listen to his words. Why was the darkness brought, why was there this suffering? It is clear there is an order among us.. turns for speaking. I wait my turn quietly, listening to each horse speak. Some of them knew the Sun God and there was an established history, some of them were like me and did not know him. The painted mare spoke up first. It seemed she was close with the God.. I listened to her answer, saying that understanding hate was the reason for all this. The others seemed to agree and disagree with her. A stallion disagreed, arguing that hate was just part of life. Perhaps, that did make a bit of sense. Hate could be a powerful weapon, and a powerful foe. A young boy named Cera seemed to agree.. that the hate drove the herds together and enabled new friendships.

A young pegasus girl introduces herself as Amani. Her energy is tangible. She also thinks the darkness was so they could all be friends. I wonder about that. I hadn't really made any enemies since being in Helovia, though my attitude may have made that challenging at times. In fact, it was almost as if I wanted to be friends with everyone I've met. It's curious for certain. Hmm...

The next female to speak is much more pessimistic about it. She believes that there may be a malevolent presence that brought the darkness. Maybe.. But who would that presence have been? Did anyone see such a presence? What did it want with Helovia? Her pessimism sounds like something I would say. Another one speaks, a pale colored femme, as pale as the snow... though she does not introduce herself. She is bold and brazen, not holding back from accusing the Gods of bringing the darkness.

I'm not sure how I feel about it all. It seems to be my turn to speak, though. I hesitate, thinking about all the information that has been given to me, all the opinions to sort through. Finally it seems like words come to my lips, ready to be heard.

I speak loud enough for the Sun God to hear me, and for anyone who cares to listen to hear me. "Lord, I was taken by the darkness. It exposed the inner evil that I had inside. I feel that the darkness has left a mark on my soul." I admit this darkness, hoping that the Sun God will not think poorly of me because of it. It is something I will have to learn to take in stride as I progress with my journey in Helovia. "I cannot say for certain why the darkness came. But I agree with the others. I think that it was to bring Helovians together to forge new friendships, new kinships." I go quiet, and glance at the Sun God, wondering what he will think. Then I look over at Hector next to me, wondering what the warrior will think. Back to the Sun God. Is this a test? Is there a definition of who passes and fails - one correct answer? I wonder...


Walking "Talking"

Satanic Silk