The dust rolled across his hooves as he glumly crossed the borders of the desert herd. His usual bright vigour tarnished by the slump in his neck and there was a sick look in his eyes. Inari followed beside him, tail trailing in the orange dirt and his head too hung low to the ground. They were the perfect pictures of sorrow, the colts once shining blue gaze looked dull and utterly lost. They had lost someone dear, someone close to their hearts and they were now nothing but a memory leaving their hearts to painfully break. Her snow-white corpse that littered the earth, so perfect, how could a mother be anything less than perfect? Their journey back from the Thistle Meadow had given the boy, Sacre, time to think and reflect on the life he was leading, if she was proud of him.

His curiosity had taken him briefly out of Helovia, exploring a new part of the earth with his orange bushy friend and a bounce in their steps. It had never occurred to him that he might just forget how to get back to the land he had called home since his birth and after many fraught days of searching the curious pair had guiltily stalked back in through the Threshold. It wasn’t like he didn’t have duties and after a while he had wondered if the Dragons Throat had forgotten him. The once Sleuth now nothing more than a failure. It was on his guilty trek back to his home that Sacre had wandered through the Thistle Meadow as he often did, visiting the place of his birth, there was something about it that made him feel calm and safe, a nice place to think. It was there that he saw his mother lying unmoving on the floor, her bodice decaying and surrounded by flies. An image that would stay with him forever and Sacre was sure he would never be able to visit the Meadows again, the special place he had for it was now gone. The only memory would be his dam’s cold and lifeless body.

After that, the two had wandered Helovia in sorrow before finally finding themselves before the vast canyons of their home. Their feet dragged, he felt no comfort no matter where he went and for the first time he felt the true impact of loneliness. What had he expected, that she would live forever? No, but at least long enough to see her son make a name for himself or even see him grow into his full height, a handsome young stallion. He would never be able seek those familiar vibrant blue eyes; the very eyes he had, and watch them turn into welling pride. He felt so alone and craved the closeness of kin and friend, where was Roux and Aviya? Mr Lace and Tandavi? His Father?

Finally, as he reached the old dragon blood tree, he cast his tear stricken gaze to the dead leaves that littered the floor.