I wouldn’t call this feeling “victory” or really anything like it, but there was a sense of calm that washed over me when Cetan’s voice closed the distance between us telling me to wait. I didn’t know what to expect from the nervous stud nor did I think he would choose to align himself with the Edge after demonstrating so much hesitation only moments before. After all, Torleik and Cetan were of the same species… not to mention, the Basin boy did not suffer from a pair of rotting wings. I feared that I had frightened the young stallion off with my appearances alone but as fate seemed to have it, he was actually mine for the taking. I paused momentarily to allow Cetan a chance to wish our fellow animal goodbye before motioning him away with a weak toss of my head. The trek back to the Edge was a long one and I knew that it would take most of the day to get there, so at least if we got started now we might be able to make it home before dusk. Home… What a strange concept for Cetan now that he had chosen a destination. Would he find comfort in our numbers or would he shrink from their curious gazes and delighted “hellos”?

Drawing away from the small clearing from which we were all situated, I glanced back to the Basin stallion, still perplexed by his careful demeanor. He was none like his herd mates which led me to believe that a heart may yet beat beneath his breast… Of course, they were a guileful bunch so I wouldn’t pretend that I carried a torch for their name any more or any less because of Torleik. But somehow he had ignited a curiosity in me that I’d yet to come to terms with and perhaps never would. “You made the right choice… The Edge will be well worth your troubles in finding us.” My voice was barely heard above the brusque laughing of the wind, but I was still careful to hold my tongue before attentive ears with not one, but two horns to protect them. The Basin, though amiable enough after much deliberation and debate, still kept knives at the ready in case of a breech in our treaty. They surely didn’t have to say as much for me to know; it was just common knowledge.

With the day stretching onward toward nightfall, I marched along with a certain determination that told of my impatience. Cetan had sidled up next to me, still full of nervous tension and perhaps a little appreciation since it was I that took the brunt of the wind and cold slamming into our sides. Little did he know that my sickness had made me irritable and perhaps a bit rude, however I was careful to hide such emotions behind a carefully composed façade of tranquility. “So tell me about yourself Cetan… what brings you to Helovia and so luckily now, the World’s Edge?” I didn’t have to force the words in spite of how exhausted I felt because there was a huge part of me that was simply curious to know. He was such a peculiar animal that I found it hard to believe that he had wandered here alone or really anywhere alone for that matter. His fearful nature and steadfast distrust of all he encountered must have made such a journey quite difficult.

When the sun was finally falling away from the sky and the stars began to peek through the atmosphere to smile down at us, I began to recognize the familiar outlines of the glass wall looming low just ahead. Sparkles of faint yellow-orange light was scattered along the hard ground still frosted with snow and ice, and they danced in the breeze with the shifting of the naked branches casting shadows across the swells. The mists were heavy at this time of day and just beyond the narrow passage that would allow us inside they waited in their silent splendor to embrace us with long, spindly, white fingers. Looking ahead, I stopped before our borders, hoping that Cetan would understand the cue to slow alongside me. “What do you think? It’s another world just inside those walls… But I think you’ll find it more than sufficient.” I shifted my gaze to look down upon him and those cerulean eyes before adding softly, “Welcome home friend.”