The way he cycled through his thoughts and deliberated just about everything in existence made me believe that Cetan was meant to be a philosopher. Once he was able to shed the fear and anxiety that plagued him and forced him to question everyone’s intentions, I was certain that he would be a bright young stud with an equally optimistic future ahead of him…. It was just getting him there that would prove to be a problem. However, when the notion struck him, Cetan responded with a little less insight than I’d been searching for, I couldn’t help but smile honestly at the boy. He relied so heavily on others that it was almost painful to see. At this point in time, the dappled stallion was relying on me not only to burden the force of the cold and the wind but also to give him shelter and consequently a sense of purpose. However, I couldn’t blame him for those things because I had once worn his shoes… I had once sought comfort from another simply because I could not find it within myself.

Mirage had been the one to allow me such mercy and now I was in the position to return the favor unto someone else. It was a gratifying feeling and one that I’d not soon forget. “Why would they strip the herd of both their elders and their youth?” I was genuinely curious now, still imaging what that particular day had looked like in the eyes of young Cetan. But with little else to go on, everything I pictured was blurred and stretched into shadow.

As the glass wall approached with its cracks and its crags and its ruin, I watched the boy with bated interest. I did not want to influence his opinion of this place nor did I want to taint it. This moment was the one he’d been waiting on and yet one that I’d seen too many times before. The passage was still narrow and the mists still lingered, but to Cetan that very same passage was like a well-kept secret and the mists were a magical screen that concealed the beauty of the Edge. His life was unravelling before him and becoming something new while mine was droning into eternity while staking its claim on what I considered just another day… As the stud stumbled into place beside me once more (what with those short legs and tiny hooves, he’d had a tough time keeping pace with me) his bright cerulean eyes fluttered over the crystalline wall as if studying a monument of greatness. I couldn’t’ help the slight chuckle in response to his amazement. Clearly that didn’t have crafters where he’d come from.

His wonderment and child-like excitement for life was somehow inspiring to me since my life had lost most of its luster. I’d seen something similar in the last mare I recruited… perhaps they’d get along nicely then. Astraea was just as star-struck by the Edge as Cetan was, though perhaps a bit more refined… actually, perhaps a lot more refined. But everyone needed a place to belong and now I felt more than ever that I needed to help Cetan find his. “I’m glad that you do… I want to welcome you to our family Cetan. Your decisions, your ideas, and most of all your success will all be nurtured here.” I turned my deep, brown gaze to the smaller stud in hopes that he would once again see that I meant no harm. I wanted his trust and I wanted to honor the promises I’d made and would make to him. He was no longer just a recruit I’d found wandering the Threshold… he was now a brother in arms. “We are not friends… we are family.”

With the words stringing us together at the shoulder, I shuffled forward toward the passage that would take us into our home. When we were near enough, I stepped aside so that the boy could enter first and witness more than just the shattered wall hiding the true splendor of our Lady. She crooned and sighed as I followed him in and I smiled lightly to acknowledge my own return to her wondrous embrace. The mists greeted us by wrapping happily around our ankles and concealing the dirt and ice that made up the once lush turf of the Edge, but they also allowed the serenity and grace of nightfall to cast a hazy shadow on reality. “I don’t intend to keep you from rest for long, but it is customary for new recruits to pick a line of work within our ranks should they wish it. I figured we could discuss the matter presently and get you settled and on the right track as soon as possible.” I paused to let the idea sink in, hoping that he would be receptive to my propositioning him so soon after arrival. “We have a few different areas under which you can study. You can choose to be a Nurse, a crafter, a sleuth, a philosopher, or even a warrior if you’d like. Each rank will provide you a mentor or teacher in which you can learn from, which will make your work more approachable as well. With that said, was there anything that piqued your interest or do you need a bit of time to consider?”

I didn’t want to overwhelm him with so many possibilities, but I found that most knew what kind of path they sought to wander and I didn’t think Cetan to be any different. He was an intelligent fellow for all intents and purposes and I certainly believed that he would serve the Edge well.