He was very much like an insect, flitting and sputtering about at every noise or flurry of movement. Nothing appeared to comfort him and so I decided that I would leave him to his own devices as we meandered closer to the cliff. My gait was confident and strong and served as a prime example that I felt at ease here in the mists. Somehow I hoped that it would reassure Cetan or at least make him believe that the world would not come crashing down around his feeble mind. I could only imagine what Mirage would have made of the boy with her careful resignation and calm demeanor. Come Cetan, you’re among friends. No. Not that. Clearly I couldn’t imitate the draconic mare any more than I could conjure her image in my mind after all this time. How I missed the mare dearly; if only she would return and restore order to my heart.

The ground began to reappear beneath us as we closed in on the lip that peered out over the roiling sea. Its breath pushed the fog away and ran through the soft strands of my mane like a lover’s caress in turn making me smile softly to myself. The Edge was the only thing I’d ever known. It was the one constant in my ever-changing life that always remained when the smoke and fear closed in around me. Even if I couldn’t convince Cetan of the magic that the land possessed, he would see it in due time. This place had a way of settling fondly in the mind and leaving an impression as unshakable as true love.

With admiration lighting up my eyes, I looked down to the young stallion in hopes of finding something similar in his own expression. There was certainly something there but I couldn’t quite put a name to it just yet… It was definitely a look of passion… but for what I was still unsure. However, as the words came sliding along his tongue claiming that he too desired to become a sleuth, I responded in kind with an unbelieving sigh. I had been all too fortunate in being named Specter of the Edge but to start recruiting pupils so soon had been beyond my wildest dreams. It was a true wonder that anyone would choose so willingly to follow me… but then again, hadn’t Mirage named me her King because I possessed some kind of power?


Perhaps I’d just forgotten my strength somewhere along the way.

“A fine choice.” I wasn’t sure how to express my gratitude and remain his superior all at the same time but a small light of my own character always seemed to show through the cracks of my existence. I was not as comfortable in a role of leadership as Archibald the Dauntless but at least I still possessed some thread of humility in the way I kept my company. I’d seen power dim the shine of many-a-soul and I’d no intentions of dulling my own spark in such a way. “I’d love to mentor you Cetan… But I will always put your training before our friendship. I’m sure you understand….” I’d seen a part of the youth that I’d yet to see; a moment in which he was not the terrified creature I’d discovered in the Threshold. Instead he was an animal with purpose and definition and I hoped that he would grow into that part of himself in time. The Edge would appreciate a mind as brilliant as Cetan’s, if only he would show them what he’d shown me.

As unexpected as it was to witness Cetan’s display of sureness, I was even more surprised to find that he referred to me as gentle one in that foreign tongue of his. I chuckled lightly at the irony of it all because I was certain that I’d never shared with him my title as “the Gentle Heart.” I assumed it was a befitting entitlement now considering Mirage had said the same of me. But I did wonder what kind of stallion that made me in retrospect… I was certainly not as frightful as Torleik, the Basin man Cetan and I had also met in the Threshold… but did that make me weak? Was I merely the butt of some joke or a reminder that not all males were fit warriors? I was left bereft by the idea and mildly distracted but resigned enough to bury the thought until later contemplation. This was not the time to wallow in my own self-pity, especially when I sought to pull Cetan out of his own figurative hole- “Helovia is home to many languages my young pupil… but you needn’t worry about which ones. We have a lot to do from here on out but before we can get started, you’ll need your rest Cetan. Tomorrow we begin your journey to becoming a skilled sleuth.” No, this was a time to be strong and teach others to do the same.