As the time trickled by, the mare's consciousness slowly woke up. More and more sections of her were remembered, more parts of her soul reconnected with this dimension, more feelings were reawakened. Her deep love, her passion for those who had followed her, her desire to hold and love her mate and her daughters, to see her friends again, to know that they were alive and all right. Though she had felt the passage of time in whatever dimension she had unwittingly travelled to, the feelings still felt raw and real; but as the realisation of just how long she had been held captive settled in, her own mind reacted with a reflex.

Everything shut down within her.

Akaith clung onto her bonded, as she always did. But the torrent of emotions that ran through her beloved was hard to contain - not impossible, but nearly so. Anger surged one moment, replaced by her passionate caring, replaced again by an all-consuming numbness.

Emotion blinds you from what is truly there, her mother's voice echoed in her ears, years of wisdom resurrecting in the storm that raged inside.

And so as Mirage listened to her Goddess speak, she did so without allowing her emotions to filter the words; she simply heard them, took them for what they were, and processed them.

Balance, yes, that was what the Qian had been founded on. Balance, order, equality. One could not have Fire and Light without Darkness and Cold. One could not have new life without old life falling.

Hototo, the name tolls a vague bell in the back of her mind; the child of a God. Idly the mare wondered if it was his sacrifice that had brought her back. Swiftly she shoved the guilt associated with such a thought aside. Guilt was not required in her task.

Had Helovia truly turned upon the Moon Goddess? Had they forsaken her for her actions? All because of the sacrifice of a few mortals?

Would you feel the same if it had been Semira, or Amaris, or Tandavi, or Vikram sacrificed? Or Lace, Torasin? Akaith's voice penetrated her mind, sharp and demanding, forcing the mare to feel that which she had wished to ignore. Anger flared up once again, swift and sharp, spiking the newly reborn bond she shared with distaste. Of course Mirage would have been devastated; she knew that Helovia would come to realise in due time the necessity of whatever it was her Goddess had done.

Just as you have realised Mauja's crime against Torasin? The ever-persistent voice sounded loudly again, refusing to be ignored or shut out. The mare's ears slicked back, but otherwise nothing changed about the mare. I shall embrace the Goddess' words. she replied stubbornly to her bonded, who huffed sardonically from her perch atop her beloved's withers.

She kept you alive too, Mirage reminded her quietly, accepting the dragon's silence as acceptance of this fact. I cannot ignore her, the mare added, ears tilting forward once more to resume their neutral posture.

"I will do all that I can." Deep, honeyed tones replied, warmth coloured only by honesty in their resonance. She did not know exactly what the Goddess wanted of her - but she would be sure to do all that she could anyway.


@[God of the Moon]