THOR

I didn’t know what to expect upon watching the queer creature flee from the mouth of the caves, but it hadn’t been this. One moment I was staring up into the branches , searching and hoping to find the egg somewhere within her matted feathers and the next I was looking down to find it perched between my hooves. How was I to know that I, Thor the Gentle Heart, would be the one to unveil the witch’s plans so easily? Or maybe I hadn’t, maybe it was all just another test to leave my mind reeling… but there it was, right between my toes. I glanced back once to make sure everyone else had survived their trip to the pit and was surprised to see that indeed everyone had. However, I was still in shock…

With the egg still sitting quietly at my feet, I felt unsure. How was I supposed to care for it now? It frightened me and excited me all at the same time. Slowly, I dipped my face to try and collect the infant between my lips (no teeth, for fear of cracking the delicate shell) and with a little difficulty I was able to lift it and begin the trek back toward the Edge. Honestly I wasn’t sure how long I could keep it stashed in my mouth because it had a way of making me drool, but it didn’t matter to me… as long as it was safe.

I wondered what exactly remained hidden behind the perfect, ivory casing and I thought of the many creatures I’d seen throughout Helovia, but this one felt different to me. It was significant… it was mine. Even as the thought crossed my mind, I felt giddy and incandescent. This was a feeling of pure bliss, seamless unison. Even though I hadn’t witnessed what lived within, I was content to suffer whatever consequences came my way for the tiny heart beating just beyond my reach.

The closer I grew to the inevitable mists, the closer I felt to the soul between my lips. It was a growing of emotion that I had not expected so soon in meeting the one that would accompany me in all my ventures and all my hardships. This creature would see me at my worst and it would see me at my best… a bond unequalled by anything else. I feared what awaited me when the porcelain cracked and my very best friend was slowly revealed… Yet, even as I continued on my way toward the World’s Edge, the egg began to stir. It was a stirring in my heart that alerted me to the infant and her desires.

Just beyond, our home loomed tall, but it didn’t feel as empty as it had before. Now I felt as though I was bringing home the one that would save my soul and fill the empty caverns of my heart. This was love at its core, my life.


When I had finally reached the borders of my home some hours later, under the cover of night, the infant began to quake. I was quick to place the egg at my hooves so that I would not interfere in my companion’s movement, but I hadn’t expected to see the large crack blooming vertically along the shell. I panicked for a moment, fearful that I’d done something in our commute to the Edge. However, when an ivory beak broke eagerly through the crack and into the world beyond, I smiled large.


Two golden eyes were the next thing to be seen and they blinked once before a tiny screech was lifted to the heavens. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before… When the babe finally broke through the remaining shell, I reached down to touch her tiny midnight-colored face with my muzzle. The zephyr squawked and hummed before falling quiet again. “Sabine,” I whispered. “Your name is Sabine.”


Sabine: Midnight Blue and white Roc Zephyr. Beneath her wings are white speckled feathers and her eyes are also circled in white. Star patterns expand along the length of her back and cover the width of her wingspan. Her beak is white as well, along with her talons and she has fierce golden eyes.

Specter

world's edge