Hooves beat against the ground and made the shimmering, gleaming water ripple and contort. The filly started and looked up from her game of doodle in the sand when one, two three, even more horses disturbed the tranquil peace and thundered past her. Some took to the sky but all of them appeared to be hurrying towards a particular location, one where a blazing, flaming god had risen on glorious wings that rained fire down upon the earth.

A sinking feeling settled into her stomach as she watched them unleash their hidden powers. No, not again! Not another battle, not more pain, or death, or... Had the Sun Lord not said that there would be no more war? Had he not been assertive and almost condescending when he told them how different he was from his brother and sister before him?

Look at him now, all desperate as he went back on his word and shattered this shimmering illusion of peace with his violence.


A mere whisper, yet it was the sound of disappointment as something was lost in the disease-filled eyes of the child. Never before had she experienced the breaking of a promise, this was the first time she experienced the pain of deceit. It didn't matter that it had been an honest mistake - it had been made by a GOD, and for that they would all pay.

There was nothing she could do to stop it.

Out of place flashes of glowing light and color danced around every warrior and each powerful expression of violence, fluttering and dancing and crowding around the God, around a tall warrior she had seen in passing many times before now, around Isopia and Evaneska and... and around something that for a moment appeared in a flash of glittering lights, only to disappear again. The girl stiffened and gasped as her eyes fell upon the place, because even in the brightness of the day her eyes could see something more there, something she immediately wished she hadn't seen. A big, vast lizard with flat nose and spiked tail and short stubby legs and teeth so huge that they didn't fit behind scaly lips. The bear had been awful to see, the wolves terrifying, but this.... this figure dressed in black and fluorescent light was a nightmare embodied.

Yet, for some reason only Isopia had attacked the thing with precision. The girl thought hard about it as she hesitantly hovered on the spot, out of the way of the battle but debating furiously with herself on whether to join the fray or not. She didn't want to fight or even go close to that thing, but of course she had to help, had to do something! Having that thing crawling around the Flats would be much too scary, because she couldn't for a moment believe it didn't eat foals. Erthë watched the others for a while, studied their tactics and attacks and reactions, and when an answer came to her on what to do it was followed by relief. Of course there were ways for her to be helpful without getting directly involved! She wouldn't have to kill or hurt anything after all, just... Well. Help the others do it quickly and more easily?

On light feet the young filly set course for the battle but took the long way around so that she would approach from the opposite side of the hidden monster. Slower than the rest yet resilient and agile she made sure that she wouldn't get in the way of anyone and darted up to where the shimmering lights crowded more densely. Once close enough, the child began to dig up sand with her slim cloves, only to scatter it high into the air. Hopefully it would land on the beast, whatever it was, and make it easier for the others to see. If she was lucky some of the fine grains and sparkling water might get in its eyes, prevent it from seeing and hurting anyone.

But in her heart Erthë held little hope that it would do much good. Already the serene stillness of these Halcyon Flats had been shattered, and it made her want to cry that anyone, god or mortal, could be so full of themselves to not expect danger when the same scenarios had been played out many times already.

War was such a heavy price to pay for arrogance.