To the land of the sun I returned. To the sweeping, sand-kissed plains did I again wander… Only this time things were different. This time I was accompanied by days of old and by a sister who was and is dear to my heart. Somehow I felt as though this was how it was always meant to be, despite the heartache we had suffered in the Falls. There was something about being accompanied by Ghost that encouraged me to want more than I’d ever had. Even as I trailed the beautiful, raven colored mare back into the southern realms of Helovia, I felt at peace. However, the land appeared to be changed by time… or something entirely less organic. It was quiet, almost frighteningly so, and somewhat different. What had I missed in my time away?

Autumn had come to sweep the stifling heat beneath a rug of brightly colored leaves as we passed through Thistle Meadow. The flowers had begun to fade and the vibrant, tall grasses had begun to brown. It was a familiar sight to me and even as Romul pranced about, chasing Fantôme no doubt, he relayed images of the woods beyond. There came flashes of dark tree trunks and trodden pathways that had been worn away through the years. Sometimes I would catch a goofy, wolfish smile as Romul and his younger counterpart romped and played as they trailed just behind Ghost and I. It was times like these that I truly appreciated friendship… It wasn’t often that I was able to depend on another for comfort, aside from Romul, and there something freeing in the idea. Instead of watching over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t being followed by a hungry predator or some manic creature of the night, I was content to meander lazily astride the Cadaverous.

However, when the smoothed dunes of the Throat became more apparent in the distance, I became slightly more alert. I worried that the warriors of the Throat would think less of the creature I’d become. Where once I’d been a whirlwind, challenging the various obstacles in my way, I was now something lesser… something unrecognizable. I blamed myself for the inevitable decline that accompanied a nomadic life, but there was little time to fret over appearances when the only face I called upon was that of a stubborn, callous wolf. “I intend to maintain my previous duties as a spy,” I informed as we neared the shallow banks between Helovia and the sands of the Throat beyond. “-as long as it suits you that is. I’m certain that I’ll be needing a sincere brush up.”

The last time I’d found myself upon these very shores, I’d encountered the stunning, tiger-striped Priestess and she had allowed me passage into the warmth of the desert. This time however, I was comfortable knowing that Ghost would lead me across the mote and into the sun. How I had missed the security of such relationships… I wasn’t sure if the ignorant beast called Bucephalus still resided in the Throat, and though I hoped it wasn’t true, at least he hadn’t returned to the position I’d stripped him of. At least there sat a worthy leader, one who’d proven herself time and again, at the head of that mysterious table. “What’s happened since I’ve been gone? It seems… so different in Helovia these days