He had taken up refuge in the World’s Edge and suffered through a tense, if unwelcoming, homecoming. Now that the seasons had begun to change, the young prince was eager to shed his ties to the sea and seek warmer climates. Though he’d never visited the Heart Caves before, Uriel was curious to find whether or not the fires below the earth burned as hotly as rumored. However, his ventures were slow-going and troubled at best—Helovia was much more expansive than he’d imagined or remembered. Everything he knew was far beyond its borders and further removed from his mind’s eye. Uriel was through chasing his father about, begging for him to stay, to remain close to heart where love and abandonment were most keenly felt. The young prince had never wanted to admit to his weaknesses however, or had ever really been presented a chance to do so (not that it would have mattered). He was strong because he wanted to be and he was far-reaching toward his dreams, because he wanted it so.

That was what made him so vastly different from both mother and father. That was what made him so callous in the face of emotions and their toils. 

Age had also finally allowed Uriel a reprieve from the lingering limp he’d suffered from as a child, and though it still threw his gait, he was quickly becoming as graceful as his sister. She’d always been more beautiful and knowledgeable than he, even if she was a bit conservative by comparison. He longed for her on most days and the unsettled ache of her disappearance was dismantling. Uriel was nothing more than an island among the waves, an individual set forth against the masses. That solidarity had certainly caused him troubles no doubt, what with Tembovu and Alysanne finding reasons to dislike him upon his arrival in the Edge. Yet, he vowed to make it up to them in time… He was still learning and still growing to accept the fate destiny had kindly given him. Even his mother would have to forgive him in time… After all, he stood just as scorned by Thor as she.

The cold winter sun fell lightly across his feathered shoulders and accented the liver bay coloring of his coat. Uriel was a creature unfamiliar with the norms in Helovia, but he’d always known that his appearance was unusual- his father was to blame for such woes. The illness that had ripped through the first few days of his infancy had caused more heartache than it had happiness, and it had kept him close to the brink of death for a time only to place him outside of most social circles thereafter. He’d become accustomed to the curious stares and the wandering eyes of those confused but his lack of hair and abundance of feathering, but most were more obviously struck by his dual-colored gaze. It didn’t matter to him however… How could anyone know of their differences when they did not feel that different at all?

The mouth of the caves loomed large before him as Uriel approached the tunnels that would lead him into the fiery pits below. He didn’t know what he’d find or that the intricate caverns were far vaster than he could ever imagine. Instead, he stood staring down into their depths before finally reconciling himself to enter…