She had been coming to this place quite often recently. The treacherous path that wound up towards the plateau and the ruined shrines was quickly becoming as familiar to her as the mossy trails of the Edge. As she grew accustomed to the grim landscape, Erthë learned to see the details of it and appreciate its barren, stern beauty. There was life here, more than she had ever thought possible. Lichens and tough grass grew in the cracks where dust and sand from the volcano settled, watered by rain and hardened by the frequent storms. Birds came aplenty to feast on the treasures that hid beneath the frothing surface of the ocean, and following in their wake came larger creatures - mammals, lizards, all manner of creatures she rarely had names for.

Humming cheerfully on a wordless tune as she strolled along, Erthë kept her eyes open to see if she would spot anything new today. She was in a good mood; though the day was hot there was a pleasant breeze coming from the sea, enough to keep bugs off her and let the sweat dry on her skin for the first time in what felt like years. In the crook of her wing rested a small bouquet of flowers, picked specially from a place she knew where the flowers still bloomed. It was hard to find greens now, the sun had done a good job of driving the moisture out of everything but the toughest plants.

Suddenly, and it was truly sudden, the sky ahead darkened. Clouds pulled together and began to swirl above the shrines at a furious pace, so thick that they seemed to block out the sun. Erthë jerked her head up and stared open mouthed as the underside of the heavenly maelstrom lit up with flashes of light, sizzling blue explosions that made her eyes sting and left dancing spots behind as she blinked.

What was going on? Was someone up there doing battle? Was someone destroying the shrines?

Flowers scattered as the young mare abruptly spread her wings and leaped off the nearest edge, so desperate to get wind under her wings and bring herself up there that she nearly fell flat on her face. Wobbling precariously in the air and beating the feathered limps with a lack of grace she hadn't displayed in a long time it took her some time to gain enough altitude. Cursing this idiotic delay and swearing loudly over her own clumsiness the girl tore off towards the lightning storm, recklessly throwing herself in amidst the swirling clouds to get a clear view of what was going on.

What she saw made her scream out loud, in shock and indignation.

On the ground below stood Kiuaji, the strange unicorn that was Tembovu's friend and her own herd mate, and all around him was lightning. It hissed and spat as it zipped across the ground, over rocks and gravel that cast deep shadows against the blue light. Even from way up in the air Erthë could feel the stench of singed hair, acrid and foul in her nostrils. In the midst of all this, the source of the darkness and the crackling magic and screaming at the top of his lungs stood the Time God.

Only,  he looked nothing like the valiant warrior she had met in the Blood Falls, nearly two years ago. Gone was the noble aura and the cool rationality, replaced by what seemed to her to be uncontrolled rage. The god seemed somehow larger than she knew him to be, and in the darkness beneath the cloud cover she thought she saw the sparking, glistening outline of wings protruding from his side.

What was this? Had he gone mad? He sure looked mad to Erthë, who did not waste a second on hesitating.  

"NOOOO!"

Battered by howling winds the girl folded her wings tightly against the sides and dropped into a steep dive like a falling angel, straight down towards the ground where she landed hard in front of Kiuaji. The impact sent a stab of pain shooting up her poorly mended leg and jarred her enough to make the world spin and darken; with a strained groan she forced the legs not to buckle and threw herself forward her wings splayed out in a silky white barrier as she faced the Lord of Time, wide eyed and terrified of what she was doing.

"STOP THIS!" she screamed, her voice surprisingly steady considering how her insides were squirming.

"Why are you HURTING him!? You who are so strong, why are you bullying someone who couldn't possibly defend themselves?"

Erthë trembled from head to foot where she stood, fear darkening her eyes until they appeared as dark pits against the pallor of her skin. It hurt to stand there, so hard to breathe; the magic that permeated the air felt like a living thing that nipped and bit at her limbs, her own hair blackening and smoking whenever the arcing electricity touched her. Yet she refused to move, refused to contemplate the mad folly of her actions; despite the intense urge to turn around and run back from whence she had come she raised her head high and stared straight at the raging god, praying and hoping that he would remember her.

He had called her name once, one winter day in a red forest. It had made her brave and brought her feet not from the battlefield but onto it, onto the winding path that ultimately placed her here before him. One might even be so bold as to suggest he had himself to blame for her interruption? If not for him she might never have learned to care so deeply for the helovian gods that she would run into danger to protect a symbol of their existence, or risk her life for a friend without even stopping to think it over.

Not that she would ever dare say that outright. If she got out of this alive it would be a miracle, and she would have to double her offerings to the gods in gratitude.