Touched by time, the land around me seemed to rot slowly away into the withering meaning of life. My mind wandered from the present and found itself strangled in some sort of hideous parallel. So many tears, so much agony gasping from the lungs of nameless prospects that had been blown away by merciless flames. I was beginning to forget exactly why I had come here today; I wasn’t sure if I could ever simply exist anymore. It was almost saddening in which the way I carried myself for there was no more light, no more power behind such a graceful stride. Perhaps I was destined to discover the endless process that existed around us; life, death and the repetition of each vicious cycle. Somewhere within myself, I was breathing a sigh of relief, thanking fate for another day of pure observation- total life. I was but another pawn in this savage undertaking; check mate, you lose. Bitter remembrance of another time seemed to overwhelm me. However, I was unsure of where these memories had commenced. They clouded my vision like a deathly veil, unraveling the certain truth that reckoned with those blackened shores.

Avalon was certainly none like this place and in ways it was a relief, but in others I felt strangled and pressed for air. I had lived once, just a young filly before I had met my fate whose dark eyes did wonders on my heart. Had I just stayed by his side, I would have been his Empress, two dark reminders of the hell that controlled the lands. We were certainly a pair to be reckoned with and yet I chose to go. Whatever had derailed me was obviously something I could not call upon now because the meaning was lost to me. It’s as if I had found something so dear to me and feared it would also be my demise and fled. Whether this was a natural reaction, I wasn’t sure, though something told me it wasn’t. I had spent nearly a year travelling a nomadic route to nowhere and found my head pulsing with thoughts of home, of Avalon, and mainly, of him. However, my return was not looked upon so merrily. I had come back to find hurt and anger in those eyes that had once seen me so treasured. But this was now the least of my worries as I had come home to face the ruin of not only the ones I loved, but the place I had taken refuge.

Avalon had been buried in ash, everything blackened in thick coats of the past. Lives had been lost and many wandered about aimlessly searching for the dead that would never answer their anguished calls again. My whole world had fallen from the heavens into hell where I knew my soul would remain, lost with those that had been taken and more importantly damned by the King who had watched me walk away in his desperate time of need. If I had stayed, would this have happened? I felt like the world had been dropped on my shoulders, hurt and confusion striking me down into a pit of despair even if I had survived. Was I meant to walk this earth still more after all I had seen, after all I had done?

Being lost in such reverie had brought me back in mangled pieces, blank and unsure of what had come over me. All images of what was, had passed, retreating once again into the atmosphere like the wind that now brushed gently against my face. The wintry freeze laced my breath in frost and I cast a weary glance to Ricochet, who until now seemed a ghost to my private affairs. His polite gestures were lost to me though, as I had long since been numb to the elements, drawn away from such minor worries as the surreal story of my life replayed in my head. He was so inviting to me, perhaps because of his youth, because of his life and I valued this in a companion of any sort. He was a truly extravagant creature and at time I felt compelled to his presence for the mere beauty of him. The Threshold disappeared behind us as we now neared the Foothills and I was eager to lay eyes on what icy wasteland I was next to call home.

“I am lost to the customs that have been presented to me, but I am an adaptable creature as many of our species appear to be. Females were offered a choice in Avalon, but in multiple cases, mares were considered powerless and therefore unable to make their own decisions. Depending on the nature of the male one encountered, she may or may not be allowed to follow willingly. Otherwise, brute force was used to gather her back to the herd lands.” I was calm in admitting this strange habit adopted by those in Avalon, because to me it was natural, it was right. I had never been forced to adhere to such requests but I had seen it done many times. Perhaps it was a sickening tradition, but mares often had the tendency to claim hatred for males, yet travel to the claiming grounds to seek their assistance and throw a fit after their arrival.

Looking back to my guide, I wondered about his history as well. If this was intended to be a session in which we shared, perhaps I would take my turn as well. But I wouldn’t interrupt him should he desire to know more. Instead I would wait my turn to question such a shadowed creature with secret intentions dancing within those turquoise eyes.

[Ooc: Yuck...]