Look down, the ground below is crumbling
Look up, the stars are all exploding
A cool wash of milky-blue light shed across the path of the young dappled mare. Keen she was to explore beneath the fullest, largest moon she could remember, and with a brave smile she glanced upwards towards its gleaming face. The ravening call of a native wolf some distance away drew Africa’s attention downward again, just as a shiver crawled eerily along the bony length of her spine. She had not travelled here before she thought, though the choking scent of her kind, of other Helovian souls, clung thick and pungent to the crackling grass beneath. Occasionally she paused to consider their identities, rummaging between the dried grasses with whiskered lips, but seldom was she able to recognise those who had passed through first.

Around her slim shoulders was draped a sheet, tightly woven with reeds and bulrush, glistening fresh green in the moonlight. It spread further back to cloak her rump, and downwards with enough length to skirt her scrawny red-dyed knees. At her right side, a large wing tinged ochre by the ground-down rocks of her homeland, stretched regally upwards from beneath the swishing brim of her costume. So too did the sheet reach upwards along her neck, with two narrow holes atop the poll to hug her listening ears. Her pale grey face was stained also with the thickly laden desert dust, the mask offering her a fierce and beautiful profile. Africa was dressed this night as a Dragon in honour of those she had met throughout the last year. The small scaled creatures had left naught but a tender impression in her heart, and so fitting was her choice.

Soon her wandering led to a vast field of corn- unusual she thought, passing a curious glance backwards to where her bonded rested comfortably, over the entwined fronds. Silas too was watching with mixed interest, his shining black eyes darting cautiously to the old, worn track laid before them. Left and right she drifted along; compelled to continue although neither Zephyr nor horse could tell where they had come.

With a sudden jerk Africa halted. For a moment she wondered if perhaps she had fallen into sleep; whether this were a dream, or another curse. She could not remember how far she and Silas had walked, and an uneasy feeling began to swell through her trembling body. Peering down, reaching with fluttering nostrils, she assessed the unexpected fork in the road- that which had wrenched her from that tranquil surreal state. Three definite directions lay before her, each shroud in new, spooky darkness- clouds now blanketed the night sky, and only by the grace of her recent cave-dwelling was she truly able to see. She turned, considering quickly that a swift retreat in the direction she had come would surely be the safest option, but alas the path they had been following was no longer. The corn had grown densely in behind her and Africa began to tremble more, stirring a worried chirp from Silas.

With an apprehensive sigh, she stepped forward, selecting at random the path that seemed to lead East.