The smile widened on the sooty lips as they expressed their appreciation for his homeland, proud and pleased to see that they liked what they saw. He wasn't overly surprised that they had questions; from the admittedly curious construction that followed the borders of the land to the very mist-veiled forest it surrounded, Helovia was full of surprises and this edge of the world played host to quite a few of them.

Before Lace had time to brief the newcomers however, the sound of hooves and quiet voices made him turn and glance towards the approaching stallions. It had been a long while indeed since he had seen either Kaj or Vikram - faces he normally only came across during meetings and other gatherings. Honed muscles rippled beneath silver gray skin as Lace offered them both a polite nod in greeting, black-rimmed ears clipping the air as he listened quietly to their words. Kaj seemed in a good mood, chatty and friendly while the dragon beast next to him was more sparse with his words; but between questions asked and answers offered in a tumultuous pile, the grullo waited until both of them had quieted before he tried to sort the conversation out.

"Indeed, these are our guests" he began, answering the obvious first; though there was some emphasis on the word guest, because so far Lace had only offered a place to rest for the long-way travelers. Of course they would be welcome to stay if they felt like it, but it was not something they had discussed yet, and he didn't want them to feel forced to linger if their plans brought them in other directions.

"This gentleman is Nato, former leader of the Mystic Woodlands, a region in Isilme, a land not far from here. I used to serve under him when I was younger. The lady is Nyx, his daughter" he presented them both, offering each of the unicorns a faint smile as he mentioned their names. "Nato, Nyx; Kaj is one of two who lead our warriors. The name of the other is Destrier, a big black stallion who I'm sure you will meet eventually. And this mountain of a horse" he said and gave the bronzed chestnut a wry grin, "is Vikram, one of our strongest warriors."

And the mate of the queen, but he left that unsaid even as the gaze lingered thoughtfully on the half-dragon. Even now he felt a tendril of jealousy coil through the guts at the thought of it, though for once it was mixed with guilt... He would have to have a talk with this stallion one of these days, and sort some things out. Now... was not the time, however.

Returning to the conversation, the white-maned stallion turned back to Kaj with the smile fading away, replaced by a neutral expression that didn't reveal much about what he was thinking.
"No Kaj, I gave up that ability some time ago" he said. "You should talk to Kahlua if you need changes made - she has more skill with glass than I ever had."

"As you guessed, Nyx; yes, this wall was made with the aid of external forces. The World's Edge is protected by the Goddess of the Moon, and the divine lady sometimes extend her powers to members of the herd. Some become able to form structures from glass, the material making up this wall, while others can heal or divine glimpses of things to come... Same goes for most of the other herd-lands as well - whether all are protected is more than I know."

"Overall the gods are more present here than back in Isilme" he added and looked at the newcomers, knowing that all of this must be quite confusing for them. "It's not unusual to see them walk the lands, and every so often they might ask someone for a favor or two..." He conveniently forgot to mention that they sometimes took their wrath out on the mortals too. The gold that dusted his back and shoulders was a solid proof of that - a curse turned blessing, a slap on the cheek followed by a bag of candy in awkward apology... Yes, they were fickle, the gods of Helovia. Yet somehow Lace was growing quite fond of them, despite all the trouble they caused.

"About the recent confusion among the ranks" he eventually continued, listening to the quietly murmured words of the WingLeader without offering any replies, "I believe Mirage will explain it all to you soon. When I last saw her she said something about promotions... In any case I guess it's better if you hear it from her."

Why was it so hard to just tell them that he was their superior now? Nato knew, as did Nyx, because he had proudly introduced himself to them as WeyrLeader of the Qian. But when faced with this cheerful general and the imposing dragon son it suddenly felt embarrassing, as if he was making things up and spreading tall tales around... Not for the first time he cursed the shadow mare and her impulsive decisions, for all the trouble it was giving him.

Dim vales- and shadowy floods-
And cloudy-looking woods,
Whose forms we can't discover
For the tears that drip all over!
Huge moons there wax and wane-
Again- again- again-