There was no cycle of time below the earth. Only the shimmer of lava lanterns and glowing mushrooms seeped light through the tunnels and correlating rooms; no sunlight danced with the white wash of the moon; night and day had become one. The stone trail which led upwards towards The Sanctuary from the depths had become a major thoroughfare; the damp smoothness of the passageway had been soiled by the relentless traipse of those coming and going; wandering with hopeless direction, around and around- never wanting to risk their lives to those undead monsters who hungered above. The herd’s mighty structure had been lost, and so too had the division of purpose between those neighbouring the Throat. All bodies now lived together, huddled like cowering lambs as darkness filled their territories, sweeping ferociously to devour all that once was familiar. The caves were crammed with an engorged population who had been required to set all differences aside for the sake of their survival.

A light breeze wafted down through The Sanctuary’s gaping mouth. It was sour; acidic, though the crispness of snowfall was ripe upon its delicate breath. Africa inhaled deeply, curiously, filling her lungs with the strangeness of that air. With no resolution to the Darkness in sight, she was saddened to think it would be the second Frostfall spent away from the desert; so far from the luxuries of home and the comfort of family. She couldn’t help but wonder too, if that was some subliminal pain stirring in her midst; amassing with the blanket of burden which rested so wearingly upon her frail shoulders. Sighing pensively, she continued forward, soft footfalls making little sound to betray her climb. The one-winged mare had not visited The Wall of History for what she could only presume to be months (really, only two or so weeks had passed since her encounter with the white shouldered stallion), and she felt increasingly the nag of guilt pulling her to pay respects to her Lord.

Although the warmth which had flickered so fondly in her heart had mostly dissolved into a cool blackened void (ranks once held had also been lost when each herd fled to this underground world), Africa felt obliged all the same to worship he who had had been so merciful and generous to those bedding in his land. She could not forget the parting warning he had given- that which had forced this wretched change; though for the better it had been of course, and while still the dissatisfaction which had leaked through his expression still soiled the damaged creature’s confidence, Africa knew easily where her loyalties did lie. She entered the first room of their refuge with baited breath and a clenched jaw, hoping desperately that few would lurk there. More than anything, she prayed that Windwalker was not nearby; toying with his new found arrogance and flaunting himself crudely upon some unsuspecting woman- far, far away.

Discreetly, and with the hood of her flimsy silk cloak’s hood draped secretively about her slim pale face, the dappled creature slipped her body snugly against the cool hardness of the wall and around towards where the entrance to her Wall waited. As she passed warily by, pale beige-tinted eyes noted few others around- a change, given that normally countless corpses gathered in vain hope just short of their former lives; where the Heart of Helovia beckoned them from the pit of safety. The soft murmur of relief rattled flaccid nostrils, and she hastened (though not beyond a calculated walk), into the chamber whose walls seemed instantly roused to life; their glowing etchings and crude portrayals of a time long ago, welcoming their regular visitor warmly. The faint trace of a smile curled the corners of her wrinkled, whiskered mouth, and Africa reached to touch one picture- a stallion with two horns, and wings which seemed engulfed by radiant fire.

"Father; forgive me for not coming again sooner."

Africa

The expression which had already begun its descent through a meditative glaze, stiffened suddenly. Closing eyes reopened, startled, and they face beneath their pale yellowy glare turned to find the owner of the young bleary voice which had penetrated the moment. A colt stood nearby, watching her, and a chill prickled the length of Africa’s curved spin. Although there seemed no escape from the sea of bodies and sweltering company in this stone prison, the maturing mare had thought herself to be rather alone; seizing the rare moment of privacy to meet with her Lord. "I was… prayi…." As long lean white stockinged legs guided the bulk of her graceful frame around, the dappled mare’s head titled pensively, and he gaze centred with concern on the small puddle of limbs unwinding off the hard tile of the cave’s unforgiving floor.

She held her tongue while he stretched, still quite taken aback that one so young would be left by himself, that she had woken him (quite obviously), and because mild embarrassment had flushed red beneath the pallid shroud of her facial hair. The length of time it took the boy to stretch the weariness from gangly appendages and sweet juvenile wings, seemed unfortunately exaggerated by her well masked astonishment- she watched him constantly. Finally he began towards her, sparing apparently no glace around them to find the mother who really should have been close by. Even as he paused beside her, there in front of the wall, Africa’s narrowing eyes could not peel from him. "No," she answered quietly in earnest, and began at once to scan his lithe, miniature form sign of illness or abandonment.

"Where is your mother?" Concern laced heavily the breath surrounding her question, but Africa sought not to tend him like the impulsiveness in her heart wished; just in case that mare should find her child bound by the embrace of a stranger. He looked slim, small and weak- but the inexperienced creature had not come across many his age; she could not tell well whether his appearance was just as it should have been.

Africa

The child’s small muzzle met the carvings which riddled the historical wall, and Africa couldn’t help the small smile which leaked through her uneasy expression. She too had brushed wiry whiskers against the stories depicted; etched curiously into the sheer stone, wondering tirelessly about their meaning and fancying the brave foursome there whose legends had been maintained perfectly in this mysterious underground realm. She could never have known the reality which flashed through the foal’s attuned mind, and snuffled, quietly musing to herself about the translation one so young and innocent might make.

When he spoke of the mare’s absence; a mother wandering the plagued world above without the foal to be nurtured, the one winged mare’s eyes clouded with distress. She thought instantly of both wraiths she had encountered recently (though really, it would have been many months before); their rotted-corpse forms, the hack of phlem-choked lungs, the strange dim fog which shadowed them. The boy drew his ocean blue gaze from the wall and they met immediately the tentative stare of the dappled mare’s beige eyes. She was taken aback by the depth of those pools, the glowing awareness and bright understanding- all of which had taken her so many years to conquer. A somewhat reserved smile remained, she felt as though her company were more a wise elder than the slim gangly colt who still craved his mother’s milk.

"Yes, I’m Africa; though I fear my use as an Oracle has been lost now." She answered him softly, not thinking right away to question his perception- and whatever else he knew... "Your mother told you all of that?" The young grey asked, fidgeting with surprise (if not a little flattered as well). She had scarcely spoken with the black Sleuth- they had found little in common apart from those trinkets stashed on their being, and certainly Africa could not have imagined Shadow thinking so fondly of her, that she might tell a son such garble. "... they were pieces of a shell, an egg shell. And there was a Twix’s acorn also." For a moment she thought of all those items. It was the second winter she had been forced to spend away from her homeland- and she wondered who was pillaging her nest this time round. A subtle sigh jerked upwards through her throat.

Even though she had stolen the space through his pause to fill in those blanks, the foal continued on again with ever expanding excitement- so much so that Africa was forced a step backwards to avoid falling into the trap of rash decision making and foolish plans- that, she had done before and the much wiser creature was not so keen to build on that foundation of terror and nightmares.

Hesitantly she hummed and nodded, agreeing that indeed they were family; bound by the laws of the Throat. "That is true..." she couldn’t deny, she had heard similar many times over during old herd life. Weakly she offered him a smile as he continued... the flood of words unbelievably, unnervingly, determined.

"I won’t leave you to search alone... what is your name?" Her soft pallid complexion tilted tenderly and eyes swam about his eager young expression with much less excitement perhaps than he had wished from her. "I really can’t let you just starve..." she added also musingly, a blurred mumble that probably wasn’t loud enough to be heard. There was a brisk flutter of wings by the arced doorway to the Wall of History, and through it fluttered the star-speckled Roc who had been suddenly drawn to his beloved’s rising heart rate. A confused croak slipped by the gentle clack of his beak as Silas came to rest cautiously upon the curved rump of his mate. Keen violet eyes studied the small horse; he who was not simply Pegasus, but Unicorn perhaps as well, wondering how one so insignificant to peer upon could stir the heart of a grown mare like he had.

"We need protection." Africa said at last, her attention failing to swing to the silent probe of her companion’s mind, "One other should come I think, because I alone am about as might as a windblown leaf." It wasn’t a funny comment, nor was she particularly proud of the admission- though he was a child still, what would he understand. "Where in Helovia was your mother lost?" A groan rumbled the chest of the Zephyr then, and he stiffened when finally the pattern of the mare’s thoughts began to filter through more coherently. ‘Danger!’ He cried desperately to she alone, who could quite easily be just as vulnerable as the babe she wished to aide.

Africa

Kari reacted with such excitement to her reluctant decision to help; his tiny figure bouncing in place discreetly, enthusiastically, elated. Africa could only imagine the fear engulfing his helpless being, and the tender-hearted, quite gullible mare swayed to the tune of her emotions accordingly- it was her nature; and the colt had easily distracted the morbidity of her callous introspection. Who was she to deny a suckling from the care he deserved? ‘Find someone else to take him.’ The mare’s pale complexion shook literally the Zephyr’s warning voice from her thoughts. Already Kari had been denied, and she knew not how long one so small could survive without food.

A small amount of time was let to pass as Africa considered the situation methodically, and the foal’s attention had been shifted in the meantime to the avian perched behind her. While the murky grey child spoke offhandedly about her companion’s undeniable loveliness, a silent conversation began in secret, held close between the confines of their linked minds.

"He is only a child… an infant."

‘…They hunt. They stalk…’

"Shadow is not far from the Sanctuary, Silas."

The bird-like creature cawed shrill frustration and the sound of it resonated wildly, caught between the sheer stone walls of the cavern; it echoed around and around for a long while. For his entire life, Silas had been her guardian; a voice of reasoning more valuable even than the brittle conscience that squirmed inside her. His pale purple eyes flashed across the miniature face of the boy, filled with grim premonition; the futile future of any foolish enough to stray beyond the grisly confines- he didn’t want that for the foal any more than for the mare he loved so fiercely. Star-spangled feathers bristled across his lithe frame, expanding his size; emphasising his desperation that they stay.


"If you can find another- a Spear who has pledged their service to the resist... someone brave enough… we will set off." She smiled lightly without acknowledging the Roc’s treadling talons as they prickled her fleshy rump. Instead she was focused squarely upon the downtrodden nature of the boy’s expression- it had fallen so rapidly, and Africa felt the pangs of guilt pinch her heart. “Kari, we will find Shadow- family do not desert each other.” It wasn’t a lie exactly; the gesture as loose and unconvinced as it was, was quite heartfelt, and her softly fluttering nose was reached towards him thoughtfully.

The one-winged mare had not energy enough to help the colt find the Spear who would help them; defend them, if that was even possible against the threat of looming undead. She had not slept well for much of the time spent below the earth, though not because of the unnaturalness of their rock prison home. Of late, her emotions were in tatters, and confusion was ripe through her core. If nothing else, the distraction of this boy’s plight- when he found at last their guard, was a welcome distraction from all the conflict in her life.

Africa

“Gaucho, a Sultan of Dragon’s Throat heads a group of horses; Pegasus of course, but Unicorn and Equine also, to try to rise against the sickness taking over Helovia.” Africa found herself eyeing the colt narrowly, carefully. She felt honestly as though she were speaking with the boy’s mother; another of their herd, really any adult at all instead of one so immature. It was a curious feeling, and not one that made her particularly comfortable. “That is the resistance. They are called W.A.R- but I am not really sure what that stands for.” Africa had promised Silas that they would offer themselves to the cause against; the Zephyr was a keen protector, a stalwart sentinel- quite contrary to everything the mare stood for. Already they had twice made a trip to the Threshold in the name of W.A.R to rescue and return with those wandering souls who entered Helovia oblivious to the danger lurking. She would have preferred nowadays days to hang with those cowards unwilling to risk their own lives; their safety- but not Silas.

The Oracle suddenly felt the weight of responsibility, something which was welcome enough; but she was uncomfortable knowing she held not all the answers he wished for. Her weight shifted, and pale eyes wandered for a moment’s respite towards the gaping entrance to the Wall; beyond a stew of bodies gathering perhaps to ward off another wraith whose path had strayed to close. Indeed her friend was right that danger would lick their heels greedily when finally they emerged above ground.

She sighed distantly.

“Any who offer you their protection is the right Spear for the job.” She answered without looking back to him and her voice was vague; unable to escape the bind of musings and worries as they clouded the clarity of her thoughts. “Whoever you can find…” She shrugged conclusively, blinking, turning a kindly smile at last towards him.

His expression had relaxed a little and dark blue eyes were again bright- hopeful she assumed. The lines of trepidation had eased somewhat from Africa’s taut physique also, the colt’s endearing company quite apart from any of the ridiculousness shared by an adult world. Should she have held any trace of maternal instinct, the humble grey might even have taken the child beneath her own wing, nurtured him; raised him. She knew nothing of motherhood though, especially those intricate details which would secure him a quality meal, rich and creamy- such ideas were yet even to enter her head. Kari spoke again soon enough, engaging her awareness immediately with a term quite foreign- certainly she had no siblings alive to act as Aunt for. “An Oracle?”

Lips that had shed their nervous quiver lowered nearer to the elevation of his small face. She did not touch him though, despite his age; the innocence that should still naturally encase him. So many who she had offered such selfless warmth and compassion towards had been less than benevolent in return- they had been swayed by emotion, that which she had never meant to provoke. “I act on behalf of the God of the Sun, the almighty, and relay insight given by him to our herd.” Fondness glazed her eyes as she spoke of her Lord, her father- though impress him apparently she could not. “I represent our herd also, though he is all seeing, and all knowing. He is the patron of our home you know Kari.” Her heart sank unexpectedly for the gravity of their predicament. “I was praying just before, though neither sign nor signal has been given by him for a very long time.”

As his own pointed maw reached to touch the wall, Africa extended her own velvet, grey muzzle to press upon it. She could only hope the God’s had not forsaken them; grown tired of mortal unrest and disobedience.

Africa

She noticed soon enough that the skin stretched between each of the foal’s murky blue eyes seemed irritated; he rubbed frequently, vigorously, against the friction of an outstretched knee- it was not a normal behaviour, and the dappled mare’s interest grew quietly. Pale eyes watched coolly as he regarded her explanation regarding the underground army; focus committed beyond his years, and gently her light-grey complexion nodded when his small, childish voice pierced the lull surrounding once more. “No, I’m sorry.” Africa admitted remorsefully, switching her gaze quickly when she realised how tedious the task she had delegated would quite probably be. She knew well how crowded, Gaucho’s time in particular, had become since the darkness had begun; and also that he spent more time scouting the surface than he did mulling with the likes of herself and Kari.

It would be easier just to pluck a stagnant figure from the shadows…

“Have you seen Gaucho before?” Curiously she looked down at the small colt, leaving a slim moment of silence to answer before she began a fairly comprehensive description- it had been her duty to learn about her kin; their family, and Africa had thoroughly noted all she could. “He is taller than most, bay-brown with black legs and also black accents on his face. A great rack of antlers… she paused suddenly, and thought hard, …a headdress that looks like naked tree branches sits high upon his forehead- a serpent, Mara is coiled through them. A dream catcher of sorts is also caught between the prongs. He is blessed with two large wings- naturally, and a single bone passes through the skin between his nostrils.” Confident that such a portrayal would suffice she nodded- only to add, “But I fear he would be the hardest to find of all.”

Kari’s interest in the tale she told about the God of the Sun and her relationship with the deity took her fancy right away; an innocent form of flattery that she was rarely treated to. A smile almost as eager as the foal’s own swept through her expression and she found herself nodding with unravelling composure as his whispered is amazement. Smoothly and kindly she answered. “I did, yes. The sun God is beautiful,” she offered firstly- because that was certainly the most striking thing about him. “He is merciful and wise, and it was the gift of his insight that saved us from the…”

Africa paused suddenly, concern flushing the vigour from her face- “Well he is the reason we are here, you see.” Lightly she chuckled, coyly even, not wanting to panic Kari and drive him back into that feverish desperation to find Shadow. “There are three Gods; of the Sun, the Earth and the Spark- and one Goddess, of the Moon. I have only seen our Lord, and he of the Earth. Neither is scary…” the latter was a partial lie, though her fear of the God of the Sun stemmed primarily from her grave desire to please and impress him.

Carefully and secretly she hoped that the foal would be easily distracted from her near blunder.

Africa

While her tenderly worried gaze roved the expression of the delicate child, she wondered in secret about his lineage- or rather, how ultimately unlike Shadow he truly seemed. She was quite fascinated. Drawing from the slim chord of memories stored surrounding the raven-black Sleuth, Africa could find very little in the colt’s appearance (at least), which resembled his mother. A thoughtful smile had been left to stray through her idle pondering, and when his voice suddenly rose through the onslaught of silence post-explanation, the young mare jumped a little- the searching nature of his words taking her quite by surprise.

She could not deny that the same thoughts had passed through her mind also- this was not like the Endless Night which had choked Helovia of sunlight; of courage and hope. Many had witnessed the God’s passing between worlds on that occasion, and tales of those cosmic, otherworldly battles still occasionally surfaced to feed the hungry minds of children, and pupils questing for knowledge. During that darkness many seasons now past, the trembling population had been left to fend for themselves- but this time, signs had been gifted; assuring those mortal minds so easily swayed by doubt, that they had not been forsaken. Africa remembered then quickly that Megaera had announced a message from the God of the Earth. He had blessed the waters which gurgled indolently right behind where she stood now with Kari, and told them of its healing quality. Spontaneously, caught up in silent musing, the dappled mare swivelled in place to glance at that fountain- then upwards towards the flickering ceiling-fire (she had always insisted that her own Lord would descend through the flames like he had through the Fire of the Diviner at some point), and then back once more to rest atop the inscriptions marking the wall.

"I cannot say, Kari." She offered sympathetically. "But I can only imagine how wearing a mortal population such as our own would be on their patience." Helovians had been given a paradise to expand and thrive within, and even Africa was not so foolish to think that their benevolent Gods were not abused and neglected by the majority. She tried tirelessly to impress her love upon them- upon he of Sun and Light in particular; but it was hard for a weary heart to shoulder the ignorant love of an entire herd, and worship accordingly. There were many unbelievers walking the sands of time, and perhaps it was they who had brought this wrath upon them all.

Kari’s innocence was endearing; she was drawn a step closer towards him as the need to embrace and comfort his obviously confused soul began to boil. Instead of reaching with warm, dry lips though, her gentle voice slipped to stroke about his little downy ears. "I think, for this occasion, it might be faster if we searched without divine intervention…" Africa knew not even if her ability to speak with the patron of their former home still existed- a great void had opened in her heart recently, where once the warmth of that connection had been.

Africa

The dim room, in which she stood with Shadow’s unusual son, told little of the turmoil outside. Across the world beyond their clammy, unlikely refuge, Frostfall had descended its bitter blanketing breath- frigidness still worse than any Africa had been witness to; rivers had been turned to ice, forests stripped of life and the oceans flanking the coast chewed mercilessly to erode sand and soil, exposing rugged rock cliffs that would inevitably start to crumble and wash away. Unbeknownst to the dappled Pegasus, the desert; the region so loved and pandered to, had also succumbed to the ferocity of the season and the life blood therein had been turned to ice. Even if the herd had been brazen enough to hold their ground against the darkness, potentially, they could have suffered nature’s very own fury instead. The days were shorter, and the sun’s luminosity had weakened terribly- the world she cherished had been transformed, and through it was draped that untameable sickness.

Her yellow eyes flicked quickly towards Kari as his long, scrawny legs folded beneath him; he shrank suddenly, and a soft snort rattled the velveteen flaccidness of her narrow pink-snipped nose. The gentle flames engulfing the mottled thick tangle of mane along her crest danced lethargically as her neck curled, pallid complexion dipping so that the twitch of her lips could fondle the nearest part of him tenderly. She knew not of his ability to draw memories and experiences from the mind and so remained oblivious as she openly sought to caress him. In the meantime, silence grew steadily around them and other sounds before unnoticed- the low drone of voices in the neighbouring chamber, the placid drip, drip of a slightly leaking wall, the gentle gurgle of the fountain behind, all suddenly seemed to close snugly and tightly about them. It was relaxing, and Africa felt the lines of concern ease from her taut dappled canvas.

Soon enough the blue eyed colt asked another question, and at once Africa felt a light-hearted chortle froth across her tongue- so curious was this child; his need for knowledge seemed so vast and she wondered with a silly smile if his brain had even the capacity to store so much. She could see as her eyes waded quietly around his small collapsed body, that it seemed not to be a particularly strained question; Kari barely stirred in place, and his gaze seemed from her set back perspective, looked fixed- somewhere ahead. "There are lots of ways to make the Gods happy," she cooed softly from above, lifting her mouth first from his warm hide. "While we stilled lived in the desert, I tended the Sun God’s fire, feeding it offerings that I thought might please him- wonderfully coloured feathers, the last seasonal flowers to bloom, the smoothest sea-stones washed ashore… Gifts are a fine way to show your appreciation."

His face lifted and Kari appeared to overbalance comically, as he strained to find her face looming overhead- she didn’t move for him to topple backwards, instead reached with one white stockinged leg to brace him.


[Note: Permission given should Kari happen to
-find- her memories, whenever, whatever ;)]

Africa

She was untroubled by the lingering of his small warm weight against the lowest length of her leg, and stepped forward readily with the other to secure her own balance. The closeness of Kari; that sliver of innocent intimacy between them, was quite heartening. Something not dissimilar to adrenaline began to course through her young, inexperienced body; the strum of roused maternal instincts maybe, which she neither understood nor reacted quickly to. A new sort of affection was simmering through her pallid expression, as kindly eyes roved about downed frame, quietly inspecting him like Shadow might have- but with less understanding of infancy and its frailty. She thought him rather beautiful, like a sapling oak amongst all of those pungent old straggly pines up north in the Threshold.

Lean black-tipped ears wandered forward to meet a new flurry of words; another question, and Africa felt more adult than ever- wiser and more knowledgeable than perhaps she was. He was indeed asking all of the right questions. "Yes." She nodded responsively, through the small break of his juvenile voice, but the tenderness of her bright gaze narrowed quickly between thick dark lashes as he began to explain the nature of his own fire. At first she thought he was referring to the gift imparted during Orangemoon by her Lord, and the memory of his generosity forced a giddiness to lift her façade. It weakened though as the little colt continued, and her neck lifted away the hang of her fine, chiselled skull so that she could consider more thoroughly- eyes locating subconsciously the flickering lamp-fire in the centre of the ceiling.

"Interesting…" she mumbled. The grey had not been so frightened to trigger the same ability, granted like the last, by the shimmering patron of Dragon’s Throat. Her mind, soul and body alike had not found reason to call upon that magic, and so she remained altogether oblivious- and fascinated with that marvel described by her young companion. "Sort of like teleportation?" she mused thoughtfully and vaguely, forgetting again that his manner was well beyond the years of experience notched into his slim girth.

Her focus snapped back, the vacant glaze of starry-eyes dissolved, and she craned her face left to peer down at him with that pale gold eye. "Well certainly any magic given by the God of the Sun is quite spectacular and something to be cherished. Be sure to thank him when you pray dear Kari, won’t you." She smiled warmly, and her face dropped nearer to him again; fondly, she drew a deep breath there and her lungs drowned in the subtle mustiness of his young cave-bound fragrance.

Filled with some peace in the moment, Africa’s thoughts drifted back home to the dancing firelight which she missed dearly. Her eyes closed tightly around the transforming illusion of a vast night sky above, speckled with tiny winking white stars; and the soft warmth of red-gold desert sand beneath. "When we go home, I will take you to the Diviner’s fire if you like..." In the distance she thought she could even hear the steady rumble of the wild ocean, foaming waves spilling tirelessly across a drenched beach strewn with smooth seabed stones, the brittle relics of starfish and other strange creatures- and lacing the air was the invigorating stench of salt. "…and the ocean, how I miss the ocean."

Africa