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06-16-2014, 08:58 PM
Sohalia looked around her desert oasis with the slightest of frowns on her pretty face. Where once a force forty strong had stood, only half remained. The faces were a mixture of new and old, and while she did not prefer one over the other, she wished fervently for more. It was a constant worry, a remainder from her time as a Forger, re-solidified now with the addition of the responsibility of a Sultana. Were their numbers enough to withstand outside threats? If an attack came with the force of the Basin behind it, as it had not so long ago, would they be prepared? They were her family - her brethren, her children, her loves and her life. Would she be able to protect them? At least, as a Forger, she had been able to do something. She had not felt the familiar magic of the Sun in her brief time as Sultana. Something in her was afraid to reach for it, terrified to find it missing when she had held its fire in her breast for so long. She remembered, and she reminisced, and she longed for the ability to forge steel and iron and silver and gold, to place a barrier between her family and their enemies, for she knew that they remained in the vast land beyond their borders. Helovia had been silent for several moons, and yet she remained uneasy, always waiting, always watching, dreading the day that the other herds learned just how low their numbers had become. And what they had lost! Midas, their former Sultan, had been called by his patron god to migrate to the Hidden Falls. How many of their family had followed him? How many had been lost to the void of darkness that had plagued the realm? Gaucho the WildFire, for one - another Sultan, though not for long; Ampere, the Mother of Companions, a Sultana named by the Sun, disappeared to be replaced by Sohalia. Was she worthy of the honor? It was another question that weighed on her. She had Africa's trust and respect, of that she was sure - but what of the rest? What did they think of their Forger-turned-Sultana? A pair of specks appeared in the sky above; Astraeus called a warning, and the dove glanced to the clouds. She was in the open now, and unaware of having traveled through the sands, deep in thought. The zephyr spiraled lower, intending to be nearby in case of attack, but as his bonded recognized one of the pair, he zipped away again. The angel was not close enough to greet them as they touched down, but she was close enough to reach them within a moment at a steady trot. "Welcome, my friends," she greeted them with a pleasant smile. "I hope you are well, Dalibor?" she added, as his name finally came to her. They had not met, not truly, but she had tried to learn the names and faces of the herd even so. With enough time passed for him to have answered her question, she turned to the newcomer. "My name is Sohalia. I am one of the Sultanas of the Dragon's Throat. On behalf of my family, welcome to our home." "Talk talk talk." |
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