Did all in Helovia share such a history? Kahlua was not certain, but it did seem to be a gathering place for many lost souls. “I'm not sure,” she admitted, “But most of our futures seem much happier.” she decided on. For the most part, Kahlua was not one to linger on the past anyways. It was a fruitless endeavor and thinking did not change anything. But whatever the case, it did not seem to matter much, as Leeka suddenly brightened at the idea of gods and magic. As for the mention of the wall and its broken state... Kahlua frowned a moment, but decided that truth was better than any lie she could tell. Not that Kahlua was any good at lying anyway. “We built the wall when another mare led the Edge. Our herd was in danger from a unicorn band that lives in the north. Then a darkness came and smothered the world. It was...” The queen shuddered as she remembered herself as a monster, a beast of the night that only wanted to attack and bite and kill. “It was terrible. But it passed in time. When we returned home the wall as shattered, but we don't like to think of our home as a prison. It will be disassembled and put to better use, as the threat from the north seems to have subsided.” Humming softly, the queen added afterwords, decidedly, “Our home is quite safe now. We have many soldiers... Although they might be out of practice for lack of any danger.” Her gay laughter lit up the forest, her blue eyes dancing brightly. As she and Leeka meandered from the Threshold to the Edge, Kahlua chattered on happily about everything from the Edge she could think of- The warriors, healers, crafters, nurses and philosophers. Of their growing numbers, the herd projects that Dragomir was helping them with, of her beloved king Kaj... She also spoke of the other herds throughout the land- their names, though she knew not much else of them at this point. Otherwise, it was just gentle chatter, leaving room for Leeka to chat back when she wanted to. When they finally reach the border of the Edge, the shattered remains of the wall standing before her, the queen turned excitedly to Leeka. “Well, this is home, my friend. I hope you'll like it!” Whinnying out, the queen wondered who would come to greet their new member as she guided her friend across the border and into the land. @[Leeka] OOC| Set before Aurelia nonsense, challenge, herd meeting, etc. etc.

Leeka listened in silent rupture, forming in her head temporary maps of the land and the series of events that have unfolded since. Still she found herself fumbling over unfamiliar words, one of which was unicorn but when she meant to asked it was forgotten in wake of Kahlua mentioning a darkness that overcame the land. At once the painted appaloosa's body tensed, angered and grieved that a similar calamity had befallen this land but more then relieved for the obvious outcome. Strangely enough she wanted to know more of what happened during that time, a sort of morbid curiosity to know what her enemy was, but once she saw the look on Kahlula's face she thought better of it for it was plain to see it bothered her too. " I wonder if the darkness you speak of was the same that had ended mine, though I'm gladden your home was spared of the worst." She said, more to herself then Kahlula. " Tell me about this other mare, the one who led before you and the trouble with these 'unicorns' from the winterlands. The word 'unicorn' is unfamiliar to me, though from what I've heard so far they sound unpleasant, especially you had to build a wall to keep them off. They aren't some flesh-eating pard are they?''

Leeka was genuinely sincere in her questioning and meant to keep them to essentials but against her better will the wariness from her travels was still a physical burden to bare, which loosened her mind to more arbitrary things like a poison in her veins, only vaguely aware of the occasional slip up. Or perhaps it was that fact that even her mistakes could be taken as serious questions when compare to Kahlula's exemplary cheeriness and obliviousness. Either way the world kept turning and no one fell down. At some point amidst their travels the conversations turned into general chatter and the young mare meandered alongside Kahlua, absorbing all the facts and tidbits. Leeka was particularly interested when the Painted mare spoke about all the skills that could be learned, most of all the crafter. It was a job that was most unlike anything she had heard of before, yet reminded her a bit of her mother. Being a master magicker Leeka's dam could summon rocks, make springs, and bend the elements with her skills of creation and even possessed the gift of foresight. Seemingly anything was within her dams grasp...except the ability to escape fate.

" Your magicker's are quite unique here. I'll have to meet this Dragomir you speak of some day. Are Craftsmen, as you call them, the only ones to have magic?" She asked this just as they came upon the ruins of the glass. Leeka stood amazed and in complete awe of the unnatural structure that dwarfed her ten times over. Had they really come so far already? It only felt as though she had meant Kahlua a few hours before and here she was, considerably far away from the woods she had entered and about to cross the threshold into her new home...her new life. Mother, if you can see me...

Leeka returned Kahula's smile with one of her own, feeling a whole new rush of energy implausibly overflowing in her body. " The prospect of World's Edge as home makes me happier then you I think. I can't of a reason I could ever dislike it."

“Oh, I hope it wasn't,” Kahlua added, referring to the darkness that had engulfed Helovia and destroyed so much of the land. She would not wish those terrors on anyone. The monsters that had roamed, the fear, the chaos. It was like a bad horror movie that she could not escape. As for Mirage and unicorns, Kahlua was more than happy to oblige that conversation. “Mirage was... a fantastic mare. The gods had blessed her with the ability to transform from a black mare into a golden dragon. She started our herd and gave us the mission for peace. She was strong and smart, diplomatic...” Kahlua trailed off for a moment. Her memories of the ebony queen her few and far between, but she had idolized the mare almost as much as she revered the gods in the heavens above. “I could only dream to be half as good a queen as she was.” But there was not bitterness in her voice. Kahlua honestly believed that she would always be covered by Mirage's shadow and she was okay with it. “Unicorns are another matter entirely, and I assure you they don't eat flesh,” she laughed gaily. It was not mocking, nor snide. Simply a joyous sound, a brilliant and celebratory noise. Celebrating what? Life. “They are horses that have horns upon their heads, or antlers or some other sort of spikes.” She had known nothing of unicorns or pegasi on her arrival either, and yet had been greeted by a hulking stallion with leather bat wings. “Most are fine... there are a few in the Basin to the north that have made a bad name for the rest, picking on those without horns for no reason other than they don't like us, but even they seem to be coming around. Illynx, who leads them, made a diplomatic trip to our forest not so long ago asking for an alliance. We have not yet answered them...” She trailed off, frowning. They still needed to answer the Basin but even the childish queen who was quick to trust was not so ready to forgive them. With the boughs of the Edge over her head, however, the queen felt safe, and in leading her new friend across the border she felt a familiar surge of happiness at adding someone to their family. “Oh, no. Anyone can have magic, if the gods are feeling kindly enough. For instance the Sun God has sent me on a quest so that I might get magic of my own. But any of our council members- our doctors, head warriors and spies, our Seer and our crafter Dragomir- that oversee the herd are granted magic by our herd's patron the Moon Goddess, to help them in their rank.” Having spilled out so much information, chatted for too long, the queen broke into another round of happy laughter. “Forgive me, my mouth runs away with me some times!” Silence herself, she turned her blue eyes to Leeka, eager for the mare's responses to all that she had said. @[Leeka]