Life as we knew it would be changing before us. The painted mare, now Rekshana, would gain a family and we would in turn gain her… I couldn’t decipher how she felt about the looming walls that indicated our ascent into the Edge, but I hoped it would appear as the many things she’d been hoping to find. Every land kept its own secrets as did every individual, so I found no comfort in revealing the story behind our shattered wall. It glared at us from beyond, still in disrepair, but slowly being taken apart one day at a time. We were rebuilding… wasn’t that not enough? As if on cue, the earth-splashed mare cured the stillness with her gentle words. I had no definite answer to provide for her knowledge since I’d been living another life during the Wraith attacks. I’d heard of them in passing and I’d mourned my absence in those days in such abundance that I’d chosen to try and forget the matter altogether… But of course, fate would have me remember and the agony of my abandonment speared through me hard and fast. “Disaster, from what I can tell.”
Was it wrong that I didn’t want to indulge her? Was it disrespectful that I chose to avoid the painful memories of days past? The longer that I debated it, the longer the silence of nightfall had to create distance between us, which only served to emphasize the growing sensation of shame that swarmed and fluttered in the shadows of my former kingship. It bred an inner hatred that often made a once virile man quite pessimistic. But as I’d always done and as I would do once again, I took those feelings and boxed them away within a distant part of my mind along with the rest of my mistakes. After all, with our home finally upon us I had little to fester over anymore, for its beauty overwhelmed my negativity with great ease. Tender evening light drifted lazily through the outer forest of the Edge and despite the dying of the day I was still comforted to find that a wide-faced moon had begun to climb her way into the ethereal skies above. Pale stars bloomed into existence around her and chased the sunset’s fading rays into hell’s ominous pits to dream of the rising of their faithful sun the next morning. Two families, competing for one throne, defeating one another night after night… What a vicious game to play.
With a self-conscious nod I averted my gaze to Rekshana, who as aloof as she was tamed my former awe into unsatisfied awareness. Standing in all her selfless glory, I couldn’t help but feel disquieted. Her formality seemed to separate us as we gazed longingly at this place that we both called home. Two beings, forced to merge into one whole in spite of the nothingness between us. I knew naught of her and she knew naught of me… But she’d chosen to accept this path anyway. I wanted to ask why, wanted to delve into her psyche and uncover the bitter parts of her past that had created this stony woman. She was most certainly capable of adopting civility when pressed, but what did that make her in the grand scheme of things? “Our ranks are nothing without the ties of family. We are not a unit, but more an organ depending on one another to breath, to live.” You’d do well to remember that dear girl.
However, I had little time to explain myself before an unfamiliar painted mare, not unlike the many I’d come to find in the Edge as of late, came bounding toward us. She appeared whimsical and unaffected- something I could appreciate beneath the weight of all I’d unpacked at my feet only moments before. The baggage still rested heavy upon my toes as Alysanne, as the other had introduced herself, greeted us with fervor and animated expressions. She was clearly new to the Edge since I’d parted for the Wilds, but as far as she knew I was just another fresh face seeking her guidance… so I would let her guide me. “I am Thor the Gentle Heart and this is Rekshana, our newest member.” With a mild grin parting my lips and hiding whatever vague tension lingered behind my teeth, I looked to Rekshana in hopes that she would see as much as I’d seen upon my first day in the World’s Edge. |
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