Early morning sunlight wafted over the sleepy land in pale shades of yellow and orange. Soft pinks tried to fight their way toward the ground but with little success. I had risen with the sun hoping to kiss the moon goodnight but my tired eyes could not force their way through the darkness in order to see and so sleep had claimed me for hours more. My body still ached and though I still feared the loss of my wings, a certain reality became more and more apparent as the days passed. They had rotted and fallen limp along my sides. The skin, though still intact had begun to decay and shift away from the bone. It was an unsightly thing to witness, but on a good day, the wind would carry away the scent of sickly flesh. Even my bloated stomach told of eerie tales sang by the devil’s children as I rocked along the frozen ground above their reaching hands… Hell had come to claim me, I just knew it.

But it did not deter me from my duties because I owed too much to my family and if death held me close in its grip, then I would do all for them that a good stallion could. However, the contrast between the soft morning light and the way my body desired to give way beneath me was a ghoulish image. Surely the devil and his underlings would spare me this day, this singular day that I wished to make my own since the events in the Steppe. I was ill, but not incapable, right?


As the Threshold loomed tall before me, I hesitated at its gates before forcing my way into the barren landscape. As always, the land was heavily travelled and sodden beneath numerous sets of tracks both native and foreign to Helovia. The softened ground made traversing the narrow paths even more difficult on my tender bones, but I pushed onward in hopes of defying the demons that sought to contain me. My thoughts were still and empty though and the only sounds of life around me were the trees creaking to life beneath the healing powers of the sun. It would be some time before they bloomed with fullness but spring was on its way promising relief for everyone dazed by Winter’s spell.

Though I thought myself distracted by the idea of life itself, I was compelled to forget the notion in favor of a strong scent drifting through the dead air. This aroma was very much alive in spite of the stillness that invaded my journey. I hesitated a moment, wondering if approaching would cause fear in the heart of another at the sight of me, but I was here… and there was no avoiding my appearance any longer. It had gone on for nearly two weeks. Things weren’t looking any better; in fact they had grown gradually worse.

Tracing the fragrance that struck me as distinctly male, I trailed it into a small clearing to my left. I rumbled upon my ascent, but I knew that in most cases this did little to set a panicked soul at ease. So when I parted the tree line in hopes of standing a good distance away, I finally laid eyes on a small inky stallion with curious grey dappling. In truth he was a feminine creature, designed with more technique than I, but a virile specimen nonetheless. With piercing blue eyes, I was struck by how stunning the stallion was that I was almost fooled into thinking he were female were it not for the obvious signs of a stud. “Welcome to Helovia. I assume you come looking for a place to reside?” I paused to give him time to think and possibly adjust to my presence before moving on. “I’m Thor and I come from the World’s Edge, a herd land within these parts. I think I can help you friend, what’s your name?”