Was it any surprise that I’d found solace by the sea or was it only surprising that I’d attracted a companion? Ah, so many lonesome nights and equally lonely days had to come to an end eventually right? It was almost a blessing to lay eyes on the beautiful creature who had occupied my thoughts since we’d first met. To see the gold-trimmed mare with the wings of a dragon, cloaked in the fine veil of the morning sun, was like sipping a cup of fine wine after years of having nothing to wet the tongue. At first it tasted bitter, foreign even, but the second nip was like trying to savor one’s breath while drowning. It was exotic, exciting, and best of all… welcome.


At some point before her arrival I had pressed into the surf wanting more than anything for it to carry me away to a strange world I’d never seen. I enjoyed such fantasies about the great unknown and even Helovia could not quench my thirst for wanderlust. I’d encountered many things in the past that varied from women and gold to endless nights under the stars. Yet even then I felt more at ease knowing I had the open road under my feet and no purpose in which to satisfy. Perhaps it was only that continuity that sated my desires or the fact that I never had to pledge fealty to anyone other than my own person. Helovia was entirely different. It was a land that upheld the hierarchy and worshipped Gods still unseen. But what were Gods if they did not answer your prayers? What were Gods if they did not set you upon a righteous path?

All of it seemed so vague and insignificant when I thought about it because I was still very much lost in a land that so cherished a sense of belonging.


However, when I found my stared fixed on the hybrid called Amaris, I did not feel so mindless. Maybe it was the way she regarded me –with certainty and assurance- or maybe I was just another fool spellbound by the pure mystery of her. She was obviously an old soul, a tactful woman who possessed as much beauty as wisdom. However, her wisdom was carried not so much in her eyes or her speech, but in the soft lines of her face and the fluidity of her gait. Before she was close enough to break words with me I smiled absently to myself while listening to the ocean waves as they crashed against my knees, rushing headlong toward the shore. What did she see when she looked at the man I wore so effortlessly upon my sleeve? Had I garnered the armor of deception easily enough to make her believe I was strong?

At last the suckling of the sand gave away her nearness and I turned once more to face her. “Amaris,” I acknowledged easily. “I’m as well as you left me, but -,” I leaned in a bit closer for emphasis, “- it looks as though you’ve been following me,” I accused with a hearty laugh. It had been quite some time since I’d last accompanied her in –where was it? The Meadow? The Fields?- well, it didn’t matter now. I was happy enough that she’d come to find me whether or not it was by chance. “You definitely look well. I can only hope you are even better than the last time I saw you,” I confessed readily.

While I was content to stare at the dragon-child unabashed, I was less than enthused to learn that another had slipped almost soundlessly –well maybe not soundlessly given the roaring of the waves- into our midst. As if I’d somehow prayed to the Gods and they’d answered, I turned from Amaris to find the regal image of the mare I’d pursued during the hot summer tasks. Ah, but she’d never spoken her name and that was a crime I’d see remedied. Her wide, blue eyes, rimmed in dark lashes seemed to swallow me whole as she attempted to puzzle my identity together. When it appeared that she’d come to some half-hearted conclusion, she spoke –and what a charming six words she shared. At least she wasn’t afraid to own her primitiveness. Maybe that was the reason behind our short, if nonexistent, conversation so many months ago. Clearly the nameless mare was a woman of few words. “And what do you remember of me?” I rallied- intent on dissecting her claims.


It would seem that Helovia had changed her mind about me. I guess she’d heard my woes and finally decided to grant them twofold… Now I was a man surrounded by enchanting, beautiful women.