I took Rohan for an intelligent fellow who could consciously determine how to avoid splitting his toes open on a bit of glass, but there was something in the way he regarded the World’s Edge that made me think he was also a prude. I didn’t mind this notion or the way he jokingly mocked the shattered walls, but I also couldn’t help the soft smile that followed his pinched jabs. He hadn’t been here when the walls were ruined by the wraiths… Perhaps it was best that they had crumbled anyways. They were just another shadowy reminder of the past. Brutes like Rohan were the future and that was what the Edge stood for now, no?

Instead I let his comment fall by the wayside, a tender thought lost to the grip of the sea and the creak of the wood. I’d grown used to the various opinions of my home and with a great amount of patience I’d also learned how to ignore them. Some fits were more seamless than others, while some did not fit at all. I hoped for the former of Rohan in the Edge, but what could I do aside from letting the land speak for itself… well, and its leaders too.

“I do hope your World’s Edge doesn’t disappoint.

Ever the pessimist. I realized it wasn’t a statement meant to off-put me, but it did. When we again faced each other, both looking to challenge the other for truth, all I could do was ward off the rigid grimace that threatened to turn my lips cold. “It won’t,” I assured boldly and without reservation. However, before I could say much else –which could have been a good thing- the pale vision that was Mauja interjected our conversation. He appeared to recognize me from the meeting or otherwise and I nodded at his arrival- a congenial welcome.

His introduction was kind, perhaps a bit lackluster, but enough for me to hand over the reins I’d been wielding. If anyone were capable of convincing Rohan of the worth of the Edge, I supposed it was Mauja. Or so I hoped. Yet, the antlered brute wouldn’t let me linger without entertainment for long and instead directed another question at me, a silly question really given my adamant preference for the land ruled by the Moon. “Since I came to Helovia, I’ve called the World’s Edge my home… so six years now,” I answered absently. It took me back to so many memories, ones forged from glory, which had burned to ash by now.

Reverie aside, I focused my attention on Mauja hoping that he could shed proper light on the benefits of choosing the World’s Edge over… well, anywhere else. Perhaps even I would be allowed more insight where our future was concerned. I’d even resolved to settle in and wait out their banter for a time when a deep snort –though I would have called it a grunt- perforated the kindly atmosphere I’d built. Torleik and I had never truly shared words and from the looks of it would be doing so now. He was a force of obvious power and not-so-subtle grace, but at least he was more brazen than the rest of us… I mean only he could joke about –mock?- the current state of affairs. Hell, he was one of the Kings creating them.

“And you,” I answered easily. Torleik was certainly no Kaj and quite militant in that regard. Yet, it still struck me how little I knew of my new Kings and how much I knew the Edge was changing. Thank the Gods for a woman to warm my bed at night and Sabine to keep me sane… This was going to be an interesting ride.

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