The day was so beautiful. Why was it that the sky seemed so much clearer, the light all the brighter when storms brewed on the horizon? How could this place be so peaceful even though screams of pain and rage rent the stillness asunder?

Secure in the firm belief that her daughter now was safe, the Blackbird raised her gaze to the vastness of the sky for one fleeting second. Bright eyes followed a line of birds that came flying from the north, heading south towards the sea. They flew high, with determination as though they knew where they would be going. Was there something out there, beyond the horizon? It had been quite a long time since she had felt any desire to explore, but now, in this moment, Shadow felt the urge come over her. Maybe she would too, once this was over. She would bring Erthë, Vadim and Vlasi too if they wished to come, and together they would travel far beyond Helovia. Maybe they would find Kari along the way too; her long lost, wayward son, whom she had missed so much.

One second. Sometimes it was all it took for fate to change.

Her scream of defiance changed into one of shock and excruciating pain as the crocodile lashed out with its tail. Thrashing about in its death throws the blow was swift and impossible to dodge. It hit her squarely in the chest, the sharp spines penetrating deep inside her. Gasping for breath she was sent flying backwards, crashed into Badger - faithful, loyal Badger whom she could never thank enough - and crumpled to the ground. Disgusting, horrible pain stabbed through the left wing as she landed on it. Bones snapped and punctured the skin, blood began to flow out across the sand. Was it the light that made it look so dark, or was it because of the magical illness?

No. This wasn't possible. It couldn't be... not now. Numbly the mare tried to rise, disbelief painted across her every feature as she saw the deep gashes in her chest where blood sprang forth, as though from a macabre fountain. It stained all the tokens in her hair, the gnarled unicorn horn she had held onto throughout the years, the Earth God's gift and a shining white bow of bone that landed, clattering, in the sand not far from her.

She didn't feel broken, and yet... and yet. Darkness began to set in from somewhere beyond what her eyes could see. And in her ears rang the sounds of her friends heartbeats, and the terrified voice of her daughter as she came running on small, quick feet.