This season, I have been assigned to patrol the Blood Falls, the scene of the first God battle. When I enter the eerie crimson trees and see the blood-red waterfall again, I can almost smell the fight that happened here, see the wounds and the pain and misery that was caused here. It makes my flesh tingle and my hairs stand on end, and I walk at a high-stepped, wary trot. I spook from every bird that bursts out of the trees, flinch away from the buzzing of insects, and pray I will stumble upon the rest of my patrol soon so I do not have to wander this horrible place alone.

Finally, my wish seems to be granted, as I lay eyes upon a pegasus mare who smells of the Throat. I immediately sidle closer to her, keeping my body language neutral, loose and friendly. My ears pivot at every sound, but my attention is focused on the mare. "Hello," I greet, pausing for a second to glance around at the crimson falls again. I wonder why they are the colour that they are - did a great beast die in them and stain them eternally red? Or is it something much less nefarious and much more innocent? I don't know, and I doubt I will ever find out.

"I'm Badger, one of the healers of the Throat. Have you been assigned to patrol here, too?" I tilt my leather-clad head at her, hopeful. If not, I hope the rest of my patrol turns up soon, as a patrol is much less monotonous when there is somebody to share it with.

She introduces herself as Nephele, and of course I try to repeat it, despite her warning. Or, should I say, massacre it. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Neee-feel." Oh dear. I cringe, but try to keep a lighthearted look in my eye so she knows I'm not mocking her. "Neph," I sheepishly add. Yes, I think I shall call her that from now on.

The fact she is a warrior is not lost on me. I always seem to be assigned patrols with warriors, and I wonder if it is because the leaders fear I will get myself beaten up or murdered if I go out without a trained escort. After all, it is not hard to see that fighting is not my forte. Although I am slimmer than I have ever been, I still lack the sheer muscle of a stallion, or a warrior. I couldn't fight my way out of a wet paper bag. I notice her eyes assessing me, and I wait for the inevitable questions. What's that on your face? Where are your balls? I don't mind answering such questions, and they are inevitable when I am surrounded by wild horses who have never known the crushing touch of a human hand. To my surprise, though, nothing comes. Instead, she wonders where the rest of our patrol is, and asks how this land got here.

To the first question I glance around, as though I can make the rest of my patrol appear with sheer force of will. Alas, that is not the case, but the day is still young. To the second, I cast another wistful glance around at the scene of the battle. "This land wasn't here until fairly recently. My understanding is that it came from another world, along with several odd-looking horses and a vengeful God in the shape of a bear. Violence welcomed this place, so I am scarcely surprised it looks so...sinister." I look around at the bloodstained water, hardly inviting one for a nice swim. I glance back to the pegasus warrioress. "Are you new to Helovia, Miss Neph?"

She instructs me on how to say her name properly, and I file it away for the future. But the conversation quickly turns to the Gods, and I listen carefully. "I thought a similar thing, to be honest. I respect our Gods and it feels churlish to question them, yet I think this situation could probably have been solved with a lot less bloodshed." I don't know what happened in the Rift, of course, and indeed the Rift Gods made the first move to break through and wreak havoc. However, had our own Gods not gone into the Rift in the first place, perhaps none of this would have happened. Perhaps Shadow would still be alive. We wouldn't have these new lands, but what is a piece of turf in comparison to a life?

Nephele tells me that she was born here, but left and then returned. I smile, remembering my own former foray into Helovia's Threshold. I'd been a newly free man, hungering for the comfort of my human home, trapped in the rain and elements and the creature comforts I'd always been accustomed to. My naiive, immature mind hadn't been ready for what greeted me - horns, wings, hybrids, fear and magic and horror. Little wonder I'd turned and fled back out into the wild. I hadn't been ready to face Helovia, but now it feels like home. I've grown in ways I never thought possible, and the memories bring a smile to my haltered face.

"Aye, it has something intriguing about it, doesn't it?" I look around at this magic place, which just about sums up Helovia. Then the pegasus proceeds to ask about me, and I shift sheepishly. "I don't know if you've ever heard of a species called humans? They're glorified monkeys, basically. I grew up with them, owned by them. A fire in my home made me leave, however, which brought me here." I decide to leave out the part where I came in once, fled screaming to the hills, then returned again a year later after another natural disaster destroyed my second human home. She remarks that I look rather different, and I wiggle my eyebrows at her. "Because I'm fat and lacking certain bits of anatomy?" I'm deadpan for a moment, then let my features lapse into a warm smile. "Just kidding. Yes, I'm not a native. Where I'm from, there's no such thing as horned, winged horses, or magic, or companions. As you can imagine, coming into Helovia was a bit of a shock to the system." To put it mildly.