”Oh Lady moon, what are you doing to me?” Dacianna mourned inwardly at her situation. The predicament was her own fault, but blaming the God made her feel better about it. The scary shadow in front of her seemed intent on making her feel as unwelcome as possible and the scholar’s gaze wavered when the prospect of having her tongue ripped from its proper place made her feel slightly ill. ”Yes, lucky me” she thought, not feeling lucky in anyway at all. She felt like he would have fit in quite well in Riftian society, with his burnt face and bloody threats, if it weren’t for the fact she would never wish that world on anyone, she might have suggested it to him—but life left marks in all sorts of ways and Dacianna was the wrong side of the border to be making swiping remarks. Despite how unnecessary she thought his words were.

The roan had no choice but to trust the stallion would do her no harm and continue with the task Tembovu had set her. She ignored all his ultimatums and snarling, focussing on a knowing mountain that might finally tell her more about this bizarre world she had been rescued into. “A mountain?” Dacianna asked with hope, curious by his choice of words—didn’t all mountains, in their centuries of stoically watching, know things? Dacianna thought it best to just answer his questions, however, rather than start asking her own lest she lose a tongue.

“The Elephant King of the Worlds Edge, Tembovu, sent me to fulfil my task and bring back stories of other herds” she informed, hoping the name of her King would make matters easier, “we welcome your own scholars to the Worlds Edge so we may also share our knowledge” the roan finished with a faint, hopeful smile. What was more valuable than a trade of minds, story for story—from one wise one to another?

The flicker of the flame appeared to have finally caught his eye and Dacianna shied with him, his sudden movement making her jump. So he was frightened of something? Though the burn on his face may explain that. Daci, however, is more concerned over the fact that the fire had spooked him—that is, until he starts striding over to the source of it.

A boy. A member of the herd—father and son?

Dacianna stood there, perplexed, as the two greeted each other in an odd fashion and her golden eyes drifted to the hound by the colt’s side. That was no normal hound either. The colt was also the source of the silver fire, though he didn’t appear to be bothered by it and Daci watched it flicker “does that not… bother you?” she asked the kid, nodding to the flames.