Sulwyn

Silver ears and golden eyes direct their attention to the darkness before them, struggling to locate any hazards that might result from this blindness. Weary steps trudge along a narrow, rocky passage, bordered by the raging sea. The dark backdrop surrounding the caravan of travelers has made their journey rather tedious, even with the help of the ominously glowing trees. The constant tripping of hooves and stealthy attempts at escape have slowed their search for the Veins immensely, and it has worn the mustang's patience thin. If it had not been for their dramatic encounter in the Thistle Meadow then perhaps they would have been able to outrun the darkness, but it had arrived almost as soon as they had left. There was no telling how many days or nights the group had been together, they just were. The illusion that was this false night was a masterpiece and deserved to be treated as such, but the laboring wraith at the head of their party did not appreciate its craftsmanship.

She cursed it.

The crashing of unseen waves frightened the fae, and one particularly loud roar had caused her feet to fly from under her, and her hinds slid a little ways off the edge. The chilling touch of the water splashing against her flanks had sent another shock through the mustang, and she vaulted herself upwards and back onto the crumbling path she had just left. To her, the only good thing about this eternal night was that her fellow pilgrims could not see the things that she did out of fear.

I need to stop running from things. I need to learn how to rebel against the forces that drive me into submission. Clouds of steam rise from quivering naves at the sullen thoughts, but whether they rise out of loathing or out of exhaustion is unknown. Anger is a foreign feeling to the mare that has only ever known doubt or timidity, and she is lost in the ways that one would normally grapple with this emotion. Her body moves as if she were still the same horse, but inside, her heart is starting to beat at a much different tempo than before.

The very wind that whips the ocean into its violent state is beating against the hides of the three mares, trying desperately to push them off their path. The wraith pushes through its fury with a bowed head and sturdy legs, determined to reach the faint blue glow that her eyes have just now noticed. At least that means we haven't hit a dead end. Her thoughts are as fatigued as her body.

Only the resonating boom of the water and the roar of the wind can be heard as the three weary travelers reach the volcanic island. A sense of awe strikes the silver fae as she gazes up at the towering black stone. The blue glow that Sulwyn had detected earlier has revealed itself to be glistening pools sluggish rivulets of magma, and upon closer inspection the mare realizes that it is, in fact, coming from the island itself. Did that mean that the volcano could still erupt?

Casting a weary glance around obsidian shore that they had found themselves on, the grulla sees that there is no clear path to guide them to the Goddess' shrine. The eerie glow of the lava reveals dozens of sets of hooves worn into the slick black ground, but streams of lava crisscross it. Closing her eyes gently, Sulwyn tries to take hold of the fire in her heart and bring one of her spectral orbs into being, but nothing happens. Confused, the mare furrows her brow and digs deeper. Nothing.

What's happening to me? Her desolate cry for help inside the confines of her mind goes unheard. A trickle of fear breaks through her vessel's sturdy walls. Was it because she had begun to appreciate their power that they had decided it was time to abandon her?

Unsure of what to do now, Sulwyn turns her head to seek guidance from the two vixens that had come up behind her. Her eyes reflect the blue of the viscose liquid around her as she looks from one unicorn to the other. The smaller fae -- the one I cannot trust -- doesn't appeal to the equine at all. Her porcelain plains and tall stature radiated pride and majesty, and the mustang did not appreciate those values. The most that Arah would probably do was make a sharp jab at her own insolence, and the wraith was tired of that. She had had to suffer through enough snide comments coming from the taller black vixen, and she didn't need to hear anymore. In retrospect, it was probably a bad idea that the mustang had even thought that either of these unicorns would offer her any help; one was here out of obligation, and the other was here to ensure the first was freed. And I'm almost certain that they've never even met each other before.

With a snort of indignation, Sulwyn turns back to the dangerous trail ahead of her and sets one jaded hoof upon it. She is afraid of death, she realizes, and that fear is what causes her heart to stir. Was she really going to turn away now, after everything that she had been through? All the tears, the unnecessary captures, the frustration, and the time wasted was certainly enough to urge the mustang forwards. They were so close to bringing this quest to an end. All that it would take was one surge of courage.

Steeling herself for the ascent, the sun-branded fae pulled herself up onto a glowing ledge pressed into the volcano's side. She hadn't noticed that the oozing lava wasn't the only thing that glowed in this ethereal place, and it fills her with amazement. How can something so dangerous house so much beauty?

The climb to the much broader part of the ledge is not a long one, and when the wraith rounds a small curve her body fills with the purest form of joy and relief that she has ever experienced. She has finally, finally, reached her journey's end.

Charcoal hooves quicken their pace in anticipation to meet the Goddess for a second time, but the dull clipping sounds that they make against the stone slows to a halt. Where is the Mother of the Moon?


"I don't understand..." Come the grulla's shocked words.

"Talk talk talk."

@[Seele]
@[Arah]

This trek was stupid. This mare was stupid. This entire thing was absolutely stupid! The grulla mare before me couldn't even keep her feet under her. I may not be able to see her too clearly but I can definitely hear her tripping over her own feet upon the rocks as we trudge forwards. The sound of gentle waves was bouncing around in my cranium. It was soothing, I suppose, though nothing really 'soothed' me much. So, with indignant movements I followed the grulla mare, keeping an eye on the porcelain one behind me who had hair too long to ever really be useful in a fight. It would be so easy to just put a hoof on her mane and restrict majority of her movements.

And of course, the wraith could barely stay on her feet. The sound of water splashing against fur caught my ear as I peered toward her with a low snort. She is weak. Why are you still here? Schwere cursed in my cranium, Do you know how useless this is? How utterly useless and a waste of time this is? he continued on chastising me for continuing on with Kleine. I shook my head and just before I could comment on the stupidity of her feet slipping out from under her and ask if the poor baby was injured she had rocketed back onto her feet as though the water was going to eat her. Good. Perhaps it was necessary.

The wind has decided that it enjoys our company, beating against us in the dark night sky. The little Kleine should be more careful - dangerous creatures lurked in the dark, and they were definitely creatures this poor, poor mare wouldn't want to interact with. It doesn't take long for them to finally arrive at the veins. The criss-crossing lava seeming to glow ever so slightly. The mare pauses, turning her head back toward the two of them. Was she going to speak? If that was the case she should pipe up - I was getting tired of the idiocy of this journey. There better be some pay off for wasting all of my time.

A snort escaped my maw as we began to start up the ledge, and once a top I peered around for the Goddess in her glory. But, she was no where to be found as was confirmed by the shocked words of the grulla mare that had brought me here. I pin my ears, snapping once at the air. "I've completed my part of the deal, Kleine. I bid you goodbye. It seems your Goddess is not here and I do not wish to share your company any longer than you wish to share mine." I announced, letting out a puff of air before I started my descent back down the ledge. Carefully placed footsteps aided me down the rocky terrain until I had hit the path I had originally come in. As soon as I was certain I was on relatively flat land I kicked my heels up into a fast gallop, speeding away from group without another word, just the sound of hooves clicking against the rock echoing in the dark.