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She'd been staying in Gloryheart Meadow, near the Queen's castle since her mother had left in search of a Glory to join, but she was restless. The life of ease and tranquility was not what she was suited to. She needed something to challenge her, and living in the meadow was anything but challenging. So she decided to leave, and look for her own Glory that might be willing to accept her into it.

She hadn't planned on flying so high, but the air currents were just too wonderful, and she was having so much fun. She was very near the Icefury Mountains, and she had heard that there was at least one Glory living there, so she was hoping to locate it, and see if she might be accepted into their group. She had no idea what she would do once she got there, but it had to be more exciting living on the mountain slopes than it was in the meadow. Another strong current of air caught her by surprise, and the next thing she knew, she was plummeting to the ground. Unable to regain control of her flight, she watched in horror as the rocks of the mountainside came into view, and grew larger as she descended. She managed to slow her descent at the last possible moment, but she still hit the rocky ground hard. Hard enough that she passed out from the impact.

She could hear a horn blowing. It sounded like it was inside her head, and it would sound, then stop, then sound, then stop. After a while of this, she thought she was going mad. It wasn't until her body began to register the pain she was in, that she regained consciousness. She tried to open her eyes, but pain exploded in her head. She knew she was alive, and lying on the rocky hillside. She knew now that the sound she had heard was not her imagination, and that someone was blowing a horn right above her.

She tried to speak, wanting desperately to tell whoever it was, to please stop, but she could not get her mouth to work. All that came out was a pitiful whinny of sorts. She sounded like a wounded filly she thought to herself, but the noise did have the added benefit of catching the attention of whoever was blowing the horn, for the noise stopped.

Lord Baldur heard the call of his father's horn. A call he had hoped never to hear in his lifetime. It was Eclipse out on patrol this morning, and he had every confidence that the stallion would not be blowing the horn if the circumstance was not dire. Leaving instructions with his second, Lord Mwee, to gather the troops, so to speak, he took to the air, following the sound of the horn.

Eclipse had obviously climbed quite high on his patrol, for Baldur had to keep going higher in order to get closer to the sound of the horn. All manner of thoughts were going through his mind as he flew to who-knew-what. What manner of creature or man might be coming over the mountains? Would his Glory be able to hold them off on their own, or would he need to call for other Glory's to come to their aide? The sound of the horn suddenly stopped, and he was at a loss as to which direction to go. Had Eclipse fallen to the enemy? What would he do if he could not find the incursion spot? Minutes passed, which seemed like hours, and then as suddenly as it had stopped, the horn sounded again.

He saw Eclipse standing on the mountainside, but what he didn't see was the enemy he had expected. Eclipse was instead, standing over the fallen body of another unicorn. A number of emotions flooded him at that moment, the least of which was anger. Anger at Eclipse for using the horn when there was no imminent danger to the land. Concern was what was foremost in his mind, and sadness in his heart, for it was clear the unicorn was either badly hurt, or worse, dead. He slowed his descent and landed near the two unicorns. "Eclipse, report!" he ordered.

The pain in her wing was increasing, and she still could not bring herself to open her eyes without pain shooting through her head. Hours passed and then she could feel the terrain beneath her hooves change from the rockiness of the mountain, to a softer, smoother dirt floor. She hoped that they were nearing the Glory, because she wasn't sure how much longer she could remain standing. A few minutes later, she could hear the sound of other unicorns calling out, announcing their arrival, and she felt a change in those who were helping her.

Eclipse was glad to have Rune come to relieve him. As the stallion came in under the mares wing and took his place, Eclipse slid out and came to a stop. He saw that Lord Baldur had done the same, being replaced by Lord Mwee.

Eclipse gave Wilca one last look then followed after his leader. They entered Baldur's cave and Eclipse waited for the hammer to fall.

Baldur had been trying to decide how best to address this unconventional use of his father's horn by his patrol leader. It was well understood that the horn was only to be used in the case of an incursion from the far side of the mountains, yet he also knew that if Eclipse had not blown the horn, the mare would not have survived the night on the mountain. He was still unsure if he should reprimand the stallion, or commend him for his quick thinking.

"So Eclipse, what do you have to say for yourself?" Baldur decided to let him speak first, and he would take into account Eclipse's words into his final decision.

Eclipse had been going over and over in his mind what he would say in this situation, from the first blow on the horn earlier that day. He only hoped that his leader would understand, and be lenient with him. "My Lord, I cannot deny that I used the Horn for a situation it was not intended for, and that I put the rest of the Glory under undue stress because of it. However, in my defense I would say that given the circumstances, I had no other options. Had I left her there to come get help, we would not have reached her before nightfall, and she would likely have died before we did. I was unable to help her down the mountain by myself in her wounded state, and even had I stayed with her until someone came in search of me, she would have died without a healer. My healing skills were not sufficient to her wounds. I was at a loss my Lord, and did the only thing I could think of to get help to her in a timely manner. I will accept any punishment you see fit to assign to me."

Baldur's heart went out to his patrol leader, as he listened to his explanation. It was true that his rule concerning the use of the Horn had been broken, but he had never taken into consideration that one of his patrols might encounter such a situation. Other than himself, no one in the Glory could fly, and the distances that they had to patrol could be miles distant from any help. This situation had made it clear to him that changes would have to be made.

"Eclipse, I want to commend you on your quick thinking, and thank you," said Baldur. Eclipse was taken by surprise at his leaders words. Baldur continued, "For showing me that I have not taken into account the different situations that can befall the patrols sent out into the mountains. Changes will need to be made so that no patrol is ever put into a situation like this again, and you are to thank for that," Baldur said. "Now, give me the Horn, and go get some rest. I will discuss this with Lord Mwee, and I will make an announcement soon as to what is to be changed."

Eclipse was astounded at his luck in not being held accountable for his breach of the rules. He at least expected to be removed from his position as Patrol Leader. But instead he was being commended for showing his leader that he had not seen a potential problem with the way in which the patrols were run. He bowed his head to his leader and exited the cave. He would go back and check on Wilca before heading to his own cave for a well earned rest.