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Regelus stood on a high promontory, overlooking the Kawani lands far below. From this vantage point, he could see the soft green stretch of the plains; the darker green swatch of the woods, spreading far to the west, and the shimmering dark blue of the great inland lake. On either side of Regelus himself, the mountains ranged outwards to the horizon, silent border guards for the lands below.

But perhaps border guards were the wrong description. Perhaps simply 'border' was the best way to describe them.

The scene was so peaceful, Regelus reflected. From this height, the lands below were softness personified; he could see no details, make out no particulars. Everything was simplified into colors and patterns; from these colors and patterns, he, and every other observer in the slopes, was left to draw on their own knowledge of the Kawani lands and 'reconstruct' the scenes below. To the casually removed observer, the lands below were serene, calm, and peaceful.

Yet Regelus knew all too well how false that vision of peacefulness was. The lands below were in recovery, which warmed his heart and spirit; however, it was only this past autumn that they had faced the second major trial in just as many years. Regelus had been traveling the mountain regions at the time, but the news of the horrific wildfires had ranged far afield. The news had been horrible; the Kawani village destroyed, numerous smaller settlements destroyed; innumerable Kawani and Soquili displaced and killed. The tribe and the Lowland Soquili had already been dealing with the side effects of a nasty drought, so the fire had merely escalated an already bad year into a catastrophic one.

The year before had been just as bad, possibly worse depending on which Lowland Soquili was asked. That year had seen the upper Lowlands overrun by an invading herd of Kalona Soquili whose lust for blood had only been trumped by their confidence. Their initial arrival had been marked with a massacre of one of the northern Kawani villages; numerous subsequent battles had punctuated their tenure in the region. The local Soquili had been determined in their resistance, and although the Kalona were never truly 'repelled,' the herd was eventually forced to disband and the lands returned to a state of semi-peace.

~~~

Yes, the past few years had been terrible for the Kawani Soquili. It had been the greatest test of Regelus' life, dealing with such bleak despair and anger from the affected Soquili. As the Angeni of Fate, it was Regelus' sworn duty to help Soquili accept what they could not change; although Regelus could not explain why it had been ordained these hardships would occur, he knew there had to be some reason. Furthermore, he knew that reason had to be for the greater good. But it was one thing to know that fact himself, and another to try to explain it to the Soquili whose families had been slaughtered or homes had gone up in flames.

But there was a difference between knowing in the abstract that all things happened for the best and knowing from personal experience. This was what made Regelus' job so challenging, and so important. He was there to soothe the wounded nerves and feelings, to dull the anger, to help dry the tear and answer the questions. He didn't have all the answers' no Soquili ever could. That was knowledge restricted to the realm of the spirits, and they kept their own counsel as to what was best. But just because Regelus wasn't always able to answer 'why' didn't mean he couldn't answer other questions.

And weirdly enough, he loved the challenge. While it was true that he received a lot of negative energy and was the focus of some occasionally harsh words, there was nothing in life that brought him more pleasure than handling those rough situations. He'd always been in possession of great calm and placidity; unlike so many other Soquili, Regelus was able to listen to harsh words, ugly criticism, and completely unjust accusations without so much as batting an eyelash. He knew that the negativity was a symptom; it was how the Soquili in question tried to deal with a difficult situation and move on. Sometimes, you had to say what was on your mind, even if it was ugly, or you would never be able to move past it. Regelus would always be willing to be the target of that anger; he was a stranger, and he was accepting. Releasing pent-up emotion was healthy, but releasing it in the wrong direction...it would be truly tragic for a relationship to be irreparably damaged by something said in a moment of anger because there was no preferable outlet around.

So he was happy to be yelled at, knowing that he was helping the greater good. And usually, once the Soquili in question had gotten all of the negativity out of their system, they were more amenable to listening what Regelus had to say. It was a challenge, but with that challenge came the rewards that made Regelus' life great. That was why he felt so adrift at the moment; without having anyone to help, there was no challenge for him to face, and thus no reward. So what was an angeni to do?

Well, he mused quietly, there was obviously one Soquili he was in a great position to help. One Soquili who was struggling to come to terms with the hand that Fate had most recently dealt them. That Soquili? Himself. Obviously Fate had decided that he needed some time to focus on himself, to test him in how well he applied his teachings to his own life. It was a poor instructor who could not perform as he preached.