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x The night was cool and clear, as many such nights were during the summer months over the Greater Herd Plains. The stars winked down from above in laughter, the moon obscured by thin clouds, their edges limned silver by its own light. A soft breeze sang through the lush grasses, whispering at the future to come; foals to be born, river to run deep and cool, and war to come from over the far horizon. The grass would be flattened, stained red with blood, the wind would fade from gentle laughter to high, shrieking cries as the days wore on. The rivers would be choked with swollen bodies, the bugs feasting not on flowers, but on rotting corpses. But the wind and stars knew that would be in several months. For now, they were content to enjoy the false peace while it lasted, while they still had the luxury and time to take comfort from it.

A faint presence stirred among the clouds within the moon, causing the light to falter, be broken upon the land in shadows. The far-off sound of wingbeats could be heard down below on the plains if one were to listen. And like a single drop of rain, a salty tear fell from the skies, plummeting down thousands of feet to the rolling expanse of grass below.

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x The presence within the clouds stirred, a faint tugging at its heart. What was once before only a sheer moisture in the air coalesced into a spirit, a heart, a being. The presence felt itself become solid, felt the cool air run fingers through its fur, felt feathers on its wings ruffle in the wind, felt the ones on its tail streaming behind it. It opened clear blue eyes, like the heart of a glacier, and then there was a sudden feel of plummeting, of falling, accelerating as its mass and the gravity of this new world carried it downwards. The wind in his ears whistled, and he felt his new heart begin to race, to beat faster and faster. Some deep thing within him, some deep-rooted instinct and fear, told him that falling was not good, that this mortal body would be splintered, shattered, and broken. And while he himself could survive that, this body would not. And there was something -- someone -- he had to find first.

With a sound in the back of his throat, the being extended its wings a hundred feet from the hard ground coated in grass, and with a loud snap, he leveled out as the wind caught beneath his wings, streaming around them. His eyes shining with joy, the being stretched his appendages, shifting his center of mass to the left, his right wing pointed towards the stars and the left towards the ground. He looked down beneath him as he circled slowly in the air, his fur shining with an ethereal, other-worldly glow. A dim glow caught his gaze and held it as he slowly, fluidly dropped lower and lower, and after focusing his Sight, he saw the bigger, brighter glow at its heart that showed it was a creature like him. The word came unbidden in his mind: Azrein. It felt right, its meaning in the Spirit World 'one pure of body, of mind, of heart, and of half its soul.' Nodding to himself, the Azrein shook his head slightly, clearing his Inner Eye, and once more all he saw were the dark, rolling plains and the dim glow of the mare's horn.

With a sound like wind in the treetops, he landed gracefully on the ground, the lush grass beneath his golden, cloven hooves giving slightly. He folded his wings to his ribs, flicking his long ears back before lowering his head to the mare. He stood unmoving, in a non-threatening posture to these pure creatures, these Azrein, and waited for her to acknowledge him. For to him, in the Spirit World, if one did not wish to speak with or engage in action with another, they simply ignored them and went about their business. It was not deemed rude -- on the contrary, actually. If one were to speak to another without waiting ten heartbeats for the other to state, "I See you," then they were being unspeakably crass and rude.

The being raised his head, the bells dangling on leather thongs from his pure-white antlers chiming softly in the wind. His antlers seemed to glow, like the mare's horn, but one could not be sure if it were simply a reflection of the moonlight, or if it were something within him, within his spirit, that made them do so. But if the being were to guess, it would most certainly be the latter. He looked around with confused blue eyes at this new, clean world, and hoped the mare would notice him, if she were not on more pressing business. He had no idea where he was, or where he was going. He just knew that he felt a tug on his heartstrings, making him want to do nothing more than fly to the east to whatever it was that awaited him there.

He turned his gaze back to the Azrein and shifted his weight, cocking his back leg comfortably. He met the mare's gaze and offered a gentle smile when their eyes met.

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x The stallion shook his head to clear it, the bells hanging from his antlers chiming. Blue eyes met the mare's gaze before traveling down to rest at the noose around her neck for a moment. A frown creased his brows before he looked back up, and he offered her what he hoped was an apologetic smile. "My most sincere apologies for startling you if I did, unicorn. I did not intend to cause you any fright." Varian looked around himself and his eyes began to recognize areas of the land that his father had once known so well. The small part inside of his heart that was Valdien wanted to sing with joy that his son could see the lands he had so cherished.

Snorting slightly, Varian shook off the feeling of mixed elation and grief within his chest as he answered the mare's question. "Yes, quite alright, though I assure you, I was rather scared myself. Do you happen to know where I am?" He knew he was on a floating island named simply 'The Isle of Azreth.' But he felt a strange pulling in his heart to travel east as fast as his wings could carry him. His nostrils flared, a long elk ear swiveling back to listen to any noises that might be out of the ordinary. Like his father before him, Varian had a basic, instinctual need to protect any he came across. "I find myself wanting to go to the eastern horizon, but I cannot quite know where I'm going if I don't know where I am." He smiled apologetically before starting, realizing he had been incredibly rude.

"My deepest apologies. My name is..." What was his name? His father's was Valdien, he knew that. But what would his father have named him, what name did the Good Spirits want for him? The answer came to him in a stirring of the wind across the plains, a faint whisper. "Varian. Lord Varian, Son of Valdien." It felt right. Something within his breast clicked, and he knew there was a broken, Shattered two-legged waiting for him to the east, though not even the man himself knew. Varian could feel his heart torn asunder, could feel the grief the man -- the boy, really -- clutched to himself in absence of Valdien. With an effort, the stallion hastily put up mental walls; much more of that and he would break down himself, and then he could not fulfill his duty as he was meant to -- either to the boy or the realm. "I would be most honored to learn your own, my lady, if you would be obliging to give it."

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x A frown marred the stallion's equine features, his head tilting to the side. He winced as he felt a lance of white-hot anger penetrate his mind, and he stood staring for a moment at the unicorn. He couldn't believe such a pretty-looking Azrein could despise something so wholly. But he knew that the humans -- well, not all humans, anyway -- weren't bad at all. His father's memories attested to that fact. Every single Azrein who was Bonded had been more than happy with the people they had Chosen, and they wouldn't go back and change a single thing, even if they had a thousand chances to turn back time. So why was this mare so utterly against the humans? Varian felt the anger swirling around in his breast, tinged with a dark, ugly green of fear and a sickly yellow of horror.

With a small trumpet, Varian shook his head violently from side to side, snapping his wings out as he staggered sideways a few steps, the tips of his cloven hooves making pitted holes in the soft earth beneath him. He let out an alpha-stallion's scream -- a sound that bit at the flight instinct's heels in every single mare, foal, and stallion -- and reared up onto his hind legs, blue eyes wild, unfocused, wings flapping wildly as he tried to escape the maddening fear beginning to grip him. Calm down! You're in a field! Spirits, what in the Hells is going on?! With an elongated grunt, the stallion tipped over backwards, landing hard the base of his wings, antlers hitting the ground and gouging deep furrows, bells jangling madly. He stared up at Anari, his chest heaving, and saw the fear he felt reflected in her own eyes. He held her gaze, trying to use it as a focus to pull himself out of -- of whatever this was, and suddenly, he was enveloped by darkness and a bone-deep cold.

I could smell humans. Old, dirty, sweaty, smelling like horses -- not Azrein, but the normal ones. My mother trumpeted a shrill scream into the night, telling us to run, to move, to fly as fast as our small legs could carry us. My sister scrambled as a man came near us with a rope, my mother having galloped off to draw the two-leggers away from us. She bit down on his hand, hard, eliciting a grunted curse and a cudgel to the back of her head. I wanted to scream, to run, to fight, but I was so utterly terrified that I couldn't do anything but stand there and shake.
I felt a warm wetness seeping down my legs, and all I wanted to do was close my eyes and curl up against Mom's belly, her scent and warmth like a blanket, keeping me safe. Instead, the men with the ropes came, throwing them on us. One caught and held fast around my neck, and myself and my sister Dal were forcibly hauled into the back of a wagon. It stank of fear and feces. Somewhere along the way, we picked up a colt, but I don't really remember much of it. All I wanted to do was see my Mom, to see Nim again. I spent those weeks fettered and shackled by not only physical chains, but those of fear and terror as well.
Then came the auction house. A flurry of scents and smells, of blood and sweat and sickness, and I couldn't take it anymore. I had to do something, anything, to make this stop, no matter what it was...

With a gasp, Varian rolled over onto his side, shaking, tears streaming down his face, mud and grass plastered all over his long fur, his once-flawless mane and parti-colored feathers. The stallion staggered first to his knees, then his hooves, using his wings for balance. With a reassuring nicker to the mare, he stumbled over to her, extending his wings to mantle them over and around her, placing his arched neck over her own. He wanted nothing more than to keep her safe, to protect her, to show her that humans weren't all evil. But she could never understand that, and he accepted it. He felt her delicate frame quaking beneath his wings, and -- still shaken up, himself -- he pulled back slightly, blue gaze roving over her features, though this time he didn't chance looking into her eyes for more than three seconds.

"Avari? My Lady? I'm alright, really. Nothing hurt me, nothing bad happened, I just . . . I know what you went through and it scared me at first is all." He was attempting to reassure her, but Spirits, how had that even happened? He'd never done anything like that in the Spirit World -- the Afterlife. He had felt her fear, her anger, and then he had freaked out, fallen over, and tried to focus by watching her eyes and then . . . then he had been sucked into her past, it seemed. Varian gave himself a good, solid shake from nose to wingtips to tail feathers, grounding himself in reality, in the here and now, and he frowned down at the unicorn. She still hadn't responded. "Avari, please. Answer me, ladylove. What's wrong?" He was beginning to grow concerned.

With a start, he realized what had just happened. He had only heard about it in the Spirit World, and the Soul Guide had said it was so rare that not much was know about it. He had called it a Soulgaze, wherein if the one with the power looks into another's eyes for seven seconds without looking away, each sees the other for who they really are -- they knew everything about them: their past, their secrets, their fears, aspirations, their very soul. Oh, Gods. Oh, Gods. That meant that she had seen what he had gone through.

Every second of agonizing pain while he felt his father's prolonged death from the Spirit World, all the sadness and grief within him, the feelings from the Shattered King, and the Spirit Web within his mind that brought him all the emotions of every Azrein on the Isle. Varian felt his ribs expand and contract as his breathing quickened. He let out a soft whinny and lowered his head, blowing breath into the mare's ears and nostrils to try to bring her out of dwelling on his life, both this one and his father's old one. Avari, his voice was gentle, yet commanding: the voice of a God. "Avari, you need to return to this world. There are those who need you here -- what would Eckar do if you stayed in your head for the rest of your years? You must come back to me, now, and you must put aside all you have felt and experienced through me, as I have through you. We know each other now more intimately than dam and foal, than lovers and family. You must return to me, to the here and now, and not dwell on what was once the here and now." He paused, closing bright blue eyes as he mantled his wings around her, encasing her entirely.

His voice became deeper, more rich, like heavy fog on a summer night. He put the Call into his words, twining it through each rise and fall, every syllable, slightly changing the cadence of his cant. "As the God of Duty and Sacrifice, Avari, I Call you back to Duty. Do not tarry, do not delay, and come back to this world, whole of mind, heart, soul, and body. I Call you to return, Avari. Come back to me now." Varian let out a breath, feeling as if he had deflated. Even though he didn't know about any of his powers, he could never forget the Call. It was something that every Deity had, something that each of them could do provided the situation fit what they reigned. He would need to recover for several hours once the crisis had passed, but he needed to protect this sweet mare, needed to save her from both his memories and from herself.

He beseeched the mare, in just his normal tone, sounding nothing more than weary. "Come, Avari, it's time to leave that place."

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x Varian dropped to his knees when Avari faltered, mantling his wings over her once more, protecting her, sheltering her from all she had experienced from his thoughts. Gently, he tilted his head, clacking his antlers softly against her horn, the bells chiming quietly from the motion. "No, little one. You're not crazy." The stallion's voice was laced with pain, guilty that he had made her go through his memories. With every breath he took, he felt the pain and agony of his father's tortured death -- the price he had to pay for coming to this world. "I'm so, so sorry for putting you through that. What just happened is called a Soulgaze, and I . . . I had not known that I possessed the ability."

Nor did he know that he had the gift of Empathy and the Call. What else had the Good Spirits burdened him with, he wondered. Grimacing, the stallion nuzzled her cheek in a gesture of comfort, his large body pressed against her, giving her a much-needed measure of solace. "I never intended for that to happen, but I deeply regret it. No one mortal -- even an Azrein -- should know what happens behind the eyes of a God." The words did not come out as haughty, but instead they were twined with so much grief, so much guilt, that the wind itself almost seemed to weep. "You will never forget the Soul of another once you have experienced it through a Gaze, Avari, but in a few moments, the rawness of your mind and heart will scab over. While it will still be uncomfortable to think upon it, you shall not have any more physical pain." No, only the mental wounds would last. The Deity cursed himself.

He should've known that something like this might happen -- but how could he? He wasn't yet even an hour old, but the knowledge he carried made him feel old and tired. "You may remain in this glade, but now that a Gaze has happened, the pure energies released from such a powerful magic will call entities here. I would humbly ask that you travel with me, for a few days, at least, until things have settled down here." He didn't want to tear her away from her home, but for her safety, it was his duty to make the hard choices. "While you're with me, I shall protect you with everything I have, with everything I am, and I will not let harm befall you." He rubbed his cheek against hers before leaning away from her, holding her gaze. Once two parties have Soulgazed, it cannot happen again, so there was some comfort in that, at any rate. "I swear it, Avari. I will see you returned safely back here to your home after three rises of the sun. But until then, we must get far from here, in the event the Six or the two-leggers allied with them come seeking out the powerful disturbance I have called."

The stallion bowed his head, ashamed of his thoughtless actions. "I am sorry."

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x Varian's heart clenched at the forlorn tone of the mare's voice. He bumped his muzzle against her jawline before rising gracefully to his feet, giving his wings a shake to loosen their joints. He felt old and tired, and he had barely been on this world for an hour. His nostrils flared as he let out a gentle sigh.

"All I know is that we must go, Avari." He caressed her name, hoping to offer her comfort in the midst of the doubt and confusion in her breast. "We will travel to the monument of the Fallen, the giant arch to the west of the castle. We will spend the night there, and then tomorrow we will discuss where we can go stay for a few days until things return to normal here." He lowered his head and gave her a gentle yet strong nudge as she began to rise, helping her to her feet. He gave his head a shake, bells chiming before looking off to the east, to where their destination lay on the horizon. "It should only take us a few hours to reach the Arch, even at a slow trot. I do not wish for either of us to tax ourselves after what we've just experienced."

Varian knew he could handle a flat-out gallop straight to the arch, but he didn't want little Avari to strain herself after what she went through. He wanted to get her far enough away to where the Six's allies couldn't find them, and he knew that there was plenty of natural shelter in the area where the Arch was. They could put their backs up against one of the cliff walls there, or even find an empty cave to stay the night in. The stallion lifted his chin, blue eyes searching the sky, noting the building clouds. The wind smelled like rain, and he knew it wasn't too far off. Perhaps they could make it to shelter before the downpour began. Regardless of where they stopped, he would watch over Avari all through the night to ensure that nothing troubled her.

Turning his gaze once more back to the pale mare, he pressed his wings to his flanks in an absent gesture. "Do you have anything you wish to take from this place, Avari? It will be days before you return, and if the Six's allies do come here, they might trash the place seeking us. If you have any mementos or things of value, gather them quickly. I will be right beside you, so you need not fear while you do so, my lady."

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x Varian glanced back at the woods as Avari moved off into the night before trotting forward to catch up with her. He had wondered about the rope on her neck, but it was far from tactful to ask about it. He assumed it was the same one that the men had taken her with, but she or another Azrein could've gotten it off long ago. Perhaps it was a way of remembering everything she had lost from that time in her life, or maybe it was held fast by magic. Either way, Varian wouldn't offer to take it off unless she broached the subject herself.

The stallion fell into step beside her, going along at a gentle walk for now so that they might reserve their strength for when the land became flat and they could increase their pace. He walked forward with his left wing draped over her back in a protective gesture, hoping she would be more at ease because of it. The bells on his antlers chimed with every other step he took, fading off into the cool night as the breeze carried the gentle sound away from them.

"No, darling. Most two-leggers are asleep at night. Only Azrein visit it, as it's fairly far off from both the castle and from Avandere proper." He didn't know how he knew the answer; the words had simply come to him, but they rang true in his mind. "But we will bed down in one of the caves that litter the area around it. It smells like a storm on the wind, and I want you out of the rain and someplace warm and dry when it finally falls." The stallion smiled warmly down at her, though his blue eyes were sad. "I will keep watch through the night, so that no one will trouble us while we rest. In the morning, we will figure out where to go from there. If you'd like, we can find a place further from the city, someplace where humans never venture."

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