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On the northeastern edge of the forest, where the trees met and gave way to the increasingly sharper crags of the mountains, one of many mountain rivers made its way south to the great sea. Beginning at the sea, one could follow the river north for miles, past the forest and plainslands, into and up through the mountains, until coming to an abrupt stop by a force of nature so great that one could not pass it on foot. This was Rockslide Falls, a vast tumult of churning water and chaos where the river made its great leap from the high reaches of the mountains to the gentler undulations of the plains. It was a testimony to the strength of nature, and the littleness of the living world. Here, any creature could easily find itself feeling the weight of its own insignificance.

At the top of the falls, the roar of the water drowned out all other sounds, making conversation impossible. That, combined with the vertigo-inducing drop to the bottom of the falls, meant that it was not a popular group hang-out. This, however, made it a perfect place to go to be alone, if one didn't mind the noise.

~~~

He sat on a large boulder on the eastern side of the falls, close enough to the churning water that he was constantly being splashed. Yet he seemed not to notice, sitting perfectly still, his legs crossed, his eyes closed, and his slim brown hands resting on his knees.

From the light brown of his skin, one might assume that he was one of the Kawani people who inhabited this region; a boy, no more than 15 or 16 years old. He sat with his back straight, his posture perfect, but his face relaxed and his expression, placid. It was a meditative pose, and one might rightfully assume that he had come to this place to enjoy some peace, if not from nature, then from other forces.

If one were to approach the boy, they would find themselves beginning to second guess their original idea that the boy was a Kawani. Although the typical dress of that people was skins or, more rarely, woven cloth, the boy wore no clothing. However, it would be wrong to say he was naked. On each ankle and each wrist, he sported a wide cuff of beaten silver, with intricate curls of the metal wrapping their way up his forearms and calves. A large silver collar, adorned with a glowing ice-blue gem, covered his shoulders and the middle of his chest, with a 'mantle' of silver feathers extending down his back. Small pendants hung from each ear, and he sported a headdress of what appeared to be small wings, decorated with more of the blue stones.

It was an exotic costume, to put it mildly, both in materials and design. Due to the distraction inspired by his outlandish look, one might not have immediately realized that the boy's hair was dark red instead of black, or that his eyes, now opened and staring into the churning water, are the same intense ice-blue of the jewel at his chest.

~~~

He leaned forward, staring into the water for several minutes longer before abruptly rising to his feet, deftly scooping up something from the rock as he did so. In the language of the Kawani, he murmured, "Enough of this," before gracefully leaping back to the shore. Having alighted, he uncurled his fingers from around the object he'd collected from the rock and studied it. It was a key, made from the same silver as his adornments, and hanging on a blue cord. Lifting the key up, he examined it for a few moments more before kissing it gently. "I am glad to have you back, my friend."

So saying, he raised the key and carefully hung it around his neck, so that it fell over his silver decorations and swung at the middle of his chest. Giving it one final pat, he turned away from the roar of the falls and said quietly, "Enough of this."

As he spoke, the boy was suddenly enveloped in a haze of light, a light so bright it shielded his body from view even if any onlookers could have withstood the urge to look away from the blinding. It was gone in a moment, though, and with it, the boy. In his place stood a Soquili; a large stallion with a coat the color of blood, adornments of silver and blue, and the many reaching wings of the Angeni. And Angeni he was; he was Regelus, the Angeni of Fate, and he was once again whole in both body and mind. For too long, he had been without his key, but thanks to the inevitable graciousness of Fate and and hands and feet of his human shape, he was back in possession of his most valued treasure.

Regelus was not given to bursts of emotion of any kind, but for now, even his placid countenance could not disguise his joy.

It took a great deal to ruffle Regelus’ legendary placidity, but it had been well and truly ruffled over the past few weeks. Looking back on how he had ended up here, his body spritzed with droplets from the river and the sound of the falls crashing in his ears, he could only sigh and reflect on the impulsive nature of the world and the complete and utter lack of trust so many seemed to feel towards the cosmos. To overcome that inherent lack of trust was what Regelus viewed as his primary purpose in the Kawani lands, and he took that purpose seriously. Always, he had been one to counsel that patience had been the key to resolving most of life’s problems, as with patience, the situation would either resolve itself or an appropriate course of action would come to the troubled soul. This had always been Regelus’ own experience, and it was one he was quick to counsel on.

Few things grieved the Angeni as much as the knowledge that everywhere around him there were Soquili driven by their own thoughts and feelings to curse the world and their place in it. Rather than try to accept to what they had been born, into what family or what location, Soquili would cry out curses at the stars and sink into despair. Wherever he could, he tried to raise others above this despair and teach them the error of their ways. All things would ultimately be resolved in the way they were meant to be, given enough time.

However, this unflappable trust in Fate could sometimes be maddening to those around him, and that was what had brought him here. The Spirits had placed in his care a much younger, much more tempestuous Angeni to mentor and guide. Ausdauer had a good heart, but he was headstrong, impulsive, and completely impatient. Regelus had done his best, but two less compatible creatures could hardly exist, even if they were both Angeni. A particularly explosive temper-tantrum of Ausdauer’s had resulted in the younger Angeni ripping Regelus’ key from around his neck and casting it into the waters of the river, punctuating the gesture with a ferocious “Tell me the good in that, old man!”

There had been no angry words, no dramatic gestures of upset. But Regelus had cast a stony gaze at the younger stallion as the key was swept away in the current and silently turned away from Ausdauer, taking off down the river.

His countenance had never changed, but inside, he had been as agitated as he’d ever been. The key was more than a pretty trinket, it was a piece of his soul, of his Spirit. It symbolized his intimate connection to Fate, and represented the Key to his Destiny. To lose it was simply unthinkable.

And he had spent weeks searching for it, originally in his Soquili form and later taking up the hands and feet of his human form. His search had paid off much sooner than he could have hoped. What was more, in spite of whatever petty motivations had driven Ausdauer to commit such a terrible thing, he knew it was for the best. He was meant to be here, for why else would he have been stopped?

It was at that point that a new sound caught his attention. It was faint in comparison to the falls, but it was unmistakably the sound of rapid-fire footfalls. Someone was approaching.

Perhaps this was who he had been sent to meet.