the world, it burns through me - Ea

[Beyza]

Beyza doesn’t show any shock to being called striking, but the word does inspire a small smile to spread even though the conversation moves on. Even without the other mare’s addition - Beyza only would’ve considered it a compliment. The Dale, Ea tells her - not Hyaline. Beyza is sure the lake is the same as it was in that other valley-like kingdom, though, and wonders now what other pieces of Beqanna’s past are splicing themselves together. There weren’t many other lands she had visited enough to be able to recognize changes in, a fact that she now regrets. Perhaps in someone’s thoughts or dreams she might be able to glean the other changes, but her curiosity does not have enough of a fiery drive to inspire her to such lengths just yet. And the minds of others often lie, even when the audience is only meant to be the self. Ea mentions Ischia, and Beyza brightens at this common thread between them - so even though she could easily check to see whether Ryatah is here at the moment, she accepts Ea’s offer to help her look for her mother. She moves backwards out of the lake, and tells Ea as they begin to walk - “I lived in Ischia as well. Before the sea took it a few years ago, my daughters and I found a haven there.” Maybe she is showing off for Ea since she likes her already, maybe the weight of these memories are just too strong to ignore - but Beyza casts an illusion around them. The dusk-shaded grass turning to soft white sand and the hardy trees becoming palm trees - the lake now the ocean, shimmering with the last light of the day that has been obscured from them here by the mountains. “I chose it for its seclusion, but even if it were still around I have learned there is a point where one can have too much isolation.” B E Y Z A

artwork by musonart