Golden eyes watching our every move
Losing time without the sun or moon
I will find her, he’d promised. And so he is. He has safely collected the remaining of his siblings, leaving them on the island in the embrace of his family. Now, for the child his sister had been so determined to find.
It is not easy locating someone he knows nearly nothing about. He is worn by the time he lands on the mountain, a cough rattling faintly in his chest. It seems he had caught the mysterious illness invading these lands, but he hasn’t the time to consider those implications just now.
He can rest as soon as he finishes this one last thing.
Finally, he parts the shadowy veil to find a figure as Heartfire had shown, a small and almost fragile child. But he hasn’t the time to even speak her name. The fairies had called and it is clear she answers. Perhaps he can get to her before things become too tangled. When one fairy steps forward and begins to speak however, he knows it is too late.
His yellow gaze shifts to the crystalline being as he speaks, giving instruction on how this plague might be defeated. He should have left, but he finds himself drawn in against his better judgement. Find the heart-shaped pond and bring a frozen stem of water. A simple enough task for a creature like he. He could have Briella home to his sister in no time at all. And Ether, the boy who has never done anything spectacular in his life, could play an integral role in making his home whole once more.
But of course, there is a catch. There always is. And by the time Ether realizes it, it is far too late.
As his gifts bleed from him, Ether can only stare in surprise. The blackness of shadow melts from his skin, leaving soft blue and white in its place. His teeth dull as the yellow of his eye is replaced by warm brown. He is left just a boy once more, no shadows to protect him. The plague is more evident now in the faint protrusion of his ribs and the patchiness of his roan coat. His lungs rattle as he breathes, and he can only hope he’ll have the strength to do what he must.
It takes him a moment to regain his bearings, and when he recalls what he had been sent for, he turns his gaze swiftly to find the child. After a moment of frantic searching, he finally finds her beginning her descent from the mountain as she urges any who might listen to follow her.
He lurches forward into a lope, catching her quickly enough. “Briella?” he asks softly. He is sure she must be who he had sought, but he needs her to know him too. “I’m Ether.” He pauses, eyeing her uncertainly, hopefully. “Heartfire asked me to find you.”
She might not know him, but he would protect her regardless. It seems he had inadvertently signed on for more than he had bargained, but he is not one to renege on his word.
There are three others that follow her as well, but they are less his concern than the little chestnut filly. So long as they offered her no harm, they could make the journey together. He remains close to her side as they travel down the mountain towards Hyaline, his task settling heavily on his blue shoulders. For someone who had so long hidden from the world, it seems he is now destined to see a great deal of it.
The light no longer burns his skin as it once had, but instinctively he tries to cling to the shadows, finding comfort in them even if they had been stripped from his bones.
He cannot consider that loss now though.
The child seems quite certain as to where she is headed, and Ether is inclined to let her lead. She is the reason he is here, after all. She is a talkative young girl, and he listens silently, not minding her chatter in the least. It reminds him of the way the shadows used to whisper to him.
Occasionally a rumbling cough rattles his lungs, reminding him of their task. Of what had inspired them to make this journey. That cough propels him forward as much as his promise does. Though he hadn’t plan on it, he has been tasked with finding a piece of the cure. And his own body now tells him how much this cure is needed. For everyone.
Perhaps for the first time in his life, he has a purpose far greater than himself. It is a novel experience, to know one’s own actions might be remembered in a time of need.
They trek through craigy hills and past icy streams, along the lake that marks Hyaline special. Here the chestnut filly proclaims they rest, and Ether does not argue. She settles into the hollow beneath a tree, and the blue and white stallion curls up beside her. He does not sleep long, however. Instead he lays awake, watching. Waiting.
The gold and white stallion remains nearby, having kept their company for the journey thus far. So too had a red stallion with a silvery mane and a dapple and white mare, but as they settle down to rest, the pair of them disappear. He barely notices their absence until the sound of a scuffle in the distance draws his attention.
He quickly pulls himself to his feet, and while his imagination runs rampant over those faint sounds, he does not leave his post. He could not leave Briella alone and vulnerable. He is distracted then by the filly thrashing in her sleep, caught in the throws of a nightmare. He nudges her gently, attempting to stir her from slumber. When she awakens with a cry, he flinches in surprise. Her entire body trembles from the dream (and no doubt from the chill), and so he curls up next to her once more, sharing his warmth. He is not good at offering comfort, a skill he has never needed to practice, but he remains close, offering what support he may as tears drip from her face and she stammers her apologies. “They won’t leave you,” he promises in a soft whisper, not knowing quite what else to say. He does not know Dovev well, but he would like to think he knows his sister well enough to know she would never willingly abandon a child.
When finally her emotions seem to have settled, they continue their journey. The two who had disappeared into the night have yet to return, leaving just the three of them to make their way through Taiga. Briella speaks of spirits in the forest, and Ether peers around them in mild curiosity. He has dwelled in enough shadows to know spirits were few and far between. Perhaps she had seen the creatures like him. The shadow dwellers and the silent watchers.
When finally they reach Nerine, night is nearly upon them once more. There they pause to rest once more, Ether remaining close throughout the night as he had before. Nothing appears to disturb this night, leaving their small band intact. Even the nightmares seem to be held at bay.
As they continue their journey the next morning, the weight of their mission settles more heavily upon Ether’s thin shoulders. He can feel his strength flagging, unused the the vulnerable body of the blue and white stallion. When the shadows had swallowed him, they had stripped of his need for sustenance, granting him strength and magic. Now he has none of that, and though his body does not hunger, it grows weak with lack of food. When he had realized his dilemma, he had forced himself to eat what he could, but after several bites he could stomach no more. It seems eating has become as foreign to his body as light to his skin. And that truth shows in the way his ribs have begun to push against his skin, the way his spine seems protrude more prominently with each passing day.
Still, it is not far now, he thinks. He can do this.
Soon they reach the frosty shores of northern Nerine, and in the distance across that narrow channel he can just see the chilly white shores of Icicle Isle. Their destination. Briella does not hesitate in splashing into the waves, and so neither does he. He attempts the keep as close as possible to the filly, unwilling to lose her to these icy waters. Their remaining companion had bade them luck and forged his own path into the water, and it seems they had been separated by the waves. Now it is only the two of them against a vast sea and the creatures she harbors within.
The beast that bumps them in their passage startles him badly, and he pins his ears flat against his skull. The spotted seal seems far more interested in the child, and Ether frantically tries to conceive a way in which he might defend her with waves battering him and numbing his very bones. But rather than attacking, the creature presents her with an array battered penguins.
But they cannot linger in this frigid water. His muscles have begun to seize, his lungs struggling to draw breath against the pervasive cough. He cannot imagine that her tiny, too thin form is equipped to handle this better than his. And so they struggle onwards, him ever on her heels. Until, finally, his feet find purchase beneath the waves and he is pulling himself, shaking and trembling, onto the snow and ice-encrusted shore.
ether