The TwiceBorn

Shadow Of A God

'The stars were moving in his bloodstream..."--Yovanoff

The last of the warmth that had lingered in the air was gone, and what was known as the Sultry moon finally gave way to what the old farmers called the Hawkish one. Islinn watched through dull eyes as Gre wrapped his woolen cloak more tightly around himself and squinted into the cold breeze.

The leaves had all fallen from the trees and as the horses plodded along, she would catch a glimpse of waning color. Red, like blood, buried among the browns and yellows that marked the passing of time. She could smell snow in the air.

Rogue's Refuge was where they were headed, she'd heard Gre mention it to Aubery. Snippets of words that truly meant nothing to her. She went where they went. Nothing more. Islinn dropped her head back on her shoulders and closed her eyes. The movement of the horse beneath her was steady but not comforting.

Nothing but a reminder of what her life had become. Moving forward one hoofbeat at a time as she rode behind the devil and watched the sun rise and fall and the night come on in ever deepening shades of darkness.

She was empty inside. Her days were a horrifying simplicity of riding behind Aubery, kneeling before him,or laying underneath. She remembered she used to cry. But not anymore. To cry meant there was a different life to yearn for and she couldn't think of anything ever being changed from what it was now.

There was still something though. A small faint spark buried deep within her, so far down it couldn't be defined as hope or courage. It lacked definition but it was there.

Islinn held out her hand to the sky and watched as a small wafer of snow came to rest in her palm. She hadn't thought it was that cold. But it was hard to tell. Riding behind Aubery was like kneeling in front of some great roaring fire. Heat rolled off of him in waves and Islinn suspected that the world he inhabited was comprised of flame.

But...not enough flame to extinquish what lay within her heart.

One night she'd dreamed of Alora. Not The Twiceborn. But Alora. That quiet somber girl and in the dream,Islinn had seen all of her, her face,the way she moved, her smile and remembered her taste and her laugh and her touch and remembered and remembered and remembered until she'd wanted to scream.

And the dream Alora had placed her fingers on Islinn's lips. It had felt like cool water and all the pain and confusion was gone. Islinn had thought her longing was as endless as a river but that simple touch had quieted her

He has such fire. But his burns the wrong path. Yet you will become ashes before it. Never forget...the fire that burns within you...is me.

Alora's voice had held a sadness Islinn had never heard before and from her own lips she heard an echo of words she'd spoken in another dream. In another life.

"You don't have to go. Stay with me. We can watch the sun rise."