How do you describe what it is like to be chased by fire? To be raised knowing that your family is cursed by flame? That your grandparents, siblings, mother and yes, even your father have met their ends burned into ash. I suppose it's easy when you are young and raised by your father whose love for the world surpassed any of the horrors he might have witnessed. I've been watching Allegria since she was born. Her father was a dear friend of mine, a once great leader who should have reigned over the Estuary for many years. However, destiny and a faithless queen left him homeless and bereft. I followed him after his failure, watched as he tore himself apart and descend into despair. If he had not found Lyanna, I have no doubt that Allegria would never have exsisted. Her father would have found a cliff and relieved himself of his misery.

Lyanna, now that was a mare that I thought could break the curse. A cold beauty with a warm heart, she bullied Brio back to life (I cannot tell you how entertaining that was to watch). Their love could have, no, should have lasted a lifetime. When Allegria was born, she brought Lyanna and Conbrio even closer than I had thought was possible.

When the firestorm flared into existence, Allegria was barely four months old. She hardly remembers the flight, or even the moment her mother was separated from them. She just remembers the incessant heat clawing at her strength and the wild determination that drove her father. After I had made sure of Conbrio's and Allegria's safety, I tried and failed to find the remains of Lyanna. The heat had stripped everything away and even bone was gone.

I watched as Conbrio faced down despair once more. I fretted and worried for little Allegria. Thankfully, Brio was much stronger than I had made him out to be. Though he mourned, he devoted himself to his little filly. She grew up loved, the incident of the fire only a horrible nightmare, her mother the vaguest of memories.

As Allegria blossomed through puberty and into adulthood, Conbrio began to fade into contentment. He had been a silver fox when he fathered Allegria, now he was just happy to see the beautiful mare his daughter had frown into. They settled down on the outskirts of a small, peaceful herd to try and extend their time together without constant travel. For two years, nothing remotely interesting happened as Allegria learned what it was to flirt with the young stallions nearby and entertain her father with stories of her exploits.

I wish I could have maintained their peace.

The fires came once again, though this time with plenty of warning. They crawled across plains and forest with thick clouds of smoke heralding their arrival. I knew what was going to happen next, as did Conbrio. Though he left at his daughter's urging, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay ahead of the flames. He tried for her. He pushed himself past his body's weakened limits, joints swelling and aching. When the wind picked up and urged the fire on quicker than ever before, he fell to the ground. There was nothing left for him to give. You may have seen heartbreak before, but naught could compare to this parting of ways.

I thought that this would have broken Allegria, but she surprised me. She lives everyday in honor of her parents and smiles in the face of adversity. Though she seems fine, behind the mirth in her eyes I fear that more may be going on than what she projects.