the ghost that relieves all my fears; any

[magnus]

— find what you love and let it kill you —

Are you alright?

She asked and he found that he could hardly bear to answer her. Was he? After everything that had happened to him in this lifetime and the last, would he ever be okay? He had seen his child lifeless on the ground next to him. He had seen despair in his kingdom mates as everything they knew was shook to the core. He had seen death and life stripped clean from the bone; he had seen confusion and anguish.

He took another hard breath, sweat lathering on him, and shook his head, laughing, although the sound was darker than he intended. “Is anyone?” was all he could manage to answer, voice rusty from the days of disuse and the dehydration that tangled everything together. He took another breath and did his best to clear his head. One day, he would be embarrassed of how easily it was for him to be stripped clean of all of his armor, to be so vulnerable in front of a mere stranger, but he did not have it in him to be that today.

Instead he just gave her a small, crooked smile, catching his breath so that it sounded more even and less like the rumbling of a train. It was then that he saw the other mare. He swung his gaze toward her, giving her the same smile, motioning her forward. “We all have our own demons,” he answered, although he was not sure that was entirely true. He had met plenty of souls who did not seem so burdened.

What a joy it must be to leave so unencumbered—so free.

“Who is to say I was not running toward something?” He preferred to think of it like that; it would be an easier pill to swallow if that was the truth. He could handle if this was all leading him toward something—if there was something at the end of the road, at the end of the fight. “My name is Magnus,” he finally offered; if they had to witness that truly spectacular show, they at least deserved that much from him.

magnus