Innocence had long since fled from Magnus, although he had never truly laid claim to it. At one point, he may have been pure, but in a far different way than her. She was pure as fallen snow, untouched beaches—she was the wind and the lakes, forever and eternal in her purity. His had been wild, forged in the vine and humidity of the jungle where he was raised. He had been half-feral in his youth, pure in instinct and drive as he raced amongst the twisting roots of the trees. He had lived among the warrior women and been pure in his reckless nature. He—he had been pure like raging rivers and soaring mountains.
He had been pure like the volcano that spat smoke and warnings into the air above them.
But he appreciated, even envied, her her innocence and like all things of her cloth, his heart ached to protect it. So at her visible excitement, the way she practically shimmered with her eagerness, his smile deepened, still crooked but genuine in pleasure. “I would love nothing more than to show you.”
Taking a step forward, his muzzle touched her neck gently, before beginning to lead the way. Their land was different from the rest. So much of the new Beqanna was shadowed with great trees, but Tephra was largely unmarked by their shadow. Instead it was shadowed by the majestic rise of the volcano. It was lush, covered in thick green vegetation and seemingly endless underneath the impossible blue of the sky.
It was not for everyone, but it was for him.
“So how have you been?” he inquired, curious about the mare by his side as he began to walk her further inland. “Not everyone has fared well after the Reckoning.” He could only hope she had not suffered.
out of the blue out into the loneliest place that you'll ever know
I carried the world just as far as I could but the damage had taken its toll
![[Image: gqYjsHr.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/KjqNDKxc/gqYjsHr.png)