To the Lovers left behind (Magnus, any)

[magnus]

At the boy’s agreement, Magnus dips his head and motions out toward the rest of the land.

Tephra was a wild, beautiful land; nestled beneath the imposing figure of the volcano that cut against the sky, they were protected by the natural wonder of it. Yes, it took a while to get used to the remarkably strong bite of sulphur in the air and the danger of crossing over the thin streams of magma, but they were rewarded in spades. The volcanic soil was fertile in a way that the land of the Gates had never been and while his previous home had been beautiful in her greenery, it could not compare the lush vegetation that erupted from the ground here. Sometimes, Magnus wondered if even the jungle could have compared.

Motioning the boy forward, Magnus begins to lead him through the land, giving him time to absorb it all before asking with a friendly tilt of the head. “So, how have you been?” A loaded question after the Reckoning as not many had fared well, but still one that deserved to be asked. “Where have you been?”

So many had been displaced in the days after the land beneath them shook. He had done his best to find all those that he could, but he had not been perfect. He could only find a handful and guide them back to Tephra. He often spent too long searching for them amongst the masses of the homeless in the field, working his way through the groups of milling horses to return back empty handed and frustrated. It was relieving to know that there was still hope, to know that some, like the boy, could find their way home.

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