like the sun swallowed up by the earth; magnus & any

[magnus]

Strangers do not arrive in Tephra without him noticing—at least not often.

He watches the stallion of indigo and blue arrive and briefly, he thinks of the collision of colors and how similar they are to those of the healing twins. But the resemblance to Leliana and Exist end at the thought, for although each of his colors belong to one sister or the other, he is clearly not related. Still, Magnus watches him, following his path into the heart of the land, studying him as he stops and as he tips his head back to take in the stars as they appear, the heavens as they gently wash the volcanic land in silver.

After enough time has passed, Magnus shakes the rust from his coat, and he moves, ragged hooves finding purchase in familiar soil as he traverses over magma and saltwater. Comfort with the path makes for an easy journey and he is to the indigo and mahogany stallion before long, his muscles warm from the quick trip, his smile easy. “Welcome to Tephra,” a standard greeting, but a reliable one nonetheless.

As he comes to a pause, body stilling, he tilts his head, gold-flecked eyes washing over him with little veiled curiosity. “My name is Magnus,” he doesn’t bother to state his position, because even when it was uncovered, it was misinterpreted. He was not King here. He wore no crown. He had bore such titles in the past and he had no desire to repeat them; there was no hunger in his chest for power. He simply guarded the residents here, looked after them, shielded them. Still—it was easy to misunderstand and think of him as tyrant. It always left a bitter taste on his mouth and thus, he omits the fact, content to be just Magnus.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

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