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

[magnus]

Perhaps, in time, the two would grow close enough that they would divulge these secrets that run rivulets through their soul, the things that dig them up and lay them bare. Perhaps, in time, Magnus would learn that the stallion by his side bore a similar stone in his chest a pain that was difficult to think around. For now, Magnus remained friendly, charming, and yet guarded—the secret anguish locked away so that it could not be seen by the casual bystander. His gold-flecked eyes watched the other carefully, but without any pretense. He had been in kingdoms long enough to know what it was to be friendly to newcomers.

“We actually do not have a name for her,” he tipped his head back to consider the volcano in all of its glory, the way that it reared upward, dominating the skyline. He had never considered it before, thought that naming such things was beyond him. While Magnus was deeply connected to the land and to the homes that had called him before, he had never felt the need to label them, to provide them with the names. Even Tephra had received its nomenclature by Offspring and not by himself.

“I would not be against though, should a resident have a suggestion.”

At this, his eyes sparked a little and a corner of his scarred mouth raised into a crooked smile.

Turning back to face Warrick more squarely, he considered the question, letting it rest in his mind for a moment. “Since the beginning, I suppose,” although that felt strange to admit. This land did not feel as young as he knew it to be; the rocks, the trees, the volcano felt as old as time. “When The Reckoning occurred, I travelled up the Mountain with a stallion named Offspring and we petitioned the faeries for a new home, alongside some other allies. We were the first group to be granted our wish. They led us here.”  A pause, knowing he had opened up more questions. “At first, the land was run by Council, but the rest of them eventually stepped down to live more private lives.” Leaving him with a singular hand to guide.

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