(A brief glimpse in what has been going on with the sylvan. I have no trouble with people approaching to discuss this because she has been acting strangely at times.)


she stood upon the shores of Ronan once again. This time it was not to hide and run or just to see her son at the end. This time was to end it. She had woken up in the forest twice these last few months. Dirty, confused but vaguely aware she had sunk down into the dangerous side.

She glanced over at Rowmi and squeezed his hand. This time he was here with her. He would be with her the entire time. Lacey purred and rubbed against her legs causing her to stumble. Glyhne chuckled and rubbed the jaguar's head. She was loved. She could do this.

They chose a spot and Rowmi held her. Lacey curled up close and put her head down, eyes on Glyhne. She had done this before. She travelled this dream the first time at the end of summer a year and some ago. It had sparked this reoccuring dream and her hair to change to the shade of white it was now. Speaking with Rowmi over her plan, his breath had hitched. She could feel his fear. Always open to each other, she felt it as her own. What would she be like coming out? Would it all be different? She didn't know. She tenderly kissed his lips and poured all the love she had into him for comfort. That was all she could do.

She turned her face up to his and gazed into his eyes. Sleep, him mind nudged at hers. Sleep, we are here.

Suddenly, there she was. On the vast dark plain. She stood here numerous times since that first sleep. The terror welled but then she felt him. He touched her, he lent her strength. She tossed her hair and squared her shoulders.

"I am afraid but I will not bow to you any longer."

They came in swarms stinking of the sea. A growling mass of blue krolvin descended on her. This time, she did not duck her head, she did not cower and pray for them to pass. She roared and rushed to meet them. Her falchions appeared in her hands, flashing and felling the enemy by the score. She cut through them, screaming her rage and anger that she let take so much of her life. Not anymore.

Forever she battled. When her will slipped, she felt Rowmi and found the steel to keep going. On and on, a blur of krolvin leers ending in sprays of blood. Then it was over. One last brute fell and the plain was empty. She inhaled the air. Lingering scents of the sea and wet wood floated around her. It no longer instilled the panic. She inhaled again. Sea. Just the sea. She felt strong.

The air changed. Sweet, sickly smells began to assault her nostrils. From the distance it approached as if alive. The village. It stalked and ran at her until she was on the main road surrounded by smoldering huts and charred bodies. Her doing. She had done this. She burned the village because they had let her be taken. The memory flashed. She, and the women and children of the village, circled by krolvin. The leader of the brutes telling the men that we were all being taken. They could fight and die or turn away. Defeated and broken, the men turned away. The wailing cries ripped through her. Rage, hatred burned like the Inn before her. The inn they had been frequented before the attacked. Warm, happy, it was story night...

Again, the calm and soothing mind touched hers. Tears began. She had done this. And she was sorry. She fell to her knees and cried out the words. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry...". She roared again, in pain and self loathing.

"You can't change it. You can't go back. Do what you can now."

His words in her mind. She could feel his arms still around her upon the shores. Yes, do what I can now.

A shovel clattered to the ground where it had leaned against a hut. She smiled. He lead her to what she must do.

She dug. Every twisted body had a grave. She said the words over and over again to each one.

"I am sorry."

She turned when the last was buried and the village stood there, empty but whole again. Glyhne's brow knitted together. The air was still and quiet. Like all sound was vaccumed away. A feral cry split the stillness. Glyhne knew exactly what made that sound and where she could find it. Slowly she started through the village, the growling snarl clearer as she approached the hut it was in. She was in.

The wailing stopped as Glyhne creaked open the door. There, kneeling and chained, was a blond sylvan. She was coverd in dirt and wearing ragged clothing. The thing raised it head and leered at Glyhne, mouth full of sharp teeth. Eyes wild and brutal. Wild iris blue eyes. Glyhne took a step forward. Then another. Then another. The thing wailed and pulled at the chains. Glyhne reached out and felt for Rowmi. She wrapped him in her love. She felt his fear now, his nervous energy but she felt calm. This was her. This was a part of her. She needed to mend herself. She was broken for so long. This thing trapped. Long before the krolvin awakened it and fed it. This was her past and now it was her future. Containing this part was not the answer. Facing it was. Chains melted from the arms of the wild sylvan. It cackled and rushed Glyhne, stopping short to glare nose to nose. Glyhne did not move.

"It's okay."

It screamed in primal hunger and gnashed it teeth.

"You don't need to stop. Come forward."

Glyhne's world narrowed to become only those alien eyes. The eyes the same shade as hers but different. She gazed and felt them bore back into her. Something itched, something swelled. Pain beyond anything she ever felt overwhelmed her. Questions flew through her. How can burying imaginary bodies fix anything? How could fighting spectral Krolvin cure her fears and ....How could anything help? She was a monster. She would always be a monster. That is why she was broken. She lifted her face and screamed as night fell in her dream. She screamed and heard the echoing painful scream of Rowmi on the other side. She shifted and panicked and searched to break their bond but he was stronger. He roared and hung on. Something else touched her, something again alien and ...powerful.

"This time was enough. Walk the night in and out of yourself with control and strength."

She opened her eyes, the pain dwindling. She glanced around the hut but it was empty. It was just her. She went outside and found herself upon a vast shore, the night sky dazzling with stars. A dagger prominate above.

"One more thing."

This time it was Rowmi's voice.

Yes, one more. She cast her eyes about and saw him approaching. He had carried her broken from this place the first time. Sent her back. He always sent her back time after time as she came to see him.

The silvery blue krolvin with sylvan features and wild iris blue eyes.

Tears flowed again. Her son. The one that could never be born. The one lost upon the ship. He was perfect and beautiful and her heart felt heavy in her chest.

"I want to stay. With you."

He shook his head and reached down. Lacey was there at his side. He rubbed her between her ears and smiled.

"Always been with you. Even outside this place. Always with you. You can find your way this time. You know the way back."

She thought the two blurred because of her tears but when she wiped them away, they still melted and blurred. She blinked and opened her mouth to ask what was happening. What...

They were gone and in their place was a bird. A shrike with blue eyes. An understanding filled her. A joy. He would be with her always.


She felt the cold ground beneath her and strong arms around her. She heard his breathing and felt the strain in him. She was back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. For a long time they sat, tangled in each other not speaking.

"It's done. Only forward now my heart."

He smiled and pushed a strand of damp hair from her face. His smile was tender and a bit sad. She frowned started to ask what was wrong.

He shook his head and only said, "Only forward, we can do this."

She was confused but let it lie. Did he know something she did not? She gazed up to see the dagger in sky slowly vanish.

So much to think on, so much more to explore now. Was that truly Ronan in the hut? What of herself? She felt no different. Wait, maybe. She was unsure.

She leaned softly into her mate and closed her eyes. They remained there until the light of dawn touched the sky.

Forward.

A shrike circled them, playing in the winds.