Silently she shifted forward through the shadows, the hem of her black cloak rippling around her feet slowly as she darted amongst the scattered trees. Her face hidden behind her black hood, the only visible feature was her long silver-white locks tumbling forward through the abyss of her dark hood.

Her breathing was soft, yet heightened as she traveled through the strange thick fog that surrounded her. She could not even see two spans in any given direction, not a very safe situation at all. Her hand hovered over her strange, newly acquired sword that was fastened to her hip.

She had not used this strange weapon yet, that she had purchased from some Tinkers that she had stumbled across in Norwood Forest. She had felt wary about the purchase, and still regarded the blade with suspicion, but was unable to refuse such a low price for an obviously well crafted weapon.

The weapon possessed a crescent-shaped blade and one of the most enormous tear-shaped sapphires that she had ever laid eyes on embedded into the pommel. The information the Tinkers did surrender, after much questioning on her part, was that it had been crafted in the Tethyr Desert hundreds of years ago, that was all they said the knew, but they seemed very evasive about the subject.

Hidden up the voluminous sleeves of her black dress where four throwing daggers, and at her ankle was strapped a dagger of Elvish make. She had never been so littered with objects of violence in her life, but these were dangerous times and Astra knew she was being chased by dangerous people.

She normally did not dress in such a depressing colour, black, but it seemed like the best way to blend into the night. Preferring shades of violet and silver she would have stuck out like a target asking to be hit, so she did what was necessary to protect herself.

Hidden lavender eyes surveyed the surroundings, as she cleared her mind of all thoughts other than getting through this strange place alive. She had to get to Taras quickly, needed to arrive in Taras as fast as she could.

She found her predicament ridiculous, being summoned back to a city where her name was surely attached to a noose, but she had taken an oath and she would have considered her life just as forfeit if she broke her word.

She slowed slightly as she started to climb upwards, she guessed that she was climbing a hill, but was not certain with her limited vision. All she could do was keep traveling East, in the hopes that this strange mist would soon lift.

Hooves thudded against the solid ground in the Hills of Mist, the rider able to see partially through the mist with her Ebon Eyes. It seemed not to be magical, but still, she was able to see around five or six feet in front of her. Ranewen’s face was pale white, with black marks painted on her face. No, it wasn’t a tattoo; just something she felt like doing to make herself stand out more.

She was atop a winged and horned beast, one of which not many people had the chance to see. The large, eighteen-hands-high stallion towered over most people, but not everyone. He towered over Ranewen, but she was only five foot four. She removed the hood of her cloak, not really caring who saw her. Not many people usually wanted to mess with a Goddess, right? Especially one with pretty fast reflexes and enhanced weapons.

Of course, the enhancements on her weapons weren’t all that great. Sure, he had a throwing and returning enhancement on her fighting knives and an unholy enhancement on her sword of chaos, but that didn’t do too much. But she’d never been challenged since her becoming of a Goddess. And she was pretty glad for that. She wasn’t one who enjoyed fighting too much, especially when she didn’t feel like it.

She reigned the horse in the direction form where she’d heard a noise coming from. It could’ve been her imagination, but it might not be. She was hoping for the latter. With her wings wrapped around her, and golden sinister eyes looking about her, she began to search the Hills of Mist for the source of the noise. She looked to her left, and saw what seemed to be an outline of a cloaked person, but she wasn’t too sure. So, she waited silently, wondering who it was – if it was something.

((-dies- it’s not that good, but eh… Lol.))

Astra squinted in a failed attempt to improve her vision, she hated being in a situation that made her vulnerable and this obviously was one of those times. Her heart was pumping as if it wished to escape her chest the noise filling her ears.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Thoughts rushed incoherently through Astra’s mind despite her calm and collected exterior, “Oh, you silly woman. You should have known better than to take this so called “short-cut”. You should have stuck to the route you knew to be somewhat safe! This is the shortest route in respect to the amount of leagues, but if you get yourself killed then you’ll never reach Taras!!!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! THUD! THUD! THUD!

“What? That sound surely could have not been just my heart…”

Astra turned around slowly, wanting to remain ignorant if there was someone or something behind her. What she was not aware of, wasn’t there, right?

Thud! Thud! ……

Astra’s heart stilled as she laid eyes on what was in the distance. Not able to make out details because of the fog, but she saw a large animal of some sort with a rider. Instinctively she drew her sword, the sound of steel ringing through the mist. She held the blade in front of her, not threateningly only to show that she was not as helpless or vulnerable as she felt.

Inside Astra was a mess. Confused, terrified and wary, but outside she wore a mask of pure indifference. She learned at an early age through The Game of Houses that if you showed weakness then it would surely be exploited, but what people could not see they would not know was there or would not pick up so easily.

She waited in silence, for any type of response from the being before her. She did not move, and barely dared to breath, worried that it would be taken for some sort of offensive action.

Ah, someone is here… But who? the Goddess asked herself as she blinked slightly. Isilme Isto, ignoring her rider’s silent pleas to make her stand still, moved onwards, toward the sound of the blade that she heard draw. As she neared, Ranewen could make out the shape of a woman, being as still as possible with a drawn sword. She frowned. She swore she’d seen that sword before. But she didn’t know where or how. Ignoring that, she tugged on the reins, causing the horse to come to a stop. Stay still, Isilme… she commanded silently as she drew her own sword of Chaos. She had no intention on fighting whoever it was, but it was best to have her own sword drawn, right?

“Who’s there?” her voice rang out, murdering the silence and the black abyss. Everything had seemed to stop. She wouldn’t even hear her own mount’s breathing. Something obviously was wrong. Was someone there behind her, where she couldn’t see? Were there others that were with this strange woman? Or was something chasing her, which caused her to be so still and paranoid?

From what she saw of this girl, she classified her as paranoid. If it was her, she would’ve most likely just kept on walking. No one would be able to spot her if she kept up a pace, right? Shrugging her shoulders, Ranewen squinted and tried to see through the mist as she let Isilme Isto take yet another step towards the figure. She could now tell that the woman was wearing a cloak, the hood over her head to keep her identity protected from anyone that would cross her path.

Ranewen thought about getting off of her mount, but she wanted the advantage. If she was attacked, she could easily just get away, or have Isilme Isto use his wings to let them get away. Or, she could always use her wings. Then, she’d most likely have the latter either way, no matter what she did. But she liked the fact of being up higher than whoever was there. Out of all the people she’d met in Imythess, upon the back of Isilme Isto she’d been taller than most of them. But, not everyone was the same, right?

Taking in a deep breath, she let the reins of Isilme Isto drop to his neck and let them dangle there. In order to use her Sword of Chaos, she would need both of her hands, just in case whoever this was, was faster than she thought. She’d be able to switch the sword from hand-to-hand if she fad to. Well, she had a better idea than that and, instead, she unsheathed one of her fighting knives as silently as possible and held it in her right hand, looking at the figure, waiting for an answer.

Astra’s slender finger rubbed the large sapphire embedded in the hilt of her weapon restlessly. This single, subtle movement the only indicator of the anxiety she felt within. She heard a woman’s voice float toward her through the mist, demanding who she was.

Astra struggled internally. What name should she use? Lady Selena Cailena Xalvadora of The House of the Moon Petals or simply Astra? Neither were a lie, but both could be helpful or dangerous. Being a Royal could give her some sort of footing, a little bit of prestige and advantage. Not matter how much it sickened her, and despite that fact that most Nobles were deceitful and greedy the title did bestow some sort of rank. But then again, if this was an assassin looking for her, wanting to claim the bounty on her head, then revealing herself as such would put her into a situation that she may not leave breathing.

Eyeing the sword held before the woman, she was unsure if it was sign of threat or merely the woman was showing she was armed as well. She heard a slight click and gazed at the other woman's hand, where a dagger had now appeared.

Swallowing, she answered, her voice clear, showing not sign of her anxiety, “I am called many names, but I prefer Astra.”

There, not a lie. She had protected herself without deceit. Astra only lied when completely necessary, when there was no other choice.

A slight breeze began to toy with the mist, spinning and rolling it making her current surroundings even more strange. A rebellious lock of silver-white hair streamed in front of her face but Astra ignored the urge to tuck it behind her ear, keeping her eyes on the possible threat.

Clearing her throat softly she continued, “May I ask the same of you? Who have I come across in such a strange place?”

The small breeze increased to a weak wind, whistling in Astra’s ears, but she barely heard it, her whole consciousness focused on the woman, waiting to see how events would unfold.

Astra… Have I heard of this name before? she asked herself, then shook her head. No, she hadn’t. The wind tossed her black hair in front of her face. Ranewen shook her head to get it out of her face, not wanting the make-up to be all messed up before she went to Taras to get another quill and more ink like she usually did. Then, a name of her was demanded as well. Just what she thought. She didn’t care if this ‘Astra’ attacked her or not.

“Ranewen. Or, then Goddess of Darkness if that sounds a little bit more familiar… And if you’re wondering that I’m a threat, no I’m afraid I’m not.” She sheathed the fighting knife, hoping that the woman didn’t wish to fight. From what she saw of her, she didn’t look like she wanted a fight either. A fight in this place would leave them both at a disadvantage. Neither of them were able to see too good thanks to the mist. Ranewen silently thanked it for that.

Although one who dealt with death a lot, she liked to kill helpless people, not fight. Sure, she’d fought before and in fact, she had almost been killed once. But here she was, facing someone who could possibly be a threat to her. But, would someone who wanted a fight give them their name? Unless Astra was lying, no. Inside, Ranewen just wanted to leave this woman behind, but her curiosity kept her there. Remember… she told herself, Ignorance killed the cat… Curiosity was framed…

Always believing that curiosity had killed the cat, she was usually afraid when her curiosity got the best of her. But now, she realized, that it was ignorance and curiosity was just framed. She sighed lightly and decided to dismount. She sheathed her Sword of Chaos and hopped off of the back of the tall beast and stood to her short height of five foot four. She kept her hand, however, on her sword, just in case she had to unsheathe it, just in case Astra was going to attack her, though she doubted it. She blinked her golden eyes and looked at her, waiting to see her response, wondering if it would be good or bad. Stop worrying… she told herself as she looked at the outline of the woman, then to the lock of hair that had fallen out from her cloak, which protected her identity. She narrowed her eyes for a moment, trying to see past it, but the mist stopped her from being able to.

Astra stood completely still, bewildered. She could comprehend no thought, only the words the woman just spoke kept echoing throughout the crevasses of her mind.

“Goddess of Darkness… Goddess of Darkness… Goddess of Darkness…”

Blinking slowly, she strained her vision in order to exam the woman before her. Since dismounting she could make out her features with a little more clarity. Golden eyes, hair the colour of a raven, and were those wings?

As soon as the initial shock slid away, thoughts began to flow freely and even more rapidly, “Is she really the Goddess of Darkness? It is a fool hardy claim to make if one is not, but, maybe she is an assassin trying to throw me off guard? What am I to do? She is definitely not human, that is apparent…”

Assessing the woman for a few moments further, Astra tried desperately to figure out if this woman was lieing. Noting the woman had sheathed her weapons, Astra glanced at hers that was still held tightly in her grasp.

“I do not believe anyone would make such a claim if it were not true, and I have read descriptions of The Divine in many volumes in the Taras Library and she seems to fit the description of The Goddess of The Dark exactly. It must be true…” Astra decided, still completely shocked and in doubt of her own conclusion.

Sheathing her sword hastily, she removed the hood of her cloak and silver-white hair plummeted down framing her face. Lavender eyes shone as she gazed at the woman for a few moments more, still unbelieving, but then she dropped into a low curtsy, her knees nearly brushing the ground.

“I apologize for the disrespect Goddess. I did not realize who you are, you grace me with your presence.” Astra’s crystal voice was calm and respectful.

Astra walked in the Light, but she had a firm belief that all Divine deserved respect, even if she did not follow them. She had never pondered what she would do if she ever came across a God or Goddess before, because she did not believe that it was possible, even though it had already happened once this being the second time. She had come to see that the God did not like formalities, but she knew nothing of this Goddess and would follow the ways of respect as best as she knew.

As her lavender gaze was directed at the ground a question floated through her mind that she never dared even think about before, “She stated that she is not a threat, but I know nothing of the Goddess of Darkness in her ways. If she did try to attack me, would it be proper to fight back or take my fate as it came? Obviously it would be futile attempt to save my life, but would I even attempt to protect myself seeing as she is Divine?But, if I just stood there if I she started to attack me, and she was not truly a Goddess despite the evidence that she is, I would just be allowing and assassin with her trickery an easy kill...”

Astra was torn between the though of protocol and survival, and she desperately hoped she would not have to choose between the two, but she was increasingly aware that her throwing dagger that was strapped to her wrist was just a single movement away. Though, she would not do anything until she knew the woman's intentions, and if it happened that she was just merely an assasin, Astra would be ready.

Bowing back, she smirked. Not evilly, but since she rarely smiled that’s what she did. “‘Tis quite all right. You can’t tell day from night in the mist…” she admitted and smirked again slightly. “I’m just heading towards Taras to go get some more ink and another quill, but I took a different route, just to see what the Hills of Mist was like… And, I won’t be taking this route again…”

She looked at Astra and noticed that it seemed that she was more scared than Ranewen had been when she was thinking of the possibilities that something bad could happen. Then again, who dared to try and kill a Goddess? Especially an evil one who could come back to get their revenge in the darkness? Not anyone she knew, for sure. Of course, people looked at her in disgust, but they wouldn’t dare attack her. Then again, everyone was different.

Looking around her, the mist seemed to thin slightly, enough so that she could see Astra’s features. It was still dark, however, but the mist had lifted only slightly – just enough to see not only the person five feet away, but around fifteen feet ahead of her. She let her wings unwrap from around her body and extend to their wingspan of around ten feet and looked around once more. “I feel others’ presences… Is someone with you – or following you?” she asked, spinning around and squinting to see.

Seeing that it was no use, she turned back to Astra and blinked once again, hoping that she wouldn’t think of her any differently because of her make-up. She just did this so that she’d stand out from all of the other Gods and Goddesses. She liked being noticed in a good way. It was better to be known for other than your name and rank, right? She thought so. She wanted people to remember her as maybe ‘Oh, that lady with the freaky-looking face paint?’ or something of the sort. She had always wanted to be remembered in some way, and now she would no matter what, since she was a Goddess of Darkness, who took place of the former Goddess of Darkness since she had been absent for a long time.

Isilme Isto stomped is right hoof on the ground and looked around, lowering his large, black head onto Ranewen’s shoulder, telling her silently that something was wrong. She nodded her head and looked back at Astra, wondering if she’d know the answer somehow. Maybe someone was following her; or maybe someone was following Ranewen. She hoped that they weren’t following her; then again, she hoped that Astra wasn’t being followed either. That meant that both were in danger since they were near each other. And Astra had no way of fast transportation and she did. Inside, she shook with a slight fear. Even as a Goddess, she had her own fears – and that was being followed. Having two shadows, one that didn’t belong to her. She looked behind them once again, for fear that someone was there.

Lavender eyes widened slightly as she caught a glimpse of the Goddess’s wings. Never before had Astra seen such a being, she could not even place the race to which the Goddess may have belonged.

Astra herself had run into people questioning her heritage, her silver-white hair and lavender eyes often aroused questions, but as far as Astra knew she was human through and through.

Clearing her throat softly, she arose from her curtsy. Once erect her eyes shifted beyond the Goddess’s form to the now thinning mist. She felt other presences… This could not be a good sign.

“I figured they would not give up so easily… But so close? After all of this running, all of this hiding. Maybe they are just other travelers, maybe they are just following the Goddess…” Astra thought hopefully, but she knew that her hopes were in vain.

Fixing her gaze on the Goddess once again – there was no doubt in Astra’s mind that she was the Goddess after getting one look at her wingspan – she spoke in a calm, soft, clear voice, “Thank you for your forgiveness, Dark Lady.” Astra replied, inclining her head.

Dark Lady was the title Astra chose to address the Goddess. “Goddess” seemed too strange, “Ranewen” too informal and disrespectful, “Goddess of Darkness” too much of a mouthful. She recalled the Goddess being referred to as The Dark Lady in some text, she was unsure of the text's authenticity, but it was the best she had.

After a few short moments, Astra continued, “I believe the individuals you are sensing maybe be after me. I am unfortunate to have some assassins trailing me, and have been following me for over two cycles of the moon, Dark Lady.”

Astra’s hand twitched to the hilt of her newly acquired sword, not because of her apprehension of the woman before her, but because of what may be lurking in the mist. She could remember all too well the hissing laughter of the last creatures that confronted her as they told her that she was now to be taken alive.

Shuddering, Astra pushed these unnerving thoughts to the recesses of her mind. She would not allow herself to be phased, even at the thought of torture.

“Light, give me strength.” Astra thought feverishly. After realizing the thought that had drifted across her mind, a thin smile held her lips. The irony and humour of thinking such a phrase in the presence of The Goddess of Darkness was not lost on Astra, even in her frightened state.

Waiting for some sort of response from the Goddess, Astra’s eyes never ceased scanning the surrounding area. Her eyes seemingly looking everywhere and nowhere in the same instant.

Ranewen turned around slightly and looked around as the mist thins. Of course, she wasn’t hearing things. Even her on mount had sensed something was wrong. Ranewen made a face at the mist – one of more annoyance than anything. Her golden eyes traveled along the land that she could see and she sighed lightly. No, she couldn’t hear anything any more. She looked back to Astra, listening as she was speaking.

“You’re welcome,” she said to Astra, about forgiving her. It was no problem. She wasn’t used to being noticed anyway. That was one thing she’d never gotten accustomed to: being known throughout Imythess by mostly everyone, even if they did follow the light. It was quite… awkward, would you say? She shrugged, then listened to her once more.

“Aye, assassins…” she said absently and then paused. “Did one of them go by the name of Elghin, if you do so remember?” she asked, ready to call for her dragons if she had to. She blinked once again then turned around again, looking around for any signed of movement with what she could see. She cursed lightly at this mist, just wishing it would rise so that she could see.

Not one who liked to be snuck up on, she couldn’t help but become paranoid for the time being. Her eyes shifted in every which way until she gave up and looked back at Astra. Isilme Isto would nudge her if he heard something again she was assured. Then again, you could never predict an equine’s actions, right? Be it your companion, your enemy, etc., an equine could rarely be predicted without using some sort of magic.

Sure, Ranewen had worked with horses. In fact, her first job in Imythess was working as a stable hand back in Kellen in the Great Stables. Aye, there she had some bad experiences. A nightmare had almost killed her; almost burned down the stables. She remembered it clearly but with a mental sigh and a physical shake of her head, she shook the thought completely out of her mind. Or, at least it was shoved into the back corner of her mind.

Even nightmares haunted the Goddess’ restless nights. She did, however, get some hours of sleep, but those were full of nightmares or dreams she wished she never had. Even while awake, old memories came up on her and thrust themselves in her mind. She only remembered the bad memories, though. The good ones she never seemed to care about.

Heaving yet another light – almost unnoticeable – sigh, she looked around the land once more before letting her eyes set on Astra’s lavender ones. She had yet to compliment on them. One of her favorite colors – besides black and red – was lavender. Violet and purple. Lavender and black were death colors and she liked death, due to her status. Violet was close enough to blood, right? Therefore, she liked Astra’s eyes; her hair, as well. She didn’t know why – it just stood out to her somehow.