The edge of Horizon
Horizon
Dina suddenly saw a streak of light, not a sunlight nor moonlight, but something colder more foreign. She blinked, scanning the emptiness. Realizing what must have happened, her hands flew instinctively to her neck.
Have I survived?
A long, resonant howl rolled across the emptiness.
Instinct answered her thought and a glaive materialized in her grip as if answering old memory. She clenched it tightly without thinking, ready.
A translucent wolf, formed of swirling blue mist, lunged for her throat. She met its claw with her blade, blue sparks flared upon impact.
"Where am I?" she demanded, breathing hard.
"You have reached the end of your journey," ethereal voice whispered, not loud, not near, but present everywhere, vibrating through the air like a whisper in her soul.
Blue flame erupted from the ground. Casting pale light across the emptiness.
From within them, a figure emerged, cloaked in shadows.
The wolf circled her, continuing its relentless attacks, forcing her to parry and dodge.
With every heartbeat the flame dimmed.
The shadowed figure saluted her. "Do you know who am I?"
No other name came to her mind. "Are you the Harbinger of Death?" she asked.
He inclined his head lightly.
Dina's throat tightened.
So this is the end. The final trial. The passage told in stories to frighten the children. The last chance to return from the land from which no has returned yet. Defeat the wolf, and she could reclaim her life. Fail, and she would depart to eternal rest.
She was still Sentinel of the Blue Flame, she would fight to her last breath.
The wolf lunged again. Its claws raked her arm. She staggered back, gasping. Each cut made the flame dim further, its light receding to the edge of horizon. She was fighting the time itself.
"Was everything I did in vain?", she gasped.
"The dark time has come to the Solus," the Harbinger said, his voice echoing in the emptiness.
The blue flame wavered. "I will be quite busy in the days ahead."
He paused, watching her fall to her knees.
"But no death is in vain, a future comes, a destiny bought with tears and blood."
Dina looked up, eyes hollow with exhaustion. "What about my daughter?" she whispered, seeking some respite. She was all she had left.
"She will live," he replied simply.
Moment of brief silence lingered.
Then she raised her head, voice trembling but resolute.
"Oh Lord of the Blue Flames, keeper of purity and Divine Edict, Burn away my doubts, cleanse my soul of weakness. Let my burdens turn to ash, my sins to embers. May your fire guide my steps and temper my spirit. Through fire, I seek wisdom. Through flame, I find truth. In your light, I am made whole. Strength Endures." she recited prayer.
Unable to fight any longer, the glaive vanished.
Satisfied, she embraced the fate as the wolf descended upon her, its jaws enveloping her.
The Harbinger bower his head. "Farewell."
Then, almost tenderly, he approached the wolf and stroked its shimmering misty form. "None ever matched your vigour my friend," he muttered almost tenderly.
The last flicker of blue light faded and the horizon went dark.