Blake looked around. finding herself in an unfamiliar place. A fog rose all around her, a crescent moon casting more light than it should have shadowed trees loomed at the sides of the clearing. However, they seemed to move, shift, and transform when not looked at. She swore she could see faint impressions of people in the fog in her peripheral vision, but they disappeared the second she looked at them. The sound of a river echoed far off at the very edge of her hearing, tickling her ears.

  Something about this place wasn't right. The moon was unnaturally bright for its current phase and.. Wait. It had been at the one quarter Mark when she'd checked before going to bed. She needed to keep an eye on the moon so she knew when it was best to pick certain herbs. but the most important one was the apikka and the ceyoka. Apikka could heal many maladies and ceyoka was important to family planning and helped those born female to not get pregnant. Both only bloomed under the light of the full moon so she always knew the phase of the moon. Why was it a waning crescent? That made no sense…

  However, her questions were soon answered when a raven flew into the clearing, bearing a piece of parchment in its beak. She was in the Twilight Veil.

  That didn't reassure her, though, and a shiver went down her spine. What did Velora, Lady of Silence, want with her? The gods were largely impartial, not getting involved in human affairs, Velora being the least of them along with Niru the All-Seer. They so rarely did anything to influence mortal lives.

  Blake held her arm out and them hen landed on it. Oddly, the parchment shore silver in the bright Moonlight. Black was the color of Velora white silver was the color of Heshia The Whispering Wind. why would Heshia are Velora act as intermediary? Then again, who was she to try to know the will of the gods? She was merely an apothecary apprentice, not a Diviner.

  She took the silvery parchment from the raven's beak and found a simple message inside.

  Help my child.

  She wasn't certain what that meant. Many people worshiped Heshia... Maybe a Diviner was in trouble? But what would a high-ranking priest have to do with a lowly common apothecary apprentice? Leave it to the gods to be incredibly cryptic without further explanation.

  The raven cawed loudly and Blake blinked, only to find herself in her bedroom with the first light of dawn filtering in through the window.

  She flopped back on her mattress. staring at the ceiling. That was no ordinary dream; she had definitely been pulled into the Twilight Veil by Velora. Thyri was out of the question despite the crescent moon. Ravens were Velora's servants and symbol. Spiders told of Thyri. There was no question in her mind that Velora had been the one to pull her into the Twilight Veil. The Tempesus would have been too dangerous as that was Heshia’s realm so, she supposed it made sense to some degree. But why Heshia wouldn't go through Lorrick, her patron…

  She was somewhat familiar with the Everwild. She'd been there a couple of times when in desperate need of certain herbs. Lorrick was generous to those with pure intentions that needed help. So why Hernia would go to the Twilight Veil instead of the Everwild…

  The gods made no sense quite often. She would probably need to go to a Diviner to interpret the encounter and its meaning, but she would have to wait until night. Velora’s Diviners were only ever out during the night. Now that it was past sunrise, they would all be bedding down to go to sleep. She had to go out and gather herbs for the store today, so it wasn't something she could really worry about right now.

  She got up and got dressed, then headed down to the kitchen where her mother had already started on breakfast. Her massive brick wall of a father sat at the table, playing a board game with Selma and Shae to help keep them from complaining about waking up early. Selma had been waking up at dawn for two years now and Shae had only just started. Selma was definitely not a morning person, but they had to wake up early to gather herbs once they were old enough to brace the Wilds on their own. Shae needed to do the same as well.

  Blake certainly wasn't looking forward to when she inherited the shop and needed to have children of her own. It was part of the cycle of life bat it didn't mean she had to look forward to it.

  “Good morning, Blake.” Ghira smiled at her and she smiled back.

  “Good morning, Father.” She sat down at the table and watched as he played the game with her two younger siblings. Despite the strange dream and call from Velora, this was a scene out of everyday life. She couldn’t help but worry that the call from Heshia would radically alter her life in some shape, way, or form. While she hadn’t met with the goddess herself, it wasn’t everyday a non-Diviner got a direct message from a deity. She still wasn’t sure what to make of the brief, cryptic message.

  “Wanna play, Blake?” Shae asked, her little cat ears twitching and voice soft and quiet.

  “Are you playing Trial of the Winds?” That was what the board looked like. It was a board that incorporated Illyria as well as the realm of five gods. ONe session of the game could take hours to complete. It mimicked the spiritual pilgrimage certain disgraced pegasus knights were allowed to go on should they have broken the Wind’s Covenant in some shape, way, or form. Other figures had been added so more people could play the game. “Did you guys start a new round this morning?”

  Selma nodded, their amber eyes bright. “We finished one and started another round! It wouldn’t be too annoying to start again and include you!”

  Blake smiled and shook her head. “I’m good; you can keep playing.” She hadn’t played Trial of the Winds in years. Between having to split her time learning to take over the apothecary and three days a week at the Sanctum for Plantshaping lessons, she really had her hands full. She wished she could just focus on the apothecary, but her registration with the Tidecaller’s Guild, she had to continue lessons until they deemed her able enough to function on her own.

  “Aww, but you’re so much fun to play with!” Shae pouted. “You make the best Diviner characters!”

  "All I really have time for today is breakfast. I have to 90 gather herbs this morning." Winter had started to wane a few weeks ago so new growth had finally began. Heshval was about half over now and the shop was low on supplies. She did need to be careful about how much she picked with new growth, but she also needed to make sure she had enough for the shop. Ugh, Early spring was such a pain with how careful she needed to be. Maybe she could convince Lorrick to let her come to the Ever wild and pick some plants... Or maybe at least let her get some shoots to start speeding up their herb garden.

  Shae and Selma pouted and she heard her mother chuckle. "Now, now, little ones; Blake has important work to do. Stop trying to guilt her into playing with you. One day you'll join her out in the field. And good morning, dear." Kali's ears twitched, her amber eyes warm. Blake couldn't help but return the smile. Kali was such a wonderful person and could handle her children well. Blake didn't know what she'd do without her mother.

  The youngest two continued to pout. "Shae, can you help me set the table?" "Fine, "Shae whined as she stood up and helped Kali set the table. Warm scents drifted from the oven an stove, making Blake's mouth water. It would still be chilly outside this early into Heshval, so she wasn't looking forward to spending most of the day outside. She wouldn't get a warm meal again until she returned home from the chilly winds and grey skies of early spring.

  Oh. Right.

  "Actually, Mother, I won't be able to spend all day out gathering herbs. I got a strange summons from Hestia through Velora right before I woke up. I need to visit the Sanctum so I can have them figure out the message." As usual, gods were obtuse and incredibly cryptic. What child could Heshia want her to help? There were so many factions that could refer to. Each god had plenty of different factions and sects dedicated to them. Just saying a child of a deity needed help was like trying to pick a singular fish type out of the river when fishing on its banks.

  Kali nodded. "All right then; take Marina with you and she can cover after you leave."

  Marina frowned. "Hey, I'm not just Blake's cover. I need to take our weekly stock numbers."

  "I can do that for you today, Mari." Kali smiled and Marina nodded a bit. Each of them had their duties with the shop and they were training Marina to be stock manager. She still had a while until she was fully trained, but she did quite well despite being only fifteen. She wouldn't fully take on the role until she was eighteen, though.

  Marina sighed. "All right... I remember what we need from last week's stock count. Blake, do you know what all we need?"

  Blake nodded. "Feverfew, goldenseal, valerian, and mug wort. We desperately need all three." Of course, she really had to be careful how much she picked so she didn't overdo it. All herbs had their growing windows and these were some of the early growers. She was looking forward to being able to tend the garden and pick from there rather than having to go out and pick the herbs from the wild. Or, well, at least not having to go out and pick quite as much from the wild. She hoped she could convince Lorrick to let her go to the Ever wild and jumpstart their garden. This winter had been especially tough and they'd not had as good a stock as normal due to drought... She hoped and prayed this year wouldn't be as tough.

  "Okay, glad you remembered." Blake rolled her eyes.

  "You don't have to ride me so hard, Mari. I'm not incompetent." She would be able to run the shop on her own if it came down to that. She hoped it never would i it was a family business and everyone had their role to play. But she would be the face of the store once she took over fully, but she still had a few years before that hit. Samuel had already taken over the tincture-making part of the shop which was just fine with him. He didn't seem to quite get people and didn't even like taking his meals with the family. He'd always been a little odd but they loved him anyway.

  Marina rolled her eyes and the table fell quiet while they ate. After they all finished, Blake went into her room and grabbed her herb bag along with her cloak.

  Take another something whispered in her ear.

  She spun around and saw nothing in her room.

  However, a small bird with silver eyes and dark grey feathers sat outside her window, perched on the little window garden Blake hadn't gotten around to fixing yet.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  That was one of Heshia's messengers!

  She went over to the window and opened it. "What do you want from me? Do I need to bring anything else?" The bird let out a little chirp and flew away. Ugh, typical cryptic Heshia. They weren't known for being straightforward but what did they get out of being so cryptic? If Hestia wanted Blake to help one of their children, why be so cagey? Why not just tell her everything she needed at once?

  Regardless, she grabbed an extra cloak then headed back downstairs. She took the food Kali had prepared and put it into the herb bag. She looked around and grabbed a little bit extra. If she ran into somebody that needed help. then best to have a bit too much than not enough. If she needed an extra cloak, then she may need extra food. Heshia was known for being cagey but the messenger had heavily implied she would meet somebody while out and about. Better to be too prepared than not prepared enough in a situation like this.

  She went out to the barn with Marina and saddled up Symphony. her blue roan mare. Horses were often alert but she seemed especially alert today. Her behavior was more than a little odd. She didn't seem tense or anything, but she looked around and pricked he rears at unusual sounds. Blake wasn't really sure what to make of it and was almost tempted to leave her at home. But Symphony really was special. She'd gotten the horse directly from the Everwild upon her Rite of Awakening and Lorrick allowing her to enter on as an Animancer.

  "Girl, please calm down." she patted the man's neck but she remained alert. Normally Symphony would calm down on Blake's request. But her ears remained pricked and swiveling, completely ignoring the request.

  Blake sighed but mounted. Thankfully, despite the alertness. Symphony sat beneath Blake's hand well and listened to her requests just as easily as ever. A bond between an Animancer’s Everwild companion and the Animancer themselves were practically unrivalled. As far as Blake knew, the only bond that rivaled their was a Pegasus knight and their Mount. But it wasn't like she'd ever meta Pegasus knight before…

  Blake and Marina were quiet through the ride to the nearby forest. They really didn't see the need to talk a tall moments of the day. They had a job to do and talking would only distract them from it. She felt a little bad for having to pull her little sister along with her, but she really did need to go to the sanctum and figure out what Heshia's cryptic message meant. It was hard for her to really understand what the gods wanted half the time... At least Lorrick was usually pretty straight forward. Heshia was infamous for how cryptic they could be, and going through Velora only made things far worse.

  She put the thoughts behind her and focused on the road ahead as best she could. However, Symphony grew more and more alert the closer they got to the forest. It was only Blake's tight grip on the reins that kept the mare at a normal walk. She wanted to break out into a canter. What's up with Symphony?" Marina asked.

  "I don't know, I should've used a bit with her today apparently." Using a bit on an Everwild horse was seen as bad form as they were far more sensitive than typical horses. They held divine intelligence and could perceive things beyond a normal horse. Sometimes they did get extra distracted, though, like Symphony was today. She should have opted for the hit To keep her under better control. Her hands cramped from how hard she had to hold the reins to keep the horse from cantering off. What a headache.

  It was then that she saw the grey bird again, hovering on the path in front of them. Symphony pawed at the ground and tossed her head as much as Blake's tight hold would allow.

  Getting the message immediately. Blake stood up in the saddle unit and let go. Symphony immediately flew into a gallop, completely bypassing the canter. Twigs and branches tugged at Blake's cloak as they flew through the forest. Despite fallen limbs and sloshy ground, Symphony's footing was incredibly sure. Blake didn't need fear the horse tripping and breaking a leg I Ever wild horses had generations of riders and hundreds if not thousands of years beneath their belts. And living in the Ever wild gave them a supernatural sense of how to move through even the densest of forests.

  After what felt like an eternity, Symphony slowed to a walk and then stopped. She shook her head an whipped Blake with her tail.

  She got the message so she stepped down out of the saddle and walked forward. After just a couple feet. She stumbled into a clearing. A ragged. Worn tent sat in the middle of the clearing and Blake had to do a double take when she saw what stood behind the tent.

  A pegasus.

  The animal laid its ears back and let out a loud whinny.

  Almost immediately after, a young woman emerged from the tent, a spear pointed at Blake.

  What in was a pegasus knight doing out here on her Lonesome? A million more questions flooded through her head. but she held up her hands. "Easy, I don't mean you any harm. I'm just out here to collect herbs. I'm unarmed." Her how was back on Symphony's back. She was well and truly unarmed. She could control the roots of the nearby trees if needed, but she had never used that ability on another Person before. She didn't want to start now. That was her absolute last line of defense.

  The young woman's green eyes remained fixed on Blake and she said nothing. The young woman had obviously seen better days as had the Pegasus. They were both incredibly thin and the young woman's clothes were pretty much beyond threadbare. She obviously hadn't had a good meal in a long time.

  She had to be cold with how threadbare her clothes were.

  Suddenly everything made sense.

  Blake kept her hands raised and unclasped her cloak, offering it to the young woman. "Here; take it. I also have some food if you want it. Heshia sent me."

  That was enough to make the young woman blink. “Heshia… But why?"

  Blake shrugged. "Only Diviners know the will of the gods. I'm a lowly apothecary owner with Plant shaping. I'm not exactly the first thought most people would have when asking for the will of the gods."

  The young woman nodded and put her spear down, though it was clearly reluctantly. "Okay." Her voice was soft, quiet, and a bit cracked. She stood up though her legs wobbled dangerously below her. The boots she wore had obviously seen much better days like the rest of her clothing. She approached Blake hesitantly and held out her hands like a beggar. Blake placed the do akin her arms and the young woman wrapped it around herself. "Food…?” Blake nodded and took out some food from her herb bag.

  "Here; take what you want." she opted to take off the bag entirely and hand it to the young woman. Her green eyes widened. Blake wasn't entirely certain what from. "If you want it all, take it. Skipping one meal won't kill me." She would be a little grumpy over it most likely, but she wouldn't die from skipping a meal. This young woman could clearly use the food more than Blake.

  The young woman looked at her, green eyes wary, but she dug into the bag and looked around. She pulled out quite a bit of food and sat down. The bag sat in her lap and she ate. Blake was silent, not really sure what to say. The young woman was intent on the food, but she ate slowly and well mannered. The way she ate definite spoke to higher breeding than a commoner like herself. This young woman raised so many questions. Blake wanted to ask so much of her, but it would be uncouth to dig into a stranger’s past when they hadn’t even been introduced.

  “Can you at least tell me your name?” Blake didn’t want to intrude on her and her obviously focusing on the meal, but she at least wanted to know her name. “My name is Blake Belladonna.”

  Several moments of silence passed until the redhead answered. “…Pyrrha Nikos.” Her voice remained incredibly quiet. It was pretty obvious that she hadn’t had face-to-face contact like this with somebody in a long time. Her green eyes were so haunted and hollow, her cheeks gaunt. Her pegasus wasn’t much better. It was so skinny that its spine and ribs protruded. Both of them clearly needed to be patched up. “Where am I? Am I still in Illyria?”

  Blake nodded. “I still follow the Tenfold Path. We’re near the border with Tosnor, though. We’re still in Illyria but not by much. A couple more towns over and you’ll be in Tosnor.” It didn’t matter much, but yeah, they were still in Illyria. What was a pegasus knight doing out here on her lonesome and in such bad shape? It didn’t make any sense. Every so often, knights did come through on patrols. Pyrrha wasn’t in uniform and they seemed to normally move in groups of three to five, sometimes seven. The boots looked like the standard issue knight boots, but they had obviously seen better days.

  Pyrrha nodded a bit, though the gesture was so small blake barely caught it. “I see.” She started putting food back int he bag. “I’m full. I should get back on the road.”

  Blake frowned. “Heshia sent me to look for you and they specifically told me to help you. I didn’t think it’d be wise to ignore a direct message from a deity. And clearly you need the help.”

  Pyrrha frowned. “I was basically exiled. If the other knights find me here… And I couldn’t impose on your family…”

  “My parents would be happy to help. Please, come with me.” Pyrrha’s features and some of her more subtle mannerisms spoke to her breeding. She was no mere commoner. Or, atl east, she hadn’t been raised as one. Something was up here and Blake didn’t like it one bit. She hadn’t known the pegasus knights could be so vicious as to kick one of their own out like this. What had happened to her?

  "Are you sure?" The frown remained etched on Pyrrha's face. Poor woman, she really had been through hell and back. Blake's heart went out to her.

  She nodded. "I promise they won't mind. We have several open rooms. My family has often been larger than what it is now, so we have plenty of room." sometimes the family could be as large as fifteen people, but they were only seven total, so there were plenty of open rooms. Kali and Ghira had instilled kindness and hospitality into Blake. They would often hosta wayward person passing through for a couple of months, so this was nothing new to Blake. The Sanctum would often actually rely on them to house people while the Sanctum covered food and other expenses. "Plas, it's nothing new to us to host someone for a few months then let them be on their way."

  "Okay…" Pyrrha still looked unconvinced, but she handed the bag back to Blake and clasped the cloak on. "Let me get packed up…”

  "All right," Blake let out a soft whistle and it wasn't long until Symphony trotted up. She gave Blake the side eye and Blake sighed, "Yeah, yeah, yeah; you were acting up on purpose. I'm sorry for saying I should have used a bit on you." she got in hers addle bag and pulled the reserve cloak on. Pyrrha did look a little ridiculous in the much-too-short cloak, but it definitely had to be an upgrade to the incredibly threadbare outfit Pyrrha had on.

  Once Pyrrha had cleaned up her campsite, Blake mounted as did Pyrrha. "Can you go find Mari, Symph?" The mare bobbed her head and started walking. Pyrrha gave Blake a look. "Symphony is an Everwild horse, straight from Lorrick himself. I was supposed to be picking herbs with my younger sister Marina today, but then this happened. I have to tell her I'm heading back with you."

  Pyrrha frowned. "That sounds like I'm a major imposition..." Blake shook her head. "sorry if I made it sound like that. You aren't. Mari will be a little grumpy, but this was deigned by the gods. Hard to argue with divine intention." she knew Marina would be grumpy over it, but there wasn't much Blake could do about it. She needed to see Pyrrha to the shop so that way she could see the poor woman settled in. She still had a million questions but there wasn't much she could do about it.

  She would need to go to the sanctum to pick some clothes up for Pyrrha: the woman needed new clothes a while ago. Same with shoes." Pyrrha nodded and fell silent as their mounts Meandered through the forest. Pyrrha seemed so uncomfortable being in Blake's presence. She held her Mount as far away from Symphony as possible. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact it was a Pegasus, Blake would've suggested the knacker. Normally she wouldn't do something like that, but it looked deathly. It really hadn't had much food over the winter. She hoped the thing wasn't sick so it wouldn't infect the rest of their horses with some sort of illness.

  They found their way to Marina who was so absorbed in picking plants that she clearly didn't hear their approach. "Mari!" The younger girl startled and turned on her heel, ears laid back.

  "Blake, That was-!" She looked at Blake, then Pyrrha, then Blake again. "Sis, who's this?"

  "This is who Heshia asked me to find and help. I need to go get her settled. I know you're not just my cover, but can you handle gathering for me?" she knew Marina preferred to be in the shop, but these were very unusual circumstances. It wasn't everyday someone got told to help someone through divine command. Whatever had happened to Pyrrha needed remedied immediately and she needed help.

  Marina sighed. "Yeah, I can do that. As soon as you let Symphony go, I had a feeling it would be something like this." She let out an annoyed noise." You owe me a cream puff for the trouble though!" She puffed up her cheeks.

  Blake laughed. "All right, all right, we can go down to the bakery tomorrow and get you a cream puff." IT would only be a few coppers, so she didn't see any reason she couldn't indulge her sister. Marina was absolutely addicted to the bakery's cream puffs. Honestly, Maybe she should stop by the shop and get Pyrrha a little treat. It'd no doubt been far too long since Pyrrha had had anything sweet or just for the sake of having it. She hoped it'd be a welcome surprise.

  "Need anything else?"

  Blake shook her head." No; I'll leave you to it. Thanks for gathering for me today. "Marina made a face and Blake looked at Pyrrha. "Let's get to town."