a light in the darkness.

R I X E N Around us, the forest was quiet. The trees were still. There was no breeze in which their branches could sway delicately to and fro. Rising above the treetops was the volcanic mountain that was most likely responsible for the formation of the obsidian that Taivas and I were now studying so fervently.  "You can sense the energy?" I asked, interested now in this strong but peaceful energy that Taivas could feel coming from the runes. What did the energy of the rest of the Rift feel like, if the energy present here was a rarity? I didn't exactly understand what Taivas meant about the stones being a spiritual relic, but I did want to know what she knew.  In the place that I came from, there was little emphasis on spiritual beliefs. Some horses believed in them, my mother being one of them. When my sister and I were young, she would tell us about the spirits in every living thing, and of gods in the sky. Being young and impressionable, I never questioned what she had told me. I simply did not know any better. But now, I was not so sure that I believed in such things any longer. They seemed like stories made to comfort those who could not face the harsh realities of the world. That was not to say that I was completely against the idea of the existence of divine beings and spirits more powerful than any mortal. I would just need to be convinced, which I did not think would happen unless I witnessed said divine power for myself. To what extent did the starry-eyed mare believe in these sorts of things? Taivas was a strange girl. She was of few words, with a gentle and reflective expression that seemed to be a permanent part of her features. Her face was calm and expressionless, but not in a cold sort of way. I watched the silvery pegasus closely with my emerald eyes, waiting for her to say something more. She added that there was a possibility the rune-carved obsidian could be marking a burial site. My gaze diverted back to the stones, running from the damp soil to the top of the writing and then back down again. They did have an ominous look to them, like they could have been placed here to mark some sort of mass grave, now that I studied the rocks through the lens of death. If that were true, I was curious as to who had been buried here.   "Talk." they heard me singing and they told me to stop quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock

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