another mind, another soul, another body to grow old. it's not complicated.
Aryel couldn't have known (and truthfully, Otem shouldn't have been so certain either), that once the portal-presence had taken something from you, you were forever immune. It had just been that way; each time Otem had come to the portal she had been ignored by the presence, and she just blindly assumed it would remain that way. So as Aryel bustled against the unseen force, Otem remained stationary but calm.
As the presence seemed to come over the blue mare and then dissipate, Otem waited with baited breath to see how the mare would respond. She began striking her hoof against the ground as if trying to goad the creature into returning (or was she perhaps summoning some magic?) when suddenly blue flames burst from the moving limb. Otem's eyes widened slightly and her lips curled upwards in a smile. She had no idea how many magics the pegasus may or may not have, but retaining at least one was a good sign, no?
"That's incredible." Otem breathed, though it was unclear if she was referring to the magic or to the fact that nothing seemed to have been taken.
At Aryel's question of what to do next, Otem nibbled the inside of her lip for a moment as she considered. "Well, there aren't herd-lands or anything like that. But a few of us have banded together. There's a god here - at least I think he is a god - called Kisamoa. He's the one who gave us the orbs, like I mentioned. It seems like healing the land is his priority right now." Pausing, Otem's lips twisted upwards again as Aryel mentioned somewhere better than this shadowy hollow. "If you think this is bad, just wait. There are places that are covered by this .... this tangible shadow wall. She tribrid couldn't really describe it any better than that. "You can't go through it at all. That's what Kisamoa says we're healing. But that being said," Otem took another breath and sort of slumped sideways, "-there are more than a handful of bizarre creatures that live here. Though I'm sure you'll be able to fend for yourself well-enough."
Unsure whether or not this newcomer would be at all interested in the intiative she ewas trying to start, Otem decided she would simply give the mare the information and let her make her own choices. "The group of us, we meet in a place called Halyven. You'll see it easily enough from the skies - it's full of rubble and collapsed buildings. It's the only place like it. It's just to the East of here."
The Portal
