[AW] The Gospel Truth

[Quill]

Q U I L L ’Solis help me, I’m lost’, she prayed silently, dark eyes scanning the endless sea of sand for anything. A rock, a bit of brush, the trail left by a lizard in the scorching landscape… Anything to give her context as she trudged exhaustedly across the rolling dunes. When she had first left out from her home, not a few days prior, the world had seemed wide and open- an adventure waiting to be had. Quill had never thought that the adventure would be so terrifying. She had anticipated some time on her own, her herd lived so separately from other groups that she knew it would be quite a while before she saw another face, but this… the sand that stretched to the horizon with no end in sight was something she had not anticipated. Even as each step away from her clan had seen the fauna grow sparser, she had not considered the implications, and she had stepped boldly onwards until she found herself here. “Mighty… Mighty Solis...” she intoned lowly, her dehydrated mind struggling to recall the prayer she had recited daily since the day she could talk. Her voice sputtered out and she tried again, focusing as hard as she could. “Mighty Solis, high in the sky, revered be your light. May my hooves always follow your rays upon the path of righteousness. Forgive me for my sins should I ever step towards darkness and let your warmth guide me home. I am your child, shepherd me into the sun, and I will sing your glories for time eternal.” The gospel gave her some small amount of comfort as she continued to trudge onwards. It held no real physical power, but it was a strong reminder of the unity of her religious sect. After all, she was not the first to leave her clan. Each horse in the herd had passed the coming of age trial and returned stronger and wiser; surely some of them had passed through this very desert, felt this same blinding heat, and lived to tell the tale. With a renewed sense of purpose and belonging, Quill lifted her head and looked into the distance. Somewhere on the horizon, there was a glimmer. A mirage? She squinted her eyes. Perhaps… but she was not so certain. And, even if it was, what other point of reference did she have? The sands still continued endlessly on every side, ripples in the dunes mimicking the variegated surface of lake water on a windy day. Water… Mighty Solis she missed water. Mirage or not, she had to try. Lifting her head, she forced her body to speed up, her head bobbing gently as she gaited through the sands. If the shimmering wasn’t water, perhaps it would be something else that could guide her. While Quill knew that only she was the guardian of her own actions, she had to trust that Solis would give her the opportunity to do well. He would not have led her to the desert if there was no escape, she only had to find it.

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