S O M N U S
"What if I fall?"
"Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?"
Night had fallen.
The air was warm but not uncomfortably so, a balmy evening in the midst of summer and lacking the grueling bite that came with the sun. Stars twinkled in the dark skies up above the land, beckoning like sirens in the depths of the oceans, shining brightly amidst the Moon and her companions. Beacons, they were, guiding lights for the lost souls who hoped, so desperately, to find their way. Perhaps one day they would.
For Somnus, however, sleep had not come. It eluded him, the fickle mistress, dancing forevermore out of his grasp just as he was about to grab tight to it, eyelids heavy with bodily exhaustion but his mind rapt and vigilant, yearning for some form of competitive quandary. The golden tactician yearned for a good debate, for an equal match of wits and wills that would put his brilliant mind to the test, and allow him at last to settle down with a peacefully clear head. Complacency and stagnancy ruined a man like him, and with so little going on during the day, his mind
ran like hell during the night and simply
would not stop. It was maddening, overwhelming, thoughts, scenarios, plans, and schedules running over and over in his head before either exhaustion would grab hold and sleep would take him, or he would concede the battle and go wandering.
On this pleasant night, wandering was what Somnus found himself doing. Through the winding halls of the Court did he venture, his steps light but sure, confident with every stride in this impressive construct of talented masonry and amber wings furled close to his body, as so not to knock into anything. It seemed that every new hall brought new discoveries, but he was not treasure hunting. No. Tonight, the young gentleman had one destination in mind, and that was the courtyard, where he could stare up at the heavens and map the stars with his eyes, just as he had done since the days of his youth.
As he made his way through the halls, cream-kissed hooves rasping against the ground with every step he took, Somnus took to humming that same, nondescript song from his colt-hood, fully expecting to be the sole sufferer of insomnia on such a night.
Fate, as it seemed, would have other ideas.
