Chapter 22: Interlude: The Girl in the Sunbeams

Sunnild
Fifthday, 3rd week of the 7th month, Godless Age 597
Early Morning
Near Ceallach Macht, High Above the Mistvale Highlands
Sunnild stretched her wings to their fullest extent, soaring high above the Highlands. This was what she loved best in life: flying high and free, feeling the wind caressing her feathers, with no one to tell her what to do or how to do it. Oh, she'd get a tongue-lashing from Wingleader Frythe once she returned to the Ayrie, but out here, Sunnild could do whatever she wanted. If she flew in lazy circles over the north end of the Stargrazer lands where nothing ever happened for no other reason than to feel the sun on her back, so what? Her assigned task was to scout the horses, and that's what she was doing. The only thing bothering her about this patrol was that she wouldn't have the chance to find herself a concubine. The dumb horses weren't cross-fertile, and no one else ever came near Ceallach Macht since the wards went up.
Or did they? The morning sun glinted off metal far below, catching Sunnild's eye. She furled her wings and leaned forward, diving down to get a better look. A few seconds later, she snapped out of the dive, beating the air furiously to hover in place. The metal turned out to be a heavily-armored centaur running at breakneck speed south, straight toward the horses' village and away from the Lost City. "What in the world?" She murmured to herself. "What got yer tail in a twist?" Sunnild wheeled and raced northward.
It only took ten minutes for Sunnild to see the cause of the commotion. The Valley of Dreams writhed. The wards were still active, but for how much longer? Then she spotted something even more baffling. A human, here? And moving toward Ceallach Macht? She needed to report this to the Wingleader, but curiosity kept Sunnild circling the valley. She didn't get a good look at the human until he was almost to the ward. And a him it was, too; human females didn't have beards, even scruffy little ones like that. "Why are ya trying to get into the city, little man? Are ya lost? I can give ya an alternative ta suicide if ya want..." She tucked her wings in and dove again, skimming the edge of the ward, but she had to pull up short when he stepped right through the barrier as if it wasn't there.
Sunnild gawked, all four dove-grey wings beating to keep her from plowing into the ground like a fledgling. "How did ya do that? Did ya steal a wardstone from the horses? But no, that Stargrazer I saw earlier could have caught ya if it wanted. Something else is going on. And now what are ya doing?" The human set something on the ground, then threw fire at it several times. "Destroying the wardstone? This is a right mystery, it is. Well, nothing for it, gotta report this now. Getting what I deserve, too, for not paying closer attention. I coulda snatched him up and at least had some answers if I got here five minutes earlier. Mebbe even saved him, got a grateful male fer my nest. Ah, well, I can dream about what-ifs on the way back..."
Sunnild

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Early Afternoon
The Ayrie, Mistvale Highlands
Sunnild cupped her wings and braced her legs. I hate this part! Flying was easy, landing... She skidded and skipped to a stop just shy of the doorway leading inside the Ayrie from the landing platform. Facing straight forward, she folded her wings up and headed inside, pretending not to hear the snickers from her sisters nearby. She couldn't ignore it when one of them followed her inside, though.
"Oh look, the little dove is back so early." Sunnild didn't look back, but she knew who spoke and could see the sneer on her face in her mind's eye. "You were supposed to be out for a week, Sunnild, and yet three days later, here you are. What happened, did a Stargrazer yell at you and startle you back to your roost? You are as much of a coward as your mother."
The words cut deep into Sunnild's heart, as they always did, but she knew better than to show pain. "Who is more of a coward, Ecgwena: the one who attacks someone she knows will not fight back, or the one who endures the attack and continues performing her duty? Speaking of duty, I need to report to the Wingleader." She continued walking down the hall, pulling her wings in tight to her body to make her trembling less visible.
Wingleader Frythe's office was close to the landing platform, so it didn't take Sunnild long to reach her destination. She slumped against the wall beside the door for a moment, trying to steady her nerves before she knocked. Unfortunately, the Wingleader proved her reputation to be well-founded again. "Come in, Sunnild." Sunnild tapped her head against the wall, berating herself for not pausing to calm down farther up the hallway. Then, she opened the door and entered her commanding officer's cramped office.
Wingleader Frythe looked up from the papers on her desk, her frown creating a network of creases on her weathered face. "You are back early, Sunnild. Usually, I have to reprimand you for being late. Make your report." Sunnild sucked in a breath, then let it out in a slow stream, adopting the state of mind her mother had drilled into her since before she had learned to talk.
"I aborted my patrol of the northeastern quadrant of Starchaser territory per emergency protocol. Ceallach Macht has awakened. The seals are compromised. Early this morning, I spotted..." She let the formality of the debrief flow through her, discharging her duty to her sisterhood.
Zurai

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