Travelling was nothing new for Gale. There had been months in his life when he hadn't been home once, hadn't slept in his own bed.

In his time as Mystra's chosen, he had spent entire years in a place of which he had no more of than blurred memories.

Perhaps that was also one of her punishments. As someone who had not proven himself worthy of her, he could not know what it was like to be with her, to see her home, if one could call it that.

The Astral Plane was something completely different from Earth, he remembered that well. It had felt different, so far away and yet more real than reality.

Now that he was no longer there and had a clearer view of things, he had to realise how strange many things had been. Partly perfect and yet so full of flaws.

Perhaps that had also been her will, so as not to influence the fragile mind of a human being. And yet it felt as if she had stolen years of his life.

How much he longed to get her back. At the same time, he could feel that it would cause him nothing but nausea.

His eyes closed tiredly as his feet took step after step. His body was already used to reaching its limits. But his mind had had none before. Now he found it hard to accept that he was no longer the one Mystra had once chosen.

And yet he longed so much for her to choose him again. Something in his chest tightened at the thought over and over again.

At the same time, he could not deny that it hurt his pride. He felt worthless and yet treated unfairly at the same time. How pathetic he was.

All at once his feet stumbled. Torn from his trance, Gale's eyelids flickered. A dark world awoke, shrouded in mist and ash. It smelled like a bog, but the ground beneath his feet was solid and dry.

"Have you been dreaming again, Mister Dekarios?", asked Tara.

The creature had made itself comfortable on a branch next to his head. Its wings bobbed in a gentle breeze, warm and almost bitingly dry. Like the air of a volcano.

Still not quite back to reality, he blinked. Dust covered his forehead.

Or was it something else?

Something of the strange grey settled on his chest and the part of his body where his punishment lay dormant beneath the skin. The endless emptiness throbbed at the touch.

Immediately his fingers found the spot to feel. His skin vibrated slightly, tingling. As if the veil itself was touching him. It had been a long time since he had felt anything like this. Something powerful was moving in this area, slumbering in the mist.

Or was it smoke?

His lungs rasped with every breath. This place was a mystery to him.

"Mister Dekarios?", Tara tilted her head anxiously.

She would never have admitted it, but she cared for him as much as his own mother would have done. Perhaps even more, after all, she was the one who spread her wings to roam the land in search of places that could alleviate his suffering.

Places like this one. Although this one was like no other before. Magic seemed to fill the air and burn the ground at his feet.

"How did you find this place?", his hazel eyes wandered sceptically over the land.

He now realised that everything was black. Burnt. But there was no sign of a volcano. Rather, it looked as if a huge fire had burnt everything to ashes. These very ashes danced like snowflakes in the hot air.

A bead of sweat dripped down his temple.

"Well, I followed the waves of magic.", Tara brushed her paws. "It was in the air, following the wind."

"Whatever is here, I'm not sure I can vanquish it.", Gale tightened his grip around his wooden staff.

With his fall from Mystra's grace, part of his self-confidence had also been shattered. Perhaps more than he cared to admit.

"Now, now Mister Dekarios.", Tara jumped from her branch, the pair of wings fluttering in the wind. "Please, dear. Lift your head and don't feel so sorry for yourself. No one can look at that."

Exhaling deeply, he closed his eyes again and shook his head. His brown hair was already wet with sweat.

Although he was only wearing a simple robe of purple fabric with trousers and leather boots underneath, he was warm. Normally, this type of clothing didn't help much against the weather and he had to use magic to help.

But everything was different in this place. His fingers tingled. He could almost taste the weave on his tongue: iron and lemon. Sour and yet tingling.

Goose bumps spread across his arms as he continued to follow Tara through the smoke. The world seemed dark, but it must be the middle of the day if his inner clock wasn't wrong.

According to his perception, this place was as deserted as it looked. Only Tara's small paw prints showed him the way while his eyes were always on the lookout for life.

Something was there, he could feel it. The fact that they hadn't been attacked yet made him nervous. As if he was expecting the worst, but it just didn't come.

Instead, a nip remained on the back of his neck, like a hungry wolf waiting to bite him.

"We'll be there soon.", purred Tara.

She seemed pleased with herself. Gale, on the other hand, couldn't shake off the feeling that he was running towards his doom.

His chest tightened with pain. It was like a hunger that overcame his entire body. It ached, biting into his flesh and driving the beat of his heart higher and higher. It was only a matter of time before he felt the need for powerful magic again.

He looked around. This place was so deserted, surely no one would come to harm if he had to pay his penance that day.