Altira awoke in a dimly lit space, seemingly extending off beyond what she thought was the horizon.
The ground felt solid but glistened in the soft light.
It appeared to be a shallow pool.
Shimmering and rippling as if the water striders made this place their home.
She could see through the boundary and into the depths.
On touch, it gave no impression of cold or wet, only a small force to repel her from passing through.
There was a small person there, smaller than Altira at least, but the space was otherwise barren.
A stark contrast to the battlefield she had just been.
"Wait!?" Altira gasped "My brothers, my sisters, my kind, the battle!"
"It is finished, young one", the small person said.
"What do you mean it's finished?"
"Your part", the other spoke softly "You have bore your sword for the last time."
Altira didn't much like cryptic speak but her disdain didn't prevent her from understanding.
The words didn't come, breath did. A deep one, longing and sorrowful.
"So does that mean..."
"No" the other interrupted "no, it does not."
This was not the promised death of a warrior.
This was not the afterlife she was told she would find from the field of battle.
"But I was told...I was promised..."
"I know", the other replied somber, "many are told such, but it is not to be.
I cannot offer you what you were in life, all I can offer you is rest.
Rest akin to that you've experienced after a lengthy combat
The rest found settling under soft down in a thatched home heated by a roaring fire, spiced drink mulling over the flame.
The rest that you regularly complained and wished for. The rest you had always been denied.
After that, I do not know. My influence extends only to your slumber. Maybe what you seek is at the other side of that eternity.">
Altira felt the conflicting emotions tear her in two directions. She had spent her life fighting for what she thought was right.
Kept safe by the belief that she would be rewarded should her blade not strike true.
The theft of that far harbour was a betrayal she could not reconcile.
A loss she could not tolerate.
A sadness.
And yet, rest. That sounded nice.
"Will I....see my shield mates again? Will my family be able to join me?"
The other shifted their cloak, and black, tattered wings unfurled.
It rose up, expanding in stature until it towered over her.
It blot out the source of light that had illuminated the water.
"Guarantees, I cannot make. Eventually all will be carried by me.
When that occurs and where you will be when it does depends on the fickle nature of time."
Altira felt the sadness again.
"I was hoping for something more hopeful."
A feeling came across the wind, it's face could not be seen but Altira believed she saw a frown in the black void under the other's hood.
"I cannot provide hope. All I can provide...is rest."
Acceptance is one of the hardest gifts to receive.
Altira knew she would make her peace with time.
Until then...
"Then let's be off", the other stated calmly.
The wings expanded further and it reached out with both it's arms.
A cradle of comfort. Altira grabbed one of the others hands tenderly.
It felt neither cold nor warm but the sensation brought an unknown calm.
The fatigue called forth.
"I know you can't offer me much"
The other embraced Altira and lifted her into it's arms.
"You may ask, I may not answer."
Altira looked up into the hood of the cloak.
She looked into what she assumed were it's eyes and breathed deep.
"How long will I sleep?"
The other cocked it's head slightly, pondering the question, and then peered up into the sky.
For the first time, Altira could see stars. An ocean of them far greater than what she'd ever seen in her homeland.
"Pick one, young one."
"Pick what?"
The other beat it's wings and displaced the water in the pool.
Lifting into the air, Altira felt a wave of sleep crash onto the shores of her mind.
"A star, one you wish to visit."
Her eyes grew heavy, her mind sped through possibility.
"But there are so many. How can I choose?"
She spent one more look at the other, before the sleep settled in.
The other did not respond. She supposed that was the point.
As the distance between them and the ground expanded, she drifted off to sleep.
The colours of the air changing moment to moment, the stars growing brighter, her vision slowly fading.
As they entered the aether, Altira heard humming.
It was a song she had heard her entire life.
A song her brother would sing to her on the nights she was frightened.
The other had a beautiful voice.
As she shut her eyes, she swore she saw it smiling.