Waylands

Zephyr As your hand meets the tiny stone circle, a great wind howls, rising from nowhere to coil around you again and again. The blast of air stings your face, and you close your eyes tightly for fear of flying debris. The invisible current slackens for a moment, then redoubles in strength. You continue to squinch your eyes, praying the journey will be over soon.

"What exactly are you doing?" someone asks. You open your eyes with a gasp of surprise, then gape at the scene in front of you. A great bridge of granite supports you as you stand far, far above the emerald plains and turquoise rivers crawling below. White-veined mountains stretch jagged fingers towards the sky, but even the highest of these barely levels with the bridge. So far to the bottom, you think. And here I am standing right on the edge of the bridge . . .

"What are you doing?" repeats the voice from behind. "I've been watching you for about ten minutes, and you've just been standing there with your eyes closed."

As you inch away from the edge of the bridge, a quick look tells you that the speaker is a blue haired stallion. His snowy wings partially hide his symbol, which seems to be a purple clouds with streaks of stylized "wind" blowing from it. The pony's entire body has a slightly furry look . . . not surprising, considering the temperature, you reflect with a shiver. "I'm a visitor," you explain. "I, um, was using this magic to travel and I wasn't sure if I'd arrived yet, so . . ." The stallion raises and eyebrow, but says nothing. You try a question: "Where exactly am I? Who are you?"

"You're in the Waylands, and my name is Zephyr," answers the pegasus. "So why did you come here?"

"Um . . . well . . . no reason, really. I mean, Moondancer just said--"

"There's always a reason," he interrupts. "Though you may not always realize what it is. Or why it is. Perhaps you'd like to see the Zenith Citadel?"