feel the essence fill the void

SPARKS WILL FLY
THEY IGNITE OUR BONES

Iskra was not partial to Halo. He'd lived there long enough, and the kingdom was not without its comforts and grand features that he was grateful for. It could never be more than what he had made it though. It was his escape, his punishment for insidious thoughts and treacherous heartbreaks, and in that way, it was also his prison - how fitting it had its wardens.

This time of year was even harder to stomach staying in the winter wonderland. Born into heat, in love with the sand and the seaspray and the sweat that worked up under an unkind sun, Iskra was restless in the winter and traveled as much as he could from the depths of the arctic cage. Consider it rec time. Never so far as to leave his self-imposed bars; he would not set foot on his childhood home again, not when he was certain the memories would be his demise. Yet, he could wander on the edges and the outskirts, if only to lift the rock in his chest a bit higher.

Goose trailed at the man's side as they wandered the hillside. Luckily the dog enjoyed exploring nearly as much as he enjoyed rolling for hours on end in the snow, else he might have refused to leave the icy walls with Iskra. The dog panted lightly with their efforts, but his tongue drew in abruptly as his nose wrinkled at Noah's scent. His head lifted, thinking for a moment before continuing. Iskra picked up on the change and squinted ahead into the distance, spying the abandoned building and the forlorn man beside it. Another prisoner.

"Hey," Iskra yelled out in greeting as he and the dog drew closer. Goose was unbothered and trotted on ahead to rest in the shade. He'd smelled his man before around Halo, and similarly, though never formally having met the fallen king, Iskra knew enough of him. The woodcutter nodded in greeting when he was closer, appraising the state of the building quietly now that he could see the details of its disrepair. "Your notice," Iskra mentioned, having read the board in passing. Not normally one to butt into the business of others, least of all demi-gods and the deities they had pissed off, he was open to a new adventure to occupy his restless mind. Besides, there wasn't enough woods out here to keep him as busy as he'd like. "It's for this?"

WHEN THEY STRIKE
WE LIGHT UP THE WORLD