From the Desert to the Sky
I dream of a river across the sky
Winding twisting flowing...

I dream of ebon scales in candlelight
Gleaming pulsing falling...

Songs in the night
Coins on a sash
Soft whispers, wispy breath
A symphony of wind and rain.

Fly, fly
My songbird, my sweet
Across dunes and scorching sand
Bring our stories home.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From the Sky to the Desert
A song begins with but a voice
Which is joined by yet one more
They dance together and part to rejoin
Again a duet and rejoice

Stories shared from home and heart
Together and afar
No matter where the stars may lead
They guide us back to the start

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This was a Christmas gift art for AutumnSunrise. If you have been following my art, you probably read in the many descriptions about how Autumn and I, in a sense, grew up together. Although our romantic relationship - when we did give it a chance - did not last, I do very much consider her my first love, and her old character - NightWolf (later renamed Serenos) - is likewise Bagheera's first love (not in just the silly RP sense).

Bagheera and NightWolf, in the years following the breakup, remained together. Things weren't always easy between Autumn and I, but Bagheera and NightWolf was a promise we made to each other. There was a brief time, when things got really rough between us, that I agreed to let NightWolf go, so she can be free to roam. I can be... stifling, she told me, when we were together. And I didn't want to do that to NightWolf.

But... then as before, NightWolf would find her way back to Bagheera. It's not so much that we are chasing a time, a memory, we once shared... No, I think Bagheera and NightWolf represents a fragment of ourselves that remained connected, even though we know we have taken diverging paths in life. No matter how far away the she-wolf wanders, she always finds her way back to where we started.

Just like Bagheera, NightWolf has undergone several reincarnations throughout the years. Perhaps similar to how I created Lórien and Írmo to represent two very different aspects of myself, Autumn has created a kirin character who represents the inner spiritual aspect of NightWolf/Serenos. Her name is Alam Khonya, an old spirit, a songstress who sings of the stars.

And, Autumn told me, Alam took interest in my desert spirit.

The dynamic between Alam and Írmo is very different from what NightWolf and Bagheera shared. Írmo, by his very nature, could never be in a romantic relationship; he simply cannot by claimed by anyone, ever. That is not to say he doesn't love or care for others on some level, though he may do so very differently from how we do it.

No, Alam and Írmo are each bound to their element. Írmo is tied to the desert, while Alam is meant to wander. She travels far and wide, often away for many years, but she always finds her way back to him, only to depart again after sharing a single night. Even then, they are perhaps the closest thing to lovers as they can ever be - Írmo doesn't typically even reveal himself to the same person more than once. :>

There is, needless to say, an element of sadness to the way they are set up. But it's not a bad kind of sadness, if you understand what I mean. In some ways, their dynamic is comforting for me, for it sort of reflect how Autumn and I are nowadays (we don't speak very often, but when we do, we still very much talk like old friends who've known each other since forever).

Onto the picture: It depicts Alam returning to Írmo, after spending a long time away. Írmo is dancing upon a sand dune, waiting for her. He would hold a silken veil behind him, which would blow into the shape of a crescent moon - his way of calling her home.

The two poems at the beginning were written by me to her, and then by her to me. They pertain to these two characters, so I thought it would be appropriate to include them. :>

Dated December 2015.