Nox

There are fewer beings whose very presence has been less misunderstood that Nox. She appears dark and looming with one her eyes casting any light. But for those that have caught a true glimpse of her, it is clear that there is no evil coursing through her veins. There is only sorrow.

When the horses were placed upon Paradisus, Nox was immediately taken with them. She was the youngest of the Gods and though such power was all she had ever known, she longed for a life amongst the living. She wanted nothing more than to truly feel the air surging through her hair, to taste the sweet fruit hidden in the Uligo, to feel the warmth of another pressed against her side. These were things that the other Gods did not understand. So Nox would pass time by changing herself into as many different forms as she could. Sometimes she would appear as a lizard, scurrying along the side of a tree in woods or a tiny ladybug attached to the fine strands of hair in a mane. She still could not feel the same things as the living but it was as close as she could get and she was content for a time.

Her favorite form was that of the black mare, a brilliant flat black color that was caked in what appeared to be sooty all along her back. She stood out amongst the dull tans of the desert, drawing every single eye to her. It was the happiest feeling she'd ever felt. That is, until she met *him*. Many of the other horses would approach her and engage her but they always shied away from this strange mare who didn't understand their ways. She tried, incredibly hard in fact, but she had only the other Gods for company otherwise and they were all able to communicate in ways these horses couldn't understand. But Durus was different. He was patient and kind. Unlike other stallions who attempted to force her into their herds, as if they ever could, Durus only ever talked to her. He was a young stallion and not without his ambitions but he told her that his mother had warned him to show a little respect toward the mares. After all, he would tell her, one day they would be raising his children. Such conversations almost always confused Nox. She didn't know why it seemed to make her empty chest ache like it did.

   Eventually over time, Nox began spending more and more time away from the other Gods in favor of staying with Durus. They became the best of friends and before she knew it, the thought of being away from him tugged at something tight inside the pit of her stomach. She didn't know what the feeling could be until she asked Durus himself. The stallion gave her the sweetest, most lopsided grin and told her it was love.

As with most good things, well, it came to an end.

The horses on Paradisus settled into heavy unrest. More and more souls were reaching Ortus from distant lands creating a strange divide. Nox did not understand. They were all the same, she told Durus. They all had hearts beating in their chests! What else could matter? When war came to Ortus, it came hard. Almost overnight there were factions forming and the weak were being ambushed in the dark forests or even in the open of the sands that Nox liked to pretend were home. Slowly they began killing one another. Nox was beside herself and knowing that she was in no danger, thrust herself in the middle of one particularly bloody conflict. Durus, however, did not know of Nox's immortality and believing her life to be in danger, he stepped into the fray.

He did not step out.

At long last Vita returned for her sister to bring her home. She had expected to find an angry, vengeful God and found only a version of her sister that she'd never expected. Nox could feel. She had felt pain carving into her as she watched life drain from Durus, as she tried in vain to do anything to save him. She has experienced heartbreak and sorrow and she would never be the same. It was from this experience that she earned her title, that she became who she is. Nox is the only of the Gods that can truly feel and understand death and as such, she is the only one qualified to decide when it is time for a soul to go. She pulls them close and comforts them, like Vita did for her, until they can find peace, a feeling that she herself is still searching for.