The Sentinels all hope in eclipse

the heat that had fell across the land caused the air to shimmer around lasher as he stood upon a sea-cliff, his eyes fixed upon the sea. no morsel of food had passed his lips in three days' time, and weakness had slithered the length of his limbs, but still he stood firm. the man recalled what the coywolf had instructed him in regards to the sea and its bounty -- there was sustenance to be gleaned from the waters, if only he could summon the energy for such a task.

the man turned away from the precipice and moved toward the barren heart of donnelaith. protection from the sun's glare was minimal, though coolness could be found within the stone dens. but lasher did not seek this as he wandered aimlessly across the arid loam of his beloved woodland.

blue willow -- her visage appeared before his mind's eye, and without a thought the man began to speak to her. "willow," lasher murmured, relief washing him with a welcome coolness. "where have you gone? no matter; you are returned to us." he extended his muzzle to the looming spectre of his mate, resplendent in the blue-black of her silken pelt beneath the lick of sunlight.

unknown to the man, he stumbled out of donnelaith and into the land beyond, a broad, flat plateau that overlooked the saltwater. blue willow spoke to him, and he to her, his tones cheery as he described how their children had grown, how lovely eilidh had become and how constantine's strength was apparent, how deirdre charmed those around her with magick and how emaleth was a silent pillar of support to donnelaith.

and casmir! how he missed the presence of his son. such was the depth of their discourse that taltos did not realize that he had stepped into the blazing eye of the sun, and how it had heated his blood beneath the thinning, coarse fur until his steps became more difficult, and numbness began a slow creep along his limbs, his throat.

"willow!" taltos cried, but it was a garbled, slurred sound, and then he choked a muted cry as his body flung him bruisingly to the earth. horror gripped him as he trembled against the ground, his extended forepaws tearing at the dry grass as his muscles seized, flinging foam from his lips.

on and on it went until the terrified screaming of his mind guttered into a fade and ended.

lasher lay beneath the blaze of the sunlight, complete stillness arranging his lips, and save for the shallow lift and fall of his flanks, the druid was silent and unmoving.