Kali stood up. “Stay here, Edin, I’m going to get some of the special supplement milk.” She said. Edin was confused. “But doesn’t this foal need the first milk from their dam, because of the protective vitamins in it?”

“Yes, and we have that. After Lissna’s foal was still-born, I milked her first supplemented milk for an occasion just like this. It’s in the cold storage pantry. I’ll be right back.” Kali walked to the back of the Ruk, to get the milk bottle.

Now, Edin was alone with the foal. She checked, and saw that it was a filly. “Hey, baby…” She whispered. The filly seemed to be very weak. She was breathing, but just barely. Her tiny dished nostrils fluttered unevenly, and her eyes were closed.

But this filly was very pretty. Already, Edin could see she had perfect conformation, and her black coloring was something she’d never seen on a Kihlari before. She had a very large blaze, and 4 very tall stockings, which starkly contrasted against her coat. Her bright amber feathers were tipped in dark brown.

Kali came walking, very fastly, back, holding a milk bottle in her hand. “We need to wait for her to stand. Maybe if she smells the milk, it will encourage her to stand.” She said. Kali squeezed the bottle just enough so a tiny drop of milk came out, and waved it in front of the filly’s nose. Her tiny nostrils fluttered again, and she smelled the milk.

Her eyes slowly opened, and Edin gasped. Her eyes were the brightest blue! The filly slowly stood up, very shakily, and fell back down, her black and white legs crumpling beneath her. The filly tried again, and Edin put her hands under her stomach to help support her.

And she was standing! She was very wobbly, and shaky, but she was standing. Edin slowly took her hands out from under the filly’s chest, and left her standing on her own. Kali waited for the filly to get balanced, then moved closer to her, offering her the milk bottle. She seamlessly took it, and started suckling.

When the milk ran out, the filly collapsed in a heap on the ground, her legs all tangled together. “I’m going to see if Lissna will take her,” Kali said, as the little filly was sleeping, her nostrils fluttering, but more evenly and deeply than before. “But that will be tomorrow, tonight she needs to have more of the supplemented milk. She needs a name, though. Would you like to name her?” She asked her daughter.

Edin gasped. “Yes!” She said excitedly. Minara She thought. Magic. Minara meant Magic in Talu, and it seemed to fit this filly perfectly. “Minara,” She told her mother.

Kali smiled. “Magic. It suits her. Minara it is.”

“Edin! I need your help!” said a voice behind them. Edin and Kali jumped, having not heard the person approach them. It was Astra, the Astronomer, and Edin’s mentor.

Edin spun around. “Astra? What is it?” She asked.

“There is a strange occurrence in the stars tonight, and I need your help charting them.” Astra said. Then she saw Minara. “I see you have a new foal,” She said.

Kali smiled. “We do. This is Minara.”

“She is so pretty. She will make a fine Kihlara. Edin, I really need your help.” Astra said.

“Go. I’ll be fine on my own.” Kali told Edin. Edin sighed. “Alright, then.” She followed Astra out of the Ruk, and to Fort Prowl, where the astronomy tower is.

When they entered the tower, Astra led Edin to the balcony, where the telescope is. “I was stargazing earlier this evening, and I noticed a star that I have never seen before. It was large, and golden. It should be visible still.” Astra searched the sky with the telescope, and found the star. “There!” She said.

Edin looked to where Astra pointed, and saw the strange star. It was unlike any star she had ever seen before! And she had seen a lot of stars. “You’ve never seen this star before?” She asked.

Astra nodded. “I truly have never seen anything like this before. Stars don’t just show up out of nowhere. That’s why I needed your help. I need you to write down what we observe.”

“Ok,” Edin said. She took a seat at the small table, and looked through the small telescope on it.

They stayed like that for hours, Edin writing down Astra’s observations, and writing down her own. It was dawn by the time they stopped, and yet the strange star stayed in the sky, next to the rising sun.

That was the strangest night, Edin thought. A black Kihlara, and now this star!

She didn’t sleep once that night.