This was absolutely unexpected, but a wonderful surprise. While scrawling some Arvian lore, I wrote a short piece about the SunTouched, and sent it to FA: gryph000 , only to wake up the next day with this in my inbox from her! The excerpt for this panel is below! This is page 2 of 2.

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[i]“I’m not as good at any of this as the rest of my group. All the others make fun of me, and call me slow.”[/i]

Raising his hand to his chin, the sun priest stroked his claws along the underside of his beak, taking a moment in thought.

[b]“Hmmm, that is concerning. Tell me, what have you learned of the flame?”[/b]

[i]“That the brightest flames illuminate the most.”[/i]

[b]“Ahhh, but they also burn the fastest. Illumination is not a race. It is a journey. The very sun we thank for our blessings burns slowest of all, millions of years, and yet, it is the brightest in the sky.”[/b]

Slowly, he stretched his arm out, bringing his robe with it to cast a shadow over the initiate, covering the sunlight entirely. With a whispered word, and a snap of his fingers on his free hand, a spark emerged, burning brightly between his talons.

[b]“But in darkness, even the smallest lights can fill a space with their light, burn they bright or low.”[/b]

The child nodded, tail staring to wag as he understood the lesson.

[i]“Yes, elder.”[/i]

[b]“Good. Go on now. Your mentors will be wondering where you’ve gotten to if you are late.”[/b]