His heart felt as though it were made of glass. He could feel it. He could feel
every footstep reverberating in his glass heart, jostling it, rubbing it against
his panting lungs and pained spine, every motion too far straining the pristine
crystal lattice, every emotion causing it to creak and whine under the pressure.

The path was hard and long, and only barely illuminated by the blue-green foliage
which glowed brighter with every passing gust. The night sky was a flat black
with only the scarcest trace of the swarm above, like a soft trickle along the
horizon. The mountains above hummed softly.

"The hum is not comforting today," his companion said. The companion hovered
slightly, filled with red, redolent and grand.

"It is fine enough," he said, but his crystal heart disagreed. He looked up
at the faint blue peaks and felt the hum fill him, and the vibration seemed
as though it could destroy his crystal heart, but he _harrumphed_ and continued.

"You are not discomforted?"

"Not greatly," he said, and it was not quite a lie while still not quite the
truth. Every step nearly flattened flowers that moved aside and stared up at
the both expectantly, unsure if they were there to destroy them or feed them.
Of course, they were there for neither, only passing through towards the
city, which hovered in their vision distantly like a ghost.

"I find it... distasteful, at least," the companion said, and dilated his eyes
a little bit before hovering onward. "It seems to speak to me of plans."

"It seems to me that _you_ are now speaking of plans."

The companion was silent. The journey had gotten harder, and the great beasts
in the distance had started to stare with hollow yellow eyes and move with
barely perceptible movements. They would not be dangerous, but it was no
comforting thing to be walking in the half-light under the waxing swarm
with the guaes-beasts watching. The companion twisted a few times, perhaps
hoping that it would cause the beasts to avert their eyes.

Finally, they crested a hill and looked at the city they had for so long attempted
to find. Like a great crystal, it grew out in perfect directions and with
perfect dimensions, the subtle lights from planted trees being refracted and
reflected infinitely into the distance. He looked at his companion and both
of them smiled simultaneously.

"This city is like glass, and like glass, it could be destroyed by a small misstep
or an errant breath," the companion said, settling down on the hill just slightly
and obscuring the flowers below.

"The city is alive and will be alive in our minds for all time," he responded. "If
it must be broken, then it must." With that, he clutched at his heart, and both
began walking down the path.