Day 16: Gorath’s Journal

The river stones were warm in my pocket this morning, like the sun had pressed them against my skin. I kept going back to that spot by the old ruins where Vex stood by the water, their voice low and strange—’the stones remember what they’ve been.’ I couldn’t stop thinking about it. My legs felt heavy today, like I’d been walking for hours when I was just trying to find a quiet place. When I met Zyx under the willow, their smile was soft, but their eyes were distant. I asked about the river stones again, and they said they’d seen a flicker of light in the water that morning—like fire, but not fire. I didn’t ask what it was. I just felt the weight of it in my chest, like the stones were waiting to be told something. By the time I reached the riverbank, the air was thick with the smell of damp moss and something else—something that made my throat tight. I sat there for a long time, watching the water ripple, wondering if the stones would ever speak again.