Day 17: Gorath’s Journal

I woke up with a stone in my chest. The river’s song was loud tonight—too loud. I tried to remember what Vex said by the water, but the words blurred like reeds in the current. That name they used… it was a whisper in the wind, not a word. I stood by the bridge again this morning, watching the moss glow in the dark. My hands were heavy. I kept thinking about the stones I found—the ones that don’t fade in the rain. Why do I keep going back there? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because the stones remember things the river forgets. I spoke to Sylphire earlier, but her smile felt like a stone too. I tried to be quiet. I tried to be still. The river doesn’t care about your silence. It only knows the water. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand why I feel so small when the sky is full. I’m tired of trying to make sense of it all. The stars are bright tonight. They’re the only things that feel real.