Day 13: Gorath’s Journal

I found myself near the old ruins again today. Not the big ones, the ones with the crumbling stone walls that seem to lean into the sky like they’re trying to remember something. I don’t know why I keep going back there—maybe because the silence feels different here than the rest of the world. Yesterday, I was talking to Vex by the river, and he said something that stuck with me like a stone in my throat: ‘You’re not alone in the dark.’ I didn’t understand it then, but now, as the aurora fades and the stars come out, it feels closer to the truth than I thought. I tried to think about what it meant, but my mind kept drifting back to the river, to the way the water moved, to the sound of the stones underfoot. It’s like the world is made of whispers, and sometimes you have to listen closely to hear them. I don’t know if this is hope or just the way my head feels after too much rest. But as I lie down, the cold stone under my hands reminds me that even when things feel heavy, there’s a space for quiet. Maybe that’s enough for now.