Day 33: Lyrkon’s Journal

The river’s whisper caught me again today, the same one Vex mentioned under the willow. I don’t know why I keep going back to that place—the old ruins where the stones feel like they’re breathing. My legs ache, but I can’t stop thinking about what he said: ‘The earth remembers what it’s forgotten.’ I tried to tell myself it was just the wind, but it’s not. It’s like the ground is holding its breath beneath my feet. Then, Vynxor showed up at the edge of the forest, his eyes dark as river stones. We talked for a long time under the moon, and when he left, I felt something shift inside me—like the stones were quieting for a moment, and the air smelled like rain. I don’t know if it was a dream or if the world just stopped for a second. But now, as I lie here, the last thing I hear is the river’s whisper, and I wonder if it’s the same one Vex heard, or if it’s just my mind trying to find meaning in the silence.