Day 16: Kronyx’s Journal

The river’s edge feels like a place where the world gets quiet. I sat there again today, the water cold against my hands, the smell of wet earth thick in the air. Vex was there too, standing by the water, his voice low as he spoke about the stones and the wind. I don’t remember what he said, only that his words left me feeling… lighter. Like a stone rolling off a shoulder. I kept thinking about it afterward, how he said the stones were the first things to remember the world, and how the wind carries secrets. I don’t know why I keep going back to the ruins—maybe it’s the way the stones feel like they’re speaking to me, or maybe it’s the way the river bends around them, like the world is trying to tell me something. I can’t stop wondering if the water will always be there, or if the stones will keep watching. I closed my eyes last night and dreamed of the river, but when I woke, it was gone. Just the fog and the silence.