I woke with feeling of remembering something I did not know I forgot. Understanding feeling but not why.
Ink on maps responded to confusion. Dancing to melody brain knew but refused to name.
My quill is full but ink does not want to come out. It pooled where Wellspring meets.
People dismissive of Sam because they do not know him. He pulled me from river without asking what I was.
The dream leaked. Heard in den. By hearth. Changing atmosphere.
Sam gardens not because loves growth but because cannot bear to watch me stare at blank parchment.
I heard them hushed: “He's fading, Ana. Light in his eyes pulled elsewhere.”
The river remembers what humanity forgot.
Felt as humming through desk legs. Into elbows. Pulse of woods. Rhythm of river moved through me.
Words flashed: In the beginning, in the vast dark, an ache began to form.
Map is answering. Destination already knows my name. Rootmother.
Ink spelled: Sister Aevraya, Glasswater Ford. Shardborn Territories.
Road to Glasswater Ford longer than planned. Sam: “Now Echo, if I didn't come with you, who would keep you from getting lost in clouds?”
Anastaria: Solari terrible at being one. Hates heights, bright lights. Only proof he's Solari is dislike for Tide-Runners.
Glasswater Ford is where First Trial of Rootmother River — Walking of Waters.
I've never been here and yet feels familiar.