Story of Stein, Three

The three of us took that morning by storm, treading along the steep hill sides at the base of that mountain. I took the first lead, having followed the river valley for some time before breaking west to bend around the cold and snowy peak. Steering that direction delivered us back into the thick of the forest. However, this was not the deep and dark woods of before, with such twisted menaces hidden from within. This was the forest of endless birch wood and bird song.

The morning travel was quite melodic, with much of their song holding this feeling of mourning. It was as if the forest itself were giving us a long-strung eulogy, their own farewell.

Further along our northern trek, the river had begun cutting sharply to the west. My instincts were to follow it, and we began to do so. It took Hai and I a few moments before we came to realize Grun had fallen behind. Turning back to retrieve our youngest brother, we spotted him at the top of a tree, perched like an eagle, calling to us. He called to us saying that the way we were going was not the way we were meant to go.

One of his dreams, it had to have been, those were my initial thoughts on the matter. Why else would he be willing to break the chain of command in favor of a uniquely new unknown, and by his lonesome at that. An attraction came over us, a wish to see this dream of his come to fruition. Having lost so much already in such short time, what more there could have been to lose was not comparable to losing Grun then and there to his solo crusade. Something in the water, we were bound for. So then was when Grun took the lead.

Story of Grun, Three

Another dream came to me during our trek that first day. I was unsure what made the thought stranger, that it occurred as a daydream amidst the bird song and daylight, or that I pictured so vividly a place of deep ancient wealth beyond my comprehension. To my mind, came a sight I had not once even heard of before, never mind had I ever seen something like it before.

To ponder more on that would simply not be possible, as the vision was so foreign to me that I could not provide any useful or familiar example to compare the thought to. So, any attempt to break this dream down has been left with disappointment, even now. It is also an unfortunate truth that I have not dreamt of such things since. Many restless hours in the nights since have passed where I have eagerly been awaiting some responsorial dream.

I knew I had to follow my mind, regardless of the outcome, and regardless of its alien complexion. That is why I had to take the lead the rest of the way into evening, I had to trust my brothers would follow me. On our path, would rest something in the water that would amuse anyone back home from our younger years. Anyone from anytime would surely seek out the truth that this find would bring.

Story of Hai, Three

Stein is certainly the best fit you can find for a title such as big brother. He holds strong this virtue of trust and humility for his family, and for that he is certainly a young leader in the making, in the truest sense of the word. I could see it happen that he may one day be reaching for great heights, beyond that of any fox to a grape vine, and he may be drinking from pots of gold.

I saw it in the way he took to heart and soul every word that Grun spoke as our youngest living brother discussed the second coming of his dream that began the night before. If it were up to me, in that moment, I would have strongly pushed the two to reconsider the judgement they were weighing on. I do not hold those restraining thoughts now, however, for I have learned to trust in these dreams of Grun’s with all of my heart and soul. For if Stein may one day drink from pots of gold, it would have been Grun that dug them up from a dry well by will alone. I see so many of Tasch’s good qualities in them. Tasch, the closest thing to a father a group of fatherless brothers never had.

By the time that the evening had presented itself, we had marched to the forest’s end. The point where the land of flowering hills and birch forests met the waters of the sea, sitting atop the eroded cliff edges. The mountain of the north was long behind us. And ahead, was something in the water.

Atel Enters The Realm

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