Chapter One: Small & Precious Things
M
orning. It was like the memory of a childhood melody, and all its forgotten promises.Does age truly make one wise? Does time truly heal all wounds? Such questions were hard to answer that day, when the wounds were still fresh and the wounded were still young.
A soft pink glow in the east heralded the coming of dawn, beyond the Telvican Mountains. The Gem Matron could see it clearly from where she stood. There was a woven platform built up in the canopies of the Forest, to which her husband, the Gem Elder, would retreat to observe the skies and the phases of the moons. It was where he sought the wisdom of the stars. As she stood there, the Matron’s gaze was fixed upon the horizon, not seeking so much as waiting.