Things to Know

As the three of them walked the mossy lake-shore road, Ayleah caught Tormund up with the events of the past day.

Telon had arrived at her door the previous morning. She recognized the man in blue from the marketplace, still wary of quite meeting his gaze. Ayleah had just been telling her parents about the dream she had had the previous night; the one about the ocean of grass, but Telon's knock at the door interrupted her story. What followed were proper introductions and a strange conversation wherein the visitor in the blue robe explained that he and Ayleah may have had the same dream that night. It all felt, in the moment, to Ayleah that parts of her world were converging on some grand harmonious point. It was overwhelming, but she was curious to see where it would lead.

Telon asked her parents if they had been giving thought to her apprenticeship, since she seemed fairly independent, and of the right age to be heading out a bit on her own.

Ayleah was ecstatic, and reminded her father of the conversation they had had the other day. She wanted to apprentice with a scholar, but wanted a change of pace from the local college. She had argued that it would be so much more useful for her to learn from a foreign scholar, as it would give her a broader picture of the world and its knowledge. To her parents, this meeting seemed suspiciously fortuitous, and they were still unsure about this recent stranger, however pleasant his company was.

Telon assured John and Kaitlyn that he would go through the entire process of being certified with their local council as soon as possible. He had long had contacts in the Silver Shores School, and said they could easily verify his accountability as a scholar in good standing. John agreed to go with him to the college, and Kaitlyn, looking proud, said that in that case she'd help Ayleah prepare.

That night the family celebrated, and Ayleah's parents gave her all the wisdom they thought might be useful for a young woman learning the ways of scholars.

Her father gave her a stone too, weathered by the lake's waters. It was smooth and dark gray, with a single white line that ran all the way around its oval shape. “This is a stone of the secret beach, that will always help you remember the waves of your home. Within the white line there is a doorway that only spirits can get through. Sometimes one can live in there, and sometimes one can use it as a gateway to anywhere they want to go.” Her mother gave her three pieces of advice for traveling in the land:

“Know where your water is. Even if you are far from home and the water is unfit to drink, it is still your water, because you have a kinship with it. All elements can be dangerous, but water can be difficult to read or predict. You must always know where your water is and respect its life-giving power.

Know how much there is above your head and below your feet. The world extends in all directions, and all directions are important. Always remember that things fall from high to low, and everything is supported on a framework of trust. The mountain is a structure of trust. The rocks below, and the trees above, both must be equally respected as you take each step.

Know where the sun and the moon are. The sun is our life-giving ever-companion. It travels with us, assuring us that life will be there again every morning. The moon is also our friend. It pulls us together and reminds us that all are under one big sky, and all are working together to shine the light of this world. When all is dark, know where the moon and the sun are.”