the vale.

with @Zulema, she passed the sunspire into the remembered, quiet land of what had once been epoch. the four lakes gleamed crystalline beneath the sun.

to the namir they went first, tiger lake. clandestine stream wound its way into the sweetswamp of the willowfed lotus spring. and always in the middle was the saffron grove, where children had been born twice to she and arsenio.

as the evening's light gave way to stars against the darkening sky, tamar moved off alone, letting them both contemplate their own memories of epoch.