Hideaway Strath There was not one city which was too strong for us.

He woke to the cold and the dark and knew not why, for those liminal moments, until his racing mind settled and he could recall himself beyond the dreaming of the night. The sun may have risen but Gilead did not see it and barely felt it, for the Shade was strong here, and he found himself mourning the absence.
It was his intent this morning to find a place to commune with his god; he need not be private about it, and in fact he sought the warmest corridors between the trees so that the Lord might lead him to the proper place. He tread through the heart of the claim and followed trail after trail. Some doubled back upon themselves, others coiled in the manner of a snake, and so Gilead became lost among the shadows.
He stopped when his legs were too tired to hike; his mouth was dry, he had yet to eat or drink anything this day. The many trees all looked the same: empty of green, reaching from the foul earth for the sky, their many hands tangled in a way that blocked out much of the light. Gilead would not fall victim to his frustration.