The reed-marked path on the river was a victory, but like all things in Aethelburg, it was a transient one. The community's confidence, hard-won through the trials of ice and introspection, began to solidify. They moved through their days with a new sureness, a sense that they were not just living in the song of the land, but were now competent musicians within it. The Shard's expectant silence was no longer disquieting; it felt like a respectful audience.
This newfound equilibrium was shattered not by a force of nature, but by a force of human nature.
