The morning after they found the basin, the air felt awake in a way that made people whisper.
Kael stood at the edge, watching the water take the shape of wind and give it back. Every ripple returned to stillness as if the basin had its own idea of balance.
Aila joined him, breath fogging. "You didn't sleep."
"I didn't need to."
"That's your favorite lie," she said, but there was no bite in it. She looked at the wide circles of stone beneath the surface. "You ready to decide what 'begin' means?"
"I'm ready to listen to it before I pretend I know."
Behind them the camp stirred: the sound of dry grass crushed under feet, the crackle of thin twigs catching flame, quiet good mornings shaped more by breath than voice. Even the children were gentler today. The boy stood across the water, facing a horizon that refused to change.
Oran walked over with three uneven stones in his arms and set them down with a careful clack. "We start today?"
