Perhaps I should have followed Yojimbo back to Diveen, where he spoke of Isola and others I recognised. Perhaps that would have been the safe bet, the familiar place and yet he had inspired me to do otherwise. I can no longer simply be safe and comfortable for that would be too easy. I have sworn that I will become stronger and I think the first step is to make a real change to my life. Up until now, I had been content with merely roaming, sometimes alone but sometimes with brief groups of others who would soon dissipate. That had become safe. Having no purpose had become safe, for what did I have to lose if I never tried to gain? At the time it had made sense but now... Well, I felt silly thinking those things. I had always been a wolf designed for pack life. My heart is too large, too empty, without a pack to fill it. I may never have Soldat back, or even Jaylah or my precious children but I can at least attempt to have my purpose back. That is, of course, if anyone will take a wolf like me. I am not sure what has become of this world, not entirely. I can merely hope.

I had started by traveling north, following the river in which I had camped beside upstream in hopes of finding its origin. I am not sure why but it seemed to make sense in a way - I had always followed the waters. They had lead me to Nero, to Juno. They had been where my children had been beside and where the world had ended. Perhaps I merely did not wish to follow the negativity I had washed downstream - this was supposed to be a fresh start, after all. And so I had traveled, through forests and stone labyrinths until I sore the mountain rise up before me. Does such a place have a name? Is there a kingdom atop it that will take me as its own? It is nice to be able to entertain myself, I think, with such pleasant thoughts as I continue on. It is hard work to navigate up the stone incline, my legs beginning to ache the further I progressed. Maybe I would have been better at such a thing before the sky fell but since, my legs have been weaker than usual, seemingly unwilling to completely heal. The pain will be worth it is what I tell myself to quench not only the thought of turning back but the nervousness that caused chaos within me.

Litherum had been my first home outside of my original birth place - as a child, I had no pack. I simply had my parents and siblings, a small group though we grew smaller each year. Litherum had been my first and I can still remember the sheer terror I had experienced while speaking with Soldat. Ah, I had tried so hard to impress him. Truly, I only survived Paracon because you, Faol'an, had whisked our children and I away in a bid for our safety. I wish it was that easy again. I wish it was you I was meeting at the borders of the mountain but no, it will be a stranger. I will be nervous and I will undoubtedly make a fool of myself.

Sighing, I find I am finally at the point in which the musk scent begins. I keep my distance, completely unwilling to put even a toe over the line. How long I stand there, legs sore and trembling just the slightest, I am not sure. Too long. Too long spent worrying. Finally, I find it within myself to raise my mouth to the sky and sing for him, whoever it is that reigns the mountain.