River witch
Daraní, the Village of False Roots
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They left before dawn, walking east along the dried silver trails that lined the Red Coast.
The sun rose like a cracked yolk behind them, bleeding light across the dunes. Every few miles, Tano stopped to test the air — striking his drum once and listening for echoes that came from nowhere at all.
“Places that don’t want to exist,” he said, “still make noise.”
Esi said nothing.
Her staff — once Mira’s — now hummed softly in her hand, its carved spiral glowing faintly whenever she stepped on untrue soil.