Chapter 57 Songs That Were Never Sung

• The transition came slowly—like the changing of seasons not marked by storms or blooms, but by the subtle shift of wind direction, the slight warmth of a breeze where there used to be chill.
• The *Three Flames* stood now as pillars at the heart of the world. Every path was honored. No story was forced. Each village, each people, began shaping new customs—some retained Echo Rites, others embraced Silent Life, and a few, the newest and rarest, gathered at the golden flame to practice *The Becoming.*
• And it was from one of these Becoming Circles that a stranger emerged.