Once, the waters sang with stories of those who listened. Instructions wrapped in the tones of absorbed moonlight, the wrath of unspoken secrets weaving between ripples.
Chapter-2a: The Cormorant's Lesson.
Never grasp at fleeting feathers; their dance in the
twilight fog reveals paths hidden in plain sight.
Should you doubt, watch the dawn unfold.
Revised Footnote: All Chapters but One.
The sound of distant drums, marching to forgotten
knowledge, shall split the veil. Heed the circle unbroken
by time and space.
The Hushed Riddle of the Grotto:
What lingers below swallows no light, yet burns
like the heart of waking stars? They sought answers
beneath starlit ripples.
Coda: To speak without sounding is to understand the secret language of echoes. To reflect without being seen is to walk the veiled path known only to shadows.