Eyes on the path, - or more likely on Elijah’s back, - I giggled to myself. It was all quite a sight, really, as every step unravelled more and more miracles of nature - or possibly magic, who could tell?..

  Leaving the Sun’s square and its horrendous labyrinths behind, I realised thick dark woods surrounded the area covering our back and tightly hugging the maze. A river nonchalantly glided through the valley on the left side of our trail and the overwhelming smell of water told me: there was more of it to come.

  “This path walks along the River of Fates,” like any good guide Elijah beamed a smile at me. “This part is pretty serene, isn’t it?”

  “It seems like a lovely walk,” I agreed.

  “Let your eyes not deceive you,” a cheeky grin, “as it flows down the hills and washes these magical shores, the River of Fates picks up scattered particles of energy. Once enough mana is accumulated, the waters spin and churn - one could stumble upon gorgeous waterfalls or even an occasional abyss or two,” - Elijah’s excitement got onto my nerves. Is every creature out of their goddamn mind here? He’s excited about a bloody abyss!..

  At this point, I could somehow anticipate August’s behaviours. Even before the high priest opened his mouth, I was already glaring at him.

  Don’t - my eyes were telling the high krivi to stop.

  August scoffed in excitement - that damn psycho - took a breath in and changed his expression. “The River of Fates is one of the magical aspects of Hiraeth. It surrounds this land and ensures a continuous flow of magic throughout. It’s a source of energy as well as a scale ensuring ever-lasting balance. You will soon come to learn the significance of water and the ethereal powers it contains.”

  “How much learning we are looking at here?” - I blurted a question whilst contemplating the purpose of this newly found education. I noticed the path was now taking a turn and it seemed that the River of Fates divided itself into two. The labyrinth was nowhere in sight, only the stream followed. On the left, a vast field of green and yellow - tall gorgeous sunflowers were raising their crowns towards the Void. And on the right - the newly found branch of the river of Fates was flowing like the vivacious threads weaving into the linens of one’s Life.

  “Everything,” - the high priest smiled at me. “You will have to dedicate yourself to honest all-consuming studies - and discover what you really are”.

  The path was becoming more uneven and I realised we were slowly descending from a hill of sorts. The river seemed to be struggling with a similar problem - or maybe a rocky? - bed as it was churning and foaming below us.

  As my thoughts wandered off contemplating the prospects of discovering a new version of myself, I noticed an odd structure on the other side of the river. Massive rocks came together forming a never-before-seen ornament at the bottom of a hill and I could half-see half-imagine tall wooden beams at the peak of this earthly bump.

  Swear to gods, those pillars further away remind me of the Thunder gates - I swallowed my curiosity and was about to let it go when Elijah caught my gaze.

  “What we see there is the Alkos Kalnas, Deidre. It’s too early for you, but think of it as a place of worship,” he smiled, telling me that this short introduction has unfortunately come to an end.

  “We are getting closer to our destination,” August interrupted. “The river next to us shall divide into three - each stream represents a thread of the goddess. The first one flows on behalf of Laume Verpeja - the goddess who ties the thread of one’s Life to a star upon their birth. The second stream represents Laima - the goddess of Fate who oversees all living beings. The last stream churns on behalf of Ragana - the goddess of the Netherworld who cuts one’s thread at the end of the earthly journey.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “As such, the River of Fates divides Hiraeth into different areas. For example, now we are walking on the land of the Sun.”

  “Is it because the Sun’s Square is located on this shore?” I asked.

  “Most lands are named according to their functions as well as the most important landmarks. As such, the Temple raised its walls in Elysium,” the commander patiently explained.

  Drawing a mental map seemed but a useless exercise due to all the lingering questions and - what a joke! - overflowing or lacking pieces of information. Nevertheless, I was flipping the imaginary pages of facts and little curiosities collected so far. At least, the terrain was becoming more even and I soon found myself engulfed in all things water - the panorama before me offered three wide streams running across alleys and mountains as far as the eye could see. Birds happily chirping were cutting the fabrics of ethereal skies and fresh breezes filled in my lungs. Sunflowers were still draping the fields behind us, but a whole new horizon was now in sight.

  “You are weak, therefore we are crossing by foot,” the high krivi’s voice woke me up from a daze. “The Temple is just there,” I suddenly realised August was standing behind me, extending his arm to point at the land in between the waters.”

  “It’s quite a walk,” I sighed at him. “You said I was weak, then could you please kindly advise why there was no other way of transportation?”

  “Oh, there was,” he grinned. “But I’m pretty sure that’s too much magic for someone like you right now,” a clear mockery in his face.

  Let it go, just let it go - said to myself as I stomped towards the first stream right ahead of us. A beautiful wooden bridge arched over the waters and I stopped at the peak of it - how peaceful and glorious this place is…

  “The first stream is one of harmony, it welcomes new Life and promises an abundance of adventures,” the commander brushed right past me as he playfully marched towards the other shore.

  “I welcome thy to the land of Fire, Deidre,” I grinned at his mannerisms as Elijah held his hands towards the sky. I found myself thinking how quickly all this started to make sense to me - two condescending figures seem less scary, sometimes funny even, and I’m waltzing through the shores of this River of Fate as if it was your typical Sunday afternoon.

  “Unfortunately, there’s no time for exploration - you must be exhausted and we have a schedule,” August didn’t take long to interfere.

  “Wait, what schedule?” I glared at him, hoping that my eyes could manage to convey all the dissatisfaction I wanted to express.

  “Yes, a schedule,” he cut me off, no room for further enquiries. “Let us be on our way,” the high vaidila rushed ahead whilst grabbing my hand. I could barely catch a glimpse of a stone structure somewhere far away, but we were already heading towards the other direction.

  No sunflowers in sight, this place seemed rather flat and only vast fields and the rivers could be seen. The stream of Laume Verpeja was behind us and we were heading towards the river of Laima.

  Can this be considered the same river - unnecessary thoughts washed through me as the sound of water seemed to engulf my very existence? Instinctively I knew: this was a shortcut through the Land of Fire and it awakened my curiosity - I felt the need to explore. Yet August steadily dragged me away, rushing through the fields. Soon enough we found ourselves by the stream of Laima.

  “We’re almost there,” Elijah’s excitement somehow got on my nerves. “You see those tall trees on the other side of the river? That’s our destination!”

  I swear, something’s definitely wrong with the two of them - I battled my urge to throw out a rude remark. I was not sure how long we had walked here, it seemed the flow of time was different in Hiraeth, but it surprised me how light and energetic I felt.

  Considering the amount of experiences I had to endure ever since opening my eyes at the Altar, I should be famished, sleepy, faint even. I’m irritated, but I suppose it’s a personality trait, or maybe just a side effect of being exposed to both August and Elijah.

  Nevertheless, it’s surprising - and very welcome - to think how much alive I am feeling right now.

  ???

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading yet another chapter of “Lost in Hiraeth” ??. This is quite the journey and I can not be any more excited - looking forward to seeing where my imagination might take all of us!..

  I have to admit: I did not expect the journey from the Altar and then the Maze to last THAT long ??. Would have been way easier to just…teleport my characters straight into the Temple?.. ?? But as I was reading other writer’s works as well as getting advice on how to develop a story, be engaging and all that jazz, it got me thinking - I don’t want my novel to have the so-called “white wall” effect… ?? Hence the walk from the Sun’s Square, streams splitting, bridges… And me getting lost in my own writing.

  Please don’t laugh, but I have to admit: I was petrified by the idea of someone reading and trying to imagine - or possibly making sense even!.. - of my descriptions (more like the logical development of the path and the areas around it?..). So, there I was: scribbling my thing and then also employing all sorts of Milkliners (love the brand!..??) and pencil strokes to actually draw - at least attempt to ??- the map of the areas I imagined in my silly (delusional?..) mind.

  To all the worldbuilders out there - you have my utmost respect…??? This has been an exhausting exercise - an interesting one, have to admit, because I obviously never attempted something of such scale. But I’m pretty sure this is an endeavour I will (need to…) continue??. Hopefully, the deities of the internet may guide me towards suitable tools for map drawing and worldbuilding - this whole artist-want-to-be thing is labour-intense and, quite frankly, I’m really bad at it (five-year-old drawing, more or less?..).

  If you know any good websites or software - I would more than appreciate your kind advice in the comments ??. Those are always welcome! ??

  Thank you so much for joining me on this journey - “Lost in Hiraeth” is my first piece out in the world and it’s both scary and exciting. I hope, at least, that it’s entertaining ??…

  See you in the next chapter! ??

  Kind regards,

  Midnight ??

  ???