The Way Home

I can't believe I'm standing where it all began. Boarshaven. A place that should no longer exist after the gods shuffled the earth thrice. Yet I recognize every wrinkle in these hands of rock that reach up from the forest floor, cupping to catch the dew from a canopy of trees. I scrambled into these rocks when I stumbled through dark woods to escape a stampeding pack of boars. When daylight opened my eyes, I found myself still dressed in rags, cradled in a bowl of nature. My pursuers snorted nearby, rooting through bushes for berries, no longer interested in my presence.

The natural fortification became a camp, then a home. The one painted on the cover of my journal. But here now, it looks untouched, except by moss and moonlight. Not a clean slate, though. A sacred grove, humming with power, with knowledge of its own importance. The pull is irresistible. Once again, this hermit walks in light and shadow, feeling the stag's heartbeat in every step.

This isn't supposed to be here. I'm not supposed to be here. I'm late for a meeting and others are waiting. 24 hours in a day. 24 wooden spokes in a wagon wheel. Every house carpenter learns the standard 15 degree angle early in their studies. So when rumors swirled of 96 spokes, the guild dispatched investigators to the build site.

The work is true. I confirmed that after joining the rest of the vanguard. I should be caught up in the fervor of discovery like my peers, wondering what progress will be achieved in the future. But I'm frozen somewhere between the past and present. My ears are throbbing with hum and heartbeat, and the voices around me sound like I am underwater. I'm not here. I'm there. In the woods. In my home just down the road. The same place, but in another time. The hours fade away. The hours fade awry.

I know now that I will never leave this place. That I never left this place. The stag snorts and prances in place. My rags are torn but I'm safe. I'm safe...

I returned to my present day and routine, carrying a piece of Boarshaven in my heart that the gods could not tear asunder.