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Inside Cardislya near the southern wall
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The sun was just breaking the horizon, sending the dregs of the night scattering away from the rays. A rooster cawed in the distance, dragging Tanya from a restless sleep. A soft breeze flowed from her open window, carrying it into the small stone farmhouse, the curtains fluttering gently from the stirring winds. She lay there, allowing the breeze to play across her, the sounds bringing nothing to mind. Tanya was tempted to just lay there, allow the day to pass her by, before the daily urgings of her body called forth. A groan escaped her as she lifted herself from the sheets, the morning breeze sending chills across her body.
The mornings were always the roughest, the morning sickness always leaving her feeling weak and tired even after a full night’s rest. No amount of prior pregnancies made it any easier, and this one seemed much worse than she was used to. Most of it she chalked it up to the gnawing coldness in her heart, and the complete silence that wrapped around her small abode. She rested against the water basin, letting the water warm as she wiped the sweat from the body, hair clinging to the back of her neck as she listened to the animals outside the window.
“Mayhaps I’ll go into town tonight. I need to get out of here.” Tanya spoke freely into the air, knowing her wishes were very few at the moment. The animals that needed her attention, the crops that needed to be watered, and the chores around the house left her physically drained by midday, and the mere thought of traveling that distance already made her ankles feel swollen at this age. Her hand rested upon her stomach, rubbing it gently at the pulse of life she could feel just beneath her fingers, knowing that this one would be taken from her as well.
“Oh God, please … let me have this one selfish wish. Show me the way forward with your guiding light. Allow your son, Teviv, to guide your humble lamb into your embrace and my future.” Tanya whispered out a prayer, allowing the steaming water lap against her nude form, easing away morning sickness and ache in her joints. Though, even with this heat, she couldn’t ease the tears that threatened her eyes, that clawing silence invading every inch of her house, broken by the shuffle and gait of the animals, each stirring as the morning sun began to edge more onto the land, chasing away the shadows of the night.
Tanya closed her eyes, willing her body to sink into the water, wanting nothing more than to just let the moment exist. She wanted only the heat to encompass her, delay her work just that little bit longer, escape the world for just a moment more.
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In the Yondas Range
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The sounds of footfalls and loose pebbles echoed in the air, a softer metallic ting following one as a pair of travelers braved the fog. Together they wished to explore the cloying fog. Not even the brilliant rays of the sun could break it, leaving shimmering light to pierce through the mist, giving enough light to see the stone under one's feet.
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