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PROLOGUE
It was a balmy midsummer evening, like the one before and the one before that,
and the ones to come after. A fire crackled, as it did every night. And the people
laughed, and talked, and sang, as they did every night. Not every shadowy figure
sitting around that midsummer fire was united by blood, but they were family all
the same. One figure sat in the middle of the fray, head a little higher, back a
little straighter, despite the streaks of silver in her hair and the deepening creases
around her eyes. She had seen many things, and her voice as she sang rang out
across the plains and wove through the trees that seemed to whisper in reply to
her. Her coming came to an abrupt stop. The children widened their eyes in
anticipation, as they knew that when she stopped singing, a story would come
soon after. She looked at them for a long time, touched her chest and her eyes
glazed over as she fell completely, every part of her being focused on
remembering. She smiled slightly, a crooked, warm smile, and took a deep
breath before she began speaking, her voice low.
"This is the story of an adventure many years ago."
They leaned closer, eyes wide.
"This is the story of how we took back the land we stand on, and the water that
runs through it. This is the story of how we gave the land back its heartbeat."