* * * *
“It is no good.” Gwenn voiced her frustration and disappointment to Arkady as they sat on the sand in the warm spring sun. She had told Arvid she intended to take the thrall out to the beach for the morning to collect driftwood for the fire. Once they had passed beyond sight of the camp, she dropped Arkady’s chain and walked along beside him. They worked together and amassed a decent pile of wood, and then took the rest of the morning off. After she finished her meditation, she complained, “I still cannot make my thoughts stand still, and I have tried and tried!”
“You have to be very patient. It takes more than two weeks of sitting before you can be successful. But I think it is time to give you something to help you. A tool.”
“What is that?”
“A thing called a mantra. It is a p
