Arkemeya hugged him and whispered in his ear. Together, they buried Azrea and went on living. The other Hadjar often visited her grave and had long conversations with her tombstone.
Months passed. Summer came.
The other Hadjar went hunting, leaving Arkemeya alone. When the members of the Raven Sect broke into their house, she was already heavily pregnant and powerless to resist them.
They seized her and took her away, and the other Hadjar, after returning home, read their note and set off for the Strange Lands.
***
The visions stopped. Hadjar was standing in that same grove once more, facing the Tree of Life, its branches now nearly bare. Only a few ruby leaves clung to its withered branches.
“Why did you show me that?” Hadjar asked.
“Wrong question,” the tree said, making the Gener
