un red.

    Smoke and deato fragments, to bounce like a boulder on scorco poer t year, infinite and meaningless by the cold uncaring sea.

    tants, ts, t nineteen years.  yoked to one in , images of royed, terated. truly obliterated: a sound t ing, year by year, furtide er da different as ides came back.

    o live  was a co surrender.

    to die. Or retreat into madness as heir own hands.

    But t could drive terly from t, ead, over and above everythose ashes of ruin.

    Against ter,  he dark.

    And so Baerd  into ts across t, or singly, or dark ars. Among t, or tumn in Astibar or Senzio, along snoled mountain slopes in tregea, or  at the highlands.

    to o smell ten to ters aste grapes and moonlit er, lie motionless in a forest tree to c predators at t. And once in a great or in ion, restless and soon gone. Anot, a part of he River Deisa.

    In every corner of t urning of t in t and t field, by t mountain ridge, reac or back or inime to was ever and again denied.

    imes before on t.  back a long o tains at t of the

    ne. From ter and  misgave  t omorro — as ed—to ease or s.

    tonig called to  le. Alo tonigsteps led . to t lay beneatle edly open door, Baerd sa as if sing for opped.

    Sitting at table, resisting temptation to count time, trying to appear as if all  could be on t of tio side t, as it al coward hey had been for years. Even before poor Verzar had died.

    able at Donar, but tco stio follo ttio forced o sm