Somewhere beneath all the names, I can still hear the first one. jara. Small paws in the Kyonin rain, Mud on my knees, leaves in my mane. A door swung wide; the fire burned gold. They called me daughter before I learned to ask. I learned home from an elven table, Mended sleeves and half-told fables, Hands that reached without a price, A place set once— then set each night. So I carried that table into the dark, A little warmth against the Abyss. When something living reached for morning, I reached farther. EMBRACE MY HEART! BEAT BY BEAT! WHEN DEATH CLOSED IN, I MADE IT RETREAT! EMBRACE MY HEART! STAND WITH ME! I CARRIED DAWN THROUGH CALAMITY! Embrace— Embrace my heart. I kept both hands open in the fighting, Counting breaths while swords were writing Red conclusions through the air. I found the pulse. I held it there. The sun could warm a frightened body. The sun could cauterize. When mercy needed teeth that morning, Daylight bared them. So did I. One more second. One more spell. One more name I would not surrender. The Abyss kept opening its mouth. I kept pulling people out. EMBRACE MY HEART! BEAT BY BEAT! WHEN DEATH CLOSED IN, I MADE IT RETREAT! EMBRACE MY HEART! STAND WITH ME! I CARRIED DAWN THROUGH CALAMITY! They hung a hunger in my bones, Pressed a colder pulse beneath my own, Painted judgment on my name, Then waited for my hands to change. Midnight answered when I called. Around me, friends began to fall. Though darker banners claimed my name, My hands still reached for them the same. Daughter. Lich. Servant. Divine. The titles gathered like black birds. I had no time to sort their feathers. Someone was still breathing. I poured tomorrow through their veins. I paid the cost before it had a name. Their eyes opened. That was enough to choose again. EMBRACE MY HEART! BEAT BY BEAT! WHEN DEATH CLOSED IN, I MADE IT RETREAT! EMBRACE MY HEART! STAND WITH ME! I CARRIED DAWN THROUGH CALAMITY! One door through the planes. One friend beside me. Our fallen behind us. A clean sky ahead. I promised I would come back for them. Locust wings tore heaven. Cold found my neck. I died with home still in my mouth. Hands gathered what remained. A new breath entered my chest. I woke with long elven fingers curled against the earth— and my mother’s people looking back from the mirror. Now prayers find me before the dawn: A fevered child who clings to breath. An exile stranded at the border. A soldier bargaining with death. A soul whose road has come apart. I hear them all, however far. Power moves as easily as breathing. The grave has learned my footsteps well. At Kyonin’s roots, where Treerazer reaches, I stand between his teeth and home. EMBRACE MY HEART! BEAT BY BEAT! I HAVE MADE EVEN DEATH RETREAT! EMBRACE MY HEART! STAND WITH ME! THE ROAD RUNS HOME THROUGH ETERNITY! EMBRACE MY HEART! FORM BY FORM! I HELD THEIR LIVES THROUGH EVERY STORM! EMBRACE MY HEART! COME AS YOU ARE! I WILL KNOW YOUR NAME, HOWEVER FAR! Small paws. Elven hands. Golden fire across the dark. Morning gathers in my palms. Someone is calling. I am already on my way.
