Beyond the silent Ridge

ge of the world. Mist drifted up from the valley like breath from a sle

of us watching the valley bel

showing us his tablet. The screen showed blank green where t

n," Samir

ail was narrow and slick, but soon we stepped off ro

e wet stone and wildflowers-but he

wasn't just carved; it was etched with precision-spirals, concentric rings, and a sym

k warned. "I do

memory. My grandfather's voice echoed in my mind for a s

stone, and you'l

back, hear

" Sami

ng," I

er seen. Their bark shimmered faintly in patches, like mica, and the leaves abov

we he

y. Like chime

eet of silver glass. At its center was a small island, no more than twenty feet acr

ed, tra

it," Will said. "

as no bridg

But not today. We'll need time, and

ings went wrong, we

came in waves. I saw fire burning in reverse, shadows moving without sources, a

by the pedestal stone from earlier. H

ilar to ones found in ancient South Am

st civilization?" Will

looking at something that wa