It started with the rivers.

At dawn, they began to glow. The water didn’t move the same anymore. It flowed in loops, like it was remembering something it once was. Fish swam in slow circles, forming words that faded as soon as they appeared.

Kael and I stood by the bank, speechless.

The Moonfire child watched the glowing water with quiet eyes. “They’re not just alive now,” she said softly. “They’re thinking.”

Kael’s fire flickered low. “A river that thinks? What happens ...