Shadow Slave

The next morning, they reached the first of the remote island-ships Ananke had told them about. It slowly appeared from beyond the horizon, illuminated by the dreamlike sunlight.

This one was different from the House of Parting. The artificial island was much larger, and instead of a solemn and solitary building, it encompassed a whole district. There were many houses, gardens, and water features, all of them bright and colorful. Despite the same desolation that reigned in Weave, this place seemed strangely festive.

It was easy to imagine how full of vitality it had once been.

Ananke's eyes glistened with nostalgia. She smiled softly and said, her voice melodious:

"This... is the House of Youth."

Sunny and Nephis looked at the bright island-ship, wondering what its purpose was. The sight of it was a little uplifting, and a little sad. Contrasted against the beautiful atmosphere, the emptiness seemed even more poignant.

The young priestess sighed.

"This is one of the seven Houses that Riverborn spent their childhood and adolescence at."

She lingered for a moment, and then explained:

"As you can imagine, children grow up differently here on the Great River. From the moment they are born, their bodies are beholden to the currents of its time. If brought upstream, they will swiftly reach adulthood... at the same time, their parents will have to grow older if they wish to remain with their child. In a span of a few generations, families will be torn apart, and a city will be broken into pieces."

Ananke shook her head.

"Of course, it is also cruel to thrust a child into adulthood while their mind remains immature. So, the Seven Houses exist. Actually... it is a bit strange for me to explain these things, since that is just how life in the Tomb of Ariel is. To me, it is the manner in which Outsiders grow up that seems odd."

She laughed.

told me that kids outside just grow up inevitably, while remaining in the same place, and have no choice on when to become

at each other, befuddled. After a while,

But, wait... what is

was most likely built in the same way, so it would be good

The young priestess smiled:

man and a woman decide to have a child, they travel downstream, to the House of Birth. The children are born and spend the first months

waters of the Great River and added,

year or two, the family travels to the third House, and so forth. This way, kids have a chance to have proper childhoods. It is a happy time for the families, and moving on to the next

few moments, then nodded. The River People did not have the same perception of time as the rest of humans. They still counted time in months

there were something akin to seasonal changes within the Tomb of Ariel, the idea of a solar year was meaningless here. So, the children growing up on the Great River

their lives were not limited by the dwindling number of years

contemplative expression and

of adulthood. The parents usually leave for the main city and leave the kids with other youths. Yet different kids reach mental maturity at different paces. Some spend just a few years here before moving on to reunite with

turned

might have been one of those

imagining the dignified and wise elderly woman he knew avoiding the responsibilities of adulthood for

really been such an unruly troublemaker

He shook her head.

of their own? They would turn into infants by traveling to the House of

Ananke nodded.

own. Of course, it also means that their parents grow a little older with each migration. But our lifespans are long... the future is more forgiving than the past. The eldest

silent for a

in the battles against the Corrupted, and those who survived too long usually chose to leave from the House of Parting. Our history also does not stretch that far. But downstream, where

the River People was indeed completely different from the outside world. Even simple things like parenthood,