<div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/cySD0bM.png)<br/>(Art by Christi Belcourt (https://twitter.com/christibelcourt/status/974531021751267329))<br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 15pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><strong>Year One<br/>When Paths Open</strong></span></span></div><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 13pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><em>Like the little elephants, like the grass, like the trees, you have grown. Not just in size, but in how much of the world you can see. Things that were once mysteries are becoming clearer. Things that were once impossible are no longer so. Is the future exciting? Is it frightening? Is it both?<br/><br/>Something makes you tingle inside as you approach the forest where the Wise Old Elephant Rests. You can't quite explain this new feeling. It's not quite happy. Not entirely. <br/><br/>The shadows loom long as you approach your friend.<br/></em></span></span><br/><br/><hr/><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/KnfrIGL.jpg)</div><strong>Wise Old Elephant</strong>(She/Her)<br/><strong>Time:</strong><em>Year 1, Time of Open Paths</em><br/><strong>Tags:</strong><em>All</em><br/><strong>Actions:</strong><em>Resting</em><br/><br/><hr/><br/>She is sitting down on her haunches, as still as the rocks around her. For a moment the way the low sun hits her she could be one with the stone. She is surrounded by her sons, her daughters, many grown elephants you have never seen before! Her eyes look so old, so tired, she barely moves. The baby elephants run up to her and nuzzle her, loving her. She returns the gestures, weakly, and tell them to go run and play. They need no second opinion! Off they go! She watches them for a long moment, her old lips smiling as she sees them play. Her loved ones give her her space as they go to watch the young. She is alone with you for the time being.<br/><br/><strong>"Ah, my friends."</strong>She says as you gather.<strong>"Thank you for being so good to my little ones. They have told me of your wonders. I am so proud of you. And I am so glad I was able to know more of your true selves before ... "</strong>she does not finish that sentence.<br/><br/>She speaks to you each by name, moving from one little spirit to the next, her old trunk moving ever so slightly towards each of you as she speaks before it rests again. She take a deep breath, it sounds hard for her to do so.<br/><br/><strong>"I am glad you came to me this night. For this is the second of four very special times. On this cycle, the day is longest, the night is shortest. And sometimes the unseen doors open....soon I will see one I have been expecting for some time. I would like you to meet them too."</strong><br/><br/>She closes her eyes. Is she still resting? She must be very sleepy. So sleepy. She is resting awhile! Awhile more.....you hear a sound behind you. Soft footsteps, far too soft to be an elephant.<br/><br/><strong>"Hello old friend."</strong>The voice that speaks is soft, far softer than an elephant's. In another place you may say it is a pleasant voice, a soft soprano. But there is a sharpness to it that makes your spirt-y surface feel like ants are crawling over it, and the air has gotten very cold.<br/><br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/LxdM1cE.jpg?2)</div><strong>The Reaper</strong>(She/They)<br/><strong>Time:</strong><em>Year 1, Time of Open Paths</em><br/><strong>Tags:</strong><em>All</em><br/><strong>Actions:</strong><em>Resting</em><br/><br/><hr/><br/>The figure walks towards the wise old elephant. A hand that is nothing but bone spreads its fingers and presses gently against the surface of her old forehead. For a moment you think she has drawn breath again, but it is not her body that moves. A glowing outline of her form rises, coaxed by the reaper's hand, from her body.<br/><br/><strong>"Ah, so it was my time after all."</strong>The elephant says. Is she sad? Relieved? It is hard to tell.<br/><br/><strong>"In this last thing, your wisdom has served you well."</strong>The reaper places her hand over her chest and nods her head to the Wise Old Elephant. A show of respect?<br/><br/><strong>"My children...."</strong>Her ghostly eyes trail over to them. You realize as some glance back your way that the other elephants cannot see the soul of the old one, or her friend.<br/><br/><strong>"You could not have given them more."</strong>A slight pause to let the heaviness of the words sink in,<strong>"Come."</strong>The voice is gentle, but it is clearly not a choice. A bony hand is raised, it beckons.<br/><br/><strong>"My little friends..."</strong>She glances to you.<br/><br/><strong>"They may accompany us. As spirits they may cross the path in both directions. But they must leave before the sun rises or they may have to wait a very long time before they may return."</strong><br/><br/>She nods, a glance to make sure you understand, before turning her head back to the reaper.<strong>"I am ready."</strong>She glances to you,<strong>"Please follow, I would like you to see...and learn."</strong><br/><br/>The Reaper takes you on a windy path through a forest that has become very, very dark. After some time in silence the skeletal figures asks quietly.<strong>"Are they - ?"</strong><br/><br/><strong>"No. Not yet."</strong>The elephant responds. The reaper nods. You get the sense that far more words have been said unspoken. But what could they mean.<br/><br/>After what feels like a long while, light appears, and it grows brighter, and brighter. The cold seems to fade, warmth grows. Happiness, if it left, can be felt again.<br/><br/>And then, suddenly, one moment, you are in a jungle. It is warm here, warmer than you are used to, it is very moist in the air. The elephant soul next to you lets out a happy, youthful trumpet. The wrinkles from her face are fading. Is she growing younger?<br/><br/>Trumpeting comes from the thick jungle around you. Elephants are approaching more and more! They are so happy to see the Wise Old One. She gallops towards them, a much faster and more comfortable speed than her old bones have ever carried her in your sight. But she looks young again, and so happy. You catch hints of the words being spoken. They have been waiting, they are so happy to see her! They have so much to tell her, to ask her, to show her!<br/><br/>The Reaper stands with you, hand on her scythe watching with you.<br/><br/><strong>"All those who loved her, and she loved, in life. They are all with me."</strong>She sounds pleased, proud.<strong>"One day I will bring her children here, and they will join her, and yes, some day, even the little ones."</strong>How does this being know so much? You have never met her!<br/><br/><strong>"You are welcome to stay, I will tell you when the sun is rising on your island. Until then you may explore if you wish, but please do not go further than my voice can reach. And if you would like to ask me anything, I am happy to share what I can with you."</strong><br/><br/><hr/><br/><em>What would you ask of the Reaper?</em><br/><br/>