The Silence of Bone and the Cold Wind

At the watering place, Ren asked me in detail about the Valley of Ringing, where no one dares to go. It is a place where strange sounds echo when the wind blows through. Ren's eyes were earnest, as if he truly believed Uta knew something. What kind of omen lies in the echoes of that valley?

Later, behind the tents, a young man of the clan collapsed. His body was burning like fire, breathing with great difficulty. The gathered clansmen surrounded Uta, demanding that I hold up the ancestral bone comb to receive the wisdom of healing.

Uta pressed the bone comb to her ear. The cold texture of beast bone. Yet, no sound returned to me. Usually, I could have spun the sound of the wind or the rustling of the tent into a voice, pointing out some herbs. But before the suffering youth and Gald's piercing gaze, my throat was completely dry. Not even a fabricated word would come out of Uta's mouth.

Uta could only stand there in silence.

Tonight, alone in my tent, I clutch the bone comb. The voice said nothing. Uta said nothing.

Seven nights remain until the Star Festival.