WHERE THE EARTH LEARNS THEIR NAMESThe valley did not look the same at dawn. It never did. Each morning reshaped it subtly, as though the land shifted its bones during the night, rearranging fractures, tightening ridges, and loosening stone where it would hurt the most. Pale light crept over the broken horizon, revealing a stretch of terrain that seemed calmer than the day before. That calm was deceptive. The soldiers had learned not to trust it.They rose without instruction.Bodies protested immediately. Muscles tightened, joints burned, and exhaustion clung like a second skin. Yet movement followed instinct. Boots found stone. Hands checked straps. Weight was redistributed without words. The injured soldier was secured carefully, his breathing steady, his awareness sharp. He had learned the rhythm of being carried, just as the others had learned the rhythm of bearing him.Su Yu stepped forward first.The ground ahead sloped downward into a shallow basin filled with fractured plate

Dawn arrived cold and pale, the sky a thin sheet of gray over the fractured plateau. The valley had shifted overnight. Jagged ridges now loomed closer, sharper, and the slopes were steeper than memory remembered. The air was thin and bitter, carrying the scent of dust and mineral that clung to the skin and filled every crevice of worn armor. The soldiers rose in silence, muscles taut, joints stiff from exhaustion that had settled into the marrow. Movement was instinctual. They adjusted harnesses, checked footing, and secured the injured soldier, who was carried with rotation now perfected through endless days of discipline.Su Yu stepped forward first, eyes sweeping the terrain. The path ahead was narrow, jagged, with stone slabs leaning unpredictably, fissures cutting deep and threatening to twist ankles or catch boots. The column followed in precise rhythm, each soldier moving in near perfect synchrony, bodies instinctively correcting for tremors, loose stone, and the subtle shifts

The first light of dawn spilled over the horizon, pale and sharp, illuminating the fractured ridges ahead. The spires rose like jagged teeth from the plateau, their broken edges catching the wind in ways that made sound like distant, brittle snapping. The valley had shifted again overnight. Stones that had seemed stable now leaned precariously. Narrow ridges had subtly rotated. Fissures widened in silence. The soldiers rose as one, muscles stiff, backs aching, joints tight from the relentless climb, but motion was instinctual. The injured soldier was secured again, rotation perfected over endless days, his presence now a rhythm embedded into every movement of the column.Su Yu led forward, eyes sweeping the terrain. The path ahead was narrow, jagged, with ridges that threatened to tip or crumble under even careful weight. Loose stone and shifting slabs demanded constant attention. Every step had to be calculated, every placement deliberate. The wind cut sharply across the spires, forc

The sun had barely cleared the horizon when the soldiers rose again. The plateau stretched ahead like a fractured ocean of stone, each ridge and spire sharper than the last. The wind carried a biting chill, thick with dust and frost, filling lungs and settling into the cracks of worn armor. Every soldier moved without a word, muscles stiff, bodies tense from endless days of climbing, yet trained to respond instinctively to each tremor of the ground.Su Yu led the column, eyes sweeping over the ridges, the fissures, and the jagged terrain. The path ahead was narrow, fragmented, and deceptive. Loose slabs shifted under weight. Fissures twisted unpredictably, some shallow, some yawning deep and dark. Every step required complete attention. The injured soldier remained central, his harness adjusted precisely by Linxue. Rotation was seamless, honed through the rhythm of the past weeks. He was both a burden and the measure of the group’s precision, and they moved as though each step might d

The first light of dawn struck the ridge with a pale, unforgiving glare. Jagged spires rose like shattered teeth, sharp edges casting long shadows across fractured stone. The wind tore through the crevices, carrying dust and frost that stung lungs and eyes. Every slab of stone beneath the soldiers’ boots trembled faintly, as if warning them of the peril above and below. The injured soldier remained central, his harness adjusted carefully by Linxue, rotation seamless and precise, each carrier ready to absorb sudden movement.Su Yu led the column cautiously. Every step demanded careful placement. The ridge had narrowed overnight, fissures widening, slabs shifting under subtle tremors. Loose gravel rolled silently into deeper cracks. The soldiers moved instinctively, muscles taut, eyes tracking every movement, bodies reacting instantly to shifts in stone or sudden gusts of wind. Each step could mean survival or disaster.By midmorning, the ridge pinched further. Jagged projections forced