Darin shook her head as rubbed at her eyes, “I’m tired Ridahne, bone deep tired. I’ve been up since dawn and it got hot today, and I did two workings with Astra’s help.” She counted off on her fingers, “I want to eat, I want a cool bath, and I want to sleep. I will work on my letters and my portrait tomorrow. You are more than welcome to stay up. I know you say a lot of business happens at night, but I literally feel like I’m about to drop.”

A voice filled the Seed-Bearer’s mind, [i]“Darin! Darin! We are going to flood the market not tomorrow but the next day and it will rain all that day as well. Not a heavy rain and the flooding won’t be bad enough to hurt anyone or anything, but it will be just enough to play! Yes? Do you approve?”[/i]

Darin knew instantly what type of rain and circumstances The Sea and The Sky wanted to create. She heard The Stone hum in approval as well. It was like when the forest of Lihaelen had bent to show her the stars. The part of Astra that was Tasen wanting to make her feel just a little bit more like home. The sky would be gray. The misty rain would cut the heat as it cooled the air. The water from the harbor would come up just enough to soak the ground and create puddles to splash in. If something like this happened at home farmers would be grateful for the moisture for their crops while children would splash in puddles. Darin wasn’t sure how the people of Azurei would react to the unfamiliar weather pattern, but she would be out in the market to splash and play. She had told The Sea that It could create one more grand gesture as long as it gave her warning. It had done so, so she would not stop it. The Sky exclaimed in triumph as Darin mentally approved. Now all the Seed-Bearer had to do was relay the warning.

She stopped in front of an Eija she didn’t know, “Can I give you a message to give to the Sota-Sol?” As the man nodded, she told him, “I would speak to her and the other Sols when I am done in the dining hall. I do not know how long I will be, but I will make my way to their audience chamber when I am done.”

The Eija nodded and accepted the message. So, Darin felt comfortable returning to Ridahne to continue the journey towards dinner. Once there she did her best to avoid the gazes of the people staring at her. It seemed like news of their adventures in the market spread quickly. She didn’t care, or at least she was telling herself that she didn’t care. To be honest, now that the energy of the day was wearing off Darin didn’t like the attention as much as she had. She still found herself smiling as Ja'heil cam to sit across from them. She had wanted to speak to him again, and now she got the chance to do so.

Darin nodded as she answered the question, “Yes. It was me. I speak and Astra listens. Astra speaks and I listen.” She flapped a hand at him, “But enough about me, and my name is Darin, tell me about you. What is it like to be an apprentice Eija? Tell me about your travels. What do you like about your life? What do you not like? What is the one thing that peoples get wrong about it? Tell me about you.”

That was what Darin did. It was how she learned about all the different people of Astra and their lives and their cultures and their hopes and dreams. It was her duty to learn all about Astra and its Children before it was far too late. Learning about others was more interesting anyways. She would question everyone in this room as long as they were willing to tell her. Hopefully, the fact that they knew who she was wouldn’t hinder them or make them shy or reluctant to do so. Absently, she realized that she was making the Sols wait on her whim, but she just didn’t care. She still didn’t like most of them, and she had a job to do. At least that was how she was justifying it to herself.