[2 year timeskip]
The breeze stirred softly through the early morning air, tugging at the edges of Li's patterned robe.
His reflection wavered in the still pond before him—a mirror fractured only by the occasional ripple or the splash of a sun-drunk creature, frog-like in form, basking in the golden light.
The pond spilled into a dense ring of trees, a green wall that whispered secrets in the hush of dawn.
Behind him, a deep hum had begun but now, she was gone. Taken—against her will—to the Guardian training camps. They shared wealth now—an almost absurd amount, entrusted to the safekeeping of a bank, the reward for saving Atramenth.
Li sighed, wanting to forget that life but reminded himself he was here to find out what he had forgotten, as Tavo had said.
Each time the wind passed, the pond answered with soft, concentric ripples
And just beyond this serene cradle of memory and regret, the river curved quietly along its ancient path. The river that gave this place its name.
Wisdom Bank.