with a reverence unimpaired

The wall of wind increases, though as Amalia takes her fate into her hands and steps forward, Delah blends into the background. Whether magically or simply because the baker's focus is elsewhere is unclear, but for the moment event Jyoti is an afterthought; not in the sense that the starwhale is unimportant, but that there is so much to see and comprehend. The tulmhainar is as amazing as it is incomprehensible; a creature of earth and stone and the other muck and mire that are the building blocks of the world, with an expression that is rife with intellect and the long-sight that comes from years of life. Come now It urges, and in your mind you almost imagine a porch with a swing and a few chairs nearly falling apart, with a dark-skinned creature beckoning you closer and pouring a pitcher of lemonade into two dusty glasses. This you imagine as you walk and suddenly you think there are wheat fields and perhaps mountains nearby, and that the creature before you has completed a long day's work with a plow and is probably about to bring out a guitar from somewhere. What is your name, child? It asks in that same golden tone as Amalia eventually makes her way over.