#rivervale_lodge

Torad sings for any who would listen, the song sounds older than it is, but how could he not like it?

"I am the Last of the Giants My people have gone from the earth Last of great mountain giants Who ruled all the world at my birth I am the Last of the Giants My people have gone from the earth Last of great mountain giants Who ruled all the world at my birth The small folk have stolen my forests They've stolen my rivers and hills They've built a great wall through my valleys And fished all the fish from my rills I am the Last of the Giants So learn well the words of my song For when I am gone, the singing will fade And the silence will last long and long In stone halls they build their great fires In stone halls they forge their sharp spears As I walk alone in the mountains With no true companions but tears They hunt me with dogs in the daylight They hunt me with torches by night But these men who're small will never stand tall Whilst giants still walk in the light I am the Last of the Giants So learn well the words of my song For when I am gone, the singing will fade And the silence will last long and long" 🎼

Serenity listens "Is that how trolls really feel?" She asked curiously.

"Some, and it not my words" he explains "It can frustrating to love the land and watch wonder under your charge ripped away no matter how strong you are."

Serenity tries to recall the movie she saw when she was younger, one scene stuck with her "They look like big good strong hands, don't they?"

"You DO know a bit about trolls," Torad gives a sad smile "Yes, that scene speaks of the trollish soul at it's most despairing"

"But it's not your fault if you can't protect everyone" She counters

"The heart and mind do not always agree about what truth is," Torad explains, "We are Guardian dreams, and that can be grand and honorable, or possessive and bullying. Each troll is still an individual, but at our core dream, that is largely what we are. We can't escape it."

"Jimmy says Piskie dreams are... well,, we want to be part of the world, every part, and to take joy in exploring it . Not like the Eshu who tell the stories, but to live in it. To hold things in our hands , touch, feel, use and then let it go again to the next thing. We're not thieves so much as wonder filled explorers?"

Serenity isn't sure she got that right, but she thinks so.

"That is a good way to word it, and Jimmy would know better than I," Torad answers "Again, you won't be exactly like all of YOUR kith either. You have that dream, but it is up to you how you live it, how you become it. Jimmy blends and fades so easily, that is his curse and gift. You may find the Piskey gifts that come to you come differently. Your fostering is not a cage, it a buffet where you sample of your dream . "