Summer on the Monolithic Island went by quickly and fall was nearly upon its residents. Before they knew it, preparations for Lammas were in full swing.

Sigrunn had never participated in big festival party type celebrations to honor the gods; all she really knew was the small offerings her mother would make. Not long after preparations had begun, Sigrunn had come into the village one day and was confused by the state of the village and its people.

"Hey, Sigrunn!"

Sigrunn looked up to see Astrid waving at her as she approached her. "What's going on, Astrid?"

"We're getting ready for Lammas," Astrid replied, looking around.

"Lammas?"

"Lammas is an ancient holiday where our attention turns to harvesting the crops and gardens, and preparations begin for the coming winter. The days are beginning to grow shorter, and the Sun God begins to lose his strength as the days grow shorter. As this is the time of year when we first begin to reap the bounties of harvest, it is often a holiday accompanied by feasting and celebration."

"I see."

"You've never seen a festival or celebration before, have you?"

Sigrunn shook her head. "My mom did simple and small offerings, but that's all."

"Why don't you partake in the festivities?" Astrid suggested. "You can get dressed up, enjoy the food and drink, there will be dancing and music," She stopped when she saw Sigrunn's hesitation. "It'll be fun, I promise, and it will give you a chance to see more of who we Berkians are."

'That's a fair point.' Sigrunn thought. "Alright, but I don't have anything else to wear really other than winter attire."

Astrid grinned. "We'll take care of that, I promise." Her grin grew as she spotted someone approaching. "I need to get back to work, but we'll talk again soon, OK?"

Sigrunn looked at her and waved, confused for a moment. "Ok..?"

"Well, look who made it into town."

Sigrunn smiled and turned to face Eret as he came to a stop next to her. "I've been doing better, I think."

Eret smiled in turn. "Aye, that you have." He gestured towards where Astrid had scampered off to. "What was that all about? She seemed a bit more excited than normal."

"Astrid suggested that I come to the festival," Sigrunn explained, "and she made a fair point about how it would give me more of a chance to see what these people are like. Beyond what I've seen so far, that is."

"That's a great idea," Eret replied, "have you decided to?"

Sigrunn looked at him, a bit surprised by the sense of excitement lingering in his words. "It does look like it would be fun."

"So... is that a yes?"

Sigrunn chuckled a bit. "Yes, I'll come."

Eret was relieved to hear her decision, but before he could say anything more, they were approached by Gothi- the village elder. He watched as she tapped on Sigrunn's shoulder with her staff, then began writing in the soft dirt. He couldn't quite read what she was writing, but Sigrunn seemed to be able to do so just fine. After a few moments, Sigrunn nodded and gave the old woman a bow before she hobbled away.

"What was that all about?" Eret asked, looking from Gothi as she left to Sigrunn.

"She wants me to meet her later," Sigrunn replied.

"Why?"

"She wants to teach me."

Eret was a bit confused, but after thinking a moment about it, he began to understand. "She wants to make you her apprentice?"

Sigrunn nodded. "Apparently, my mother was meant to be her apprentice before she disappeared. Something to do with her being more intuned with the spirits and gods than anyone else?" Sigrunn looked at him, offering him a sheepish smile. "She believes that I inherited my mother's gift and wants to train me to eventually become her successor."

"That's quite the task," Eret said, his brow furrowing a moment. "Is that something you'd be ready for, though?"

Sigrunn nodded. "It'll be much less stressful than it has been getting used to being around so many people," she started, "plus think of it the same way as the festival: it'll be a good way for me to learn more about the Berkians- my people."

Eret had to smile at that. Sigrunn was finally beginning to feel comfortable enough around the Berkians to start calling them her people. 'They are actually her people, but this is great.' He cleared his throat a bit, then asked, "So, tell me more about this gift your mother had."

Sigrunn and Eret walked around the village a bit, then found their way into the forest. Sigrunn told him about how her mother always seemed to know what certain signs were based on the animals crossing their paths or how the waters flowed through the land or how the wind sounded, how she used to communicate with nature, how she used to slip into trance-like states for hours on end sometimes, or how she used to know just exactly what was hurting whenever Sigrunn or an animal was injured and how to heal it.

Eret listened as she talked about her mother, what little she could remember of her, and he found that he had to envy her a bit. He never knew his mother- she had died when he was too young to remember- and what he could remember of his father was not the greatest of memories. When Sigrunn asked about his father, he was reluctant to share anything but Sigrunn made him feel more comfortable about it than anyone else had.

Sigrunn listened as Eret revealed that his mother had died when he was too young to remember her and his father was bitter as a result of losing her. He often buried himself in work, barely gave Eret any attention, then when he was old enough- at least in the eyes of his father- Eret forced his son into learning how to fight and threw him into dangerous situations.

"I often wondered if it was because he blamed me for my mother's death or if he was just trying to make me ready for the cruel world that awaited me," Eret said, leaning against a nearby tree as they stopped near a cliff. "I do believe that it was a mix of both, but regardless of the reason, I would not be here today if it hadn't been for him."

"When did you get into dragon trapping?"

"When food was scarce where we lived, Father and I took to the seas in search of new fishing grounds. We sailed to a nearby island about a day's sail away in hopes that we'd get lucky there, but along the way, we had sailed into the feeding grounds of a pod of Seashockers. They didn't take kindly to us coming into their territory and attacked the boat- shredding our boat with their dorsal fins and slamming into it."

"That's horrible..." Sigrunn came to stand next to him, placing a hand on his arm. "What happened next?"

"The boat capsized and we were thrown overboard. After that, I only remember flashes of light and cold darkness before I woke up in a strange village. The people who were treating my wounds said that I washed up on the shores of their village, unconscious. From what they had told me, they had taken a few of their fishing boats to search along the coastline of their island to search for any other survivors but when they found the wreckage of our boat, my father was nowhere to be seen. They believed that he had drowned and gave him funeral rites. I woke three days later."

"Eret..."

Eret shrugged. "After that, the villagers helped me get back on my feet and I put my trapping skills to work, trapping dragons and selling them to the highest bidder until Drago came along and hired me."

"You've led a rough life."

Eret sighed. "It's alright, it led me to where I am now and I wouldn't change it for the world." He looked at Sigrunn and offered her a smile. "Besides, if things had been different then I wouldn't have met you and that would be a crying shame."

Sigrunn felt her cheeks burn at that and she gave him a sheepish smile. "I am glad that I met you, Eret. My life has become more... lively with you in it."