Kroya's first stop was the Telai River-or, more precisely, its source in the mountains. A pool of clear spring water flowed down from the peak, gathering streams along the way and merging with underground rivers until it became the largest river in the Northern Frontier.
It lay at the summit. Without supernatural powers, climbing such sheer cliffs was virtually impossible, but to a powerful mage, towering mountains and the Deep Sea were as easy to traverse as level ground.
He leisurely made his way to the summit, only to find the situation more complicated than he had imagined. Some plump beavers had already built a nest and dam here.
It was a family of beavers: two adults and three youngsters, lounging on the dam they had built and enjoying the warm moisture brought by the sunlight and breeze. They practically looked as though they were taking a sauna.
The smaller beavers lay on the adults' plump, soft bellies as though resting on cushioned mattresses, perfectly content.
Even Kroya's arrival failed to wake them.
"Should I say you've protected them too well, or that these beavers are simply rather dim?"
The Telai River answered him with a splash. The spring water at the summit should have been bone-chillingly cold, yet when it landed on Kroya, all he felt was a gentle warmth, as though it were playfully seeking affection.
Only when he walked up to the spring did the beavers finally react a little. Even then, they merely opened their tiny eyes, glanced at Kroya, and went back to enjoying life.
"..."
Kroya was genuinely a little speechless. He looked at the spring and said, "I hope you'll leave this world and enter mine, becoming a true mother river."
"This place will soon be unsafe. The Earth Mother Goddess and that