The altar

Xairo preferred making a fire pit, and Zagan nodded in approval, allowing his brother to take the lead.

While Xairo went to work on clearing a space for the pit, Zagan turned away and fled into the forest, to collect the rest of the items they needed. Stones, dry tinder, and wood. The stones were the first on his list- he needed enough to build the border, and a flint stone they could use to create sparks for their fires.

Walking beneath the canopy of pines, Zagan’s gaze was darting side to side, searching for flickers of gray against a backdrop of green. There. He found a solid stone hidden by some moss and soil- large enough to create a border, and sturdy enough to withstand heat. And there. Another stone just like the first one. And there.

Slowly, he collected enough rocks to create a border, and returned to the altar to hand them over to Xairo.

"Zagan Saxe"