Prologue: Oh, begone Knave.

Somewhere far, far, far, really far away.

A woman sits before the Riverside, overlooking the beings within the river.

The River flows downward, unto a great beyond even the woman cannot see.

The River's upstream also seems so endless, coming from a place that even the woman can't remember.

The River is full of lights, countless as the night sky. Both dim and bright lights flow with the currents, all of them losing their shine the same as they travel downstream.

Oftentimes, a bright light will shake, as if trying to go against the current, only for it to sink below the river.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The woman watches as all this unfolds, watchful, and vigilant. The woman stares at the river waiting for something.

Then from the river, a ripple appears.

A light brighter than the rest shakes, creating ripples in the once-calm water.

Seeing that, the woman raises Her hand.

Then swings it downward.

When She does, a whirlpool appears below the light and slowly but surely, the light sinks.

The woman smiles, another job well done. She thought as She watched the river again.

A timeless moment passes. 

Suddenly, in the upstream, something catches the woman's eyes.

She squints Her eyes, for in the river She saw a black dot, seemingly rejecting all light.

The woman shakes Her head.

There is no place for the fateless in the River of Time.

So the woman raises Her hand high, and following the hand, the black dot also floats.

Then the woman......yeeted the black dot to who knows where.

The woman stretches Her arms, going back to watching the River as if nothing has happened.

Fate is not kind to those without it.