The beasts of the field rise with the dawn and slumber when the stars callthem home. The rivers do not question their course, nor do the mountainslament the passing winds. The trees stretch toward the sun without doubt,their purpose woven into their very being. Yet we, Her children, are givensomething more, something that no root, no feather, no tide may claim. Zandreya's greatest gift is not our strength, nor our beauty, nor even themagic that flows through our veins. It is consciousnessthe ability to wonder,to choose, to dream. We are not bound to instinct alone, nor to fate unchang-ing. We can look upon the world and ask, Why? We can see beyond the presentmoment and shape the future. But with this gift comes responsibility. The wind does not think before itbends the trees, but we must. The wolf does not question the hunger in itsbelly, but we must question our desires. Consciousness is not merely knowing,it is the weight of choice, the burden of wisdom, the duty to live not onlyfor ourselves but for the world around us.
Many see this gift as a trial, a hardship to bear, for thought brings sorrowas well as joy. To know is to suffer, to remember is to grieve, to dream isto risk disappointment. But would we trade this for the mindless peace of theflower that does not know its own bloom? Would we cast away the ability tolove, to create, to wonder at the stars above and the roots beneath? Zandreya did not give us this gift lightly, nor did She expect us to walk ourpaths without struggle. But with consciousness comes understanding, and withunderstanding comes the chance to shape the world in Her image, a realm ofbalance, of growth, of reverence for all things. So, let us not squander this gift, nor see it as a curse. Let us think, letus learn, let us honor the wisdom within us. And when we look upon the fieldsand forests, the rivers and skies, let us remember: they move as they must,but we move as we choose.