In the east of the Plateau of Glory, a place called the Motherland, wide lakes, surrounding meadows, and colorful wildflowers bloomed and withered according to the laws of nature. The Himora people built their home upon that land.

The Himora believed that the will of spirits and ancestors dwelt in all things, and they prayed for that natural cycle. Those prayers were like songs.

The Himora did not tame beasts by force but formed bonds through emotional communion. In the face of life's coincidences, they accepted them as the will of their ancestors rather than questioning the reasons. It was their way to reveal every emotion through dance and song without hiding anything. The dead were returned to the Mother Lake, and newborn children inherited the names of the deceased before the tribal chief.

Yan. The greatest bard of the Himora. The melody of the topshur he played resembled the mountain wind, and even the birds grew silent as if the spirits were responding to his song. The elders brought up the topic of marriage every time he grew older, but Yan only avoided the answer with a smile.

The reason was Guest.

Long ago, a nameless baby was abandoned in the village. It was an infant whose ancestors and lineage were uncertain, and whose umbilical cord had not even fallen off. Some said it was ominous, and others said it was the will of the spirits. However, Yan's parents simply embraced the child, washed her in the Mother Lake, showed her to the ten-year-old Yan, and introduced her, telling him to take special care of her. That was Guest.

However, by the time she had grown somewhat, as if a curse had been laid, Yan's parents fell ill one after another and passed away in succession. The two remaining people truly became each other's everything in the world. The tribe's gaze toward her also gradually became warmer. Whether it was misfortune or luck, all coincidences were the will of the spirits.

As the years passed, the feelings for her in Yan's heart became something that could no longer be explained by brotherly love alone. But he tried not to admit that fact even to himself. It was a secret that no one should know. Even her.

Instead, Yan always said this to her.