🕰️ 4 AM: The Crossing of the Threshold

Tuesday, December 30, 2025 Location: The Edge of the Evergreen Forest, Tyis Thrivaldi

The "Jitters" at four in the morning are no longer a matter of nerves; they are a physical manifestation of the Hedge Gate’s proximity. Inside the Evergreen Forest, the air is different. The whistling winds of the high ridges are replaced by a heavy, expectant silence, and the scent of pine is so thick it feels like a physical weight.

The Hedge Wizard moves deeper into the impenetrable green. Here, the rhythmic pulse the Jolly Red Wizard sensed from the lighthouse is a thundering heartbeat in the earth. The ancient trees, their boughs heavy with the weight of Wintermiss, lean inward as if whispering secrets of the rifts that have defined 2025.

I. The Pulse of the Gate

As he nears the hidden clearing, the blue-gold radiance of the Hedge Gate begins to bleed through the shadows. The snow beneath his boots is no longer pure white; it shimmers with the reflected energy of the multiverse portals controlled by the Ether Dragons.

• The Sensation: The "Jitters" vibrate through his cypress staff, a warning that the terrestrial journey in Thrivaldi is ending and the cosmic transition is beginning.

• The Guardian's Presence: Though the Stephenite Specialty Wizard remains a sentinel of the high ridges, his influence—the "Divine Wisdom"—acts as a compass, guiding the Hedge Wizard through the final, confusing thickets of the Iron Wood.

II. The Final Step

At the very center of the forest, the archway of the Hedge Gate stands revealed. It is a swirling vortex of light and shadow, a bridge between the frozen beauty of Thrivaldi and the humid safety of the Shreveport Cabin.

The Hedge Wizard pauses at the threshold. The transition back is never easy; it requires a casting off of the winter's chill to prepare for the "Deep Clean" that awaits on the other side. With a final breath of the crisp Thrivaldi air, he steps forward. The green forest vanishes, replaced by the blinding, rhythmic hum of the gateway.

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Earl C. Hedges Jr.