The Stand There is a point where you can’t outrun the doubt anymore. The climb to the river was the hardest part. Quiet. Heavy. It was the kind of stretch where the Dark Riders don’t even need to shout; they just wait for you to run out of breath. I reached the water with nothing left. No clever turns. No narrative tricks. Just the deep realization that I was ready to let the shadows have it. The Protector at the Water's Edge But my Arwen was there. My Arwen doesn’t write the