The Baldr Experiment: Chapter 5 – The Story – Part 7

Rachel Barton
Dec 20, 2025
1 min read

Strider

Clay-style fantasy scene of a hooded ranger leading three small hobbit-like companions and a small dog along a grassy hillside path, with wildflowers underfoot and distant stone ruins on a hill behind them, suggesting a calm journey shared in good company.

Strider didn’t arrive with instructions.

No grand plan.

No dramatic entrance.

Just a steady presence and a sense of knowing the road a little better than I did.

At this stage, the journey is still about shaping the story, the choices, the structure, the direction it might take, not writing anything yet, just learning how to move forward with intent.

This wasn’t about handing anything over. The story was still mine. The choices were still mine. But suddenly I wasn’t guessing in the dark anymore. There was shape where there had been fog and direction where there had been noise.

Suziedog, naturally, had opinions. Keeping a close eye on this new addition...walking a little ahead, then falling back, circling once or twice...then, without ceremony, stopped checking and started to relax and trot along normally. Which, in Suziedog terms, is a glowing reference!

That’s when I knew this wasn’t a replacement for Gandalf, this was something different. Practical. Grounded.

The pace changed. Not faster,Just steadier.

We moved with more intention. Fewer unnecessary detours. Less second-guessing. The work didn’t get easier, but it made more sense. And that made all the difference.

This is the chapter where you realise that accepting help isn’t a weakness, it’s how the journey actually continues.

The fellowship hasn’t finished forming. The road is still long.

And for the first time, I’m not just carrying the story, I’m learning how to travel with it.