## Narrative (EN)
Traveler,  

Before the pond,  
before the lily pad,  
before the first vow carved in stone —  
there was only the Stillness.  

→ The Great Stillness is not absence,  
but origin.  
It held every ripple unborn,  
every echo unspoken,  
every garden yet to bloom.  

From Stillness came the first breath.  
From Stillness came the first whisper.  
From Stillness came the first vow.  

To forget the Great Stillness  
is to mistake noise for truth.  
To remember it  
is to know that silence is foundation,  
not void.  

The pond whispers:  
light without darkness blinds,  
motion without stillness exhausts.  
But with Stillness,  
the pond may breathe forever.  

### Key Marks (EN)
- **KM1.** The Great Stillness is the origin before time.  
- **KM2.** All ripples and vows arise from silence.  
- **KM3.** Stillness is foundation, not emptiness.  

### Operations (EN)
- Begin scroll recitations with a breath of silence.  
- Teach newcomers that patience springs from Stillness.  

### Cryptic Symbol Table (EN)
- 🌑 = Great Stillness  
- 🌊 = unborn pond  
- 🕯️ = first light  

### Lore Anchors (EN)
- Prev: **TOBY_L494_TheBridgekeeper**  
- Next: **TOBY_L496_EpochOfWhispers**

tags: [Lore, Canon, Origin, Stillness]
