https://www.homebrewtactics.com/tags/downtime/Recent content in Downtime on Homebrew TacticsHugoen-usSat, 16 May 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://www.homebrewtactics.com/posts/the-shape-of-the-absence/Sat, 16 May 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://www.homebrewtactics.com/posts/the-shape-of-the-absence/<figure><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Noongar_herbal_medicine.jpg"><img src="https://www.homebrewtactics.com/media/images/Noongar_herbal_medicine.jpg" alt="Hands holding a bundle of fresh herbs and plant cuttings." loading="lazy"></a><figcaption> <p>Herbal medicineby <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Natalia2323" target="_blank">Natalia2323</a>, 2019. <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>. Unmodified.</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h1 id="the-shape-of-the-absence">The Shape of the Absence</h1> <p>The forest here radiates its age, much older than the village. I can feel that the moment I step past the last of the fences and into the trees proper. Qi&rsquo;Quilan&rsquo;s edge is one of those thresholds I&rsquo;ve started to notice, the way a banner-line marks where one lord&rsquo;s authority ends and another&rsquo;s begins. On the village side, the trees know they are useful to humans. On this side, the trees do not particularly care.</p>