The wind screamed through the skeletal trees as Kael pressed his palm against the cold bark of the ancient oak, its surface etched with symbols that pulsed faintly in the dim light. The air reeked of damp moss and something sharper—burnt iron. He hadn’t meant to come this far, but the map had been clear: follow the river until it split into three, then head east until the forest thinned. Instead, he’d stumbled into a place that didn’t exist on any parchment he’d seen. His boots crunched over fallen branches, each snap echoing like a gunshot. Somewhere in the distance, a bird screeched, its call jagged and wrong.
The map had been a gift from his brother, Lirian, who’d vanished three weeks ago. Kael had never trusted the man’s obsession with the old stories, the ones about the Shattered Crown and the blood that still ran in the earth. But Lirian had been desperate, his hands shaking as he handed over the brittle paper. “It’s real,” he’d said. “They’re waiting for someone who can hear them.” Now Kael wished he’d burned it.
A rustle in the underbrush. Kael froze, his breath shallow. The shadows between the trees seemed heavier here, as if the darkness itself had substance. He reached for the dagger at his belt, its hilt worn smooth by years of use. The blade gleamed faintly, a pale light that did nothing to dispel the gloom. Something moved—too fast, too low to the ground. A fox? A wolf? His fingers tightened around the hilt.
“Who’s there?” he called, his voice hoarse. The forest answered with silence. Then a sound: a wet, gurgling laugh. Kael spun, knife raised. Nothing. Just the trees, their trunks twisted like gnarled fingers. He took a step back, then another, his boots sinking into the soft earth. The air grew colder, thick with the scent of decay. His pulse hammered in his ears.
He didn’t notice the hole until it was too late. The ground gave way beneath him, and he tumbled into darkness. The fall was brief, but the impact left his ribs screaming. He lay still, breath ragged, as the sound of his own heartbeat filled the void. Then, a flicker of light—faint, greenish—dancing along the walls of the underground chamber. Kael pushed himself up, wincing at the pain in his side. The chamber was vast, its ceiling lost in shadow. Strange vines hung from the rocks, their tendrils pulsing like living veins. And in the center, a pedestal. On it, a crown.
Not a crown, he realized. A collection of jagged pieces, each one glowing with an inner fire. The air around them crackled, charged with energy that made his skin prickle. Kael stepped closer, ignoring the ache in his body. The pieces were arranged in a circle, as if waiting. He reached out, fingers trembling, and the moment he touched the nearest shard, a surge of heat exploded through him. Images flooded his mind—burning cities, screaming people, a figure cloaked in shadow. Then, a voice: *You are late.*
Kael stumbled back, gasping. The chamber seemed to close in around him, the walls pulsing like a heartbeat. The crown’s fragments flickered, their light dimming. A low growl echoed from the far end of the chamber. Kael turned, knife raised. In the darkness, two eyes gleamed—yellow, feral. The creature lunged.
He swung the dagger, but the blade glanced off its hide. The thing was massive, its body a mass of writhing muscle and jagged teeth. Kael backed toward the pedestal, his mind racing. The crown… it was reacting to him. He could feel it, a pull in his chest, as if the fragments were trying to communicate. The creature lunged again, and this time Kael dove aside, rolling into a crouch. His hand brushed the edge of the pedestal. A spark. A connection.
The crown’s pieces flared suddenly, casting the chamber in blinding light. The creature howled, its form flickering like a candle in the wind. Kael didn’t understand what he’d done, but he knew one thing: the crown was alive. And it had chosen him.
The creature lunged one final time, but Kael stood his ground. He reached out, not with his hand, but with something deeper—his will, his fear, his hope. The crown’s light intensified, and the creature shrieked, its form dissolving into smoke. The chamber fell silent. Kael collapsed to his knees, the weight of the moment pressing down on him. The crown’s fragments pulsed gently now, as if waiting.
He didn’t know what came next. But he knew one thing: Lirian was still out there, and the forest had only just begun to reveal its secrets.
