Carefully, we navigated our way around the water, my footing slipping once on the slick stones, my heart racing with each step the closer we got. Then I saw it. The two trees stood where Verena had described them, their gnarled roots twisted and intertwined, thick with time and secrets. I stepped forward, reaching out my still bound hands to touch the roots, and a jolt of energy surged through my body, sudden and electric, sending a shiver up my spine. “A kingdom torn in blood; a world turned to ash.”
