2025-03-27 20:11:58Elidh was running.
The forest around her was a blur of dark trees and shifting shadows, the ground soft beneath her bare feet. She could hear whispers threading through the air—low, insistent, calling her forward. “Seek the Codex.” The voice was neither male nor female, neither young nor old. It was everywhere and nowhere, echoing inside her head. She tried to stop, but her feet wouldn’t listen. The trees bent inward as if watching. The stars overhead shone too brightly, forming constellations she didn’t recognize. And then— A figure appeared ahead. Cloaked in deep blue, their face hidden in the shadows of their hood. Eilidh’s breath caught. She should have been afraid. But instead, a strange familiarity washed over her. The figure raised a hand. “Find the Celestial Codex before it’s too late.” The ground shook beneath her. The whispering grew into a roar— Eilidh gasped and bolted upright. It was just a dream!! The room was silent, save for Eoin’s steady breathing in the next bed. Eilidh pressed a hand to her racing heart. A dream. But not just a dream. She turned to the bedside table. The pendant was still there—but it was glowing again. Not faintly this time. Stronger. Steady. Eilidh swallowed. She reached out and touched it. A warm pulse spread up her arm, not painful, but powerful. Like it was responding to her. She snatched her hand back, breathing hard. This wasn’t normal. She had to tell Eoin. Eoin! Eion!! Eion!!! Eoin was not happy about being shaken awake. He groaned, rolling over. “Eilidh, if this isn’t life or death I swear on grandpa’s soul I’m cutting of your arms—” “It is.” That got his attention. Eilidh showed him the pendant, the glow still steady. Then she told him about the dream. Eoin was quiet for a long time. Then, he sighed. “We knew this was coming, didn’t we?” Eilidh nodded. “Grandda left all of this behind for a reason. The stranger at the door? The pendant glowing? The dream? It’s all connected, Eoin. And if we stay here, we’ll never find out the truth.” Eoin ran a hand down his face. “Leaving the village isn’t exactly a small decision, Eilidh.” “I know.” He looked at her. “Where would we even go?” Eilidh grabbed the journal and the map from under her bed. “We start with these. We follow whatever clues Grandda left behind.” Eoin was silent. Then, finally, he nodded. “Alright. Let’s do it.” They moved quickly. If they were leaving, they had to do it before sunrise. Eilidh grabbed a satchel and stuffed in the journal, the map, the pendant. Then she packed some clothes, a few coins, and a small knife. Eoin tossed a flask of water into his bag, along with bread, cheese, and apples. They both knew they wouldn’t get far without supplies, but taking too much would be suspicious. “We can get more once we’re out of the village,” Eoin muttered. Eilidh nodded. It was happening. They were really doing this. Before stepping outside, Eilidh turned back, staring at the small cottage where they’d grown up. It had always been home. But now? It felt like a cage. She took a deep breath and stepped into the night. Eoin followed, shutting the door behind them. They didn’t look back again. The village was silent, the streets empty except for the occasional flickering lantern. They moved quickly, staying in the shadows. Their first stop was the edge of the village. Beyond that, it was open land and the unknown. Eilidh gripped the pendant around her neck. The glow had faded, but she could still feel it—warm against her skin. Eoin exhaled. “No turning back now.” Eilidh nodded. “No turning back.” And together, they stepped into the darkness. The forest was alive. Not in the way of the quiet woods back home, where birds sang at dawn and the air smelled of damp earth and heather. This was different. The trees were taller, older, their branches twisting like skeletal fingers overhead. The undergrowth was thick, clutching at their ankles, forcing them to push forward carefully. Eilidh kept her eyes on the path ahead, her fingers brushing the pendant at her neck. It wasn’t glowing, but she could still feel it. A steady warmth against her skin, like a quiet heartbeat. Eoin walked beside her, his jaw tight. He had been quiet since they left the village, his eyes scanning the darkness around them. “We should stop soon,” Eilidh murmured. “Find a place to rest.” Eoin shook his head. “Not yet. We need more distance.” Eilidh sighed but didn’t argue. She understood. If that stranger was still looking for them, they had to put as much ground between themselves and the village as possible. Still, the exhaustion was creeping in. They had been walking for hours. And the forest was changing. The ground became softer, wetter. The air smelled of moss and decay. Eilidh frowned. “This isn’t right.” Eoin stopped beside her, his eyes narrowing. “A bog?” They both looked down at the path ahead. What had once been solid ground was now shifting, sinking with every step. Eoin grabbed a stick and pressed it into the earth. It disappeared. “We can’t go through that,” he muttered. Eilidh looked around. “We’ll have to go around.” Easier said than done. The trees were thicker here, their roots rising from the ground like twisted veins. The only way forward was to climb over them, but it wouldn’t be easy. Eilidh glanced at Eoin. “I’ll go first.” She didn’t wait for a response. She grabbed hold of a thick root and pulled herself up. Her hands scraped against rough bark, but she kept climbing. Eoin followed, his movements more careful, more deliberate. The moment Eilidh reached the top of the tangled roots, she froze. “Uh… Eoin?” “What!!?” “We might have a problem.” Perched on the branches above them were glowing eyes. Dozens of them. Small creatures, quick and silent, their bodies hidden in the shadows. Eoin swore under his breath. “What are they?” Eilidh had no idea. Then, the creatures moved. Not attacking. Not running. Just… watching. A shiver ran down Eilidh’s spine. “They’re waiting,” she whispered. “For what?” She didn’t know. But she wasn’t going to wait to find out. “Come on,” she whispered. “Slowly.” They climbed down the other side of the roots, careful not to startle the watchers. Eilidh’s foot slipped on the damp bark, and she grabbed onto Eoin’s arm. He steadied her, and they both held their breath. The creatures didn’t move. Not until they stepped onto solid ground again. Then— A soft rustling, as if the trees were breathing. And the eyes blinked out, one by one. They were gone. Eilidh exhaled. “Let’s not come this way again.” Eoin nodded. “Agreed.” They pressed on, their footsteps quiet against the forest floor. Then, suddenly— The pendant flashed. Eilidh gasped, stopping in her tracks. She pulled it from beneath her shirt, staring as it pulsed a faint blue light. “Eoin—” “I see it.” They both looked up. Above them, the sky had cleared. The thick trees had given way to a break in the canopy, revealing a sky full of stars. And the pendant was glowing in rhythm with them. Eoin frowned. “It’s reacting to the stars?” Eilidh nodded. “Look at that constellation.” She pointed. A cluster of stars formed a pattern, one that looked eerily similar to the markings on their grandfather’s map. “This is a sign,” Eilidh whispered. Eoin looked down at the map, then back up at the sky. “Then we follow it.”
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The village was quiet. Too quiet.Eoin and Eilidh stood at the entrance, taking in the narrow streets, the stone houses, the lanterns swaying gently in the wind. The whole place felt like it was holding its breath.“Charming,” Eoin muttered.Eilidh elbowed him. “Stay sharp. This place is important.”They had followed the pendant’s pull through winding paths and thick woods, emerging here—the Village of Whispers. Their grandfather’s journal mentioned it in passing, hinting at ancient knowledge buried within its borders. Now that they were here, though, it was clear the locals weren’t thrilled about visitors.Shutters creaked as windows closed. A few villagers lingered in doorways, watching them with narrowed eyes. No one spoke.Eilidh stepped forward. “Excuse me—”The old man in front of her turned away without a word.She frowned. “Friendly lot.”Eoin sighed. “We need to find that library.”They walked deeper into the village, following the pendant’s faint glow. The tension was thick.
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The wind blew gently.Soft, curling through the trees like a warning, rustling the leaves in a way that made Eilidh’s skin prickle.They had been walking for hours, guided only by the glow of the pendant and the markings on their grandfather’s map. And now—Now they were lost.Eoin exhaled, rubbing his hands over his face. “We need to find shelter.”Eilidh nodded, though her eyes never left the trees. Something felt… off.The forest was too quiet.The kind of quiet that wasn’t natural.And then—A flicker of movement.A shadow shifting just beyond the trees, moving so quickly it was gone before she could blink.“Eoin,” she whispered.He turned, following her gaze. “Did you see that?”She nodded.And then a voice, old and knowing, echoed from the shadows.“You carry the sky around your neck, child.”Eilidh spun, reaching for the dagger at her belt.Eoin stepped in front of her, his stance tense.From the shadows, a figure emerged.An old woman, wrapped in layers of dark blue robes, her
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Elidh was running.The forest around her was a blur of dark trees and shifting shadows, the ground soft beneath her bare feet. She could hear whispers threading through the air—low, insistent, calling her forward.“Seek the Codex.”The voice was neither male nor female, neither young nor old. It was everywhere and nowhere, echoing inside her head.She tried to stop, but her feet wouldn’t listen.The trees bent inward as if watching. The stars overhead shone too brightly, forming constellations she didn’t recognize.And then—A figure appeared ahead.Cloaked in deep blue, their face hidden in the shadows of their hood.Eilidh’s breath caught. She should have been afraid. But instead, a strange familiarity washed over her.The figure raised a hand.“Find the Celestial Codex before it’s too late.”The ground shook beneath her. The whispering grew into a roar—Eilidh gasped and bolted upright.It was just a dream!!The room was silent, save for Eoin’s steady breathing in the next bed.Eil
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The attic was silent except for the rustle of paper and the occasional hmm from Eilidh.Eoin had given up trying to make sense of the journal’s cryptic writing about twenty minutes ago. He had leaned against a crate, arms folded, watching his sister frown at the pages like she could force them to make sense just by glaring at them.“Anything yet?” he asked, tapping his fingers against the wooden floor.Eilidh didn’t look up. “Still working on it.”Eoin sighed. “Any chance it just says, ‘Take this map, go here, find treasure’?”Eilidh shot him a look. “If it was that easy, Grandda wouldn’t have locked it away.”“Then what’s the point?” Eoin pushed himself upright, stretching. “Why write it all down in riddles?”Eilidh’s gaze flickered over the scribbled notes again, her fingers tracing the repeating symbols. “Because it’s not just a journal.” She tapped the page. “It’s a code.”Eilidh leaned closer to the faded ink.There were phrases in a strange language, but here and there, she spot
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Eoin was half-asleep on the attic floor when Eilidh’s voice snapped him awake.“I found something.”His eyes shot open. He sat up fast, blinking as dust swirled in the lantern light. “Please tell me it’s a key.”Eilidh didn’t answer immediately. She was holding something long and metallic, turning it over in her hands.Eoin groaned. “If it’s not a key, I don’t care.”“It’s not a key,” she admitted. Then, after a pause, “But it might lead to one.”Eoin squinted at it. “Is that… a telescope?”It was old—brass, worn, with strange engravings running along the length of it. Grandda had always kept odd little trinkets, and this was just another one of them.Eilidh ran her fingers over the carvings. “Look closer.”Eoin leaned in. At first, it was just meaningless patterns, but then he saw it—a tiny indentation, almost hidden in the engravings. A small metal latch.Without thinking, he pressed it.There was a soft click.Eilidh inhaled sharply as the bottom of the telescope shifted, then slid
