A sudden glint caught my eye-a shimmering symbol etched into the trunk of a gnarled tree. I approached cautiously, fingertips grazing over the intricate design. It was a sigil of The Black Faes, one I had seen only in the oldest of our tomes back at the palace. Here, it bore an unsettling newness, its lines sharp and purposeful. I committed its shape to memory, a key to unlock their veiled schemes.

Further on, a series of markings led me to a clearing where the earth itself seemed tainted, the ...