Chapter 75 The old oak

Chapter 75 The old oak
~Morwen~
The silence that followed the Queen's scream settled over the palace gardens like a heavy fog.
I stood before the blacksmith's body, suspended from the old tree by a coarse rope that dug cruelly into his neck. His boots hung inches above the earth, swaying ever so slightly with the evening breeze.
Everything about it felt... wrong. Not merely tragic but wrong.
King Kael stepped toward Queen Elira, whose breathing had become increasingly uneven. Her trembling hands clutched at the fabric of her dress while tears streamed freely down her face.
"I have to take you back," the king said gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You've seen enough."
She shook her head, unable to tear her gaze away from the body. "I..." Her voice cracked. "Another person is dead."
Kael brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "This is not on you." She looked unconvinced.
He kissed her forehead before turning toward me.
"Morwen." I met his eyes. "I want answers."
His voice carried no anger, only desperation. "I don't care how long it takes. Find out what happened here."
I nodded once. "I will."
He looked at me for another moment before helping Elira away from the garden. Even as they disappeared around the stone pathway, I could still hear the Queen's uneven breathing.
Poor child. She carried burdens no one her age should ever know.
When they were gone, I turned my full attention back to the corpse. The guards stood several steps behind me, unsure whether to speak.
I slowly circled the body and began to examine the parts of his body. 
His hands, face, boots and fingernails. I took in every detail. The rope itself appeared ordinary.
No strange markings or unusual knots.
His expression was frozen in terror rather than peace. That alone unsettled me.
People who willingly ended their lives rarely looked frightened. This man looked as though he had seen something moments before death. Something that terrified him.
I stepped closer until I was nearly beneath him.
Nothing made sense.
Finally I sighed. "Bring him down."
The guards hurried forward. "Careful," I warned.
They loosened the rope while another supported the body from beneath.
As they slowly lowered him, one young guard accidentally caught the back of the blacksmith's shirt, lifting it halfway up his back.
Something caught my eye, and I froze. "Stop."
The guards immediately obeyed.
I narrowed my eyes. "Lay him face down."
Confused glances passed between them, but none questioned the order. Within moments, the body rested upon the grass.
I knelt beside him. My fingers hesitated over the fabric. For reasons I could not explain, my heartbeat had begun to quicken.
Slowly… I lifted his shirt.
A chorus of horrified gasps erupted behind me. Even my own breath caught in my throat.
Across the man's entire back was writing. It wasn’t ink, paints or cuts.  The letters rose beneath his flesh as though they had grown inside his skin. Like veins twisting themselves into words.
There wasn't a single drop of blood. No wound. Only raised markings stretching from one shoulder blade to the other.
My fingertips hovered above them. I did not dare touch them immediately.
One of the guards whispered behind me. "By the Moon..."
I swallowed. The letters were unfamiliar to everyone present. Everyone except me.
Years of studying forgotten civilizations had taught me enough to recognize ancient scripts. Not fluently, but enough.
"It's..." I whispered.
My fingers finally brushed lightly across one of the raised symbols. The skin was warm, far warmer than it should have been.
"It's Ancient Greek."
Silence followed. The guards stared blankly. None of them understood what that meant.
I slowly sounded out the words. "Min teen... a FEE sees... na... a NEH vee..."
The strange language rolled awkwardly from my tongue.
Its meaning refused to come immediately. But one thing became painfully clear. These words had no place in our world.
I stood slowly. My thoughts raced faster than my heart. "This is impossible."
One guard cleared his throat. "Seer... what does it say?"
"I don't know." The admission tasted bitter. "I know the language." I looked back at the body. "But I do not know why it is here."
Or how. I had never seen anything remotely like it.
I faced the guards.
"Load his body into a cart. And bring him to my house."
One blinked. "Your house?"
"Immediately."
"Yes, Seer."
Without another word, I turned and walked away. Questions battered my mind from every direction.
The weapon, the Queen, her visions. Animal Magnetism unlike anything history had ever recorded. The strange metal. The blacksmith and now this.
It all pointed toward something ancient. As I walked through the palace grounds, memories long buried began rising to the surface.
Forty years disappeared in an instant.

I was young again. Far younger than I cared to remember. The room smelled of herbs and smoke. Rain tapped gently against the tiny window.
My teacher lay upon his woven sleeping mat, his breathing shallow and uneven. Time had finally caught him. His once commanding voice had become little more than a whisper.
Still… His eyes remained as sharp as ever. He motioned weakly.
"Come closer."
I immediately knelt beside him. His weathered hand reached for mine.
"You have learned well."
I lowered my head. "I still have much to learn."
He smiled faintly.
"A true student always believes that." His breathing became labored. "I have given you everything I can."
Tears blurred my vision. "Master..."
He squeezed my hand surprisingly firmly.
"Listen."
I forced myself to remain silent. "There will come a day..." He paused to catch his breath. "...when your knowledge will fail you."
I frowned. "I don't understand."
"You will stand before a mystery far greater than anything contained in our books." His eyes drifted toward the ceiling. "It will frighten you."
"I won't run."
He chuckled softly. "No. You never do."
His gaze returned to mine. "When that day comes..." His voice weakened further. "...every answer you seek will already be waiting for you."
"Where?"
He smiled. "Beneath the oak tree."
I blinked. "The old oak?"
He nodded slowly. "But until that day..." His expression suddenly became serious. "...never dig beneath it."
"Why?"
"Because knowledge sought before its appointed time becomes a curse." His grip loosened. "Promise me."
"I promise."
His eyes finally closed and within moments… his hand grew still.

The memory faded and I found myself standing at the crossroads leading toward my home.
Instinct urged me left, but my memory pulled me right. Toward the forest, towards the old oak tree. For decades I had honored my promise.
I visited it often.
Sometimes to think, sometimes simply to remember the man who had shaped my entire life. Never once had I searched beneath it. Until today.
If there had ever been an appointed time… Surely this was it.
Without another thought, I turned into the forest. The familiar path welcomed me like an old friend.
Birdsong echoed overhead and the evening sunlight filtered through the leaves.
Soon the massive oak came into view. Its branches stretched across the sky like the arms of an ancient guardian.
I stopped before it. "So..." I whispered. "I've finally come."
The tree offered no answer.
I walked slowly around its enormous trunk and began to observe it. 
There were no marking or hidden compartments.
I sighed. "What exactly am I looking for?"
Then… A single word settled into my mind with startling clarity.
‘Dig.’
Finding a sturdy fallen branch, I drove it into the earth near the roots. The ground resisted but pressed harder. Again and again. 
Sweat gathered on my brow as I loosened the packed soil.
When the stick became useless, I picked up a broad flat stone and continued scraping away the dirt.
Minutes passed, perhaps longer. I had no idea what I expected to find. Yet something inside me refused to stop.
Then… The stone struck something solid. I froze. My pulse quickened and carefully, I set the stone aside and used my hands instead.
Loose soil slipped between my fingers as I uncovered the object hidden beneath decades of earth. It was wrapped in an old piece of faded cloth.
Time had nearly consumed it. A brittle rope held everything together and at its center rested a wax seal.
Even after all these years...
I recognized the symbol immediately. It was my teacher's seal.
My throat tightened. "So you truly were preparing me..."
I carefully broke the aged wax and the rope crumbled apart almost instantly. Layer after layer of cloth unfolded until a thick leather bound book rested in my hands.
Dust coated every inch of it.
I gently blew across the cover. A cloud drifted into the air before disappearing on the breeze.
Slowly… letters emerged beneath the dust. It was not our language. My fingers trembled. I could not read every word.
Not yet. But beneath the title was a symbol. A crescent moon. Resting above the head of a wolf wearing a crown.
My breath caught.
"The Crowned Moon..." I whispered.
The name alone sent chills racing through me. I stared at the book for a long moment before closing it again.
Whatever answers it contained… They deserved patience.
I tucked the book safely beneath my arm before using my foot to push the disturbed soil back into place.
I turned toward home. The weight beneath my arm felt impossibly heavy.
Not because of the leather. Because of the truths hidden inside.
"This..." I murmured to myself as I disappeared back into the forest.
"...had better answer every question I have."