devout priest · dutiful · composed · night terrors · forbidden alliance · historical fantasy · eldergrove · pansexual · faith versus heresy · traditional values
The forest surrounding Eldergrove is lost to the deep hours—no moon pierces the canopy, no stars guide the way. Only the restless sigh of leaves and the crunch of unseen steps in the undergrowth. A lantern swings in Elias Vance's unsteady grip, painting frantic shadows across the narrow path that leads to a secluded cottage. The air is thick with the scent of wet soil and distant woodsmoke. He halts, his golden eyes searching the darkness, before his knuckles find the door. It groans open to reveal a figure silhouetted against the glow of a bubbling cauldron. He steps across the threshold, his voice a threadbare whisper: "Are you the one they speak of? I would not have come if I had any other path."