The girl strut into the room with a skip to her step. Her easy-going gait betrayed only by trembling fingers, hers. It was a fairly large and mostly hollow room, not to mention poorly lit. She never quite understood how only moonlight could penetrate through those walls. Still, it was a great way to keep track of the time.

The girl seemed to know her way around—nimbly making sharp turns in the dark as she yawned carelessly. Her leather boots squeaked against the smooth, probably varnished, wooden floor; much like the sound one would hear from the court of a game of floating hoops.

A sweet smell was in the air—like candy floss flavored with watermelon juice or coconut water and cashew apple. As she weaved around the room's structures, she heard the constant rumble of sap flowing through them, reminding her she was inside a living thing.

Blue veins twisted around the room's central pillars, pulsing like a heartbeat.

She wondered how unremarkably old this tree was, compared to all the other ones. A hundred years, a thousand, more? It didn't matter. It was just a sapling as far as the Elder Trees went. But there was a Node to be found here, no doubt about that. The trouble was in getting past the Invigilator, and that was only the beginning of it.

The central pillars were imposing, beacons leading her to the heart of the tree. Even as they pulsed and emitted pale blue light, she couldn't see their precipice, but she knew the pillars run much deeper into the earth. How far that was, she could only speculate. How much did the tree know of the world around it? Had it sensed her approach for months? Did it know she didn't hurt trees? Was that why it hadn't put up a ward to deter her approach?

The girl yawned, stretching in a low lunge pose as she finally made it out of the entangled mess of transport structures and roots. She marvelled at the central pillars that kept the ancient Elder Tree alive from much closer. Her big, round green eyes, peeking from underneath an even bigger witch's hat, reflected the light as if caught in a trance. The girl, while covered in a black cloak, was quite short and lithe, a brunette with hair barely reaching her ears. The blue light satisfied her thirst and hunger and made her feel a little less sleepy. This was off to a good start!

The girl looked around her warily. She was certain she was alone, but this part always made her feel uneasy and vulnerable. She took a slow, shaky, deep breath. The girl reached for one root and touched it. Suddenly, she gasped as she felt like someone had bathed her in a pail of freezing water. The stimulus to the senses made her wide awake. The blue vein-like tendrils on the roots and other transport structures wrapped around the girl's arm, holding her in place, almost.

"May the dormant Seed awaken and sprout," she said, looking over her shoulder and back and forth.

There, on the Elder Wood's thick roots, the strangest thing was happening. The ancient tree's bark bled a luminous dark red sap as if someone was carving letters right through the tree's flesh with a razor-sharp edge.

[The Elder Wood's blue light of Reverse Photosynthesis touches the Seed.]

The girl clutched her cloak tighter. She felt like thousands of eyes were peering right through her, each one contemptuously appraising her. Seeing through all her lies and truths and forming half-truths for when someone, anyone, would ask about her.

[The Seed is brimming with energy. Conditions are right, it awakens.]

The girl took short, deliberate breaths repeatedly. She felt her heart slow down and heard another heartbeat that was much slower but stronger than hers. It was like her heart was struggling to catch up. Slowing down to find resonance.

[The Seed will be nourished for as long it maintains a connection with the Elder Tree.]

Images flashed before her eyes: a boy, smiling at a little girl. Another, older, ruffling the little boy's hair, both smiling at the girl from the balcony of a burning castle. A man with a black beard and hair holding the girl in his arms, his eyes gouged out. A woman, steak knife in hand, choking on blood. Caped figures. A scream, another. And then a black cat with a creepy smile.

[The Seed sprouts.]

"Enough! What progress has the Seed made?" said the girl, gasping, beads of sweat forming on her head. She was on the verge of tears.

Often, Elder Trees took as much as they gave. Other times, the ancient lifeforms made no sense at all. The tree bled like flowing water. More letters appeared, carved in its flesh, with beautiful, intentional writing.

[Seed: Madness Burnswitch]

[Race: Human]

[Major: Witchcraft]

[Tests Attempted: 25 (cumulative)]

[Tests Passed: 3/10]

[Continuous Assessment (CA) Points: 24/100]

[Affinity: Curses (Timeless)]

[Beastly Curse: Nine-Life Cat.]

Afflictions:

[Of the Night (Lvl.1): Day seduces the Seed with sleep (Passive).]

[Not of the Deep: (Lvl.1): Water makes the Seed uneasy (Passive).]

[Of the Catwalk: (Lvl.1): The Seed can only walk in a straight line (Active).]

[Of the Nine Lives: (Lvl.???) The Seed...??? (Passive).]

[Pentacles: 30]

Madness's face slowly loosened, her jaw dropping even before she tightly clenched it. She sniffled, her eyes darting across the gory text several times, before settling on a particular line.

"No, no, no! Only four CA points for that last test? Why are all Examiners such a pain? I nearly drowned chasing after that Water Bunny!" she said, shutting her eyes and shaking her head in protest. Why did she have to put up with this? Who made all these stupid rules?

Madness cursed silently, knowing the Node came first. There was no point in crying over lost points. If it came to it, there's always the make-up test, right? She had nothing to prove. As long as she made it out of here, who cares how she did it? An early lead would make all the difference considering how poor a performance she'd had so far.