It's midnight; his birthday has passed. Timothy found himself immersed in the silent hours of midnight, grappling with the echoes of the recent events inside the colossal tree. The weight of the mysterious encounter lingered in his thoughts. Determined to quell the haunting images, he rose from his bed, the wooden floor cool beneath his feet. The room was bathed in the soft glow of a lone candle, casting long shadows on the walls. He practiced sword forms until his body quit on him , and he fell asleep on the cold floor.
While he was in Dreamland, a heated conversation took place between his mother Gabrielle and his father Edward. "The boy is old enough, Gabby; we have to tell him the truth about this world of ours, about where we came from," Edward said in a soft tone.
His mother lay down, looking at the ceiling with a complicated look in her eyes. "But, Ed, we said we were going to give him a normal and happy life, not a life filled with ancient dangers and horrors," she said in a shaken voice, as if recalling bitter memories.
Seeing his wife's expression turn bitter, Edward pulled her close to him. "I know, Gabby, I know. But the world is in turmoil; the kingdoms are about to go to war against one another. Many secrets buried in the last war will be revealed to the whole world. At least it's best if we give our boy a head start and a fighting chance. Plus, he's training to be a knight, which means he'll be on the frontlines facing powers he doesn't know or understand," he explained.
Gabby knew Edward had a point. If their son was to survive the impending war, he needed to know what this world truly is. "Have you heard from Carol? She's been gone for three years now, and I tried connecting with her astral form, but I couldn't establish a connection, which means she's very far away," Gabby skillfully changed the subject.
"Ah, yes, I forgot to tell you she sent a handwritten letter this time," Edward got out of bed and went to his table to pick up the letter. "Here it is," passing the letter to his wife.
"Hmm, why did she write using ancient kafey?" she asked as she started reading the letter.
Dear family, forgive me for not updating you on my whereabouts for the past three years. I have traveled from island to island trying to find the tablets of ancient. But for the first two years, I found nothing. I had even planned on returning home, but then on one day on an island named Xoj, I overheard a bunch of pirates talking about a place where many ships are lost as soon as they enter its calm waters, never to be found again. So I went to the pirates and asked for the coordinates in exchange for a god coin, but they refused the payment and gave me the coordinates for free. And guess what? I went there and found out that this place is the rumored emerald sea, home of the cursed. The sea here is dead; their water is acidic; it corrodes the ship before it even reaches the dark island. That's why the pirates were saying many ships were lost here. And it is here I found the first tablet of ancient and the last of the cursed, but the cursed said that I can't leave the place with the tablet until she has imparted all her ancient knowledge and power unto me since she's the only one left out of the four ancient beings. I think I'll be back in a year or two. Please apologize to my nephew that I've missed three of his birthdays. I love you guys, and please take care of yourselves. War is coming. Love, Carol.
After she read the letter, Gabby understood why Edward was so anxious. "She's found it, huh? But what did she mean that the cursed wanted to impart her knowledge and power unto her first?" she asked her husband.
"That I don't know," he answered with a shrug. "It's already past midnight; love, you need to get some rest," he said with a warm smile.
"Okay, but let me go check on him first," she got out of bed, wearing nothing but a chemise. She got to her son's bedroom and opened the door slowly, only to see the boy sleeping soundly on the floor with his sword by his side. She stared at him for a few more minutes, then closed the door and left.
After the door was closed, the figure of a little girl appeared in Timothy's room, hovering above him as he slept. "Your family is interesting," she said before vanishing, leaving the room as quickly as she appeared.