The following morning, the rain had finally stopped and the entire area was covered with a dense mist. It was not as eerie in the daylight and yet mystery could be sensed in the very air that one breathed in the town. Aria had barely slept, she kept thinking about the man in the mist and the vague warning he had given to her.
She realized that she couldn't overlook them and could not leave without addressing them. She decided to have a snack as soon as possible so after a hearty breakfast Aria put on a warm coat and went towards the town center. There were few people out and about, most of the inhabitants of the city still in bed. She walked with purpose, her destination clear in her mind: the Wolvesbane Hollow Historical Society and Archives. If there are any answers to be found then they had to be buried somewhere in the long history of the existence of the town.
The archives were stored in a small old brick building which was located at the end of the town square. She entered through a vast wooden door that opened with a groaning sound. Upon entering the house it was noticeably cooler and it smelled of old books and dust. The walls were lined with shelves with all sorts of volumes about local history, old maps and other documents detailing the workings of the town.
A woman of about sixty years with silver hair styled in a bun was seated behind a large desk wearing a pair of reading glasses that rested at the base of her nose. She glanced up when Aria walked in and fixed her sharp blue eyes on Aria.
"Good morning," Aria said struggling to hide the anxiety that was building up inside of her. "Well I'm hoping to do some research on the town's history."
The woman stared at her for a few seconds before slowly nodding her head. 'There are not many people who comes here,' she continued in soft tune. 'Well sweetheart what do you want specifically?'
Aria paused, unsure of what to say. "I'm interested in the history of the town—anything related to the surrounding forest or local legends."
The woman looked curiously but did not ask any additional questions. Rather, she pointed southwestwards across the space of the room. "You are better starting with the oldest, they are at the back in the red shelf, If you need anything just let me know."
Aria said thank you and proceeded to go to the red labelled shelves. The shelves were filled with the thick volumes which were made of leather and the scrolls which were decaying together with the titles written in a very pale color. She took out a few of them and opened them where one could see pages packed tightly with writing at what looked like from a quill pen. Much of it proven to be fairly routine—Registers of land deeds, birth and death certificates, comments on civic administration. But Aria wanted to find something different, something that would suggest the existence of the supernatural phenomena of some kind, which Aria could feel since coming to Wolvesbane Hollow.
Nearly after an hour of searching she found what she needs. In the dusty margins of the back page of a book, she was able to read a short description of the Wolvesbane Veil – a term that made her distinctly uncozy. The entry had been made well over two centuries ago and even though the ink seemed to have been worn out, Aria was still able to read what was written on the page.
The veil was portrayed as an age old partition, an ethereal wall which existed between the world of the living and the world of the dead and everything paranormal. The veil had been put up to shield the town from the evil that lived beyond the forest, a forest that once belonged to a pack of mighty werewolves.
Aria shivered inhaling sharply as she continued to read the contents of the article. The veil was maintained by eight selected guardians of the town to ensure the defense of the town from the other horrors that could wake up if the veil was ever broken. Some of these guardians were thought to have inherited special skills, down their bloodline, to strengthen the veil and maintain the separation.
But what caught Aria's attention most was the mention of a bloodline—a family entrusted with the most sacred responsibility of all: to guarantee that the veil was preserved. The name of the family was illegible due to the indistinct ink and the passage of time, nevertheless Aria had a hunch she knew who the name belonged to.
Her palms were sweating as she puts the book down. Thus, the air of mystery started to unfold, but along with that came a more distinct feeling of Rather ominous disquiet. Her grandmother had known about the veil, had probably been one of the people responsible for protecting it. And now that knowledge had been imparted to her and with it all the risks that went with it.
Aria put the book back in the shelf and started her search again and with a myriad of questions going through her head. What had happened to the other guardians? Was the veil really in danger, as the stranger in the mist had said? And what was she supposed to do in all of this?
She was so deep in thought that she did not see the woman whom she met at the front desk moving closer to her until she was almost touching.
"Yes,' replied the woman, "Looking for something specific?" As she spoke, her voice snapped Aria out of her daydream.
Aria simply blinked and nodded while still not quite sure what she was to disclose. "I did get some interesting facts Yes; But I still can not quite comprehend what most of it was about."
The woman looked at her and smiled in a rather understanding way. "Dear, the past is a difficult thing. And so, there are certain things which are better off left unsaid. However, if you strongly intend to dig, you must know what's buried deep beneath the ground."
Aria looked into her eyes and felt that there was something deeper about this woman. "So you never heard anything about the Wolvesbane Veil?" she asked warily.
There was no reaction from the woman as she averted her gaze but, for a brief split second, she seemed to know Aria. "I've heard the stories," she said carefully. "But stories are all they are", It brought fear among children and never encouraged them to go to the forest."
"Do you really believe that?" Aria asked, looking directly at the woman's eyes to see if she is telling the truth.
The woman paused for a moment, apparently, deciding what she would say next. Then she moved her face closer to Aria and spoke in a very discrete tone. "Every story has a grain of truth you know, Aria. But whether or not you want to accept them, then that's your call."
Aria felt her heart beat faster. The woman seemed to know more, that much was obvious. However, there was no time for Aria to ask anything else, the woman abruptly stood up and stepped slightly away from Aria.
"If you are in search of more information," she added her voice a little louder "you should try getting the documents from the church. They have more records than ours."
"Thanks," Aria responded, her mind already concocting a plan. The old church—she had a feeling of familiarity as if she seen the place earlier while coming to town. To be precise, it was an old, Gothic building which was partially covered with the growth of trees. If there were more clues to be found that was where she would start.
The woman nodded, and as she was about to walk out she stopped and stared at Aria for a brief moment. "You better watch out for yourself," she said this in gentle tone. "There are some things which are better off unsaid."
Aria watched her go and the seriousness of the warning echoed deeply within her. But she couldn't turn back now. Too much had already been set in motion. The veil, the guardians, the danger that lurked just out of sight—it was all connected, and she needed to understand how.
Gathering her coat, Aria stepped out into the fog once more, the crisp air biting at her cheeks. The fog had gotten dense once more, enshrouding the town in a cloak. But even as she walked towards the old church she could not get over the feeling that everything in the town was watching her, every eye on her.
But she just ignored the thought and concentrated on the path before her. And whatever secrets the church had, she was determined to find out. The truth was there at her fingertips, and she would stop at nothing to reveal it.