The anvil sat unmoved, a silent testament to Darian's limits. He leaned back against the workshop wall, his breath heavy with disappointment.
"What was I thinking?" he muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I'm not strong. I'm just…"
His eyes drifted to the corner of the table, where a bundle of cloth lay forgotten. The merchant's gift. The stone.
He hesitated, then reached for it, unwrapping the cloth to reveal the smooth, black surface etched with faint, glowing runes. He hadn't thought much of it when the merchant gave it to him, but now, with his mind racing and his body buzzing from the strange events of the day, the stone seemed to hum with an almost magnetic pull.
Darian reached out tentatively, brushing the surface with his fingertips. A spark of warmth surged through him, not unlike the strange energy he'd felt earlier at the barn. But just as quickly, it vanished, leaving only the cool smoothness of the stone beneath his fingers.
Frustration gnawed at him. "What are you?" he muttered, as if the object could answer.
A knock on the door startled him. Lila stepped inside, her expression hesitant. "I thought I'd find you here."
Darian quickly slipped the stone into his pocket. "Couldn't sleep," he admitted.
Lila smiled faintly. "Me neither. The stars are bright tonight. Want to go for a walk?"
---
The two of them wandered into the quiet fields beyond the village, their path lit by the pale glow of the moon. Lila's basket swung at her side, filled with herbs she had picked earlier in the evening.
"I've been thinking about what happened at the barn," she said after a while. "That wasn't normal, Darian. Not even adrenaline can explain what you did."
Darian hesitated. "Maybe it was just a fluke."
"Maybe," Lila said, though her tone suggested she didn't believe him. "But if it wasn't… you might want to figure out what it means. Before someone else does."
They walked in silence for a while, the quiet hum of the night filling the air. Darian couldn't bring himself to tell her about the stone or the strange warmth it had given off. Not yet. He didn't know enough to explain it—not to her, not even to himself.
When they returned to the edge of the village, Lila paused, her gaze thoughtful. "You're different, Darian. I don't know how, but... I think you're meant for something bigger than this place."
Darian smiled weakly. "Bigger than Green Hollow? That's not saying much."
Lila gave him a small smile but said nothing, her eyes lingering on him for a moment before she turned and walked away.
---
Back in his workshop, Darian pulled the stone out again. It lay in his palm, faintly pulsing with an inner glow. He stared at it, his thoughts swirling with uncertainty and a growing sense of unease.
Whatever secrets the stone held, they weren't going to stay buried for long.