Chapter Thirty-Six

The group quietly resupplies in Hallan’s market, where Aeri buys a wrap dress and liquidates a diamond to replenish funds. Mikail debates sending a message to Fallador but resolves to trust only his companions and to face Rune and Fallador later with allies. They leave their skiff at port, take horses, and head west toward the long-ruined sacred woods of Alta, hoping to find the hidden Gayan Temple of Knowledge.

On the approach, the land turns to ash and mist, the colossal blackened trees standing like monuments to the Festival of Blood. The horses balk at the cursed ground, so Royo leads them back to grass and a stream, accepting the risk of theft. The four press on by foot into dense fog, guided by compasses and resolve. Mikail feels watched and battles joint pain, headaches, and growing confusion, which he suspects are the toll of the scepter.

Hours of trudging through spongy ash yield no sign of the temple. Doubts rise as distance and poor visibility make navigation uncertain. Determined to continue, they stop at dusk between two fused trunks that offer cover. Royo builds a fire when digging fails in the shifting ash, and the others set camp.

The oppressive place and accumulated grief finally break through Mikail’s composure. Remembering Euyn, his father, and the Festival’s victims, he collapses into sobs. Sora holds him, Aeri takes his hand and blankets him, and Royo steadies him and lights the fire. Salted water and shared silence help him recover. The night closes in without stars, and Mikail chooses to see that as freedom to write a new fate with this chosen family, even as his scepter toll lingers.