Broken Glass - Taekook

10

At a nod from Namjoon, our entire group begins to shove belongings into packs, checking that everything has been collected. Aphelia floats into the pouch at Namjoon's waist. Taehyung glances over our camp one more time, sweeping away as much of the evidence of our presence as he can. We didn't have a fire, so we don't have worry about removing ashes, much to my relief, but the spaces where we slept are still slightly compressed into the earth.

We begin to move, and my gaze flickers over the faces of my companions. Most are paler than usual, their jaws tense and their shoulders clenched. I don't bother asking why they're worried. Based on what they've told me, this will be like entering hell for them.

But we don't have much of a choice. We have to see the reality of these Cursed Towers. We have to understand what we're facing. And maybe even what we're fighting for, too.

As we progress through the forest, little things catch my attention. The sudden lack of birdsong. The way the air suddenly gets impossibly dry, making breathing much more difficult. The crunch of dead leaves under my feet. The slowly rising heat, baking through my clothes. A layer of cold sweat quickly settles on my back, and I shiver, the movement travelling down my spine.

And then Namjoon holds up a hand, stops, points down at the ground. For a moment, it looks entirely normal. Then I look closer. The ground is tinted with a faint amount of red. "Just like in my dream," I murmur to myself, and he nods grimly.

"We must tread carefully. Don't try to access the golden river unless you desperately need to. We don't know what will happen." Namjoon takes a deep breath, and I realise he's shaking. "Use your common sense, and trust your instincts. We won't go inside the tower, but we'll circle it. Only when we get there can you refer to it by its real name."

With that, we continue, much more carefully than before, at a quick but steady pace. The density of the trees slowly reduces, and each one seems slightly more decimated. By the time we reach the edge of a large clearing flat, the branches are thin, wasted and dead. The earth is completely bare, bright red. I haven't seen a single leaf, living or dead, in half an hour.

And there, right in front of us, sits Shylrennor, the first Cursed Tower any of us have ever seen in real life.

The stone is tainted red, crumbling, just as it did in my vision, with voids where windows once were. I can feel a presence, watching over us like a malevolent guard, and my shoulders hunch up of their own accord, as if to try and fend it off. When I try to breathe, my chest feels like its going to collapse.

"Shylrennor," Taehyung murmurs, the word guttural and strange, twisting his usually velvety voice into something cold and unfamiliar. I look at my fellow travellers, see the way their heads bow, almost in sorrow, at the sight of the tower. In the bright light of day, it looks dull and dead, the colours washed out, the structure in ruin.

"This used to be a place filled with life," Yoongi comments, his tone softer than I've ever heard it. "My parents told me stories about this place. There was a lot of energy here, a small pond. It rained a lot here, but it was a powerful place for water elementals. There were so many different creatures that relied on this place, and they're probably long dead by now."

"What happened to them?" I ask, and then it hits me.

Namjoon must see the realisation in my eyes, because he nods solemnly, sighing. "Once upon a time, this was a place of safety. A Gaklea, one much bigger and older than Aphelia, could read the landscape and sense if anything was wrong, like a sentry. There was a family that lived here, managed the land. There was space in the top for a massive fire. It would act as a call to anyone who saw it, a cry for aid. Sometimes it was lit to send messages."