In the quiet, tradition-bound Oxcut Village, sixteen-year-old Jar longs for only one thing: a life untouched by fate.
But when the village elders nominate him to become the next chief, that fragile peace begins to collapse. Jar wants no part in the sacred trial, no part in the expectations of his people, and no part in a destiny chosen for him long before he was born.
Then the mainland soldiers arrive.
Armed with strange technology and backed by a kingdom hungry for Oxcut's land, they bring violence to the village and force the elders into a desperate decision: the trial for chief will begin immediately.
Alongside three other nominees-the calculating Yuure, the ambitious Morli, and the fiercely devoted Char-Jar is thrust into a sacred competition deep within the forbidden forest. Whoever retrieves the hidden artifact will become the next chief of Oxcut Village.
And earn the right to marry Joy, the chief's daughter.
But Joy is no prize.
Bound by duty to her ailing father and the traditions of the village, she hides her fears behind gentle words and quiet strength. To Jar, she is the only person who makes the weight of the world feel bearable. Yet the closer the trial draws, the more he realizes that her future may already belong to someone else.
As the village celebrates beneath firelight, songs, and ancient blessings, tensions begin to fracture beneath the surface. Each nominee carries a different vision for the future of Oxcut. Each bears their own fire, their own burden, and their own reason for stepping into the trial.
And beyond the ceremony, deeper truths wait in the forest.
The mainland's interest in Oxcut is no coincidence. The sacred land hides something older than the village itself-something capable of changing the fate of everyone bound to it.
Now Jar must decide whether to abandon the trial and protect the small life he wanted...
or step into a destiny that may cost him his identity-
and Joy.
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