Run: 2026-02-17-01KHMPD9NVBA63PJX7Y727MKRR

Aurora Carter, known to few in this hidden corner of London as Rory, stepped through the ancient oak standing stones marking the boundary of the Fae Grove, the trees' gnarled silhouettes looming like sentinels against the moon. She had always felt an otherworldly pull to this place, a spot where the fabric between worlds was said to be at its thinnest. Tonight, she had a purpose for braving its isolated depths: to understand the strange, pulsing warmth emanating from the Heartstone Pendant around her neck. The silver chain glinted, catching slivers of moonlight that managed to penetrate the canopy above, as she made her way deeper into the clearing. Wildflowers, blooming defiantly in the dead of night, swayed gently in the breeze, their colors muted in the pale light. Rory's bright blue eyes, accustomed to the city's harsh glare, took a moment to adjust to the Grove's soft, ethereal luminescence. Her straight, shoulder-length black hair blended with the shadows, rendering her all but invisible as she moved. Her footsteps, the only sound in the stillness, seemed to echo more in her mind than in reality, each step a reminder that time moved differently here. An hour within the Grove's embrace could mean anything from mere minutes to lost days outside its bounds. The thought sent a shiver down her spine, but Rory pressed on, driven by a mix of curiosity and the unsettling feeling that the Heartstone Pendant was awakening to something. As she reached the clearing's center, Rory paused, her gaze sweeping the area. The crescent-shaped scar on her left wrist seemed to prickle with a memory, but it was the pendant that held her attention. Its deep crimson gemstone pulsed with a faint, inner warmth, more pronounced here than it had ever been in the bustling streets of London. She lifted the pendant, its size no larger than a thumbnail, and turned it, watching as the light danced within its depths. "A sign of what?" Rory whispered to herself, the sound swallowed by the Grove's oppressive silence. She had received the Heartstone Pendant from an unknown benefactor, with no message or indication of its origins, save for the faint Dymas inscription etched into the back of the silver chain's clasp. The stillness around her began to feel heavy, oppressive, as if the Grove itself was waiting. Rory's cool-headed nature, honed from years of navigating Cardiff's legal circles and later, the complexities of her own turbulent life, began to falter under the weight of the unblinking, dark watches of the trees. It started with the sound of leaves shifting, too delicate to be attributed to the wind, too intentional to be a small animal. Rory's head turned sharply to her right, her eyes narrowing as she strained to see into the darkness. The movement stopped as abruptly as it had begun, leaving behind a silence more unsettling than any sound. She took a deep breath, the air crisp with the scent of wildflowers, and continued her examination of the pendant, though her attention was now divided. The pulse within the gemstone seemed to quicken, or perhaps it was her heart, racing in anticipation of... something. A flicker of movement caught at the edge of her vision, gone before she could turn. Rory spun around, her back to the center of the clearing now, her eyes scouring the shadows. "Who's there?" she called out, her voice steady, though a tremor threatened to undermine her composure. The response was silence, and in its depths, a feeling grew—that she was being encircled, slowly, by unseen presences. Rory's grip on the pendant tightened, its warmth now a comforting beacon against the creeping chill. She took a step back, her heel catching on a hidden root. The jarring movement was enough to break the spell. With a swift motion, Rory slipped the pendant under her jacket, the silver chain cool against her skin, and began a deliberate, unhurried walk towards the boundary stones. Each step forward was met with an unshakeable sense that she was moving further away from escape, the standing stones remaining steadfast, yet somehow, impossibly, more distant. The wildflowers, once a gentle, soothing presence, now seemed to reach for her, their muted colors transformed into macabre, grasping fingers in her heightened state. It was then that the whispers began, soft, indistinguishable murmurs that wove in and out of the wind, always just out of reach. Rory quickened her pace, her heart pounding in her ears, drowning out the whispers, though their presence lingered, a cold, clammy touch on the back of her neck. She burst through the ancient oak standing stones, the city's distant hum and the moon's pale light enveloping her like a balm. Rory didn't stop running until she was back in the heart of Richmond, the Grove's terrors swallowed by the comforting anonymity of the night crowd. Breathless, she finally paused, looking back towards the unseen depths of Richmond Park, the Fae Grove hidden within its shadows. The Heartstone Pendant, still clutched in her hand, its pulsing warmth now a burning brand, reminded her that some mysteries were better left unexplored, yet it was too late. The darkness had seen her, and Rory could only wonder when it would come looking.