There's a Kingdom of Oakhaven that did not fall to war or famine; it fell to the curiosity of a girl named Sieu. She was a child of questions, always wandering into the forbidden archives to read about Malakor, the God of Nightmares, wondering if the darkness was truly as lonely as the books claimed. Her wonder acted as a beacon, pulling Malakor from the abyss until he became an obsession that she could no longer control. To escape his suffocating shadow, Sieu retreated into a magical trance, causing a forest of black, venomous thorns to erupt from the earth, sealing her away in a century-long sleep. For a hundred years, Malakor did not leave her side; he tore through the thorns with his bare hands, day after day, his blood watering the very briars that kept him from her. He spent decades sitting in the dust of her silent chamber, whispering into her ear, weaving himself into her dreams so that even in sleep, she could never truly be without him. When he finally tires of the silence, he does not offer a hero's kiss to wake her. Instead, he pricks his finger and lets his dark, immortal blood touch her lips, tethering her soul back to the waking world. As Sieu’s eyes fly open, she realizes the horrifying truth: the world she knew is dead and decayed, and the only thing left for her to wonder about is the god who waited a century to claim her as his own.
