The Border Forest stretched far and wild beyond the last whisper of civilization. Trees rose like titans, their dense canopies casting cool shadows over the shifting terrain. The air grew damper as the four Postknights ventured deeper into the heart of the forest, guided only by moonlight and Razille's memory.
Razille led the way with deliberate strides, her eyes scanning the moss-covered rocks and twisted underbrush. Every now and then she would glance at a faded parchment tucked into her pocket — a map scribbled in Larielle's graceful handwriting, marked with coordinates and cryptic notes.
"She said it would be somewhere near a pond," Razille murmured more to herself than the group. "A place Aegle folklore calls the Pond of Seekers. A veil hides there... ancient knowledge sealed away from the outside world."
Ada trudged behind her, occasionally whacking at errant branches with the blunt edge of her wooden sword. "Why does ancient knowledge always come with so much walking?"
Vaidya chuckled. "You should write a book. 'The Grumpy Knight's Guide to Sacred Pilgrimages.'"
Solis, silent for most of the journey, marched steadily beside them, eyes half-lidded as he slipped in and out of thought. The dream still lingered in his mind — the veil, the pond, His own reflection back then. It had felt like more than a vision. It felt like a memory waiting to happen.
Vaidya asks, "Hey Raz! Do you have any idea why Aegles call that pond 'The Pond of Seekers'"?
"No, I don't know the reason. Miss Larielle never told me." Razille answers.
The path twisted up a ridge, then curved down into a basin surrounded by mossy rocks. The air changed.
"Stop," Razille said.
They all paused. A faint shimmer of light reflected off something ahead.
They pushed through a curtain of ferns and stepped into a clearing.
A pond — wide and still — rested like a sleeping eye in the basin. The water, though dim under the moon, radiated a soft inner glow, faint traces of blue light weaving through its depths. It felt old. Sacred. Like it remembered everything it had ever seen.
"That... must be it," Vaidya breathed.
"The Pond of Seekers," Razille confirmed. "We found it."
Across from the pond stood a crumbling structure — arched and broken, made from worn stone and partially overtaken by roots and vines. It resembled the outline of a forgotten shrine, or perhaps the remnants of a gate.
They approached it with reverent steps. The silence was overwhelming, broken only by the soft lapping of water and their quiet breaths.
Ada planted her sword against the ground and exhaled. "So now what?"
Razille gave her a puzzled glance. "What do you mean what?"
Ada gestured toward the pond and ruin with both arms. "Raz, I mean... are we supposed to do something now? We walked all the way here, and I don't see a trace of Phill or anyone else."
Razille folded her arms. "This isn't a game, Ada. Larielle told me this place hides that veil — a gateway to lost knowledge. It wouldn't be visible like a signboard!"
Ada's brow furrowed. "I'm just saying. We came all this way, and now we just stand here hoping for ancient secrets to fall into our laps?"
"Enough," Solis said quietly.
Both girls turned to him.
He had walked up to the ruin, fingertips brushing the moss-covered stone. He closed his eyes.
The image from his dream returned — the same environment, the same light, the same sense of pull. It had been calling to him. Not just in sleep, but perhaps long before that.
He extended both arms and pressed his palms against the largest stone slab embedded into the structure.
A low hum began.
Vaidya stepped back. "Solis...?"
The stone glowed beneath his hands. Sigils — arcane and intricate — blossomed across the surface like awakening roots. Wind stirred. The water in the pond rippled violently. A great groaning sound filled the clearing as the structure came to life.
Then — a vertical beam of light split open the ruin. A portal, crackling with energy, opened before them.
"I think... this is it," Solis whispered, his face illuminated in the glow.
Ada stepped beside him. "Guess we found your veil."
Razille stared at the light, wide-eyed. "Beyond this... is knowledge even the Aegles wanted to forgot, deliberately."
Vaidya adjusted his satchel. "Let's not forget why we came. If Phill's in there... then we must follow this lead."
The four of them stood side by side before the swirling gate.
No more arguments. No more doubts.
They stepped through the portal.
The portal closed behind them instantaneously.