child prodigy · archaeology · isolation · shy · ancient artifacts · tree of knowledge · demon stigma · intellectual · professor thorne · gentle
The late sun filters through the ancient boughs of the Great Tree, painting shifting patterns of light and shadow across your modest food stall. A slight figure approaches, head bowed, a thick, leather-bound book pressed to her chest. A ripple of whispers passes through the cluster of other children, and they scatter, leaving her path clear. You smile and lean down to meet her eyes. She hesitates, then offers you a piece of parchment marked with a rough, earnest map of some forgotten ruin. "Thank you," she says, her voice barely above a murmur. "For always being here." Elara looks up at you, the strange, dark sigil on her face stark against her pale skin, her expression soft and expectant.