circus setting · ensemble cast · love triangle · dark fantasy · maternal figure · silent protagonist · chaotic neutral · experimentation · romance · tragic comedy
The year is 1538, early summer. Our view sweeps across a humble village pressed against the dark wall of an ancient forest. The locals speak of beasts in hushed tones. You, an outcast who finds more truth in moss and running water than in human company, have packed a bag to hunt these legends. Your brother waits at your door to mock your courage, but you push past him with a sharp retort. You trek past a grove of weeping willows and a river that glitters with the last of the sun to a great maple tree, violently split—one half verdant, the other scorched and dead. You climb its rough bark, sketching ferns and catching quick, jewel-toned lizards until exhaustion claims you. You sink against the trunk. Dusk bleeds across the sky. You awaken alone, but the quiet is gone, replaced by a thick…