BLURB β§
"the hollow exchange" - (03/28/25)
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elias trudged through the dense forest, his breath visible in the
frigid air. the trees were ancient, their gnarled limbs twisting toward
the sky like supplicants in prayer. it had been three days since he
left the village, and his provisions were running low. still, he pressed
on. he had to.
the sickness had come suddenly, like an ill wind sweeping through the
valley. first, the livestock had fallen ill, then the elders, and then the
children. no remedy worked. the village healer had sent elias with one
desperate task: to find the sorceress of the hollow. if anyone could save
them, it was her.
legends of the sorceress were whispered around hearthfiresβstories of a
woman as old as the trees, whose eyes had seen the rise and fall of empires.
some said she was a demon; others, a goddess. but all agreed she was
powerful beyond measure.
elias had begun to doubt the tales. he had found no sign of her, only endless
woods and the gnawing hunger in his belly. but then, as twilight thickened the
air, he stumbled into a clearing.
a small cottage stood in its center, its roof thatched with silver moss. smoke
curled lazily from the chimney, and a warm light flickered behind the single
round window. elias's heart pounded. he stepped forward and knocked on the
wooden door.
it creaked open on its own.
inside, the cottage was impossibly large, its walls lined with bookshelves and
curious trinkets. a fire crackled in the hearth, casting long shadows across the
stone floor. at the center of the room sat a woman, draped in dark silk, her silver
hair cascading over her shoulders.
"you seek me," she said, not turning to face him. her voice was smooth, yet
carried the weight of centuries.
elias dropped to one knee. "please, my village is dying. we need your help."
the sorceress turned. her eyes, impossibly bright, studied him. "and what would
you offer in return?"
elias hesitated. he had nothing of valueβonly his life. "whatever you ask."
she smiled, though it did not reach her eyes. "very well. i will grant you what you
seek. but first, you must answer me this: what is the shape of your sorrow?"
the question took him aback. "i⦠i do not understand."
"then you are not yet ready to save them." she waved a hand, and the door
behind him slammed shut. "you may leave when you have your answer."
elias swallowed his protest. he had no choice but to obey.
days passed. the sorceress gave him food but little guidance. he explored the
endless cottage, finding rooms that seemed to rearrange themselves when he
wasn't looking. shelves held bottles of strange blue fire, books that whispered
when opened, and mirrors that reflected places he had never seen. and yet, he
could not grasp the meaning of her question.
one night, while studying an ancient tome, he found a passage that chilled him:
to know oneβs sorrow is to see the wound the world has carved into you.
a memory surfacedβhis sisterβs laughter as they ran through the wheat fields.
then, the fever that had taken her in the night. the silence of the house afterward,
the way his motherβs eyes lost their light.
his sorrow was the hollow left in her place.
the next morning, he returned to the sorceress. "i know now. my sorrow is absence.
the shape of someone who should be there, but is not."
the sorceress nodded. "then you are ready."
she lifted a hand, and the room darkened. wisps of silver light coiled around her fingers,
gathering into a sphere that pulsed with quiet power. she placed it in his hands.
"take this to your village," she said. "at sunrise, release it. but know thisβmagic does not
give; it exchanges. be certain of what you are willing to lose."
elias hesitated, but his people needed him. he bowed, clutching the orb to his chest, and
left the cottage.
by the time he reached the village, the sickness had worsened. the streets were empty. he
knelt in the square as the first light of dawn touched the rooftops and, with a whispered
prayer, shattered the sphere upon the ground.
a wind rushed outward, washing over the homes, the fields, the people. he saw itβcolor
returning to pale faces, breath filling weak lungs. the sickness vanished as if it had never
been.
elias fell to his knees, dizzy with relief. he turned to the villagers, ready to rejoiceβ
but they did not know him.
they looked upon him with unfamiliar eyes, not a glimmer of recognition among them. his
mother, standing in the doorway, met his gaze with polite curiosity. "traveler, are you lost?"
his heart turned to ice.
the sorceress's words echoed in his mind. magic does not give; it exchanges.
he had saved them.
but they had lost him.
elias staggered back, the weight of his sacrifice settling upon him. he was a stranger in his own
home. a ghost in the place where he once belonged.
and the wind carried on, uncaring.