CAIUS: Crown of Threads and Shadows

The river carried them deeper into the Abyss until the suffocatingly narrow stone walls finally began to pull apart.

By the time Caius and Sereth reached the valley, the oppressive, heavy darkness of the deeper tunnels had slowly given way to a strange, twilight light. It was not true daylight, yet it was brighter than any subterranean passage they had traversed so far. High above, the sheer cliff faces of the Abyss rose so impossibly high that Caius could barely make out the distant, jagged split at the top where the surface world existed. Whatever sunlight managed to reach the valley floor was weak, diffuse, and pale gray, filtered through an eternal canopy of mist.

The entire valley seemed trapped in a perpetual state of quiet dusk.

Barren gray stone stretched across the floor, broken only by scattered patches of pale, colorless grass and gnarled vegetation that had somehow adapted to survive without direct sun. The underground river sliced through the heart of the valley, its cold waters winding between jagged rock outcroppings before disappearing into another dark throat of the Abyss further ahead.

Caius slowed his pace, taking in the eerie silence of the hollowed land. ”It is strange.”

Sereth glanced back over his shoulder, his dark eyes sweeping the perimeter. ”What is?”

”Everything is gray,” Caius murmured, looking at the faded moss and ash-colored leaves beneath his boots. ”As if all the color was washed out of it.”

Sereth studied the muted landscape for a long moment. ”It has probably been that way for centuries.”

They kept close to the river’s edge, using the rushing water as their guide, until they rounded a bend and encountered something entirely unexpected. Rising from the mist and twisted vegetation were massive, squared blocks of worked stone.

They were ancient ruins.

Some of the edifices had collapsed completely under the weight of time, reduced to forgotten piles of cracked masonry swallowed by dry roots. Others remained partially standing, their towering walls laced with deep fractures and pale lichen. The architecture was unlike anything Caius had ever seen in the kingdom. The megaliths had been fitted together with seamless, terrifying precision, and intricate, geometric symbols were carved deep into their weathered faces.

Caius stepped away from the path and approached one of the standing monoliths. He raised his hand, brushing away a layer of fine dust and dried grime to trace the grooves of the markings.

”Are these Elvish?” he asked, looking back at his companion.

Sereth stepped up beside him, leaning in slightly to inspect the ancient runes with a quiet, analytical eye. ”Older tongue.”

Caius glanced at the dark elf, a sudden thought crossing his mind. ”Older than you?”

Sereth turned his head slowly, his expression entirely unreadable. For several long seconds, he simply stared at the boy in dead silence.

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”I am not that old,” Sereth said, his tone dry.

A faint, fleeting smile managed to break through Caius’s usual solemnity.

Sereth shook his head, looking back at the stone with a faint hum in his throat. ”In my race, I am practically a teenager compared to humans.”

Caius turned his attention back to the massive ruins stretching across the valley floor. ”Then how old are these?”

”I don’t know.” Sereth reached out, running his slender fingers lightly over the contours of a carved arc. ”But they are old enough that even the elders of my people may have forgotten who laid the first foundation.”

Caius leaned closer, studying the complex patterns. The carvings resembled fluid, interwoven lines, sweeping concentric circles, and arcane runes that seemed to pulse faintly under his Eye of the Loom when he channeled even a drop of mana. Some sequence chains repeated across the span of the wall, while others had been ground to dust by centuries of erosion.

”Do you know what any of them say?”

”No.” Sereth looked out over the expanse of broken archways and half-buried pillars surrounding them. ”Whatever civilization built this place vanished from the world a very long time ago.”

They resumed their trek, searching the ancient settlement until they discovered a smaller, single-story stone structure nestled near a bend in the river. Unlike the grander halls nearby, this building was remarkably intact. Though half of its stone roof had caved in, the three remaining walls offered a solid shelter from the cold draft sweeping down the Abyss.

Sereth slipped through the narrow doorway first, checking every shadow and corner before giving a brief nod. ”We can camp here.”

Caius stepped inside and let his pack slide from his shoulders. The floor was buried beneath a layer of fine grit, stone fragments, and dry, drifted leaves, while the interior walls bore more of the enigmatic symbols. Together, they cleared a patch of ground near the back wall and gathered armfuls of dry wood from the hardy brush growing along the riverbank.

By nightfall, a small, contained fire crackled inside the ruin. The warm orange flames danced against the pale stone, casting long, shifting shadows across the ancient carved glyphs.

Caius sat near the open doorway, resting his back against the stone while Sereth took inventory of their remaining rations.

”We need food,” Sereth stated bluntly, holding up a sparse leather pouch.

Caius looked over. ”We still have enough dried meat for tonight.”

”Tonight, yes. Tomorrow will be different.” Sereth stood up, stepped to the doorway, and pointed down at the soft mud outside.

Caius rose and crouched beside him, peering at the ground where the firelight barely reached. Pressed deep into the damp earth near the river’s edge were several distinct, cloven markings.

Caius touched the edge of one track carefully. ”Deer?”

Sereth nodded. ”Looks like it. Some subterranean breed, likely.”

”Are these fresh?”

”Recent enough,” Sereth replied, scanning the darkness of the open valley. ”They probably come to the river to drink when the air cools.”

Caius stood up, wiping the damp soil from his fingers. ”We can hunt tomorrow at dawn.”

”Tomorrow,” Sereth agreed, stepping back inside to tend to the fire.

Gradually, a deeper, heavier darkness settled over the valley as night fell. The surrounding ruins lost what little detail they possessed, turning into silent, black silhouettes against the gray, misty backdrop of the Abyss.

Caius cast one last curious look at the ancient runes flickering in the firelight before turning away to lay out his bedroll.

Neither of them noticed the slight, fluid movement up among the high, shattered rocks overlooking their campsite.

Something was watching them.

A creature crouched low in the cold shadows beyond the perimeter of the ruins, its pale, hairless body almost completely blended with the gray stone and drifting mist. Four glossy, unblinking eyes caught the faint, distant glow of the campfire, reflecting the light like polished gems.

It remained perfectly, terrifyingly still.

Watching.

Waiting.

Silent as the grave, it observed the two strangers who had dared to step into its forgotten valley.