The dust in the Forbidden Library of Orestes danced in the pale, filtered light of the moon, looking like ground bone as it settled upon the stone floor. This was a place where history had been left to rot, sealed away by seals that only a true monarch or a master of the Essence could hope to break. Constantine walked through the rows of towering shelves, the scent of ancient parchment and decaying leather thick enough to taste. The air was stagnant, heavy with the weight of centuries-old silence that seemed to protest his intrusion. Behind him, Elena held a flickering Essence lamp, its violet glow casting long, distorted shadows that climbed the walls like spectral hands.
"The seals were ancient, My Lord," Elena whispered, her voice barely a ripple in the oppressive quiet. "They were des
