BLOOD CURSE

CHAPTER 12 : A MESSAGE IN ASH

They reached a secluded, abandoned hunting lodge near the river, a place Lysander used for shelter. While Lysander started a fire (carefully, using a flint and steel, and only touching the wood with thick fabric), Elara noticed a small, peculiar detail near the door.

​Scratched into the soot on the chimney-piece was a symbol: a jagged, vertical line crossed by three horizontal lines.

​"Lysander, look at this," Elara whispered, pointing.

​Lysander studied the mark. "An old cipher. It means 'Watcher.' A sign left by those who monitor the movements of the Crown's inner circle. They have their own spies, often disgraced scholars or former soldiers."

​Beneath the symbol, another message was etched deeper, almost invisible: R.C. – The Seed Vault.

​"R.C.," Elara muttered. "Royal College? The Maesters?"

​"The Seed Vault," Lysander repeated, his voice grim. "The Royal Seed Vault is a heavily fortified underground chamber in the capital, Veridia City. It holds the kingdom's entire supply of genetic material for the next generation of crops. And it's the safest place—and therefore the most logical place—to hide the ingredients for their precious Elixir."

​The realization dawned on Elara. "They aren't just trying to control life and decay; they want control of all future life. If they taint the Seed Vault with the finished Elixir, they control the next thousand years of Veridia's harvest, and thus, its people."

​Lysander nodded. "They need the Drain power to fully corrupt the Seeds and make the Elixir permanent. We can’t wait a week for Kaelen. We need to move toward the city now and try to intercept Torius before he combines the final components."