BEYOND THE NORTHERN FOREST

CHAPTER THREE:THE MARK

THE MARK

Three weeks had passed since lucan arrived at Duke Arven's estate.

He was beginning to understand that the estate was not simply a large house.

It was its own little world.

There were servants who rarely left the kitchen, soldiers who seemed to spend their entire lives in the training yard, stable hands who knew every horse by name, messengers who appeared at all hours of the day, and guards who watched the walls even when there was nothing to watch.

Everyone had a place.

Everyone had a purpose.

Lucan was slowly finding his.

Most mornings, he woke before sunrise.

He would pull on his boots, wash his face with cold water, and head straight to the stables.

His first job was feeding the horses.

His second was cleaning the stalls.

Then came water.

Then hay.

Then brushing the horses.

After that, he usually helped in the barracks.

It was hard work, but Kael didn't complain.

He had grown up working.

His brother, Levi, had taught him that a person didn't become stronger by avoiding difficult things.

Lucan remembered those lessons every morning.

Do the work properly.

Don't rush.

Pay attention.

And never assume something is safe just because it looks harmless.

That last lesson had stayed with him.

Especially now.

Because there were many things at the estate that didn't make sense.

The soldiers.

The northern patrol.

Duke Arven's strange questions.

And the way certain people reacted whenever Kael mentioned Levi.

There was something everyone seemed to know except him.

Lucan had begun noticing it more often.

A conversation would stop when he entered a room.

Someone would mention the northern forest, then suddenly change the subject.

Once, lucan had asked one of the older guards if he knew anything about Levi.

The man had gone silent for nearly a minute before telling Kael he had never heard the name.

Lucan knew he was lying.

He just didn't know why.

Still, he continued working.

He had learned that patience was sometimes more useful than anger.

Levi had taught him that too.

Unfortunately, patience was becoming difficult.

Because that morning, the entire estate was behaving strangely.

Lucan noticed it the moment he stepped into the courtyard.

The guards were wearing their formal armor.

Not their normal training equipment.

Their polished armor.

The kind reserved for important visitors.

The banners hanging from the walls had been replaced.

The courtyard had been swept until there wasn't a single pile of dirt near the main entrance.

Even the stable workers had been ordered to clean every stall.

Lucan frowned.

"What happened?"

Bram, who was checking a horse's saddle, glanced at him.

"Nothing."

Lucan looked around.

"This doesn't look like nothing."

Bram sighed.

"Monthly inspection."

"Inspection by who?"

Bram's expression changed.

He looked toward the main gates.

"One of the Seven."

Lucan stopped.

"The Seven?"

Bram looked at him.

"You really don't know?"

"Know what?"

Bram lowered his voice.

"The Seven Curses."

Lucan frowned.

He had heard the phrase before.

Usually from old villagers telling stories.

But Bram didn't sound like he was talking about a story.

"What are they?"

Bram looked uncomfortable.

"Not something you should be asking about."

"Why?"

"Because people who ask too many questions tend to find answers they don't like."

Lucan stared at him.

"That doesn't make sense."

"It wasn't supposed to."

Bram returned to the horse.

Lucan wanted to ask more.

Before he could, a bell rang.

Once.

The sound echoed through the estate.

A second bell rang.

Then a third.

Bram's face became serious.

"They're here."

Lucan turned toward the gates.

The massive wooden doors slowly opened.

Six riders entered.

Four wore silver-and-black armor.

Two wore long dark cloaks.

Behind them came a black carriage.

It wasn't particularly large.

But the horses pulling it were enormous.

Their coats were almost completely black, and their eyes seemed unnaturally bright beneath the morning sunlight.

A silver symbol had been painted on the carriage door.

Lucan stared at it.

A circle.

Three sharp lines running through the center.

He didn't know why.

But the moment he saw it, something inside his chest tightened.

A strange warmth passed beneath his skin.

Lucan touched his chest.

It disappeared.

"Lucan?"

He looked at Bram.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes."

"You went pale."

"I'm fine."

Bram watched him for another moment.

Then the carriage stopped.

The door opened.

A woman stepped out.

She looked young.

Perhaps in her late twenties.

She wore a long black coat with silver stitching around the edges.

Unlike the soldiers, she carried no visible weapon.

Yet the courtyard became completely silent when she stepped onto the ground.

Every soldier straightened.

Some lowered their heads.

Even Duke Arven came out personally to greet her.

Kael had never seen the duke do that for anyone.

The woman walked forward.

"Duke Arven."

"Lady Seris."

They exchanged formal greetings.

Lucan watched from beside the stables.

He had never seen anyone make an entire group of trained soldiers nervous without saying a single word.

Lady Seris looked around.

Her eyes moved over the courtyard.

The barracks.

The walls.

The soldiers.

The servants.

Then they stopped.

On lucan.

Her expression changed.

Only slightly.

But lucan saw it.

She was studying him.

Not like a noble looking at a servant.

Not like someone curious about a stranger.

She looked at him as if she had seen something impossible.

Duke Arven noticed.

"Lady Seris?"

She didn't answer.

Her eyes remained on Kael.

"Who is that boy?"

Arven looked at him.

"Lucan."

"His position?"

"Stable servant."

"How long has he been here?"

"Three weeks."

Seris looked back at Arven.

"Where did you find him?"

"On the eastern road."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"Family?"

The duke paused.

"His brother disappeared."

Seris's eyes moved to lucan again.

"Disappeared?"

Lucan answered himself.

"Three months ago."

Seris studied him.

"Where?"

"The northern forest."

Silence.

The expression on Seris's face became colder.

"The northern forest?"

Lucan nodded.

She looked at Duke Arven.

Something passed between them.

Lucan didn't understand it.

But he knew it meant something.

Seris looked at him again.

"What was your brother's name?"

"Levi."

For the briefest moment, her eyes widened.

Then she turned away.

"Interesting."

Lucan frowned.

"What?"

She didn't answer.

Duke Arven stepped forward.

"Lady Seris, perhaps we should begin."

Seris nodded.

"Of course."

She walked toward the estate.

But before entering, she looked over her shoulder.

Her eyes met lucan's.

This time, lucan felt something.

A pulse.

Deep inside his body.

Thump.

He grabbed his arm.

The feeling disappeared.

Seris noticed.

She stopped.

But Duke Arven continued walking.

After a moment, Seris followed.

Lucan remained where he was.

He stared at his arm.

Something was wrong.

He knew it.

He just didn't know what.

---

The inspection lasted for hours.

Lucan returned to his work.

At least, he tried.

But the phrase Seven Curses kept returning to his mind.

He had heard of magic before.

Everyone had.

There were stories of powerful mages.

Stories of warriors who could summon flames.

Stories of ancient creatures.

But the Seven Curses were different.

People didn't speak about them like ordinary magic.

They spoke about them carefully.

Almost fearfully.

Lucan wanted answers.

He found Bram again during the afternoon.

The older man was cleaning a saddle.

"What are the Seven Curses?"

Bram didn't look up.

"I told you not to ask."

"You never told me what they are."

"Exactly."

"Why does everyone fear them?"

Bram stopped.

He looked around before speaking.

"Because they aren't normal magic."

Lucan waited.

Bram lowered his voice.

"Each curse has a bearer."

"Bearer?"

"Someone chosen to carry it."

"Chosen by who?"

Bram shook his head.

"Nobody knows."

"What do they do?"

"Each one has a different power."

Lucan's curiosity grew.

"What kind?"

Bram stared at him.

"The kind you don't want turned against you."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

Bram returned to his work.

Lucan sighed.

"You're all hiding something."

Bram looked at him.

"Sometimes people hide things because they don't want children getting involved."

"I'm not a child."

Bram almost smiled.

"You are fourteen."

"That doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"No."

Bram looked toward the main building.

"It means you still have time to stay out of things that can destroy your life."

Lucan didn't't answer.

Bram returned to the saddle.

Lucan walked away.

He had heard enough to know one thing.

The Seven Curses were real.

And Lady Seris carried one.

---

Later that afternoon, lucan was sent to the western storage rooms.

The inspection had created extra work.

Everything had to be organized.

Old weapons were being moved.

Broken equipment was being sorted.

Unused armor was being cleaned.

Lucan carried a wooden crate into one of the rooms.

He set it down.

Then another.

Then another.

The room smelled of dust and old leather.

He wiped his forehead.

"Finally."

He turned to leave.

Something caught his eye.

A small object was lying beneath a piece of cloth.

Lucan crouched.

He pulled the cloth away.

His breathing stopped.

A silver pendant lay beneath it.

A dark stone hung from the chain.

Lucan knew it.

He had seen it many times.

Levi had worn it.

Not every day.

But often.

Lucan picked it up with trembling fingers.

"No..."

He turned it over.

There was a symbol engraved on the back.

The same symbol he had seen on the carriage.

A circle.

Three sharp lines.

Lucan's heart began pounding.

Why was Levi's pendant here?

He looked around.

Nobody.

He closed his hand around it.

Levi had never told him where it came from.

Lucan remembered asking once.

Levi had simply said:

"It's nothing important."

Lucan had believed him.

Now he wasn't so sure.

He hurried from the room.

He nearly collided with Duke Arven.

The duke looked down.

Then his eyes fell on the pendant.

His expression changed.

"Where did you get that?"

Lucan tightened his grip.

"The storage room."

"Give it to me."

Lucan didn't move.

"Levi had one."

Arven's face became serious.

"I know."

Lucan stared at him.

"You know?"

The duke reached out.

"Give it to me."

"How do you know my brother?"

Arven said nothing.

Lucan stepped forward.

"You knew him."

"I knew of him."

"That's not the same thing."

"No."

"Then tell me."

"Not here."

"You always say that."

The duke's jaw tightened.

"Lucan."

"What happened to him?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying."

Arven stared at him.

Lucan had never spoken to the duke like that before.

He didn't care.

For three months, he had been given nothing but silence.

He couldn't take it anymore.

"You know something."

Before Arven could answer, footsteps approached.

Lady Seris appeared at the end of the corridor.

Her eyes immediately fell on the pendant.

She stopped.

"What is that?"

Lucan turned.

"My brother's."

Seris's expression changed.

"Where did you find it?"

"The storage room."

She looked at Arven.

"You kept this here?"

"I didn't know it was here."

Seris's voice became colder.

"Then you need to explain how it got here."

Lucan looked between them.

"What does the symbol mean?"

Neither answered.

"Tell me."

Seris approached.

"That symbol belongs to one of the Seven."

Lucan stared at the pendant.

"Which one?"

Seris didn't answer.

"Which curse?"

Still nothing.

Lucan looked at Arven.

"Was Levi a bearer?"

The duke didn't answer.

That was enough.

Lucan's heart dropped.

"My brother had a curse?"

"No," Arven said.

"Then why does he have this?"

"I don't know."

"You're lying again."

Lucan's voice rose.

Seris stepped closer.

"Lucan."

He looked at her.

"Give me the pendant."

"No."

"You don't understand what you're holding."

"My brother wore it."

"That doesn't mean you should keep it."

"Why?"

Seris opened her mouth.

Then stopped.

A sharp pain suddenly ran through Kael's hand.

He gasped.

The pendant fell.

It struck the stone floor.

Clink.

Lucan grabbed his arm.

"What—"

The pain intensified.

Light appeared beneath his skin.

Lucan stared.

Thin lines of light were glowing across his palm.

They moved toward his wrist.

Then his forearm.

The duke stepped forward.

"Lucan."

"I don't know what's happening."

The light grew brighter.

Seris stepped backward.

Her face changed.

"Arven."

The duke looked at her.

"Get everyone out."

Lucan dropped to one knee.

The pain was spreading.

He gritted his teeth.

"What is this?"

No one answered.

The lines beneath his skin began forming shapes.

One symbol appeared.

Then another.

Then another.

Seven.

Lucan stared at them.

They were different.

Each one seemed to represent something separate.

A circle.

A jagged shape.

A crown-like pattern.

A twisted line.

A hand.

An eye.

And a final symbol that looked almost like a crack through the air.

The seven symbols glowed independently.

Then something impossible happened.

They began moving toward one another.

The symbols twisted.

Joined.

Interlocked.

And became one.

The light flashed.

Lucan screamed.

Then everything stopped.

The corridor became silent.

Lucan slowly lifted his arm.

The seven symbols were gone.

In their place was one mark.

A strange symbol unlike any Kael had ever seen.

Seris stared at it.

She couldn't speak.

Duke Arven looked equally stunned.

Lucan looked between them.

"What?"

No answer.

"What is it?"

Seris finally spoke.

"That's impossible."

Lucan swallowed.

"What is?"

She pointed at his arm.

"That."

Lucan stared at the mark.

"What about it?"

"Every curse has a symbol."

Lucan looked confused.

"So?"

"Those symbols shouldn't be able to exist together."

"Why?"

Seris took a slow breath.

"Because no one can carry all seven."

Lucan stared at her.

"All seven?"

She nodded.

Lucan looked at the mark again.

"So..."

His voice became quiet.

"You're saying I have them?"

Seris didn't answer.

The silence was enough.

Lucan felt cold.

He looked at Duke Arven.

"Do I?"

The duke finally spoke.

"We don't know."

"Then find out."

Lucan's voice shook.

"I need to know."

Seris stepped closer.

She studied the mark.

Her face was pale.

"It's different."

"What?"

"The symbols have merged."

Lucan looked at her.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"You said it was impossible."

"It is."

"Then what am I?"

Seris didn't answer.

Lucan looked down.

The mark seemed almost alive.

Not moving.

Not glowing.

Just there.

Seven powers.

Seven curses.

One symbol.

One body.

His.

The thought frightened him.

But beneath the fear was something else.

A strange feeling.

Recognition.

As if some part of him had always known the mark was there.

---

Later that evening, lucan sat alone in his room.

His door was locked.

His sleeve was rolled up.

The mark remained.

He had tried washing it.

Nothing.

He had tried covering it.

Nothing.

He had even scratched at the skin around it.

The mark didn't change.

Lucan sat on his bed.

He thought about Levi.

The pendant.

The northern forest.

Duke Arven.

Lady Seris.

The Seven Curses.

None of it made sense.

He picked up the pendant.

It was still lying on the table.

He had retrieved it after the incident.

The dark stone seemed ordinary.

Yet lucan couldn't't stop looking at it.

He turned it over.

The symbol on the back looked different now.

Not physically.

But somehow, lucan could see something he hadn't noticed before.

Seven tiny lines surrounded the main symbol.

Seven.

His mark.

Seven curses.

Seven symbols.

Lucan's breathing slowed.

His brother had possessed this pendant.

Why?

A knock came at the door.

Lucan quickly covered his arm.

"Who?"

"It's me."

Duke Arven.

Lucan hesitated.

Then opened the door.

Arven stood alone.

"May I come in?"

Lucan nodded.

The duke entered.

For a while, neither spoke.

Then Arven looked at the pendant.

"You found that in the storage room."

"Yes."

"Your brother owned it?"

"Yes."

Arven sighed.

"I was hoping you'd never find it."

Lucan stared at him.

"You knew it was there."

"No."

"But you knew what it was."

Arven looked away.

"Some of it."

"Tell me."

The duke remained silent.

"Please."

Arven looked at him.

"Levi came to the estate once."

Lucan froze.

"What?"

"Years ago."

"When?"

"I don't remember exactly."

"Why was he here?"

"He was looking for something."

"What?"

Arven shook his head.

"I can't tell you."

Lucan's anger returned.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't know whether telling you will put you in danger."

"I've already got a strange mark on my body!"

Arven's expression hardened.

"Exactly."

Lucan stared at him.

The duke continued.

"The Seven Curses are not simply powers."

"What are they?"

"Ancient."

"How ancient?"

"Older than this kingdom."

Lucan waited.

"Each curse chooses a bearer. Each bearer receives a symbol."

"Lady Seris."

"Yes."

"How many others?"

Arven didn't answer.

"Seven?"

"Seven curses."

Lucan frowned.

"Then seven bearers."

"Normally."

Lucan looked at his arm.

"And me?"

Arven's expression became unreadable.

"We don't know what you are."

Lucan's heart sank.

"That's all you can tell me?"

"For tonight."

The duke turned toward the door.

Lucan stopped him.

"One more thing."

Arven looked back.

"Why did Lady Seris look scared?"

The duke was silent.

Then he answered.

"Because she has spent her entire life believing the Seven could never become one."

Lucan looked down at the mark.

"And now?"

Arven opened the door.

"Now she's not sure what to believe."

He left.

Lucan remained alone.

He slowly uncovered his arm.

The mark was still there.

He stared at it.

Seven curses.

One symbol.

One body.

His body.

Lucan didn't know what it meant.

He didn't know what powers were sleeping inside him.

He didn't know why Levi had the pendant.

He didn't know what had happened in the northern forest.

But he knew one thing.

The disappearance of his brother was not an ordinary disappearance.

It was connected to something far larger than lucan had imagined.

And for the first time since leaving his village, Kael felt that he might finally be getting closer to the truth.

Unfortunately, he didn't realize something else.

Someone was already watching him.

From the upper floor of the estate, Lady Seris stood beside a window.

She looked toward Kael's room.

Her hand slowly moved to her own wrist.

A symbol was visible beneath her sleeve.

The mark of her curse.

She whispered to herself.

"Seven symbols..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"One mark."

She looked toward the northern horizon.

Then she whispered something lucan couldn't hear.

A name.

Levi.

Seris stepped away from the window.

She had come to Duke Arven's estate for a routine monthly inspection.

That was what everyone believed.

But she had another reason.

She had been searching for years.

Searching for signs that the seven curses could somehow be connected.

She had never found anything.

Until now.

A fourteen-year-old servant had appeared at the estate carrying an old pendant.

And beneath his skin was a symbol that shouldn't exist.

Seris closed her eyes.

For the first time in years, she was afraid.

Not of lucan.

Not yet.

She was afraid of what lucan's existence meant.

Because if the legends were true, the seven curses joining together would not simply create a stronger bearer.

It would create something entirely new.

Something the world had never seen.