There was once a realm untouched by time—hidden beyond the Veil, a shimmering curtain of magic that separated the world of mortals from the ancient dominion of Faerun.
It was a kingdom of eternal twilight, where flowers bloomed under the moonlight and trees whispered in forgotten tongues.
This realm was ruled by the Thorn Court, a council of powerful fae lords, and guarded by the Crimson Pact—sworn protectors of the balance between light and shadow.
But something stirred in the heart of the Garden of Night. A black rose bloomed where none should grow, and with it came a curse.
Where the petals fell, decay followed. Dreams twisted into nightmares. The balance teetered.
And beyond the Veil, a girl's heart began to stir.
Chapter 1: The Girl with the Broken Clock
Iris Thorne lived in a crumbling estate on the edge of Hollowmere, a town where the strange was common and magic was an unwelcome rumor.
Her only inheritance was an ornate pocket watch that had never worked. It ticked only once a year—on the eve of the Lunar Eclipse. No one knew why, not even Iris.
She had always felt like the world moved differently around her as if time slowed when she was afraid or sped up when she dreamed.
Most dismissed it as fancy. Iris knew better. Something was watching her.
At school, clocks would malfunction when she passed. Lights flickered when she was angry.
People said she was cursed, but she knew that something inside her was waiting.
On the night of the eclipse, the watch ticked once. Then it opened.
Inside was not just gears and springs, but a map—a silver-etched diagram of constellations that did not belong to the sky she knew.
And beneath it, a name whispered in her mind: Faerun.
That same night, Iris dreamt of a garden bathed in silver starlight and thorns that moved like serpents.
A black rose bloomed before her, and a voice echoed through her dream: "Come home."
Chapter 2: The Thorn Prince
The Veil tore that night.
A gateway opened beneath the ancient yew tree in the Hollowmere graveyard.
Shadows poured through, cloaked in brambles and bound in iron. They came not for conquest, but for Iris.
She was saved by a stranger with silver eyes and thorns growing from his armor. He called himself Thalen, exiled prince of the Thorn Court.
The black rose had marked Iris as a seer—a mortal born with the power to awaken the lost Heart of Faerun.
"You were never meant to stay in this world," Thalen told her. "You are part of ours."
He bore wounds that glowed like molten gold and spoke in riddles and truths.
With him came stories of a land unraveling, of fae lords turned mad, and a war brewing between ancient courts.
Iris listened in disbelief—until the shadows attacked again, and she saw the monsters for herself.
Chapter 3: The Crown of Briar
Iris passed through the Veil and found herself in a realm of nightmares and wonder. Faerun was dying. The Thorn Queen—Thalen's mother—had vanished, and the council was fractured.
The black rose's curse was spreading, turning dreams into monsters and unmaking the ancient oaths that held the land together.
Only the Heart, a relic of forgotten power, could mend the Veil and restore balance. And only a seer could find it.
With Thalen and a reluctant fae trickster named Nyx at her side, Iris journeyed through enchanted forests, cities of crystal and bone, and forgotten temples where time did not move.
Along the way, she discovered truths about her bloodline, the origins of the watch, and the reason why Faerun called to her.
They encountered creatures made of shadow glass and mirrors that reflected not their faces but their fears. In the Vale of Silence, Iris heard the voices of those lost to the curse, warning her of betrayal.
But dark forces followed.
A traitor in the Thorn Court hunted her, guided by a prophecy that foretold either salvation—or the end of all realms.
In a temple carved into the ribcage of a long-dead leviathan, Iris found her first real clue—a fragment of the Heart, pulsing faintly with golden light.
When she touched it, visions consumed her: Thalen's childhood, the moment the Thorn Queen disappeared, and the first time the black rose bloomed.
Chapter 4: Threads of Fate
As they journeyed deeper into Faerun, the fabric of the realm began to fray. Entire villages had vanished into mist.
Time unraveled in pockets—Iris once walked a path in the morning sun only to emerge under midnight skies.
Nyx grew quieter, more cautious. "Something watches us," he said one evening. "Not one of the courts. Something older. Hungrier."
Thalen agreed. The curse was accelerating.
When they reached the Spire of Echoes, where all seers were once trained, they found it abandoned.
But on the walls were ancient carvings—of Iris. Her face, her watch, the blooming black rose.
She was not the first.
She would not be the last