AVELINE'S POV As I had suspected, there were no beasts stalking the Northern Wilds. It was, for all appearances, no different from every other forest I'd ever explored. I found myself wondering when, how and, more importantly, who had started the rumours about the enormously dangerous creatures said to dwell there. The fact that those rumours had become accepted as undeniable truth fascinated me. They appeared in research texts, educational materials, historical records and countless other sources. Whoever had orchestrated such an elaborate deception had clearly been someone with extraordinary influence. I never encountered any of the beasts of the Northern Wilds. Not once. Just in case my theory proved wrong, however, I remained prepared for an encounter with the creatures so many insisted were real. Three weeks passed. Still nothing. By then, I was almost certain I was right. Everything we knew about the Northern Wilds might have been little more than propaganda, or perhaps
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