CROWNED BY BLOOD
They were dissonant and jarring, clashing against each other like voices arguing in a language I almost didn't quite understand, as if they were trying desperately to warn me of something.
I opened my senses fully, dropping every shield and barrier, expecting to receive only clarity and understanding. What I felt instead made me stagger backward, gasping as though I'd been physically struck. There was a tug, a pulling sensation against something deep inside me. Like something had slipped through our defenses, had breached the walls we thought were impenetrable, and established a connection it was now exploiting.
The children were being systematically tainted by something ancient and malevole