What was revealed was a scorched earthen basin.
The ground was cracked like a tortoise shell, black smoke seeping from the fissures, a pungent burnt stench thick in the air.
At the center of the basin stood a giant tree long since dead.
Its trunk was so thick three people could barely encircle it; the whole thing was coal-black, bark split and curling, and in the cracks one could see dark red wood, like congealed blood. The crown had long been burned away, leaving only a few twisted branches stabbing at the sky, with shriveled black fruits the size of a baby's fist hanging at their tips. Whenever the wind blew, the fruits knocked against each other, making hollow "thud-thud" sounds.
At the roots of the tree, white bones were piled up.
Beside the giant tree stood a stone statue.
A human body, leopard's tail, hoopoe crest upon its head; the face was blurred beyond recognition, one could only make out a female outline.
