Evaline:
The first page that greeted me wasn't filled with words.
It held a symbol.
I inhaled softly, my fingers hovering over the parchment before finally touching it.
The emblem was etched in silver ink that hadn't dulled even after centuries. At its center stood a silver wolf... not snarling, not aggressive... but regal. Its head was lifted toward a crescent moon that hovered just above its brow, as if the moon itself had chosen the wolf as its guardian. The wolf's eyes were inlaid with faint lines of pale blue, subtle yet luminous, giving the impression that they watched through the page rather than from it.
Around the wolf, thin intertwining vines of silver wrapped in a circle, their leaves shaped like tiny crescents. They weren't decorative in a fragile way... they looked protective, almost binding, like a seal meant to keep something sacred contained. The outermost ring was etched with runes so fine I almost missed them, each one humming faintly beneath my fingertips.
