Eira reached out a trembling hand, her fingers brushing against the twisted bark of the Threshold Tree. The air vibrated with an electric tension as if the very essence of the forest was holding its breath. Arin, Lirien, and Thorne watched with bated breath, their senses heightened.

As Eira touched the tree, the world around them dissolved into a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns. The group felt themselves being pulled through a vortex, their molecules...