The sky was the color of old photographs, faded and dreamlike, as if the world had been washed in sepia and left to dry. The air was still and heavy, as if it were struggling to hold onto the last wisps of warmth, and the trees creaked and groaned in protest against the encroaching cold. It was the kind of day that made you want to curl up by a fire, sip hot cocoa, and lose yourself in a good book. But not here. Not in this place. This place was different. I stood before a massive oak tree, its trunk as wide as a small house, its branches reaching out like gnarled, arthritic fingers, twisting and turning in on themselves, weaving in and out of existence. The tree dominated the clearing, dwarfing everything around it, casting long shadows that danced and shimmered across the grass. A small path led up to the trunk, winding its way between the roots, which bulged and twisted like the veins on a dying man's hand. I looked up at the tree, feeling a mixture of awe and fear. This wasn