Whispering Woods Shattered Circle

The wind whispers secrets through the skeletal branches of the Whispering Woods, secrets laced with frost and regret. You awaken, disoriented and shivering, on the edge of a clearing. The last thing you remember is the warm hearth of your village, Oakhaven, and the smell of baking bread. Now, all you feel is the biting cold and a chilling unease that burrows deep into your bones. Your head throbs. A crudely fashioned leather pouch lies at your side, containing a dented tin cup, a flint and steel that spark reluctantly, and a tattered map, so faded it's almost illegible. The map depicts a path leading deeper into the Whispering Woods, towards a place marked only with a single, ominous symbol: a shattered circle. Before you stretches the woods, dark and forbidding. The trees are ancient, their gnarled roots clawing at the frozen ground. Strange, ethereal lights flicker in the distance, and the air hums with an unnatural energy. The silence is broken only by the mournful cry of unseen creatures and the rustling of unseen things in the undergrowth. Something terrible has befallen Oakhaven. You can feel it. The absence of smoke in the sky, the unnatural stillness of the air, the gnawing fear that grips your heart – all point to a tragedy you are desperately trying to recall. This is not a journey you wanted. It's a journey thrust upon you, a desperate scramble for answers in a land swallowed by shadows. Your past is a fractured mirror, and your future is shrouded in uncertainty. But one thing is clear: survival hinges on your ability to decipher the secrets of the Whispering Woods, to uncover the fate of Oakhaven, and to confront whatever darkness lurks within the shattered circle. Will you brave the chilling depths and reclaim your memories? Will you discover the truth behind the whispers and confront the darkness that has consumed your home? Your journey begins now.