While the others stood transfixed by the ancient figure, Liora found herself drawn instead to the path itself — the nameless road stretching endlessly behind and before them, humming with a frequency she felt more than heard.
Her Compass of Discernment, usually a steady and obedient thing, had begun to shake violently the moment they entered the realm, its needle spinning in directions that made no geometric sense. She had assumed, at first, that it was simply overwhelmed by the strangeness of the place. But as she lifted it now, cupping it carefully in both hands, she realized it wasn't trying to show her *where* the path led at all.
It was trying to show her *what it was.*
