Prologue: The Binding Centuries ago, long before Whispering Pines bore its name, the land was a forest of silver-tipped pines and winding rivers, untouched by human hands. Legends tell of a veil-a fragile boundary between the world of the living and another realm, a place of shadows and whispers that lingered at the edge of perception.The founders, guided by knowledge passed down from their ancestors, discovered the veil in a moonlit clearing where the river shimmered unnaturally, reflecting shapes that vanished when touched. Shadows writhed at the edges of the clearing, twisting like smoke that refused to disperse.Then she appeared: a girl with hair like silver moonlight and eyes as deep and shifting as the river itself. She did not speak. She only watched, silent, patient, waiting as the founders traced a protective circle on the earth and began the ritual.The ritual was arduous. Chanting in an ancient tongue, sweat stinging eyes, hearts pounding-yet the shadows tested them at every turn, clawing at reality itself. When the final incantation echoed through the forest, the shadows shrieked, twisted, and finally recoiled, leaving the clearing silent.The girl stepped forward, her gaze meeting each founder's, silently acknowledging their success. Then she vanished, leaving only a lingering pulse in the river and a whisper in the wind: "Watch. Wait. Remember."The founders left behind journals, carvings, and warnings for future generations. The veil had been bound-but patient, always waiting.And now, centuries later, the river still remembers. The shadows still remember. And the girl... still watches.