Hexes from the Hollow's Heart

Beyond the boundaries of common towns, deep within the serpentine folds of dense woods, lay the Hollow. It was said that shadows there lingered longer, and whispers carried forgotten secrets. At the heart of the Hollow, beneath a gnarled oak with twisted limbs, resided Morgana, the eldest and most feared of all witches.

Centuries old, Morgana was born from the very soil of the Hollow, fused with its darkness and ancient magic. Legends whispered of her conjuring up tempests, turning day to endless night, and binding souls to the murk below.

One fateful eve, a wandering minstrel named Lysander, seeking tales for his songs, dared to venture into the Hollow. Guided by the fragile glow of fireflies, he found himself at Morgana's lair. With the bravado of youth, he demanded stories from the heart of the Hollow, to which Morgana responded with a twisted smile.

She wove tales not with words, but with hexes. Each story was a curse, revealing tales of treachery, lost souls, and doomed love. With each tale, Lysander felt a weight growing in his heart, and shadows wrapping tighter around his essence. The final tale, Morgana warned, would be his own.

Yet, Lysander, driven by an insatiable thirst for knowledge, urged her on. Morgana whispered of his future, of a love so deep yet so fleeting, of betrayals and a tragic end, where his voice would be lost forever, leaving behind only an echoing silence.

As dawn approached, Lysander, now visibly aged, with eyes reflecting a depth of pain, realized the gravity of his folly. The Hollow's tales were not mere stories but binding hexes. Morgana's final revelation was that Lysander himself was now a part of the Hollow's heart, his essence tied to the very tree beneath which she dwelt.

Decades turned to centuries, and while Morgana's tales spread far and wide, conjuring fear and wonder, the haunting lullabies of Lysander could be heard by those who dared venture close to the Hollow. His voice, once seeking tales, had become one, an eternal ballad echoing the hexes from the Hollow's heart.