She stole Kellus’s spare tunic—a man’s garment, heavy wool, reaching her knees. She pulled it on over her shift. Then she walked out of the Collegium, through the moonlit streets of Verid Lux, toward the great eastern gate that faced the Howling Wood.
Without the Tithe, crops would wither. Without the Tithe, the boundary walls against the Howling Wood would collapse. Without the Tithe, a woman’s own untamed magic would burn her from the inside out by her thirtieth year. cmnf fantasy
“The Howling Wood,” Kellus said, “does not attack because women are uncovered. It attacks because the Tithe weakens the veil. Every naked woman forced to stand before a clothed man tears a tiny hole in reality. The Order knows this. They feed on the chaos. They need the monsters to justify the law.” That night, Elara made a choice. She stole Kellus’s spare tunic—a man’s garment, heavy