In the quiet town of Veresk, the most powerful artifact wasn't a sword or a crown—it was a small, teal-covered book known as the .
When Mikhail went to school and handed his workbook to the strict Madame Petrova, she adjusted her glasses. She looked at the answers—they were perfect, yet they carried a strange, magical warmth.
Young Mikhail sat at his wooden desk, staring at the pages of his Grade 2 Literature assignment. To most, it looked like simple questions about fables and rhymes. But to Mikhail, it was a labyrinth of riddles.
By dawn, the was complete. Every line was filled with perfect, flowing script. Mikhail closed the book, exhausted but triumphant. The owl faded into a smudge of charcoal on the desk.
