Queen Horatia was losing her vision. Like most of her subjects in Isochronus, she had succumbed to t

Queen Horatia was losing her vision. Like most of her subjects in Isochronus, she had succumbed to the terrible illness and with each passing day, her sight became more restricted as her peripheral field of vision started to fade into darkness. With nothing left to lose, she prepared for one last grand gesture to placate the Isochronus Stag, hoping that the Stag’s clemency would cure the terrible illness for her citizens and for herself once and for all. 

As Quinn wandered out of the portal, he found himself in a familiar part of Isochronus. Surrounded by tree stumps, the portal had taken Quinn to the site of the fallen forest that Queen Horatia’s workers had cut down 9 months previously. Standing proudly in the middle was a magnificent marble statue of the Isochronus Stag. Pure white and almost translucent, the smooth, cool marble reflected the warm summer light and made the statue look as if it were glowing. In order to secure the tall statue, a huge pit had been dug around it for the foundations and standing safely a few metres away from at the edge, Queen Horatia surveyed her beautiful creation, as her sculptors dutifully took notes of her comments and changes. 

Too far away to see the statue properly, Quinn decided to leap across the pit to get a better look, landing gracefully onto the plinth. The statue wobbled slightly under the impact and sensing the vibrations under her feet, Queen Horatia closed one eye to focus her vision to see what had created it. Recognising Quinn’s silhouette, albeit a blurry version of it, Queen Horatia waved, happy to see a friendly face in times of such strife. As she took a step backwards to make her way back to the palace, suddenly, the ground under her foot gave way.

#TheLostGardensOfIsochronus