The Hollowing Tree

In the rural village where pagan rites are whispered through old bones, El is the last in a one line of witches bound to a haunted tree known as the Hollowing. When El comes out as non-binary during a seasonal rite, they are cast out by their coven, who claims their "balance" breaks the sacred binary of the Old Ways.But the land is unbecoming - crops rotting, spirits weeping, time unraveling. The Hollowing has opened again, and only someone "between" can survive the crossing. El must descend into the spirit-world stitched from dream and folklore, where binary laws crumble, to retrieve the First Seed and rebind the contract that was once severed. The price? El may not return the same shape they entered. "They buried the Spiral to keep it silent - so I became the voice underneath." Unearthed.