Chapter 1 - "Those Who Talk to Shadows"

"Those Who Talk to Shadows" Year: 1465 Location: near the Belgrade Forest outside Istanbul Fatih Sultan Mehmet believed that after the conquest of Istanbul, he had captured not only the walls, but also the spiritual world. However, in the silence that followed the conquest, some strange news that reached the palace was carefully recorded by one of the intelligence officers from Enderun, who was a favorite of the sultan. Meaningless whispers heard at night in the forest, illuminated beings that some soldiers see in their dreams, and a few travelers who disappear… A person was assigned to investigate these events: Duruit Elvan Hatun, originally from Rumelia, was a woman who had received Mevlevi upbringing, but knew older, deeper teachings about the spirit. They used to say about him, "he asks questions to the wind of the trees." According to rumor, he could talk to nature, attracted animals to himself. Elvan Hatun, while doing research in the forest, encountered a shaman from the ancient Turkish lands one night. His name was Tura Khan. He had come from the East; he was following the trail of "Yel-Kut", one of the extinct spirits that had broken away from the Altay Mountains. This entity was released when the spiritual balance of Istanbul was disturbed after the conquest. He was invisible, but he would confuse people with his whispers. The two passengers became both competitors and friends to each other. Duruit Elvan found an ancient pagan altar area where Yel-Kut was hiding by listening to the sounds of the forest. Shaman Tura Khan, on the other hand, looking at the fortunes from the bones, said that an ancient "Heavenly prayer" and "besmela" should be sung together for the soul to be sealed again. At that moment, two beliefs, two worlds merged: the light of Islam and the shadows of racism. Finally, Elvan Hatun and Tura Khan held an ancient ceremony to seal the soul. The wind suddenly stopped, the animals fell silent. The hum of Yel-Kut made the sky groan, but in the end, the two both silenced the whisper and respected each other. Only the following note was sent to Fatih: "The spirit of the forest has been appeased. The voice in the shadow is whispering now as if praying. Everything is quiet. But attention, this silence is a deal, not a victory."