02/22/2026
In the late fifteenth century, a boy named Jack was born into a family so destitute that his arrival was seen as a curse rather than a blessing. Jack was born with a clouded mind, a simpleton who became the target of the villageās cruelty. He was beaten, mocked, and treated as a burden to everyone but his mother, who protected him with a silent, aching heart.
However, Jack possessed a terrifying gift. The villagers soon realized the boy could see through the veil of time. He predicted the exact moment the rivers would flood, identified cattle thieves before they could flee, and named the neighbors who would perish whenever a fever swept through the valley. Because of this, the mockery turned into a cautious, fearful respect. Jack was given menial tasks, scattering manure and plowing fields with ancient oxen, finding a strange peace in the isolation of labor.
One afternoon while working the soil, Jack froze. He stared toward the east for hours, his body rigid as stone, before suddenly collapsing to his knees. He began to scream that the King had fallen and a new crown had been claimed in blood. He described a battle far beyond the village's borders, naming Henry Tudor as the victor long before any messenger could reach the woods. Months later, when the King's riders arrived to announce the coronation of Henry VII, they were stunned to find a peasant boy had known of the victory the moment it happened.
The King, intrigued by the reports of a "divine fool," ordered Jack to be brought to the palace. In the village, Jack became hysterical. He ran from door to door, begging his neighbors to hide him. He wailed that the King's men would take him to the palace only for him to die of hunger amidst the gold and stone. The villagers laughed at him. How could a boy die of hunger in a palace of plenty? They watched as the royal guard dragged him away to his destiny.
When Jack arrived at the court, the King was repulsed by his stench and his vacant expression. To test him, the King hid his personal royal seal and accused Jack of theft. Jack looked at the monarch with eyes that suddenly burned with a sharp, unnatural intelligence. He told the King exactly where the seal was hidden, admitting that the King had placed it there himself to trap him. Impressed and terrified, the King kept Jack close, using him to root out spies and predict the outcomes of distant wars.
Tragedy struck when the King departed for a months long tour of the realm. He ordered his servants to care for Jack but refused to take the boy along, fearing Jackās erratic outbursts would ruin the royal procession. Left behind, the palace staff quickly grew tired of Jackās screaming fits and strange behavior. Fearing the King's wrath but hating the boy's presence, four servants dragged Jack to the highest, most isolated room in the stone tower. They locked the heavy oak door and hid the key, promising to bring him food daily until the King returned.
But the servants were lazy and soon forgot the prisoner in the clouds. For weeks, the people in the lower halls heard muffled thuds and scratching sounds coming from the rafters. They whispered of ghosts and restless spirits, never imagining the sounds were coming from a living boy. Eventually, the scratching stopped and the palace fell into a heavy, guilty silence.
When the King finally returned and demanded to see his prophet, the servants realized their horrific mistake. A frantic search led them to the high tower. As they approached the locked door, the stench of decay filled the corridor. They broke the lock to find Jackās body shriveled on the cold stone floor. His fingernails were gone, worn down to the bone from trying to claw through the rock. His mouth was locked in a final, silent cry of agony.
Jackās final prophecy had come true. In the heart of the most powerful palace in the land, surrounded by the Kingās wealth, the boy had died exactly as he predicted. He had starved to death in the house of plenty.