//------------------------------// // They Will Know Fear // Story: The Sun and the Clover // by BG9 //------------------------------// Just my luck, Novo thought sitting atop a rock overlooking the sand storm. How was she supposed to get inside now? The guards had stopped coming after her and the one she managed to keep alive for information was under some sort of hex that made his tongue unable to give relevant information. It was powerful ancient magic. She'd not be deterred. She'd just have to wait. She'd find a way in sooner or later. Night fell shortly. Novo could survive this climate as easy as she could breathe. She had procured food, made a shelter and found a wellspring of water in just a few hours. She lifted off her mask and looked carefully at the inside. It was the one piece of her memory she had left. Carved in to the bone was an inscription that read "Beneath the clocktower, Midnight. Nov. 3rd." She had not an idea what it meant or the significance of the date. Yet there it was all the same. No matter how much she thought, how much she strained through her mind she could not remember anything past the time she woke up beside Anon and Sunset. That artifact that had the ability to restore memory, it was the only way. She didn't care the world was at stake, didn't care that everything could be ruined because of her. She had to remember who she was before. Why she had the body she had. In the distance she could see what appeared to be a group of people walking towards her. She pulled a knife from her pocket, ready to strike. She watched every movement closely. It wasn't right. This wasn't the movement of an organized military squad come to dispatch or capture her. At head head of the group appeared to be a woman. Judging by her gait, she had to be at least sixty or seventy. Surrounding her were about thirty other men and women varying from their teens to their twilight years. Novo put her knife back in her pocket but kept her hand on its handle. She couldn't be too careful. "Young woman!" the head of the group called out "Young woman! What is it you're doing out there?" "You first." "We are taking the sacred walk of our ancestors. We'd love another person to walk with us, if you're up to it." Just as she thought. Just harmless locals. "No thanks. I'm busy." The old woman drew closer, the light of her large staff finally giving her defined features. She looked Novo over a few times and the crowd behind her began erupting into hushed whispers. "My, my. What is a member of the Salachar Tribe doing all the way out here? And why have I never heard of you?" "The what tribe?" "Girl how on earth did you not realize?" With a slow brush of her staff, the world's colors became inverted. That's when she saw it: on her stomach was a triangle with three circles at each of the points. She waved the staff again and the colors returned to normal. Novo backed up a step, almost as though she were in fear. "W-what was that? What did you do to me!?" "Nothing. I merely made visible the imprint on your soul. It is that of our people. It's ancient practice for every member to receive that mark once they've proven themselves worthy members." Novo stared in disbelief. "Come. Walk with us. I am Clan Chief Saffron Masala." she said "What is your name child?" "Novo." she said "My name is Novo." In the far west, Rutherford and Skystar were taking shelter in the old druid fort, all while in the company of their enemy. Rutherford had lit a giant bonfire in the center courtyard and went off to do heaven knows what while Skystar stayed with the three Sirens. "So tell me," Skystar said in her usual monotone voice "What are three Sirens doing so far out west? I thought Sirens preferred the wet swamps to the south." "Yeah well uh.. funny story about that." Adagio began "We were sent here by-" Sonata interrupted Aria quickly shoved an elbow into her blue-haired sister's rib cage "Ow!" Sonata yelped Aria gave an angered look "Sent here?" Skystar asked "Yes." Adagio continued with a nervous smile "We were sent here by our uh... father to gather..." Adagio quickly looked around for something to "gather" "Bark! Tree bark." Skystar starred at the trio without a single emotive response "Eh are you ok?" Aria asked "I don't want to be rude, but you are rather... unexpressive." "Yes." she said simply "I'm a homunculus. Expressing emotion is not something I'm able to do." There was a long, awkward silence before Rutherford came back to the fire. He was dressed in all new robes. These were green woven with various animal bones and tree branches at the legs and arms. He wore a tall hat made entirely of stone and on his back carried at least six different staves. "Enjoying yourselves?" "Yes I suppose." Aria muttered "Good. Well while I was away I managed to get something to eat." He said "Here take one, each of you." He pulled out a stone platter full of cut slices of fish, cooked to perfection. Sonata looked mystified. "Wait you mean I can just have this?" she said as the platter was passed to this "Why of course you can." Rutherford said "I don't have to fight you for it?" Rutherford let out a might laugh, pulling a bottle of wine seemingly from out of his sleeve "Not unless you want to of course. But I've a feeling the fight wouldn't be very fair." Sonata looked as though she had just been given all the money in the world. She dug in with a mighty hunger, wolfing the slice down within seconds. Rutherford looked at the other two sisters. "Well? What are you waiting for? I caught that fish on my way here and prepared it as I walked. You simply must have it." Adagio and Aria looked at each other and at the fish before digging in as well. "Odd aren't they?" Skystar remarked "Now it's a party!" Rutherford said, pouring himself a glass of wine into a goblet he pulled from his other sleeve "Too your health, ladies." He drank it down and let out yet another mighty laugh "Come. We shall partake in dancing." "I don't know if that's a good idea." Adagio said "Come, come." he urged "We have hard work tomorrow. We must take this time to let lose. Here, have a drink I insist! A better wine you'd not drink in all of Europe." "Europe?" Sonata asked "What do you not know where it is you are?" "We're not in Europe." Adagio said "We're in the Polaris Interim. It was created after the Great Calamity and Clover's disappearance." "The what?" he asked "Clearly things have changed since I've been away." "Yes. But any more than that I couldn't tell you. No many records exist of the time before the Great Calamity, or even what it was exactly." Skystar looked as though she'd been struck by a bullet. She clutched he hair and images flashed through her mind. Knights bearing the crest of three crows flooded into a garden full of roses. There was a fire. A golden haired woman stood in their path but was cut down. As a sword was about slice her chest, the woman picked up a rose, calling out a enchantment that turned it a beautiful multicolor. It was then she blacked out. "Skystar!" Rutherford yelled, bringer her back to life "Get a hold of yourself." "I'm sorry. I... I think I remembered something. Something from my past." "What was it?" "It was back at the Elk Castle," she said, recounting the flash of memory "Then we must get that Rose back whatever the cost. Perhaps even attack Nightmare Moon directly." "That wouldn't be a good idea!" Adagio blurted out He give her a skeptical look "Why ever not? Surely a druid alone would be enough, much less a druid with three sirens in tow." "She has a warband she travels with. Fearsome people. I've heard rumors of brothers. One is a werewolf and the other a vampire." Rutherford stroked his beard "A terrifying pair indeed, especially when working together. Fine. I shall await Anon's return then and train him to be a proper druid like myself. If he can be half the man I am, we'll be an unstoppable force." "So Anon is coming here? When?" "Whenever he concludes his business with the Dragon King. I just pray he can." Anon sat on his bed clutching his chest. The pain was unreal. No doubt connected too whatever black mark was there. There as a knock on the door. He could barely lift himself up to answer. A pair of twin maids stood in the doorway, behind them, the rest of Anon's friends minus Kovo. "Anon?" Sunset asked "Are you alright." "I'd be lying if I said yes." he said, gasping for air The two maids lifted Anon by each arm "We'll treat you. However it's best we stay here for now. Night is falling." They carried Anon to the bed and lay him down "Night?" Rarity asked "What's the harm in that?" "It's when the mage killer comes out again." "Yes. As the name suggests, he kills anyone who practices magic. He makes regular attempts on his majesties life but, as he is immortal, they are in futility. However since you showed up we fear he'll strike you instead." "How long has this been an issue?" "Since this haven was constructed. Perhaps you've heard of him. He's the infamous Mage Killer." "Wait a minute..." Sunset said "The one that killed an estimated 50 mages in the Magic Golden Age and was never caught?" "The very same." "How is that possible?" "Anyone who is a permanent residence here cannot die. We call it the King's Blessing. He is one such residence." They removed Anon's shirt to see the black mark. It was even worse than last time, moving to cover the right half of his ribs and a good section of shoulder. "Anon!" Sunset gasped "How long has this been there!?" Anon let out a few coughs "I noticed it first when they took me into the prison." "Without a doubt it's black magic." Rarity said "It must've occurred when that relic Anon used to free the Druid activated. I told you it was a mistake to bring it along." Anon let out a few more coughs. It was as if whenever it was exposed to open air the symptoms were worse. "I don't have the energy to argue." He said "What's done is done. What do we do?" "First we need to figure out what it is." Sunset said, holding out her wand Her wand's tip lit up and she scanned the effected area "Well Rarity was half right. The artifact did cause this, but it wasn't the main source. The hexed artifact awakened something previously dormant inside Anon. Whoever put it there seemed to have wanted it to go off at a set time. In other words, this was all one bad accident." "A set time?" Anon asked "Who would do something like that?" "I wouldn't know." "Can you cure it?" "Maybe. I'll have to run some tests first." she said "Just hold still. This may hurt a bit." Nightmare Moon stepped out of the portal, Discord by her side. So many centuries since she'd seen the human world. Her warband kneeled down before her, their hard work done. With the two laylines opened and some connections made, the start of her plan could now begin. With a snap of her fingers, she dawned an intimidating armor set colored blue and purple, her face obscured by her a jagged mask. "For too long we have suffered on the yolk of mortal oppression." Nightmare began "For too long we've had to hide inside an pocket universe, trapped inside a completed world. For too long we've had to decline while the humans have prospered. Well I say, no more. They shall pay in blood and more for the crimes their ancestors committed. They shall remember why it was humanity feared the world Witch and cursed the word magic in the first place. They will know fear like they've never imagined, a fear they will never forget." her warband cheered at her words "This is but the first step. Once the last two laylines are opened, the world will be as it once was. Magic and humanity will once again join and the Devil will be aroused from its slumber. So too, will the Greater Magic. To prepare for this time we must ready the artifacts that will allow us to make a request of the Devil. And finally this world will bend to our will. We will create a world worth living in dying in." Nightmare Moon walked past her followers "All those who wish to turn back must do so now. Anyone who betrays me going forward shall see no mercy and be giving no quarter." Not a soul raised their voice in reply. She pulled a staff from her back and slammed it to the ground, a purple magic circle lighting beneath her feet. "Good." she said, a wicked smile forming on her face "Then let us start with a bang."