//------------------------------//
// The Long Lonely Road Ahead 
// Story: The Sun and the Clover 
// by BG9 
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Vignette had finally reached the shores of her destiny, the west. It was largely untouched wilderness consisting of long grasslands and mountains. It was beautiful but full of hostile creatures, many of which suspected to have originated from the Abyssal Trench. Only the truly strong could survive here. No wonder it was the birthplace of the druids. She hopped onto  dry land and looked back at Flim who remained on board.

"What's the matter?" she asked

"I'm afraid this is where our paths diverge. Nightmare Moon is entering into the next phase of the plan and that takes priority. I must go to her."

"And what phase is that?"

"The Great Blood Sacrifice. To accomplish a wish of her scope, a large amount of blood is required to be spilled."

"So she's just going to butcher a bunch of innocents?"

"They are not innocent!" Flim said in a rage "No mortal on earth or any dimension is innocent!"

Valencia felt a harsh aura from him, one of malice and hatred. It made her think of Anon. He could have so easily joined her, used the wish from Excalibur to her benefit in exchange for protection or used it to put an end to Nightmare Moon once and for all, even give himself eternal life or riches. Yet he used it to save a body guard. She was no strange to the stories of the mortals of the old world, how they carried out a long genocide against mages causing the creation of the separate world all mages inhabit. But just as some humans were evil, so too were mages. If it weren't for mages and their research, vampires and werewolves would not be problem in the world. 

"I'm sorry." she said

"It's... alright. I must go. Good luck with your task, my queen."

"Thank you."

If she were right, the Tomb would be a good three days travel inland. Most of the trek would be simple, that was until she got to the Forest of Dreams, a forest with an unusual amount of activity from supernatural beasts. She'd have to be ever vigilant not to attract any creatures. Attached to her person was a long vial of spiritual incense slowly releasing it's repulsive sent to the air, a special rub that made her sent nearly undetectable, and, just as an extra precaution, her clothes were made of a special fabric that was harsh against the eyes of specters. This though would probably not be remotely enough. She'd need to rely on her skills alone. But if she were to be queen, it was a challenge she had to overcome. For two days she walked without incident. Each night she'd set up camp, cook a pot of sent dousing oil, put it in a vial, then left a pot on incense cooking over night. The closer she got to the forest the more unnerving it got. The leaves on the trees grew less and less, and the landscape around her grew more and more silent. A creeping fog became more and more thick the longer she walked and a deep chill overtook her. She knew she was truly in the forest just by the trees. All of them were dead and twist, looking like black, decayed claws jutting from the earth. There was an unsettling ambient noise throughout the wood. Not made by any animal, not even fully explainable. It was quiet, ever present, much like a ringing in ones ears, but one that made a person quake in fear. Valencia hugged her shoulders and kept moving forward.

For the first five hours of the walk things were quiet. No creatures, no disturbing cries in the distance. She felt truly and utterly alone, as if the world outside the forest had completely vanished. She kept walking, using a spell from her wand to act as a makeshift compass. The fog was so thick that without it, she'd be walking in circles within minutes. As she walked on she began to feel a sense of dizziness and lethargy, so much so she could barely stand. She lay against a tree, suddenly breaking out in a cold sweat and panting. She'd only been walking at a comfortable pace yet it felt like the entire five hours she'd be at full sprint. It had to be the work of some creature. She looked to the left and to the right. Nothing. No sounds, no footsteps, not so much as a gust of wind. It was completely silent. Whatever it was, it was concealing its presence far better than it should be. She had to get away. She pushed off the tree and didn't even make it a step before falling flat on her face. All of the strength in her body was being sapped right out of her, as though someone were drinking it through a straw. Her vision began to double and her thinking starting to become less and less cohesive. She looked up and could swear she could see her mom in the distance.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Vignette asked weakly 

"Get up, you embarrassment!" she shouted "Do you intend to embarrass me in front of all these people?"

"People?"

She looked around and in the mist there were shadowy silhouettes surrounding her, all of which resembled school children. She had large wicked smiles on the faces and began to point at her laugh the most sinister laugh.

"Look at her! What a loser!" they cried "A girl like her is sure to lose the family nobility!"

"I heard she's cursed!" another one whispered "she was born during the black sun, that means she's evil!"

"Get out of her devil!" 

Vignette's eyes sparked with rage. She lifted her wand and started firing blasts of mana into the distance. The kinds only laughed more.

"Look at her! She can't even use magic right!"

"Shut up!" Valencia yelled, firing off as many shots as she could "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

The shadows vanished, leaving her there, hair in a frizzy and eyes crazed. She turned around and saw her father. He said nothing, all he had was an expression of disapproval. It was a look he gave often right after shaking his head.

"Say something!" she cried "Don't just look at me like that! I said say something!"

The world around her seemed to set on fire and her dad was replaced by yet another shadow that resembled his image, only now its eyes were full of rage.

"You want me to say something?" I said, wrathfully "I'll say something alright. We always hated you. Your birth was a cruse not just unto you, but all of us. If it weren't for your curse, your sister would still be alive today!"

Valencia's face went white as a sheet

"Y-you don't mean that! You didn't see what happened!" she cried "I-It was an accident! It was! I didn't know the rock would fall like that! I didn't!"

She felt a huge rush of frigid air wash over her body and felt something behind her. She didn't want to look. She knew who it was. A hand touched her shoulder, its touch colder than ice. It pulled hard and forced her to look. It was a small girl, her body dead and gray with hair matted and dirty. Vignette let out a blood curdling scream and began to run at full speed into the woods, drooping her want and a bag of supplies as she went. She ran as fast her legs could carry her until she hit a snag on a branch and fell face first into a stream, her face slamming right into a rock at full speed. She lay there, blacked out and completely defenseless.

In the desert, Novo walked along with the members of the Salachar Tribe, the tribe that she was supposedly part of yet had no recollection of whatsoever. She remained quiet and reserved even though she had so many questions. Who was the tribe? Where did they come from? Why was she a member of it? Did she have family? Saffron chuckled.

"What's so funny?" she asked

"Nothing, girl. It's just that I can tell you want to ask questions but are holding them in. Go on. Ask away. We have another days travel before we reach the pilgrimage site."

"I doubt they're questions you can answer."

"Try me."

"Who am I?"

"Goodness." she said, pulling out a long ornate pie and starting to smoke "Have you lost your memory?"

She looked down

"Yes. I have no memory up until just a week ago."

"All the better you came with us then. What luck you have to find us as we travel to the hall of remembrance."

"What's that?"

"A tool that is much like the magic crests of the mages. It allows us to peer into the past of our ancestors."

"You're not mages?"

"In a sense we are. We just have a different word for it in our language. We call ourselves practicers of Cridhe. The mages would call it sand magic."

"Incredible. I had no idea."

"If you want, I can tell you your name. Your true name I mean. Along with the mark of the tribe, every member is given a sacred name, given by God. Do you want to know now?"

"Yes, of course."

"Tempest Shadow."

The name filled her with life. Tempest Shadow. It was strong, brutal, just as she was.

"Quite and intimidating name."

"Yes, and an old one too. A very old one."

"How old?"

"The last person to take up the mantle of Shadow was back during the Magic Golden Age."

"That... that can't be possible. That would make mean I'm nearly as old as the tombs of Egypt."

"Well, now I'm as interested in this as you are. For now we need to set up camp."

One of the men came running up through the crowd. He was covered in sweat and had a look of desperation on his face.

"Clan Chief! Clan Chief! You need to come quick."

"Calm down please." Sassy said "Tell me what happened."

"Demons! They're attacking group B! My wife is there and..."

The man began to sob

"I'll handle this." Tempest said "Where is the group?"

"Just a mile south of here. Please hurry!"

She began to run as fast as she could in the direction he was pointed out. She got there just as the sun was starting to set over the horizon. Two large and grotesque figures surrounded a group of twenty or so, one of them a woman who was very pregnant. One creature was a large black lizard covered in large armored plated scales while the other was a monstrously sized bright orange dragon fly, its long legs coming to sharp needle like points. Tempest pulled over her hood and put her mask on. She snuck around to the back of the dragon fly and lunged forward with her knife, driving it straight into the back of the monster. It cried in pain, lashing out its tail and knocking her off.

"Cease, interloper."the Lizard said in a deep voice without so much as moving its lips

"Kill her!" the Dragonfly said writhing in pain "Kill her!"

She took another knife from her belt

"Leave these people alone and I won't kill you."

"Humans." the lizard said in disgust "They never learn."

The lizard slowly charged forward with its mouth open and began to spit a disgusting green sludge. When it hit the sand it began to send steam into the air, as though it were melting. She knew it must be corrosive. She went running at it, dodging every spit of acid that came her way with ease and hopped on its back. She plunged the knife into its back. No good. The armor broke the steel in two without so much as getting a scratch. These scales were made of tough stuff.

"Sorry, that won't work."

The lizard whipped his tail forward and hit her square in her back. She let out a yell of pain and fell to the ground. As she lay there in agony, The beast opened its large jaws, scooped her up and swallowed her whole.

"Game over."