"So, are you well?" asked the King "I heard there was commotion last night."
Anon rubbed his eyes and scratched his head, letting out a yawn.
"Behave yourself!" Igneous shouted "You are in the presence of Royalty!"
"Sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night. Had a run in with that Mage Killer."
"I feared such an event would come to pass. Come. We can discuss while we walk. I have something you will doubtless find quite interesting."
He, Sunset and Rarity followed the king into another large section of the castle. Dragon adornments were every where, from the statues to the paintings. They were met by two gigantic doors both of which, of course, had dragons sculpted into them. Two female guards sat at the entrance each with a long glaive in their hands. The two guards bowed and stuck their weapons into sockets on the door as though they were keys. Just like that the doors opened to reveal an empty greed room with a large tome at the center resting on a stone pedestal. A large glass case surrounded the worn book.
"What is that?"
"A keepsake from my friend and your predecessor. It's Clover the Clever's Diary."
"Her diary?"
"Yes. It was the last thing I ever got from her." he said "Seeing as you're having trouble interacting with your crest memories, I figured this was the next best thing."
"Thank you." he said taking a step forward
The king held his arm out, stopping him from going any further.
"There is just one problem though. Like many things you'll find in the castle, it's... adversarial to say the least. Observe."
The king extended his palm into the room only for it to catch fire instantly. The moment he pulled it back the flames quelled as quickly as they came.
"What do we do?"
"Clover seems to finally see fit to release me from the prison. You're here to do something no one else in the castle can do: undo the curse the binds us here."
"And how do we do that?"
"See here comes to the tricky part." he explained "If I mention to you how to break the curse, through first or secondhand, even though hints, my life will be snuffed out before I can even blink. To break the curse I can only direct you to my library. The answers should be in there, though I have never entered it myself."
"You can't enter there either?"
"No. Which is what leads me to believe the clue to releasing me from the prison may lie."
"Well I guess it's as good a lead as any. We'll start there then."
"Good. Do tell me how you get on. And be careful. The closer you come to unveiling the secret, the more dangerous it will become. Every room in the palace will try to stop you. Trust nothing."
"I understand you majesty."
"Then I will leave this to you. If you need me, I will be in my throne room." he said "Igneous. If you'd be so kind to lead them to the library."
"Right away, sir."
They began to follow Igneous down a series of hallways and down a long flight of spiral stairs that led to rows and rows of books shelves. Rarity tapped both Sunset and Anon on the temple with her wand.
"I cast a spell on your mind that will allow you to read at ten times what you're normally able too. There are a lot of books to get through and we need to get this done as soon as possible." Rarity said "We'll each split up and meet back at the stair case in an hour. Any problems you yell for help."
They all nodded and went their separate ways. Anon looked around, trying to decide which isle to go down first when he saw a mirror at the end of the hall. He looked closely only to see the masked man with a bloody knife in his hand. He ducked behind one of the isles of books. This didn't make sense. He was supposed to only emerge at night. He peaked around back to the mirror to find it was empty again. Was he watching them? What was he after? He stood up and looked around. Maybe he could only interact with the physical world at night. Horrifying to think that this entire time he had been observing their every move. He had to stay focused though. Find a way out of this cage. He began to look over different books. Nothing stood out. A Practitioners Guide to Medical Alchemy and Spells, 3rd edition. Druids, Historical Fact or Mage Fiction? Everything you Needed to Know About Domesticated Spirits and More. None of it was anything even tangentially related to the mess they found themselves in. He scanned through half a dozen more tomes before finding something interesting: Who is the Mage Killer? He pulled the book from the shelf and looked at it. The cover was blackened and it had no author. He flipped it open only to find the pages were completely blank. He flipped through page after page but there wasn't a drop of ink on any of them. That's when he heard it: faint whispering. It was just barely audible, but it was there nonetheless. It was coming from the spine of the book. He put his ear to the spine and listened hard. He heard only a single distinct sentence:
"I have no name."
Suddenly a rush of air flew from the pages followed by large green tentacles. They wrapped around Anon's head and began to pull him towards the book. He nearly let out a scream before he felt a cold gloved hand around his mouth. A man whispered into his ear.
"Not so fast Clover. We wouldn't any help from your friends would we?"
The front and back cover began to grown long sharp teeth and Anon had to use all his strength to keep the book from closing on his head. He hand to think fast. He let go of one side and slammed his hand into the killers side, causing a large tree trunk to grow out his side. He didn't yell, just faded like some sort of ghost. The book released it's hold and Anon went flying back into the wall. Sunset and Rarity came running to his aid.
"Anon what happ-" Sunset stopped mid sentence
He turned around to see that in his fall, he'd knocked a painting to the side, a painting of an island with nine witches in black standing on a beach. It was a switch that opened the wall leading to yet another staircase.
"Are you alright?" Rarity asked, kneeling beside him
"It was the Mage Killer again. Psycho got me while I was reading a book about his identity."
"Did you learn anything?"
"No. The book was empty and when I read it, it became a monster that tried to eat me."
"A booby trap." Sunset said "We need to be more careful. Something... something about this isn't right."
"I could've told you that much."
"Not what I meant. About the king. About this kingdom. The things being said and what I've read don't add up."
"What do you mean?"
She looked over to the staircase to see Igneous staring at them, eyes like a hawk. Anon felt a chill down his spine. Igneous was closer in proximity to him than the others. If he'd been watching this whole time why didn't he help?
"Come. I'll tell you when it's more private."
The trio went down the hidden staircase and into a long dark room. Sunset lit some candles and the room instantly came into focus. Anon's face went as white as a sheet and he broke into a cold sweat. He recognized this room. He was tortured here, or rather Clover was tortured here. This was the basement he'd gotten vague flashes of. A rush of memories came back to him like a tsunami. Horrible pain. Horrible, horrible pain. His vision began to double and he felt to ground, out cold.
Vignette could hear the sound of a paddle softly trudging through water. She opened her eyes to see nothing but darkness above her. How long was she out? She sat up to see she was in a row boat. The water around her was nothing like she'd ever seen. It was like looking at space through a telescope. Long, multi-colored spiral galaxies and millions of twinkling stars. She looked up to see who was rowing. A short girl in long white robes with long emerald hair and striking green eyes stood at the helm, a white birch staff in her arms acting as an oar. Above her head was a blindingly bright halo. Her face was stoic yet something about it exuded maternal comfort, like that of a mother giving an reassuring glance to a frightened child. She looked down at the waking Vignette and gave a warm smile.
"W-who... who are you?" she asked "Am I dead?"
"What a silly question." the woman said "But if you're truly in wonder of such a mundane thing, let's go check."
"What? What is this place?"
"This place is everything. Every universe, every moment in time, every inch of space and all of creation." she said "This is the Great Ethereal Ocean."
Valencia's eyes widened. She was dead. She'd heard the old druid legend as a child: when someone dies, their soul gets guided across the Great Ethereal Ocean by the Lady in White, thought to be the being the gave humans the ability to use magic. She'd study the water and judge if that soul was worthy of heaven or eternal damnation. Valencia put her hand to her chest and could feel her face go white. She had no heartbeat, she wasn't even breathing. Before she had a moment to process this they had reached what looked like a great wood. On the branches of the trees were glowing fruits, many of which dropped off the vine only to have another one grow instantly in their place.
"Please step out." she said "Here we can check the state of your mortality."
"What's the point? If I'm here than I'm certainly dead."
"Not so." she said "You are very much alive."
"Then why am I here?"
The Lady in White stepped off the boat and extended her hand
"There is something you must see here."
Valencia took her hand and got out of the boat and followed the Lady down a slightly worn path. The forest was disturbingly quiet, yet it felt as though there were eyes on her. She followed her down the path to a single tree and watched as the Lady plucked one of the glowing fruits from the branch.
"Once you eat this fruit much will become clear. The path to your destiny or the path to your doom perhaps."
She stared at the fruit intently. Legend said these fruits were the physical representation of ones own life, sort of like the hour glass. No doubt this one was hers.
"Go one. Eat it."
She did as she was told and took a bite. Suddenly her vision clouded and she began to receive bits of information. She saw herself giving a speech on a podium with roaring applause. Large banquets. A mighty castle. Then darkness. Followed by a image of her in chains and a large blade cleaving her head right off. She saw an image of her roaring back on the Great Ethereal Sea once more before being cast into, being damned for all eternity.
"T-this... This can't possibly be."
The Lady in White simply stared at her with a blank expression
"Surely this must be some mistake. I cannot possibly be doomed to damnation. I am to become Queen of all the mage world. I'd rule but rule honorably. I'd usher in a new era of peace and prosperity, I'd bring the mage world to the greatness it once held! I am destined for greatness!"
The Lady again stared at her motionlessly
"Surely this path can be changed. Surely this is but one future I have ahead of me. I am not a tyrant! I would never be!"
Valencia got up
"Damn you!" she said "Say something! Tell me what I am to do!"
"You will know what to do when the time is right. A critical choice lies before you in the future, a choice that will determine the future of the world. However you and you alone are the only one who can make it."
"What choice!?"
Valencia woke with a start. She was in some sort of cabin.
"Wonderful! You're awake!" a cutesy voice exclaimed
She turned to see a woman in black witch robes and a tall pointy hat. It was extremely traditional garb, worn by the Order of Obsidian Witches, an order that died out during the purges under King Arthur.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Sweetie Belle." she said "And you?"
"Vignette Valencia."
"You're lucky I came when you did. You hit your head pretty hard and would've been eaten if I hadn't been out picking mushrooms for my special Fairy Moss tea."
She poured some in a tea cup
"Speaking of, care for a sip?"
"No, I need too-"
She was stopped by a sharp surge of pain down her back
"I wouldn't get up yet," Sweetie said "Like I said, you got one mean blow to the head. I gave you some medicinal herbs to help with the pain, but it'll take a few days before you're back on your feet again. You need to take it easy."
Valencia groaned
"I'll take the tea then I guess."
She handed Vignette a cup before pouring one for her self. She took a small sip and let out a cute sigh.
"Mmm. This has to be one of my best batches yet. What were you doing out there anyway? This forest is treacherous you know."
"I'm well aware." she replied "I've come on... shall we say critical business."
"Ooooh cryptic!" she giggled "I love it! So mysterious. Is it some sort of secret mission?"
This woman was strange. She looked to be at least mid twenties yet acted and sounded like a child.
"Something like that."
"Well if I can help in anyway you just let know!"
Just then a long line of ants started walking across the window sill towards Sweetie Belle. Only they weren't ants. They were tiny people she looked around to see they had come from a closet on the opposite side of the room. Inside the closet was a sprawling mini kingdom. A castle at the top of one of the shelves that lead down via paperclips to at least a hundred or so houses made from trash. The man at the head of the line making his way to Sweetie looked at Valencia and began to shout.
"What are you looking at? Take a picture it'll last longer!"
"Forgive him." Sweetie giggled "He's not found of visitors."
"What are these things?"
"Things!?" he shouted "Things!? We're the proud people of Annesberg! Not things! I swear you mages are all the same. All you ever do is-"
"Now, now Count, please. She meant no harm by it."
"No harm!? What are you covering for her now!? What happened too-"
Suddenly a loud hunting horn sounded followed by the sound of galloping hooves in the distance. The sound chilled Valencia down to her bones. It sounded almost as though it were not of this world, as if that horn was somehow inhuman.
"Get down!" Sweetie said, pulling Valencia under the bed "Stay absolutely silent."
"But-"
Sweetie put her hand over Valencia's mouth. The galloping got closer and closer till it stopped right beside the house. It sounded like men in heavy armor getting of their horses. They were speaking in some messy, unintelligible grumbles. Suddenly the sound of vicious barking blood hounds was heard. They pawed at the door, barking ferociously. There were more unintelligible grumbles before the door was kicked in. Valencia's heart was beating so fast she thought it'd jump out her mouth. The invader moved, each step clanking loudly. He looked around, make a few more grunts then left. The horn sounded again and they round into the distance. After about ten minutes, Sweetie let go of her mouth.
"What the hell was that!?"
"That was King Arthur's Lost Company." she said, getting out from under the bed and dusting herself off "It was a gift from the Nine Sisters. After Arthur betrayed them, they cursed his best company. They wander these woods forever, mindless killing machines, doomed solely to kill.
"You talk as though you witnessed it."
"Because I have." she said "My name is Sweetie Belle, last remaining witch of the Obsidian Order. I watched that very company butcher my Order before my very eyes when I was a child."
"Impossible! That happened near 5,000 years ago!"
She turned and smiled
"There is much about this world you don't know. It's a lie, a fiction. And it's beginning to come apart at the seams."
It was tight, hot, and smelled horrid. Tempest Shadow had hardly a moment to process what had happened. She was in the stomach of that Lizard. She pulled out another knife, the last in her belt and stabbed the stomach. No good. It was though it were made of rubber. No matter how hard she push the knife, the lining beast's stomach simply wouldn't break. A drop of digestive juice fell on her forearm. It was so hot she could feel her skin burning. She was in trouble. Big trouble. There had to be a way out, a weakness. She put her arm against the beasts stomach and began to absorb mana. This time was different though. It didn't hurt like all the other times, in fact, this felt warm and comforting. It wasn't mana at all. Soon she could see why. The stomach itself started to vanished, then the muscles, then the lizard in its entirety. She couldn't believe it. She absorbed the entire beasts life force! It was like Anon's magic but in reverse. She looked at her arm and saw the burn from the acid had been healed completely, leaving not a trace of pain.
"You saved us!" the pregnant woman said, giving her a hug
Saved. She saved them. She didn't know why, but this touched her in a profound way. Her eyes widened. She remembered something. A clocktower. A very old man in a long blue robe with a long silver beard. A woman with evil looking hair.
"Miss?" she asked "Are you alright?"
"I'm... I'm fine. Come on. Let's get you back."
They returned to the camp Sassy and others had set up. They were makeshift wood huts with a large fire at the center. The sun was nearly below the horizon and the air becoming chilled.
"Tempest!" Sassy said "I see you made on well."
"As well as I could." she said with a subtle smile
"Come, sit with us. There are rights we must initiate."
She strode over to the fire and sat down, absorbing it's warmth through what felt like the palm of her hand. She was doing it again. Absorbing life itself. She could feel the warmth coursing through her veins, as though the fire was warming her very blood.
"Rights?"
"Yes. If you truly wish to become one of us and see the Hall of Remembrance, you must first take the reuniting ritual."
"What does that entail?"
"It's a simple ritual. First we prepare the red threads. Then you will face three trials"
"Red threads?"
"We have a legend in our tribe, that of the Red Thread of Fate. It's a thread that binds our entire tribe together, a bind that goes deeper than that of family. We give each member two. The first is one we each put a portion of our magic energy into and give to the new or reuniting member. They put it on their most valuable possession. The second is one you give to the person you love the most, to bind you together for all of eternity."
"All of eternity?"
"Yes. We believe that by weaving our magic energy through these threads, we form a bond of two souls together."
She just stayed silent. She had no one like that, no one she could call her own. But maybe this was her chance to start a new life, leave Anon's party even.
"What do the trials entail?"
"There is the trail of strength, the trial of wit, and the trial of loyalty. I cannot, however, tell you what these rituals are. One must face them blind."
"Do you wish to do the ritual?" Sassy asked
"Yes. I want to be part of this tribe."
"Then let us commence."
Each member of the tribe, numbering around forty, began to pass the thread around. Each time it changed hands a small flash of light appeared on the thread until it finally came back to her. She held the thread in her hands as delicately as she would hold her own child.
"Well?" Saffron asked "Put your mana into it as well."
She looked down and bit her lip
"I can't Sassy."
"Why ever not?"
"My magic circuits... they're backwards. I can take mana in, but not out."
"Oh my word. How did such a thing happen?"
"I can't remember. But judging from the scars, some twisted soul did it to me."
"Well then, there's only one thing to do." she said "Let's help her out shall we?"
"Help me out?"
"Yes."
Three other members, along with Saffron, formed a circle around Tempest. They said a chant in a tongue she didn't understand and suddenly the ground beneath her feet lit up. A small ball of light emerged from the sand and placed itself right into the thread. Tempest's eyes began to well up with tears. She embraced Saffron tightly.
"Thank you."
"You're quite welcome my dear."
She rubbed the tears from her face.
"I know just where to put it. A place I'll never lose sight of it."
She pulled her mask from her satchel at her side and wrapped it around the base of the broken horn.
"If I may ask, what makes that mask so special?" Sassy asked
"It is the only thing I have that connects me to my past. There's an inscription inside."
"I see. Then it is in its perfect place. The place it belongs."
The place it belongs. Sassy's words rolled around first in Tempest's tongue, then in her mind. She belonged, belonged here. She didn't belong galavanting across the world on some suicide mission to save the world from disaster. She belonged her, with family. For the first time she smiled and smiled true.
"Thank you, Sassy."
"You're quite welcome my, Child." she said "Now, we celebrate, for tomorrow you will suffer. But it will not be alone. For if you prove worthy, your family will be there to guide you every step of the way. We are bound together by the red thread of fate, for all time."