Chapter 17

17

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Upon Redrik's demise, Casterline's forlorn demeanor had deemed her worthy of keeping that painful memory. Princess Fiaerna wanted her to carry that image in her mind, and relish in the knowing that it made her suffer greatly. These beasts...Casterline was growing a soft spot for them. Princess Fiaerna noted a peculiar eagerness in Caste when she'd learned their next foray would be far across the borderlands and into what was once a neighboring desert kingdom, long since conquered and enveloped into Fiaerna's ominous Empire. She bade her Champion to grind on lesser monsters for item restock and to pack heavily for the long, sweltering journey. Her Item Roulette as she'd dubbed it, was eventually filled to the brim with HP, MP, Holy Water, Pure Sight, and a wide array of other assorted bottled concoctions. All manner of Slimes dropped these items like crazy. Though she'd sworn this was a new...feature...Casterline held her silence and found herself excited for the journey ahead in spite of Redrik's shocking end. She was hoping beyond hope that this conquered kingdom had once belonged to Rani, the woman in her vision, and that she could learn more about The Blonde Woman and Princess Fiaerna by traveling there. She threw caution to the wind whilst they were traveling on foot and was just about to bluntly ask Fiaerna for more details of her childhood when she became blindsided by the most beautiful oasis she'd ever seen. The pair were days and days into their quest. Hours earlier Casterline had made a gruesome discovery when begging Her Ladyship for even just the slightest sip of water. "Are the grubs and sand worms the desert so graciously provides not enough for you, My Champion?" She'd been freely creating pure, crystal clear drinking water for the both of them up until their trek through the desert began then suddenly cut Casterline off from any Magical aid. Caste was hurt and couldn't understand why, but she remained a loyal knight regardless. "I want water, My Lady. Why do you not conjure water for us? Why? Please..."

"This is your training, Champion. Don't forget, you have Magic in you, as well." Fiaerna scoffed. Caste tried to release the Water element from both hands over and over but failed each and every time. With each frustrated attempt, her forehead began to ache and burn. She hesitantly brushed her fingertips across her forehead. Her fears were confirmed when she felt the searing ridges and symbols etched into her skin. She'd been branded. She'd spent the day in shock until now. She was weak from the heat but her throat was unbearably dry and her need for water was far too great to worry about the aches and pains wracking her arms and legs as she ran. Fiaerna warped to catch up screaming demands to stop but the very second she'd managed to step in front of Casterline, she heard a click and a violent rumbling erupted beneath their feet. They both hit the ground hard. Hope died away as the oasis faded from vision. In it's place, a fleeting speck of silver, a rapid flash of gold. Caste's eyes shot up to see two incredible looking beings floating in the air high above them. Their bodies, though humanoid, were luminescent and their heads, symbolized by a silver crescent moon and the golden sun respectively, revolved round and round. The Sun's head moved in a constant clockwise state while the Moon's turned counterclockwise, both in perfect sync with one another.

"Mirage. Mirage.

Upon the sand.

Who's Soul is it?

Soon to be damned?

Its...you!!!"

The moon-faced entity shrieked at the sight of Casterline. Her very existence made the creature's blood boil in its veins. The voice emanating from it was wholly female and may have once even been considered kind. But now it was engulfed beneath a demonic layer that growled along with every word she spoke. She was the embodiment of The Moon tarot card. Her very being emanated secrecy, illusions, and the chaotic Darkness of a woefully broken heart. The bar above her head showed the title "Lineer". Her body was cloaked in a sea of glittering silver stars, perfectly color matched from head to toe. The Sun, in all his golden radiance, stood masculine and proud in the air, but spoke no words. His eyes, tinged with sadness, were glued to Casterline's. Just like the moon, Lineer had always paled in comparison to Linore's beloved Majesty. Ever and always, no matter what twisted form he was forced to take, he would only have eyes for her. Seeing Casterline standing there in the vast desert stirred something within The Sun. But he'd been enslaved to The Moon for what seemed like an eternity now and so his memories and his human emotions were distant, muddled, and painfully confusing. So painful that his head felt like it would burst open any second. He tried to place two hands on either side of his head but it was constantly spinning. His world was always spinning, always revolving around Lineer ever since The Plague had come. Linore was hanging onto his humanity by a thread, just as the goblins seemed to do, just as Redrik had done. "Child of Man. You should run while you can. For I will show no mercy!" Lineer bellowed down to Casterline. She didn't seem to care that Fiaerna was there at all. Or perhaps she hadn't even realized she was there due to being so enthralled with Casterline's presence. Where such malice came from, Caste had not the slightest idea. But a fight was a fight and she was more than ready to take these two on. She called forth the bombs from her Item Roulette and started slinging them wildly up into the air. She hadn't managed to land a single hit, but she had inadvertently kicked up a sand screen in which to hide in. "Foolish woman. But you always have been. Coveting thy beloved is a grave and sad sin. You shall be punished. You shall be flayed. You'll regret having come here. You'll lament having stayed!" The Moon blasted starlight from her hands. So luminous was this Magic power that it temporarily blinded the Princess and her Champion. Choking on dust and stepping blindly, it was inevitable that Fiaerna lost sight of Caste. In separation, Caste blindly grasped at the air around her, thinking she might manage to find Fi this way. Just as she was about to give up and wait for the blindness to clear, she bumped into something. The Sun's blazing Visage cut through her vision, a blurry beacon out of the sand storm. She could faintly tell that he was knelt down on both knees, head in hands, suffering. Her kindly instinct to reach out and grab his shoulder caused a seismic wave of Magic to blast through everything. The sand storm instantly died down into absolute stillness. And for a brief moment there was silence so deafening you could hear a pin drop miles out, anywhere upon the vast landscape. And then...anguished, ear-splitting screaming. Wave after seismic wave flooded through Casterline's body. She was amazed at how strong she'd grown. So much so that she was still standing in spite of The Sun's tantrum. His wailing caused such a disturbance, that the earth gave way just as it had earlier. But this time, incredibly large gold and silver Tarot Cards emerged from beneath the ground. Not being native to the minerals and crafting materials of Odinsai made it unclear what they were made from exactly. They appeared to be Magically infused forms of thick metal and stone. Had her life not been in peril, Caste would have surely stopped to marvel at these beautiful cards. But alas, she hadn't been spirited away to Odinsai to sightsee. Each card rose into the sky, then stopped after forming two perfectly aligned rows. The bottom row, all silver cards engraved with a Crescent insignia, represented the Minor Arcana. The top row, all golden cards engraved with a Sun insignia, represented the Major Arcana. Casterline knew each card by heart. Tarot card readings were a bit of a secret hobby for her when she was a teenager. She'd been coerced into getting a romance reading by a group of high school friends that dabbled in taboo books on "how to be an everyday modern witch in a society that shuns us". They were the school misfits and so they found all things occult, rebellious, and beyond the realm of societal norms to be deeply satisfying. Caste had always been an easy going, quiet person and so she didn't mind being accepted into this group, nor any other. She was always polite in every social circle she found herself in. She was raised by her mother Katlyn to keep an open mind for all things, be they spiritual or material. And so she went to a quaint little back alley magic shop called StarNight Connection, filled to the brim with crystals and incense. It was an odd experience but she remembered loving the way the store smelled of well-read books and rose-scented candles. She also remembered enjoying her reading very much and thanking the elderly card reader multiple times before leaving. Her session had turned out to be incredibly accurate. Looking back on it now, Caste noted the warning of a Tower Moment long after her happily ever after. The cards had all been foretelling of a harmonious romantic relationship that would lead to collaborative success in her career as well. When a very pregnant Empress showed up as the second to last card, Caste's friends giggled and fussed about her future. Every card held true from her happiness with Haru, to the birth of her beloved Harumi. But the final card pulled from the bottom of the deck was The Tower. Novice or not, anyone could tell by looking at the symbols on this card that it spelled misfortune. The elderly woman's advice was simply to rise above said burning tower and fight through it as hard as she could. Of course she and her girlfriends had all assumed it would be something akin to a breakup and makeup type ordeal. But Casterline found herself living in that Tower Moment here and now. Never in her wildest dreams could she have foreseen a future where she'd be ripped from her perfect life and thrown into such incredible strife. But she'd also been playing out the Madam Tarot Reader's sound advice. She'd fight and fight and keep on fighting through all the discord until she'd find herself back in her husband's arms.