Chapter 26

26

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Paper cards rained down upon them. Each more peculiar in title than the last. All burned away when the women tried to grasp them. All but three that landed gingerly in their hands. Chise held The Dead Planet, akin to The World card, but depicting Odinsai instead of Earth. Fiaerna held The Witch of Pentagrams, instead of the Queen of Pentacles, depicting an old hag drowning under the weight of greed and gold. Caste's card was The Blind Fool, depicting a Jester hugging a hooded figure while they stabbed sword after sword into his back. Foreboding though they were, Casterline cared little for their significance in correlation to each woman. She took them all and closed her eyes to meditate. She refused to go at Fiaerna's cruel pace any longer. At the rate they were going to reach the desert castle in the sands, she'd die of old age before dehydration. And so she used her inner power to create a new card with these, a much larger card, akin to a Magic Carpet. "Hop on, ladies. Time waits for no one and the only time we have is right now." Fiaerna stood wide eyed and child-like, forgetting her hateful stance for once. She was in awe of the giant floating vehicle and had never once thought to use her imagination to amuse herself with something as enjoyable looking as a flying Tarot card. Nor the six pairs of brightly colored Fairy wings Caste had sprouted on her back for extra wind flow during the journey.

She envied Casterline's beautiful imagination, even if she didn't realize it. And for a moment, she wished she could go back in time and become an innocent child once again. "C'mon, Princess. Let's go go go!" But that smile of Casterline's, that sunny disposition as she held out a motherly hand to help Fi up onto the card top, it brought all of her anger and hatred bubbling right back to the surface. She quietly took that hand. And spoke naught the entire way until Casterline's stomach began to growl a low and miserable growl leading Fi to kindly offer setting up camp for the night. She had them land in a peculiar spot where one solitary, shriveled up tree stood in the midst of the barren nothingness. Desert nights were beyond cold and to Casterline's surprise, Fiaerna went off on her own to fight the sneaky monsters prowling the land. Not half an hour later, she returned with fur pelts, she Magiced away the blood stains and conjured up a self-sewing needle that made quick work of the materials at hand to create warm fur coats and blankets for all three of them. "Rest now, Warrior. You've done so well. I shall scavenge in the morning."

"Princess, I know this is sudden to say but I wanted to tell you...I'm sure your parents would be very proud of you for all of your bravery thus far. Don't you think so?" "My father was weak. He let the White Flames consume him. His passion for his country and his beloved wife...they were his downfall." "White Flames, My Lady?" Casterline asked with a quizzical tilt of her head. She'd had to play dumb, else she'd let slip her full knowledge of the past, her secret meeting with Queen Delia. But it pained her greatly that Fiaerna would never know that the exciting news of her birth had stoked those unruly White Flames and that her father died in his sleep, consumed with fire for the life he would live with his little princess and his selfless bride. She blamed herself for his death for so long that even if she'd learned the truth she surely would denounce it anyway. His Magic simply overloaded his already weak body and he died in a blissful dream about his future child and the adventurers they would have. But of course, the scene was devastating from the perspective of the Queen and the maids who found him burning. Burning and burning until the White Flame left nothing but ash where he'd lain. Rumors and harsh whispers of the unborn Princess's curse soon spread as quickly as the rot within the castle walls. "Cease this useless talk and sleep, Mrs. Akahoshi. Please..."

"Too much Light will always cast a shadow..." Caste whispered to herself, then she turned to Fi on the other side of the campfire. "I want you to know that your mother fought for you and that she loved you very much. I know it in my gut." For the fragment of a second, Fiaerna looked as if she'd been struck down by an arrow. But once she'd regained the usual look of desolation in her eyes, Caste decided to stop talking and rest. Though Casterline could not understand the full extent of the hate in Fiaerna's heart, she could absolutely connect with the doubting and questioning, as she had often wondered if her father had felt even an ounce of love for her at any point in his life. The feeling of abandonment had shackled Fiaerna's heart long before the Rotting Plague took hold of Queen Delia. Linore's taunting, the Nobles' incessant gossiping, the Priest's ominous proclamations of Fiaerna's Affinity, the fearful disdain of the commonfolk after her father's death...surely these instances contributed greatly to her warped personality. Even still, there would never be a good enough excuse for the atrocities this child of Krowne wrought upon her people. And yet, Casterline had not shaken the hope in her heart that there was a way out of this painful prison...for °both° of them. "I would never abandon my daughter. Never ever." She was lying on the ground now, cushioned by a bed of twigs and leaves she'd conjured up with Earth Magic from her jade wand. "Do you really mean that?" She had her back turned from the fire so she couldn't see Fiaerna's expression, but she did hear trembling and uncertainty in her words, as if she were on the verge of tears. "I do. Harumi means the world to me. She's my everything. And when I go home, I want you to come with me. Join my family. You'll love H--" Fiaerna let out a frustrated scream and warped to Caste so quickly there was no chance of escape. She pulled out her wand and used it to strike Caste in the back over and over with Lightning Magic until deep welts and gashes appeared. Her light blue shirt was completely bled through. After an hour of violent writhing and twitching, her body had given way and gone limp long into the attack, but Fiaerna was far too enraged to notice or care. After another half hour of merciless abuse, Fi grew tired.

Huffing and puffing, gasping for breath, she'd finally calmed herself enough to realize the consequences of her actions. She quickly forced a healing tonic down Casterline's throat, but when just one wasn't enough, she had to administer Healing Magic. She'd learned to use it from her mother when she was a child, but it always inflicted great physical pain. Her body was wracked with intense muscle spasms as the Magic flowed from her hands into her Champion's gaping wounds. Before she collapsed from exhaustion, she managed to reset Casterline's memories from before the battle of the Moon and Sun. Just like that, all the knowledge and battle savvy Casterline had just received from Delia was wiped from her psyche, and she was doomed to continue on following Fiaerna's violent whims with no recollection of the dreadful abuse she'd endured so many times now. Come morning, Princess Fiaerna appeared before Casterline with a tantalizing offering of what appeared to be fried eggs. They'd been subsisting on the wild fruits and vegetables Fiaerna deemed edible until now and so Caste accepted the breakfast graciously. "Wow, Princess. What's the occasion?" Caste said enthusiastically before digging in. "Ouch! They're on fire..." The eggs weren't spicy but literally on fire. Being another world, one would expect to eventually adapt to all the absurdities and mysteries therein. But incidents like these never ceased to amaze Caste. "Is this even edible?"

"It is. I swear on my throne." "I trust you, My Lady..." Caste said warily before trying a real bite this time. It was truly painful to eat, but Caste was hungrier than she'd ever been in her entire life and she figured a health potion would ease the swollen blisters on her tongue afterward anyway. She'd grown slightly addicted to the idea that no matter how much pain she'd endured during her battle training, she'd always have access to a cure. After the meal, she chugged two tonics and jumped up feeling refreshed and ready to face whatever Fiaerna had next....but that refreshed feeling faded within minutes and yet again, the blisters returned.

The burning scar on Caste's lips hurt so badly that she was unable to focus hard enough to create her aerodynamic wings. The consequence was a much slower ride through the still desert sands. Though the sun shone brightly in the sky, no movement could be seen nor heard for miles and miles around them as they went along. At least in the last few days they'd managed to, if not see any desert dwellers, hear their calls and cries. Fiaerna had hunted for skins and furs and even managed to find those peculiar blood-red owl eggs. So then, what was the sudden cause of such deafening silence, such suffocating stillness. Casterline began to fear they might never make it out of this hellish landscape and found herself trying to stifle a panic attack when suddenly, a great castle erupted from the sands, much like Lineer and Linore had done previously. Was this it? The Mahalian Castle of which Rani had never been able to come home to? If not, there were answers inside that would surely lead them in the right direction. Forgetting her panic, Casterline shouted over the rumblings of the majestic structure as it continued to rise from the ground. "I need to scour the library! I want to go inside, My Lady. Please let me venture in. It would be faster if we all searched together, but if you are weary from our long travels, we can have Chise stand guard out here with you..." Caste was perplexed by Fiaerna's facial expression. "Watch out!" Fiaerna jumped at Casterline, forcing her to bow down as she did so. A giant, dusty, stone arm had extended out of nowhere, punching through the air, nearly lobbing their heads off. "Stay down! It's moving!" Fiaerna shouted as the castle unfolded itself into a walking, talking creature. It's eyes glowed olive green. It's body was reminiscent to Caste of the many mecha shows she'd watched as a child. The beast-fiend's entire body was that of a sand golem, held together beneath the castle structure that sheathed the thing's entire body in armor.

Upon closer inspection, when the earth beneath the Tarot card finally stopped spinning and quaking from all the sudden crazy movements, Caste noticed the creature had three heads and six arms, three at each side. And yet a seventh arm outstretched from above the middle face's eyes, where the third eye is said to be, according to those versed in esotericism. All seven arms weilded vivid, brightly colored scimitars. It was clear to Caste, for all her studies into the religions and cultures of her Earthly neighbors, that this beast-fiend took the unique form of a Tridevi, a three headed Goddess. More surprising still, a shrieking bird's cry emanated from the Tridevi's ribcage.

There, where the Tridevi's beating heart should have been, perched a gorgeous flaming Phoenix within a golden cage. As she squawked and squealed, her enormous peahen feathers rose and fell. She was beating her wings furiously toward the three travelers, sending heat waves and fireballs flying their way. Caste had just enough of her wits about her to dodge the attacks. Noting that every attempt to do them harm had failed, the Peahen Phoenix relaxed onto her perch and spoke directly to Casterline.

"Phoenix eggs do not hatch for two thousand years. Today you ate them without a care. I've waited one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years for my babies and they were to hatch this very day. You took my beloved hatchlings from me! I am Phon, the great and powerful Goddess of Renewal and Rebirth. I will not tolerate such a grave injustice!" Screeched Phon.

“You took our beloved mother from us! Thrice, Goddess of Past and Pain will not stand for your sins any longer!" Screeched the Tridevi, staring directly down into Fiaerna's cold and knowing eyes. "And now," the pained pair said in unison, "You are all going to pay."

Those owl eggs...but why would Fiaerna do such a terrible thing? In all the texts and ancient writings based on the legend of the Phoenix, they were always seen as sacred birds in every culture. To have sinned against revered Gods without realizing...the very idea of what she'd done by eating those eggs made Casterline sick to her stomach. She'd eaten the offspring of a Divine entity and suffered the burning mark of a heretic as the fateful consequence. As for the three faces of the Goddess Thrice, there was no doubt in Casterline's mind that Fiaerna knew who they were. Or at least, who they had been before ascending to Godhood. But for the sheer size and anger of these godly beast-fiends, it was enough for her to worry about taking them down without getting slaughtered herself. She had fought in many ways thus far, all befitting the medieval era she found herself stuck in. But now she felt inspired to go in a much more modern direction with her attacks. She recalled a series she'd enjoyed watching as a family every Saturday morning until the show's fantastic finale brought the ritual to an end. The show revolved around a cyborg named DataMan and one of Caste's most favorite features of this character were his photon phaser arm blasters. For her own sake, she'd always referred to them as arm cannons, and she used their beloved two-dimensional imagery to manifest arm canons of her very own. Holding out her wand with her left hand, she let the stem grow like tree roots, wrapping around her arm all the way up to her face and neck, down to integrate into her right hand. Once the process was complete, she was fully armored in those incredibly thick tree roots and her hands looked like they could do some serious damage. She pointed her left arm canon at Phon's cage, propping her elbow up for aiming accuracy with her right arm, and let the blast build to bursting before letting her first emerald green photon blast fly. The blast hit its target, and the cage rattled violently before returning to its settled position. The Tridevi's ribcage took the brunt of the damage, leaving Phon exposed to more powerful blasts. The bird opened its mouth and let an equally large ball of fire fly free towards Caste. She accelerated into the air, no wings, only Magiced shoes propelled by tiny pockets of swirling wind. This wasn't going to be an easy fight unless she took out one opponent at a time.

And of course, the thought crossed Casterline's mind as to whether she could live with herself for killing sacred Deities afterward. And of course, the idea of someday returning to Earth gave her all the resolve in the world to survive at all costs. While she focused all her might on taking down Phon, Chise and Fiaerna did their utmost to win against Thrice. Chise stabbed and bit at the right arms of the Goddess whilst Fiaerna called forth a Labrys axe, hoping it's double-bit build would be able to chop off two arms at once. Thrice, however, was a formidable foe in the art of swordplay and each swing of the Labrys was met with solid steel and flying sparks.

Bounding up into the heavens as if it were a simple game of hopscotch, the fleet-footed Casterline took the opportunity to mimic Phon's firepower by opening her mouth and shooting a glowing green orb of Magic down at the bird. Phon and Caste's simultaneous attacks connected, causing a seismic explosion. When the dust cleared, neither had a scratch on them. Disappointing, perhaps, but it did help Caste glean some knowledge about Thrice's scimitars. The third arm's scimitar had glowed a vibrant green color identical to Casterline's current element of choice and when the blast from her throat radiated through Thrice's body, the third scimitar lost its color. Likewise, when Phon's fire blast radiated through Thrice's body the third arm of her right side, which emanated an ember red, also lost its color. Casterline took a deep breath and then raised her arms to shoot her magic at both scimitars at once. Just as she'd hoped, they'd shattered like delicate glass. After processing the scope of this new development, she opened a telepathic channel of communication between herself, Chise, and Fiaerna. "I've solved one part of the problem for us. Those blades the Tridevi is wielding are enchanted by the power of Chakra. In other words, Thrice is manipulating her own life force to wield those impenetrable swords. They're being fed by the Elements within her own body and all we have to do is discern which Chakra each sword is drawing from. Once we do that, we must break the swords with our own Elemental Magic. Now, Chise, I want you to serve as a distraction to Phon while Fiaerna and I break those blades, understood? Try to get her out of that cage!" Due to Caste’s most recent memory erasure, even the Water Element was available to her.

One by one, they managed to shatter each blade from the Solar and Sacral scimitars to the Throat and Solar Plexus all the way up to the Third Eye. At last all that remained was to put both creatures out of commission. Chise had managed to rip through the bars of Phon's cage and pull her out, forcing her to flee immediately before Chise's gnashing fangs could even take a bite. Phon found refuge atop Thrice's head, roosting comfortably behind a large golden crown encrusted with sparkling diamonds fit for a Goddess such as she. Casterline conjured the same Wind Magic she'd created for herself beneath Fiaerna's dainty slippers so that they could rise up to meet Phon at eye level. "When she opens her mouth, hit her with the Ice and Water Elements. One or both should be enough to take her down. Ready?" Casterline met Phon's piercing gaze and opened her mouth to form yet another attack. Phon quickly opened her beak to oppose the onslaught of Magic, but her submission to Caste's ruse caused her downfall. Caste closed her mouth, smiled at Phon's confusion, then quickly flew up high into the sky once again to rain down a powerful barage of Ice and Water blasts from her hand canons.

Now with Phon frozen solid atop Thrice's head, Caste glided to Phon, forcing the Earth Magic all over her body to recede back into her wand so that she could touch the bird's encasement and the Tridevi's beautiful crown with her own two human hands. It only felt right to acknowledge their lives before ending them.