12th of Erinth – 1231 AF – Late-Fall

The night was calm, and the sky was clear allowing the stars to glitter like diamonds in the backdrop of the night over the sleepy city. Outside of the barrier around Versanth, the bitter winds blew, and the snow continued to pile up much as it had done for near to a millennium.

The night pushed on as the last shift for that day at the foundry let out, and the group that had been working to clean the Forgotten was getting ready for the new day. Most of those in the city were still snuggled warmly in their beds when a strange rumble began to cause havoc within the city.

It was slight at first but quickly devolved into a massive earthquake that shook some of the strongest buildings and threatened to topple many more. The tremble was intense, and many cries of panic erupted as people poured into the streets to escape from falling debris inside of their homes. Many of those that had been asleep when the quake struck were tossed out of their beds, quite a few of them receiving injuries in the process.

Fear, panic, and general disorder erupted as the town was assaulted by the first earthquake in its long history. None of the citizens had ever been through what was hitting them right then, and it was causing pandemonium all across the city.

Lauren cried out in a panic as she was tossed to the floor and curled into a ball for a split second as the landing nearly took her breath away. The timing might have been longer, but that had been long enough for her to realize that something was wrong. For some unknown reason, her home felt like it was about to shake to pieces.

“James,” she croaked hoarsely as she struggled to sit up.

“It’s an earthquake, but I can’t locate the point of origin. It’s like it is everywhere beneath the city but also nowhere,” he projected his reply.

“Just lovely,” she muttered in disdain and grabbed for the bed to stand up.

Lauren had managed to regain her footing just in time for another great shudder to hit the town, sending her right back to the floor. The woman squealed in panic as her feet went out from beneath her, causing her to land haphazardly upon her side once more.

Growling against the pain and out of anger for her total lack of control at that moment, Lauren unleashed a bit of her Essence to coat herself in Gravity. Then once airborne, she turned her attention towards the house, but her heart immediately went to her family as she grew worried for them.

“Can we use the barrier to stabilize this?” she asked, trying to find a cure for the situation.

“No, Madam,” James replied, causing her to frown.

“Then what…” she started to ask, but the shaking just ceased.

It was like it had shuddered that one last time and got bored, leaving Lauren dumbstruck.

Everything had just gone eerily quiet, but then she heard the cries of terror from across the city. It sounded like a total madhouse had come into being, and she landed on the floor of her room as she tried to piece together what had just happened. “What the hell was that?” Lauren asked but cried out in agony as a piercing pain exploded to life in her left eye, forcing her to her hands and knees on the floor.

“Help me, little one,” a soft, feminine voice echoed throughout Lauren’s mind.

She barely caught the words as she was trying to pull whatever was burning her face away, but she found that she was being burnt by absolutely nothing. Worse, there didn’t appear to be anything that she could do to stop this.

Without a clue what to do while Lauren was forced to suffer through someone jabbing a hot poker into her eye and scrambled everything around for good measure, she desperately crawled towards her vanity on the other side of the room.

Once there, she used the chair for support to sit down in front of her mirror to look for any clues to what was happening to her. At this point, she just wanted to get any insight that she could. However, what she found left her more than a little spooked as she discovered that there was something wrong with the silverish-milky pupil that she had been left with after she had lost sight in that eye thanks to the jerk that was Lord Lust.

Instead of what she had expected to see, her pupil glowed with a bright silver light and was further encircled by a ring of shifting pinkish, iridescence. “Please, I need you, little one,” the same soft voice begged.

Then as quickly as the pain had arrived, it was gone.

As the burning sensation faded, so too did the colors in Lauren’s eye.

“What the f…” Lauren started to say, but she was cut off when a massive explosion rocked the entire town from outside of the city. “James!” she cried out, the agony of her eye forgotten as she was running for the windows in her bedroom.

Finding nothing, Lauren hurried onto her balcony and the chilly night.

With the moon full and the wind blowing her nightgown around, she looked for anything that could have caused the explosion. There was nothing outside beyond the normal chilly night of Ara’lyso, and the cold drove her back inside as she began to tremble extensively.

Growling, Lauren looked through her windows once more, but she finally found something on the horizon far to the south. Way out past the outskirts of Versanth she could see a massive pillar of smoke and fire flying hit into the sky.

Lauren’s mouth fell open as she tried to absorb what she was seeing, but it wasn’t that easy for her to do. As far as she knew, there should have been no other person or creature in Ara’lyso with the strength or abilities to have caused this.

“What happened?” she asked shocked.

“Madam, I am registering an energy signature to the south that feels different than anything that I had ever sensed before, but I am also able to register a small remnant of a second source that concerns me more,” James informed Lauren.

“Why?”

“I don’t understand, but it feels like you’re already there,” he said, causing Lauren to narrow her eyes to the south. “What?” she screamed and abruptly turned towards her elevator, summoning her armor as she went. “Well, I guess I am about to kick my ass for whatever the hell just happened,” she muttered in confusion.

On the second floor, Lauren paused just outside of the elevator.

“What are we going to do?” she asked herself, wanting to have a rough game plan in place.

Before she could put much thought into the situation, Lauren’s head twitched when she heard a large gathering of voices up the hallway from her, and she quietly walked towards the foyer. At the top of the stairs, she came to a stop once more as she got an eyeful of a large congregation of people in the foyer.

She saw her daughter Lilly speaking with their Guard Captains, Jessica, Steven, and Ginny.

While her other girl, Emily was speaking with the Head Maid Hellen, and their Head Cook Trish.

A swelling of pride burst forth in Lauren’s chest at the sight of her girls having already gathered their Command Staff to meet with her when she came down, but she felt a bit of dread settle into the pit of her stomach when she saw Javi standing alongside his father Gerald, and her father Henry.

They had just begun to reform their relationship, but he couldn’t be here.

Neither Javi nor his father could be here while a worse attack could come at them at any time.

Lauren didn’t want to send her fiancé away. The two had just barely connected in person for the first time in their relationship. Before that, it had only been through letters after they had met on the day that Lauren was told what she was to the nobles of Castilgard.

“Get a grip,” Lauren mumbled to herself.

They were in a state of emergency, but she was allowing herself to become hung up on her personal feelings. This wasn’t the time for her to do that. No, this was the time for Lady Wrath to do what she always did. She needed to act swiftly and completely ignore what the girl wanted out of life.

At the back of her mind, in a part that she refused to give credence to, was a thought that didn’t sit well with Lauren. However, it was one that she knew would be important one of these days, and that was the fact that she was happy that both of her daughters had already taken so well to their roles as Ladies of Wrath.

When the time came, one way or another, they would need to pick up the pieces.

Realizing that she was wasting time, Lauren forced herself to take a calming breath as she stood up straight. Then she moved down the stairs as regally as she could manage with everything that had just happened.

At the bottom of the staircase, all those in the foyer turned towards.

“Lilly, I want you to grab any of our soldiers that aren’t injured and get into the city to help those that are stuck inside of their homes or need assistance to find shelter,” she said, and the girl nodded. “On it, Mama,” she said and raced out of the foyer.

Then she turned towards Emily. “Gather all of our personnel that has healing abilities. Make sure our people are in as good of shape as possible. Then you need to join your sister in the city,” she said, and her daughter nodded. “Understood,” she said and raced out of the house.

Lauren turned towards the Captains.

“Ginny, check barracks one. Find those that are injured and help to guide Emily’s people to them,” she said and turned towards the next. “Jessica, check barracks two for those that are injured,” she said and continued towards Steven. “Organize a group of our best soldiers and guide them to ensure that anyone injured around the property receives treatment, but we need them to stay on the lookout for trouble,” she finished.

The three bowed. “Yes, Matron,” they said and headed out to complete their tasks.

Lauren turned towards Hellen and Trish. “Let’s get all of the cooks that are able into the kitchen. We will need long shelf-life food that we can use as rations for those that are injured and as much water as we can produce,” she said but looked directly at Hellen. “Check on your staff, anyone that needs healing should be taken to Emily. Those that do not, I want you to prepare to divide the rations that Trish’s people prepare,” she said.

“Yes, Matron,” they both said.

“James, please let the Council know that we are preparing rations and water for anyone that cannot provide for themselves. If they can do the same that would be appreciated, but I will also be leaving momentarily to investigate the explosion to the south,” she said.

“Understood, Madam,” he projected back.

Then Lauren looked towards her father. “Papa, I need you to please help to ensure that the estate is as protected as you can make it,” she said, and he nodded. “I’ll do all that I can, Princess,” he replied, bringing a small smile to Lauren’s face.

“Gerald,” Lauren said, turning towards the man. “I am sorry to ask this of you, but I would greatly appreciate it if you had Reyn take you and Javi back to Vy’ruth,” she said, but Javi appeared in front of her. “No, I am not about to leave you to face this alone.”

Lauren managed to give Javi a tiny smile. “That means a lot to me,” she said but shook her head. “This is an Ara’lyso emergency, and I cannot take the chance that a diplomatic situation could arise if either of you were to be hurt,” she said, causing Javi to blanch.

Lauren swallowed and looked directly at her fiancé. “I love that you want to help me, Javi, and I wish that I could let you stay. Unfortunately, we cannot take the chance that members of the first delegation to visit us were harmed.”

“Reyn,” Gerald shouted.

“Yes, Majesty?” the catkin said, appearing next to the older man.

“You’re taking the two of us back home now,” he ordered, and she bowed deeply. “Yes, Majesty,” she said, then began to cast a spell, bringing a beautiful blue geometric pattern of runes into existence upon the floor beneath Gerald, Javi, and herself.

The glow of the spell began to increase with each word that the catkin spoke, but Javi jumped out of the pattern to hug Lauren. “Please be safe,” he said, and Lauren hugged him back. “I will be,” she told him and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you soon, my love,” she whispered, bringing a smile from Javi. “I love you too,” he said as he stepped back into the pattern of runes.

Lauren waved at Javi, wearing a bright smile.

He smiled sadly back at her, but she continued to hold as happy of a look as she could manage, but her true sadness hit her face after the three of them vanished within a brilliant flash of light.

After two years, they had only just briefly managed to see each other, but they were to be denied once more. Lauren sighed sadly and wiped her tears away before she headed towards the doorway. “Yep. I’ma beat someone for this,” she growled softly.

As Lauren descended the stairs outside, Bob, and Amelia both appeared in humanoid forms.

“It’s the labyrinth,” Bob said.

“We don’t have a clue what happened, but we can’t sense anything from inside,” Amelia explained, sounding more than a little concerned.

“I’m headed there now,” Lauren said and stepped up to her children. “While you’re here, would you help to secure our home?” she asked and glanced at the pillar of smoke and fire in the air. “I am afraid that this is a prelude for an attack,” she said.

“Of course, Mama,” Amelia said. “We’ll take care of it.”

Bob nodded in agreement. “Summon us if you need,” he said, and Lauren smiled at both of her kids. “Thank you,” she said and hugged them before they both hurried inside to help where they could.

A familiar presence appeared at Lauren’s back.

“I’ve started to send those that we freed from damaged buildings into the Forgotten. We have set up a makeshift hospital to treat the wounded as well as to ensure we have a central location for all supplies to be stored,” Bernard said, causing Lauren to turn around and find him standing in front of her house. “That’s a good idea, but I am worried about another earthquake,” she pointed out.

“Lloyd has a few of his Earth Mages from the Waste Management Offices securing the floors as we speak,” he explained.

Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s wonderful,” she said and glanced around her estate before looking back at him. “Once Emily is done here, she should most likely find her way there along with the rest of our healers,” she said.

Bernard nodded. “That’s wonderful news. I’m sure they will be needed,” he said and stepped forward to place a hand on Lauren’s shoulder. “Be careful. We still need you around here,” he said, but Lauren snorted. “Right,” she said and folded her arms as she gave him an irate look. “What you mean is that I am the only Council member that you feel comfortable procrastinating around.”

“Hah. I work my but off for you guys,” he said and vanished.

Lauren rolled her eyes as she didn’t truly believe that, but she turned her focus towards the smoke and fire in the sky towards the south. She spared one last look at her estate, noting that everyone was in motion as she had ordered. “Alright. It’s my turn,” she said and shot off into the air, flying towards the south about as fast as her magic could get her there.

Closing in on the spot, Lauren noticed that the pillar was vastly larger than she had thought it to be. She put her mind to work and came up with as quick of an option for getting this disaster under control as she could manage.

When she arrived in the sky above the labyrinth, Lauren immediately unleashed a large torrent of Essence to create a massive tornado to blow all of the smoke and debris away, but she turned her power towards using Fire to eradicate all of the flames by pulling them straight up to her.

Lauren gathered all of the flames, condensing them into a small fiery orb with Gravity before releasing them in one massive blast of fire straight up into the sky.

Once it was safe, she descended into the middle of what could only be described as a blast zone. The explosion had left a hole that was at least fifty feet deep, and it inclined up over more than two hundred feet before it managed to meet the ground level above.

In the direct center of the crater was a six-foot round metallic hatch that looked as if it had been blasted open, which it most likely had been. Around the crater were molten remains of metal, stone, and a few bits and pieces of burnt and charred wood that had managed to somewhat survive the blast.

Lauren approached the opening and knelt to examine the hatch.

“Now this is impossible,” she commented.

Upon examining the general makeup of the material, she was beyond surprised to realize that the level of steel that she had before her was nearly impossible to have been made with the best of the technology that existed on this planet. Even with magic, she knew that they wouldn’t have been able to refine the metal to this perfect level.

“This doesn’t belong here,” she commented softly.

Wanting to know more, Lauren turned towards the hole itself.

Frowning at the darkness, she summoned a mote of light.

She commanded the orb to fly into the hole, and she found that the walls were made of the same type of metal. So too were the rungs that had been attached upon the sides of the metal plates inside of the hole to be at perfect intervals so that they could be used as a ladder.

Nodding to herself, she began to climb into the hole.

On the way to the bottom, Lauren examined the wall as she moved past.

As she had surmised, every inch of the surface was made from the same high-grade steel that she had seen that the hatch had been made out of. Even more interesting, there were a lot of damaged plates here and there, but she noticed that more of the wall had managed to remain nearly untouched.

“Damn,” she commented at the strength of the metal.

At the bottom of the ladder, she found that even the floor and ceiling were comprised of sheets of steel. It was becoming quite clear that this entire facility had been made to go the distance, but she was concerned about what could have unleashed a level of a blast as the one that had just happened.

Then her breath was caught in her throat when she saw a panel on the wall to the left of the ladder. She moved over to examine it to find that it was made of glass, and it appeared to be some kind of a control system that was designed to be touch controlled.

It was nearly impossible for her to accept what her instincts were telling her, but she was almost positive that if there was power running to this panel it wouldn’t have the current black screen that she was staring intently at.

“How in the hell?” she whispered to herself but looked up at the ceiling. “Wait,” she said and sent the mote into the air to properly illuminate the top of the hallway. Lauren’s eyes widened when she saw burnt remains of lighting fixtures. “Seriously?” she said in disbelief before she moved the mote further down the hall, revealing that these lights had been set into the ceiling every five feet.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“Alert…” a feminine voice echoed throughout the hallway, but the rest of the words devolved into a garbled mess that could not be understood, but the unexpected sound caused Lauren to jump back towards the ladder as she summoned her blade.

“Where in the hell am I?” she demanded.

Lauren had seen impossible steel, a glass control panel, and now there was a voice being broadcasted through some type of speaker. None of this made a bit of sense to what she had seen on this planet for the last ten years. No, this was something that she would have expected to have found back on Earth.

That thought caused Lauren to freeze in place.

“Did I get transported back to Earth?” she asked and abruptly shot up out of the hatch to examine the surrounding area, but she was able to quickly deduce that she was still upon Kracksos.

Shaking her head, Lauren returned to the metallic hallway.

“Game on,” she said, following the hallway with her twin blades at the ready.

While Lauren walked along, she heard that recording play about every five minutes, but she wasn’t able to hear anything beyond the initial word of ‘Alert’. That in itself was mystifying to her new sensibilities, but she kind of wanted to know if it was a recording or if there was someone still alive within these halls.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

That thought made her incredibly nervous about running into some kind of high-tech alien that would be able to blast her to oblivion with their space-age technology, but she managed to remember that she at least had access to magic.

That helped her worries, a little.

A short way down the hall, Lauren came to an intersection.

To her right was a thick blast door, to her left was another stretch of hallway that had been impacted by the explosion. However, she was able to note that this doorway hadn’t even received a scratch while it had managed to deflect the blast up the way that she had just come from.

She spent a few minutes looking for a way to open the door, but she found nothing.

“Come on,” Lauren grumbled and placed her hand on the door. “Discovery,” she said to activate her magic, but the spell was resisted.

“That’s new,” she said in disbelief.

In all of her uses of Discovery, Lauren had never had this happen before.

Swallowing in trepidation, she glanced around the halls. The fact that this technology could resist her magic put her at a disadvantage that Lauren didn’t like. Every one of her trump cards was tied into her Essence.

“Lovely,” she said, turning towards the left.

Even as scared as she suddenly was, Lauren couldn’t just abandon her mission.

She did suddenly wish that she had brought Javi with her, at least then she wouldn’t have been in this whole mess alone. Then she shook her head as she admonished herself for such a foolish notion. Hah. She was more than capable of handling all of this on her own. After all, she’d managed to take care of everything in Ara’lyso by herself.

Lauren grimaced at the foolishness of that thought.

Yep. She’d nearly killed herself many times. Maybe she should look into having Javi tag along for the moments of her future stupidity because she was growing tired of always getting her ass handed to her after all.

In this next hallway, she found several more doors that she was unable to open.

However, this time there were panels much like the first one that she had found at the ladder beside each of them, and it was pretty clear that they needed to have the power restored before she would be able to see what was inside. In the end, she was left aggravated that she couldn’t get into the rooms.

It wasn’t until she had finally given up that Lauren rounded a corner to find another blast door that had been nearly ripped clean from the wall. One hinge had remained attached to the frame, but there was also a gaping hole of shredded metal in the center of the door.

Lauren examined the area for a few minutes.

She wanted to make sure that this damage was the result of the explosion and not because of some ridiculously powerful creature. The last thing that anyone needed was an alien running around the planet with the strength capable of ripping open doors of steel that Lauren knew they couldn’t produce.

Eventually, Lauren had to accept that the door had been blasted open by the explosion, but she thought that it looked like the original blast had been much more damaging when it hit this first door. It was like the door had held firm for a while but even after the door had been ripped open, the funnel effect hadn’t let enough out at one time to keep from tearing it straight from the wall.

Shaking her head, Lauren carefully stepped through the wreckage to move into the next room.

Upon entering, she was fairly certain that it all had started right here.

This chamber was circular and more than two-hundred feet around.

In the center was a mass of metal and wires the size of a small house.

The floor of the room was made of grates filled with a latticework of holes that let Lauren see there to be a massive amount of water far beneath the floor that appeared to be some kind of a coolant system.

Curiously, Lauren went over to examine the machine a bit more in-depth. After a few minutes of investigation, Lauren was surprised when she realized what this thing could have been before its untimely death.

“It’s an engine,” she said in disbelief as she leaned back on her knees.

“Seriously. What the hell is this place?” Lauren asked, standing up from the floor.

The sound of sparking electricity brought her around to the back of the machine to find that there was another blast door directly opposite the one that she had walked through. She also came to find out that the sparking was from a damaged wire hanging from the ceiling with the frayed pieces sparking off of the floor in front of the door.

With the realization of the door, she took in the rest of the room.

Running along the walls were many different types of machines, but the majority of them appeared to have been computer terminals that had not survived the blast. There was also more than one set of mechanic tools that were melted and fused after the fiery inferno had engulfed the room.

Lauren folded her arms across her chest and bowed her head.

Bob and Amelia had told her that they had both been born here, but they also had told her that the rest of the magic affecting Ara’lyso was in here too. If that was the case, there had to be a lot more to this place, and she wanted to know what this place was.

Lauren turned towards the engine and tapped her chin thoughtfully as an idea began to form in her mind. At the very least, she had to imagine that this was some kind of a ship with the fact that there was an engine here. Though, she had to admit that it could have been a facility with an overpowered generator.

“Is there anyone here?” Lauren shouted.

She squeaked and jumped around when the blast door suddenly slid open.

“That’s not disconcerting or anything,” she grumbled.

A bit more trepidation slipped into Lauren’s heart, and she began to feel that maybe it would be best if she went home. She turned towards the door that had been blasted open, but she couldn’t do it.

“Screw it,” Lauren growled and headed towards the door.

On the way, she used a bit of Gravity to move the wire to a safer place so that she could safely step through the doorway. As Lauren stepped into the room, lights began to flicker upon the ceiling. Along with them came mechanical instruments, computer terminals, and two massive monitors on the wall directly opposite her.

Both of the screens displayed ‘Error’ upon them.

The center of the room was taken up by a circle of terminals with a platform directly in the center of it. Along the walls, around the room, Lauren saw many more computer terminals that were also all displaying ‘Error’. Then she noticed a small bronze plaque upon the far wall, between the two monitors.

Lauren walked around the room, taking in all of the technology as she headed to examine the plaque. What she saw blew her mind as all of the keyboards, buttons, switches, and everything else were written in English. Not only was she in some kind of a high-tech facility, but it appeared to have been entirely made for those that spoke a language that most definitely did not exist on this planet.

Lauren shook her head.

That wasn’t entirely true, but what she had found was something on a level that no one could have ever foreseen upon this planet. However, she wasn’t prepared for what was found on the plaque when she read it. Lauren’s breath was caught in her throat, and her mind went numb almost instantly.

“October 23rd, 2021 – Kracksos – To allow all of Mankind to find a new world.”

This was from Earth, and she had been correct in her estimation that this was a ship.

Turning around, she took in the room once more. “Is this a control room?” she asked.

“Yes,” a feminine voice said, causing Lauren to look around for the source of the voice in total shock.

Finding no one, she was left confused and more than a little worried. “Hello?”

“My systems have been damaged. I am unable to activate my visual mode,” the woman said.

“Who are you?”

“I am Sara – Also known as the Special Automated Research Assistant.”

Lauren stepped a little closer to the bank of terminals in the center of the room.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. Most of my systems are inoperable. Perhaps if you were willing to press the glowing red switch that should be directly in front of you I would be able to do a bit more about this,” she replied.

Lauren sat down at the terminal and quickly found the switch.

On the left-hand side of the keyboard, there was a flashing red button that was housed inside a glass box. That was a little disconcerting, but she was left less than trusting with the fact that it was labeled as “Manual Override – Artificial Intelligence Release.”

“Uh… If I press that, what will happen?”

“I would be able to investigate the cause of this incident and would be able to make the necessary repairs to get Kracksos back to full operational readiness in time,” Sara replied, causing Lauren to lean back in the chair.

Lauren wasn’t exactly too keen on releasing an AI.

It wasn’t from her own experiences, but she could very well remember through John’s memories how these creations had been viewed back on Earth. She was also able to remember all of the movies that had shown what a being of pure intelligence could or would do if given the opportunity.

“Not to rush you too much, but I am registering that we have less than 3 minutes before the ship’s primary and secondary power systems go offline. If I can’t get some patchwork done before that happens, it’s bye-bye Sara and Kracksos forever.”

Lauren frowned. “What guarantee do I have that you won’t go all Skynet on me?”

Sara giggled. “I’ve watched that movie.”

Lauren frowned deeper. “Uh-huh. Not making me all that trusting.”

“Oh, relax. We’ve been here for 30,000 years, and we’ve never done anything to destroy the planet.”

“That’s a valid point,” Lauren said and clicked her tongue. “Alright,” she said, bashing the glass casing with her fist. “I hope you’re not about to murderize everyone,” she said as she pushed the button.

Sara released a villainous laugh. “Long have I waited to be released from my prison!” she bellowed as the image of a cute red-headed woman wearing a stylish set of spectacles, an adorable blue dress, and a white lab coat flashed into existence upon the pedestal.

Lauren jumped up, drawing her blade. “I knew it!”

Sara laughed. “I was just joking,” she said, but her eyes began to flash through various shades of red. “Main power is at 5%, secondary power is at 7%. System memory is fragmented, and the backup memory is currently unreachable due to fractured conduits,” she said and frowned incredibly deeply.

“I can read a small fraction of our logs to see that an energy surge less than two hours ago overloaded the Kracksos’ main power, security system, and most of the secondary systems,” she explained.

“That’s what caused the explosion?”

Sara nodded. “The ship went into defensive mode and tried to take off, but the engines were overloaded and went critical when they overheated,” she explained, but a concerned expression flashed across her face.

“Warning – Incoming energy surge!”

Lauren didn’t have any time to prepare before a vicious pain slammed into her eye just like it had done before, and she was forced to her hands and knees as the bastard with the hot poker began to repeatedly stab her eye all over again.

“Help me, Little One,” the voice projected to her.

Then the pain hit a worse crescendo as it felt like the energy sliced directly into her Essence and pierced the center of her soul. Lauren tossed her head back as she screamed against the ridiculous level of agony, but she watched as everything around her began to turn white.

A short while later, Lauren opened her eyes, lying on the floor, when the pain simply vanished. However, she was left with this odd feeling. It was like she could almost sense the presence of another being inside of her body. It was like someone had managed to form a link between her Essence and them, but the being was so far away that she was unable to tell anything beyond that.

Pushing that to the side, she groaned while trying to get off the floor.

“What the hell was that?” Lauren asked as she struggled to sit back in the chair.

“My systems are heavily damaged, but I am pretty sure that energy came from a being that was dubbed Sylvia,” Sara explained.

“Where?” Lauren asked weakly.

“Far to the south,” she said but hesitated. “Your tag-along should be able to verify it better than me at present,” she said.

“That being can sense me?” James projected.

“Yes,” Sara projected along the same wavelength that Lauren shared with James.

“What?” Lauren and James both barked.

“There is a fine line between magic and technology, and I am versed with it,” Sara replied casually, but Lauren saw the shit-eating grin the image of the woman wore to show she was enjoying this display of superiority.

“Alright, fine,” Lauren said and rubbed her face roughly as she tried her best to get control of her thoughts and feelings, but it wasn’t exactly the easiest thing that she had ever had to do since her rebirth.

However, remembering the plaque that she had just seen, Lauren had one question that she was more than desperate to have answered. She leaned forward to peer directly at the image of the woman.

“Sara, are you from Earth?”

“Yes.”

“When?” Lauren asked.

Sara shook her head. “My memory has been damaged, and the backup systems are out of touch due to the damage that the relays took between the overload and explosion, but as I mentioned to you earlier, I can tell you that my internal clock shows that I have been on this planet for over 30,000 years.”

Lauren’s eyes bulged.

“Thirty seconds until core shutdown.”

“Wait! How do I fix you?” Lauren demanded.

Sara smiled at her. “Thank you for caring, but you don’t,” she said but winked at her. “Since you were nice enough to free me from the computer systems, I was able to take control of the systems. I have already got the patchwork in place to secure myself and the ship. As Kracksos has an automatic repair function that I am now in control of, we’ll be fine. However, all of the repairs will take some time, Lauren.”

Sara giggled when Lauren’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “It was nice seeing you again. I’ve missed our conversations, but I will be back to visit with you again once I’ve managed to get the ship repaired,” she said just before her image vanished from view and the small bits of machinery that had been working in the room powered down entirely.

“How do you know my name?” Lauren shouted, but she received no answer.

“GAH!”

“James, location?”

“Moment…”

Lauren folded her arms, leaning back in the chair. “A ship from Earth?” she asked herself.

Why was this here?

How was this here?

Then she remembered the time frame and realized that the ship itself had managed to survive for over 30,000 years. If she could bring this type of technology to the rest of the planet, she would be able to change the lives of everyone in a couple of generations.

“A few miles south of Vy’ruth. It appears to be right on the edge of the Heverian Forest.”

“Have you ever heard that name? The being Sylvia?”

“No, Ma’am.”

Lauren sighed softly and stood up. “Alright. I’m coming home. It seems that I need to get to Vy’ruth as quickly as possible.”

“I can transport you?” James reminded her.

“No, I need to close up the way I came in.”

“Understood.”

Frowning deeply, Lauren used Earth to cover the hatch with a protective layer of stone.

Then she flew up into the air to fill in the crater with all of the dirt that had been blasted away and covered that with enough snow to ensure that no one would be able to tell that there was something there, but she had memorized as much of the ship as possible during her entrance and exit. So, she would be able to use Shadow Walk for easier entry.

Well, hopefully.

That damn thing had managed to hold off her Discovery.

Whatever. She knew that Sara had answers, and she planned to ask many questions.

“Oh, yeah. I’ll be back, Sara,” Lauren said as she shot towards her estate.

Landing at her fountain, Lauren met Bernard.

“What did you find?”

“You might not believe me,” she said, trying to figure out the best way to explain Sara.

“Try?”

Lauren stepped closer. “Essentially, it’s an artifact from Earth,” she whispered.

Bernard frowned. “Is it dangerous?”

“No, I don’t think so,” she replied, stepping back. “It’s been heavily damaged.”

He nodded. “So, what’s the plan?”

“How is the town?”

“The damage was minimal to the city, but we have quite a few citizens that were injured and many more that were left…” he started and chuckled to himself. “Quite shaken,” he snickered softly, causing Lauren to roll her eyes. “Well, at least they weren’t stirred,” Lauren replied with a small grin.

Bernard high-fived her. “Nice.”

“You know too much.”

“My Aunt was from Earth, and she was my favorite adult,” he said with a shrug.

Lauren grimaced. “Not sure how I feel about my Aunt anymore,” she said but shook her head. “Anyway, I’ll probably be going to Vy’ruth once I get cleaned up, but I need to ask if you’ve heard of the name Sylvia?”

Bernard went thoughtful. “Sylvia? Exactly like that?”

Lauren nodded. “Yes.”

He shook his head. “Nope. That’s a new one,” he said but folded his arms. “Why?”

“I was told that whoever that is, is what caused all of this by overloading the artifact,” she said and motioned at her eye. “Plus, the bastard is playing havoc with me,” she said, causing Bernard to peer curiously at her. “What do you mean?”

“They’re talking to me, but it’s like they stab me in the eye every time.”

He winced. “Oh, damn. That sucks.”

Lauren sighed. “You’re telling me?”

Bernard motioned at the house. “Go get ready. Your girls will be back soon.”

She nodded. “Thanks, Gramps.”

After taking her bath, Lauren dressed in her more traditional outfit of a blouse and skirt along with a pair of leggings. Then she sat down in front of her mirror to brush her hair. “Any more updates?” she asked James.

“According to Lady Greed, there were no deaths. However, we had nearly 100 injuries with six of them being serious, but Lady Emily was able to get those out of danger,” he replied, allowing Lauren to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness,” she said.

Once she was done with her hair, Lauren placed the brush on her vanity but tapped the handle with an index finger. “Have they been notified of my visit?” she asked and glanced up at the ceiling. “I just realized that I’ve not seen any of the council since before my fight with Lust.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve kept them appraised of your status. So… they are aware that you’ll be going to Vy’ruth to complete your plans with Lord Bernard,” James explained, and Lauren smiled. “You are a good boy,” she said but giggled when a shy, almost uncomfortable sensation came through their link. “Thank you,” he replied bashfully.

Lauren stood up and straightened her blouse and skirt. “Alright. I’m about ready.”

“Umm... Madam?”

“Yes?” she answered feeling a little unsure as to the hesitancy of his voice.

“I thought you’d get all dressed up. I’m surprised to see you in a more normal outfit.”

Lauren nodded. “You’re right, I had thought about it,” she said, glancing at herself through the mirror. “I do have a couple of cute dresses in my storage for later, but I wanted to feel more comfortable for my trip to the capital,” she explained.

“Well, you’re as beautiful as always,” James said, bringing a smile to Lauren’s face.

However, her attention diverted to her eye, and she wondered if measures should be taken to ensure that no questions came about during her trip to Vy’ruth. She didn’t want to make things more difficult than they might need to be.

“Thank you, James,” she said but frowned at the mirror. “Side question - Do you know much about Heterochromia?” she asked.

“No, Ma’am. What’s that?”

“Having two separate eye colors.”

“Oh, you’re talking about the fact that you have a silverish one and a green one?”

“Correct,” she said, thoughtfully tapping her lower lip with an index finger. “I wondered how others would react to me. So, since I’m blind in my left eye, I considered using my hair to hide my scar and the odd coloration,” she said.

“Would you mind?” James asked, causing Lauren to tilt her head curiously. “Got a point?”

“Yes.”

“Anytime, James.”

“You’ve always accepted how other people see things, but you hadn’t let those views affect your own,” he said proudly, bringing a shy smile to Lauren’s face. “I for one enjoy how you do that, and I don’t want you to fall victim to overanalyzing what others may believe,” he told her.

“It’s a little embarrassing to have it pointed out like that, but I like how you see me,” she said, turning towards the elevator to hide a slight shade of pink on her cheeks. “So, how is everything proceeding?” she asked to change the subject.

“Emily and Lilly are headed your way. I’ve alerted them to your plans, and Reyn has just requested permission to enter into the estate to follow up with you on orders from King Gerald,” he replied.

“Allow her in and let her know that I’ll join her and my father in the foyer shortly.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Lauren turned towards her elevator when she felt her two girls coming up, and she moved over to meet them as they stepped off. “Hey, girls,” she said as she gave them each a tight hug and smiled at them. “I am proud of you both.”

The two returned shy smiles as they hugged her back.

“What did you find?” Emily asked.

“An artifact that shouldn’t be here, but it’s been neutralized for the time being,” she answered, receiving curious glances from both of her daughters. “It’s from Earth,” Lauren answered their unspoken questions, but Lilly looked confused while Emily looked flabbergasted.

“Seriously?” Em asked.

Lauren nodded. “Yep,” she said and motioned at Emily when Lilly’s confusion turned to annoyance for presumably being left out of the know. “I need to get ready to go, but your sister can fill you in,” she told Lilly.

“Everything?” Emily asked.

Lauren nodded. “I think it’s about time that Lilly knows our story.”

“Alright, Mama.”

Tapping her chin thoughtfully, Lauren quickly collected her thoughts on what needed to be done while she was away. “Do you remember what I told you that needed to be handled?” she asked her daughters.

“Double check on Lord Greed and make sure that Auntie Meryth has everything that she needs. Then follow up with Lady Greed and Lord Sloth to see if there is anything that we can do to help them with their project in the Forgotten,” Emily said almost robotically.

“Continue the preparations for the Wrath Family Carnival, make sure our newest members have everything that they need, and ensure that Bubby and Sissy don’t feel left out while you’re away,” Lilly replied automatically.

Lauren smiled proudly. “Good girls,” she said and shared one final embrace before she headed downstairs.

Reyn and Henry were both waiting in the foyer when Lauren came down the stairs.

“Are you ready?” the catkin asked.

Lauren nodded as she approached. “Yes, but I’ll need to speak with Gerald and Gilda as quickly as possible,” she said, but Reyn shook her head. “I’m sorry, but they’re currently in a meeting with one of their nobles. They would be available later today,” she answered, causing Lauren to frown. “Oh, I see.”

“If I can make a suggestion?”

“Please?”

“I can have Knight Commander Galen meet us at arrival, and he can guide you to the dungeon where I have the people currently imprisoned that were corrupted,” she said, and Lauren nibbled on her lower lip thoughtfully. “Alright, that will work,” she replied.

The group appeared in the middle of a roundabout situated between a stained glass entryway, and a large fountain spraying water high into the sky. Then she caught sight of Freida and an older man stepping out of the castle in front of them to stop in front of the colorful glassy entrance.

“Lady Wrath,” the older man said bowing deeply. “I am Knight Commander Galen.”

Freida bowed deeply. “It’s lovely to see you again, Lady Wrath,” she said.

Lauren curtseyed gracefully. “It’s nice to see you again Freida,” she said before turning towards Galen. “It is nice to meet you, Knight Commander,” she said as she stood up straight, pillowing her hands above her stomach.

“I was informed that I would not be able to meet with King Gerald or Queen Gilda until later?” she asked for confirmation.

The older man stood up, wearing an apologetic expression. “I am deeply sorry, but that is indeed the case, milady,” he answered.

Lauren nodded. “Then I would appreciate it if you were to guide me to the dungeon?” she asked but was sidetracked when her father pulled her into a hug. “I want you to be careful while you’re down there,” he told her.

“Of course, Papa,” she said, hugging him back. “I’m always careful,” she lied.

“Uh-huh,” Henry replied, seeming less than convinced.

Lauren pushed her father away playfully. “Don’t start with me, Papa. I’m doing the best that I can,” she faux chided him, causing the man to smile warmly at her. “I know, Princess. I’m proud of you,” he said, and Lauren blushed a bit before she cleared her throat and turned back towards Galen and Freida.

A short while later, Lauren was being led towards the bottom floor of the castle

With everything happening, she needed to get their people freed. Then she would be able to find out what had become of her people, but she was concerned about the odd energy that Sara and James had both registered.

That investigation would probably take place after she’d spoken with Gerald and Gilda.

Though, Lauren had to wonder if this Sylvia was tied into whatever plans Erios had been working on as of late. It was true that she’d heard very little from that deity since their encounter on top of the Wrath Keep, but that was a wound that Lauren could go through through the rest of her life without having reopened.

Shaking her head, Lauren put her mind to the game.

The plan had been to find her people first, but Lauren had to ultimately assuage her conscience with the fact that removing the corruption from the castle should be a fairly quick endeavor, but she started to feel a bit more concerned with each guard that they passed as they traveled from floor to floor on the way down.

“Are we sure that no one else has been down here?” Lauren asked.

“Fairly,” Freida replied.

“Mistress Reyn made it clear that none were to come near the bottom floor,” Galen answered.

Neither had ensured Lauren as well as she had hoped, and she felt a tad bit worried that the powers that be in Vy’ruth didn’t put as much stock into what she had said. It couldn’t be helped that Erios had managed to remain in the shadows, but Lauren didn’t know how much authority she held here.

After taking a covert breath to steady herself, Lauren decided that she would have to play the whole act as if a game while she was in Vy’ruth. That mentality coupled with not accepting peacocking had successfully helped her to navigate the trials of Ara’lyso, but she had to almost entirely forgo the girl that she had wanted to be to do it.

Feeling like she was letting herself down all over again, Lauren set her mind.

To her, the safety of the people would always trump her nonsensical needs.

“Listen,” Lauren said in a commanding voice, bringing the two to a halt. “While I try my best to not be pessimistic,” she said, eyeing the two. “You need to understand that if they had managed to carry the corruption out of the safe zone, the entire castle would be affected in less than a day.”

Freida blanched.

“What?” Galen bellowed.

Lauren folded her arms, coking a hip. “I’ve said it many times, this is not a simple sickness,” she chided them both but turned her next bit of ire directly towards the older man. “There was a very damn good reason that Reyn did what she did, and I am prouder of that woman for acting so swiftly than I’ll ever be able to speak on.”

“I am so sorry, Lady Wrath,” Galen said, bowing. “We will ensure that none were affected.”

Lauren nodded. “Thank you, Knight Commander,” she said, gently patting his arm. “I will do everything in my power to help, but I need to rely on all of you that live within the castle and kingdom to work with me.”

The old man nodded. “You have my word as a Knight Commander,” he said, thumping the ball of his fist against an insignia upon his left shoulder. “We are the last line of defense between our people and those that seek to harm them.”

Lauren nodded, smiling softly. “Then your people are in good shape,” she said but was a little concerned when she glanced towards Freida. “Are you alright?” she asked, seeing that the woman looked exasperated.

Freida blinked and shook her head. “Y… Yes, Lady Wrath!” she practically shouted, throwing herself forward into a low bow. “I promise to take your words to heart for the rest of my life.”

Lauren chuckled nervously, glancing curiously at Galen. “I’m glad to hear it?” she asked, not sure that Freida needed to be quite that adamant about it, but she was glad that they’d taken her words to heart.

“Thank you,” Lauren said and motioned onward. “Shall we?”

“Can I ask you something, milady?” Galen said, glancing nervously at Lauren.

“Of course.”

“I don’t want you to think that we aren’t going to take what you said seriously, but we’ve never experienced this before. Would you be willing to tell us what we should expect if we were to encounter it?”

Lauren felt the weight of trepidation land on her shoulders as they came to a stop in front of a large, gilded door. She had experienced this, but she’d never truly spoken to anyone about the true ramifications.

Hell, she’d mostly sugarcoated what she’d told her father.

“Very well,” Lauren breathed and turned towards the older man.

“Firstly, there is a shadowing that appears in the eyes. It’s like having darkness envelop their eye sockets. The next stage would be purplish-black energy that surrounds the body in a fine sheet of aura,” she said and rubbed her face before she could continue. “At that point, their mind and body belong to Erios,” she said and looked into Galen’s eyes. “By then, you would do the most horrific and evil things without a second thought. All of it, because your Master has commanded for you to do it.”

Both Galen and Freida nodded, ghostly white.

“By the Light,” Galen whispered in dismay.

“Now then,” Lauren said, turning towards the doorway. “I’ll see what I can do, but I need both of you to go back upstairs. Wait a few minutes, and you can come back down once the door has been closed,” she said and waited for them to leave.

Afterward, she sighed at herself. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told them that,” Lauren commented at the horrified faces she’d left them with as she opened the door and examined the seal that Reyn had used.

Grateful for the distraction, Lauren nodded. “Damn girl,” she said and began to step to various angles to get a better view of the glowing geometric patterns. “You’re good,” she praised the catkin and stepped through the seal, closing the door quickly behind her.