The Village Head was an experienced old man who immediately identified the strangeness of the caged mirror in the center of the village square. Looking at the squirming magic circle around it, he was able to connect it with the odd behavior of the villagers. Realizing his own lack of awareness and memories, he looked around to find the one person that the village could depend on in these times.

Kneeling behind the crowd, right at the edge of the village square, was their Guardian. The protector of these regions.

He swiftly approached her kneeling figure and asked in a bleak voice, "Guardian Thalia, what instructions do you have? How can we help ourselves and the village from this danger that surrounds us?"

Thalia looked up at the old figure and slowly spoke, "Gather the villagers in a circle nearby. Don't let them wander out of the square, as they will once more fall under the entities control." Her voice was strained, no doubt due to her actions. She had underestimated the strength of the entity, as she was struggling to merely contain one of its mirrors.

The big mirror in the square was one of the main attraction for the travelers that often visited the village. As all the villagers had gathered here under the entity's influence, her act of cutting of the source of the mirror had freed the villagers for a brief moment. Now all she had to do was to deliver them to safety before the mirror was free-

SHATTER

The crowd turned to the source of the noise, as they watched the mirror suddenly shatter into thousands of small pieces.

In that split moment, as the realization hit her, Thalia quickly moved. Using her other free hand, she cast a large magic circle and encircled the group of villagers nearest to her. A moment later, the group disappeared, teleported to safe house that she had set up before coming here.

She only had the chance to teleport another group, before the cage she had built unraveled and the pieces of mirrors started floating eerily.

All the villagers suddenly turned towards her, their eyes completely white. An individual shard of the broken mirror floated behind the heads of every villager present. They all looked at Thalia, their faces blank of any expressions. Slowly they all opened their mouth, as if trying to speak. Their faces twisted, the skin underneath squirming with purple veins, almost as if something was trying to claw its way forward. And then the temperature dropped.

Thou, mortal from the Realm of Forest, why dost thou hindereth mine awakening?

The ancient voice was abhorrently grating on ears, sending a violent tremor through Thalia's body. It was a twisted and distorted sound, not meant for humans to hear. And definitely not meant for humans vocals to produce.

Struggling to stand up, Thalia looked at the village head standing a few meters away from her. Upon her request he had immediately sprung into action, but now he was under the entity's control, his face twisted in an inhumane expression and his neck a dark shade, no doubt from his vocal cords twisting into a mess. Taking one last look at him and all the other villagers, Thalia disappeared from the village square.

She had decided not to answer the voice. Without any knowledge about the entity, she could not speak or give it any answers, for she knew not the consequence of doing so. Her lack of understanding had already caused her to folly once, so she would have to be more prudent with her actions.

Appearing back in the safe house, her presence immediately calmed the baffled villagers who had suddenly found themselves in here. The had just found themselves free from the entity's control, when suddenly they had appeared in this house. No doubt the crowd was quite lost and she had to inform them of the danger that was upon them all.

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"Everyone, please take a seat and calm yourselves. There is a lot for us to discuss. Let me start from six month back..."

........

At the outskirts of the ancient forest of Aranya, Aria hastily made her way through the undergrowth of the magical forest, finding her way back to the village. She followed the directions of the magic scroll in her hand, all the while a strange feeling kept bothering her. As if someone were poking her.

She knew it must be Kor'moros, but it seemed as if it was passively observing her. Or maybe it was occupied with someone else? Someone more powerful like Thalia maybe?

The knowledge about the entity and the danger it posed made her double her pace as she soon exited the forest outskirts. Off in the distance, she could make out the village gates. But she stopped right at the forests edge and brought out a scroll from her backpack. Along with it she took a feathered quill and a pot of ink.

Spreading the scroll, she carefully started drawing runes on it, in a circular fashion. A dense pattern of magic circles made of runes started taking shape on the scroll, its purpose unknown.

Aria was clear about her own strength and also somewhat clear about their enemy, Kor'moros. Factoring in that it was still recovering, she had a rough estimate about its abilities. She believed that if they worked together, her and Thalia, they could delay and contain the ancient evil long enough for the reinforcements to arrive. It was already night, the moon shining brightly above. They had to delay till sunrise, when Apollo and Karthis are sure to arrive.

Once she was done with the scroll, she started crafting another one and repeated this actions three more times. A last minute preparation that might not amount to anything, but her caution made her to believe that it was wise to act now, before entering the village. She did not know the danger present inside the village, but thought it was prudent to act like this. Her sixth sense warned her that once she stepped back into the village, it was going to be a hurdle to leave it once again. Impossible even maybe. But her mind was made and her preparations were done now.

Getting up, she drew another final scroll and tore it, watching the patterns that sprung forth merge within her. Another layer of protection.

Done with all this, she finally started walking towards the village gate, preparing herself for the entity's assault anytime.

As Aria walked through the gate, she immediately noticed something was amiss. The village, which would normally be bustling with activity, was eerily quiet. The streets were empty and the only thing that greeted her was a cold wind that blew through the village. The silence was deafening, and Aria felt a chill run down her spine. She could sense an eerie presence all around her, but strangely, it was seemed subdued. Something had happened during her absence. Very soon she arrived at the area around the tavern and finally spotted some villagers. But as she got near, she realized that they were just standing there, completely still, with blank expressions on their faces.

Aria's heart raced as she realized that the entity had already taken control of the entire village.

Her heart was frantic as she tried to come up with a plan to save the villagers. She recalled the knowledge she had gathered so far about the monstrous entity. There was only one way to bring back the villagers - defeat the enemy. Fear started to overwhelm her, but then she heard a sudden noise that jolted her out of her trance. She looked around to find Thalia looking at her.

Thalia's expression was grim and her eyes were filled with determination. Aria felt a surge of relief as she realized that she was not alone in this battle. They had to work together to defeat the entity and free the villagers from its control.

"Aria, we have to act fast. The entity has taken control of the entire village. We need to find the source of its power and cut it off," Thalia spoke, her voice ringing with urgency.

"Lets first reach the Safehouse." Aria replied. "I need to tell you about what I have learnt. And I know where the source of this entity is imprisoned."

Before she could finish her sentence, Thalia had already begun casting a spell. As soon as the words finished coming out of her mouth, the magic circle around Thalia's arm finished and the next instant she found herself back at the dilapidated house where she had parted ways with her mage friend.

Once Aria realised that they were safe for the time being, she exhaled deeply, finally releasing the breath she had unconsciously been holding in.

With newfound resolve, she then recounted what had happened during her journey and all that she had learnt about the entity Kor'moros, taking out the journal of Mage Sylas as well for her friend to read. She further mentioned that they had to work together to keep the entity contained until sunrise, when Apollo and Karthis would arrive with reinforcements. It was almost midnight now, so they didn't have much time left until dawn arrived.