Nestled in the middle of Zanderia rested a simple dwelling made from interlocking logs, providing a naturalistic home life for the Darkwood family. Surrounded by a sea of ethereal blue grass the area provided a touch of the Feywild to a rather barren society.

As the wild sea of ethereal blue reached the horizon, the sky danced with vibrant shades of purple and blue hues. Providing a perfect contrast to the two brilliant twin suns, each resting on opposite sides of the plane. Polaris and Solaris, the sun’s gifted by the gods, never crossed paths as they rose and fell.

Except for one fateful day when the gates to Sunne, a kingdom in another realm of existence, opened in the grassy fields.

Upon the arrival of the gate, out stepped the Zarro and Violet Darkwood were covered in blood and carrying an unconscious human girl.

“Will she wake soon?” Violet asked her husband as she looked down upon the young body of a red headed beauty.

“Yes. We should extract her power before she does. It will give us the best chance to fulfill our destiny.”

“What are the odds that this plan will fail?” Violet’s tone shifted from bright and peachy to a much lower tone.

“It shouldn’t. Unless they find her, we should be in the clear.”

“And what are the odds of that?”

Zarro’s eyebrows furrowed as he glared at Violet, “Why do you have to doubt me?”

Violet turned away from Zarro and took a deep breath, “You like to do things recklessly. Someone has to make sure things go according to plan.”

A low rumble was heard coming from Zarro which caused Violet to turn back around and look at her husband, “Please woman, my plans always go to plan. How long was it since the last one failed?”

“It’s been three days. When you led us all to the Feywild. And look who made it back. You and I only.”

“The others are still fighting. They all won’t die.” Zarro crossed his arms and shifted his weight.

“Please, we lost well over three hundred men and women and you know it. And for what? The power of one archdruid?”

“The power of the Queen of Sunne is a big deal. It will charge our power crystal’s for centuries to come! You just wait and see women!” He shouted.

His raised voice caused Violet to flinch, “I hope you are right. Otherwise we just lost a bunch of good people for nothing Zarro.”

“I am right. I am always right.” Zarro said as he began to walk towards their simple cabin, carrying the girl over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

“At least treat her with a bit of respect.”

“Why? She’s just a power source for us. We don’t need her alive afterwards.”

“Wait, you plan to kill the girl?”

“Yes.”

“Why? We could redevelop her powers and in turn drain them once more.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Violet’s voice was shaky. She didn’t want the girl to die.

“What do you suggest?”

“We will raise her like she is our own daughter. Then she would be loyal to us and not those damn Elves.”

Violet glanced over at Zarro whom she saw contemplate her crazy scheme.

“If we go through with this and this backfires, it’s on you Violet.”

“That’s fine.”

Violet said in triumph.

They fell silent for the remainder of the two mile walk from the now closed portal to their cabin. The walk was eerie as the two suns hung at high noon. Something that has not been seen for centuries. Something that has caused an overall spike in temperature as the air felt thirty degrees warmer. This effect was noticeable as it was early Spring, which often brought cooler temperatures across the prime material plane. This effect was similar to what was observed in Sunne on a daily basis.

Violet couldn’t help but wonder if this effect was due to kidnapping their Queen. “How long will that last?” Violet asked Zarro as she pointed up to the two looming suns.

He shrugged, “I have no idea.”

“You think it will affect the crops and animal harvest?”

“Again, woman I don’t know.”

It fell silent once more as the sound of the crunching grass beneath their feet filled the air.

Once they reached their log cabin, Zarro had Violet open the hidden latch that led to a cellar. There he strapped the sleeping girl into a chair.

“Is she ready?” Violet asked as she casually stood in the cool dark stoned cellar watching Zarro.

“Of course. With the power of the two suns, the extraction should be easy. Painful for her, easy for us.”

Zarro soon began to hook up several types of tubing that connected to three purple hued crystals that were dull in color.

“Make sure to stay back once I flip the lever.”

Violet nodded and went and stood against the back wall.

Zarro walked over to a control panel that had several buttons that he soon began to press. Within a few minutes the panel was activated. “All that is left is the lever. Brace yourself dear.”

He walked to the lever that sat next to the panel and pulled it down. Once there the power began to pulse through the clear tubing and into the connecting purple crystals.

Once the power started to leave the girl’s body, her body started to twitch as the extraction appeared to be causing her some sort of pain.

“Zarro! Maybe we should stop.” Violet cried as she watched the scene unfold.

“Please, we are halfway through.”

Zarro responded as the all three crystals started to glow brightly.

“But it is hurting her!” Violet shouted over the roar of the machine.

“And why should I care?”

“I thought we were not killing her!”

Zarro sighed. “Fine.”

He flipped the switch, stopping the power transfer. The girl's body stopped twitching. Violet sighed and walked over to the sleeping girl. “Let’s just utilize what we have right now, we can harvest more of the power when she gains it back.”

Zarro rolled his eyes. “I have no idea what you see in this once elf.”

“She reminds me of the daughter we lost.”

The room went silent to the point where you could hear a pencil drop. Violet and Zarro had a daughter who tragically died of an illness at eighteen. The girl they had kidnapped appeared to be eighteen despite once being a seven hundred year old elf.

This effect was only due to a spell that was cast on her as she had died during the battle. Which was a spell known as Reincarnation.

“She does not.”

“Look at her, Zarro!” Violet cried.

Zarro stepped in front of the girl and focused his eyes on her. His face faltered as he looked upon her.

“Perhaps you are right. Let’s just hope this doesn’t come to bite us in the ass.”

“Thank you Zarro.” She sighed heavily.

“If we’re raising the girl, we need to name her. We can’t let her know her real name; otherwise, she might be found..”

“How about Merci.”