The people jeered as Her body was bared in the streets of Sodom.

Then they burned Her shrines and salted Her lands.

Not one stone was left on another.

And the gods rejoiced in their temples.

- Andanian Chronicles

“Where are we all going again?” Laura yawned disinterestedly as she sprawled out on her horse, at the head of a long winding procession of troops marching through the city, under the scorching midday sun.

“The Vaishyan Great Temple. It’s a time-honored tradition for all soldiers to seek a blessing from the gods before they enter battle. And we leave for the front tomorrow.” Aryan explained patiently for the umpteenth time.

“Your god’s blessings weren’t exactly effective against Krall, are you sure that it’s all not just one ginormous scam?” Laura sighed as she drooled longingly at the pastry carts dotting the streets.

“I’ve seen the miracles my elder brothers obtained when they first submitted to the blessings, Amir was granted the services of a divinely blessed enchantress who descended from the moon itself. And Abel was blessed with immunity from all foul magics.” Aryan answered with a reverent look in his eyes.

“I see…” Laura pouted suspiciously, “that’s really amazing. Two pretty girls must be much better than one. And magical immunity must be really useful for dealing with resentful Andanian princesses!”

Aryan sighed as he rested his hand reassuringly on her shoulder, “Trust and have more faith. The gods have always granted my family only the most appropriate gifts. Archdiviner Zinnridi is the perfect example, he was granted immortally by the gods when my great-grandfather submitted to his blessing, and he is duty bound to defend the Zimran royal family for the rest of time.”

Laura frowned suspiciously, “And what was the price for such a ‘blessing’? That ancient undead reeks of the darkest twisted sorcery, higher magic like that is never without some great cost. This sounds far too good to be true, I must definitely try this out this ‘blessing’ of yours before you do.”

Aryan nodded agreeably, “Why not? You were slated to go just before me anyway.”

…

Laura felt an extreme sense of disquiet as they approached the grand marble temple and paraded into the blessed ground. The overwhelming presence of hostile foreign magics permeating the entire structure quickly nauseated the princess, “I have a splitting headache,” she complained as she pressed a small round talisman to her chest and clung weakly against Aryan. The prince glanced at her with concern but the ceremony had already begun and squads of soldiers marched efficiently toward the priests lined at the altar.

“Great Vaishyan holy gods, we have come to receive your holy blessings. Grant us the strength to defend our nation and repel the invaders.” The Vaishyans prostrated worshipfully before a large grotesque many handed fish-tailed statue etched entirely from black obsidian. Then the priests stepped forward and anointed them, each with a drop of glowing holy oil.

Laura bit her lip nervously as she activated a second charm to enhance her senses, then she used a third to repel the oppressive power bearing down from around her. “This feeling… it’s is almost like when I was climbing the Tower!” she mused. But try as she might, she could not determine the exact nature of the force surrounding her.

“Laura, it’s your turn. Are you okay? You look totally zoned out.” Aryan whispered.

The princess blinked wearily with surprise, “Already? Ahh… it’s already been two whole hours.” She straightened and stared warily at the dark silent statue looming before her, then her lips tightened with determination and she took a single step towards the altar. The atmosphere darkened suddenly as she approached and the priests glanced about them in consternation. Laura groaned silently as the short distance forward suddenly seemed incredibly distant, and she felt as if the ground had dissolved into quicksand beneath her feet. She utilized a fourth enchantment to enhance her strength and finally staggered unsteadily before the priests.

“Please kneel before Dagon, honored princess.” The high priest smiled amicably.

“Make me…” Just as Laura opened her mouth to deliver a heated refusal, an incredible unseen force bore down on her body and her knees buckled before hitting the tiles with a painful crack.

The high priest did not seem to notice anything unusual, and he stepped forward to dab a single drop of glowing oil on the forehead of the struggling princess, but the liquid fizzled and went dark the moment it touched her skin. He frowned in confusion and repeated the procedure but obtained similar results, “Honored princess, it seems like Dagon has chosen to withhold his blessing from you. Perhaps you should pray more earnestly for his favor.” He counseled before he turned to the approaching prince.

“That’s not oil! You switched the container!” Laura hissed suddenly as Aryan knelt before the statue and prostrated deeply.

The high priest blinked in surprise, “Yes, it is customary that all members of the Zimran royal family will be anointed with the holy tears of Dagon. They have earned the honor of a greater blessing.”

Laura reached out and snatched the container from the horrified priest, then she opened it and sniffed warily at its contents, “I won’t allow it! This is putrid liquid is blood, you intend to work some blood magic on Aryan!” she cried out.

“Laura, behave!” Aryan tore the container from the weakened princess and returned it to the priest. “I apologize your holiness, please continue the ceremony. My wife is just feeling a little under the weather today.”

The high priest nodded nervously and dabbed the blood on Aryan’s forehead before Laura could lunge at him. Then the princess gasped painfully as a shadowy hand reached into her chest and scrabbled for the soul encased within her body. Her eyes widened in horror and she staggered away from the altar before pulling out a fifth talisman, “Dark spirit, you are not taking his soul. Aryan is mine!” she cried out defiantly as she activated her defensive charm and poured all her power into it.

The statue glowed with dark seething magic, and a voice like the churning waves echoed through the temple, “Begone foul half-spawn of Krall. I am Dagon, the god of the northern seas and of the people of Vaishya. The prince of Vaishya is my rightful subject, and no mortal can prevail against me.”

“Never!” Laura retorted as she brandished the ring on her finger, “I will curse all of your seas!” she threatened.

“You? And with that ancient trinket? Your mortal soul doesn’t have that much value.” Dagon mocked as it raised one of its arms and summoned a mighty blade of darkness to strike her down. But the witch gritted her teeth and screamed in defiance as she pulled out a sixth talisman and hurled a glowing spear of pure magic at the god. The resounding impact thundered throughout the temple, blowing the priests off their feet, the statue was shaken to its foundations and teetered precariously. For one infinitesimal moment, the princess stood proud as the darkness was scattered before her. Then Dagon roared with fury and slashed down with its weapon, Laura conjured a bright shield and parried desperately, but the pure force from the impact drove her to the ground and she coughed out a mouthful of blood. And Dagon raised its weapon for another strike before she could recover.

“Please have mercy mighty Dagon, I beg a boon from you in the name of Zimran!” Aryan dashed forward and knelt before the statue before it could inflict a lethal blow.

“Prince of Vaishya, you don’t know what you are asking,” Dagon replied. “That woman’s fate is greatly cursed, she has robbed you of your soul and will lead you to your certain demise. Ask for any other, from the frozen wastes of the northern glaciers to the vast tropical central oceans, and I will grant you her heart.”

“I beg you Dagon. Take me if you must, but spare her from your wrath.” Aryan pleaded.

But Dagon ignored the prince and brushed him aside as it prepared to attack the wounded princess again. Just then, a mighty bolt of lightning struck the temple and the entire structure was shaken as if there had been a mighty earthquake. Then a loud voice thundered from the heavens, “Stay your hand, god of the northern seas. Her time has not yet come, and she must be allowed to live till her wishes are fulfilled.”

“You!” Dagon looked up into the skies and back at the princess who had staggered weakly to her knees, “So, she is one of the most accursed who has drunk deeply from the cups of wrath. It explains why her fate is so darkly tainted, even more so than any other daughter of Krall before her.” The god of the northern seas gazed at Aryan with a great melancholy in its eyes, “Son of Zimran, that woman will bring you great sorrow and deliver you to a fate worse than even death, will you also drink from the cup that she has drunk from?”

“I will,” Aryan answered respectfully.

“Son of Zimran,” Dagon declared, “no blessing I can give will deliver you from the path you have chosen, no higher power can release you from the curse than has befallen you, and no blade can vanquish the misfortune that will overtake you.” The god raised his weapon and cleaved off one of its own hands, “I once swore to Zimran that I would care for all of his children’s children. Here is my hand, may it be your comfort on the day of darkest despair.”

Then Dagon turned solemnly to face the princess, “And will you, daughter of Krall, swear to treasure this son of Zimran, until the day your fate shall consume you?”

“I will, Krall be my witness,” Laura snapped.

“People of Vaishya,” Dagon commanded, “this woman must not be killed by your hands. For any people who wrongfully slays her or interferes with her fate will suffer divine vengeance seven times over.”

“We shall obey,” the fearful Vaishyans answered as they prostrated themselves before their god.

Then Dagon departed, and a cold eerie emptiness permeated the Vaishyan Great Temple.

…

The prince paced furiously about the palace’s isolated inner room, “What did god Dagon mean by that? And what other secrets have you been hiding from me!?”

“I guess you have the right to know,” Laura sighed. “The Tower of Andania can grant almost any wish, but extracts a heavy price from each supplicant. I know I wished for something exorbitant, I was prepared to forfeit my life when I set foot within the Tower! But, I’m surprised that I’m still alive and unharmed through our two weeks together. Each morning I wake up, either dreading that it would be my last, or expecting that something terrible would occur, but somehow nothing happens and I live to see another day.”

“What do you mean by nothing happened!?” Aryan half yelled. “Your entire country vanished into thin air, we are now on the brink of total war with the Saadians, and there’s barely a day where you don’t encounter some uniquely torturous experience. Remember those nights with the Calamity Ring? The risk you took to get us back to Calcutta? Your shattered ribs from two days ago? Or how god Dagon almost cleaved you in two in the temple just this afternoon?”

“It was actually all kinda fun. I always wondered how powerful one of the high gods actually were.” Laura muttered disingenuously as she failed to meet his angered glare.

“And?” Aryan’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he fought the urge to strangle the stubborn princess.

A single tear trickled down her cheek, “Can we please stop fighting? I don’t know how much time I have left, but it can’t be long now… And I can’t change the past.” Laura pleaded.

Aryan sighed and sat down slowly next to her, he gazed intently into her glistening crystal blue eyes and ran his hand through her warm rose scented hair. “I love you Laura,” he whispered tenderly.

“I know, and I don’t exactly dislike you either,” Laura replied as she snuggled against him.

“I feel so powerless,” Aryan groaned. “I’m a prince of Vaishya and I can’t even protect the girl I love.”

“It’s not your fault,” Laura comforted. Then a strange desperate look masked her features and she giggled, “I really showed that Dagon, didn’t I?” she chuckled. “Fufu. Just think about how it must be feeling right now!”

Aryan’s eyelid twitched as he was almost overcome by a sudden growing frustration, “What did you wish for? What did you desire so much that you were willing to discard your very life? Aren’t you Crown Princess and The Witch of Andania? Couldn’t you have achieved your goals through more normal means?” He demanded.

Laura chortled loudly as her eyes gleamed with a hint of hopeless mania, “I don’t remember! I really don’t! I remember fleeing into the tower to avoid the assassins and reaching the top, but I don’t remember anything else before you came for me through the flames!” The frail princess buried her face in his chest and sobbed uncontrollably, “What happened? What did I wish for? And why did things turn out like this?” She wailed.

Aryan sighed and pulled her close, “You have me now, and we’ll get through this somehow, I promise. It’s late, lets retire for the night and we can talk about things tomorrow as we head for the front.” The prince stood and offered his hand to the princess, “Laura?”

The princess took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes, “Before that, there’s one more thing I have to do if you wish to fight Xerxes beside me.” She rested her small pale hand delicately in his tanned firm one, “Come with me,” she requested as her bloodless lips curled with a small tired smile.

They traveled deep into an uninhabited wing of the large sprawling palace and through a dark cobweb strewn corridor before finally pausing outside an unmarked door. “This is a bathroom?” Aryan questioned uncertainly, “But why…”

“Come in, everything’s already prepared. And I don’t have much time left, I’m running out of magic.” Laura answered, “This was the only place I managed to find that was deserted enough for me to attempt this spell. Step carefully, and do not disturb the runes.”

Aryan’s eyes widened in horror as he peeked into the room. The entire chamber was painted from floor to ceiling with intricately etched runic designs that coiled out eagerly towards him. But he hardly noticed the higher magic as his eyes were glued to the large porcelain bathtub in the room’s center and his stomach churned from the unmistakably metallic scent that wafted from it. “How many people did you kill to gather that much blood?” Aryan lamented as he took an unconscious step backwards.

“None,” Laura muttered elusively as she looked down and counted at her toes, “trust me.”

Aryan strode into the room and clamped his hands on her shoulders, “Laura Alexandra Muriel! I might not be a magician, but even I know that all blood magic requires human blood to work. Where are all your victims? Bring me to them this instant, we might still be able to save some of them!”

“There are no victims. Andanian magic doesn’t work with normal human blood. A witch’s blood must be given willingly… and this is all mine.” Laura bit her lip hesitantly as she showed him the small white scars lining her wrist, “I’m not usually such a glutton you know? Even with my magic’s assistance, I had to eat tons to be able to produce enough for this enchantment to work…” She explained sheepishly.

“You did what!?” Aryan yelled as his eyes bulged with shock.

Laura rubbed her eyes tiredly, “I’m pretty proud that I managed it in just a couple of days, there’s more than ten hours of my magic in this room, and I must be the first witch in generations to attempt a spell of this magnitude!” She beamed somewhat smugly.

“No! I absolutely refuse to participate in any ceremony that results in more of your suffering.” Aryan disagreed furiously.

“I’m sorry Aryan, but I don’t have any time left to argue. The spell does not allow me to force you into the tub. I know that it is unpleasant, but you will have to get in willingly and immerse yourself completely.” Laura apologized, “I have eleven minutes of magic left and I need ten to complete your enchantment. If that fails, there’s a good chance that the magic in this room will go completely out of control and turn all of Calcutta into a wasteland. I could of course use the Calamity Ring to prevent such an outcome if you prefer, but…” the princess looked up pleadingly as she leaned weakly against the bathtub.

Aryan fumed as he stripped and strode towards the tub, “This is bloody blackmail! When I get out…”

Laura quipped feebly, “You will have to carry me back to your room, mister Woof. And I will be content as long as my body isn’t ravaged too excessively while I’m unconscious.”

“You witch!” The prince growled darkly before taking a deep helpless breath, shutting his eyes tightly, and immersing himself completely in the warm sticky fluid.

The princess bent down and nodded approvingly as she inspected her handiwork. “Oh Aryan, that just won’t do,” she gibed, “you need to breathe out now before taking a deep breath while remaining under! And please open both your eyes and mouth while you’re at it!”

The prince shook his clenched fists furiously at the princess before several bubbles finally broke the surface of the red vicious liquid. And The Witch of Andania chanted as she drew a blade across her wrists to let her blood and magic run freely.