THE BEING

The Being stared at the Cauldron, watching as it slumbered under her gaze.

Even as it slept, she was able to feel its tethered power. It radiated through her, connecting with it in some way. She wanted to touch it, wondering what would happen when she awakened it once more.

The corrupted sisterhood stood behind their mistress, watching along with her.

Under the Mountain had become a dark and silent place, filled with piles of rocks and boulders at every corner of the throne room. The spiked crystal throne was nothing more than mere pieces now, destroyed from the rubble.

The skeleton of Amarantha stayed right where she was slain. The Being had looked down upon it, disappointed and unfazed. She wondered what Prythian would be like if the Deceiver had achieved her goal. She imagined the great power she would hold over everyone, commanding them as if they were dogs and not people.

The corpse was nothing but a reminder of what a failure the woman had become.

The Being walked around the sleeping Cauldron, looking down into the dark abyss. "It's time to awaken it once more." She says.

The sisterhood shifted, kneeling down, preparing for the reawakening. Their mistress briefly looked at them, seeing how they knew that it was time.

"Bryaxis!" The Being yelled.

The shadow slithered into the room, bringing along a gust of wind. Its darkness swirled throughout, stopping right at their mistress's feet. She touched it, feeling the scale-like skin underneath the palms of her hands. She was the only one who knew its true form. It had been her companion since the very beginning, finding her when it had no one to turn to.

And now that it was time, she thought of nothing more important than this creature, knowing it would help her when the time came.

"Once I reawaken the Cauldron, the plan sets into motion. The Child of Day and Night will fall into my hands. The rulers of the seven courts will not see what is coming to them. Soon, they will know who I am. They will know who they have crossed." She says.

She stands in front of the Cauldron, feeling the dark magic rumbling in her veins, begging to be set free. She had waited long for this moment and had sacrificed so much to get here. There were times when she didn't know if she would ever succeed, not knowing if she was worthy enough to wield this power.

But now, that didn't matter anymore.

"My mistress, when are we to retrieve them?" Delphine asks.

The Being doesn't look at her, "Once the Children of Day and Night come to me, it is then that you will bring them both here. I do not want a scratch on either of them. If I see even a hint of one, sisters, I will rain hellfire upon you." She warns them.

"What about the creations from Cretea? What is to be done with them?" Frida asks.

The Being scoffs, "Their orders are to demolish the Spring Court. There are far too many of them to fight off. The High Lord will be overwhelmed. Even his little companion will be destroyed alongside him. That place will crumble to the ground." She says.

"The Woman of Winter will put up a good fight. Do you want us to eliminate her before she has the chance to counter?" Callista asks.

The Being shakes her head, "It will be too late by then. When the Cauldron activates, everyone will know. The Children of Day and Night will come to me via my call. And when that happens... Prythian will be under my mercy." She tells them.

Ismene bows her head, "We stand behind you, my queen. To the end." She says.

No one says anything after that.

The Being takes a deep breath, feeling her power reach the surface. She looked up at the corpse that was hung on the wall, seeing the decomposed body of Clare Beddor. She was nothing more than a skeleton than Amarantha was. Her bones were blackened as if tar had covered her. Strips of what was left of her clothing were still with her, stuck on her remains.

A wasted death, The Being thought, undeserving and wicked.

She closed her eyes, feeling her power slowly crawl out from her skin. It spilled onto the floor, creeping towards the Cauldron, touching it ever so lightly.

But a touch was all it needed. A restorement of power.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled, along with the Mountain. In the deepness of the Cauldron, a small ember of green could be seen, expanding. The liquid filled the Cauldron slowly, climbing higher to the surface.

The Being stared down at the mightiness, remembering what it did to her. She could feel herself becoming restless, trembling with fear as memories flashed in her mind. This was the only way she could gain control, gain power over those who wronged her. She hungered for it, to the point where she felt like she was starving.

But now, she felt full. She had everything.

As the liquid reached the top, The Being could feel the heat touch her and recoil as if it remembered her. She touches the steel brim, gripping it until her knuckles were white. Her power poured out from her, connecting with the Cauldron once more.

You will help me, The Being said to it, Prythian will be mine.

The Cauldron boils.

I will not use you as Hybern did. I want to destroy the Children of Day and Night. They will not stand in my way, nor will they destroy me as they did to Dathomir. She says to it.

At those words, the Cauldron ceases, along with the rumbling. It was as if those words meant something to it, remembering. The Being could feel it in her blood, feel everything inside of her still.

Suddenly, smoke rises from the Cauldron, pouring down onto the concrete floor. The Being follows its path, seeing it creep closer to Amarantha's corpse, but it circles around her. It separates into two, climbing on opposite sides of the wall. It makes its way to Clare's body, swirling around her tarred bones.

Gently, the Cauldron brought her body forward, tearing her from the wall. She floated in the air, her skull staring up to the emptiness of the Mountain.

The Being's eyes widened, seeing exactly what the Cauldron was doing.

She stared at it as Clare's body was being remade. It was as if the Cauldron had rewinded time, creating the girl as she once was before Amarantha inflicted anything upon her. Whatever wounds were there before, were now healed and repaired. Her skin was a glowing white, gleaming with stardust.

Her lips were colored a beautiful rose, plump and lovely. Her blonde hair cascaded below her shoulders, curled. The Cauldron dressed her in the finest green silk, heading all the way down her body. Her arms were tattooed with black strands, wrapping around her wrists, binding her to the Cauldron.

And when her eyes opened, they were shining green as if they were gems.

This was the Cauldron.

The Being held her gaze as she was gently placed onto the floor. Clare looked around, seeing what remained of Under the Mountain.

She chuckled, "This girl's memories are horrid, filled with fear and pain." She looked down at the Deceiver's corpse, "Ah, yes. The failure that she turned out to be. A woman who held so much power and did so little with it. Hybern would talk about how she was not powerful enough to rule. I guess he was right and yet, he's dead." Clare said.

The Being stood there, shocked.

Clare looked back at her, "I can feel your anticipation, Being. I can feel every single one of your emotions. Anger. Sadness. Pain. Fear. You have been through hell and back. But you've also gone to great lengths to achieve what you want." She tells her.

"Do you know who I am?" The Being asked.

Clare laughs, "Of course I do. I do not call you by name because I want to hear it be screamed off the mouths of your enemies. You crave power, more than I have given you. You need me to help you make Prythian the way you want it to be." She says.

The Being shakes her head, "Prythian will be restored to what Dathomir once visioned it to be. His power runs through my veins and with it, I will accomplish what he never started. You will be by my side because we hold equal power. We will destroy the Children of Day and Night. They will not stop me. I have come too far to lose everything." She tells her.

Clare walks around her, "And do you know who they are?" she asks.

"Yes, I do. Damian and Auriella. Adopted children of the High Lord of Dawn. They are heading towards me as we speak. We made a bargain, one that they do not remember making. I marked them of what they are. In a matter of moments, they will be in my grasp, along with those who I will show mercy." The Being says.

Clare laughs once more, "So you've figured it out, haven't you, Being? You have already begun what can't be stopped. If the Children of Day and Night are coming as you say, what will you do with them? Surely, they are of use to you in some way. I don't believe that you will kill them." She says.

The Being takes a deep breath, stepping away from her, "You are right about that. They have a power that only they can wield. A power to open worlds. With Dathomir, the Children of Day and Night opened a portal to another world, putting his power into the Cauldron, but disappeared without a trace." She says.

Clare hums, "And what will you do with such power? What are you sending through the portal?" She asked.

The Being scoffs, "It isn't a what, Cauldron. It's a who. There are two people here that I must protect, that I am close to. I am not letting them be in the middle of the carnage that I will rain down upon Prythian. They will be in another world, safe and sound." She says to her.

Clare grins, staring at the sisterhood, "And what about these women who kneel before you?" She asks, scanning them.

"They are my warriors. They follow my commands and fulfill them. They are the ones who will retrieve the people closest to me. And I will head with them. It's time I show Prythian who I am." The Being says.

Clare chuckles, "Your betrayal will be grand, Being. I can only imagine what will happen when you execute this plan of yours." She says.

The Being gives her a small smile, "Follow me to the peak of the Mountain." She says.

The women both winnow up there, along with the sisterhood. The dark shadow of The Being's companion makes its way there also, landing behind them. They all looked out to Prythian and beyond, seeing the gleaming waves in the distance.

The Being stood at the edge of the cliff, looking at the sunset.

She had waited so long for this moment. The moment where everything came crashing down on those who never believed in her, never thought that she could be anything more. It has been hard. She had to make choices that could never be forgivable, that would give her a death sentence and a one-way ticket to hell.

But that didn't matter.

"I sense no conflict in you, Being. I must say, for someone who has held in much pain, you are not afraid of inflicting that on others. Can you say that this is what you truly want?" Clare asks her.

The Being doesn't look at her, "Everything that I have done was for this moment. I never had a second thought. Yes, I know that I have betrayed so many people, but that is because those people have wronged me. I gave someone a choice and they chose the other. But I will show them, all of them, what I am capable of." She tells her.

In the distance, they all hear screams coming from the south. Delphine and Callista head into the air, winnowing towards the chaos. As the minutes pass, a blast of white can be seen coming from the shores of the Spring Court. But as The Being takes a closer look, she sees the ice forming on the ocean, freezing all of her creations that came from Cretea.

In seconds, the two sisters are back. Delphine catches her breath, "The Woman of Winter has frozen the ocean on the shores of the Spring Court. The High Lord is ripping the creations to shreds, along with Kallias and Vivianne. Once word spreads, the battle will start at nightfall." She reveals.

Clare looks back at The Being, "Why target the Spring Court?" She asks.

"Because I can." She says.

She didn't want to reveal the real reason, mainly because it was a weakness, a show of the person she had got rid of. The courts were her enemy now, yes, but the Spring Court held a special place of hatred in her heart.

When she heard that Tamlin was rebuilding his court, along with a companion that allied with him, deep anger bloomed inside of her. She promised herself that she would destroy it, that there will be nothing left but ashes as it once was months ago.

Callista walks up to her mistress, "Is it time, my queen?" She asks.

She stares at all of the sisterhood, seeing them look at her with loyalty and honor. They had been beside her for years now, following her commands in secret. They never strayed from her or revealed anything to anyone. They had all been with her from the beginning and she was grateful to have them at her side, even when she didn't show it.

Behind her, her companion showed itself, revealing its true form.

The Being stares up at it, feeling her heart swell in her chest, "Yes, my sisters. The War for Prythian has begun." She tells them, hearing the thunder rolling in the skies.