The land of Kasergrov was a nightmare incarnate. The winter, which was always harsh in Kasergrov, was particularly cruel this season, as it destroyed all the farm crops in the land. Not that it mattered much to the poor citizens of Kasergrov, because whatever small fortunes they found always landed in the pockets of the king, Anders Butrov.
Anders was a 6'7 foot giant, tall, strong, and lean. In his mid-40's, Anders had long, frazzled brown hair and his facial hair was just as much of a mess. If he weren't in a position of royalty, one could assume him to be a beggar. Nevertheless, the look fit him well. King Anders was a sociopathic tyrant who used whatever power he had to make life in Kasergrov abject hell. Queen Mira had managed to keep Anders relatively in check for many years, but after her death seven years ago, Anders took his malevolence to another notch. The king imposed a tax rate of 95% on every single citizen of Kasergrov, a policy which allowed him to live in untempered opulence. The policy also allowed him to fund one of his true passions; war. Anders had built up his army to almost a million strong, and he saw fit to lay siege to every opposing territory around him. Vynel. Crumuk. Dastarian. Nigewsaz. All conquered in the last year and a half.
Surprisingly, the people loved Anders. The king was educated, highly intelligent, and a great public seeker. He had managed to convince his citizens that the wars were justified and that soon enough, harmony and prosperity would return to the land. Of course, that was all a lie. Anders never intended to stop. For him, it was the pursuit of land and territories that motivated him, not the actual conquest. Anders wanted to become the greatest conqueror to ever live, and if it meant a few worthless peasants dying, so be it. In Anders' mind, his kingdom could be rebuilt with soldiers and educated elites.
On this night, Anders sat on his throne awaiting requests from concerned citizens. To his right sat his most loyal advisor, Aron Turet. Turet was a fat, bloated, toad of a man, always grinning and following Anders' orders to a tee.To his left sat his 18-year old daughter, Princess Cassia. Cassia was a beautiful young girl, standing 5'5 with bright brown eyes, a beaming smile, and long, curly dark brown hair that reached her waist. Like her father, Cassandra possessed hate in her heart; not for the citizens though, but for Anders himself. It's not that Anders treated her poorly; rather, he pretended she didn't exists most of the time, only focusing on her when he needed to use her as a token for the citizens.She hated what he was, and she hated that she had to be a spectator to all his cruelty.
A poor beggar in his late 30's stepped up to the king. Wearing tattered, dirty clothing and possessing a rank stench, the beggar stammered out his words.
"H-he-hello sir. My name is Gorvian. My fam"
"What do you want, "citizen?" Anders asked smugly.
"My family is on the verge of starving. We have no food, and we're lucky if we drink a flagon of water a day. I humbly request that you either lower your burdensome tax rate, or provide means for my family, and every other destitute family in this land to survive."
"That is not going to happen." Anders replied. "You have the means to survive, and if you don't, it's because you're not working hard enough."
"I'm a farmer. I can't farm the land if it is always covered in snow and ice. Please sir, I need you; my family needs you." Gorvian groveled.
"Again, it is not my fault or problem if you aren't working hard enough. Smart people can figure their way around obstacles. Do that."
Gorvian steamed with anger. "What the hell would ya know about work ethic? Ya sit on that throne all day and do nothing! Your hard work is fucking that day's whore!"
"My life has far more importance than anything your little squint of a life could even begin to fathom. Now leave before I get angry." Anders stood up and glared at Gorvian.
"NO!" Gorvian yelled. "I will not take this shite from you any longer! You're no king of mine! I have more allegiance to the shit that comes from my arsehole than you!"
Anders sighed. "Oh, you foolish twit. You've broken Commandment 1.25 of the Loyalty Oath. Your punishment is an immediate and agonizing death. Guards, seize him."
Two guards clocked in metal armor grabbed Gorvian by his arms and knocked him to his knees. Anders went over to one of the walls and retrieved a long sword. "I have not done this in quite a while."
"Father, please don't!" Cassia screamed. "Please, let him live!"
Anders ignored her pleas and walked over to Gorvian. He pressed the sword against Gorvian's right shoulder, raised, and slammed it down. Gorvian's right arm fell off the bone and to the ground. Anders proceeded to do the same thing to his left shoulder and arm. Following that, Anders stood Gorvian up. "This is going to hurt." Anders twirled and swung the blade at Gorvian's legs. The blade cut through the legs like paper. In an instant, Gorvian had lost all four of his limbs. Throughout the process, all Cassia could do was meagerly hold back tears.
"Feed him to the hounds." Anders said. He spit on Gorvian and walked back to his throne. As the guards took him away, Gorvian kept screaming "NO KING OF MINE! NO KING OF MINE!" As Anders asked for the next beggar to come in, he looked over at his daughter. "Did you enjoy that, my child?" Cassia, holding back her tongue, simply stood up and walked away.
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Princess Cassia bawled in her room. She hated her father with every fiber of her being, and she wished for nothing more than his death. Yet, with his line of generals all waiting to step in, Anders' death alone would be essentially meaningless.
"How can he be so cruel?" Cassia asked to no one in particular. "How could my mother have loved him so much?" Life in the kingdom was never great, but Cassia remembered a happy childhood. Her mother, Mira was a kind and gentle woman who went out of her way to befriend the fellow citizens. Anders hasn't set foot in some of the territories of Kasergrov in years.
In her grief, Cassia felt helpless. In secret, she had done quite a bit of sword training, but that would be of no use. Cassa could never escape the clutches of her father for long, and no opposing army would allow or want a petite, 18-year old woman fighting amongst their ranks.
As Cassia pondered her existence, something strange happened. Suddenly, in her mind, Cassia could hear a voice beckoning to her. "Open the walls and let the power come through. Cassia, it is your fate." Cassia could only wonder what the hell just happened when she saw a strange note suddenly appear on her bed. Picking it up, it read
"If you want to save Kasergrov, you must become something more than a princess. Follow these steps and meet your destiny.
1. Get two stalks of wireweed, a flagon of moon blood, a horgit's liver, a strand of your own hair, and a vial of mercury amber.
2. Take these ingredients to Lake Moor, fill a flask with water from the lake, and mix all the ingredients together.
3. Take the flask to the stone altar near the lake, chant the phrase "Open the walls and let the power come through", and drink the concoction.
4. Enter the water and embrace your change."
Cassia thought the letter was nonsense, and decided a good night's sleep would help her feel better. Yet, Cassia could not sleep, not even one minute. She got up and looked at herself in the mirror. She was growing to be an attractive, young woman but what did that matter in this land? Beauty didn't win wars, it didn't end conflicts, and it didn't make men less cruel and thoughtless. Father would either match him to some greedy, spoiled prince who she hated, or keep him all to himself. Either way, she would have no power to do anything, other than to watch Kasergrov fall into irreparable ruin. Cassia got angry. She refused to watch her beloved homeland fall because her father was a spoiled child. She had to do do something, to try.
At that point, Cassia decided to follow the letter's instructions. Even if it didn't work out, it would allow her to focus her mind on something other than her father. Cassia, sneaking past the guards, went into the mage's den and got everything but the wireweed. She briskly went out into her garden, and retrieved two stalks of the weed. She then decided to make the trek to the lake with the ingredients, a flask, and a bowl.
As Cassia walked, she started to get nervous. What would happen to her? Would she die? Would she remain human? Would she become an animal? A man? Cassia had no idea what to expect, and the short hike to the lake itself didn't help matters. Cassia took the bowl, and mashed the ingredients together. She then filled the flask, poured the ingredients in, and walked to the massive stone altar. It had been there for centuries, and no one in the kingdom had any idea who built it or for what purpose. Cassia supposed she would find out.
Before she stepped on to the altar, Cassia took one last look at her reflection. She wasn't sure what would happen, but she knew for certain it would be the last time she would ever be a naive, young princess. Cassia nervously walked onto the altar. Struggling to get the words out, Cassia uttered the phrase "Open the walls and let the power come through." She then stood there for a minute, pondering all that was to come. Her life was about to change forever, and she had no way to prepare. But, with all the courage she had, Cassia drank the liquid mix, nasty as it was, and walked to the water. She hesitated for just second, and then immersed herself.
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Cassia waded in the lake of water for a minute or so, until she heard a rumbling. Cassia noticed that the water around her was beginning to bubble and...draw towards her? The water was getting ever closer, and Cassia started to fear she might drown. She tried to leave the water, but found herself incapable of doing so.
Suddenly, Cassia felt herself rising. Soon, she was 20 feet above the water, which also started following her upwards. The water began to cycle around her in tight spirals; it got faster, and faster, and faster. As all this was happening, chunks of ice came hurling in from the distant coast. Large pieces of rock and gravel soon joined the water spiral. Ribbons of fire started to come into existence. Howling winds raged across the snowy plain. While all of that was happening, a massive lightning storm was coming about. In a few minutes, every thing started to move towards the spiral, The earth was ripping itself around Cassia as elements of fire, wind, ice, and water danced all around.
Cassia had no idea what was going on, but she was terrified. She felt insanely hot and bitterly cold. A thousand years had passed and not one second had gone by. Everything was destruction and all was silent. As the elements got to their closest points, bolts of white lightning struck the element spiral around Cassia. The altar started to glow.
In one of Cassia's last thoughts, another message came to her "Da-shyl matra welkrel." It throbbed in her head non-stop and eventually, she decided to scream it. "DA-SHYL MATRA WELKREL!!!!!!!!" In that instant, everything came together in a white bubble of energy and Cassia absorbed it all. Within seconds, her body exploded in a flood of energy and all thought was lost to her.
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When Cassia woke up, it was early morning. She found herself lying face first in the center of the altar. As she stood up, Cassia felt...different. She wasn't exactly sure how, but she needed to find out. Cassia ran as fast as she could to the water's edge. When Cassia looked down at her reflection, she let out an audible gasp as she realized