Chapter 1

Anjali

When I dream it is always of the freedom I had, never the servitude I endure but I suppose that is normal for most people. To dream of what they want the most but it is not normal for my kind. We are always free within our realm but should we leave it we are hunted down and killed. We were the stuff of legends but that day is long past and it may never come again.

I open my eyes only to see my "Master" standing near the walls of my cell staring intently at me. My newest Master was very tall and wore ragged blue robes and a featureless mask that might have once been silver but was now stained with dried blood. Why he didn't just get a new mask escaped me. "And how are you today my dear?" he said softly, his voice as smooth as silk. I just glared at him but he seemed to find that fascinating and stared even more intently at me. I remember my old master once called me a "Heavily Armed War Beast" and if that was true then what does my new master find so intriguing about me? I looked over at the small pool of water that ran into my cell and in it I could see a wavering reflection. What looked back at me was a tall female with red skin that fit over itself like armor and was harder than any known metal. The face looked the same but of a lighter red color with two large horns protruding from the forehead and curling around the side of the head until they reached the back where they formed sharp points and lastly were the eyes which were a deep crimson red. What the Master finds fascinating about all that I don't know. When I turned back to look at the Master he was still staring at me as intently as before. Does this guy have no life? No hobbies? Or is this his hobby? If so he should really get a new one because this won't get him many friends.

Eventually he stopped staring and left me alone with my thoughts. Why did I have to jump through that damn portal? If I had just ignored the portal and the whispers coming from it I wouldn't be in this mess. I would be home with my sister not trapped in some infernal cage. If only the sorcerer who summoned me here didn't know how to contain me. But at least he isn't around anymore. The problem with summoning an all-powerful creature of fire and containing it is that other people want that power and will do anything to get it even if it means killing 20 or so guards, dousing the old sorcerer in lamp oil, and lighting him on fire. Not that I minded, it was quite fun listening to him scream. Still, he was better than the second guy who took his place. The second guy insisted that I call him "Master" so I did. He also insisted that I serve him and become his faithful bodyguard…I don't think I have ever laughed so much in one day as I did that day. Then came the third guy. He attacked when it got dark out and all the guards were standing at the entrance ready to repel him but he snuck around the back and attacked from the rear. The guards were unprepared for the attack and many died before they even knew what was happening. Or at least that is what he tells me as I could only hear the screams of the dying from my cage. I suppose it could be worse though, at least this guy is nice and doesn't threaten me all the time like the second master did. Though he does have his drawbacks…like the constant staring and his endless questions about how I got here and where I'm from. Like I'm going to tell him that! That knowledge will die with me because the last thing I need is for this creep to summon more of my kind and lock them in cages. Thankfully the Master doesn't seem to know how to make cages strong enough to hold me let alone more like me. How my first master made this cage is unknown and I hope it stays that way. After all if one of these new masters thinks they have made a fire-proof cage strong enough to hold me and try to test it using me then maybe I can get out of here. But that will likely never happen and even if it did it would take time. Better to just be patient for now…my time will come.

As I sat there thinking my Master appeared and started asking questions again. "How did you get here? Where are you from?" he asked repeatedly. He seems to think that if he asks enough times I will answer. Well he's in for a big surprise. Eventually he asked a different question, one that I had not heard before "What is your name?" At that question I raised my head and looked at him. He looked like he would burst with joy, all because he finally got me to react to his questioning, and not in a bad way. I looked at him for a few seconds and said, in a voice that seemed to echo in the small cell, "I don't have a name". The Master's jaw dropped slightly, his mask quivering, when I spoke. What? Did he think I couldn't speak? Or was he shocked that I was answering him? I'd vote for the latter. It took my Master a few seconds to gather his wits, if he had any left, and finally compose a response "Why?" Instead of responding, like he hoped I would, I just turned away and went back to staring at the ground. The Master looked sad but still excited that he could get me to speak. He stood and walked down the hallway, letting the darkness consume him as he went.

I waited a few minutes, until I was sure the Master had left, before I got up off the ground and walked around my small cell. It wasn't much to look at but it was all I had. It looked like this was once a cave, just large enough to stand in, but now it had red metal bars covering the exit and hugging the rock face. Aside from the small pool of water I also had a bedroll laid out in the corner. Lastly there was a small hole, about the size of my head, cut into the rock face that lead into a small room higher up, they used it to send me anything I might need, not that there was much of that going on. But how were they to know? I walked over to my bedroll, laid down, and fell asleep.

Hours later the Master visited me again and started asking the dreaded questions again. Did he ever sleep?! I just laid there and ignored him. He tried just about everything to get me to talk again but to no avail. In the end he just sat on the ground and looked at me. I sat up and looked right back at him. We sat there for a while staring at each other before he finally asked "Why won't you talk to me?" I just kept on staring. Eventually he stood up and turned but before he could walk away I said softly "Why should I?" The Master whipped around so fast his mask nearly fell off. After righting his crooked mask he stared at me with wide eyes. Why does he act so surprised? I already talked to him once so it's not like it's something new. The Master continued to stare for about another minute before doing something I never would have thought possible for him…he left. No questions. Not one. Weird.

Several hours later the Master returned but this time he just sat down near the cage and waited for me to sit up. When I did he said "I have always asked you questions but today you can ask any of your questions to me". This was new. Was this some kind of trap? Would he just ignore me like I have him? I don't know but why not give it a try? I thought for a few seconds and said "Why do you wear a mask?" He looked only faintly surprised, maybe he was finally used to me talking, before his expression clouded over with sadness. He reached up and pulled the mask from his face and what I saw there was answer enough. His face was horribly burned on the left side but on the right side it looked like it was melted into his skull. His left eye was as clear blue as the sky but his right was as cloudy as milk. He probably couldn't see much out of it. "This is why" was all he said before putting his mask back on and waiting for the next question.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked next. The Master looked thoughtful for a moment then said "I didn't. I knew that someone had summoned a creature of great power and that if such a creature agreed to cooperate with such greedy men that the result would be disasters. Little did I know that you hardly talk to anyone at all, least of all selfish men." You could hear the smile in his voice as he said this, even if you couldn't see it. "But back to the question. I heard about you from a smuggler who was selling food and supplies to the warlord who was here before." So that was what my second master was, a Warlord. Good to know. "I knew I had to get rid of him before he convinced you to join him. Well, that or just beat you within an inch of your life until you obeyed him. Neither of which I wanted to happen." He said all this while looking at me through the bars of the cage, his gaze as steady as it has ever been. I looked into his eyes, one clear one cloudy, and said "I would have liked to see him try."

The Master looked at the bars of the cage and said "I have wondered if this cage was magically warded to keep you contained or if you stayed of your own free will. I'm going to guess it's warded. Otherwise you would have acted by now and likely ripped those guards to pieces along with their warlord master." He continued to stare at the bars for some time before he realized I was staring at him. I had moved closer as he was talking and now I sat close enough to touch him, were the cage not in the way. The Master seemed shocked that I was this close to him. I looked at him through the bars and said "Do you know what happens when I touch this cage?" He shook his head, as expected. I raised my left hand and grabbed the nearest bar. The effect was instantaneous and very painful. My hand started smoking and then it started to melt, the thick skin turned into black gooey liquid and went slithered down the bar hissing as it went, and only then did I finally rip my hand free of the bar. I then raised my hand again and showed it to the Master. He looked at me with a stunned expression before turning his attention over to my hand, or what was left of it. The hand was mostly a dark brown color now, with black blood flowing down it like a corrupt waterfall. The Master was still stunned but he was also examining my hand as closely as the bars would let him. After enduring this for a few minutes I pulled my hand away and moved back to my old spot on the far side of the cell. The Master looked concerned but didn't say anything as he slowly got up and left.

A few hours later the Master returned. "How is your hand?" he asked. I turned my head to look at him and raised my left hand. The look on the Master's face was priceless! His jaw dropped as he gazed upon my hand. The skin had healed and was, once again, thick and tough. It showed no sign that it had been burned to a crisp and melted. It looked perfectly fine, without so much as a scratch. The Master was amazed at how fast the skin healed and began imminently asking questions…which I ignored. After a few minutes of this he finally stopped talking and sat down on the ground. "You don't talk much do you?" he asked curiously. "Don't worry" I said "you talk enough for the both of us." The Master laughed at this and said "That is true. I do talk a lot, but that is because I love to learn and how else is one to learn if no questions are ever asked?" I merely grunted in reply but he didn't seem to mind. "Besides, you are something that has never been seen in our realm before or at least not with in the last few centuries." He continued on happily with his little history lesson, believing that I cared about this realm's history…which I didn't. Eventually he stopped and said "Sorry, I do tend to get carried away when talking about history. I'm a scholar you see. I teach history to those who wish to expand their knowledge about the world." So the Master is a scholar and a teacher. Interesting. "So" I said "You learn and you teach. Do you know what that makes you?" The Master shook his head. "That makes you a Magister" I said. He tilted his head thoughtfully and said "Maybe, magister does mean teacher only in a different language. But how did you know that?" I only smiled and said "I know more than you think…Magister." He shook his head "Is that what you're going to call me now?" he asked; the smile once again evident in his voice. I nodded to the Master, now known as Magister, and said "Now you have a name that I understand". At this statement the Magister looked confused so I said "Your names don't mean anything. Henry, Arthur, George, these names mean nothing to me. They have no meaning and you learn nothing from them." The Magister nodded in agreement "You are right" he said "Our names don't mean anything because it is just something to call us by. It doesn't need to have meaning behind it. Am I to guess that where you're from your names mean something?" I nodded slowly. "Then what is your name?" he asked. I shook my head and said "I already told you, I don't have a name." The Magister nodded and said "Well, it's late and I think I have bothered you enough for one day." Then he got up and left without another word.

The next day was quiet…too quiet. Something big was about to happen. But being stuck in a cage as I was I wouldn't know about it until it happened so I waited. Eventually a group of soldiers came running down the hallway; the lack of torches made their faces difficult to see but as they ran past my cell one of them stopped. He was male, roughly 30 years old, wearing a leather vest with a lion, mid-roar, painted on it. In his left hand he held a metal kite shield and in his right he carried a large mace. The look on his face was one of fear and terror. He stood frozen to the spot even when one of the other soldiers turned back and barked an order at him he didn't even blink. Eventually the other soldier moved behind him and pushed him along, never once looking at me, down the dark hallway. I think that soldier wetted himself. Why did he look so scared? Was that because of me? Do I really look so scary to these creatures? I thought about it for a while but eventually gave up. How am I supposed to know what they think? The rest of the day was uneventful but the feeling of something big happening never left me.

Sometime during the middle of the night the Magister came to see me. He sat on the ground, as he always did now, and said "I think I have found a name for you." I looked at him and said "What makes you think I need a name?" my tone was calm but curious. He reached behind him and pulled a small leather book from the darkness. "As you said before, your kind has names that mean something. So I assume that you would like a name that means something to. If that is true then I think I have a name that fits you but if I assumed wrong then tell me now and I won't question it again." I thought about it for a few seconds before relenting "Ok, what's the name?" The Magister smiled "Anjali" he said then opened the small book and read.

"There is an old story written about a woman of pure flame. The story goes that this creature came from another realm and made her home in a great forest that surrounded a small village. She protected that village from anything she saw as a threat. Bandits, raiders, enemy soldiers, etc.… but she never once harmed the villagers and because of this she became a legend. The villagers would tell tales of her beauty and strength to any who would listen. People began to call her Anjali, no one knows why; maybe they just felt she deserved a name for all she had done. Many would travel into the forest to see her but few ever would and those who did caught only glimpses. Eventually a power-hungry warlord heard the tale and set off to recruit her for his endless war with the other warlords. He set off, with his small army of soldiers, into the forest and began looking for her. But Anjali knew the forest well and started to kill off the soldiers. One by one the soldiers died and they never saw what it was that killed them until it was too late. Eventually the warlord gathered his men together in an open field and waited. Only minutes later Anjali stepped out of the forest and faced the warlord. The man screamed at her promising her pain and suffering for what she had done to his soldiers. Eventually the crazed warlord drew his sword and ordered his men to attack her! When the battle was finally over all that was left was a pile of smoking bodies and the tattered remains of the warlord's body, scattered throughout the forest."

As the Magister closed the book and looked up he said "And that is where the tale ends. So do you think the name fits?" I had not moved as he told the story but merely closed my eyes so as to envision it. Now I finally opened them and looked at him. "I think you're right" I said and smiled "It's a good name". The Magister smiled back and held up the small book. "Do you want to read the story yourself…Anjali?" he asked kindly. I nodded once and moved over to him, or as close as the bars would let me, and waited. He lowered the book and fit it through the bars, careful never to touch them, until the book was half in and half out. I reached up with my hand and grabbed the rest book, drawing it through without touch the bars. "Thank you" I said and moved back to my old spot. The Magister looked overjoyed. This has been the happiest I have ever seen him. But despite all his happiness he was worried about something. He had managed to push it aside when he was telling the story but now it crept back into his thoughts. Maybe he will tell me what is bothering him at a later time. For now all he did was get up and leave, smiling the whole way.

I have read the small book several times now but questions still plague me. Was this Anjali like me? Was she from my realm? Why did she bother to help the small village? So many questions but the book held no answers. Of course not, it was just a story and stories have a way of leaving out details. Still it was kind of the Magister to find me a name but why bother? Does he just want something to call me by or is it something more? I can't even begin to guess the answer. At least the name sounds good but whether or not it fits me is another question…one I can't answer just yet.

A few hours later, sometime during the morning hours, another group of soldiers came running down the hallway and past my cage. Not one of them looked at me. Maybe they are under orders not to look into the small red cage? Whatever the answer many groups of soldiers came running down the hallway that day. Where were they all going in such a hurry? It reminded me of my Warlord Master. This was how he and his soldiers were acting right before they died. Maybe it was happening again. After a few minutes things began to quiet down. The soldiers stopped running and all was silent.

Until suddenly an explosion sounded in the distance. The walls shook and small pebbles rained down from the ceiling. The sound of many soldiers screaming reached my ears. They screamed and screamed until their throats were horse and still they screamed. The sound of fighting came next. Steel on steel, bones breaking, and the metallic smell of blood. The sounds got ever closer to my cage. It seems that the small area around my cage is to be the final battleground for this fight. The soldiers came rushing down the hallway and quickly began to make a barricade out of whatever they could find. The Magister was with them and was helping find stuff for the makeshift barricade. When that was finished the soldiers took up different places along the barrier and waited. The Magister spoke a few words to one of the soldiers then came over to my cage "Anjali" he said "we're under attack and we need your help". I laughed quietly at him "Hard to help when I'm stuck behind these bars" I said simply. You would think that much was obvious. The Magister reached into his pocket and pulled out a small key the same red color as that of the prison bars. "This" the Magister said pointing to the key "will free you from your cell." I slowly stood up and walked over to the bars "Why would you let me out? For all you know I might just kill all of you for the fun of it." I'm not sure why I was coming up for reasons why not to let me out. Maybe it was a test? Or a joke? The Magister looked up into my eyes and said "Because I trust you." That shocked me. Why would he trust me? I would have liked to think about what the answer was but I could hear the sounds of the enemy drawing close. The answer can wait. "Ok" I said and took a step back. The Magister took a deep breath, like he was preparing for something, and then he slid the key into the same bar that melted my hand. There was a soft click and the bars of the cage melted. They turned into a reddish brown color and melted into the ground leaving only small pools behind.

For the first time since I was summoned to this infernal realm I was free. I savored my freedom for a moment as I stepped over the small puddles and looked at a nearby soldier. "May I borrow your sword?" I asked politely; the man nodded and handed me the sword, his hand shaking. I looked at the weapon in my hand, not the most sturdy of weapons but well-kept and sharp as a razor. I raised the sword to my face and blew gently on it. The metal turned red then, slowly, flames began to engulf it. Soon the blade was covered in flames and I turned to the soldiers, who were all looking at me with amazement, and said "Raise you weapons." Swords, maces, spears, and daggers all rose high in the air and each one slowly caught fire. Soon all the weapons were a blaze with fire. When the enemy soldiers came rushing down the hallway and began climbing the barricade they were met with fire and steel.

The burning weapons cut through any armor the enemy was wearing. I saw a flaming sword cut through one man, covered head to toe in steel armor, like he was nothing. I saw a spear bury itself in the chest of some unlucky man and the fire spread throughout his body until he was engulfed in flames, screaming the whole time. Two enemy soldiers in particular stood out from the rest, they were covered in heavy plate armor and each wielded large war hammers. The two men managed to keep the soldiers back so none of the flaming weapons could touch them. I looked around at the carnage surrounding me until I found what I was looking for on the burnt body of an enemy soldier. I walked over to the corpse and reached for the bow in his hand but his quiver was empty so I walked over to one of his victims and pulled an arrow out of the bloated corpse. I took aim at the larger of the two men, still distracted with the soldiers, and released. The dull thrum of the bow along with the arrow was lost in the chaos. Then suddenly the arrow appeared in the larger man's chest plate. It was alight with flame and the man stared at it for a moment before trying to remove it with his hand. As soon as the hand touched it the metal glove started to melt and covered his now burning hand. The metal then started to melt around the area where the arrow was still buried. The man screamed as his skin melted and fused with the metal. His smaller friend could do nothing but watch as his larger friend's skin began to melt and pool at his feet until nothing was left but a horribly disfigured body. The smaller man took one look at the corpse of his friend and ran. The soldiers soon caught him and he joined his friend in death. The sound of men screaming as they burned filled the cavern along with the stench of burning flesh. Against such onslaught the enemy soldiers fell back and slowly but surely they were driven out of the cave.

After the enemy soldiers were gone I walked up to the soldier whose sword I had used and gave it back to him. One by one the fires surrounding the swords went out and the soldiers began the fun process of cleaning up. They dragged the corpses outside to burn and picked up any weapons they found and put them in a pile. Some of the men were assigned to search the cave and dispose of any hidden enemies and some were sent to keep a lookout near the entrance. When I was certain that there was no more for me to do I walked over to the Magister and looked at him. I never noticed that I was taller than him, he was still the tallest human in the room but I was about a foot taller than even him, I guess that had something to do with being locked up in a small cage. How badly was I hunch over? Not to mention I hardly ever stood up around him. He looked at me and smiled "Were you always this tall?" he asked, his voice full of amusement. I guess he was thinking the same thing I was. I smiled back "Were you always this small?" I asked. The Magister just laughed. "So" I asked "what now?" The Magister looked at me for a moment before shrugging "I don't know" he said.

While we stood there talking a soldier came up to the Magister and said "Sir, the entire cave has been searched and cleared of enemy troops. We also managed to capture one of their higher ranking officers. What do you want us to do with him?" the Magister thought about it for a few seconds before replying "Take him to the upper storage room for interrogation." The soldier nodded and ran off down the hallway. For the first time I noticed that the small area we were in was empty. All the corpses had been dragged outside and all the weapons were in a pile near the corner. The soldiers had all left, leaving me and the Magister alone near the watery remains of my cell. I could tear him apart if I wanted to and none of the soldiers would get here it time to stop me. The Magister noticed this too as he looked around the empty area but he didn't seem to care too much. I guess he does trust me. That has never happened before. "Well" said the Magister, breaking the silence, "What will you do now?" I looked down at him and said "I will try to find a way home". The Magister nodded a few times "Do you need some help doing that?" he asked. I was so shocked that I could do nothing but stare at him. Why would he want to help me? Was this some kind of trick to get to the others? He doesn't seem to be the deceiving sort. But why risk helping me? The Magister just stood there calmly waiting for me to speak. "Why would you want to help me?" I asked, still confused. The Magister shrugged his shoulders "Because it was the reason I came looking for you in the first place" he said "I knew that a creature as powerful as you are would only attract attention and if someone managed to get a hold on that power then bad things would undoubtedly follow. So when I heard the rumors I set out immediately to find you with the goal of sending you back to your own realm. Sadly, that proved more difficult than I thought. The one who summoned you here used several rare crystals in order to open the portal but as soon as you came through they all shattered and melted. I have spent hours searching for where he got them but there is no mention of any location." The Magister shook his head, looking frustrated "I managed to find his journal but he only described how he summoned you, not where to find the crystals he used to do the summoning." The Magister had begun pacing as he spoke "I don't know how to find them. He wrote down everything but the location of the crystals" Then the Magister stopped so suddenly I thought he might fall flat on his face "I might know one man who knows where to start looking but that is only if we can convince him to help. He does tend to be a bit pigheaded at times." Finally I had to step it and stop his unending argument. "So I guess this means you are helping if I want it or not" That shut him up and he shrugged "Do you want my help?" he asked. Not like I have much choice. "Yes" I said.

The Magister smiled "Well, I guess that means that we had better get moving. My men will get our supplies ready and we can leave." I nodded "Are you taking them with?" I asked. "Just two" he replied "Would you like to meet them while we wait?" I shrugged and followed the Magister as he made his way through the cavern. It was larger then I remembered. Although the last time I was in here I was a bit preoccupied wondering where the heck I was to notice much detail. As we passed through the many rooms the soldiers would stare and start to whisper amongst themselves. The Magister would comment on them when we left the room "They looked like a pair of gossiping old ladies" he would say.

Finally we found the men we were looking for. The Magister walked up to the soldiers and started talking while I hung back and watched. One of the men was large and heavily muscled. He had a long beard that covered most of his chest along with long brown hair on his head. He was wearing heavy plate armor with a lion mid-roar painted on his chest along with a large sword strapped to his back. The other man was small. Smaller than most men I had seen so far. He was bald and clean shaven, the polar opposite of his larger friend. He wore thick leather armor along with two daggers strapped to his legs and a bow across his back. They nodded as the Magister talked and eventually the Magister lead them over to me.

The smaller of the two looked like a child next to his large friend and it was hard not to smile at the differences between them as they approached. The Magister looked at the two men "These are the two who will come with us" he said gesturing to the two before pointing to the smaller one "This is Odo. He is the best scout we have and this" he pointed to the larger man "is Duncan. He is our strongest warrior and this, gentlemen, is Anjali" he pointed to me "our friend from another realm." The men stared at me but with amazement instead of horror. The larger of the two, Duncan, was the first to speak up "It is an honor to meet you. I understand we have you to thank for our victory." His voice was deep but not brutish like the Warlord Master's was. The smaller man, Odo, seemed to finally find his voice "Thanks for helping us out. We understand that you didn't have to but we do appreciate it." His voice was calm and quiet, almost hard to hear. I simply nodded to them "It was the least I could do" I said. The two solders exchanged a brief glance before smiling "Well," said Duncan "we had best pack our things. We'll meet you out front in an hour" and with that they turned and left.

The Magister chuckled "If you think they are odd now just wait until you see them out and about. They mean well though I have always wondered how two people like that meet and become friends." The Magister stood there thinking for a minute before shaking his head. "Well" he said "for now we had best get ready. This will be a long trip."