Yin startled awake, feeling as if she had been physically yanked out of the shadowy plane her dream had taken her to. Nothing made sense, she knew of the ways of magic to a limited degree but she had never heard of powers like this. It frightened her to her very core. It took her a good five minutes to calm her racing thoughts and heart beat. She didn't allow herself to think of anything, focusing all her attention on a tiny crack in her bedroom ceiling.

So that was it then, everyone she ever connected to in this valley could forget her in an instant if whatever magics called her here willed it. She considered the offer Joja Incorperated had made all those months ago. She had no desire for whatever this power was and in her current state she couldn't guard a goddamn plastic bag much less an entire valley. But she shook her head clear of such thoughts. Joja was guarenteed to run this place into the ground with not a care in the world for the people who lived here, so long as they were making a profit.

First things first, she had to translate that book. It was the only key she had to exactly what the hell was going on. If she had had an inkling of all the shocks that day would bring she probably wouldn't have left her bed.

She was only just getting her bearings back when there was a knock on her front door. A thirty-something male stood stock still as she opened the door. The crew cut and rigid posture screamed military, most likely fresh out of service.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at such an early hour but I was told by my wife, Jodi, that you are the new farmer in town. She also mentioned you helped her out a few months back and I wanted to thank you for that. I'm Kent, by the way.

He extended his hand and Yin shook it, wishing him good luck in getting settled back in but otherwise keeping the conversation short. She was preoccupoied with the observation that this had not happened in her first time through this day. Laying on her couch and having a panic attack shouldn't have altered things this much. She watched him leave and spotted another thing that was different. Her field was empty! She turned on the tv and checked the weather. It promises to be a beautiful sunny first day of spring with afternoon temperatures peaking into the low 50s with winds from the south...

She shut the tv off and put her head in her hands as she slumped into her couch. This was not the first of spring, at least not the one she lived through before. She had been just getting out of the hospital on the first of spring and hadn't even woken up at her farm but here she was.

Her second shock of the day was when she went to the clinic. She knew from her dream that Harvey would not remember her but she had no medical record with them either, save for the whitewash version she had gotten from Southside. Nothing about her panic attacks, gunshot wounds, not even her vitals. Well the magic was pretty fucking thorough, wasn't it.

She wasn't surprised when she walked by the glass doors of Joja mart, and saw Morris sitting behing the manager counter as if nothing was wrong with that. He eyed Jodi as she walked up the canned goods isle but the glare from Kent kept his gaze from lingering too long. Yin walked the path north and entered the mine.

She didn't need to visit Robin to know that she wouldn't remember the binge marathon on her new tv or the talk in the kitchen. It hurt so much but more than that, she was ANGRY. Her sword flashed in the dim light as she ruthlessly slaughered the beasts of the mine. She channeled all her rage, at her granfather for leaving her out of the loop on so much and what this damn farm had done to her, her mother, their whole damn family. Rage at the powers that toyed with her emotions and the memories of the people here as if they meant nothing. Utter fury at that fucking dark spectre and even Yoba himself.

She hadn't been a particularly strong believer in Yoba's exsistence one way or another but in this moment she believed and loathed him with every fiber of her being.

She left the mines bruised and battered, her pack heavy with ores she'd need to rebuild her sprinklers. The monsters on her farm gave her wide berth as she stomped back to her house. The day had been too much and she simply collapsed on to her couch fully clothed, covered in monster blood. If there was any saving grace about that night, it was that she did not dream.

The first two weeks of spring flew by and she had only left her farm a few times to fish and buy seeds. Her fields were overflowing with spring veggies, strawberries and flowers. She had been dutifully collecting items for the junimo and regularly running herself to exhaustion and beyond. She had almost finished her second vial of Nova to keep her going and she knew that she'd crash soon if she didn't build in some recovery days but she couldn't help the sense of urgency that had taken hold of her emotions. She had to find the black disc and translate the book soon.

Sunday, 14th of Spring

Yin sighed, her muscles twinging with the familiar burn of over-exertion. She had just finished tilling, seeding, and watering a new row in her garden. She had skipped the egg festival the day before, and felt a pang of emptiness in her chest as she laid on the grass staring into the cloudless afternoon sky. This is what she had wanted, wasn't it? Whoever was gunning for her in Joja-mart would only have her to focus on. The two people she had been closest to wouldn't be in any danger now and wasn't their saftey worth it? She was just being selfish right now, missing Robin's easy-going banter and Harvey... She couldn't stop the tears flowing down her cheeks, the mere memory of him causing her chest to constrict. She sat up and wiped her tears away angrily. They were out of her reach and it was better that way. She punched the soil next to her out of frustration and felt her knuckle connect rather painfully with something solid and smooth just below the dirt. She cursed as she cradled her injured hand to her chest. She used her other hand to uncover the offending object, fully intenting to hurl it into the pond in her anger but paused when she noticed the rune-inscrpted black obsidian. The center of the disc held the most brillant ruby she had ever seen, glowing with an inner radiance that could not be explained away with sunlight reflections alone. She ran toward her farmhouse, clutching the object tightly in her hand. Sitting down at her bigger, but still cluttered desk she studied the artifact in her hand. Leaning back into her office chair she let her fingertips traced the lines of the otherwise smooth stone, their path swirling ever inward toward the brilliant flame red jewel. An eternity seemed to pass before her fingertip found the center and her breath caught. The engery in the stone pulsing irradically before harmonizing with her heart beat. She expected the same drowsiness the elven braclet had given her or the agonizing headache of dwarven artifacts but she was woefully unprepared for the liquid warmth that seemed to be pulsing through her. She staggered to her couch, her movements sluggish and uncoordinated as if she had had too much to drink. She collapsed onto the red plush sofa and stilled, expecting the power to pull her into a dream-like state.

She was woefully unprepared for the agonizing pain that tore through every nerve and muscle in her body. If this had been the only effect it would have been bad enough but throughout the next ten minutes, as her body locked in spasms of pain her mind became awash with terrible emotions and visions. She screamed and cried herself hoarse as she tore at her own body, the pain she inficted on herself being her only anchor to what was real versus what the stone had induced. Her mind and heart were battered with visions and emotions, all the horror and tragety of the elemental wars crammed into ten minutes that felt like eternity. The worst part of it all was in the final two minutes, the shadow people losing their sentience and morality thread by thread. They had been so much more than what they were now but the war and the crorrupted energies that had been born of it had erroded them into mere echos of the beings they had once been.

It was the fate of all the races that had been subject to that terrible conflict so long ago. Each race had lost a fundimental part of what they were and had been forced to give up that which had made them strongest. She remained on the couch as the energy of the ruby finally released its hold on her. It was two hours before she could summon the will to crawl to her chest and drink one of her health potions. The pain lessened but the memory of it still clawed through her brain like a ravenous void of despair. She couldn't take anymore Nova so she opened her liquor cabinate and drank. She didn't know how long she spent on her couch downing her home brews of wine and staring at the blackness in her turned off television. All she remembered was that darkness finally engulfing her mind in blissful drunken sleep.

Monday, 15th of Spring

Shane cursed as the midmorning sun pierced through the curtain of his unkempt bedroom. He had taken today as one of his vacation days to recover from the egg festival and the back log of farm chores that resulted from the event. Marnie had left for the day to catch up with her friends in her workout group and he was left to tend the chickens. Jas had school today, so he was left to his own devices.

He would have glared at the beam of light that had awoken him if he didn't know from experience the pain that would result from that facial expression. Instead, he rolled onto the floor and grabbed the last can from his 24 pack box of beer. Hnagovers were just a symptom of being too close to sobriety and hair of the dog would have him functional soon enough. He chugged the can down and ignored the agressive rumble of his stomach while he waited for the room to stop spinning. After ten minutes he finally found the strength to peel himself off the stained carpet floor and face another day.

He dug through his closet, trying to find some clothes that were less dirty that the jeans and T-shirt he had passed out in. His search proved fruitless as he scrunched his nose in disgust. He noticed a faded pair of blue jeans, black boxers, and a black shirt on his dresser, neatly folded with a note on top.

Shane,

If, by some miracle, you drag yourself out of bed before noon please gather your clothes from the closet and I will wash them with my stuff after work out group. I would rather not find a mushroom cave in the closet again but I am not going to enter that pigstye you call a room just to round up laundry. I bought you two laundry hampers, you could atleast use one of them.

-Marnie

Shane sighed as he grabed the shirt and jeans and headed to the bathroom for a much needed shower.

After his shower he cleaned out the dirty clothes in his closet and dumped them into the dust covered hamper that had been buried underneath his pile of cans and empty boxes of beer. He loathed letting Marnie do his laundry but he knew from experience that he'd never catch up on it at this point without her help. He sniffed his favorite hoodie, knowing full well that he should get that washed too but he couldn't quite part with his metaphorical armor. Instead he washed the stains out at the bathroom sink, used air freshner on the rest and borrowed Marnie's hair dryer to dry up the wet patches.

A quick breakfast of cerial and milk and he was finally ready to start his chores for the day.

A\N: I am trying to continue this story but I'll admit it's been rough going. Re-reading it made me cringe at how awful my writing is but I still have no intention of getting a beta since this is just a getting me writing something again project. I am working on a different story in a different fandom but it won't see the light of day until I can finish this, what ever this is.