Chapter 8
"Why master Norwyn, why can't I do spells like Spinner?" The capricious young girl asked from the ground, her brown eyes sparkling with frustrated intelligence. The three of them sat in a circle with legs crossed in the gardens, at the palace at Mystacor. The sun was golden and the sky was blue and the air was light and warm. The sounds of birds singing in the trees could be heard all around them as well as the gentle splash of water from the fountain. The occasional glurp of a gribbet could be heard as well as they gazed in confusion at the large orange fish in the ponds they shared.
"Little one," the old man replied, "you are far too young to handle the amount of power required to maintain control over a spell. You see, life, all life, has an energy. The trees, the animals, people- even the rocks have energy. Each things energy is dominant in its own form. When you seek to use that energy for your own ends it wars with you for control. A sorceress must have absolute control of her emotions. She must be a center of calm in a tempest of discordance. If you lose control for even a second, however brief, your dominance is lost. You become a creature of instinct, of passion, logic and reason and often, mercy is forsaken."
"But I just want to learn a little spell." The child crossed her arms and made a face. "Spinner, is always making magic and I'll never be as good as her!" The older girl, showing the first signs of womanhood with a gentle flare at her hips and small buds on her chest, smiled at the child and leaned forward, grabbing her around the waist and tickling her until she dissolved in a fit of giggles, her blond hair falling to brush the childs face.
"Then it's a good thing you'll always have me here to look out for you, so you don't get in trouble!" The smile was tender and full of love. Castaspella reached up and grabbed the hair of the young woman in a playful tug. She always felt safe in Light Spinner's arms.
They were both orphans, Casta didn't remember her parents at all and Light Spinner didn't talk about hers. They had found each other in the orphanage each recognizing in the other a kindred spirit. They had not been separated in four years. Casta was eight- she thought- and Light Spinner was thirteen. When Norwyn, the great Mage of Mystacor came to the orphanage seeking an apprentice the other kids had been a little frightened but Casta had stolen Spinner's red ribbon and Spinner was chasing her yelling at her to give it back. Casta ran right into the strange, forbidding old man and fell down. Light Spinner, seeing what happened, grabbed her small charge and placed her little body behind her slightly larger one and glared unflinchingly at the old man, as if daring him to hurt the child. The old man bent down, his bones creaking and he took the hand of the girl in front of him into his own age-spotted one.
"Sisters would do well to learn some manners. You are a very brave young girl." Light Spinner said nothing just looked at the old man, a wary light in her eyes. Casta however was thrilled that this stranger thought the beautiful girl, Light Spinner, was her sister and she wanted to play it up.
"This is my sister." She cried with a bright sunny smile and she launched herself into Light Spinners arms. She caught her with ease and hefted her onto her back where the four year old clung like a monkey. Light Spinner smiled.
"Yeah well, who's going to teach us manners here. We're lucky if we get fed at night." Light Spinner retorted. The old man smiled and his eyes crinkled. He didn't seem near as frightening now.
"Well, how about I teach you. Manners, among many other wondrous things." And he lead Light Spinner and Castaspella out of the dreary gray world of the orphanage into a world of bright color and joy, a world full of promise and mystery and magic.
Now, in the garden the old man stood.
"Continue your meditation exercise. A sorceress must have great self discipline and perfect control over her emotions in order to wield the greatest magics. Ambition, love, anger, passion, fear, all must be held tightly under control. To lose sight of this at any time, can lead you down a path filled with darkness. A path from which one might never return." Leaning heavily on his walking stick and lifting his red robes ever so slightly the silver haired old man walked back into the palace, leaving the girls in the bright warm sunshine of the gardens alone.
"Do you think I ever will be as strong as you Spinner?" Casta asked her dark eyes shining with seriousness.
"No." Her friend replied. "You will be strong," and she smiled a crooked grin, "you are after all my sister and I am helping to train you, but I will always be stronger, one day I will be the strongest sorceress in the world!" This was said with such fervency that even as young as she was Castaspella shivered slightly. A troubled frown marked her forehead.
"Will you still love me when you're the most powerful sorceress in the world?" Light Spinner laughed gaily and standing she grabbed the girl by the arms, flipping her over her shoulders she spun her around and around in circles very fast until they were both so dizzy neither could stand, her soft giggles and Casta's shrieks of laughter could be heard throughout the palace. Tumbling to the ground they landed in a heap on the soft summer grass. Light Spinner trailed a finger over Castaspella's nose, smiling gently.
"I will always love you. You were given to me, remember? Even in the dark times when we had nobody else, we still had each other. Nothing will ever change that. We're family. We're all we got." Casta grabbed Light spinners hand.
"And Norwyn too! He doesn't have anybody but us, so he's family too." Light Spinner felt her smile dim but she nodded in agreement.
"And don't forget the magic." Light Spinner added playfully.
"I don't think I could if I wanted to. I wish I could do magic like you!" Castaspella sighed. Light Spinner smiled.
"You will, someday. Now run, or I'll get you!" Casta stood, squealing with glee and running as fast as she could for the cover of the cherry orchard. Light Spinner followed quietly tossing beams of light towards her sister. The two girls having grown up in an orphanage or on the streets had never had toys and play was a concept they took to right from the start. Only their toys were the palace, the gardens and the magic they learned from their teacher, Norwyn.
It was a golden time in the girls lives, a time when many things would be learned, lives would change, destinies be shaped and sadly, some things forgotten as love for power replaced a love for people. But for Castaspella, it was the time when life truly began. She didn't remember much about her life prior to Norwyn. All she could remember was Light Spinner keeping her safe.
It was the lesson though, that made her remember. The lesson of Norwyn. A lesson he had repeated many times over the years and one she thought she had learned. She had failed. She knew better, she had a lifetime of experience behind her and the example of her lost sister to act as warning and still she had failed. Failed her people, her master but worst of all herself. Because even as she sat in the still darkness of his tent she could feel no remorse for the Impallen's death and only a sweet little thrill of satisfaction. He got what he deserved. She also feared she'd do it all again- not for the sake of justice, but merely to be held in his arms. Her body came alive at the mere thought and she shamelessly relived every sweet second when he held her so tenderly and rocked her so gently and calmed her soul and made her feel so very safe and protected. He allowed her to be weak. A feeling she had not been allowed to entertain since she took up control of Mystacor.
A tap came at the entrance to the cave she was sharing with Jornin and Jadzia.
"Enter." She called. It was Chandra. She was still dressed in the crimson leather and chain mail, her ebony hair however was flowing freely and she smiled warmly at the enchantress. In both hands she held a pint of a fruity smelling brew.
"I brought you this." She said, offering one of the pints to Castaspella. "Come. Join us. The feast is in your honor as well as our own." Casta took the offered drink and sniffed it. Her stomach growled but she put the decoction down.
"My thanks for your thoughtfulness, but I can not indulge in spirits while I am linked to my homeland. I could lose cohesion and that could kill me." Chandra laughed nervously.
"Okay then, but you should still join us there is much to celebrate. You have brought such hope to the people." Put that way Casta couldn't refuse so she stood and followed the dark warrior maid from the cave.
There was a large bonfire and many people were dancing and drinking and laughing. The smell of roasting meat filled the air, deer, wild grouse, beef from the herds of wild cows that roamed the plains to the south. There were also swordfish and Marlin from the inland seas as well as crabs and lobsters, calamari was being boiled in some kind of sauce and the deliciouis aromas of steamed cabbage, greens and onions peppered the air with their delectable aroma's. Music also filled the camp, boisterous, loud, raucous, couples laughing with sheer joyful exuberance danced in time to the beat. The rebels of Shaddamite were a swarthy people, most had black hair, some in shades of rich velvet brown, their skintones varied in shades of soft cinnamon to dark ebony. They dressed in rich primary colors, blues and yellows and reds and oranges. It seemed the taking of the outpost was a cause for great celebration.
Casta grabbed a plate made from a peace of scrap metal and loaded it with a rabbit haunch and some steamed vegetables and a sweetcake made of honey and some kind of bitter grain she couldn't identify. The taste was sweet and exotic with a hint of citrus.
"Why are they all so happy?" Casta questioned her companion through a mouthful of food.
"You." Chandra replied. Castaspella started to choke on a piece of meat and Chandra delivered several forceful blows to her back before she regained her wind.
"Me!" She gasped. "What did I do?"
"You brought them new hope. They think with such a powerful enchantress on our side we will surely defeat Razita and eventually Modulok himself. Before today these people you see dancing so joyously were grim faced, resigned to their fate of an early death in a cause doomed to fail. After what you did today they believe they just might live to see their homes, their lands, their families free." Casta looked down at her plate, her appetite suddenly fled.
"What is it they think I can do? I am still just one woman."
"You are more than that. You are the mystic who can kill with a word."
"Excuse me ladies," a deep baritone interjected into Casta's troubled musings, "may I have this dance." Casta looked up and found herself staring into his amazing dark eyes. He gazed at her with a question and an almost unnoticeable vulnerability. She reached out and grabbed one golden arm, putting her plate down with the other hand.
"I'd love to." She responded. He lead her out into the crush and began spinning her around in time to the music, making her giddy as the stars whirled by over head. She tossed back her head and laughed out loud.
"I like to see you laugh runt." He smiled.
"I like to see you smile pig." She grinned back.
"You're an amazing woman. I admit, I under estimated you. I'd be glad to have you at my back any day." She looked down, her smile fading.
"What is it?" He asked seeing the joy she had previously displayed melt away like snow from a mountain peak in spring.
"I can't do what I did today. I can't do it again. I shouldn't have done it." He could tell she was shaken. He led her out of the throng and over by a ledge that overlooked the shore line by the inner sea.
"What shouldn't you have done? Killed a murdering tyrant? Used your powers to destroy a monster? I don't understand?"
"I shouldn't have lost control."
"You mean after you killed him? Lady, you're a woman and no offense but woman tend to get emotional about stuff like killing. Unless your Shan tui' Sar- they like that."
"I mean when I killed him. I lost control of the magic. It controlled me." She whispered softly.
"Oh. That." He answered lamely. Anvil was a physical man. He understood the physical nature of things, the swing of a sword or a war hammer, the bite of a knife into skin, the feel of a soft caress like the one she was unwittingly giving him as she lay her hand on his chest. He didn't comprehend the powers she spoke of and wielded with such finesse and precision. Truth be told they spooked him. Made him uneasy. But that was easily overlooked when he held her in his arms in the darkness with the stars shining above them and the reflection of firelight shining on her hair and the sounds of revelry all around them.
"I lost someone very dear to me that way. She let the magic control her and it destroyed her. I can't let that happen to me. Too many people's lives depend on me." Her anxiety was apparent in the tension in her shoulders and the way she held herself and wrung her hands.
"Look, from where I'm standing you did the right thing. A thing needs killing and I say kill it. You did that case closed. If you're worried about losing control, well, learn from this experience and move on. This isn't a time for self doubt. With you here we need to work on getting to Shadowen and taking out Razita and her minions."
"That's the third time I've heard about this Razita. She's a force Captain right." Castaspella saw a familiar look of feral hatred slide across anvils face.
"Yeah. She leads the scum around here and keeps order. She has a lot of little toadies who like to lick her boots and she keeps them in charge of the towns here in Shaddamite but she Controls Shadowen, the capital and only she knows the secret location of Modulocks GMOEN laboratory."
"What does she look like?" Casta questioned softly.
"She has long curved razors for arms and spiked body armor. She likes to cut things and make them bleed. She looks like some kind of mutated bug but her face is. exquisite. Large almond eyes typical of her people."
"You mean there are more of her kind? More bug women with razor arms?" Casta asked mouth agape.
"No. She was one of Modulok's more successful experiments. She used to be Shan tui' Sar."
"You mean like Chandra?" She asked. He nodded.
"She, like all her people was a warrior to the core, conquest and challenge were her livelihood, but then she joined the Horde and brought dishonor to her people. The Shan tui' Sar don't believe in fighting those weaker then them. They are blade masters, training from child hood to be the best. No one is better than a Shan tui' Sar with a sword and I mean no one. Razita delights in slaughter no matter who her victims are." She detected a note of bitterness in his voice as he continued.
"The council of Blade Masters sent six of their best after her when her exploits got back to their mountain home." He snorted, "Not that it did them any good. They were too late to help my family or my village and she was already changed by then."
"How long ago was this?" Castaspella queried.
"Five years ago. My village fell two years before that."
"And what happened to the blade masters? Why haven't they stopped Razita?"
"They're all dead. All but one."
"By Razita?" Castaspella whispered.
"Yep. She took pleasure in killing them eviscerating them in front of each other, she tortured them for days. People in Shadowen still talk about the screaming that went on for days."
"You said there was one left. What. what happened to her?"
"She went mad." He answered inaudibly.
"And Razita let her live?" He nodded.
"Only because I rescued her." Her eyes widened
"You. you rescued her from Razita;s stronghold?"
"Yep." She pondered what he had said.
"It's a shame she went crazy. She would have made a powerful ally."
"She is. Just because she went mad doesn't mean she can't fight, if anything the madness made her fiercer than before." Casta's eyes slowly widened as comprehension slowly dawned.
"You don't mean-"
"Yeah, you've met her. Chandra is the last Blade Master sent to stop Razitta and she was our only hope to destroying her."
"Was?" Casta asked curiously.
"Till now." Anvil replied looking deep into her eyes. "Now we have you."
"Why master Norwyn, why can't I do spells like Spinner?" The capricious young girl asked from the ground, her brown eyes sparkling with frustrated intelligence. The three of them sat in a circle with legs crossed in the gardens, at the palace at Mystacor. The sun was golden and the sky was blue and the air was light and warm. The sounds of birds singing in the trees could be heard all around them as well as the gentle splash of water from the fountain. The occasional glurp of a gribbet could be heard as well as they gazed in confusion at the large orange fish in the ponds they shared.
"Little one," the old man replied, "you are far too young to handle the amount of power required to maintain control over a spell. You see, life, all life, has an energy. The trees, the animals, people- even the rocks have energy. Each things energy is dominant in its own form. When you seek to use that energy for your own ends it wars with you for control. A sorceress must have absolute control of her emotions. She must be a center of calm in a tempest of discordance. If you lose control for even a second, however brief, your dominance is lost. You become a creature of instinct, of passion, logic and reason and often, mercy is forsaken."
"But I just want to learn a little spell." The child crossed her arms and made a face. "Spinner, is always making magic and I'll never be as good as her!" The older girl, showing the first signs of womanhood with a gentle flare at her hips and small buds on her chest, smiled at the child and leaned forward, grabbing her around the waist and tickling her until she dissolved in a fit of giggles, her blond hair falling to brush the childs face.
"Then it's a good thing you'll always have me here to look out for you, so you don't get in trouble!" The smile was tender and full of love. Castaspella reached up and grabbed the hair of the young woman in a playful tug. She always felt safe in Light Spinner's arms.
They were both orphans, Casta didn't remember her parents at all and Light Spinner didn't talk about hers. They had found each other in the orphanage each recognizing in the other a kindred spirit. They had not been separated in four years. Casta was eight- she thought- and Light Spinner was thirteen. When Norwyn, the great Mage of Mystacor came to the orphanage seeking an apprentice the other kids had been a little frightened but Casta had stolen Spinner's red ribbon and Spinner was chasing her yelling at her to give it back. Casta ran right into the strange, forbidding old man and fell down. Light Spinner, seeing what happened, grabbed her small charge and placed her little body behind her slightly larger one and glared unflinchingly at the old man, as if daring him to hurt the child. The old man bent down, his bones creaking and he took the hand of the girl in front of him into his own age-spotted one.
"Sisters would do well to learn some manners. You are a very brave young girl." Light Spinner said nothing just looked at the old man, a wary light in her eyes. Casta however was thrilled that this stranger thought the beautiful girl, Light Spinner, was her sister and she wanted to play it up.
"This is my sister." She cried with a bright sunny smile and she launched herself into Light Spinners arms. She caught her with ease and hefted her onto her back where the four year old clung like a monkey. Light Spinner smiled.
"Yeah well, who's going to teach us manners here. We're lucky if we get fed at night." Light Spinner retorted. The old man smiled and his eyes crinkled. He didn't seem near as frightening now.
"Well, how about I teach you. Manners, among many other wondrous things." And he lead Light Spinner and Castaspella out of the dreary gray world of the orphanage into a world of bright color and joy, a world full of promise and mystery and magic.
Now, in the garden the old man stood.
"Continue your meditation exercise. A sorceress must have great self discipline and perfect control over her emotions in order to wield the greatest magics. Ambition, love, anger, passion, fear, all must be held tightly under control. To lose sight of this at any time, can lead you down a path filled with darkness. A path from which one might never return." Leaning heavily on his walking stick and lifting his red robes ever so slightly the silver haired old man walked back into the palace, leaving the girls in the bright warm sunshine of the gardens alone.
"Do you think I ever will be as strong as you Spinner?" Casta asked her dark eyes shining with seriousness.
"No." Her friend replied. "You will be strong," and she smiled a crooked grin, "you are after all my sister and I am helping to train you, but I will always be stronger, one day I will be the strongest sorceress in the world!" This was said with such fervency that even as young as she was Castaspella shivered slightly. A troubled frown marked her forehead.
"Will you still love me when you're the most powerful sorceress in the world?" Light Spinner laughed gaily and standing she grabbed the girl by the arms, flipping her over her shoulders she spun her around and around in circles very fast until they were both so dizzy neither could stand, her soft giggles and Casta's shrieks of laughter could be heard throughout the palace. Tumbling to the ground they landed in a heap on the soft summer grass. Light Spinner trailed a finger over Castaspella's nose, smiling gently.
"I will always love you. You were given to me, remember? Even in the dark times when we had nobody else, we still had each other. Nothing will ever change that. We're family. We're all we got." Casta grabbed Light spinners hand.
"And Norwyn too! He doesn't have anybody but us, so he's family too." Light Spinner felt her smile dim but she nodded in agreement.
"And don't forget the magic." Light Spinner added playfully.
"I don't think I could if I wanted to. I wish I could do magic like you!" Castaspella sighed. Light Spinner smiled.
"You will, someday. Now run, or I'll get you!" Casta stood, squealing with glee and running as fast as she could for the cover of the cherry orchard. Light Spinner followed quietly tossing beams of light towards her sister. The two girls having grown up in an orphanage or on the streets had never had toys and play was a concept they took to right from the start. Only their toys were the palace, the gardens and the magic they learned from their teacher, Norwyn.
It was a golden time in the girls lives, a time when many things would be learned, lives would change, destinies be shaped and sadly, some things forgotten as love for power replaced a love for people. But for Castaspella, it was the time when life truly began. She didn't remember much about her life prior to Norwyn. All she could remember was Light Spinner keeping her safe.
It was the lesson though, that made her remember. The lesson of Norwyn. A lesson he had repeated many times over the years and one she thought she had learned. She had failed. She knew better, she had a lifetime of experience behind her and the example of her lost sister to act as warning and still she had failed. Failed her people, her master but worst of all herself. Because even as she sat in the still darkness of his tent she could feel no remorse for the Impallen's death and only a sweet little thrill of satisfaction. He got what he deserved. She also feared she'd do it all again- not for the sake of justice, but merely to be held in his arms. Her body came alive at the mere thought and she shamelessly relived every sweet second when he held her so tenderly and rocked her so gently and calmed her soul and made her feel so very safe and protected. He allowed her to be weak. A feeling she had not been allowed to entertain since she took up control of Mystacor.
A tap came at the entrance to the cave she was sharing with Jornin and Jadzia.
"Enter." She called. It was Chandra. She was still dressed in the crimson leather and chain mail, her ebony hair however was flowing freely and she smiled warmly at the enchantress. In both hands she held a pint of a fruity smelling brew.
"I brought you this." She said, offering one of the pints to Castaspella. "Come. Join us. The feast is in your honor as well as our own." Casta took the offered drink and sniffed it. Her stomach growled but she put the decoction down.
"My thanks for your thoughtfulness, but I can not indulge in spirits while I am linked to my homeland. I could lose cohesion and that could kill me." Chandra laughed nervously.
"Okay then, but you should still join us there is much to celebrate. You have brought such hope to the people." Put that way Casta couldn't refuse so she stood and followed the dark warrior maid from the cave.
There was a large bonfire and many people were dancing and drinking and laughing. The smell of roasting meat filled the air, deer, wild grouse, beef from the herds of wild cows that roamed the plains to the south. There were also swordfish and Marlin from the inland seas as well as crabs and lobsters, calamari was being boiled in some kind of sauce and the deliciouis aromas of steamed cabbage, greens and onions peppered the air with their delectable aroma's. Music also filled the camp, boisterous, loud, raucous, couples laughing with sheer joyful exuberance danced in time to the beat. The rebels of Shaddamite were a swarthy people, most had black hair, some in shades of rich velvet brown, their skintones varied in shades of soft cinnamon to dark ebony. They dressed in rich primary colors, blues and yellows and reds and oranges. It seemed the taking of the outpost was a cause for great celebration.
Casta grabbed a plate made from a peace of scrap metal and loaded it with a rabbit haunch and some steamed vegetables and a sweetcake made of honey and some kind of bitter grain she couldn't identify. The taste was sweet and exotic with a hint of citrus.
"Why are they all so happy?" Casta questioned her companion through a mouthful of food.
"You." Chandra replied. Castaspella started to choke on a piece of meat and Chandra delivered several forceful blows to her back before she regained her wind.
"Me!" She gasped. "What did I do?"
"You brought them new hope. They think with such a powerful enchantress on our side we will surely defeat Razita and eventually Modulok himself. Before today these people you see dancing so joyously were grim faced, resigned to their fate of an early death in a cause doomed to fail. After what you did today they believe they just might live to see their homes, their lands, their families free." Casta looked down at her plate, her appetite suddenly fled.
"What is it they think I can do? I am still just one woman."
"You are more than that. You are the mystic who can kill with a word."
"Excuse me ladies," a deep baritone interjected into Casta's troubled musings, "may I have this dance." Casta looked up and found herself staring into his amazing dark eyes. He gazed at her with a question and an almost unnoticeable vulnerability. She reached out and grabbed one golden arm, putting her plate down with the other hand.
"I'd love to." She responded. He lead her out into the crush and began spinning her around in time to the music, making her giddy as the stars whirled by over head. She tossed back her head and laughed out loud.
"I like to see you laugh runt." He smiled.
"I like to see you smile pig." She grinned back.
"You're an amazing woman. I admit, I under estimated you. I'd be glad to have you at my back any day." She looked down, her smile fading.
"What is it?" He asked seeing the joy she had previously displayed melt away like snow from a mountain peak in spring.
"I can't do what I did today. I can't do it again. I shouldn't have done it." He could tell she was shaken. He led her out of the throng and over by a ledge that overlooked the shore line by the inner sea.
"What shouldn't you have done? Killed a murdering tyrant? Used your powers to destroy a monster? I don't understand?"
"I shouldn't have lost control."
"You mean after you killed him? Lady, you're a woman and no offense but woman tend to get emotional about stuff like killing. Unless your Shan tui' Sar- they like that."
"I mean when I killed him. I lost control of the magic. It controlled me." She whispered softly.
"Oh. That." He answered lamely. Anvil was a physical man. He understood the physical nature of things, the swing of a sword or a war hammer, the bite of a knife into skin, the feel of a soft caress like the one she was unwittingly giving him as she lay her hand on his chest. He didn't comprehend the powers she spoke of and wielded with such finesse and precision. Truth be told they spooked him. Made him uneasy. But that was easily overlooked when he held her in his arms in the darkness with the stars shining above them and the reflection of firelight shining on her hair and the sounds of revelry all around them.
"I lost someone very dear to me that way. She let the magic control her and it destroyed her. I can't let that happen to me. Too many people's lives depend on me." Her anxiety was apparent in the tension in her shoulders and the way she held herself and wrung her hands.
"Look, from where I'm standing you did the right thing. A thing needs killing and I say kill it. You did that case closed. If you're worried about losing control, well, learn from this experience and move on. This isn't a time for self doubt. With you here we need to work on getting to Shadowen and taking out Razita and her minions."
"That's the third time I've heard about this Razita. She's a force Captain right." Castaspella saw a familiar look of feral hatred slide across anvils face.
"Yeah. She leads the scum around here and keeps order. She has a lot of little toadies who like to lick her boots and she keeps them in charge of the towns here in Shaddamite but she Controls Shadowen, the capital and only she knows the secret location of Modulocks GMOEN laboratory."
"What does she look like?" Casta questioned softly.
"She has long curved razors for arms and spiked body armor. She likes to cut things and make them bleed. She looks like some kind of mutated bug but her face is. exquisite. Large almond eyes typical of her people."
"You mean there are more of her kind? More bug women with razor arms?" Casta asked mouth agape.
"No. She was one of Modulok's more successful experiments. She used to be Shan tui' Sar."
"You mean like Chandra?" She asked. He nodded.
"She, like all her people was a warrior to the core, conquest and challenge were her livelihood, but then she joined the Horde and brought dishonor to her people. The Shan tui' Sar don't believe in fighting those weaker then them. They are blade masters, training from child hood to be the best. No one is better than a Shan tui' Sar with a sword and I mean no one. Razita delights in slaughter no matter who her victims are." She detected a note of bitterness in his voice as he continued.
"The council of Blade Masters sent six of their best after her when her exploits got back to their mountain home." He snorted, "Not that it did them any good. They were too late to help my family or my village and she was already changed by then."
"How long ago was this?" Castaspella queried.
"Five years ago. My village fell two years before that."
"And what happened to the blade masters? Why haven't they stopped Razita?"
"They're all dead. All but one."
"By Razita?" Castaspella whispered.
"Yep. She took pleasure in killing them eviscerating them in front of each other, she tortured them for days. People in Shadowen still talk about the screaming that went on for days."
"You said there was one left. What. what happened to her?"
"She went mad." He answered inaudibly.
"And Razita let her live?" He nodded.
"Only because I rescued her." Her eyes widened
"You. you rescued her from Razita;s stronghold?"
"Yep." She pondered what he had said.
"It's a shame she went crazy. She would have made a powerful ally."
"She is. Just because she went mad doesn't mean she can't fight, if anything the madness made her fiercer than before." Casta's eyes slowly widened as comprehension slowly dawned.
"You don't mean-"
"Yeah, you've met her. Chandra is the last Blade Master sent to stop Razitta and she was our only hope to destroying her."
"Was?" Casta asked curiously.
"Till now." Anvil replied looking deep into her eyes. "Now we have you."