Daria Plots

Gromnir fell and Saradush paused for a five minute cheer, before rushing back to the city walls to defend it. The they were just as doomed as when the day started, even if fed better. Trapped, locked tight inside the siege, as if it was a miser's purse. No teleport nor hidden tunnel could lead anyone outside. If that alone wasn't unfortunate enough, the general of the invading army, a fire giant of a Bhaalspawn, was rumored to be impossible to kill.

Their new best friend Melissan, the very one Daria claimed appeared in the throne room to stop them from killing Gromnir always a second too late – in three consecutive visions, which meant she was timing it exactly so – claimed to know much more about the conflict. She offered to share this knowledge, but only if Daria killed her giant brother. Surprisingly, a vague proof that she was indeed planning to end her supposed 'wards', made her more believable in Daria's eyes. After all, what sane person would risk their life to rescue all Children of a God of Murder? It was easier to believe she wanted to kill either all of them, or just the bad ones, by turning them against each other. Daria could be just the newest pawn in her eyes.

And so they found a way to get out of the city, by taking a detour through Daria's hell dimension, a second stay she thoroughly didn't enjoy, and landed in an unknown forest. Obviously a downpour had to start the moment they lost any chance for a roof over their heads. They had no idea where they were, which way to go and where the nearest shelter could be. Daria managed to summon a shield like umbrella over their heads, a useless endeavor given how drenched they already were, but couldn't focus enough to find anything but trees, more trees and some more trees around them. Not that the woodlands weren't an exhilarating change after a stifling burning city, but the muddy river-like path they waddled through in a vague hope of finding anything, quickly forced them to reconsider the of comforts of a cobbled road. Solaufein was taking it the worst, still deeply unnerved by the shifts in surface weather. He clung to the diviner's side, as if not to lose the moment when the rain turns into some monstrosity and attacks them.

Another bout of cough made him lag even further behind the group and now they all waited, so he would fit under the enchanted umbrella. Xan was positively miserable. He got no rest that night, wasted all his spells and had but a spray of rainbow colors to his name. He would be doomed, if there was an ambush. He was doomed even if there wasn't, because clearly this rain was going to end him in a most painful and prolonged sickness it could induce. And for what? For a chance to take part in yet another bloody battle. Truly hopeless.

All this misery was his choice and his fault, he had no blame to cast elsewhere. The only thing he could do, was to complain about the weather, as if it was the main reason he was that unhappy. But by Gods, that was all he had left and he was going to do it.

"Do we even know where we're going? We could be walking in circles and wouldn't be able to tell! Look ahead! You can barely see there was ever a path in this muck. We're walking straight into a bog for all we know. This is hopeless..." It didn't make him feel marginally better.

"I-I think there is a cave… Sorry I can barely see through without leaving my body..." he barely heard Daria's words through the drops pounding on her shield like on a metal roof. "Here!" she hastened her pace. The rain couldn't silence Sarevok's cursing, the heavy armored boots sinking into the mud with every step. He was going to spend a lot of time taking care of his full suit of armor tonight.

'Here' required another ten minute drag through the rain and turned out to be a cave. There were no bears inside, just a dry, quiet nook, hidden enough to allow a moderate size camp. They all threw their backpacks on the ground, those without heavy cloaks shedding the soaked layers of clothes. Xan moved to ask Daria to light the fire. Today he was useless in this regard also. He didn't want to talk of interact with anyone more, just dry his clothes and fall asleep into another bitter reverie. A short conversation with Minsc earlier reduced him to tears and others weren't any better. Imoen was far worse. Now all he wanted was to finish this day. Daria was already preparing to cast a spell to warm them up.

One glance at her, as she tucked her wet sleeves, made all his apathy crumble in an instant. On her usually covered forearm, there was an angry black bruise in a shape of a hand. As she finished adjusting the radius of a warming spell and set the fire in its middle to a pleasant orange hue, she carefully covered the mark. Then looked around to check if anyone saw. Xan quickly forced a look of indifference on his face, moving away.

What was he expecting? Drow were a violent race, reveling in power games and hurting each other. Solaufein might have been a follower of Eilistraee, but the truth was, he spent his entire life learning the ways of Lloth, clearly absorbing more of her bestial tendencies than it showed on first glance. There was no way he'd know to be gentle with Daria.

She should have said something, ideally to Jaheira, but Imoen or Minsc would have done too. Maybe she did? But she wouldn't, Xan knew that with depressing certainty. No, not the caring, compassionate and self-sacrificing Daria. For her love she would do anything, without uttering a word of protest, more than that – she'd be happy to do so. His hands clenched on his bag as he pretended to unpack it, stewing and deliberating what to do.

He wasn't conceited enough not to see that his rage was partially fueled by jealousy. But, by the Gods, he wanted to punish the brutish drow. He wanted to challenge him to a duel and crush him with magic until he learned the true meaning of hurt. In short, Xan wanted to act like an idiotic impulsive human.

He was beyond hope. How old was he again to act like that? It was that a mere thought of Daria, finally able to find at least a bit of peace and joy, was being harmed again, force used on her… it made him want to take revenge on the fate itself. But in what way would it help? She needed no fool, flailing his spells around, but a friend. Someone who would help her see the situation she was in clearly and advise what to do. If she truly loved… if she was choosing to bond to this person…

Stop, you fool. The intelligence he was so proud of in his younger years finally got a word in. First, all he saw were bruises. And no indication who left them. She was healthy after the battle with Gromnir… she went to the temple with Imoen and Minsc to treat the vampire bites they got. But a lot could have happened since then. More than what he heard. Minsc could have tried to protect her with too much zeal or she stumbled, or… a hundred other little incidents could have occured. His first thought went to Solaufein, because that was what he wanted. For Daria to be unhappy with him. For her to need Xan again. For how he hurt her not to look so bad anymore.

His head hurt. He was probably getting a fever. For all the supposed wisdom of over two hundred years, the only thing he wanted was to beg for her forgiveness. Again, he was hopeless. Jaheira needed to be told about this, that would be best. He already went through this when Daria used illusions to pretend she was healthier. All his discretion gave him was a couple more gray hairs. He'd do well to learn from his mistakes. Others could take care of his dearest friend better.

A look into the future… as far as she could go. They needed to know where they were and how to get to the Marching Mountains, where Yaga Shura grew up, and the secret of his immortality supposedly lied. But outside Saradush, filled to brim with death and fear, without the thousands screams around her and fire pouring out of the sky, she could see so much more than just that. She could see so far it terrified her.

Daria needed to make a first step – choose where she would go. And not literally this time. Revenge, rescue mission, survival… so far the roads had been chosen for her and she just reacted, a leaf on the wind, a soul in the tide of blood, trying not to drown. She grew stronger now, for good or worse, the essence in her veins woke. Now she could choose what she was going to do. Set her own goal. She could see into the future and perhaps… with the power she had… decide how to change it. Become a willing participant in the Bhaalspawn Wars. Or should she prove insufficient… lose all hope and resign to her fate. For her, in her vision, the War could be concluded right now. She made a big announcement, got everybody to prepare and secure the camp to let her divine… and now lost her nerve.

"Maybe it's not that good an idea, child" Jaheira came to her rescue, moving closer on the bedrolls they prepared in the nook of the camp, to give the diviner the space she needed. "We don't know if your spirit healed enough for a long divination. You may get lost again."

She could. And if what she found ahead was a merciless fate set in stone… it wouldn't even matter. But…

"No. I have to do it. I can't accept just any future that comes. And if Alaundo and his prophecy try to screw us over… Well, he can kiss my clean elven arse."

Jaheira's lips twitched ever so slightly, but she kept her face stern.

"Very well then." She put her arms on sun elf's shoulders to catch her when her muscles relax. Daria took a deep shaky breath.

"It doesn't feel weird?" she whispered.

"What? Child, speak up!"

"Does it feel bad to touch me?" Xan sat but two feet away, a helpful anchor, but made no attempt to come any closer. Usually he was by her side when she divined. She tried not to notice it, but failed, of course. "You know, like before."

"I never said it does."

"It was fairly obvious."

"No." Te druidess leaned closer and kissed her forehead. "Your aura is that of a creature of balance."

Daria smiled meekly. She closed her eyes, loosened her fists and let go.

Her body stayed behind, her party stayed behind. The camp, the forest, the rain, it all disconnected from her, a free spirit. She moved up and stopped just under the clouds. Saradush was in the distance – west, she noted. Marching Mountains were to the north-east.

She was unburdened. She could get lost in the clouds, she could dive into the underground, she could see anything and everything.

What she needed to see was a bloody war ahead. The storm was coming… The storm was coming… The prophecy echoed in her mind. She could feel it approaching with every fiber of her spirit, tension gathered in the ground below, awaiting the massacre, fear written on the face of every traveler passing through the forest, the wild lands filled with monsters far more safe now then the roads. Hands trembling, clasped on sword handles... A new era was approaching. But first, the old one had to be drowned in blood.

She looked ahead, let the time flow forward. Riatavin to the north, Zazesspur, Myratma and Memnon to the west, Almraiven to the south. Saradush was destroyed, which means she had failed... and the slaughter spread like a plague, to the other cities. Her siblings marched the lands, looking to feed the essence in their veins with senseless murder, before jumping into each other's throats... Then giving up on any pretense and just killing, killing, killing… Dragons sending lighting from above, burning down villages and cities, just dark dots below for them – lives taken. Drow silencing city after city, hamlet after hamlet, daybreak finding only homes filled with corpses, no one waking up anymore. Armies gathering to oppose them, old grudges blooming again, with only death left to keep the score.

It was coming. She felt it as the prophecy roared once more in her ears.

Armies march and cities burn

The rivers froth with tainted blood.

The corpses of those not born innocent

Feed the inferno of boiling hate.

That was what she was trying to stop. All those who desired Bhaal's throne were just gathering strength, waiting for the signal to start killing. This prophecy was the signal. No one could find out it was heard.

Daria heard it. 'I am one of them' she knew. Because stopping them meant claiming this destiny, murdering her siblings, the very same thing they were trying to accomplish. She was of bone and blood, one of them.

There was hope. There was one alike, but different. As strong, but his taint completely suppressed. She felt him like a raging stream flowing smoothly in it's bed, gates beyond sand, fortress of stone and will. But if she focused on him, she'd lose sight of the others. And they were more dangerous now.

Five comets approaching Faerun to burn it. One she extinguished – Illasera the Not Quick Enough. Her hope was the other. Yaga Shura, the fire giant, third. And two more – a dragon and a drow. If she could take their taint and give it to someone who could master it… A weaklings choice, to pawn off her burdens to another, yes. But a hope, nonetheless.

She calmed, centered herself. She had strength left to divine, plenty of it. And determination, even more.

The first thing she needed to do, was to defeat Yaga Shura. And that meant seeing where she would fail. Coming back again to a more current time, she took a closer look at Saradush and let it change as day and night went by.

The magic shields around the city held… until the wizards that maintained them died on the walls. The people held… until the rain of fire and misery boiled them alive. The walls held… until they didn't. Seven days after Daria and her party departed, the walls were breached and the giants poured inside. Daria didn't want to look.

Her party returned a day later. A day too late. The giant army was spread out between maintaining a perimeter and massacring the remnants of the defenders, holed up in the cellars and the citadel. Her party was vastly outnumbered, but struck unseen and made good use of their magic. It was still an uneven battle. The diviner saw her moronic half-brother Sarevok charge ahead and get pummeled into a bloody pulp. Xan swaying and barely able to cast, his face sunken, clearly badly ill. Blood and ash, fire and explosions obscuring the view, all happening at once, a storm, a spell, seven against hundreds!

Yaga Shura fell. In disbelief. It worked, whatever they would do. So that wasn't the moment Daria failed and died. She wasn't there on time, but that could be corrected. Sarevok died, but that she could also correct… should she want. She had more siblings to stop. Where was the moment it went wrong?

She had strength still. She moved further.

Wait! Where was Imoen?

She saw her party, beaten and weak – a costly victory. She saw her own face, all covered in ash but the lines washed away by tears. She lost her sister somewhere along the way. But she would have to check it later. She was already moving further.

Another meeting with Melissan – she and few other people from Saradush managed to survive the massacre. She sent them after more Bhaalspawn. There were details, but those were hardly important now, Daria could listen later. They went into a forest and fell into one trap after another, warned just before it happened, but not prepared. Minsc got poisoned, Anomen went to heal him, but it was a trap. There were drow everywhere, spiders, elementals and more traps without anyone to disarm them… Xan fell next, Daria tried to kill the drow Bhaalspawn, but in the final act of spite, the drow dropped an entire cave system on their heads. It wouldn't be fate or Bhaal's will that killed them, but carelessness in enemy's territory.

Good. Daria could correct that. She had the strength.

Again, she went back to Saradush. The first task was to reign in Sarevok, make him work with the team. If that was what needed, Daria would do it, even if she needed to beat the bad out of him. Fights did seem to be her brother's only means of learning. Either that, or she'd sick Jaheira on him. Maybe the druidess would try to mother him too.

Then she needed to gain a day. Divining like that took time, but she couldn't imagine not learning as much as she possibly could, before the battle proper actually took place. She needed the best possible result without wasting time lying about. But just in case…

If they went like that, but hurried more. If she didn't check anything beyond this evening… She saw a vision of the battle play out once more, this time focusing on Imoen.

They didn't make it in time either, arriving only a few hours earlier. And this was the version where she knew they had to hurry. There were less giants in the camp now – more of them were inside the city, the massacre happening as they struck, opening with a volley of most powerful area spells they knew, freezing as large a portion of the encampment as they managed. Imoen kept close for the first part, Daria saw herself keeping her sister as safe as possible in the raging chaos of battle. But as always, it only took a moment for the pink head to 'see a chance' and take it, without considering the risk. An unprotected mage, ready to be stabbed in the back, drew her away from the party, a flash of a spell and she was gone. Something appeared on the horizon – a dot, a bird… a dragon! The giant lizard lowered it's flight, going straight into the rain of arrows Yaga Shura's soldiers greeted him with. He took a deep breath, Daria could hear the thunder gathering in his scaled throat, and let out a stream of storm, charring a line in it's brother's army.

Imoen was in the line of the attack. Daria couldn't see, the flash blinding her for a second, before her magic kicked in substituting her sight with an enchanted one. Immy dodged, she had to, she was fine, please, gods, make her be alright…

Only Bow of Gesen, Imoen's choice weapon, survived intact, protection it granted far too meager for a breath of a full grown blue dragon. Daria clawed the ash and bones left, as if she could somehow dig out her sister alive, underneath.

Again.

They arrived on time. This time Saradush's walls were crumbling, but still held. They were tired and met an entire army of giants. The spells weren't enough to even the odds, the front line fighters were crushed, dragon caught more people in it's surprise attack. They tried to run, but couldn't. Daria watched them all die, one by one.

And then again.

She… needed to rest. She had power to divine left, but saw so much, she felt like red of blood and fire burned into her mind. Hours must have passed in her timeline. She did her best to clear her mind of the images and focused on a heart beating, not here, but somewhere near. She followed it back to where her body was laid, a quiet forest filled with rain. She held her breath, expecting an assault on her senses.

None came. Daria woke up on a bedroll, Jaheira leaning over her. Tense lines were sharpening druidess' features, a pointed focus in her eyes as if she didn't want to miss a single twitch, smallest breath of her ward, that could signal her coming back. But she didn't seem to notice Daria, while looking straight at her. She didn't react at all. Or move. Or blink. Or breathe?

Jaheira was still as statue.

Daria tried to reach out to her, but realized she couldn't. She tried to move her head to look at her hand. That too was impossible. For all intents and purposes her body was just as still as Jaheira's. As everything else, for the matter.

The fire didn't cackle, the rain didn't murmur in the leaves. No one breathed. Daria tried to sharpen her hearing to see how far this weird silence reigned. And couldn't do even that. Time stood still.

How…? Time magic existed, she read about it, but how did it manifest here? Was that an attack? Or a side effect of her divination…? Daria wasn't panicking yet… no, she was. Only her heart wasn't beating, paused as much as the world, her breath couldn't pick up, sweat gather on her brow. She tried to blink and couldn't. She was trapped.

'Calm down, calm down, calm down...' she pushed back the panic. Three hours passed since she started the trance. Dusk turned into a deep night, most of her party must have been asleep at that point, all but the watch, including Jaheira. This was ways longer than she ever divined, and yet she didn't feel her magic exhausted, not even approaching it's limits. Could it be that the sharpening of her senses, the usual after-effect, was now more accentuated as well? Did the time truly strop? Or just her perception sharpened so much that she perceived each second that much longer? That could be why her body didn't move. She wasn't immobile just…

Gods, she was losing sight! Darkness was falling around her, all she could see was Jaheira, focused and yet completely oblivious. Now even the druidess was disappearing into black, perhaps the last sight Daria would ever see. Her senses always returned to normal before! Shortly or not, but it always passed. Always! What was happening?!

She could see nothing. She could hear nothing. She could feel, but not move, she was there, but wasn't. She tried to scream, then beg, then pray… But gods ignored her and she renounced them. Somehow she managed to kill herself with just looking at the future.

'No, no, no, no, no, no-no-no...' she chanted in the darkness. She needed to change so much, she couldn't let Imoen die, let her friends be slain like that. Blood and fire were still fresh on her mind, she couldn't stay in here. There was nothing but her thoughts in this void. She tried to fill it, screaming.

After what felt like an eternity light returned, fuzzy and unclear, then sharper, clearing into and image… of Jaheira looking at her, still as statue.

Daria just blinked.

Time was flowing, just unbearably slow… Each second a small age to wade through, her muscles far less responsive than senses.

'Let me out...' she begged whoever locked her there. Nothing happened. All she was able to do was to wait for the time to speed up again.

A minute it took felt like an hour.