Diana awoke with a start. The aftertaste of a vision still lingered in her mind, but she couldn't recall any details – just that feeling of beckoning. She stood up and walked over to the window, left wide open for the night. She breathed in the warm and balmy Themysciran air. It wasn't the familiar and homely Spring that pulled her from her dream, but rather something alien and disquieting.

Without much hesitation, Diana hopped up onto the windowpane. Her room was on the topmost floor of the tower: fresh breezes and a wonderful look over the Amazon Queen's Palace and the whole island. A vista well-known to her. After all, she has spent the 20 years of her life living in this place. She was free to roam, but she knew there must be something else to the world than the island. And this other place was calling her now. She grabbed the vines that encircled the tower, tested them for safety, then started her descent…

Leaving her room at night wasn't forbidden, but the challenge of going unnoticed, and following the untrodden path, gave her a thrill. Besides, she might as well put all that Amazonian athletic and martial training to use!

Indeed, Princess Diana was in great physical form. She nimbly climbed lower and lower, using every vine and crack in the masonry to her advantage. Her trappings were little: just a light tunic, girdled under the breast, and the bracelets on her forearms, nothing to limit her movements.

Before too long, she landed in the grove by this side of the palace. The ancient trees, with their deeply wrinkled barks, were sacred to the Amazons, and Diana entered this temple with some trepidation. The gods of the grove were never named, but their ancient powers were hinted at in the sages' teachings.

Nevertheless, the night stroll was refreshing. The soft, wet moss felt amazing under Diana's bare feet, and dampened the sound of her passing. Diana decided to forego navigation and let the grove lead her instead. She wanted to get lost.

Her wish was fulfilled. She wandered deep into the ancient forest, into places which seemed less and less familiar and more and more foreboding. The branches of the trees grew together, their roots protruded from the soil. Then she reached a small clearing.

A red stone stood in the middle, illuminated by starlight. Diana approached it with a mix of caution and curiosity. The stone belonged and didn't belong at the same time. It grew out of the earth, but it was chiseled to the shape of a monolithic dais or platform. Diana ran her fingers along the flat top. She shivered. She instinctively knew, that this object was somehow related to her forgotten dream and uncanny sensations.

She stepped up onto the rock. It felt warm under her feet. The spring breeze seemed to have stopped and all noises of the nightly forest dampened. Diana looked up, towards the sky and the stars.

Her attention was drawn to celestial light, suspended in zenith. As she gazed upon it, she felt an overpowering fascination, the same resonance that startled her at night. The light… Diana recognized it. It was Ares, the planet of war – the god of war. She tried to avert her eyes, but couldn't, so she steeled herself and observed it without trembling.

Diana raised her arms towards the sky. Her bracelets grew hotter, their metal heavier. The blood drummed in her ears.

Then she felt a pull. Her vision flipped, and suddenly she saw herself from the outside, standing on the red platform, arms upraised, bracelets glowing with a red light. The world around her expanded in all directions first, then snapped, and sent Diana – or her pure consciousness? – flying into the void.

Diana awoke with a start – again. She opened her eyes. She was no longer in the lush grove. Instead, she was surrounded by a barren landscape, cracked earth, rust-colored crags, and a range of low, dark hills in the distance. She was lying on the ground, atop a layer of moss – not the soft vegetation of Themyscira, but a dry yellow stuff.

It wasn't night, either. The Sun bore down mercilessly, and the burning sensation on her skin made Diana realize that she was naked. Her tunic and girdle were gone. Only the bracelets remained.

The air around her felt thin as well. Her head buzzed, which reminded her of scaling the tallest summit of Themyscira.

She sprang to her feet –

– and was instantly catapulted into the air.

She touched down a good five yards away, an admirable feat for any Amazon athlete, despite the somewhat clumsy landing. Yet, she didn't recall exerting her muscles much. Her body felt lighter, and stronger at the same time.

Diana concentrated, and tried again. This time she landed with grace, after leaping a dozen yards through the air. She picked up a large rock next, and hurled it with all her might. The projectile flew a great distance, then crashed and split into two. Diana let out a joyful shout. She smiled like a child, overjoyed by the new, hitherto unknown possibilities of her body.

Then a realization dawned on her, overshadowing the joy.

She was no longer on Themyscira. Or on Terra. The landscape, the taste of iron in the air, the lessened pull of the ground: Planet Ares. She was transported to another world. The planet of war.

She fell down on her knees. Why? Why was she drawn to this alien place? Was this merely a joke of the fickle gods? Or perhaps she was transported here for a reason?

This last thought made Diana feel better. The beckoning force was intertwined with anxiety and fear, but it wasn't, by its origin, malevolent. Her mother the Queen and the elders taught her that Amazons are destined to do good. That is why she had to train so hard and hone her skills with spear and sword, bow and lasso, to be able to protect those in need once the time comes.

Diana decided to trust her instincts and upbringing. She stood up (careful, this time, not to fly up into the air). If this is destiny, then there must be more signs to guide her. Her eyes swept along the horizon. She traced the outlines of the surrounding hills. Dark rocks, crimson and gray, jagged and wild surrounded the area of her arrival like impenetrable fortress. She smiled to herself: with her newly acquired abilities, scaling a stronghold's walls would prove easy… But she returned to the task at hand, and soon noticed something else.

A pillar of smoke!

Beyond the hills, in the far distance, Diana discerned with her trained hunters' eyes, a faint trace of smoke. This was it, then. The sign.

Diana leaped into the air. She landed, then, without stopping, utilizing the inertia to her advantage, she ran and jumped again. Soon enough, she found herself at the foot of the hills. She stopped here to observe the obstacle. The cliff face was vertical, extremely high. But above, there was a small terrace.

Diana backed up, took a running start, and pushed herself to the limits. She surged through the air, her body suspended between earth and heaven for what felt like an eternity, then finally grabbed the ledge. Diana pulled herself up, took a deep breath. Only now she realized the true distance she had traversed.

For the remainder of the path, she could not rely on her uncanny jumping abilities. And this was not like the vine-tangled tower at home. The cliff provided little support or handholds. Diana used every crack and protrusion to pull herself higher. Slowly but surely she moved up, careful not to slip. And finally, she reached the ridge, and peered over to the other side.

She gasped. A vast ruined city lay in the valley beyond the hills. Broken towers, collapsed domes, fallen spires. Large plazas and broad streets hidden under rubble and overgrown with yellow moss.

Diana was captivated by the view. An air of antiquity and melancholy hung over the fallen metropolis. But then she remembered what she really came here for. The pillar of smoke didn't issue from any of the buildings – they must have been in ruins for ages unknown. But in the nearby plain, lay… something, a dark smoldering wreck, and near it –

– two groups, engaged in fierce combat!

Even from this distance, she could clearly see the contrast and disbalance between the fighters. One group was made up of lean, strong figures, their skin the color of red copper. They fought naked, only slightly covered by belts, harnesses, and the occasional cloak. Steel scimitars sparkled in their hands.

Their foes… were monstrous.

Giants twice the size of a human, with grayish green skin, and two pairs of arms. They held blades and clubs in all of their appendages. To Diana, they looked like the wild centaurs the sages taught her about.

The combat was brutal. The red warriors fought bravely, but they were clearly outnumbered. Each green monster counted for four, and they brought down the fighters with brutal blows.

Then Diana saw her. In the middle of the fray, fought a tall Amazon, clad in a gilded harness, scimitar in each hand. Braids of her dark hair flew around in the air. She shouted something to her comrades, then buried a blade hilt-deep into the body of a green assailant. The other warriors, emboldened by their leader's act, doubled their efforts – but their numbers were still low, and the green horde started encircling them.

Diana's blood quickened. She held no weapons… She was naked, but for her bracelets. But she didn't hesitate. This side of the hills formed a slope. Diana started jumped forward, then ran, and slid down towards the battlefield. And all this time, she kept her gaze fixed at the copper-skinned Amazon, who slashed and parried, and rolled to the ground to get back up again, sometimes disappeared behind the mass of attackers, to be revealed later again, wounded, but still fighting.

Now only a hundred yards separated Diana from the battle. She saw a large green monster approach the red Amazon sneakily from behind, weapons raised, ready to strike. Diana shouted a warning, but it was inaudible over the clash of steel, the painful screams, and the monstrous roaring.

"No!" Diana shouted one last time, then leaped forward…