The sorceress and her apprentice

During the flight, they landed in a clearing located between Brightmoon and the Wastelands. It was already late and they needed to rest, and it had been a difficult day... Day, She guess, because there was no sun here. Anyway, she slept soundly and deeply. She was exhausted, but she still liked be here on Etheria. Even there, in the Wasteland, it was cool. It felt like the climax of a movie or book, when the characters reached the goal of their journey and suddenly it turned out that all the difficulties they had encountered so far were nothing compared to those that awaited them. So far she has been fighting robots, undead and Azlanti.. She met bandits, pirates and princesses. And she found great friends. And Eti.

The morning was strange. Most of the crew and the rest of the people she was used to traveling with were not on the ship, nor were Dilayla, Bina, Lady Cala, or even Dr. Quin. Apart from Mr. Ilemshaw, who had not moved from the ship for obvious reasons, only Wrongdak, Ireanis and Miss Daisy were here. The sad elf looked thoughtful, but at least she wasn't drinking alcohol today, only green tea, just like the silver-haired sorceress. It was probably a good thing, because she was worried about her, but... Then she remembered what the lizard had told her, about a dark sorceress called Shadow Weaver. Only she was from Etheria, and Miss Daisy came from Carurystal. And she came from... She wasn't sure where, but it couldn't be from Etheria... That had been hidden from the world for thousands of years and... And then there was Lady Cala. She was wonderful and brave... They both saved her and Eti. Eti even twice… It couldn't be that terrible woman, could it?

During breakfast she watched her, but tried not to be intrusive, which I guess she didn't quite succeed, because Miss Daisy smiled at her and asked.

"Has something happened, my dear?"

She shook her head hard. It definitely couldn't be her. Such evil people couldn't be nice and smile so warmly... Right?

Wrongdak looked sad, even dejected, so as soon as she ate, she walked up to him and hugged him tightly. Then she pulled away from him and asked.

"Is everything okay with your brother? And at your friend?"

He smiled weakly and replied.

"Yes, everything is fine. They're fine." he suddenly beamed. "Oh they have a baby, they made them… Together!"

Alatar looked at them and said.

"This is how it's done. Nearly Always" and when Eti looked at him scowling, he added. "I mean, in most cases, and it's not that it's bad when it's different."

"Don't explain yourself like that anymore, baby. We all know you're guilty." said Eti and started eating the kabanos.

Rosie hugged Wrongdak again. He didn't want to tell them what happened, maybe his brother was sick or he had a argument with his friend and now they had quiet days. For all she knew, it could be very stressful, especially when you were friends with both parties. She thought for a moment and looked for Emily. The droid seemed to be as depressed and sullen as the clone. She smiled at her, knelt down next to her and began to speak.

"You know, Emily, you have a lot of new responsibilities waiting for you now." the three-legged robot turned towards her, staring at her with surprise, so she explained. "Your parents now have another child, so you're kind of an older sister now. You must behave well because you will be a role model for them"

Emily began to look around, surprised, questioningly at everyone. She seemed slightly scared.

"Don't be afraid, Uncle Wrongdak will help you." she said and the clone laughed.

Itel read the maps while the deaf girl talked to the Clone, then went to the navigation room to compare with the data provided by the scanners. Then she looked for Miss Daisy, who, surprisingly, instead of drinking with Ireanis, decided to weigh potions in the workshop. Yesterday's events were... Predictable. Eti was unstable… she knew it from the time she knew her. They were staring at her unnecessarily. No one who knew her do that. But there was something else there. They thought Eti was someone else. She guessed who it was. She had heard references to her more than once during Bina's conversations with Doctor Sidonius. Eti had heard about her too... Itel had never considered the existence of that person... Especially that they would come across her on this planet. She had no idea what to make of it. She knew Eti… She loved Eti, even if she didn't love her back. But who could she be? She saw the fear her friend instilled in the two on the landing pad and in that idiot Tung Lashor. She aroused anger among the guests of that inn, and to Wrongdak she was a friend... It would be difficult for anyone else to understand that one person could combine such opposing traits, but if someone grew up with Eti, they understood it all too well. They had a lot in common, and some crazy twist of fate brought her here. In the place where she went to fulfill her mission. They were supposed to find an artifact for the captain to gain access to Arsenal of the End of Time... But she wasn't sure if she still wanted to work for that person. There was a Starstone here. On Etheria, they had one of the most powerful and... she guess they didn't even know about it, or didn't understand what power was at their fingertips? They could gain importance equal to Absalom Station, being the second center of the galaxy. What other secrets did Etheria hide? They've already met one. They had She-Ra. She saw what she could do. She fought a warship and survived fire from a plasma cannon, a weapon that should have vaporized an entire city block... And yet she supposedly defeated Horde Prime, the one who was destroying civilizations... Like a Swarm... And she was walking around the fields and meadows like some bored girl from cities. She mourned one child killed by a mad pirate or queen, not fully understanding who Moonshadow really was, while the swarm murdered thousands of children, if not millions, every day. She wanted to tell her that others suffered much more. There are other places in the galaxy where she should use her power instead of signing autographs like some stupid celebrity... No, I don't need her help. The doctor said that there were many artifacts here, perhaps hiding equally great power, and she needed power to achieve her goal, to fulfill her last dream...

Only in this place there was a secret, a small nuance in everything she had experienced. She-Ra, Etheria, the other one... so similar to Eti. There was something in common between them and she had the impression that it all had to do with Eti and her hand... She knows that the Lord Admiral is far from here, and nothing draws him to the "cursed" zone. They had time... But did others have it? The Swarm was still there, they couldn't waste any time.

In the workshop, she stared for a moment at the grim sorceress, who seemed to be more gloomy and lost in thought, wondering whether it was worth starting a conversation with her at all. Apparently she was in Mystacor, from what she understood, it was some kind of magic school or something like that. She always told them that she had once been a respected teacher and might just have found a job there, and now she was worried about how she would tell Lady Cala that she was leaving her. Maybe she was even planning to look for an apartment or study the local curriculum, but Bina interrupted her and told her to look after them. Well, truth be told, Itel didn't care. She didn't like the witch, and Lady Cala was completely indifferent to her. After all, she was a wealthy aristocrat, the world always took care of people like her, while their gang had to take care of themselves. This time, however, she needed the help of the dark sorceress, so she smiled at her and said.

"You know, I was looking through the scans we made of this planet in orbit. We have marked several places where there may be important remains of the Star People... The First ones, I mean, and we happen to be close to one of them. I thought we could go there since we're nearby anyway. It's only an hour or an hour and a half away."

The sorceress looked at her with her emerald green eyes, which held the shadow of something dark. She said slowly, piercing her with her eyes.

"Bina, your guardian and captain, entrusted you to me to watch over you and make sure you don't get into trouble, which, I must mention, happens to you very often. I'm not going to disappoint her, so the answer to your question is No."

She pursed her lips tightly. This woman dared to forbid them something! The stupid old hag, used to drinking tea from china cups with other useless women, didn't know even a tenth of what they knew about life during their idiotic afternoon teas.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, I'm just informing you about our plans. We are not well-mannered ladies or lords like Lady Cala, who will obediently follow orders because it is the right thing to do. You don't know what we've been through and what we're ready for!" she packed the maps and got up, intending to announce her decision. However, Miss Daisy stood in the aisle. The shadows around her deepened, it felt as if the dark sorceress had filled the entire room.

"I know a lot about young people like you. More than I wanted to know and much more than any decent person should . You want to forget about your pain and suffering, so you take on new and risky ventures. You are angry at the world for what has been done to you and you want to make everyone around you feel the same. But the road you are following leads to destruction..." she said in a sonorous, even thunderous voice.

"You're about to tell us that you were just like us and you know what it's like and that you just don't want us to make the same mistakes." she asked, smiling mockingly. Miss Daisy laughed bitterly.

"I suffered a lot in my life, but no, I wasn't like you. I created people like you and I don't want to see that again. No one who hasn't experienced what you have experienced will understand how you feel, but don't continue your journey into this darkness. On this planet, you and your friends will finally be able to find happiness, even Eti."

When she heard her friend's name, she growled and tried to push the woman away.

"If you don't want to help, at least don't bother, just go drink with Ireanis and let us do our thing."

She felt shadows touch her face. They were cold and sticky, disgusting.

"The old me would have you writhing at my feet begging for mercy." the entire room was enveloped in darkness, and she felt a twinge of fear, but she only smiled in response and summoned the moonblade. "But I've changed. Since I cannot stop you without resorting to violence, I have no choice but to accompany you on this journey. But know that whatever happens here, it will all be my fault as well as yours." she stepped aside and let her leave so she could tell her friends.

Rosie looked around with a smile on her face. They were at the edge of a large forest, full of blue trees, their trunks covered with pink gems, and their leaves were various colors, although usually green or blue. Beyond was a plain covered with golden blades of grass and bushes with red leaves. She hadn't felt this so much in the CrimsonWastes, but now she saw that all the colors were more vibrant here, almost pastel. She had the impression that the air here was filled with power, it made her want to dance. She looked at her friends, who were looking around in confusion. Behind them stood Miss Daisy and Ireanis, who was carrying a backpack so large that it looked like she was going on a multi-day camping trip, not a couple of hours trip... Although they were probably supposed to explore some ruins, and if it was the same here as in that monastery, then it could have been very dangerous there... Good thing she took some ointment for the bites. Wrongdak was left to guard the ship with Emily, although she wasn't sure whether Mr. Ilemshaw alone would be enough to watch over it.

"Where are we now, anyway?" Eti asked, raising and lowering her goggles several times. She was wearing the mask and goggles again, after the events in the bone lair everyone had unanimously decided it would be better for her to hide who she was, and she didn't protest.

"Wait, I'll check on the tourist map." Alatar said, taking out a piece of paper.

"So you bought tourist maps there? What else? That scorpion too?" Eti asked, watching Lilka throw a stuffed scorpion to Toshi.

"No, Scorpia gave him to me. I hope we meet her soon. She was very nice." the redhead explained.

"But we bought a kebab for that while you were setting fire to the inns. It was good...Spicy." he looked pointedly at the cat-like girl, and then added. - Now we are on the border of the Whispering Forest and the Land of Scorpions, I think Centimeni. Our target is in the Valley of Shattered Armor.

When Dragonkin said this, Miss Daisy made a strange, sad face. She felt a surge of suspicion, so to ward him off, she asked.

"Is it still far?"

Alatar shook his head, then looked up from the map.

"No, quite close. Behind this hill with two monuments. Just get past that guy in the robe and we'll be there." he pointed to a hill visible in the distance, on the top of which there were two obelisks. One was older and half the height of the other, newer one. A man in robes stood between them. He had long hair and a beard, and he held a staff in his hands. She felt Eti pat her on the back with a metal hand.

"Don't worry, he'll definitely like us."

Everyone always thought that visiting this place would be painful, even traumatic, for him. Perhaps it should be. Here he was finally defeated and captured. Here his former happy life came to an end. But truth be told, he felt much worse in Mystacor, and sometimes even in Brightmoon. He had only one terrible connection with this place, which he didn't remember very well. Besides, compared to the eleven years of existence on the nightmarish Beast Island, these few hours of fighting, when the fate of their world was in the balance, seemed like nothing more than a bad dream. He remembered the hope that burned in his heart. Everyone was so sure of victory then, so radiant with glory... So young. Meanwhile, in Brightmoon, only bitter memories and a cold bed awaited him. Seeing the love in the eyes of Bow and Glimmer, Adora and Catra, and even Scorpia and Perfume, he was reminded of how much he had lost.

He looked at the obelisks, feeling a gentle warm wind blow across his face. The first of them was built here shortly after the battle, with the risk of falling into a trap, because these areas were under the control of the Horde. It had the names of all the Rebel members who died then, including him. He didn't ask for it to be removed, because he had essentially died to the world, and sometimes he felt as if he had never really come back to life. Not fully. The second obelisk was erected shortly after the war. It contains the names of both rebellion members and fallen Horde soldiers. After all, they too were victims. The Horde's losses were well documented thanks to Shadow Weaver's almost obsessive thoroughness. To anyone else it would be strange that someone so ruthless would record the death of each of his soldiers, but he knew the dark sorceress well from when she was his teacher and knew that a love of order was simply part of her nature. The casualty list on both sides was almost equal. There he saw the names of both Scorpia's mothers who fought for Hordak and her aunt, the rightful ruler of the Scorpions. Perfuma's predecessor was there, Prince Peekablue's husband, Mermista's grandfather... So many... But fortunately, it was all over. The Horde was gone, Shadow Weaver was dead. They could go on living.

Suddenly, his hearing, sensitive from all those years spent on Beast Island, picked up the sound of footsteps. He immediately tightened his grip on his staff and took a fighting stance, ready to fight for his life, but then he heard loud singing.

"In the Whispering Forest, are whispered, things, there is no life and fun, you won't come back from here alive." the voice was low, a bit dull. He was soon joined by several others and sang in chorus.

"Okay Eti, what's next? I don't think we can end with one line." the second voice had good diction, but the pronunciation was somewhat similar to that of lizards or other creatures with a lot of fangs. He relaxed, whoever the strangers were, they certainly weren't dangerous

"Well, it will go like this. Anyone who wanders here will soon be hide somewhere. Because there is no smarter than a forester named chester who wanted made your life harder... Okay, I don't know what to sing next" said the first voice again. " Hey, Grandpa, maybe you have an idea for a sequel.

He turned around with a cheerful smile, which immediately froze on his face when he saw the group coming towards him. The one who sang was a person wearing a mask over his face and goggles, dressed with coat with a hood and a metal hand. There was also a silver-scaled winged lizard with many strange prosthetics like those sold by the people of Icarus, a red-haired girl with an ax on her shoulder, a green-haired saihe with tattoos of burning roses, and a white-haired girl wearing strange glasses. There was also some fluffy blue creature flying happily around. They gave the impression that they were not afraid to face the most terrible monsters that inhabited Etheria and maybe they could even beat them to the punch. Maybe they weren't so harmless after all.

"Hi... A very strange and somewhat disturbing and, as I hear, quite a joyful group of young people."

The masked person stretched his tail and said.

"He called us disturbing. This is how you should show respect to the people you meet. An honorable and very kind individual with one foot in the grave, just waiting to his last breath in this miserable vale of tears. If you were... " she didn't finish because the green-haired woman interrupted her.

"My name is Itel, and the one talking nonsense is Eti. The rest are Lilka Wagardotir, Alatar and Rosie Pearl..." she pointed to her companions one by one. "There are Miss Daisy and Ireanis hanging around somewhere, powerful sorceresses… This flying blue animal is Toshi, our companion. – She pointed to the furry creature that was now trying to bite his sorcerer's staff. "What we do here is entirely our business. We should probably ask what someone like you is doing here, an old man in a wasteland abandoned by devils and demons."

He smiled because he liked this strange package. He liked such fighting young people, they reminded him of his daughter, Catra and the rest.

"I'm remembering old times. You are almost to the Valley of Shattered Armor. Here, many years ago, the rebellion suffered its greatest defeat. Apart from the loss of the queen..." he said and shook his head to clear away the sudden surge of sadness. "But you're not from here, are you?

The masked girl nodded."

"You could say so... Or maybe not... It depends on who is asking.

He smiled broadly at her.

"I'm Mikach." he said and when he saw no reaction, he added. "So you're not from here after all."

The white-haired woman smiled at him and asked in sign language, and some device translated what she said.

"We're looking for various old things here for research. Because we are interns working for Kemanis University. I can show you the certificate." she took out a piece of paper that looked correct, although he couldn't confirm its authenticity because he had never heard of it. However, he saw that Saihe looked at the girl called Rossie in surprise. Well, if they wanted to trick him, he would play that game with them. Masked... Eti stepped forward and said in an official tone.

"So, Grandpa, have you seen any ruins here?"

He smiled, shooed Toshi away from his staff so it wouldn't accidentally explode in his teeth, and motioned for them to follow him. The journey took less than fifteen minutes. He also heard, thanks to his sensitive hearing, that two more people were following them. One of them was clumsy and walked as if she was about to fall over, but the other ones were much more attentive. They sounded strangely familiar. Finally they stood over the rocky edge and the expanse of the valley came into view. It was wide and deep. This was the easiest place for the Horde to encircle the Rebel forces, so they decided to set a trap for Hordak's troops here, but instead they fell into a trap set by the Shadow Weaver. She unleashed a terrible spell called the Storm of Bane, which murdered both Rebels and Horde soldiers. She then got rid of many of her rivals, thanks to which she became Hordak's undisputed right-hand man. The effects of the spell were still clearly visible. Everywhere the eye could see, the land of the valley was scorched with fire and acid. Tank wrecks stood between melted boulders. There used to be soldiers' remains here, but they buried them all after the war. Rosie watched it all with her mouth open, but the others seemed unfazed. They probably came from a planet conquered by Horde Prime, where worse things happened.

"Look not bad, how are the readings going, Alatar.

"It's almost directly below us." said the lizard and spread its wings and then jumped down.

"Be cautious." said itel and turned on the engines next to her shoes and flew downstairs.

"Bye, Grandpa." said Lilka, who lowered herself down the rope attached to the hook. Rosie waved at him and jumped down, falling gently, while Eti ran down the vertical wall.

"But there are stairs there..." he said quietly to himself.

And then he heard a voice he hadn't heard in five years and thought he would never hear again. He felt fury rising in his chest. Without even listening to the words she spoke to him, he turned around and cast a devastating battle spell while raising his magical shield. Shadow Weaver stood there, clad in black, maskless. She deflected the spell, though she recoiled under the pressure of the force. She turned to him again

"Listen to me! Angela…."

"HOW DARE YOU SAY HER NAME!" He roared and hit her with another devastating spell. She blocked them again, but the spell was so strong that her knees buckled beneath her. He was about to cast another spell on her, which this time would wipe out the wicked sorceress from the face of Etheria once and for all. Then she heard a voice casting a spell, and there was a loud bang behind him, and then a stone hand grabbed him tightly, and another hand that grew from his side began to pat his head. Shadow Weaver looked to the side in surprise. A black Saihe woman with Silver hair stood there, jumping and clapping happily.

"I threw my catching hand and I didn't even faint! I love this planet."

"I'm impressed Ireanis... Only this other hand..." said the dark sorceress.

"And that's just a side effect." said Ireanis.

"Finish what you started... It will be an extremely stupid silly death." he said and laughed bitterly, but he felt tears welling up in his eyes. He won't see his daughter's wedding, they will search for his body, but Shadow Weaver will probably make sure that Glimmer will never know his fate. But instead of killing him, the dark sorceress sighed and spoke slowly.

"Focus and listen to me, instead of letting your anger distract you... Damn, I'm again talking like always." she rubbed her scarred face. "What I'm trying to tell you is that your wife, Queen Angela, is alive."

For a moment, he felt inexpressible joy rising in his heart, but he immediately extinguished it.

"You lie as always." he said firmly. Shadow Weaver closed her yellow eyes.

"I know you have no reason to believe me, but Ireanis saw her too." she looked at the other woman, who looked surprised and protested.

"But I don't know any Angela"

"Describe Captain Moonshadow." the dark sorceress asked her companion, who furrowed her silver eyebrows.

"Well, she's tall, she wears a mask, she has wings, only cybernetically aided, and her eyes are this strange, pinkish-purple color... But what does that matter... Oh! This was your girl, whose heart you had been fighting for years, and she couldn't stand it, so she faked her own..." She didn't finish because Shadow Weaver screamed at her.

"IREANIS! What the fuck are you talking about? I've never been in love with anyone from Etheria. Stop making such ridiculous theories!"

"Okay, okay." said the silver-haired woman, and the dark sorceress turned to him.

"Ireanis and I have quit drinking since yesterday... could you, my dear, free Mikach?

He felt the stone hands disappear and he stood looking at his former teacher, completely unsure of what he should do now. The essence he had acquired during such a long stay in one of the most terrible places on Etheria told him that he should attack, regardless of what Shadow Weaver said, if he attacked immediately, he would have a chance to kill her before she could react. But if there was even the slightest chance that Angela was alive...

"But how..." he asked after a while. The Dark Sorcerer shook her head and looked at him with a sadness in her eyes that almost seemed sincere.

"I don't know much. She changed a lot. His name is now Captain Moonshadow, and he is the captain of a pirate ship. It strikes terror in the hearts of star travelers."

He shook his head in disbelief.

"It is impossible. Not my Angela!" he said, feeling his anger returning.

"Suffering can change anyone. Shadow Weaver replied." I found out that she was a prisoner of the Azlanti Star Empire, it's a terrible fate…" he heard sadness and pain in her voice again. From a woman who did not hesitate to torment children and murder allies... Another lie. Another manipulation.

"Star Empire? What are you talking about?!" He asked agitatedly.

"You can ask those kids over there, they don't know my identity, but we've been traveling together for a while. They know Captain Moonshadow and if you ask them, they'll tell you all about it."

Then they heard an explosion and an explosion shook the earth.

- We're talking about a dragon... - Ireanis said, and Shadow Weaver was enveloped in shadows and disappeared.