Something Wicked This Way Comes

Lady Sorrowflame smiled as she looked at the walls of the library hidden in the Whispering Forest... This planet was a very interesting place. Full of power that penetrates her deeply. She wondered if her inhabitants were aware of this. Probably not. They had been used to it since birth… perhaps… She wasn't entirely sure. When she arrived on this planet with the Lord Admiral and the rest of his entourage, they stayed in the town of Brightmoon . For the capital of the planet it was small. Even smaller than many of the cities of the Lost Golarion, such as Egorian, the capital of the devil-worshipping empire , Nantambu , the damned city of magicians who so often spoiled her plans, and finally Absalom, the city where mortals could became gods. Where the Starstone was originally located... Well, the Starstone... The mere fact that this planet was home to the second copy of the most powerful artifact in the Galaxy made it worth visiting. It was a discovery far more significant than anything she had made in the past centuries, all of her service to the Lord Admiral's family. It was a tool to gain power beyond all imagination. With it, she would be able to pass the Starstone Test and Ascendance on her own. With this, the Truth of Dahak would return in her. New goddess w, beautiful in her terribleness.

However, as she discovered, there is still a lot of work to be done. Once in town, she looked for a place where she could learn something, so she went to a local café, a place where second-class intellectuals or those who wanted to be considered intellectuals gathered. Such places have existed on every planet in every era, and they have always been abuzz with gossip. As soon as she entered there, she attracted the eyes of many women and men, her human body was very attractive, it often made tasks like this easier for her. She greeted everyone politely and sat alone at the table, ordering a surprisingly ordinary coffee, although of course to her everything tasted of bitter ash, apart from, of course, the one and only liquid that was more delicious than ambrosia. Even now she craved the red nectar. In new times, a substitute was created that satisfied her needs, but not her hunger. She was already used to this constant hunger, and with a huge effort of will she managed to keep it in check, but there on Taurus she could finally be satisfied, although only for a moment, because then the thirst hit with a vengeance, so when two deer women invited her to her table, she couldn't take her eyes off the veins in their necks, where the life-giving substance pulsed. They must have misunderstood her interest because they both blushed, only fueling her desire. After the usual exchange of pleasantries, she introduced herself as Lord Antares' chief engineer, a minor understatement that was necessary on this peaceful planet whose inhabitants would be reluctant to hear about the wonders of dark technology. She tried not to reveal too much about the identity of her superior, although they would probably find out in the morning anyway, if the Admiral went well in his meeting with the queen, which she had no doubt about, because Antares was an experienced politician who was not afraid of any young monarch.

Both women were a couple. Their names were Red Leaf and Blue Grass and they worked at a university located in the nearby mountains, a town as large as the capital, with a very original name: University. She carefully questioned them about Etheria's treasures and the legends that circulated throughout the planet. Then they realized that their interlocutor was not from here, which only increased their interest. They immediately decided that the greatest treasure of their planet was the sword of protection found by Adora , which gave her the power to transform into She- Ra . She had heard about this woman from the Star Siblings. She was supposedly the fiancée of the Lord Admiral's daughter and a heroine of the galaxy, and according to the Horde Ultimate, the Lady of Chaos. She was also said to be one of the Firsts, the last of this ancient race. That explained a lot, but she was skeptical about both the girl's origins and whether she was the last one. In her opinion, this is not what a descendant of the race that created the Anacites, a race of mechanical beings from Abbalon, should look like, but then again, who would have guessed that she was a dragon? However, she left her thoughts to herself.

The sword, however, was destroyed when the Heart of Etheria was activated She had heard something about a heart on Taurus, mostly from the clones. They claimed it was a terrifying weapon that he wanted to possess to cleanse the universe, but then they lost contact with Him. She was unable to find out more, even despite Lady. Ka's enhanced interrogation techniques and her medical treatments. Now the women told her that it was a terrible weapon using the planet's magic created by the First Ones. The Queen accidentally activated it the first time during the war, and the second time it was activated by Horde Prime, but Adora destroyed it and then obliterated Horde Prime. This explained who was behind the attack on the Pact Worlds, Veskarium and the rest of the galaxy, although such an explanation was surprisingly disappointing, but then again, it wasn't the real reason they had come here... The Lord Admiral had probably already found out everything about the whole matter even such unimportant scholars knew. Such a weapon... Such power... It was easy to guess that it was related to the Starstone, and that the locals were completely unaware of how it really worked, or that there was this ancient artifact on their planet. It was all almost funny, once again the ignorance of some turned out to be a blessing for others. Finally, she asked if they knew where to start looking for information about the history of this planet. For a moment, the two women discussed where she should go. Most of the history of Magic and Mysticism was stored at the largest and only magical college on the planet, but she could also go to their town to the University or visit the Royal Library. Eventually, they decided that the best place to find information about Etheria's past was the Forest Library, which belonged to the techmaster's Bow parents, Lance and George. After receiving instructions on how to get there, she agreed to go with the women to their shared room, which they had rented for the Victory Day celebrations. She satisfied their hunger there, although in different way than what they expected... However, she did not kill them, she was able to control herself enough, but for the next few days they will be very weakened and, of course, they will not remember anything about their meeting.

She had virtually unlimited resources, but well, she succumbed to her primal dragon nature and convinced the ferryman to transport her near the library using vampire hypnosis so as not to have to get rid of the valuable coins. Then she set off on foot towards the library...

She couldn't remember the last time she was in a real forest. She spent her last years mainly working in her workshop aboard the heavy cruiser Invincible or conducting research in her laboratory located on the same ship. Even when she served the Lord Admiral on his home planet, she very rarely left her research complex where she worked during the war, until Asera blew it up with an atomic bomb... Now she was in a true pristine forest emanating life energy, pure energy of vitality. She sensed his will, powerful and ancient. He heard whispers, though she didn't understand them. But she didn't have to understand them to know what they were whispering about. This Forest hated her, wanted to destroy her. As a red dragon and former priestess of Dahak, she embodied the destructive nature of flame, turning all living things into ashes to fertilize the earth. This Forest was still able to understand, because it was part of the cycle of life. He accepted it, even though he was afraid. But as an Undead, vampire feeding on life energy, she was an abomination, a denial of the natural order of the world. She defiled this pristine forest with her very presence. She was like a worm gnawing at the fleshy flesh of the Whispering Forest self. He wanted to destroy her so badly, and at the same time she felt that he was afraid of her.. Whatever he did, whatever power he used, whatever monster he sent against her, it would all be for naught. She was too powerful and he knew it. Maybe if all this She-Ra helped him... That would be interesting... Unlike her commander, she had no illusions that sooner or later she would have to face the Hero of the Galaxy. The only question was who would emerge victorious from this clash.

She knocked on the door, and then another. After a few moments, she rang the bell, and only then did she hear a noise from inside. The door was opened by a dark-skinned man with a mustache and a heart on his shirt.

"I'm George. Co-curator of this library with my husband Lance. How can I serve you?"

She smiled, trying not to show her too long fangs, and bowed courtly.

"I am Lady Sorrowflame from far away Tarak" She hesitated, wondering how much truth she could tell him, but she decided that this time she would take the risk and tell more truth... "I am the Chef Technician of Lord Admiral Antares, commander of the Research and Exploration Fleets and father of Lady Antares, whom you know as Grand Marshal Catra." she said, admiring how the man's eyes widened in surprise. – I would like to ask for the opportunity to use your wonderful Library.

"Catra's father… Our Catra…. Adora's fiancée?"

"No one else. Lady Catra is his heiress and successor." she said in a patient voice. She knew the topic would immediately turn to the cat girl. She was curious how she reacted to this news. She regretted a bit that she wouldn't see it.

"Lance! You won't believe what I tell you!" the man called into the house

Despite the evening time, the library hosts welcomed her very friendly. They served tea and snacks and invited us to the table. She refused snacks, but willingly drank tea, because despite her nature, she was able to enjoy the aroma of tea infusion, even if to a limited extent. George's husband, Lance, had his clothes in disarray, and judging by his some confusion, she probably interrupted them with something a little more intimate. However, the news she delivered to them made them forget about everything else.

"So Catra has parents! It's amazing. I mean, there's nothing really surprising about it. After all, everyone... Almost everyone had some parents, but we never thought we would meet her father!... Everyone was sure she was an orphan from the Frightr Zone. She raised them... Adora and Catra, that Horrible Woman. Her name was Shadow Weaver. It was the Lady of Shadows... We only met her once, at Glimmer's coronation, but we all got chills when we saw her, didn't we, George?" Lance said in an excited voice.

George nodded seriously.

"She was the right hand of Hordak, the ruler of the local Horde. She was Saihe ... A human-like creature, but with pointed ears, she nodded and interrupted him.

"We call them Elves. They are quite common in the Pact Worlds, especially on Castroval ..." she said and remembered a certain dark Elven sorceress who accompanied Lady Cali. This was surprising news, but on the other hand it explained why the young Aristocrat had joined this expedition. But that wasn't her problem. She came here for a completely different purpose. "Sorry to interrupt, but I think it would be best if you learned the whole story first hand, from the Grand Marshal and her father. I came here for a completely different matter. I am a scientist who has gained a lot of knowledge in many fields... I am older than I look. One of my areas of interest is history, and I have learned that you are the most brilliant historians on the planet. You also have the greatest library in the Etheria and I would like to use it to figure out the past of this place.

Lance's eyes sparkled with interest .

"My family has gathered here knowledge from the last thousand years of our planet's history, if not even earlier." he said and pointed invitingly at the countless shelves behind him.

"You haven't experienced the Gap" she asked with genuine surprise. Both men looked at her not understanding what she was talking about, confirming her suspicions.

"So no..." she said thoughtfully and then began to explain. "Three hundred and seventeen years ago, all the inhabitants of the Galaxy woke up and found that they did not remember anything. They knew who they were and who the people around them were, they knew basic facts about the world around them, but that was all. They did not know their past or the history of the universe. All historical sources turned out to be impossible to read. In short, several thousand years were lost, and so far little has been recovered." Lance and George looked at her with a terror that was completely understandable in people who had spent their entire lives researching the past and suddenly learned that all the knowledge they had acquired could be lost in an instant, without cause and irretrievably. "More than three hundred years have passed since then and most beings have been born into a new reality. Just some, the most long-lived ones, like the elves we talked about recently or dragons, for example..." she stopped to pour herself some tea when Lance stood up and shouted.

- Ha! I knew dragons existed after all! Are there many of them living in the Galaxy?!

She smiled mysteriously and said.

"More than you could expect."

There was a moment of silence, after which she asked one more important question, so important for a person in her... existential state, it was extremely important.

"I have one more request for you. I suffer from an extremely rare genetic disease and certain forms of radiation emitted by certain celestial bodies are deadly to me. Such radiation is emitted by the moons you know as Nir, Cel and Eli. I have a device here that shows me their sunrises and sunsets." she showed a watch with the option of tracking the movement of celestial bodies, a device very popular among Vampires and other creatures that do not tolerate sunlight, although it is also very often used by shapeshifters such as werewolves. The map of the heavens was obtained courtesy of the AI that controls arrivals to this planet. "That's why I would like to ask you for some shelter, a small room or at least a small room sheltered from the light of those moons." She said and looked closely at the faces of both men. Unfortunately, vampires were very common throughout the galaxy and most of its inhabitants knew well how to deal with similar creatures. Of course, there were very few beings in the universe that would pose a threat to her, and certainly they weren't not the librarian couple, but it was better to be cautious. For a moment, she had the impression that a shadow of suspicion crossed their faces, but the mention of the genetic disease prevailed. It's amazing how people were afraid of offending disabled people.

"Of course! We will provide you with appropriate shelter." said George, and she smiled with the satisfaction of a wolf let into the house by unsuspecting kids.

She had to admit that she was already weaned from working in the old style, without the help of computers. She took with her a datapad and some other electronic equipment, mainly decryption devices and a scanner, but she had to use analog methods of searching for books. It was tiring and time-consuming, but she had to accept it because she needed the resources of this place. Luckily, Lance and George were ridiculously accommodating and kept the place tidy, although she was amused to note that there were many books with quite controversial content hidden in various places. For example, they put the Book of Dead Names under the leg of the Marble Table. She effortlessly lifted the table and pulled out a book. She looked through the issue, although she didn't pay much attention to it, as the Great Old Ones were not in her area of interest. She read a few accounts of Etheria's history, but they didn't contain much information about true antiquity, just dull ruminations on events that were of interest only to the inhabitants of the planet. On the other hand, she found a brand new and very interesting textbook covering recent history, from the arrival of the Horde to the defeat of Horde Prime by She-Ra. She scanned it especially for the Lord Admiral, so that he could read about the achievements of his Daughter and her fiancée. Unlike Lady Ka, she had no dislike for the cat girl. She wasn't worried about her position after the Lord Admiral's death, and even if she was, she would find a job anywhere with her skills. She served the Lord Admiral out of comfort and habit rather than out of true devotion. They both knew it perfectly well.

At some point she came across a scroll. It was ancient, made of paper magically protected from destruction. There she saw a picture of elf who, at first glance, looked as if he had some fiends blood, because he had horns, but overall he looked quite strange. The text was clearly written in Dragon, which she didn't expect from this planet based on Lance's recent statement . However, as soon as she started reading it, the text blurred. She smiled when she saw these safeguards and cast Dispel ... And she was blinded by the power of the spell hiding this text. As soon as she regained her sight, she realized that it was something incredibly valuable. She then tried to use a true seeing spell, but this time her eyes began to bleed. She thought for a moment, then looked around to make sure she was alone. She then transformed her eyes into dragon eyes. Then she looked at the text and smiledas she could read the scroll. His text was.

" Aaravos is one of the Firstborn, touched by the stars of Draksaihe , a star elf as he calls himself, one of the greatest creations of the First Ones, called the Great Ones in his homeland. Great is his wisdom and terrible is his power. He does not live in any of the kingdoms of Etheria, he does not serve any princess. He lives neither in the ocean nor in the depths of the earth, but in Xadia, a distant world beyond our prison. Yes! Sethis The Tricolor's theories are true about the fact that we are just one of a thousand thousand worlds floating in a sea of stars. Many of them were visited by the First Ones, not just Etheria. One of these worlds was Xadia . It was there, mixing the blood of terrible monsters called dragons with the blood of relatives our Saihe, they created Draksaihe . The star-touched Draksaihe were leaders wielding great and terrible power. They were powerful beyond imagination. In addition to these, they created the merciless murderers of the Moonshadow Draksaihe, the fearless warriors called the Sunfire Draksaihe , and other types, each created to fulfill a different role in their great empire. However, one day, contact with Eternia was severed and the Xadia colony was left abandoned by the rest of the First Ones who were looking for a home. During this time, Aaravos was perfecting his power, but the descendants of those from whose blood he was created, jealous of his power, imprisoned him. But although deprived of freedom, he is not completely powerless because he left behind mirrors, thanks to which it is possible to contact him even after his imprisonment. Unfortunately, the only mirror I know of was taken from us and hidden in…" here the entry ended. On the other side there was a portrait of a strange Elf. He smiled friendly, but in his eyes, perhaps completely unconsciously, the artist portrayed a wicked cunning. "A planet full of Dragon-Elf hybrids? This might be interesting," she thought, smiling much less friendly than the Elf on drawing.