Prologue
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Deep within the earth lay a cavern that held a long-forgotten secret from the world. A single entrance veiled it from view, and at the heart of this cavern lay one solitary occupant: a woman.
This seemingly young woman had been forgotten by time and the world that lay above. She slept alone as faint light trickled through the darkness, magical green tethers chaining her to three stalwart crystal pillars. Long obsidian hair framed her ghostly face, veiling almond-shaped eyes and hollow cheekbones. A decaying white gown draped loosely around her thin frame, its frayed and rotting edges casting a stark contrast against her smooth porcelain skin.
The crystal pillars bore ancient inscriptions lost to time, their dimming runes reminiscent of the powerful magic that had once imbued their surface. Now, only a whisper of their former power remained, the pillars' energy drained over the centuries until it could no longer maintain the bound woman's slumber.
Though her body and mind remained unaware of time's passage, she would finally reawaken as the pillars that ensnared her ceased to glow.
A soft moan shattered the silence as the magical green tethers thinned and her limbs twisted awake. As the woman began to stir, dark lashes fluttered open, revealing dull honey-brown eyes devoid of emotion. Her movements were stiff as consciousness flooded back. Her face creased in confusion as she struggled to comprehend her surroundings.
"How..." she wheezed through parched lips. "How have I... come to be here...?" she finished, finding her mind empty as she tried to recall anything at all.
Her head tilted weakly as her vision swam, the shapes around her blurring in and out of view. "Is... anyone there...?" her hesitant voice echoed off the cavern walls. The darkness gave her pause as she waited for a response, but only the hollow echo of her own unfamiliar voice returned.
"It would seem I am alone in this forsaken place..." she murmured, feeling a pang of tightness in her chest as questions consumed her thoughts: Where was she? How had she arrived here? Why was she unable to move? Had someone done this to her, or had she always been here?
And above all else, one crucial question loomed: "...Who... am I?"
Her heart sank as she realized she truly did not know. But as terror crept into her mind, she gritted her teeth, her resolve hardening. "No... I must belong somewhere..." her words trailed off as she willed herself to move.
She soon realized that no matter how hard she pulled, her ethereal bindings would not release their hold, snapping her right back to where she started. "Curses!" she rasped under her breath. She felt weak and defenseless, with her feet dangling aimlessly in the air as she failed to free herself.
"What force binds me so?" she croaked.
Her eyes scrutinized the faint glow that encircled her limbs, its ethereal energy captivating her unfocused gaze. It felt familiar yet... unsettling. A shiver ran down her spine as she struggled to remember where she had seen it before.
Images finally broke through: tomes, scrolls, power...
"Sorcery..." she breathed, as recognition began to weave together a semblance of understanding. The swirling energy carried an immense familiarity that stirred at the edges of her memory.
"This power... it evokes something within me..." she realized.
A flash of an idea lit up her mind as she tried a different approach. She delved deep within herself, searching for what she knew should be there. Seconds turned to minutes as she searched, her body growing numb. She became lost within her own mind until finally... she found it.
Her magic lay dormant, feeble and meek, yet she persisted in coaxing it until it flickered in response. Recognizing the connection she had established, she nurtured the power further until it danced within her like a budding flame.
"Almost…" she murmured, her voice tight with effort.
Each passing moment filled her with confidence as her limbs pulsed with newfound strength. A rush of warmth radiated from her core, pulsating through her, each wave building upon the last. A savage grin twisted across her face as unbridled magic surged through her, unleashing a devastating wave of bright blue energy into the pillars that ensnared her, instantly crumbling them.
As her bonds shattered, she fell hard onto the floor, catching herself on her hands and knees.
She grunted in pain, her body screaming from unfamiliar sensations as it relearned what it meant to feel. After regaining her bearings, her eyes traced the patterns etched deep into what remained of her prison—their meaning forever lost for the price of her freedom.
"These pillars were once vessels of immense... power," she observed, her brow furrowing in confusion as she wondered how she knew this. She could not shake the feeling that they were otherworldly—relics of a forgotten age she had just destroyed.
Ignoring her soreness and disoriented mind, she pushed herself up onto unsteady legs. "Powerful though it may have been, now nothing more than rubble beneath my feet," she claimed triumphantly, her eyes shifting away with renewed purpose.
Now free, she explored her surroundings, hoping to find evidence that might offer insight into how she came to be here. During her investigation, she discovered a small stream and eagerly drank, letting the icy water ease her parched throat.
After relieving her thirst and washing her face, she looked down at her hands resting in the stream, realizing that the magic she had summoned earlier had receded within. "Is this power... truly my own?" she asked her aquatic reflection as she grappled with the intensity of what she had unleashed. Answers continued to elude her, her brow knitting with worry as she pushed the thoughts from her mind.
As she stood to continue her search, a shimmer caught her eye—something small and reflective across the chamber commanded her attention.
Curiosity propelled her forward as she staggered over to find a beautiful gold ring with a white moonstone embedded in it. It hummed with power as it floated before her, as if beckoning her to take it. She noticed how it mirrored her recent entrapment, a thin wisp of green magic encircling it.
A spark of understanding came over her as she peered down at the trinket. She got the sense that it was waiting for her.
She reached out to break the bonds that held it. The small magical platform beneath gave way easily, its magic too faded to stop her. She rolled her newfound prize between her fingers, noting that the ring might fit her pinky.
"Perhaps our fates are intertwined," she whispered as she slid it on. As the ring tightened upon her pinky, a hum within radiated acknowledgment as power began seeping into her core. Before she realized what was happening, new power surged through her, expanding her sense of awareness with the most intoxicating sensation. She let it fill her, soothe her, both mind and body lost to pure bliss.
But just as quickly as the power took root, a searing pain began to pulsate through her mind. She screamed and tore at her hair in anguish, honey-brown eyes rolling into the back of her head as visions from the past came unbidden.
A vast empire... A woman in a library surrounded by magical tomes, researching something important... A beautifully decorated, spacious room... Distant yelling... Tendrils of dark energy writhe... Faceless masses flee an unseen terror... She was speaking to someone... someone who called her... Lina.
The vision abruptly ended, leaving her body drenched in sweat.
Her face scrunched in irritation as her fragmented memories offered only questions, not answers. But one thing she knew for certain.
"Li... na..." she recalled weakly, letting the syllables settle into her mind.
She couldn't shake the feeling that this name felt …right. A soft smile played at her lips at solving this piece of the puzzle, but it wasn't enough to satisfy her. The places and people she glimpsed were mere blurred shadows, images slipping through her mind like sand in the wind. Her aggravation burned within—she needed to know more.
Turning around, Lina continued her search, discovering that her awareness had heightened to everything around her. She could distinguish the rhythmic drip of water from the stalagmites, the haunting whistle of wind brushing against the rough cavern walls, and a subtle hum of energy that electrified the space around her. This newfound ability settled into her being, alleviating her anxiety as it sharpened and focused her senses.
She examined her newly acquired ring, narrowing her eyes as she studied it. "Enchanted, perhaps?" she guessed.
Returning to where she had found the jewelry, Lina discovered four pedestals identical to the first, all empty. She realized these spaces must have held trinkets similar to her ring. "Perhaps these relics hold the key to my forgotten past...?" she wondered aloud. Looking around, she saw no sign of the other accessories.
She understood then: to find the answers she sought, she would need to leave this place.
"I must uncover the secrets that shroud my memories... my true identity and my reason for being here cannot go unanswered," Lina whispered with rising resolve.
Although the expanse around her was pitch black, her eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness thanks to the ring, allowing her to see with greater clarity. A small smile lit up her eyes when she spotted a stone staircase on the other side of the room.
"Is this the passage that will lead me to freedom?" she asked herself.
The outside world awaited just beyond her reach, a tantalizing prospect after an unknown time of confinement. Though her mind rejoiced at the thought of escape, Lina's legs were not as cooperative. Uncertainty dawned as she realized she had no idea what awaited beyond.
Would the world outside be the same as the one she barely remembered?
"Is it... wise to leave when I harbor such insufficient knowledge of what may await me?" She murmured apprehensively.
Lina didn't know what to expect beyond this cavern, but she knew she couldn't stay. For there was always a chance that whoever trapped her here could return and bind her once more—the very thought making her stomach tighten with anxiety.
"I dare not chance it," she declared, pushing past her uncertainties.
Resolving to focus on escaping, Lina made her way forward in the darkness. As she neared the foot of the steps, her bare feet felt the crunch of something old and brittle give way beneath them.
Alarmed, she discovered crumpled skeletons blocking her path.
"How grotesque!" Lina exclaimed disdainfully as she stepped back in surprise, her heart beating erratically at the sight before her. Once calmed, Lina carefully knelt for a closer look. She noticed their clothing matched the decay of her own gown. As if noticing the deterioration for the first time, she started to understand that she must have been trapped down here for a very, very long time.
"Were you once known to me?" she asked with a slight tremor in her voice.
Though she expected no reply from the dead, her cheeks burned with anger as her mind shifted to nefarious thoughts about the deceased before her. "How long have I slumbered here? Was this... your doing?" she muttered under her breath, her eyes going cold and voice tinged with defiance as she surveyed the skeletons strewn across the floor.
However, it didn't sit well with her to leave them there, not knowing who they were. Using her tattered gown, Lina moved the remains to a more tranquil part of the cavern, constructing an impromptu burial so that they might rest in peace. Anger warred with pity as she carefully moved the deceased, uncertain whether they had been allies or foes.
"If only you could share your tales, freeing your spirit to me... then perhaps I would uncover the truth of who I am. Yet..." she lowered her head, her gaze narrowing. "Yet such fortune does not seem to be my fate."
After offering a half-hearted prayer for the deceased, Lina returned to the foot of the staircase. She hesitated, casting one last glance at the cavern that had been her prison.
"Though my identity remains shrouded in shadow," she whispered, her voice resolute with purpose, "I shall not rest until all truths are laid bare before me—whatever price I must pay."
The air at the top of the stairs felt alive, humming with the promise of the unknown. With every step, Lina felt her power stirring within her, a storm ready to awaken.
As she ascended into the world above, one thought—no, a promise—consumed her.
"Let fate cast what trials it may before me... I shall overcome them all."
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