Cassandra the Godmarked

8/13/2019 Cassandra the Godmarked

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Cassandra the Cursed

No one is born bad; or even good for that matter. How we treat our fellowpeople is what determines both their nature and our own.

-Excerpt of sermongiven b !ather "risham

#$ ears ago...

Bekenstein was a small village situated in the forest kingdom of Cormyr on thecontinent of Neverwinter. There was nothing particularly special about the place, it hadthe usual sights of a small community: A blacksmith, an inn, a few shops, and more thana few surly elderly men and women grumbling about kids these days. Bekenstein wasnot located near any ma or trading routes, but it did get the occasional traffic coming

through from the capital of Alsace. Apart from these brief bouts of newcomers, thevillagers kept mostly to themselves, choosing to live fairly peaceful !if somewhatboring" lives. #ne family, however, lived apart from this idyllic setting.

$%...&...'...() *eady or not, here + come) shouted a little boy, his voice tremblingwith e-citement. The little boy began to meticulously search through the clearing theywere all in. Cassandra giggled to herself in her hiding spot behind the tree, This is areally good hiding spot! He won't be able to find me here!

ylan continued to search through the grove of trees, occasionally calling out thenames of all the kids he found, $/ound you Arvin) or $+ got you 0elanie) . Theclearing which had been filled with sunlight in the beginning, began to grow darker astime continued to pass. 1oon it was ust Cassandra left that was to be found. Wow! Ithink I might actually win this game!

+t 2uickly occurred to Cassandra that no one was looking for her, her thoughts


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were confirmed by what Neyla said ne-t.

$+ think that3s everyone then) #ther than the cursed girl, anyway) said Neylahappily.

$4ell that3s why + wasn3t looking for her, + don3t wanna get cursed) said ylanfearfully.

$5opefully she wandered off somewhere offered 6innea.

$4hy does she keep coming back here7 wondered 8ason

$0aybe...she wants to curse all of us7 said ylan suddenly. The childrenhuddled closer together and looked around fearfully at the trees. $6ets go back home, +don3t wanna get cursed) cried Neyla.

The children all ran through the trees back to the village and Cassandra emergedfrom her hiding spot, tears streaming down her face. 1he was still crying as she madethe long walk back to her home located outside of the village. 4hile not very big, thecabin Cassandra and her mother called home had a lovely e-terior and atmosphere,thanks to the hard work of the mother and daughter in it3s upkeep. 5earing Cassandra3scries, the door to the cabin burst open and Cassandra3s mother came rushing out of thedoor, an-iety filling her face as she saw her daughter in tears.

$Cassie) 4hat3s wrong dear7 Are you hurt anywhere7 4hat happened7 she askedrapidly as she began searching for in uries on her daughter.

$+9+ went to go play with the other kids and they said + could oin. 1o + thoughtthat they really wanted to oin in, but then + heard them say they only did it because theywere sc9scared of me) Cassandra sobbed, holding out her arms.

5er mother tightly embraced Cassandra, stroking her long hair as Cassandracontinued to cry, $They said + was cursed) That +3d curse them) + ust wanted to befriends with them...

$#h Cassie, they3re ust scared of something they don3t understand. ou are awonderful and incredibly kind girl. 1omeday they3ll reali;e ust how special you are andhow wrong they were reassured her mother.

$No they wont) vehemently denied Cassie, ripping herself out of her mother3sembrace.


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/aster than her eyes could follow, her mother grabbed Cassandra suddenly andlooked her fiercely in the eyes, $No) ou are not a monster) No matter what thosechildren may say. Cassandra3s eyes drifted towards her shoulder where the 0ark was.5er mother followed her ga;e and a gentle light came into her eyes, $No matter whatthat mark might mean, it does not change who you are.

$4ho am + then7 sniffed Cassandra

Cassandra3s mother gently brushed away her tears and scooped up Cassandra intoanother embrace, $ ou3re my one and only precious daughter. Not a monster she saidsimply, kissing Cassandra on the forehead as she did so. Cassandra looped her armsaround her mother3s neck and hugged her tightly.

$*eally7 mumbled Cassandra

$*eally really. laughed her mother, tickling Cassandra as she did so. =nable tohelp herself, Cassandra started giggling from her mother3s dancing fingers, a smilecoming over her face now. $ id you want to help me get started on dinner7 +3m makingyour favourite. asked her mother.

$ eah) shouted Cassandra happily. Chuckling, her mother carried Cassandrainto their cottage, the little girl was already e-citedly chattering about the dinner theywere making and asking if they could use some of the berries to make a pie afterwards.The small family entered their little cottage home and closed the door behind them.


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%ll of the creatures on this world live in communities& in families& in eachother. 'he bonds we form with each other& no matter how short-lived the are& areinfinitel precious.

-Excerpt of sermon

given b !ather "risham

(resent time...

4ithin the outer edges of the capital city of Cormyr, Alsace, a crowd of curiousonlookers were watching two men angrily shouting at each other. The reason for theargument was evident, one man3s wagon had crashed into the shop of the other. No clearfault could be established as the horse had been startled by the barking of the shopowner3s dog. Because of this, both men refused to give grounds to the other person3sclaims as they argued more and more. /inally when it seemed the two were about tocome to blows, a man3s voice emerged from the crowd.

$4ell, since it seems you two have no intention of resolving this peacefully, whydon3t we ust solve the first problem >merging from the crowd came a man wearing abrilliant9white overcoat bearing the insignia of Alsace3s city guard. At his side was ablack sheath enclosing a sword resembling a katana. 0oving towards the now silentmen who were arguing so raucously before, the guard commanded their silence with hispresence.

*ecovering from the silence, the shop9owner began to bluster, $?uard, + demandthat you arrest this vagabond for ruining my store)

The accused wagon driver furiously retorted, $0e7 5e should arrest you) +t wasthat damn dog of yours that caused my poor horse to crash)

*eddening, the shop9owner 2uickly countered, $4ell maybe if you were watchingyour horse properly, it wouldn3t have gotten out of control)


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+n truth, both men were at fault, but neither were willing to admit their mistakes.The guard simply smiled and shook his head, $Ahh, + think + told both of you that wecould solve this problem.

$4e7 asked the driver curiously.

$1ure) 0y girl here can...Cass, come on) Now + ust look like an idiot forintroducing us both. called the man.

The crowd parted before a young woman hanging around in the back, sullenlystaring at the guard who had a wicked grin on his face. 1he had long, flowing black hairpartially obscuring her beautiful face. The woman was incredibly pale, as if the sun hadnever touched her skin, but this only added to her mysti2ue. 4ith an e2ually fine figure,both men and women stared openly at this beautiful creature, redoubling their glanceswhen they saw she carried an #rb@ marking her as a sion. The crowd began to mutteramongst themselves with some fear and suspicion. 0agicians were always treatedsuperstitiously by the general populace but sions were regarded with more hostilitythan others. sions were gifted with the abilities of the mind and were able tomanipulate distant ob ects with a thought. 1ome sions were able to read the deepestthoughts of a person3s mind or even to turn family and friends on each other.

A few people in the crowd began nervously drawing holy symbols in the air toward off evil. Cassandra noticed all of this with a sigh and kept moving forwardtowards the grinning idiot in the centre of the crowd. Honestly, the reaction is always

the same. Why does he keep trying to do this? We should ha e ust ignored this andkept on walking.

$ ou look like an idiot all the time anyway... mumbled Cassandra as she reached?raham and the two arguing men. Adopting a hurt e-pression, ?raham theatricallysighed, $#h my lovely princess, you wound me so with your words. But your thornsonly make you that much more beautiful.

+n response, Cassandra simply punched the part of his arm that wasn3t covered byplate armour. 5ard. $#w) laughed ?raham, wincing a bit as he rubbed his shoulder,and laughing again when he saw Cassandra nursing her fist. 1winging one arm over hershoulder casually, he drew her close to him. 1till pouting, Cassandra didn3t shrug hisarm off as she asked the two men, $1o, the ma ority of the damage appears to be done tothe shop, namely the door. Correct7 asked Cassandra.

The driver of the wagon was about to angrily complain that his wagon hadreceived ust as much damage as the shop, but was 2uickly silence before he began histirade by a cold glare from Cassandra. $ es he said meekly.


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$That being said, + see that the wheel of your wagon has also come off its a-le.Are there any other damages7 continued Cassandra.

$No. said the driver. Cassandra e-amined the damages with a practised eye and

nodded to herself and gave a 2uick look to ?raham. =nderstanding immediately,?raham moved the driver and owner to the crowd and asked everyone to stand back.Cassandra was left standing alone in the clearing with the curious crowd wonderingwhat this small woman was going to do.

Breathing out slowly, Cassandra focused her mind and closed her eyes. *eachingdeep within herself where the source of her sionic powers lay, she drew upon thesource gently like drawing water out of a well. Cassandra3s arms came up as she madethe connection and people from the crowd suddenly gasped. The broken pieces of thedoor from the shop rose up from the ground and began to re9insert themselves into theempty frame of the door, screws and bolts fi-ed those pieces that couldn3t be heldtogether by compression alone as the door reformed itself before the people3s eyes.#nce that was accomplished, Cassandra again gestured with her arms and the wagonrose up a few inches off the ground, the wheel from the wagon that had fallen off camerolling underneath the cart and aligned itself properly on its a-le. #nce that was done,Cassandra slowly lowered her arms and the wagon was gently lowered onto the ground,and after making sure it would hold the weight, released the magic.

"h, I really hate this ne#t part . The strain of the magic took it3s toll and

Cassandra swayed on the spot, her fall stopped by ?raham catching her. $>-cellentwork as always. said ?raham

$4ell + couldn3t have done a slipshod ob with the introduction you gave me, nowcould +7 wearily retorted Cassandra. 6aughing, ?raham, helped Cassandra up to herfeet as the crowd behind the two burst into applause. The driver and the shop9keepcame up to Cassandra with wide smiles, earnestly thanking her and shaking her hands.!$5ey, hey don3t get too handsy with her) said ?raham"

/lushing with embarrassment, Cassandra muttered a hasty $ ou3re welcome andstarted walking towards the city gates. 4hile startled by her sudden departure, ?rahameasily caught up with her and waved off the curious onlookers with a smile, $1he3s ust abit shy.

$1o, are we finally going to this place you were telling me about7 askedCassandra once they were outside of the city.

$5m7 responded ?raham with a confused face, $4hat are you talking about7


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That was the place + was talking about.

Cassandra stopped walking and silently stared into his face, her cheeks puffed upin anger. =nable to bear the silence any longer, ?raham burst out laughing, $#k, ok, ok)+3ll show you where our actual date is supposed to be

$+t3s going to have to be e#ceptionally wonderful after that little display backthere. pouted Cassandra

$8ust a little warm9up Cassie. Besides, those people there loved you back there)

$...+ guess reluctantly agreed Cassandra. 1he still wasn3t used to the praise thepeople back there had given her. Cassandra3s mind always drifted back to her past andthe people who had called her a monster. 1eeing Cassandra sink into a deep silence,?raham rapidly scooped up Cassandra in his arms and placed her on his shoulderscausing her to shriek in alarm.

$4ha94hat are you doing, you idiot7) yelled Cassandra.

6ooking up into her face with a bright smile, $4e3ll get there faster if we run. oubetter hold on tight as he braced her legs with his hands

*eali;ing he was serious, Cassandra latched onto ?raham as he took off runningwith an e-plosive start. 4hile initially arring at first, as she watched the landscape melt

away with ?raham3s long strides, Cassandra rela-ed her death grip and started laughing.$+s that all the famous Alsace city guard is capable of7 mocked Cassandra, $6et3s

see you go faster)

$#h, you asked for it missy) shouted ?raham in return as he re9doubled hisspeed. Cassandra whooped in delight as the pair raced off into the distance, their figures2uickly disappearing into the landscape.

4ithin his private study at the Church of the Traveller, /ather >mmanuel ?risham! okingly called ?rishy by Cassandra who had trouble pronouncing his name when shefirst came here" reclined in faded leather chair absently stroking his most valuablepossession.


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*ubbing his face against the magically9protected painting, he gushed in theprivacy of his 2uarters, $Ahhhh, my little Cassandra was so cute back then) Now she3sbecoming even more wonderful)

eople who saw this scene of a respected preacher rubbing his face against apainting of a young girl would be correct in most situations with the followingdescription: A mega pervert. 5owever, /ather ?risham was the adoptive guardian ofyoung Cassandra and so a more correct description would be thus: An idiotic, over9protective father.

As he ga;ed at the picture of Cassandra, his eyes looked past the drawing of thesmiling young girl and at the one he had first laid eyes upon all those years ago.


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5e was younger then, an acolyte of the Church hoping to get some more followersfor his Church. 4alking into the scene of carnage, however, had aged him more yearsthan he could count. There were perhaps & bodies in the room, but it was incrediblyhard to tell as all the bodies, apart from the woman, were ripped to pieces. 1tanding inthe middle of this brutality was a small girl, crying her eyes out. 5is eyes wereimmediately drawn to the curse mark on the girl3s shoulder, but it seemed soinsignificant now. 4hen he had finally managed to calm the child and carried her out ofthe cottage, >mmanuel made a vow to himself as he cradled Cassandra. I will alwayswatch over this girl, I will protect her from everything that might harm her.

$...And yet his eyes adopted a dangerous glare $That muscle9head thinks he cantake away my darling Cassandra. ?risham gently placed his painting of Cassandradown carefully onto the desk, wiping away any dust that settled on it with a specialcloth. acing around the room he began grumbling about ?raham and all his manyfaults and shortcomings, tactfully neglecting to notice the large piles of documentsneeding his approval on his desk. As he was getting into his rant about ?raham, heheard a set of footsteps approaching the door. Must. Appear. To be doing. My work!

1printing across the room, ?risham dove across the desk in between the piles andlanded in his chair. 1wivelling around in the chair he grabbed a random document andpoised a pen over it as the person outside knocked on the door. $Come in) But make it2uick, +3m very busy with all these...uh.... Crap what are these for again ...orphanapplications.


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A smiling young priest opened the door and gave a graceful bow before saying,$>-cuse me /ather, + was wondering if you would like to oin the other priests and + forlunch.

*eturning the smile, /ather ?risham sadly shook his head, $=nfortunately + have

plans with my daughter for lunch.$#h7 ou3re having lunch with Cassandra7 + overheard her saying to one of the

sisters that she was going on a very special date with ?raham. + guess + must have heardwrong, en oy your lunch /ather. laughed the priest, closing the door as he backed out ofthe room.

$ es, yes. +3m hoping she gets here9 started /ather ?risham as his brainprocessed what he ust heard. $h? $H? %pecial date with &raham? $HHHHH??!!

The church attendees were shocked to see the normally composed /ather ?rishamsprinting out of the Church and running towards the city gates screaming a name:$CA11+>))

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

$5ow about now7 asked Cassandra petulantly, slightly peeved at having to keepher eyes closed for so long.

$Almost there. Trust me, it3ll be worth the wait answered ?raham somewhereahead of her@ he was leading Cassandra with his hand through the trees. 1tumbling a biton the tree roots, Cassandra re9doubled her grip on ?raham3s hand causing him tochuckle a bit. $0ake sure to watch where you3re going, Cass) he guffawed.

4ith her free hand, she struck out at the sound of his voice and was satisfied tohear a short yelp, $#w)


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1oon the two came to a stop, ?raham let go of her hand and stood behindCassandra, gently moving her head in some random direction. Breathing into her ear, hewhispered, $&...'...(. #pen your eyes.

Cassandra obliged and was met by an incredible sight: They were standing at theedge of the largest flower filed she had ever seen in her entire life. /lowers of all kindsand colours bloomed in the field, filling it with a vibrant atmosphere. A light bree;eblew past Cassandra and the pungent aroma of the field engulfed her senses, filling herwith serenity. A lovely little brook bubbled across the middle of the field and ended in asmall pond where several small animals were basking in the warm, afternoon sunlight.

1miling at the delighted look on Cassandra3s face, ?raham took her arm and ledher to a grassy knoll covered in lush grass. Cassandra was surprised when ?raham setdown his pack and pulled out a towel for the two of them to sit down on.

$That face says you didn3t e-pect me to think this far ahead. said ?raham with asly smile.

1ettling down on the towel and pulling off her stifling overcoat she normally usedto hide her curse mark, Cassandra grinned, $4ell your track record would agree withme...as would your captain.

?ravely nodding his head, ?raham pulled out a few sandwiches and set them on

the towel, $+ think if he saw this amount of preparation, he3d accuse me of being achangeling and cut me down.

$5mm...+nteresting. + was thinking the e-act same thing.

$4ell there3s one simple fact that would disprove that theory grinned ?raham.

$#h7

$A changeling could never be this devilishly handsome he said proudly.

$4ell that proves it then. replied Cassandra looking crestfallen, $#nly the real?raham would tell such an obvious lie. ?raham stared at Cassandra with a woundede-pression, and then they both burst out laughing.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )


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assandra was sitting at the table, her short legs swinging freely o er the edge asshe dreamily ate a blueberry pie.

(Is it yummy?) asked her mother.

(It's e#tra yummy! *ecause I helped make it!) e#claimed assandra as shecontinued to eat her pie with gusto.

T "#$, T "#$, T "#$

The door sounded with the rhythmic knocking on it and assandra stopped eatingand looked fearfully towards the closed door.

(+on't worry sweetie, I'm sure it's ust one of the people from the hurch again.They like to check up on e eryone li ing outside of the illage.)

T "#$, T "#$, T "#$

( oming!) sang her mother. *ut assandra had remembered who was at thedoor and desperately ran towards her mother before she opened it and screamed, ( o!

+on't open it!)

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

$... on3t open the door, 0ama... mumbled Cassandra in her sleep.

$Cass7 Cassie, hey) 4ake up) said ?raham in a concerned voice.

$?raham7... Cassie blearily opened her eyes, rubbing her face and finding itdamp with tears. $Bad dream...sorry if + woke you up she said with a weak smile.

1eeing her tear9streaked face, ?raham said nothing and reached over andenveloped Cassandra in a tight embrace. Cassandra did nothing at first, but hershoulders began to shake as she buried her face in ?raham3s chest, staining his shirt withtears. ?raham had seen this side of Cassandra only a few times before and his heartburned with the old, familiar anger towards the bastards who were responsible for hersorrow. Cassandra3s sobs soon stopped and she backed away from ?raham sniffling abit.

$1orry, she began, wiping away her tears $This was ust such a wonderful daythat + was dreaming about the best times with my mother, so +... she trailed off.

$ ou never talk about that day said ?raham meaningfully.


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$...There3s not much to talk about. apa says that because what happened was sohorrible, that my mind is instinctively blocking any memories about that day. e-plainedCassandra. $1orry about your shirt she added with a glance.

$ on3t be, + haven3t washed it in a month. ou did me a favor ?raham said witha serious face. Cassandra gave a 2uick laugh that blossomed into a real smile on herface, easing her features.

$1o) #nto the main event stated ?raham theatrically as he umped to his feet.

1tartled, Cassandra belatedly got to her feet as well and noticed a small bo- layingopen in ?raham3s hand. +n the bo- was one of the blue roses from the field they were inwith a ribbon tied around it. $ ou3d be ama;ed at how hard it is to enchant a livingob ect and keep it there for a long time. + almost had to whore myself out for the pricesthey charged. rambled ?raham, gently plucking the flower out of the fo- and fi-ing itonto Cassandra3s hair.

$4hat are you...7 Cassandra started to ask, only to be stopped as ?raham presseda finger to her lips as he made sure the flower was secure.

$# , now assuming + didn3t get screwed over, all you have to do is touch the roseand say, 3Bloom, blue rose.3 he instructed.

$=m...3*loom& blue rose 3 intoned Cassandra, looking confused when nothingseemed to be happening. 1he was about to tell ?raham that he had indeed gottenscrewed over when she heard his voice inside her mind.

Hey assie! Hopefully you're getting this incredibly se#y message of mine -se#ybecause of my oice ob iously or I'm going to ha e to pay a isit to the mage who soldme this enchantment with /0 of my guard friends.

This is my ama1ing way of deli ering my sincerest wishes2 I lo e you assandra, Ialways will. o matter what you may think that curse mark on your shoulder means, I'llbe there for you.

%o! In case that was a bit too subtle, I'll ask my 3uestion in 4 simple words2 Will you marry me?

1hocked, Cassandra looked wide9eyed at ?raham, who was fidgeting nervouslywhile waiting for an answer. $=h, + thought a ring would be a bit cliche. + was hopingthis might be better...maybe not7 he gulped.


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6aughing, a wide smile upon her face, Cassandra leaned in close to ?raham andasked, $4ould this be enough of an answer7...


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Breaking off from the kiss, ?raham gave a contented sigh, $+3m not sure, + think+3ll need another few confirmations.

Cassandra laughed and was about to indulge her new fiancee when suddenly sheheard a voice:

$A95A) + N>4 +T. ?*A5A0, #= BA1TA**** ) shouted a figurerunning full tilt towards them.

Both Cassandra and ?raham recogni;ed who was charging at them, at ?rahamreally, almost at the same time, $ apa7) $?rishy)7

$Command! 4alk forward four steps) ordered /ather ?risham. ?raham,helpless under the spell3s compulsion was forced to take the four steps and wonderedwhy ?risham had used a spell like Command to do so. 5e 2uickly reali;ed why with/ather ?risham3s ne-t few words.

$?*+15A000... +C #/ > /AT5>*5## T#0 B>6#A=?5T>*CA11AN *A) punctuating the end of his words by leaping off the

ground and e-ecuting a flying kick towards ?raham who was currently locked in a head9on collision course. The Command spell ended ust in time as ?raham ended his fourthstep an instant after ?risham3s boot made contact with his face. The impact of the forcesent ?raham flying off the ground and landing in the grass some few metres away. 5ismomentum absorbed by ?raham3s sturdy body, /ather ?risham landed lightly on histoes. $5oo.....(D point landing.

$ apa, you idiot) shouted Cassandra, her psychic power lashing out in the formof a concussive force and blasting him off his feet. /ather ?risham lay momentarilystunned by the force of the blow, but 2uickly recovered from the shock.

$Ah, my adorable daughter. A lively greeting as always smiled ?risham,bleeding from several cuts on his forehead.

$6ike hell it is, you damn old man) 4hat the fuck was that kick for7) growled?raham stomping over to ?risham and glaring at him.

$ ou took my dear Cassandra out for a lunch date when she was supposed to behaving a meal with me today. said /ather ?risham coolly, ignoring the boot9shapedbruise on ?raham3s face.

$4hy you... ?raham began, grabbing ?risham by his lapels.


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$4ait, wait) + did have a lunch with him today, + kind of forgot about it though...Cassandra hastily e-plained before the two started to fight again like always. /ather?risham looked hurt that Cassandra would3ve forgotten and Cassandra in turn lookedaway with embarrassment.

$1eriously, these fights get cra;ier and cra;ier every time sighed ?raham,releasing ?risham.

$+ndeed replied /ather ?risham. $?oing to give up on my lovely daughterthen7

$5ah) Never) shot back ?raham. The two men grinned at each other andCassandra could only shake her head helplessly, a faint smile on her face.

$Besides continued ?raham with a nasty smile on his face, $+ already won.

$...>h7 replied ?risham blankly. +n response, ?raham directed his ga;e towardsthe flower on Cassandra3s hair and took her hand in his own.

$+ hope you won3t kick your son9in9law in the future... ad laughed ?raham

$>55555577))) screamed /ather ?risham. $C9C9Cassie9That isn3t true, haharight7 he stammered, he looked at Cassandra with a desperate 2uestion in his eyes,hoping the answer would be an emphatic $No way) . Cassandra simply blushed and

averted her ga;e causing /ather ?risham to scream in horror and denial.$...+t looks like + didn3t kick you hard enough ... whispered /ather ?risham, his head in his hands.

?raham leaned in close, tilting his ear towards /ather ?risham, $>h, what3s that +ad 7 +couldn3t really hear you)

5is face a blank mask, /ather ?risham turned towards ?raham and repeatedemotionlessly: $Apparently + should have kicked you harder . ?raham could almostfeel the killing intent emanating from ?risham, and he backed away with his handsraised protectively over his face. ?raham was making his peace with ?od whenCassandra stepped in front of him, glaring at ?risham. 4ith ust that movement, /ather?risham snatched a startled Cassandra into a tight hug.

$6ooks like my little girl has grown up into a fine young woman right before myeyes he murmured softly.

Touched, Cassandra said, $ apa9+

$?raham.


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$ 9 es sir)

$No matter what blood may say, Cassandra is my one and only daughter. Bymaking this vow, + am counting on you to look after her.

$+ will sir) fiercely affirmed ?raham. 1miling, /ather ?risham releasedCassandra and walked over to ?raham, one of his arms held wide open in what appearedto be a gesture of welcome into their little family. *eturning the smile tentatively withsome wonder, ?raham opened his arms as well, glad that /ather ?risham was finallyaccepting him.

$Command . 5old still. invoked, /ather ?risham.

$>h7) yelped ?raham.

$?*+15A0...= >*C=T#/*>1+?N> ANN# ANC>AT0 6#6 9AN?>60A** +N?T5+10> +#C*>0AN))) cried ?risham, his right handstreaking through the air and crashing into the underside of ?raham3s chin. *eelingfrom the blow, ?raham stumbled backwards onto the grass with a yelp.

$4ell) Consider that my blessing for the two of you to have a long, happy9 =rk)cutting off in the middle of his sentence as another telekinetic blast from Cassandra tookhim off his feet.


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+h then do we shun people from these communities, * den ing them aconnection& we den them life. 'rue& there are those that commit vile and depravedacts& but what of the innocent, 'hose born with a stigma, 'hose that onl tried toma e a connection with us. 'o live with us.

-Excerpt of sermon given b !ather "risham

1everal harsh lectures from Cassandra with some more bickering between?raham and ?risham, they were all sitting down in a surprisingly companionablesilence. +t warmed Cassandra as always to know how deeply ?risham cared for her,although she always felt a little e-hausted when he was like this. ?raham knew this aswell, and she knew this is why he never retaliated !Cassandra glanced at the bruise on?rishy3s face"...much.

$+t3s getting late. 4e should head back before they close the gates said ?rahamafter some time, brushing the grass off his robes as he got up. Cassandra and ?rahamagreed and 2uickly followed suit.

$+3m sure the priests back at the Church won3t let that happen though. nowingyou, you probably charged out of the town after hearing Cassie was with me whilescreaming her name. yawned ?raham.

Cassandra laughed, $#h come on ?raham, not even apa would9 she stopped

talking when she saw /ather ?risham suddenly shift his ga;e away and shuffleuncomfortably. $ ou didn3t she breathed.

/ather ?risham3s silence confirmed it and Cassandra buried her face in shame as?raham started laughing, $4ell it could have been worse Cassie) chuckled ?raham,wiping a tear away from his eye as his mirth subsided, $5e could have9 ?raham cut offmid9sentence, panic in his eyes, as he suddenly tackled Cassandra and ?risham to theground howling in pain as he did so.

Cassandra and ?risham began to protest at ?raham3s sudden outburst until theysaw the crossbow bolt embedded deep in ?raham3s shoulder. *efle-ively, Cassandrathrew up a telekinetic barrier as several more bolts came whi;;ing through the air. Thebarrier did it3s ob as the bolts stopped dead in mid9air when they hit the shield, fallingharmlessly to the ground. But Cassandra couldn3t keep it up for long.

/ather ?risham was crouching over ?raham chanting healing spells with anintense concentration. $?raham) on3t close your eyes, no matter what) screamedCassandra. /ather ?risham finished his incantation as the magic took effect@ a golden


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light wreathed ?raham3s body in its brilliance. The crossbow bolt slowly wriggled itsway out, connective tissue and muscle repairing themselves as the bolt left the body.

The bloody bolt hit the grass with a plop as a fireball came screaming towards thetrio. espite Cassandra3s best efforts, the fireball blew apart her shield, e-ploding it

with a deafening boom as Cassandra and ?risham were blown off their feet. Cassandracracked her head against the ground and darkness filled her vision.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Cassandra drifted in and out of consciousness during the ne-t few hours. At onepoint, delirious with a fever, she had woken up screaming as someone tended to herhead, rubbing something on the wound that made it feel like it was on fire. Cassandraonly calmed down when she felt the touch of a cool hand and heard ?raham3s voice.&ood he's safe .

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Cassandra was ostled somewhat awake by the rough movements of the cart she wasbeing transported in. 1he heard several voices@ all unfamiliar:

$1till, its pretty ama;in3 that she knew the girl was there e-actly where she saidshe3d be, huh7 said a male voice

$4ell, Arthur3s fireball might have made this entire venture utterly worthless saidanother voice in cool, elegant tones.

$+t worked didn3t it7 snapped a third voice.

$ ou may have killed the girl) #ur bolts would have worn her shields downeventually, but oh no, that wasn3t good enough for 0r. 1pellcaster mocked the secondman.

$4ell that3s what the priest is for innit7 said a fourth voice. Cassandra soon fellasleep again.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

The third time she woke up, Cassandra finally managed to open her eyes. +t wasnight9time and she could see a crackling fire with numerous figures surrounding it.Cassandra was lying on a bedroll, a cool rag placed on her head. ?roggily she attemptedto sit up, only to be stopped from rising with a gentle hand.


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$>asy, Cass. ou hit your head pretty hard, we didn3t think you were going tomake it, even with ?risham3s healing whispered a voice.

$?raham7) e-claimed Cassandra, tears coming to her eyes. $4hat happ9

Cassandra was prevented from speaking as ?raham covered her mouth suddenly.ointing towards the figures by the fire he breathed, $ eep your voice down, ?rishy istalking to them now, giving an update on your condition.

4ith ?raham3s help, Cassandra sank back onto the bedroll and ?raham begantending to her bandaged head. Absurdly enough, Cassandra noticed that her head felt alittle lighter somehow. 1eeing Cassandra reach for her head and pulling back her handwith some dismay he answered her unspoken 2uestion, $1orry about your hair. Thedamn mage3s fireball pretty much lit up the entire area and some of your hair got lit up.1o we had to cut it off.

$Never mind that) 4here are we7 4ho are those men7 asked Cassandra rapidly.

$To answer both your 2uestions: + don3t know. The only thing + do know thatthey3re very interested in you. replied ?raham

$4hat7) 4hy7

$...+ think it has something to do with your curse mark.

A cold shiver ran through Cassandra and she was unable to keep herself fromtrembling. $5ow do you know7 she rasped.

$They checked your right shoulder when they captured us.

$...4here are we going said Cassandra finally, after lapsing into a sombersilence.

$+3m not sure.

$5ow many of them are there7

$(E. All of them fairly strong, although they only have one spell9caster luckily

$4hat do we do7 1hould + pretend to still be unconscious7

$They might kill ?risham if they see the lack of progress. These men are


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dangerous Cassie, especially their leader. e-plained ?raham. $ on3t pretend you3reasleep so they can see you3re recovering when they come over. But maybe you shouldact like you3re still weak. They might lower their guards enough that we have a chanceof escaping.

$?raham there3s only & of us against (E of them warned Cassandra, with moreconcern for ?raham and ?risham than herself.

$+ know. But it3s the only plan +3ve got. said ?raham de ectedly.

$+t3s a good thing +3m awake then. 4ho knows what you might have done withoutme. smiled Cassandra.

$?ot a plan7

$0aybe, but we3re going to need ?risham in on this as well. Also how3s yourwhistling7

$=h...# + guess7 Are you sure you3re feeling alright7 asked ?raham with someconcern.

$ lease, even if + still had a fever my plan would easily be better than anythingyou came up with laughed Cassandra.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

$?entlemen...and 6ady) dramatically announced Corvin, leader of the banditswho had captured them, $4elcome...to the Temple of Barkley)

The bandits all cheered raucously at this declaration, it had been a long ourney,but they were finally at the end. The prisoners, bound tightly in chains, and ?risham3smouth gagged, stared with fascination at the ruins. The temple looked ancient: 4hatmust have been glistening marble stone, were faded and covered in cracks. The pillarssupporting the vast roof hanging overhead had the most bi;arre designs carved into eachof them. The roof continued down along a row of pillars on either side until it mergedsmoothly with the mountain that loomed ominously over the temple. >ven though thetemple entrance was open, the light of the noonday 1un was unable to penetrate it3smurky depths.

$+ think our guests are a bit intimidated by the Temple3s grandeur) 4hat say wegive them a tour of the place, eh boys7) roared Corvin. 5e was answered by laughter


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and catcalls as they roughly shaved their prisoners forward. Cassandra almost instantlyregretted pretending to still be weakened from her in uries as she faked a stumble andwas immediately grabbed by one of the bandits.

$Careful there, darlin3. on3t want your pretty face getting messed up grinned

the man. Cassandra could almost feel ?raham3s glowering face being directed at theman and she hoped he would manage to keep his calm. As the group moved towards theentrance, Cassandra directed her ga;e upwards and saw the most peculiar painting,somehow preserved, on the underside of the roof.

&ods, where are we? Thought Cassandra.

They walked for what seemed like hours, the floor the temple sloping ever soslightly downwards as they ventured deeper beneath the mountain. +n truth, Cassandrawas still feeling slightly weakened from her in uries, so the long stretch of time came inhandy. 4ith almost imperceptible nudges of telekinetic power, she loosened the bondsholding them, starting first with the gag in ?risham3s mouth. Although the going wastough as she had to re9strengthen the bonds temporarily as Corvin made them stop everyhour and make sure their ropes were secure.


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/inally they came to a stop at the foot of a great chasm, a narrow e-panse of stonebridging the gap. A thick set of sealed, double doors lay at the end of the bridge, smokewafted up from the depths of the pit in great billowing coils. 6ooking closer, Cassandrasaw a reddish9orange glow emanating from the bottom of the pit that she suspectedmight have been lava.

$Alright kids, enough gaping drawled Corvin $6et3s get this party started) 6et3shave the guest of honour go through first. +3ll take the privilege of taking her myselfgrinning at the double entendre, causing the bandits to laugh lecherously.

4ith a mocking self9bow, Corvin e-tended one hand and presented it towardsCassandra who took it contemptuously. Ne-t came ?risham and his guard of banditsplus the mage, Arthur, ready to intervene if he tried any spell9casting. /inally ?rahamtrailed behind the group and soon everyone was making their way across the bridge.

4hen Cassandra felt like they were at a good point on the bridge, she tripped overher own feet causing her to topple precariously near the edge of the bridge. A cripplingsense of vertigo overcame Cassandra when she saw ust how high up they were, the heatfrom the lava below was stifling her senses with its raw power. Corvin made a 2uickgrab for Cassandra and prevented her from going any further, which also meant that hehad temporarily stopped while the rest of the group kept walking towards them.

1eeing the opportunity, ?raham gave a short whistle when the & groups weresufficiently close enough on the bridge. *esponding to the whistle, the group around

?raham and ?risham turned around at the sound. Corvin recogni;ed the danger almostimmediately and shouted, $No you idiots) Turn back around)

Too late, asshole thought Cassandra as shut her eyes tight and ?raham did thesame with his. ?risham spit out his gag and uttered a short spell: $ Astral %lare!

A soft glow bloomed from ?risham3s body, covering him in its gentleluminescence that 2uickly transformed into a brilliant9white light that blinded thebandits. The light soon faded but the damage was done@ many bandits began to gropefor their captives only to grasp nothing but thin air, one even walked off the bridge,screaming as he fell. #pening her eyes, Cassandra ripped herself out of Corvin3s holdwho was clutching his eyes and howling in fury. Cassandra dashed for ?risham whowas battling with & of the bandits that had already to begun to recover their vision. But?risham was no warrior and he was 2uickly losing ground in response to the physicalprowess of the & bandits.


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Cassandra desperately tried to reach for her psionic powers, but she was still tootired from weakening the bonds around them. #ne of the bandits, furious at a simplepriest being able to dance away from their blows charged for ?risham, heedless of thefact that they were all standing on a bridge. The bandit, still partially blinded, tackled?risham and two of his compatriots that were attacking him and took them all off the

bridge. As ?risham fell, his eyes locked with Cassandra as she raced over to him. 6ikeshe had done so many times in the past, Cassandra instinctively reached out with hermind, hoping to save her adoptive father.

But she was never so e-hausted, no rush of energy flowed through her like whenshe normally channelled her psionic powers. 1o it was with shock that Cassandra heard?risham3s thoughts as he passed from view beneath the bridge.

Take care princess, you&re stronger than you know. #o matter where I am, Iwill always be watching over you, my dear sweet daughter. I love you.

$ apa))) screamed Cassandra, still running towards where he last fell when sheheard Corvin3s voice behind her, $6ights out, love. . 1omething cracked against theback of her skull and everything around her faded into darkness.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

(5weehh) cried assandra as she knelt o er her mother's corpse, (6ama, 6ama..) she continued to call her name, heedless of the priest who had entered the

cottage and was looking at the scene with a dumbfounded e#pression. 7inally the manmo ed and walked o er to assandra, en eloping her in a soft embrace. Initiallyfrightened, assandra sensed the man's gentleness as something hot splashed onto herforehead.

The man holding her was shaking, but he comforted the crying assandra insoothing and e en tones. assandra returned the embrace as she sank into the man'schest crying uncontrollably. lutching the child, the man stood up and carried her outof the scene of carnage and continued to murmur softly to the child.

(What's your name little one?) he asked, stroking her hair.

( 8 assandra.) she sniffled

(6y name's 7ather &risham. I'm a priest working in a big city a bit furtheraway.)

(&rishy.) said assandra, fumbling with the name a bit ( an we take 6ama


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with us?)

9 shadow fell across &risham's face, (I'm sorry assandra, but your mother hasgone to hea en. We can gi e her a burial though once we get you cleaned up.)

(Where are we going? I don't want to be left alone.) asked assandra fearfully.(:ou won't be alone, I'll stay with you as long as you want.) reassured &risham.

(:ou won't lea e me alone? :ou'll stay with me always?)

(9lways.)


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eath is not the end of a person. % person continues through their friends andfamil ; through all the lives the have touched. /o do not lose ourselves in sorrowwhen the pass on& for the live on through ou.

-Excerpt of sermon

given b !ather "risham$*ise and shine, sleeping beauty said a sardonic voice, $Time to get up)

punctuating the last word with a kick to Cassandra3s side. 4rithing in pain, Cassandraopened her eyes to see Corvin grinning at her. $Nice of you to finally oin the rest of theclass. 4ell what3s left of it anyway.

Cassandra said nothing, still in shock over ?risham3s death. $No comment eh7That3s fine, + don3t think you need to speak to open this door anyway drawled Corvin,

erking his thumb behind him. A giant set of double doors inlaid with strange orangespheres loomed over Corvin3s figure. 1crawled across them were letters from anunfamiliar language to Cassandra, although one symbol in particular caught herattention.

6ying etched in one of the semi9hollow indentations of the door was the samesymbol as the curse mark on her shoulder.


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$ ou see, a little birdie told us that the bearer of this mark should be able to openup this door. Count yourself unlucky that you were the mark that happened to benearby. e-plained Corvin as he gestured to the multitude of different marks on the door.$+ have to say though, + didn3t think that we3d actually be able to find a ?odmarked.4ell, one that was still alive anyway he laughed. $All you have to do is walk up to that

mark, press your hand against it and open the door for us.$?o to hell) shouted Cassandra.

$+ think your addy beat me there already grinned Corvin. Cassandra lunged forCorvin, intent on tearing him to pieces only to be stopped by two bandits. $5m, seemslike you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, princess.

$ ou must be insane if you think +3m going to open up that door for you fuckers.growled Cassandra.

$ ou3re right, considering we lost the priest, we lost some leverage in getting youto open this door for us. But you3re forgetting about your little boyfriend. sneeredCorvin, snapping his fingers. Cassandra saw ?raham3s body being thrown against thedoor, groaning in pain as he did so. As he fell to the ground, Cassandra watched inhorror as one of the bigger bandits grabbed his legs and started to slam his body againstthe door. $4hat do you think, princess7 o you think the door will open if we bashyour boyfriend against it hard enough7) shouted Corvin.

$1top) 1top it) lease...stop. +3ll do it. +3ll open it, ust stop. begged Cassandra.Corvin gave a satisfied smile and snapped his fingers again, ordering his men to place?raham back on the ground. The bandits holding Cassandra released her and shefrantically ran over to ?raham.

$?raham7 ?raham) Can you hear me7 Come on, you idiot...answer me... sobbedCassandra.

?raham3s eyes fluttered open in response to Cassandra3s voice and he gave thatold, oking smile that used to annoy her so much. $...Could you keep it down Cassie7+3m trying to sleep he said weakly.

$+t3s about time you woke up you la;y erk. smiled Cassandra

$5ah...well not all of us got to be carried through the temple, +3ve earned a littlerest. breathed ?raham. $ ou know when you open that door for them, he3s ust goingto kill us, right7


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$Now what would give you that idea7 asked Corvin. $+f missy here opens thedoor for us we3re essentially becoming instantly rich. lus, since you and that preachertook out E of my guys, there3s more to go around) The bandit cohorts agreed withCorvin heartily in unison with several laughs and cheers.

$That3s still no guarantee that you won3t kill us the second + open the door$ up. But then again, do you have any choice7 agreed Corvin seriously, $Think

of it this way though: +f you don3t open the door, +3ll ust torture your man there until youagree to open the door.

Cassandra3s trembled with barely controlled fury which Corvin seemed tointerpret as fear. 1oftly running a hand through her hair, he tilted her chin with his freehand so she was looking into his eyes, $ ou should know that none of my boys like toplay around much, so a slow death won3t be an issue. whispered Corvin and then raisedhis voice so everyone could hear him, $+3m not sure why you3re even hesitating) + thinkthis is a pretty good deal)

$+3d take that deal) commented Arthur.

$And why wouldn3t you) +t3s a damn good deal) 1o, why don3t you9 beganCorvin, grabbing Cassandra by her hair and pulling her to her feet, $get to work onopening that door for us.

+n response, Cassandra knelt once again on the floor and helped ?raham to hisfeet and they walked step by step together to the ominous door. As they drew nearer, themark on Cassandra3s shoulder grew warmer and at the same time, the matching symbolon the door glowed an eerie red light. Almost of it3s own accord, Cassandra3s right armcame up and pressed against the symbol, the mark on her shoulder shined with amatching red incandescence.

A woman3s voice floated into Cassandra3s mind: 'earer of the (odmark of )espair* know that once this door is opened it can never be closed again.

+ho are you Asked Cassandra, flabbergasted at the presence of this mysteriouswoman. Cassandra waited for a few seconds when she reali;ed that no response wasforthcoming. et me in, I wish to enter.

+n response to her thoughts, arcane symbols appeared over the door that slowlybegun to e-tend tendrils of energy towards different parts of the door. 4here each of thetendrils touched, that part of the door re9arranged itself with another place on the door.The magic continued to work until finally all of the other symbols of the door had


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disappeared into the larger creation of one gigantic mark covering the door. 5er mark.

1lowly, the lines of the mark of despair began to shine with a dim light that2uickly raced up every line until the entire symbol was glowing with a fierce light. Thelight receded back into the symbol and moved across the edges of the door which slowly

begun to swing inwards. A rumbling shook the ground beneath the group whichaccompanied the slow movement of the giant doors and clouds of dust were kicked upbeneath the ancient doors.. 4hen the dust finally parted the room hidden inside wasrevealed in its full glory:

The sheer amount of gold and ewels amassed within the vault was staggering.All of the bandits !e-cept for Corvin who gave a low whistle" gasped at the vast sum ofwealth displayed before their eyes.

$...?old breathed one of the bandits. $*ubies, diamonds, sapphires... pantedanother.

$And chicken) gushed one of the darker skinned guards.

$4ell boys, what are you waiting for7 ig in) gestured Corvin with a flourish ofhis hands. The bandits all cheered and dashed into the vault at their leader3s invitation,some practically dove into the piles of gold and ewels. 0any were stuffing theirpockets and bags with whatever looked the most e-pensive, each intent on having morethan the others. Corvin seemed to notice Cassandra3s and ?raham3s contempt for theirgreediness and clapped a hand on both of their shoulders.

$ isgusting, aren3t they7 smirked Corvin, $All they care about is money, when in


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reality money is the most worthless thing in this room. espite his sentiments,Corvin3s eyes glowed with anticipation that sent a wave of revulsion through Cassandra.No matter what Corvin said about his men, he was ust as selfish as they were.

$1o what, this isn3t enough for you7 asked ?raham, echoing Cassandra3s

thoughts. rodding the two of them forward with the hilt of his dagger, Corvin laughedand said, $ eep walking and we3ll see.

The trio moved through the vault, past the bandits who were still basking in theirnew riches. Corvin tapped Arthur on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear,he nodded and started to follow them. Cassandra overhead snippets of conversationfrom the bandits who were boasting of their claims to whomever cared to listen. #neconversation sounded particularly lively:

$ o, 6eroy) + heard you found some chicken)

$ ou know it Tyrone) /ried chicken that is, 0mm)...And is that malt li2uor yougot in your hands7

$5ell yeah brother) But you know what would go even better with all of this7

$ amn straight)

$4atermelon) the two e-claimed in unison.

As they moved further through the chamber, the piles of gold became smaller andthe amount of treasure chests less numerous. 1oon the floor was completely devoid ofany sign of the treasure hoard that lay behind them. The area had gotten darker andmuch colder as well noted Cassandra with a shiver. As if to emphasi;e the apparent darknature of this section of the room, clouds of billowing white smoke covered the ground.The source of the smoke stemmed from an eerie purple light further away which pulsedwith a regular beat, in time with Cassandra3s own heart.

?lancing at Corvin, Cassandra saw that he was wearing a ravenous e-pression.espite his obvious eagerness, Corvin still led the group cautiously towards the light, a

fact Cassandra appreciated in spite of herself. >ven with the slow progress, they reachedthe light fairly 2uickly. The light was emanating from a gigantic purple orb, the bottomhalf of which was secured in a pedestal that looked like a rotting pair of claws.


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$The 5oly Compass of Barkley said Corvin reverently and Cassandra heard asharp intake of breath from Arthur.

$This is incredible, +3ve never felt such powerful magic in all of my life...)e-claimed Arthur. $Could the legends be true7

$4ho knows7 0aybe all of them are true, maybe none of them are. But + thinkwe could do some interesting things with this in our grasp... pondered Corvin as hereached for the orb. 1uddenly the light of the orb flared and a large gout of flameerupted from the orb. Corvin 2uickly snatched his hand away, barely avoiding theflames as fury flashed on his face. 5is ovial mask was only broken for a second as hega;ed thoughtfully on the orb and turned his smiling ga;e onto Cassandra.

$+ think you already know what +3m going to ask. stated Corvin and sawCassandra nod fractionally, $1o +3ll add this: + was planning on killing you as soon aswe found this. But since it3s apparently warded, you now have something you didn3thave before.

$4hich is7 retorted Cassandra sardonically.

$6everage. replied Corvin. $+ need information and that orb has it. The only onecapable of getting that information is you. ?et the information and relay it to me and +let you and ?raham here, go. The deal was sorely tempting, but no mater how sweet his


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words were, Cassandra did not trust Corvin at all. 1he had seen it in his eyes@ the manneeded murder like a drunkard needed wine. 1till, if she had that information, she coulduse it to bargain for their lives...or ?raham3s at the very least. But the orb was terrifyingin its own way: Cassandra had felt the magic coming from it as well@ powerful andincredibly alien in nature.

But what choice was there7 *efuse and she and ?raham would both die. robablynot 2uickly either.

$No way but forward. whispered Cassandra

$+t3s always easier to take the direct path anyway commented ?raham, matchingCassandra3s hushed tones.

$Be back soon dear. said Cassandra.

$+3ll have dinner ready when you get back, darling. laughed ?raham. 1miling inreturn, Cassandra steeled herself and stepped forward with one arm e-tended in front ofher. At first nothing happened, then when she placed her palm on the orb, it shone witha blinding light that lit up the entire area of the room. The floor began to shake and thewalls trembled from the powerful waves of energy that streamed out of the orb. Thebandits back in the other section shouted in alarm and Cassandra could hear Corvin andArthur trying to get everyone under control.

$Cassie) 6et go of the orb) shouted ?raham.$+ can3t) 0y hand is stuck) yelled Cassandra fearfully. As soon as she was sure

the light would burn her up, the sounds of the room and everyone else faded abruptly. +nthe ne-t instant, foreign images of places and sounds and even thoughts transferred insuch overwhelming amounts that Cassandra felt like her head was about to e-plode.


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It all began with a seed. said a mysterious woman.

As the last image entered her head, Cassandra3s senses were olted back to thetreasure room. eople were still crying out in alarm, but the light that had appearedfrom the orb was 2uickly fading 9No9 getting sucked back into the orb. 4hen the lastray of light sank back into the orb, it e-panded over the artifact itself in the form of anumerous spider9web cracks appearing over its surface until it finally shattered intopieces. /rom its destruction, the voice of a man echoed through the deafening silence ofthe chamber:

(ame on... Cassandra turned around and broke the silence that had overcome the room,

$4ell, +3ve got your information. o we have a deal7

$ es, we do responded Corvin glumly in resignation. Cassandra sighed in reliefand turned an ecstatic smile towards ?raham. ?raham smiled back ust as a massivefireball streaked from behind him and blew out his abdomen, strewing his intestines allover the floor.

$?raham) shrieked Cassandra as she ran over to him who had 2uickly gone downon the floor, a pool of blood rapidly forming around his body.

$#h Arthur chided Corvin, $Now look at what you3ve done

$To be fair, you only said you wouldnFt kill them replied Arthur nonchalantly.

$#h but now she3s going to be ever so cross with me grinned Corvin maliciously.


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this. The daughter (risham adopted, the woman I fell in love with is kind and loving. 1vil may follow her, but she is guilty of none of it! 2lease Cassie...don&t blame yourself.

)oes it matter... As soon as that shield fades, they&re ust going to kill me...or

worse, in which case I&ll kill mys3 )on&t you dare give up Cassie! -ou can&t. -ou have to go on living, promise

me!

ow ow can I if you&re not there with me

-ou&re stronger than you know Cassie. I&ve seen that strength even if you don&t see it in yourself. 2lease...try and live.

I&ll try.

Cass

-eah, (raham

Could you do me a favour

Anything.

The last thing I want to see is your smile, ust one more time.

I would need to end this mental link though...

Cassie...please...I don&t want your mind connected to mine when I die. It&d betoo painful.

...-ou&re asking too much.

ah...well you did promise me anything.

(reedy, aren&t you

-ou know me.

As her mind pulled back, Cassandra3s heart became more and more heavy as shesevered the link between. ?raham3s eyes opened and he looked a Cassie e-pectantly, a


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?roaning with the effort, ?raham managed to deliver his follow9up, $6ove youtoo, sweetheart. 1ee you later. ?raham3s chest rose & more times and his eyes driftedshut. 5e breathed ' more times and then stopped altogether. The smile on Cassandra3sface began to fade as she started to cry@ slow sobs racked her body as she knelt over?raham3s lifeless form.


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0n m ears of adventuring& 01ve learned one lesson time and time again2+hen things seem to be at their blea est& the power to change the tides& lies withinourselves.

-Excerpt of sermon given b !ather "risham

Corvin ran one hand along the invisible barrier, marvelling at its strength despitehow frail its caster appeared.

$Corvin, + know killing the man as your idea began Arthur, $But why would sheever to agree to give us the information now7

$4hy do you think + brought you over here7 + want you to rip the information outof her mind. replied Corvin.

$+ know you3re not well9versed in magic so +3ll give you the short version: +ts a loteasier to take information from a hopeful, cooperative mind than it is from a raging mindimbued with psionic potential over the loss of a loved one ranted Arthur.

$True, +3m not adept with magic. 0any of the rules associated with its usage irkme because it3s so restricted. agreed Corvin. $But@ seeing Arthurt about to interrupt.$+ do understand people. The loss of one family member enraged her. The loss of two7That will break her.

As Corvin3s ga;e drifted over Cassandra3s body, he grinned as he thought of


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something else that might be fun to do, $Call the guys over. There3s another way foreveryone to en oy breaking this woman.

Cassandra didn3t even notice when her telekinetic barrier failed. 1he only put upmild resistance when Arthur disintegrated ?raham3s body on Corvin3s insistence !$5ey, +don3t want this place smelling like dead husband) "

5er mind rocketed back and forth between memories of the past and her currentpredicament in the treasure room.

(&et away from my daughter, you bastards!) screamed assandra's mother.( assie! ;un!)

Terrified as she was, assandra managed to heed her mother and ran for thedoor.

(&rab the kid!) shouted one of the intruders.

(+on't you touch her!) yelled her mother, lunging for the knife in the man'shands.

(This fucking bitch...!) growled the first man as he struggled with her mother.

(6ama!) called assandra, as she struggled to get out of the ice8like grip of thesecond man. %he watched her mother grapple with the first man only to see his knifecome up and sink deep into her mother's chest.

(%hit!) said the first man.

(What the fuck did you do that for?!) chastised the second man. (What use is adead sla e?!)

(7uck you! ra1y skank almost got the knife away from me! *esides, we still gotthe kid!)

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

$=h boss7 1he seems pretty out of it already. asked one of the bandits.


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$0akes your ob easier, then, does it not7 replied Corvin, one eyebrow raised inamusement.

$4ell + kinda like my girls to make some noise at least. said the bandit sadly.

$4ell, + sure as fuck don3t have a problem like that) A woman this fine doesn3tcome along every day) inter ected another bandit lustfully. The other men began tochime in too, each demanding to be first.

$/ine, fine relented Corvin in their protests. $6et3s decided turn order bydrawing straws.

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

(7antastic, what the hell are we going to do with a brat like this?) assandrawailed when she her mother wasn't getting back up and started to cry. The banditholding her struck assandra iciously and sent her small body flying across the room.(%hut up!) he yelled.

(


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$Besides, you3ll all get to have your own turn after E seconds . All of the banditslaughed at this comment and let the matter drop. ?erard muttered darkly to himselfbefore he turned his ga;e upon Cassandra sitting with a blank look on a bedroll and hesmiled.

?raham3s words resounded through Cassandra3s mind as she sat there on thebedroll, as the one called ?erard moved closer to her with a hungry look on his face.2romise me you&ll try to live Cassie, promise me! -ou have to go on!

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )The man who murdered her mother raised his knife, a per erse smile on his face,

delighted in the ile act he was about to commit. %he should ha e been afraid, hermother had ust been killed in front of her.) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

But it wasn3t sorrow she felt rising up within her, that emotion lay in her heart likea dull ache, something else was causing her to tremble violently.

$#ho) 6ook at that) 4e finally get some movement out of this girl hooted one ofthe bandits.

$ on3t worry darlin3) 4hen that idgit has had his turn with you, +3ll treat you realgood. called another.

?risham3s last words echoed through Cassandra3s mind along with ?raham3s, bothsharing the same sentiment that she herself did not believe. -ou&re stronger than youknow.) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

(&:9HHHH!) screamed the man about to stab assandra. His arm had beentwisted around itself, fragments of bone poked through the torn skin and glistening inthe dim light of the cottage. In the ne#t second, his screams were cut short as he wastorn in half by a mysterious force.

(What the fuck are you screaming about8


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) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )$ ou seem to be a little warm, babe whispered ?erard, $6et3s get that top off of

you putting one hand under Cassandra3s shirt and pulling upwards. ?erard3s e-citement2uickly turned into a grimace as he struggled against an unknown force preventing him

from pulling the shirt any further.

Not sorrow, not acceptance, or even fatalism. 1omething that was chained withinCassandra3s heart roared in fury as it fought to escape.

?erard stopped trying to remove her shirt as Cassandra mumbled something. 5eleaned in closer, $ o you mind saying that again beautiful7 +3m having some troublegetting this shirt off of ya he chortled.

Cassandra looked up to meet his face and ?erard met her bewitching ga;e with atransfi-ed e-pression. Cassandra3s violet eyes were glowing with an ethereal light andshe repeated what she had said, $ isappear.

$=h, what7 + don3t9?A55555) began ?erard, screaming when the hand stillunder Cassandra3s was placed under e-cruciating pain. The bandits were startled by?erard3s loud cries and openly cried in alarm when he ripped his hand out from under


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Cassandra3s shirt. The layers of his hand were peeled cleanly back e-posing theunderlying bone and nerves. 5is screams intensified when his entire arm was ripped offhis body and stopped altogether when he was lifted into the air and ripped to pieces.1hocked silence erupted within the room as Cassandra slowly stood up and with a smallgesture, casually ripped out the eyes of one of the bandits.

The man in 2uestion screamed at the sudden loss of his vision, holding his face inhis hands as he sank to the floor. $4hat the fuck are you waiting for7) shouted Corvin,$ ill her)

?oaded by fear of this terrifying woman and by their leader3s orders, the banditscharged towards her, weapons drawn. But no matter how hard they slashed, their bladesand arrows bounced off an invisible shield. 4ith every slash, fingers were pulled out oftheir sockets, tendons were cut and men fell around Cassandra howling in pain. A largepool of blood and body parts began to form around the demonic woman.

$Now, Arthur) commanded Corvin. A gigantic ball of fire coalesced withinArthur3s cupped hands as he chanted his spell, at it3s ma-imum diameter he released theball with a roar. 0en dove out of the way as the fireball raced across the room andtowards Cassandra, already cheering as they saw Arthur3s spell. Cassandra looked at theoncoming flames with a blank face and e-tended one hand. Arthur3s heart fro;e when hesaw his fireball slow down and come to a complete stop in front of Cassandra.?esturing with her other hand, Arthur was lifted in the air and dragged helplessly over toCassandra. /ear gripped him as he poured spell after spell against her, watching with

increasing dread as they all hit the same shield and dissipated.Arthur was gently lowered to the ground in front of Cassandra and ne-t to the

fireball he had created, the incredible heat radiating from it, covered him in sweat almostinstantly. The bandits who had been attacking Cassandra had all stopped and watchedthis scene unfold, petrified with fear. #ne of his locks of hair caught a lick of the flameand soon Arthur3s whole head was ignited, he began to scream only to be stopped with agurgle. Cassandra had put one finger to her lips gesturing for him to be silent andArthur3s aw was held closed by her telekinesis. Cassandra ran one finger along Arthur3s

aw tenderly, tracing out the angle of the oint, and made a snatching motion with herhand. Arthur3s aw was wrenched forward, until finally his lower aw burst free from itssocket and detached itself from Arthur3s skull. Blood pooled from the desiccatedremains of his face, his tongue had been mangled by the detachment and hung in piecesfrom what was left of his aw. Cassandra made a s2uee;ing motion with her left handand Arthur e-ploded, his remains falling onto the remaining bandits.

$0onster) $ emon) $*un for it) 1ave yourselves) called the bandits, as theydropped their weapons and began to run away from Cassandra. They were all stopped


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by another larger shield that had enclosed them when they were all attacking her. Thebandits pounded against the shield desperately, hoping to find some flaw in it3s design sothey could escape. The fireball outside of Cassandra3s inner shield floated into thecentre of the writhing mass of bandits, and with a snap of Cassandra3s fingers, ignited.The raw energy of the e-plosion and intense heat of the fireball immolated the bandits,

leaving only charred corpses behind.Corvin had almost reached the door when it swung shut at Cassandra3s prompting.

5is legs were pulled out from underneath him and he was dragged across the floor, hisnails scraping along the ground as he frantically tried to prevent himself from beingpulled over to Cassandra. Corvin was still pleading with Cassandra for his life when herhand pierced his abdomen and started pulling out his intestines. /rom outside of thechamber, Corvin3s screams could be heard, echoing throughout the temple.

0 believe that the "ods have a plan for all of us& ings and field wor ersali e. 0 sa to ou& sta strong2 +hat ma seem li e a dar path is sure to have alight at the end of it.

-Excerpt of sermon

given b !ather "risham8ust outside of the Temple of Barkley, there was a small grassy knoll hidden away

in the forest where a clear stream gurgled through and emptied into a small pond.1itting at the edge of the pond was a young woman splashing her face with water, herebony dress was stained with blood. Cassandra again recalled the scene when she hadwoken up in the treasure room, she was lying in a remarkably clean circle surrounded bypiles of corpses and various body parts.

1he was woken by steady droplets of something splashing onto her forehead,when she looked up she saw Corvin3s body hanging above her, his intestines e-tendingfrom his opened abdomen and wrapped around his neck. ?agging again at the memory,Cassandra was thankful that nothing came up. Although considering she vomited %times already, this wasn3t surprising.

4hen she had udged herself to be moderately clean, she picked up ?raham3ssword lying by her side and left the clearing.


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1omething about the spectacular vista she had chosen for a grave site had filledCassandra with peace. +t didn3t erase the sorrow of losing ?raham or ?risham, or thehorror of what she3d done to the bandits. But it eased her heart.

?lancing at the hard stone in front of her, she reached for her psionic powers anddrilled a hole in the earth. %o easy...6aybe if I had known I could do this... Cassandrashook her head, fighting the urge to cry. ?raham had told her not to blame herself. 1hewould not blame herself. 1he couldn3t.

?rasping ?raham3s sword in her hands, she plunged into the hole she had madeand sealed it over with more stone. Cassandra shrugged off the cloak ?risham hadgiven to Cassandra to keep her warm and tied it onto the sword.

$?oodbye apa. Bye ?raham. + hope you two like the view. Try not to fighteach other too much. said Cassandra in farewell, a solemn tear trickling down hercheek. Cassandra stood there for a long time, ga;ing at the grave9marker until the sunhad begun to set and the moon began to rise. 4ith leaden feet she gave a final goodbyeand turned around. +n front of her was a little girl watching her with a smile. Cassandra

was startled at first and then she was instantly on her guard when she noticed the littlegirl3s eyes.


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$5i) said the girl brightly, $Are you Cassandra7 .

Not wasting any time, Cassandra let loose a telekinetic blast at the demon child.The girl was blasted off her feet and tumbled end over end several times on the grounduntil she finally hit a large rock which halted her progress with a sickening crack. Thelittle girl3s neck was visibly broken and one of her legs utted out from beneath her at an

odd angle. Cassandra had thought the demon would put up more of a fight and began torela- her guard when she heard it.

A high pitched giggle was emanating from the mouth of the little girl, her bodytrembling from her mirth. As Cassandra watched her hands came around either side ofher head and snapped her neck back in place, doing the same with her legs. Brushingoff the dirt from her dress, she gave a low curtsey to Cassandra.

$#uch) That actually kind of hurt, you know) pouted the little girl.

$4hat are you7 warily asked Cassandra, already readying up another spell.

$+3m a demon, of course) + thought you knew that already. #r do you ust goaround killing people who look at you funny. grinned the little girl.

$1hut up) 4ho are you7 4hat do you want7) spat Cassandra

$0e7 0y name3s 6ilith. stated the girl, her red eyes gleaming in the evening


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light. $And what + want is you.

$+3m not for sale. retorted Cassandra

$+3m sorry, + phrased that wrong. apologi;ed 6ilith sincerely, $+ meant to say is

that + need your help.$+3m not sure what you3ve heard about me, so +3ll tell it to you straight: + don3t

work with demons. said Cassandra

$+ saw your work in the Temple, we might as well be sisters laughed 6ilith,deftly dodging another spell thrown by Cassandra.

$+f you want to keep your life demon... began Cassandra.

$1top. ou should know that this isn3t even my real form. + only use this bodywhen + want to talk. interrupted 6ilith.

$+3m not interested in conversing, so why don3t you ust leave me alone) yelledCassandra throwing another kinetic wave. 6ilith put up her hand and answeredCassandra3s wave with her own blast of energy@ effectively cancelling the two out.

$ ou don3t have to respond then or even listen. said 6ilith calmly. Cassandrastarted to leave in disgust when 6ilith commented, $ on3t you want to know who3s to

blame7$+ already know who3s to blame. And they3re currently all lying in pieces in the

temple. +f you want to oin them, +3ll be happy to oblige growled Cassandradangerously.

$ o you believe in fate Cassandra7 asked 6ilith, $4ould you be surprised tolearn that the ?ods have a plan for everyone in the world7 There really is a grand designto things, you know.

Cassandra said nothing but she did not turn around and try to leave again. +t wasdangerous to listen to a demon, but something about her words rang true. 6ilithcontinued, emboldened by Cassandra3s silence.

$>very intricate mesh9work needs knots to hold it in place, or the entire thingfalls apart. e-plained 6ilith, tenting her fingers as she did so. $+n this case a knot couldbe said to be a dark lord and another knot being a hero who rose up to fight that dark


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lord. ?ood or >vil does not matter. 4hat matters is that each knot is strong in it3s ownright. A weak knot does not benefit the mesh9work, it lowers the strength of the entireplan.

Cassandra felt a knot of an-iety in her stomach, dread filling her as she saw where

6ilith was going with her e-planation. $1ometimes for a plan to be carried out, thereneeds to be sacrifices. A person whose life is filled with despair, their sacrifice ensuresthat change will occur. That the plan will continue. The ?ods mark such people,ensuring that the wheels of /ate conspire against them.

$ ou3re lying) screamed Cassandra in denial. But even as she said it, she knew itwas true. >verything in her life seemed to go wrong from the minute she was born.

$The ?odmarked are the sacrifices. ou were betrayed by the ?ods above evenbefore you were created, Cassandra said 6ilith sadly.

$...+f it3s as you say. Then there3s nothing + can do about it.

$No, now that you know the truth. ou can make a difference. urged 6ilith,$/ate works against those who passively accept their reality. ou know the truth now,you can fight against it.

$4hat you3re suggesting is impossible. said Cassandra flatly.

$The ?ods are not as omnipotent as you would believe. And not all of them evenagreed to this plan of making the ?odmarked.

$+3m guessing this is the part where you say the ?ods you demons worship are thegood guys.

$4e3re not as evil as you might seem to think. But even if we are, then so what7+f you ally yourself with us, you can get back at the ?ods who cursed your life.

$And what use would one human be to the vast hordes of the Nine 5ells7

$ espite what being a ?odmarked might say about your life, you are still a knot.+ think you3ve seen for yourself ust how powerful you are, but in reality you3ve only ustscratched the surface.

Cassandra absorbed the information in silence, allowing herself to fantasi;e aboutseeking revenge against the ?ods. But no matter how much the deaths of her familypained her, she could not allow their deaths to fuel something as petty as revenge.


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5owever, 6ilith3s e-planation about the structure of the world sparked a new feelingwithin Cassandra.

$+ believe you. said Cassandra slowly.

$Then you3ll oin9 started 6ilith.$But you3re wrong about one thing. *ather, you know you3re wrong about one

fact.

$About what7 >verything + said is true, you checked for yourself already, no7

$The funny thing about the mind is that you can twist a lie so that even youbelieve it to be true yourself.

$5ow very cryptic. 1o what is this lie you claim + have told then7 smiled 6ilith.

$About who to blame for ?raham and ?risham3s deaths. said Cassandra, flickingher wrist as she did so. 6ilith3s body rose into the air who did not put up a struggle, onlysmiling down at Cassandra. $To answer your earlier 2uestion as to why + attacked you isthat before + killed the bandits, + read the leader3s mind. +n it + found out who had toldhim where he could find a ?odmarked.

6ilith laughed high and sweetly. $#opsie, + guess you found me out then. 1till,

you can3t deny what +3ve told you. + may have lied to you about that, but not abouteverything else.

$+ know. stated Cassandra, tightening her grip on 6ilith, $+3ve come to a verysimple conclusion.

$ lease enlighten me, oh Cursed one goaded 6ilith.

$ eople should be free to decide their own fates. No one person should ever besub ected to the laws of some mysterious being. No more ?ods. No more evils.vowed Cassandra.

$?oing to blow me into tiny pieces then7 + told you before, it won3t work. Thisisn3t9 6ilith stopped talking when she saw what was happening to the space aroundCassandra. *eality bubbled in a line around Cassandra, different planes of e-istenceappeared for a few seconds and shimmered out of e-istence a few moments later. Thestones around Cassandra rose up from the ground and where it made contact with theplanes, crumbled to dust by the event hori;on between the portals. As Cassandra3s hand


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s2uee;ed, 6ilith gasped as she felt her real form in the Nine 5ells was being affectedtoo.

+hat level of telekinesis is this ! $49what are you7 breathed 6ilith asCassandra3s crushed the body she was in even further.

$A monster. stated Cassandra.

6ilith screamed@ both from the body she was possessing and also with her realform. Cassandra raised both of her hands up and placed them together away from herface. 6ilith gave one final plea, $+f you do this...) ?ah) ou3ll make every immortal yourenemy9gyaaa) They3ll all come after you)

$?ood. nodded Cassandra and she made a ripping motion with her hands. 6ilithgave one last scream as the body she was inhabiting and her real body were sheared inhalf by Cassandra3s powers. Cassandra let the body fall the ground and when she sawthat it was no longer moving, she nodded to herself and took her first step on a long

ourney. The images she had seen in the Compass had given her a map, one that sheintended to follow to the end.

Cassandra walked down the long, lonely road down from the cliff occasionallyrepeating a phrase to herself every now and then while stroking the flower in her hair.$*loom& blue rose.


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%nd so unto thee 0 pra 2 3a our travels be safe& our destinations warm& andour surroundings filled with love.

-Excerpt of sermon

given b !ather "risham

Documents

Cassandra the Godmarked