Chapter 2: A Stranger in a Strange Land

Blinking her eyes slowly, the rays of the rising sun woke her up once again her mind in a daze, immediately gasping for water. She was in a bed this time, and on the nightstand was a pitcher of water. Taking it, she drank until she coughed, and once her breathing returned to normal, slumped into the bed. What happened? All she got were static images. The more she tried to focus on them, the further they distorted and slipped away.

"Thane?" she called out sitting up, looking down she was still wearing the same shirt she had been given to sleep in.

"Carmine?" Thane entered. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

"How long has it been?"

Thane blew a raspberry and brought her a tray of toasted bread, cooked squirrel meat, golden eggs, and milk. "27 hours? I thought the bear knocked you out, so I brought you back here to recover while I finished the hunt. But when you didn't wake up the rest of the night and the following day, I began to worry."

"I'm sorry." Carmine began to eat her breakfast, "I don't know what happened. I think I remembered something, but when I try to focus on it, it slips away."

"You told me your name before you took your nap." Thane pulled a chair next to the bed, "You said: 'Pyrrha'."

"Pyrrha?" she repeated, "That's my name?"

"You told me, so, I guess, Pyrrha." Thane examined her reaction.

"It does sound more appropriate than "Carmine." Pyrrha admitted, "At least something good came out of this whole debacle."

"Optimistic one, aren't you?" Thane sarcastically stated dropping a box in her lap.

Pyrrha opened the box to find the bear head. She pulled it out revealing it to be part of a pauldron. The head was the topmost layer with three green metal pieces underneath. The strap wrapped around her chest and a second smaller strap wrapped around her other shoulder and clipped itself back to the main strap.

"Two good things came out of it." Thane stood up, "I'll start loading the carriage and then we'll head to Stormhaven."

Pyrrha finished her breakfast, strapped on her new pauldron, and ran downstairs. Thane was outside putting tiny leather helmets on the falcons before placing them in smaller cages and into the carriage.

The carriage had six wheels and was at least half a carriage longer than a normal one. It was packed with pelts, furs, and chests full of ice and salt. Hunter was in his own cage with a bed for the bottom, curled into a ball sleeping away. The seven falcons were resting in their cages with hoods on. The final cage had several pups in it.

"Wait…" Pyrrha looked at the pelts in the corner, "Are those?"

"Yep."

"How could you?"

"Have you ever seen a starving wolf in the winter? They go weeks without food, and when they finally get some, they eat till they're sick. End up puking up what they just eat, and then going another several weeks without a meal. Those pups would've starved. Now, they're going to Stormhaven where the BeastMaster will find them a proper home. Or raise them herself, she loves taking care of orphaned animals."

"Does she have a name?" Pyrrha looked at the pups. Admittedly orphaned and alive was a better than starving in the cold. "Or is her name literally BeastMaster?"

"Tyrande." Thane anchored a gate to the back of the carriage then took the reins of the four horses ready to pull it.

"Does she have a last name?" Pyrrha took the seat next to Thane.

Thane shook his head, "She was brought to our doorstep. The woman who brought her said she found her abandoned in the woods."

"What happened to the woman who brought the baby?"

"She was very insistent on helping to raise her. Don't know why. It wasn't her baby."

"How do you know? What if she lied? Only said she found her in the woods to hide the fact it was hers and she'd been kicked out of her home?"

"First off she'd be lying to royalty. Second, that's way too convoluted to come up with if you're running away in the cold. Third, Tyrande had no matching features. Course, we didn't know that at the time but when she grew up, it was unmistakable, especially when she grew her horns."

"Is it always cold?"

"We're the northern most kingdom." Thane shrugged, "We get blizzards in the summer." Thane undid his cloak and wrapped it around Pyrrha, "The woman who brought her stayed to raise her, eventually she began to help mother raise my siblings and I. She makes these tiny hard cakes smaller than your hand. Soften them up when you dunk them in milk, she cuts chocolate into tiny pieces and mixes them into the dough. She was better than any of the handmaidens. She's a natural with kids everybody calls her: "Ma." Even mother."

"Add her to the list."

"What list?"

"List of people I have to meet." Pyrrha leaned back into the carriage, "Your parents, sisters, Tyrande, and now Ma."

"I think you'll like her. She's a little out of it with her age, fair warning."

"How so?" They finally made it out of the woods and into the open plains.

"What I mean about Ma though, she'll randomly start talking about her grandchildren." Thane pulled his hood and mask down revealing his face.

"What's wrong with that?"

"She doesn't have any. Tyrande doesn't have any kids either."

"Oh, why are you still wearing that fake beard?"

"I'm not?" Thane puzzlingly looked at her. Pyrrha squinted her eyes at his beard. He leaned over to her and motioned for her to pull it. Thinking it was still a joke, she grabbed a handful, and pulled. "T-Told you." Thane rubbed his chin trying to hide the pain.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha threw away the handful of facial hair.

"You say `Sorry` a lot you know?" Thane shrugged it off, "Get some sleep, I'll wake you when we get to the halfway point."

"Why not go all the way?"

"Horses need rest too, and while we're there, I can sell off some of these pelts."

Pyrrha nodded and closed her eyes.

Pyrrha woke up with her head on Thane's shoulder, she rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms above her head. She opened her eyes and her jaw hit the floor when she saw the colossal watchtowers and twin gates dwarfing the tree line.

"Welcome to Nutubu." Thane introduced, "We are officially in the Metallands. About 90% of the trade south of the border comes through Nutubu."

"And the other 10%?"

"There are four port towns in each corner of the Metallands. Skallganess, Skalaholt, Skalgii, and Skalmarkelda. Normally they'd see as much traffic as Nutubu, but frozen waters aren't exactly conducive to their trade. However, Nutubu's canals all connect to the other four. So, traders sail in sell their goods, then sail back."

Once through the gates they where on a stone bridge, Pyrrha looked over the edge to see crystal clear waters teeming with fish, schooners, pentaconters, and biremes. Following the canals, she saw triremes and galleons waiting for the smaller vessels to return.

"Okay." Thane brought the carriage to a stop. He fished out a coin purse from an easily accessible trunk and handed it to Pyrrha. "I'll offload the furs, if you wanna walk around town, meet back here in an hour?"

Pyrrha opened the coin purse and saw at least one-hundred gold coins.

"Will you be okay on your own?"

"I'd rather stretch my legs for a while."

"Okay, meet back here in an hour?"

"Um…Thane? I've never been here before…or at least none of this feels familiar…"

"I had an inkling about that." Thane pulled a scroll from one of his bags, "So, I dug this up." He opened it revealing a map of the city. "We are right here in the trade district. To my right is Old Town, where you'll find the tavern and the inns. Northeast is the Dwarven Maker District for all your arms and armor needs. Directly North is the Moon Temple, the Sun Cathedrals were torn down during the rebellion. Northwest is the Park; I would take Hunter there all the time when he was a puppy. Finally, directly west is the Arcane Districts for all your spell casting tools."

"Such as?"

"Wands, spell books, potions, some of the rarer ingredients."

"Rare?"

Thane shrugged, "Angel feathers, Tears of a Dragon, Grains from the Sands of Time. Which reminds me, I need to go there before we leave."

"I think I'll just stay here…" Pyrrha weakly smiled. The ink on the map began to distort and the Trade District expanded, and the names of shops became clearer. She tied the bag to her belt and stepped off the carriage.

"If you say so." Thane hefted the bundle of wolf furs over his shoulder and walked over to the local blacksmith.

"Lost my dear?" a man called out to her.

Pyrrha turned around and saw a man sitting at a table. He wore a clean black nobleman's coat, a top hat with tiny skulls around the crown, and a pair of stained-glass bifocals. But what stood out to Pyrrha the most however, was his skin. It was darker than the midnight sky, with white paint resembling a skeleton over his face and hands, she assumed it was over his whole body.

"I'm sorry?"

"You seem a little lost." He spoke with a thick accent the cadence of his words, different from Thane's more regal dialect.

"I am new here."

"Want to know your future?"

"Are you saying you're a fortune teller?"

The man smiled and laid three decks onto the table, "Choose." Pyrrha examined each deck, but they all looked the same. "Don't think about it, just react." Pyrrha picked one up and handed it to him. "The Deck of Love? Interested in someone are we?"

"Wait what?!" Pyrrha blushed.

Love was the last thing on her mind, smiling blonde man.

"The cards don't lie my dear. Your heart, your soul, they yearn for love. Let's see what we find out, shuffle the cards." Pyrrha did so, and the Fortune Teller cut the deck into three smaller decks, "Now pick a deck."

Pyrrha grabbed the first one she saw this time. The Fortune Teller spread the cards out on the table. "Now choose six cards." Pyrrha did so and waited for him to clear off the ones she didn't pick.

"Now what?"

"Now we read the cards. First is You." The first card was of a woman with an elephant's head upside down, "Judgement is Reversed. Judgement cannot shed her past. She has become ensnared in self-doubt and flagellation. Do not be too hard on yourself. Mistakes will be made-what matters is how you learn from them."

"Second is your Future or Current partner." The card was a dragon with swords in each claw, in both wings, and one in its mouth. This was upside down too. "The Seven of Swords Reversed. You may be running away from a difficult situation instead of facing your demons head on. It is time to try a direct approach. Avoiding the situation will only make it worse."

"Third, the Bond Between You." It was a rat holding a pentagram in its mouth. This was the first card that was right side up, "Aces of Pentacles Upright. You may soon experience good luck in the realm of finances – windfalls. New opportunities, and rewards abound. Welcome this prosperity with open arms. Now could be the time to make your dreams a reality."

"Fourth, your Relationship Strengths." This card was upside down again. It was of a woman wearing an owl-like dress, her entire head covered by the owl's face. "The High Priestess Reversed. The High Priestess stands between you and your inner self, blocking the way forward. Be careful of losing touch with your intuition. Do not close your mind to the world's mysteries."

"Fifth, your Relationship Weaknesses." This card was of a dragon laying on a horde of gold, upside-down. "The King of Swords Reversed. The King of Swords uses his mind to manipulate others, exerting his absolute authority over them. Be wary of those who hide behind their intellect. Eventually they will fall victim to their own games."

"Finally, the Future of your relationship." The Fortune Teller gasped when he revealed the upright card. It was of a white human body with a goat head. Its horns were black, a third eye in the middle of its forehead, and all three were red. Its body was bound in chains. "The Devil Upright. The Devil knows there is power in perception. He binds those who cannot see their path to freedom. Shake off his veil: you are not trapped. There is always a way out if even the darkest of places."

"What…what if you don't know how?"

"Hmmm." The Fortune Teller stroked his chin careful not to erase the paint. He twirled the gold coin on his knuckles before flicking it into the air with his thumb. The coin landed on the steps of a shop with a potion sitting on an open book as the painted sign hanging above the door.

"I'd start my search there." The Fortune Teller pointed at the sign, "Ask the shopkeep, What's their favorite fairy tale?"

Fairy tales…? Fire exploded through her chest and she found it hard to breathe. Panic began to race through her veins. Whirling around, she punched the table clean in two, eyes nearly jumping from their sockets afraid – but also desperate. The fortune teller was gone. She watched the cards trickle down. Was any of that real? He seemed genuine…but he could've been acting…

She picked up the cards and stood outside Two Sun's Sweet Old Books for what felt like an eternity. Finally, steeling her nerves she pushed through the door, and saw strange creatures waddling around the store. Their skin was green, both nose and ears made a point, and they had the pupils of a toad.

"Welcome to Two Sun's Sweet Old Books." A man came out of the back and took a deep inhale. He smelt something, something he hadn't expected to smell…

"Your name is Two Sun?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well actually my name is Tukson. But everybody kept pronouncing it Tucson, and then it became Two Sun. I got tired of correcting it."

Pyrrha nodded then remembered what The Fortune Teller told her, "Two Sun, what's your favorite fairy tale?"

"Fairy Tales, huh?" Two Sun stroked his chin, his eyes wondered to the scar on in her cleavage and connected the dots. "The fairy tales here are a lot different than where I'm from."

He snapped his fingers and one of the green creatures brought him a tome. The covers where a polished chrome and the pages were metal too. Before Pyrrha even touched the book, she pointed at the creature.

"Oh! They're goblins, on loan from a friend helping me bring in the latest shipment from The Great Library."

Pyrrha nodded watching the goblins shelve the books, "How much is the book?"

Two Sun wrapped the book up with a tiny piece of rope and made a little bow, "On the house."

"Oh, why thank you!" Pyrrha smiled and left the bookstore.

Two Sun smiled, she may not remember, but he did as if it were yesterday. Time is more…fluid here…he hadn't thought about Tukson in years…

He never thought he'd see someone else in this place. His smile faltered when he realized she came here the same way he did. He rubbed his eyes before the tears could fall, he made his choices and could accept that he was here. But she still had her whole life a head of her…

"Two Sun?" An older goblin waddled into the store, "You okay?"

"Yeah." Two Sun quickly answered, "Yeah, I just saw someone I hadn't expected to see. I'm fine now, Squee."

"Well come on then, I got one more box in the carriage, and we can't get it out."

"Be right there."

It was just about that time to regroup with Thane. She found him loading the carriage. Replacing the pelts were bags of rice.

"Hey Thane." Pyrrha started loading the rest of the bags.

"Yeah?"

"What's 'The Great Library'?"

"Which one?"

Pyrrha blinked.

"Right…well there are Seven Great Libraries. Metal, Dragons, Angels, Demons, The Sister of Light, The Darkness, Monsters."

"Aren't Dragons and Monsters the same thing?"

"Except dragons have their own empire, well Tiamant did…"

"Did? Who is Tiamat?" Pyrrha dodged his other question.

"More like who was she." Thane sighed, "Long before the Moons created angel and man, they made the first beasts. Each one made a dragon and gave them a territory."

Pyrrha flipped through the book Two Sun gave her and found maps where each dragon ruled.

"But…like all other creatures they were greedy and ambitious. They weren't satisfied with their territories, so they tried taking others. Afraid their creations would consume the world, but the moons couldn't bring themselves to destroy their precious creations. So, they made one to rule them all: Tiamat."

Pyrrha found a page with a dragon with five heads, each one a different color.

"Peace wouldn't be the word I'd use…but Tiamat kept the others in line…sort of. They couldn't do anything to her at the moment, so they began stockpiling. Any humans were turned into soldiers, dragon-spawn generals were appointed, and they waited. The White Dragons had soldiers, Blue had monks, Green had tribesmen, Red had alchemists, and Purple had cannibals. Now they just had to wait."

"Why not just kill Tiamat themselves?" Pyrrha asked.

"Because she was a goddess, she'd just reincarnate. They had to wait for something big, and something big happened. My great grandfather, Thane the Kinslayer, killed her. Not just killed; he knew about the recreation. So, he took her blood, fire, flesh, bones, he even took her scream, and turned her into a suit of armor. With her soul bound to it, she was unable to reincarnate."

"Why would he do that?" Pyrrha turned the page and found a picture of a man on a throne in a suit of armor resembling dragon skulls.

"That is a story for another time." Thane shook his head, "With Tiamat "dead" and Bahamut nowhere to be found, the elders of each dragon and their heirs met. As expected, a fight broke out for dominance, and in the midst of all the fighting the green elders lost their heir. When that happened the green elders and their tribes retreated to their forest. Fearing the loss of theirs the Blue elders and their monks withdrew to their mountains. The Reds weren't front line fighters, they knew they wouldn't last a minute against White or Purple. The last two started a war that lasted a century. It ended when they each took the other's seat of power. They traded them back and with that ended the war."

"Just like that?" Pyrrha reached the end of the book.

"Just like that." Thane nodded, "Purple would take a territory, White took it back. Vice versa. That was their whole war. They were tired, their generals exhausted, and countless of their men were dead. My guess? They just wanted to go home."

"Sort of anticlimactic don't you think?" Pyrrha closed the book.

"You tell me after you spend a solid one-hundred years waging a war you'll never win." Thane shrugged.

"Where are the dragons now?"

"Some say they're extinct. Codswallop if you ask me." Thane looked at sky, "I say they're still out there, waiting…"

"Waiting for what?"

"For the right moment."

Pyrrha closed the book then stared at it, "So, The Great Libraries just give their books away?"

"Gods be praised no; they have hordes of caretakers that transcribe the ancient tomes. The copies are what the shopkeepers sell, mostly."

"Mostly?"

"There are some more restricted items. Forbidden spells and the like, ancient practices that are now outlawed, the usual."

"Is it possible to go to one?"

"To one of The Great Libraries? Sure, the Metal Library is at Stormhaven."

"That's convenient."

"Well, it only makes sense that the library be in the oldest castle in the Metallands. Ready to go?"

Pyrrha nodded, she decided to sit in the back and stretch her legs. She poked her fingers through Hunter's cage and gave the middle head a little scratch. Now it was a straight ride to Stormhaven, she pulled out the book and cracked open its cover.

And it is written that with a gathering of ferries a pillar of fire will enter the mortal plain when the moons abandon the sky, through a plave of unholy carnage, and through the fire will stand a pale horse, and she that sat atop him carried a scythe. When she has risen, they too shall rose, and from her and through her.

Pyrrha chuckled, she felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. No wonder this book was meant for children. She could only imagine a younger version of herself re-enacting the old tale. Or Ruby maybe…

Pyrrha gasped as she shot up, who was Ruby? How did she know that name? What did that name mean to her?

"Oh, good you're awake!" Thane beamed, "You're just in time, the moons are about to rise."

Pyrrha adjusted to see the suns setting creating a gorgeous purple twilight. She rested her head on the railing as the darkness consumed the sky.

Something tickled the back of Pyrrha's mind as a white moon rose, it was whole…that wasn't right for reasons outside her explanation. That train of thought quickly derailed when a red moon rose in the night sky. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out as a blue moon joined the others. She fisted her eyes hoping it was a trick when a fourth green moon rose. Just when Pyrrha thought it couldn't get any weirder, three purple fragments that used to be a whole moon joined the others.

"Takes your breath away doesn't it?" Thane smiled at the sight.

Pyrrha fainted in the back.

"Not again…" Thane sighed.