Sadness and gloom hung over the maiden Ravenna as she traveled down Charon’s Path. Each labored step was absolutely worth it.
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She could barely see her feet, yet still she traversed the rough path. Few dared even speak of Charon’s Path and most would choose death over stepping foot on the crooked trail, for at the end stood Sepulcher Grotto. The prison served as the final resting place of the most wicked of men, which legend tells was carved by an insane king with a single enchanted needle, one grain at a time.
Once one enters the gates, the only way out—beyond death—was the use of a single stone, enchanted upon its creation. The stone allowed anyone escape from the Grotto, which normally fell under heavy protection… and rightfully so.
Ravenna, however, would stop at nothing to reach the end of all that is pure and true, for the man bound there was known throughout seven of the Eight Kingdoms as a prince accused of committing crimes so ghastly that no crime in history compared.
Despite all that had been said, she still loved him. In fact, she probably still would, even if had not been proven innocent.
?The chill in the air grew colder the closer she was to the end. The wintry blasts chopped through her like a dull executioner’s blade; its icy grasp bound her with pain and stiffened joints. The more time that passed, the harder it was to continue, in both body and spirit. If it were not for her ironclad determination, Ravenna would never have made it half as far. But she would stop at nothing to save the young man she loved, to release him from his false imprisonment.
?As two pinpricks of light poked through the darkness ahead, Ravenna knew that she neared the ominous stone gate entrance to Sepulture Grotto.
She did not celebrate, for just the thought of marking herself victorious filled her with an endless string of horrific visions. Each showed her suffering a horrible torturous death or—equally terrifying—images of the Eight Kingdoms reduced to ashes with only the stone skeletons of once-great buildings remaining.
With the end finally in sight, the atmosphere changed. The shift hit her like a landslide, leaving the sensation that the world around her was somehow thicker, like wading in a pool of mud. Ravenna struggled to breathe the muggy air, but her entire chest felt like a boulder sat upon it.
With the gates mere feet away, her body seized; she struggled to remain standing.
Ravenna concentrated on whatever strength remained in the inner recesses of her own being. All it took was the image of her one true love to push her enough. She reached into her sack to pull out the ivory flask containing a mere few sips of the infusion of Mota root. She dragged the flash to her lips; the movements stiff and jolting, much like a marionette.
When the thick, bitter liquid hit her tongue, a bolt of energy struck like a barrage of lightning from every angle.
Ravenna sprinted two feet. After one long leap, she landed beyond the gate, falling flat on her stomach.
She knew now why there was no guard posted on the path: to live here would be hell.
Ravenna did not hesitate to stand, much to her fortune: the monstrous wolves that guarded the grotto were ready to move in for the kill.
All it took was one look deep into their glowing white eyes to compel them to fade back into the shadows.
Ravenna stared at the blackened rock of the prison. She saw only a few mottled spots of the original grey color that existed before being charred. Her eyes widened at the sight of the skull-shaped entrance with its teeth sharp like that of a cat’s and the edges appearing like a cracked dragon’s egg.
She just had to get past the entrance to save him. Her courage steeled with the knowledge that hardest part of the journey was over.
She walked towards the entrance. The ground crunched beneath her, a mixture of rat bones and broken glass. An immense sadness enveloped her as she neared, which grew stronger with each step, leaving her nearly in tears as she reached the threshold. She entered without even a pause, even as the nausea flowed into her like water falling into an abyss.
Then Ravenna saw him.
He looked worse than he ever had, but Ravenna was overjoyed to see Prince Colm once more. It felt like a dream when his eyes met hers, and happiness filled her for the first time in what felt like decades.
She ran towards him as he did his best to stumble over to her.
“Can it be Ravenna?” He cried, “Has so young and lovely a maiden come to free me at last? Or is this some new trickery, meant to torture me…”
Ravenna grabbed Colm by the shoulders. She looked him sternly in the eyes, saying, “Everything is well, My Lord. Do you know of what truly happened?”
She knew Colm would have said anything to be free of that hellhole, but all he needed to do was speak the truth to be free.
“Indeed, I do,” Colm said. “It is news that I dread even thinking about. For it was my young brother, Talon, who attacked me. But it seems apparent to me that he did not do so under free will. I believe that an enemy coerced him, that he was under the influence of some trickery. I had heard reports of wizards in the southern asylum, that they had recently advanced their darkest fighting magic.”
Ravenna smiled with adoration before leaning in for a kiss. The blissful moment warmed them both as if graced by the blessed Mother herself. She put her arms around Colm and gazed into his eyes.
She said, “All is well and good with the world. They found your brother lying in an enchanted sleep, deep within the moors. He had cuts and bruises that they suspected came from your fight. That was until I discovered it was the work of a Mage imprisoned in the southern asylum, as you suspected. I immediately requested your release. After meeting with your father and the elders, they signed the order and gave me permission to attempt to free you… Which I have.”
Ravenna pulled a white stone from her pocket.
She said, “I have the escape sigil required to vacate this horrible place. Shall we leave immediately?”
“Indeed, my lady. I am eternally grateful that you partook in this journey to free me.” Colm grasped Ravenna’s hand, placing his thumb over the smooth white stone she held. “However can I repay you?”
The stone began glowing as she spoke. “Continue loving me. That is all I ask.”
“That you do not need to ask, for you will always have my soul, heart, and body.”
Within moments, the white glowing light that had engulfed them faded away, leaving darkness in its place. Love, a force that no other emotion, no action, and not even the greatest of magic could dissuade, had conquered all.