The wind. It was all she could hear inside her head. The rushing wind. Followed by whispering shadows. They spoke to her in a language she couldn’t understand and, yet, somehow familiar. Angry, frightened whispers from within and without seemed to curse at her in their strange, oddly recognizable tongue. These dreams hit Emma every night... but still she didn’t know why. Her parents couldn’t answer why. At least, her mother Artema couldn’t. Her mother, Lanala, on the other hand seemed to be holding something back. When Emma awoke, again, with the whispers practically still speaking within her mind, she narrowed her gaze. Her mother would have to tell her, sooner or later. Emma decided on sooner...

The young spellsword climbed out of bed and got herself dressed. The old cabin, out in the woods of Ikaatan... that’s where her mothers lived now. Artema had once owned it and had rebuilt the whole thing by hand. Now the two had lived out there for years, raising their daughters, who had since moved out and struck out on their own.

Emma still lived with Lana, her sister, and they had long since moved into the city. It would be a long walk to the woods, and the old cabin, but she had to know... Lanala knew something.

The caramel skinned young woman dressed up in her usual attire, prepared for any fight she may encounter on the way. A tight, white shirt, low cut and sleeveless a short battle skirt, also white, leather armour padding, fingerless leather gauntlets and strappy, knee high leather sandals. She buckled on her sheathed, gilded sword to her hip and flexed her hand, feeling the magical power there inherited by her mother, Lanala. To go along with her sword skills, trained well by Artema.

Inherited from them both, Emma had Lanala’s darker, caramel skin and bright, pretty orange eyes. From Artema, she had long, flowing and wavy locks of purple hair that she let hang loose to just below her shoulders.

Leaving her sister to sleep in, Emma headed out into the streets of Disa, starting the long walk to the Dasi Forest, and the rebuilt cabin of her mothers. It was a trek that took her nearly half a day to make but, finally, she arrived by early evening. The first thing she saw, that still brought a warm smile to her face, was Artema’s mighty form, outside, splitting logs. She made it look as effortless as ever.

Grey streaks flecked the mighty warrior’s proud purple mane but she looked strong as ever.

Slightly wizened, a few wrinkles around the eyes, but there was no mistaking her. She wore white, as always, like her daughter, still wore her own sandals and arm guards, knee length skirt and all. Her arms were as strong as they ever were, still muscular, as were her powerful legs, and she still towered over most any man or woman she came across. The mighty warrior, her battles behind her, could have fooled anyone as she looked ready to destroy an army, if need be, with her impressive physique.

Artema smirked as she split one final log and slammed the axe down on the stump with one hand, letting it stick there. She met her daughter part way and ruffled her pretty hair.

“Hey, kid,” she said, pulling her grown daughter in to a tight hug. Emma returned the embrace and giggled, flinching and backing away when Artema tossed her hair. “How’s everything?”

“Oh, you know... not bad,” Emma said. “Lana got herself caught by some bandits the other day...”

Artema shook her head. “Ah, just like her mother... you got her out, I take it?”

“Didn’t have to. It was a mistake. They were Brina’s group. Lana didn’t recognize them. Lucky Brina was there or she might have been tied up for a few days... might have taught the girl a lesson, actually.”

Artema chuckled. “Now you’re sounding like me...” Still sharp as ever, her intelligent green eyes peered into Emma’s. “You got something on your mind?”

“I’m here to talk to mom, actually.”

“You already are...” Artema said, with a smirk.

“Damn it, you always get me with that...” Emma smiled back.

“Language, young lady,” Artema said, patting her daughter on the shoulder. “I’ll go get her. She’s failing to not use magic getting the fire started for the night...”

Emma laughed. “She still can’t do it without magic?”

“Some things never change, kid. In fact, it’s been long enough. Cue cursing and use of magic in 3... 2...”

“Oh to hell with this!” A frustrated voice said from inside, muffled by the walls. They heard a snap, likely Lanala snapping her fingers, and a frustrated groan, before the pretty, aged figure of Lanala stomped out of the cabin and slammed the door.

“Fire’s...” she noticed Emma and her mood perked up. “...started. Hi, sweetie!”

“Hey, mom,” Emma said, walking to her and wrapping her arms around her shoulders. Lanala returned the hug and kissed her daughter on the cheek.

Lanala still wore her usual attire, the cropped, sleeveless shirt, short skirt, tall sandals, all in black, as she always did. Her face was perhaps slightly wizened, and aged, but she retained a much more youthful appearance than Artema. Her strawberry pink hair did have a few grey patches, but nowhere near the large amount of her wife. Emma wondered if that was another thing that had to with Mageia, the place Lanala had told her so little about.

“How’s things?” Lanala asked. “Are you eating well? Getting enough sleep? You must have travelled all day to get here. You can spend the night if you-”

“Mom,” Emma said with a smile. “I’m okay. I was planning on staying anyway. I don’t plan on staying awake until tomorrow morning.”

“Oh well that’s good... sorry,” Lanala said. “Can’t help myself with you girls. I just have to check on you.”

“I know, once a mother, always a mother,” Emma replied.

“Well, I’ll leave you two for the moment,” Artema said. “Have to make sure you mother didn’t burn the house down...”

“Artema, you know I-”

Artema smirked and kissed her wife as she walked past. “Still so easy to wind up....”

“Oh, my dear, you’re asking for trouble...” Lanala said, a devious smile on her face. Emma scrunched up her face.

“Okay... can you two not flirt so much in front of me? Not that it’s not sweet it’s just...”

“Oh right...” Artema said. “Yeah, that stuff has a tendency to weird out the kids... I know I hated it when my father flirted with my mother... for a bunch of reasons. Sorry, hun.”

“Don’t worry just... kinda weirds me out, you know? You’re my parents...”

Artema chuckled. “I get that, yeah... I’ll head inside. You two talk about whatever you need to.”

Artema quickly left the two of them behind, and alone, as the sun began to set and the light of the forest quickly began to darken. Lanala looked to Emma, her eyes concerned.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

“A bit... I’ve been dreaming. Again,” Emma said.

“The wind and the whispers?” Lanala asked.

“Just like when I was a kid yeah...” Emma trailed off. “Mom... I need answers. You just mentioned Mageia before and that was it. But what about it? You said it’s where you’re from but... what happened? And why can I almost understand what the whispers say? Why do they keep speaking to me? What is it about this place that you’re so afraid-”

“Emma,” Lanala said, sternly. “The less you know... the better. You know there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you and Lana. I can’t risk...” Lanala took in a sharp breath. “Listen to me. That place... it’s far too dangerous. Even for me and the power I wield. And neither you nor Lana have needed that kind of power. So without it... there’s no telling what could happen. I only keep you in the dark to keep you safe. I know my girls... there is no way you’d leave well enough alone if I told you everything. I suppose that’s my fault... I did pass on quite a bit to you two.”

“Then you also must know that I will do everything I can to find out what you’re keeping from me, one way or another. Why not just save the headache?”

“Emma... It’s far too dangerous. I don’t know what I’d do if something were to happen to

you.”

Emma stepped closer to her mother. Her stoic gaze, her strong voice, the intelligence in her green eyes... it reminded Lanala of Artema so much.

“So I have to ask... roles reversed, what would you do?”

“What?”

“I’ve heard stories about you and mom. From the past, all those worlds... I know mom tried to warn you off of things for your protection before. Did that ever stop you before? And what did she say to try and stop you?”

“Emma...”

“And surely you’ve done the same for mom... did it ever work? Didn’t it just make things worse and more difficult than it had to be?”

Lanala sighed. “I should have known better, raising you two with the minds you have... fine. Come inside. I’ll tell you what you need to know. But I don’t want you making any rash decisions once I do... understand?”

“Of course, mom. I understand.”

“All right. Come on, then. It’s about time we talk about our bloodline...”

...

No more laughter, no more mirth

No longer the place it once was worth

Soft words of wrath follow raging wind

Forever in shadow, a curse to rescind

Entrapped souls mired in loss  

Suspended within the sky’s white floss

A silent city waits to be free

From mindless rage by the blood’s decree

A pall cast by one alone

By only her blood can one atone

The key awaits within a font of thought  

To unmake what upon the city was wrought

Above, three suns shall pass

From below it all, shatter the glass

Oppressive power hanging upon the air

For them all, it falls to the pair

When darkness reigns and the city is lost

No warmth to be found within the frost

Silence no more shall be the norm

And the final freedom shall take form

Emma stared at the fire, watching it crackle and spark. Artema was quietly humming in the background while she sharpened a knife in the small kitchen nearby. Lanala stared at her, patient, expectant, and let her daughter digest the words.

“So you’ve known all this time...” Emma said, finally.

“I have, yes. The ancient verse of the first Mageians. Their scholars never could find meaning in it. But as soon as you girls were born... I knew what it meant,” Lanala said.

“And how do you know this verse?” Emma asked.

“My mother’s knowledge. Something within this power I wield opened up a world of Mageian knowledge to me. I know much of what she knows. I had a dream where the whispers spoke this verse to me in Mageian... I never forgot it.”

“Then you know what that means,” Emma said.

“Yes... I do,” Lanala replied.

“Lana... me... we have to fulfill it. It’s a prophecy.”

Lanala sighed. “Prophecies don’t always have to be true. This can’t be your fate... it’s not fair. You deserve... more. You deserve better than this...”

“So you’d just have us stay here and leave this ancient city to rot to the curse? On top of everything else you told me, none of those people deserve to remain as wandering, angry shadows... they deserve better than that. If we sit by... what does that make us? Are we better than the evil Alhanna committed?”

Lanala let out a long breath. “Oh you sound so much like your mother when you talk like that...” she said.

“Both of them, actually,” Emma said. “There was a time when you thought the same way. Prophecy or not, you would never have let injustice like this stand.”

“No... you’re right. I just... I’ve wanted to protect you from that place. But perhaps I’ve been selfish, not letting you girls make the choice for yourselves. And, well, now that I’ve told you all about the place, I can guess what your choice is.”

“We go there. We break this curse. And we save the people of Mageia. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the only thing to do.”

The pair of them heard Artema chuckle in the background. She emerged into the sitting room, looming large, the fire casting her huge shadow across most of the cabin. “That’s my girl,” she said.

“Do you really want them putting themselves in danger, Artema?” Lanala asked.

“No. But that never stopped you. Nor did it stop me. I think the best thing to do here is to trust them.”

“Or go with them...”

Emma shook her head. “You know the verse. It has to be just the two of us. ‘For them all it falls to the pair.’ Like you said. We are that pair. So you can’t come with us or we won’t be able to break the curse.”

Lanala sighed. “I know... I wish I could say for sure that this wasn’t a prophecy but, well, the Mageians are where all magic in the worlds originated. All of their predictions, in verse, have been accurate. They predicted my mother’s madness and betrayal, her imprisonment, and the last time I went there, I did find a book that predicted my own coming and... and capture. You remember Artema?”

Artema folded her arms and grunted. “With that elf... the bard. Yes, I remember her...” Lanala smirked.

“All theses years later and you’re still sore about losing a little sparring match to a woman half your size,” Lanala said.

“Back to what’s important here, they’re our girls, Lanala. We know they’ll be all right. You just have to point them in the right direction. They can’t get to Mageia without your help.”

Lanala sighed. “Yes... fine.” She snapped her fingers once. “There’s a portal in your old bedroom. Just step through the mirror. I’ll keep it open for when you get back.”

“And so you can keep an eye on us...” Emma said.

“Well yes... that too. As soon as it gets too dangerous I’m coming through to get you out.”

“Mom-”

“No, that’s how it is, Emma. I will not allow my girls to come to harm. No matter what.”

The dark look in Lanala’s eyes was something Emma had never seen before. Perhaps some part of Alhanna remained within her. The power that tried to take her mind... Lanala was sure to not let it corrupt her daughters, teaching them magic at a young age but severing the link between them and the power with her own power. But something of it remained in Lanala.

“What are you saying?” Emma asked.

Lanala reached forward and stroked the back of Emma’s hand. “I’m saying your mother and I will do what it takes to get you girls out of there. If we have to. But we’ll trust you, of course. In fact, Artema...”

A playful grin played at Lanala’s lips. “I have an idea...” She nodded toward some coils of rope hanging by the door. Artema smiled in return. “I see... have to make sure you don’t jump in and interfere... right?”

Emma closed her eyes. “Oh not this again... please...”

Her parents laughed. “We’ll wait until you and your sister go through the portal before we do anything,” Artema said.

“That means waiting for her to get here,” Emma said. “I’ll have to send her a letter or something...”

Artema smirked. “I don’t think you’ll have to do that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Emma, you always had trouble with your sister sneaking up on you during your training games... looks like you didn’t grow out of that.”

“What!? She followed me!?”

“She did. And, just like when you were kids, she wasn’t mindful of traps...”

“Wait, don’t tell me... you left her tied up again, didn’t you?” Emma asked.

“Artema!” Lanala scolded. “You and your lessons...”

Artema chuckled. “She triggered one of your protective traps in the woods just outside the house,” she said. “Don’t worry, I checked on her. She actually didn’t want to be untied when I asked her. I’m not a monster, Lanala.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “That girl and being tied up... she never has stopped bugging me to put her in rope.”

“Always was her favourite game... I suppose we set a bad example in that way,” Lanala said with a smile. “The number of times she’d find either you or I tied up and enjoying ourselves...”

“Or that one time you magicked up to get us both...” Artema said with a satisfied sigh.

“Oh yes, that was a funny old time. I suppose we did rub off on her.”

Emma sighed. “Well I suppose I’ll go and untie her. Again...” She stood up from her seat. “I still can’t believe she followed me...”

“Emma, sweetie, you two have always been attached at the hip,” Lanala said. “Your sister adores you. You two never could let each other wander off alone, don’t forget.”

“I suppose I should have seen this coming...” Emma said. “Whatever. I’ll be back with my dumb sister...”

“Emma...” Artema scolded. Emma sighed.

“All right. Sorry, mom...”

“Ease up on the name-calling now...” Artema said. “Another thing you never outgrew.”

“Yeah okay fine...”

Emma headed outside and into the rather balmy night. The air had not yet started to cool and she scanned the pitch black surroundings and the edges of leaves she could just make out from the barest moonlight able to pierce the canopy above.

“Hey, dummy!” Emma called, immediately forgetting her promise to Artema. “Where are you?”

“Mmmmpphhh!” A muffled voice answered her back. She wasn’t too far off... Emma started off in the direction and walked around the side of the house and spotted what she expected to see. Her ivory-skinned, pink-haired sister was rolling around on the ground, hogtied in rope, gagged with cloth, and giggling away.

“Honestly... I should have expected this would happen. Why didn’t you just tell me you were following...” Emma stopped herself. “You know what? Nevermind. Just... hang on.”

Lana giggled sheepishly at her sister’s exasperation. The young woman’s pink hair was kept short in the back, yet thick, reaching the middle of her neck. Curled bangs framed her pretty face, and bright green eyes stared up at her sister, smiling.

She wore black, like Lanala, a tight sleeveless shirt with a high collar, a skirt that reached her knees, steel armlets that matched the small, steel chest plate she wore, tall black leather sandals and brown belt with pouches around her slender waist. Much like Artema, and her sister, Lana was athletic and rather muscular, though still quite thin like Lanala. Both women were shorter than their parents, however, just about reaching Lanala’s chin height. Though fully grown, the one thing the sisters didn’t inherit from their parents was their height.

Emma bent down to pick up Lana’s all black sword, in its leather sheath, that had been discarded when she was caught by the trap. She pulled it out and assessed the tight hogtie her sister found herself in.

Ropes encircled Lana’s ankles, calves, and thighs, and tying her wrists behind her back. Another wrapped her waist and kept her wrists pinned tight to her back. Another coil wrapped her elbows, attached to a chest harness, and the final cord was wrapped from her upper back, through her wrists, wrapped between them, and then to her ankles, pulling it all tightly together. When Emma pulled down the white cloth that had been covering her mouth, she sighed when she saw a ball gag strapped in underneath it.

With a heavy sigh, Emma removed the gag and tossed it aside.

“Hey, sis...” Lana said with a sheepish grin. “So... here we are again, huh?”

“If it weren’t for your magic, I swear.... you’d be near useless,” Emma said.

“Hey! That’s not fair!’ Lana said with a smile. “I can fight and stuff! I just, you know... leave more of that to you. You were always better at that stuff.”

Emma cut the ropes binding her sister, helping get her free, and pulled her to her feet. She handed Lana her sword again.

“Ah, thanks.”

Emma let out another long breath. “Just... try not to enjoy yourself so much all the time, okay?”

Lana chuckled. “Hey, I can’t help that I like being tied up. You ought to try it more, Em. It’s so relaxing. And cathartic! Not to mention a fun challenge and-”

“Look, save the spiel. I’ve heard it about ten million times,” Emma said.

“All right fine.... So... about me following you and stuff. Listen, Em, I-”

“Don’t bother. You don’t need to explain yourself to me...” Emma sighed. “I’m... I’m glad you’re here, actually. Not only because it saves me a trip. Come inside and let mom explain some things to you.”

“Um... which?” Lana asked.

Emma chuckled. “Little mom. Big mom will be happy to see you too. Well, again.”

Lana smiled at their old nicknames for their parents. “Yeah, she wanted to untie me earlier but, yeah, I was having too much fun. Plus I knew she’d spring the surprise on you... better from her than from me, I figured. At least mom you won’t yell at...” Lana said with a laugh.

“Just... come inside. It’s important,” Emma said, heading for the cabin. Lana quickly followed and once, inside, exchanged hugs with her parents and went quiet while Lanala explained everything to Lana as she had to Emma.

“So that’s why the dreams keep happening...” Lana said.

“Yes, it’s the Mageians and their old verse. It’s reaching out to you...” Lanala said.

“At least we can explain them now,” Lana said. “One part of relief... so I’m guessing we have to go there?”

“We do,” Emma said. “There’s no other choice here. Either we go and try to save these people or leave them to suffer an eternal torment. That second option isn’t an option.”

Artema chuckled again. “Still sounding like me there, girl... proud of you.” She tousled Emma’s pretty purple hair again.

“Ack! Mom...” Emma said, smiling.

“So that verse mentions a pair. That means us then, right?” Lana asked.

“It does, sweetie,” Lanala said. “As much as it pains me... you two have to go alone. You’ll be together, of course. But it’s dangerous... we’ll be standing by to pull you out of there if it gets too dangerous.”

“And I have a plan from keeping your mother from... interfering...” Artema said with a smirk.

“Oh goddess... gross!” Lana said. “Can you, just, not talk about that stuff you and mom get up to?”

Artema chuckled again. “Even as adults, I can still push your buttons.”

Emma turned to her sister. “So we need to go then. It’s through the mirror there.” She pointed at the full length mirror in their old shared bedroom, against the wall. It shimmered and moved in waves at the moment, almost like it was made of water.

Lanala leapt at each of her children, pulling them into a hug together, kissing them both on top of their heads. “Be safe, girls. I mean it. I’ll come get you if-”

“We know, mom,” Emma said. “We’ll be fine.”

“I trust you...” Lanala stepped back and let Artema hug and kiss their daughters before they watched them slowly step through the mirror and disappear. For the time being, the four were separate and alone.

“Well... I suppose I better get to work then,” Artema said, smiling, and holding up a coil of rope.

Lanala, worry still in her eyes, did manage a playful smile. “Oh, I see... then do keep me from interfering with our daughters, my lovely.”

“Lovely what?” Artema asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Mistress...” Lanala said, softly.

“That’s better. Let’s get you comfortable...”

While the two occupied themselves, their daughters had stepped through to hostile, unfamiliar world. It was both unknown but... by instinct alone, they seemed to know the place. And now, moving through the portal, the sisters embarked on their task to save the city, and the people, of Mageia.