Lost and Found

Syndra was lost. Not physically, though the woods in the Blighted Wilds were incredibly easy to lose oneself in. How many days had it been since she left Asphyxia’s cottage? Did it even matter? It felt like life was playing one cruel joke after another on her. She had managed to escape Morgana after years of torment, only to unwittingly find shelter with Asphyxia, and not even realize it until weeks after the fact.

Sure, Asphyxia did nothing to harm her, and logically she knew that none of what happened to her was the witch’s fault, but it wasn’t that simple. Throughout her years of abuse, Morgana had made it perfectly clear that she was molding Syndra into a weapon to use against her greatest nemesis, Asphyxia. Even though Syndra had no clue who Asphyxia was or what she even looked like at the time, she couldn’t help but hold a grudge. If Asphyxia didn’t exist, Morgana would have never went through the trouble of kidnapping her. Part of her would never be able to let go of that sentiment, would never be able to bury that bitterness, which is why she left as soon as ‘Xia’ finally revealed who she truly was.

That was days ago now. Syndra had taken shelter in an abandoned building she had stumbled upon deeper in the woods. It was a decrepit place, filled with broken glass and rotting wood. Less comfortable than Asphyxia’s couch, but still miles better than Morgana’s cell.

But now, now that she was free, now that she was alone… what should she do now? The thought constantly plagued her, gnawed at her, but her options were few and far between. She had concluded that there were only two real options: the first was to go back home, back to the Crystal Isles… but she knew she would not be welcome there. She knew the citizens detested the corrupt, and she’d be lucky to even make it inside, let alone establish a new life for herself. Even if she were to be cured, it would be much the same way.

Her second option was to be what Morgana made her: a weapon. Not for Asphyxia, but one aimed right back at Morgana. She could return to the castle and cause as much havoc as she possibly could with her now enhanced magic. There was no way she’d return alive from such a risky, foolish mission, and chances were low that she would even be able to hurt Morgana directly before the guards struck her down, but if she could cause Morgana any kind of grief or setback by blowing up her testing rooms, freeing her prisoners, killing her guards, or any other type of destruction she could wreak, it would be worth it.

Because what was the alternative? That she would rot along with the wooden steps she currently sat on? That she would wither and die without anything to show for the hardships she endured? No. That was worse than dying in a final blaze of glory.

It’s decided then. Syndra thought, closing her eyes as she took in a deep breath of air. Tomorrow, I storm the castle.

She opened her eyes again a few moments later, with the sights and sounds of the dark forest surrounding her that was quickly becoming familiar.

…And then she saw a splash of something light colored among the trees. Zeroing in on the anomaly, Syndra realized that it was a person who was slowly approaching her. She had caught the sight of the person’s light blonde hair sticking out amongst the dark trees.

Normally Syndra would be concerned that it was one of Morgana’s guards searching for her to drag her back, but given that she already made peace with the fact that she was returning to the castle and very likely dying tomorrow, not to mention the fact that this person was alone and she could more than handle herself, she wasn’t afraid. Calmly, she waited for the person to reach her…

But nothing could have prepared Syndra for the realization of who now stood in front of her: Anja La Fae, Queen of the Eternal Depths. Syndra had only met her once before, back when she was still just a normal guard working for Queen Val in the Crystal Isles. Anja came for a visit, and Syndra was assigned to guard her since Anja’s own guards didn’t have the horns necessary to operate the teleporter, and research into other methods of allowing access to the Isles was still in its beginning stages. She remembered Anja being kind to her, and she remembered watching over Anja as she slept…

But why was Anja here, of all places? Was she really here? Morgana’s favorite method of punishing her involved making her sleep for days, weeks, even months at a time, which made it difficult at times for Syndra to distinguish dream from reality. Oftentimes she feared that her escape was just another dream, and she would wake back up in her cell…

Surely this had to be a dream. The idea of Anja being here with her was so absurd, so unlikely, that it couldn’t be anything else. All Syndra could do was stare at the woman—the figment of her imagination?—in puzzlement and abject horror, unable to bring herself to speak.

But then Anja spoke, her voice one that Syndra hadn’t heard in years. “Syndra? I remember meeting you before.” She frowned, a regretful expression crossing her face. “I was told you went missing following the attack. I feared you might be dead…”

Anja… everything about her seemed real, and Syndra ached to believe it was so. But if this wasn’t a dream, it still didn’t make sense. She needed it to make sense. Though it was perhaps rude of her, she ignored Anja’s greeting and began launching questions at her. “Why are you here? How? Why would you not have guards with you…?” She was desperate for her questions to be met with real, believable answers.

Anja could sense her desperation, despite not quite understanding it. “My region neighbors this one,” She explained, “So it was easy enough to get here. I know it’s not necessarily wise of someone in my position, but I like to occasionally meet with corrupt individuals who I know are not loyal to Morgana and Muramasa. I pay them in exchange for information to keep my region safe, and most of them wouldn’t agree to meet me if I brought guards with me.” Not to mention that her guards wouldn’t agree if they knew she were doing it…

The explanation did make sense… even if it was still bizarre. Syndra slowly nodded as she processed it. “So you’re here to meet with an informant?”

“Yes and no. Truthfully, this time I came to look for someone with powerful magic, as I heard that a strong witch lives in these woods. I was hoping to hire her to construct a magical barrier around my region to help with our defenses.”

Those rumors must have been about Asphyxia. Syndra didn’t trust her one bit, and she certainly wouldn’t trust her not to betray Anja if the queen did find her. “I’ll help you,” Syndra volunteered instantly. “My magic is at least as strong as the witch of these woods.” Perhaps it was her old loyalty and knightly chivalry coming through, but she just couldn’t bear to sit back and let Anja put herself in danger if she could help it. Her own plans could wait.

“Really?” Anja smiled at her, and it stole Syndra’s breath away momentarily. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen such a genuine, kind smile, let alone one that was directed at her. It must have been sometime before she was kidnapped. “You would do that for me? How can I repay you?”

Syndra shook her head and averted her gaze. “I do not require payment.” Money, or really anything for that matter, would be of no use to her if she was going to die in the near future.

“There must be something…” Anja frowned as she studied Syndra. The woman looked so… lost and sad. She couldn’t bear to leave her like that when she knew what a noble and honorable person Syndra was and still evidently continued to be. “Hm… I know,” She waited for Syndra to look at her. “I’ll give you both a cure and a home.” She nodded confidently.

“You… what…? Why? It’s not a good idea to invite a corrupt witch into your home like that…” Syndra hated the way that hope flared within her chest despite her protests.

“You won’t be corrupt much longer,” Anja assured, “And, well, being here in the first place probably isn’t a good idea either, but it led me to finding you.” She took one of Syndra’s hands and squeezed it in both of hers comfortingly. “So maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. We can help each other… and I can tell that you’re still a good person. What do you say?” She smiled hopefully at her.

Her sweet smile, her offer of a new future… there was no way Syndra could refuse.

~~

Shortly after arriving safely in the Eternal Depths, Syndra fulfilled her part of the bargain. Given the scale of the barrier Anja wanted, the spell was taxing, and it was more of an early alarm system than anything else lest the movement of Anja’s own citizens be restricted, but it was enough to satisfy Anja. Any sort of protection or warning was worth it when they were so close to the Blighted Wilds and their bloodthirsty army.

And of course, Anja was true to her word as well. She warned Syndra about the curing process and how long it would take, but hearing about it and experiencing it were two vastly different things.

Syndra felt weak, dizzy, sick… she would sleep most of the day, waking up only to vomit up a black, tar-like substance and when she was woken to take the next dose. It was a miserable week or so long experience, and her memories of it were hazy at best, but…

She remembered Anja. She remembered that Anja was there for each dose even though she no doubt had better things to do as queen. She remembered Anja holding her hand, squeezing it, and whispering comforting and reassuring words to her through the worst of it.

And when Syndra finally felt well enough to function, when the process was finally over, she could stand to look at herself in the mirror. She missed her pure white eyes, but at least she no longer hated her own reflection. Her pitch black eyes were gone; she could finally start putting her past behind her.

Thanks to Anja, she was found, and she vowed to spend the rest of her days repaying the kind queen.