Tbos Round 2 Page 4

Vespera stood upon the summit of the mountain with her arms outstretched to the sky as she basked in the glorious light of the barren realm. She could feel it—the warmth of the suns rays penetrating the heavens and falling upon her body, fueling her insatiable hunger for power.

In her previous endeavors, Vespera had been given a taste of the great magical powers that the Book commanded. In a moment of desperation, Vespera's nemesis, Tatianna had granted her the power of the sun to destroy their mutual enemies. This had been done by inscribing her culture's symbol for the sun upon a blank page of the book. Though not real, the power granted to Vespera in that brief moment was extremely potent and volatile; she had not been able to control it before it had all been expended in a massive show of destructive power.

Suffice to say, after having such a taste, Vespera wanted more.

Though unstable, the Book's power was abundant here, and the light of the sun over her was almost begging to lend her its power. Vespera knew first hand that the powers of the Book would be difficult for her to control—but that would not stop her from trying.

Instead of absorbing the surrounding light directly into her body, Vespera decided to take a more indirect approach to supplementing her strength. She took a small collection of stones from the mountainside; then, using what little power she possessed, smelted them into glass and gems. Then, while holding the gems to the sky, she began the absorption of light from the sun. The gems would continue to absorb as much light as they could muster, at which point Vespera would collect them all and use them as boons in her future endeavors.

It was a good plan, Vespera had thought; at least, until the sun began to set much more rapidly than was presumably normal for this realm.

In as much rapidity as she could manage, Vespera stopped the stones' absorption process just as the sun had set. After finishing her labors, Vespera looked around to find that a giant forest had suddenly appeared around the base of the mountain.

It seemed Vespera's counterpart had figured out her plan and now sought to trap her on the mountain. Vespera would not be able to set foot in the forest without alerting her sister and being at a severe disadvantage in the shade of the forest.

All was not lost, however, perhaps Vespera could turn this misfortune around. It would undoubtedly result in a confrontation with her sister—a thought that she was loath to entertain, but she knew what had to be done.
With a quick adjustment of her wings and a flick of her hair, Vespera walked into the forest to face her greatest enemy head on.

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"A deal?" Tatianna uttered dubiously. She had expected Vespera to do something like this. Whenever cornered, Vespera would try to worm her way out of trouble without fail. Always seeking other avenues, always trying newer more subversive plans, always scheming.

To her credit, Vespera's last scheme had worked quite flawlessly, even Tatianna had to admit to that. Needless to say, Tatianna was hesitant to indulge her sister in a bargain that was almost certainly a trap.

"Yes," Vespera whispered staggeringly. It almost seemed as if engaging in a compromise with her sister caused Vespera a great deal of pain.

"I assume you already know that I am going to tell you to return this realm to its former state," Tatianna stated. "You will do this regardless of whether I accept your bargain or not."

Vespera gritted her teeth.

"What is it that you want in return?" Tatianna asked cautiously.

"That magic page you have with you," Vespera growled, "give it to me."

Tatianna paused for a moment, taken aback if only by Vespera's predictability.

"I've seen what you're capable of with the Book's power, do not think I will simply lend you that power as I did before," Tatianna said with an air of finality.

Vespera's blood began to rise.

"Why?!" Vespera shouted, "Have I not shown that you can trust me, sister? I thought we were working towards a common goal! Why must you have all the power while I get nothing?"

To be honest, the only reason why Tatianna and Vespera had worked together at all was by the virtue and insistence of their previous two companions. Tatianna doubted they could ever achieve such form again—in whatever dismal way their form had resembled teamwork, at the least.

"Trust you?" Tatianna asked venomously. "Let us not forget who put me in this ridiculous quest in the first place. Let's not forget that you've never given me reason to trust you. Let us certainly not forget that because of you, my only daughter is dead…"

It was rare for Tatianna to show her emotions like this—which made Vespera nervous. She knew that when it came to strength, Tatianna had her outmatched, even with their powers greatly weakened by the Book. If they fought, Vespera would lose without a doubt. She only wondered if Tatianna would have the gumption to do away with her.

Tatitanna took only a moment to recompose, before delivering her final dispassionate ultimatum.

"Relinquish your grip from this realm, and accompany me through to the end of this quest. Cooperate, and when we return home I may show you mercy."

"Ha!" Vespera shouted mockingly, though there was a hint of defeat in her voice. "Do not presume that you can order me around, sister! I will see this world burn before I ever bow down to the likes of you!"

With that Vespera turned and retreated towards the mountain.

Tatianna stared after her for a moment before withdrawing into the depths of the forest, herself. There was nothing to do but wait for Vespera to come to her senses.

Tatianna could only hope that such a feat was even possible.