Rise of Nyssa

Rise of Nyssa: Pt. 1

Commissioned by: Zeroth17

Written by: Danni Lynn

5,000 words (out of 15,000 words)

July 24th, 2024

Synopsis: Katherine Arden is exhausted with her normal life. Her boyfriend drives her nuts and might not be as loyal as he says, her father wants her to take over their family’s company, and she only wants to stay at home and play DnD online with her friends. On the outside, Katherine seems to have everything she could ever want. But this cool and collected woman would rather be daydreaming and cosplaying as an evil sorceress. What she wouldn’t give to live in another world and in another life!

When Katherine’s life ends unexpectedly and she wakes up in another world… will it be the opportunity she has always dreamed of?

CW: Rated R for violence and language. Scary moments and character death.

One dark and stormy night, Katherine Arden was navigating the angled streets of downtown with one manicured hand on the steering wheel and her other angrily gesticulating in the air. Her phone was connected over the car’s Bluetooth speaker and the now-very-annoying voice of her boyfriend whined over the pattering rain and squeal of her overtaxed wind-shield wipers.

“I’m just staying it’s not a big deal!” Brian snapped “I just had a few drinks. I don’t see why you needed to go off on me like that!”

Katherine’s lips curled. Her dark hair stuck to her face and her water-proof mascara was really being put to the test tonight with all the rain, tears, and what not. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying and snot trickled out of her nose.

If only Brian would listen to her for once in his life. He was lucky enough to be dating someone like her but if that fool made one more misstep—

“I’m the one who gets to decide if it was a big deal or not!” Katherine snapped. She guided her GMC around another tight curve and drifted into traffic heading for the freeway. “I saw you put your arm around that skank. Did she offer you something? Did she give you her number for a little fun once you’re done with me?!”

Brian had been hanging all over another girl at the party they had attended. He was nice, except when he was drunk. It was all too much to deal with. He must know how good he had it to date the daughter of a wealthy oil mogul like Katherine. She wasn’t only beautiful but was one hell of a catch! If only that was enough reason to have someone loyal to her.

Between her wandering boyfriend, —an item one must maintain to look good amongst the other low-lifes at school—her strict father trying to prepare her for a life of business, and all her rich-spoiled classmates (albeit she fits into both those categories herself) would tear her apart the second she didn’t attend their parties and keep up to date with the status quo. So what if Katherine preferred to stay at home in her pajamas and play boardgames by herself or D&D online with her slightly more “real” friends? If only she wasn’t this loser, too scared to be herself or stand up for herself and would quit acting like the “perfect” daughter.

She would much rather dress up as an evil sorceress and go to cosplay events than one more socially-elite-but-stupid party. She would give anything for that!

“You sorry piece of—” Katherine sucked in a big breath and shut her eyes as she bellowed, “I’m done with you! We are off! You will never have to deal with me again!” She smashed her finger on the end call button and clasped the steering wheel just as a bright flash split across her windshield.

That was it. It was over. She’d never have to—

A screech pierced the night. The headlights, not just a passing light, barreled toward Katherine with a Chevy truck behind those same beams. The driver, drunk and hanging over his steering wheel careened right towards her.

She didn’t have time to react.

All at once, all sense of noise, feeling, sight, and self, disappeared into a mangled heap of chaos.

***

Usually when people die, there is an end. Communities and religions have speculated for a millennium about where people go, what souls are, and what is at the end of every humans’ journey.

For someone like Katherine Arden, her father was likely to throw a lavish funeral, dry-eyed, as he shook his co-workers and clients’ hands. She always supposed she would have the fanciest casket and her makeup done up by some near-dead mortician. When imagining such an event, she hoped for lines of mourners, all bearing bouquets, letters, and testaments of their mournful sorrow.

But, as Katherine sat up and picked grass out of her hair, she knew no one would honestly miss her. Maybe she didn’t have to worry about a funeral after all?

A soft wind caressed her cheek. The sky had cleared but instead of the freeway’s on-ramp, tall buildings, and other vehicles… the dark landscape had been replaced by rolling golden fields. Her car was nowhere nearby, there was no drunk driver, and there was not a scratch on her whole body.

“What the…” Katherine looked at her hands. The golden sunshine made her pale, upturned palms look almost translucent. She was dressed in a purple tank top and black slacks, the same she had worn to the party.

She had seen the car. She had been in an accident—right? Had she died? Was this some kind of heaven or purgatory? She wasn’t the nicest person… Katherine pushed the waving grasses aside and rose to her feet. She was about to look down and check herself more fully when a chuckle sounded behind her.

“Well look what we’ve got here,” a voice said.

Whipping around, Katherine came face to face with a squat man. He was dressed like a villain in a cheesy 80s fantasy movie. Wearing leather breeches, a thickly woven shirt, and a crumpled hat that had seen better days, his unshaven face gave way to oily skin and broken, yellow teeth. A sword and dagger hung at his side.

Behind the man was a smoking campfire and several others, all lounging about and drinking.

It was as if Katherine had appeared out of thin air.

“Looks like we’ve got some entertainment for the evening!” one of the bandit’s crowed. He pulled a dagger and approached, licking his lips.

“What?!” Katheirne yelped. She didn’t bother asking who they were or even more importantly, where she was. She just knew she had to run!

They lunged. Hands snatched at her arms and legs and weapons screamed as they were drawn from their scabbards.

“Pin her down!”

“Leave a piece for me!”

Katherine back pedaled, slapping away at their attempts. Her heart hitched and panic filled her chest.

“Stay away from me!” Gathering herself, Katherine bolted across the meadow. Her legs carried her far to a distant tree line where she managed to escape. The doddering men were slowed down by their afternoon delights, and they eventually gave up the chase once she was too far away.

Gasping and out of breath, Katherine collapsed behind a tree once she was sure they were no longer following her. Little cuts burned her bare legs from her escape into the underbrush. She wiped away the dirt on her thighs and tried to get a grip on her surroundings.

“Where the hell am I? Am I dreaming?” she wondered. If that were the case, this was an awful dream. The only thing around her were tall pine trees, dripping with sap. The ground beneath her crinkled full of pine-needles, and both fern and witch-hazel cluttered the forest floor.

It all looked like some place she and her online friends would have dreamed up for a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Was she some lost mage, now on a quest? She smiled. If only it were that simple. Maybe the bandits had been a distraction in her journey and a well-placed roll of her die had saved her from their clutches.

But this wasn’t some game. It couldn’t be.

Standing up and dusting herself off, Katherine looked back toward the meadow. If she ever saw those bandits again, she would make them pay. But first, she’ll have to figure out what to do in this strange place. Or, how to wake up if that was the case.

If she had power, she would make anyone who ever slighted her pay. If only magic and powers existed in real life. She could turn her boyfriend, Brian, into a toad and make her family let her do whatever she wanted. Now, that would be a dream!

Turning deeper into the woods, Katherine picked a path between the trees and followed it.

***

After a few hours of walking, the forest began to turn a gloomy grayscale. The vibrant ferns became ashy as the dark trees above blocked out the remaining near-evening light.

Katherine’s legs throbbed as she forced herself to continue on in an aimless direction. Her heels, footwear only suitable for dumb parties, had long come off and were now carried in her hands. She cringed at every bare step, wincing and moaning as blisters formed and slowed her down.

Near evening, a soft light glowed in the distance. Carefully approaching, Katherine walked up to a small moss-covered hut. A fire crackled in a pit and a woman in a heavy shawl sat on a wooden bench, staring into the flames. At Katherine’s approach, she looked up with a homely smile.

“Oh dear… what have you gotten yourself into?” she asked.

Katherine stood on the edge of the firelight, like a stranger waiting to enter a home. She wavered, thirsting for the warmth of the flames and to take a seat after hours of wandering.

“I…” Katherine swallowed. She was usually the kind of person to handle things herself. She was sure-headed and more stubborn that anyone she knew. But, she had been attacked, was in a strange place, and tears burned in her eyes. In only a few hours, she had fallen into desperation.

“I need help…” Katherine whispered.

“Come sit by the fire,” the woman said. She got up and showed Katherine to her seat. She had long amber hair, pulled over one shoulder and woven into a braid. She wrapped her shawl around Katherine’s shoulders, revealing twisting tattoos up and down her arms.

“I have some soup cooking inside that I can share. Are you hurt? Where did you come from?”

Her questions were innocent but something about her cadence hinted to Katherine that the woman might already know the answers to her questions. She didn’t stare at her obviously different clothes or look concerned. Instead, she remained as calm and compassionate as a monk.

Bone earrings hung from the woman’s ears, and she had the distinct smell of herbs, gardening soil, and smoke.

“Are you… a shaman?” Katherine asked. Her mind tumbled over the details in front of her, trying to make sense of her situation.

The woman’s eyes widened, and her mouth wrinkled into a smile. She looked to be in her thirties but a lifetime outside in the elements have wizened her features with crow’s feet and smile-lines.

“No dear, I am a witch. Have you never seen a witch’s hut before?”

“No… I don’t know—”

“I’m only making a joke, dear,” she said. “Not many people wander into these woods. I’m just as surprised to see you here, as you seem to be about me.”

A witch. Did she call herself a witch? Like those Tik-Tokers who pretend to recharge their stones in the light of a full-moon? Or did she mean she likes gardening, cooking, and hobbit-style living?

“Oh, you almost had me for a second,” Katherine said. “A witch—hah!”

The woman fixed her with a confused look. One eyebrow lifted and disappeared into her shaggy bangs. "I was teasing you about the hut. But for being a witch, I only speak the truth.”

Katherine froze. She twisted her fingers into the heavy shawl around her shoulders, not knowing what to say. Either the woman was crazy, or maybe she really was dreaming. It had to be the longest dream she’d ever had, but that seemed to be the only plausible answer.

“If you are really a witch, what kind of magic can you do?”

The woman got up and busied herself with a pot. She hung it over the fire on a rack and began to fill it with water from an urn. Walking over to her house, she picked leaves from a bundle of drying plants. The hut was homely with a squat frame and low roof. The smell of something roasting drifted through the open windows that revealed walls of shelves covered in books, jars, and tinctures.

Around the back of the hut, a stack of cauldrons leaned and a small goat with three horns was tied to a stake, lazily grazing under the trees.

“So you want a show?” she teased. “Alright. Keep an eye on the fire. And don’t blink.”

Katherine turned to the fire and tried to follow her directions. The heat caressed her cheeks and the curling smoke perfumed the air. The flames licked a small pile of timber then suddenly disappeared. They went away with a pop as if they were wiped from existence entirely.

“What?!” Katherine straightened up.

“I thought I told you to keep an eye on the fire?”

Behind her, the woman stood with a small ball of flames floating above her outstretched hand. She closed her fist and the fire reappeared as it had been in the pit.

“How did you do that?!” Katherine got up from her seat and rushed the woman. Her long walk and earlier scare be damned—she had just seen magic!

The woman smiled and continued to gather tea leaves from the plants drying over her stoop.

“There are many other things I can do, and I can show them to you in time.”

“Show me? Really?!” Visions of magic filled Katherine’s mind. When she played D&D, she always enjoyed playing a sorceress. The possibilities of spells, ancient runes, and majestic powers filled her with joy. The idea of simply flicking one’s fingers to elicit a magical command was something she only ever dreamed about. Butterflies filled her stomach and her whole body felt light in the euphoria that magic was real.

The woman chuckled to herself. “I can see you would like that. I’m not an old woman yet, but I’ve always wanted to find someone to pass on my knowledge to. I think it’s fate that you wandered into my neck of the woods. What say you…?”

“My name is Katherine.”

“Katherine. Would you like to become my apprentice?” She spoke with such an assurance, it felt as if she had known Katherine for a long time. Almost as if she expected her to appear before her.

If Katherine chose to stay here, she could become the witch she’d always dreamed of during her D&D sessions. All the costumes she had designed over the years cosplaying and all the stories she wrote in her journals about being someone powerful, someone unfettered by the socialite-chains of society.

In this new world, were these dreams actually possible? Was this even real? If she learned magic, she could learn how to protect herself. She could defend herself against any bandits and even better, she would be an all-powerful evil sorceress…

“Yes, please!” 

***

The kindly forest witch took Katherine in and began to teach her about the magical and natural world around them. Katherine was given a small room toward the back of the hut. She slept on a feather and rush mattress, made tea and breads every morning with the witch, spent the daytime gardening, and every evening was a discussion of magics.

At first, Katherine was eager to learn. She quickly mastered simple incantations. She could turn a wilted flower into a blossoming lilac. She could call birds down from the trees and eventually light a fire with a simple chant.

It was fascinating, but she quicky tired of these simple tasks. She wasn’t here to act out a simple farming life-sim. She wanted to go on adventures and learn incantations to burn every bandit in her path; should she come across them ever again.

When Katherine wasn’t studying, she took long walks in the woods. She practiced tracing runes in the pine needles and thought about what she wanted to do while she was in this fantasy world.

“It’s not like I need to know how to boil the perfect cup of tea,” Katherine complained. She flipped through an old book the witch had given her. They sat close to the fire outside. It was autumn.

Katherine was dressed in a heavy shawl of her own and wore a long dark-colored dress. Her face was plain, with no make-up to be had, but her dark hair was striking as it traced its way down her back and over her shoulders. Her dark eyes sparkled, reflecting the flames.

“There are many things a good cup of tea can cure,” the witch responded. “But I agree, I think you are ready to advance your training. What would you like to learn next?”

There were so many things to pick. What would be the most helpful to becoming an all-powerful evil sorceress? She wanted to learn curses, hexes, and poisons. But she’d have to go about it carefully. She couldn’t make it obvious how dark her intentions were. She couldn’t wait to play this world and its people like a fiddle. But the witch would stop her the second she caught wind of her plans. Wouldn't she? She could keep quiet. It's not like she would make a stupid mistake like kidnapping a princess or something painfully cliché like that. She just wanted power. Something to make her stand out.

“I want to learn something more advanced. I thought magic was about power—the ability to make big changes? I don’t want to bring flowers to life until I’m old and wrinkled.”

The witch listened carefully. She set down her cup of tea and got up and went over to wood pile near the hut. She bent down onto her knees and pulled a small brown form out of the pile.

“I noticed this when I was stocking the fire this evening,” she said. In her palm was the still body of a shrew. “The poor thing passed recently. Here.” She handed the little body to Katherine. Katherine flinched, disgusted, but accepted it. The fur provided no warmth, it was a cold corpse.

“Our magics are all about balance. To give life, you must take it from elsewhere. To end a life, you must replace it.” She wrapped her hands around Katherine’s so they both gripped the shrew. “Now close your eyes and focus on the body. Focus as if you are pouring your very soul into it.”

The witch began to chant a quiet incantation. The words dripped from her lips like a spring drizzle. The words laced together, flowed, and pulled at Katherine’s heart. She felt her chest start to strain as if she was holding in a breath and a source of warmth began to beat from between her hands.

There was a twitch.

A little leg kicked. Whiskers tickled her palms. Katherine opened her hands with a gasp. The little dead shrew looked up at her with its beady eyes now full of life.

“You brought it back to life?” Katherine asked. She looked to her teacher. The older woman only smiled.

“From your power, yes. I have some more books I can lend you. We can start rune-driven incantations tomorrow, if you’d like.”

Katherine nodded. She’d like nothing more than that. Finally, she was on to something. This had the possibility to make her great!

***

Three years after Katherine first arrived at the witch’s hut, Katherine was alone inside, mixing a stew for her teacher. The cauldron bubbled as she dumped magically shredded root vegetables and chunks of potatoes into the broth.

The witch was outside, by the fire.

Katherine was gaunter than when she first arrived. Long out of the modern world, her body had thinned in this rustic lifestyle. But rather than a healthy, suppleness, there was a droop of shadow under her eyes. Her cheekbones were sharper, and her lips were pursed in constant frustration.

Night after night, Katherine stole away into the darkness. After years of training with the witch, she cultivated her own powers under the watchful eye of the moon. Katherine practiced dark magics she discovered through some of the witches more valuable books. The witch had kept them under lock and key, but Katherine had long ago stolen and replaced them with transfigured rocks. In the woods, she wrote runes and called forth energies to aid in her magic. She mastered nonverbal spells without the witch’s knowing, and crafted mini minions out of resurrected forest animals, originally killed by her hand.

Here, her power knew no bounds. She needed to test herself and see how far she should go.

She didn’t need the witch anymore.

Gathering two wooden bowls, Katherine ladled out the meager soup. Checking to make sure the witch was still out of sight by the campfire, she pulled a small vial out of her shawl’s inseam pocket. An odorless, tasteless powder sparkled inside.

“This should do the trick,” Katherine whispered. For the past six months, the witch had been teaching her how to brew a variety of elixirs and poisons. They always used one of the spare pots outside to avoid contamination with their cooking pot. But tonight, Katherine had other plans…

Mixing the powder into one bowl, Katherine brought dinner outside.

The witch was sitting huddled under her shawl and with a tired smile. She gratefully accepted the soup and brought it close to her face, inhaling the warm steam rising from the cooked vegetables.

“Ah, nothing better on a cold spring night,” she said.

“You bet,” Katherine muttered. She stuck her spoon in her soup and gave it a swirl, not having much of a stomach for it due to the nerves welling up in her belly.

The witch began to eat without hesitation. She hummed to herself, enjoying spoonful after spoonful. Had she given her the right one? Was it supposed to take this long, diluted in so much food? What if she hadn’t given her enough and it only made her sick. What then?

Katherine groaned and put a bite of potato into her mouth. Next to her, the witch’s bowl suddenly flopped onto the ground and her hands went to her throat.

“Ack, here we go!” Katherine spit out her food and dropped to her knees as her mentor fell to the ground.

“Ka…Katherine? Wh…what is…” The witch reached for her, her fingers clawing at the air. Katherine dodged her and instead hurried away to grab a spare pot and throw it on the fire.

“What…” the witch’s voice disappeared. Her mouth opened and a great sucking noise whooshed out of her throat.

Pouring well water into the cauldron, Katherine quickly set to work. She traced runes in ash around the fire pit and sprinkled dust into the water. She then gathered her ingredients and methodically began to break down the witch’s body with the same knife she had used to cut their dinner’s vegetables only an hour before.

It was short, bloody work. As the moon rose high in the sky, a deep yellow at its zenith, she cast her mentor’s blood into the cauldron and the potion began to hiss and bubble. A burnt coppery smell filled the air, burning Katherine’s nose and throat.

“Fac me pura. Fac me esse…” Katherine chanted. She stirred the pot and splashed the mix over a set of runes at a time.

“Pulchritudo tenebris, nox tenebris. Sub tua potestate in virtute tua...” Katherine dropped the ladel and threw her hands in the air. “Donum super me tua pulchritudo. Vibrus tuis—”

Katherine ripped off her shawl and pulled down the front of her dress. Plunging her arms into the boiling water, she screamed. The hot concotion merged with her skin, melting and fusing instead of burning her away. Katherine splashed and washed herself in it as she continued to wail.

“—et inexpedia caro! Ex virtute tua esto!”

Upon her last plea, Katherine scooped a handful of the elixir and brought it to her lips. It was a boiling mix of read and black, looking more like a molten marshmallow, rather than a product of dark magic. Clenching her teeth, she felt the heat on her lips as she held it close. The skin on her arms had already begun to slough off and her body was soaked with the burning liquid.

Was this really the answer? Would this spell really work?

Katheirne swallowed the burning elixir. The cauldron bubbled over and dissolved into a black cloud. Katherine fell back as sparks blew and the entire forest around her dissolved into a wild inferno. Her clothes burned away and she blacked out.

***

Cold, early mists come down from the hills and coated the forest in a mourning veil.

Katherine lied on her back, naked, and covered in shivering gooseflesh. Black ash covered the ground around her and an acre of land around the witch’s hut had been reduced to embers from last night’s spell. The remaining trees stood like dark toothpicks against the gray sky.

Katherine’s eyes flickered open and she groggily sat up.

“Ugh… did it work?” She cupped her hands over her chest and pulled up her legs, as if to protect her bare flesh from the hellscape around her. The firepit, the cauldron, and the body of her mentor were all gone. What was left of the hut was a pile of ash and the entire area was heavy with smoke.

“I need to get out of here.” Standing up, Katherine wobbled. Bare foot, she hurried through the wreckage and away from the woods where she had spent her last three years.

Katherine walked until she was beyond the zone of destruction and back under the protective boughs of the surrounding forest. She walked south until she came to a meadow where a crystal-clear creek bubbled through. In the distance, a small farm and livestock dotted the fields.

Collapsing by the stream, Katherine plunged her hands into the water and greedily drank. The water was sweet. It splashed, refreshingly, against her skin. Shivering, Katherine sat back and looked at the rippling water as her reflection came into sight.

Last night she had tried to make an elixir for immortality and god-like beauty. To her, it was hard to tell if it worked. The bottoms of her feet were unscathed from her journey through the woods and not a scratch was on her pearly-white skin. In the water, her features were very different. Katherine’s dark eyes were now a ghostly gray, reminiscent of the ashes of the witch. Her long dark hair had a purple sheen to it and looked like oil, moving soft and silent as a perfect length of silk. Despite having passed out and slept in the open all night, her lips were pink as flower petals and were plump and healthy. Her body felt tighter, more luscious.

“Did it work?” Katherine whispered. She touched her skin and brushed back her hair. Was it all just her imagination? She reached forward to poke her reflection in the water and dare it to change and reveal her old visage when another figure appeared beside her own.

“Are you alright?” a soft voice asked. A girl stood by the stream across from Katherine. Katherine startled. The girl was about her age and wore a farmer’s smock and apron. She had long golden hair tied back into two braids and a homely face with sun-kissed freckles. Her brows bunched in concern, and she leaned toward Katherine with an outstretched hand.

“Oh, dear,” Katherine mused. Her cheeks flushed. But it wasn’t embarrassment, but power. A simple farm girl could be the perfect pawn. Katherine sat up, baring herself to the girl without an ounce of shame. The poor girl’s eyes lingered on her nakedness before she looked away with a blush.

“I—I’m sorry—I—”

“No worries, dear,” Katherine whispered. She took on the tone of her late mentor. Charming and unassuming. “I need your help. Do you think you could spare some clothes and food… for me?” Katherine pouted on this last phrase.

“Of course! Wait right here!” The girl sprung into action and raced back toward the farm. A few minutes later, she returned with a smock, cloak, and a basket of food. Katherine got dressed and accepted the food quickly. She had places to be and worlds to conquer, of course.

“I hope this is alright,” the girl said. She fussed with her hair and stood a little too close to Katherine than she liked. Her eyes followed her every move like a little lovesick puppy.

Katherine straightened her clothes until she was satisfied. She could alter them into something better with a little magic once she was on her way.

“This works, thank you,” Katherine said. She blew a kiss at the girl. The girl’s eyes widened, and she bubbled into a clumsy giggle.

“What’s your name, so I may thank you properly?” Katherine asked.

“Cera Millstone,” she answered.

Katherine crossed her fingers behind her back to trace an ancient rune across her cloak. The telltale buzz of power filled her belly and warmed her throat. Magic laced the next words she said.

“Don’t forget me, Cera Millstone. I welcome the love in your heart. Thank you.”

Cera blinked. Her eyes dilated and her smile faltered for a moment.

“W-what is your name?” she stammered back.

Katherine didn’t want to be known as “Katherine” anymore. It was time to put that part of her life behind her. But there was one detail from her old, boring life she wanted to hold onto.

During D&D campaigns, she played as a Witch Queen. It was fitting she became her now, wasn’t it? An evil sorceress, a ruler of lands—a witch queen! —deserved a proper name and title. It was time to give life to her sacred identity. A name that has already survived many dice-bidden conquests.

Katherine looked down at the girl. The power in her core grew, ready to speak her new identity into reality.

She spoke.

“My name is Nyssa.”

End of Part 1. Stay tuned for the next part!