Then the woman found a ship. After paying the fare, she went aboard and sailed for land.

But Krall wept and trembled in fear.

And a great wind swept across the seas, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to shatter. All the sailors were terrified and each cried out to his own god as they discarded the cargo to lighten the ship.

Then the sailors said, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” So, they cast lots and the lot fell on the woman.

Then they asked, “Tell us, what have you done? What should we do to you to make the seas calm down for us?”

“Bring me a zither and let me sing,” she replied, “and it will become calm.”

And the raging sea was calmed.

At this a great reverence fell upon the men, and the first Witch was born in the lands of men.

- Andanian Chronicles

One week later.

The Vaishyan palace was in a state of total uproar, and imperial couriers dashed fanatically throughout the capital.

“What do you mean they all disappeared!? That was our entire fleet and one third of the army! We scrounged together every single wooden bucket with sails from the protectorate’s northern arctic reaches to the central equatorial borders so as to impress the Andanians! By the Vaishyan holy gods! There’s just no way a hundred thousand men could vanish off the face of the planet like that!” Heliocles Ishmael Zimran, the portly Sultan of the Vaishyan Protectorate groaned.

“The Saadians must have developed a new magical weapon of mass destruction!” an advisor suggested hesitantly.

“That’s impossible. If the Saadians had that kind of firepower, Vaishya would already be in ruins.” Amir the crown prince explained patiently.

“It must have been the Andanians! They must have deployed some kind of wide range communication barrier.” Abel the second prince interjected brightly.

Just then a dust-caked sweating messenger dashed into the audience chamber, “Your Magnificence. Andania… Andania has…” he panted as he paused uncertainly.

“Andania has what?” the royal family rose to their feet and crowded around the messenger like an eager pack of puppies.

The messenger gulped nervously as he stared at their hopeful expressions, “The scouts report that Andania has disappeared. There’s nothing… Nothing left!”

“What do you mean by nothing? Did the island sink? What happened to our ships?” Amir demanded.

“The divers scoured out the seabed thoroughly. Although we did locate some Andanian structures that must have been broken off from the island, we found nothing that would remotely approximate the ruins of an entire country!” He replied nervously.

“What sorcery is this? You mean the entire freaking island just decided to get up and sail off into the stars?” Abel muttered disbelievingly.

Queen Mavia let out a loud despairing wail, “Aryan! My dear little Aryan, did you find him?”

The messenger trembled and prostrated before the weeping queen, “Great Royal Consort. This was the only item we retrieved… we must assume the worst,” he replied reluctantly as he produced a flamboyantly colored scrap of cloth.

“Nooo! This can’t be!” Queen Mavia cried as she staggered weakly into the comforting arms of her husband.

“The Saadians. What happened to their fleet?” Amir questioned tensely.

“Our spies report that the Saadian flagship Yggdrasil has docked safely at Riyadh, the capital. Their fleet is damaged, but intact.” The messenger answered apprehensively.

“How did the Saadians annihilate both the Andanians and our entire fleet in a single night?” Heliocles mused aloud as he furrowed his brows in bewilderment.

“I don’t know how, but it is clear that the Saadians were the only survivors. Please forgive your servant’s ineptitude, Your Magnificence.” The messenger pleaded.

Just as the royal family was about to intensify their questioning, another messenger dashed fanatically into the chamber. “Your Magnificence! The Saadians are mobilizing, and they have sent us an ultimatum! They demand that we immediately surrender both the Andanian territories and her crown princess.”

Heliocles Ishmael Zimran, the matchlessly eloquent sultan of the prosperous mercantile Vaishyan Protectorate, was momentarily lost for words. His mouth gaped open and closed repeatedly, “Repeat that, slowly please,” he finally mumbled as he sank back into his chair and buried his head in his hands.

“Your Magnificence. The Saadians are mustering their forces to invade our nation. They demand the immediate return of the Andanian territories and…” the messenger paused as he double-checked the unfurled parchment in his hand, “one Crown Princess Laura Alexandra Muriel of Andania.”

“How can we return something that completely vanished off the face of the planet? Why doesn’t that ridiculous boy Emperor pray for a miracle from his own gods instead of demanding the impossible from us? This trumped up pretext for war is totally unprecedented, even from those slaving scumbags! Send that miscreant a reply he deserves!” Amir yelled irately. The attending scribes nodded as the whisper of pens scribbled furiously against fresh parchment.

“Convene the Grand Council immediately. We must begin marshalling our own forces before the Saadian hordes overrun the borders.” Abel commanded calmly.

“Empty the sultanate’s coffers, hire every competent mage and mercenary you can find to shore up our depleted armies,” Heliocles added. “I don’t understand why the Saadians had to come up with such a twisted scheme to entrap us, but it’s clear at least that Xerxes intends to test the readiness of our remaining forces. We must muster everything we have and teach those slavers a painful lesson that they won’t ever forget!”

And thus, the Sultan of Vaishya sent word to the furthest ends of his protectorate. Then they came out with all their troops and mages – a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And all of these forces made camp together at the Waters of Merom to battle against Xerxes.

...

“I’m cold, I’m bored, and I’m super-duper tired of fishes!” Laura complained as she pouted at Aryan from across a flickering campfire.

“Hey, it’s not my fault that your Krall decided to dump us on this deserted island! There’s just nothing else to eat here!” The prince shrugged helplessly.

“It’s entirely your fault! This mess was started because you wanted to force me into marriage! I know, I’ll have a piece of human for dessert. Maybe your brown skin will actually taste like crème brûlée!” Laura’s eyes glinted with anger as she reached for a talisman. Then she let out a hopeless groan as she remembered that all her charms had been destroyed by the ocean.

“Not so fierce without all your spells, aren’t you? Little witch?” Aryan teased as his eyes twinkled with amusement.

“Arrgh! I’ll get you for that!” Laura raged as she leapt over the flames and pounced at the prince before pounding her small fists against his muscular chest.

“Hahaha. This is just too funny!” Aryan guffawed as he clamped his hands around Laura’s arms to restrain her violent tendencies.

“My life is totally ruined,” Laura muttered listlessly, “Whatever could be worse than this?”

“Hey. Laura.” Aryan spoke with a serious warning tone.

“Just shut up! I don’t want to hear it!” Laura pouted sullenly.

“This is very important!” Aryan insisted as he tugged at the resisting princess.

“What is it now!?” Laura complained.

“Your dress… it is burning!” Aryan exclaimed.

“What?” Laura’s eyes bulged with shock as she tore free from Aryan’s grasp, “Nooo!” she screamed as she ran wildly in circles and the fanned flames crept swiftly up her tattered clothes. Aryan lunged forward and pinned the panicking princess to the ground and smothered the flames with his body, then he patted desperately at the glowing embers that remained.

Laura sobbed frightfully as she was pinned down, half-naked, by his strong unyielding arms. “Are you going to eat me?” Laura shuddered as she wilted under his intense serious stare.

“There, there. You are safe now.” Aryan comforted the trembling princess by patting her gently on the head.

“I can think of many things I am right now, but safe is definitely not one of them.” Laura giggled weakly as her groin rubbed against Aryan’s belly.

“I’m sorry!” Aryan blushed as he released Laura as if she was a scorching hot coal and sat down with his back to her. “I’m going to mediate for a bit,” he muttered.

Laura sighed contemplatively as she stared at Aryan for a long silent moment, then she sat down and leaned her bared back against his. “This marriage thing, it wasn’t your idea either, was it?” she mused softly.

“No, it wasn’t. Vaishya desperately needs trustworthy allies and how better to secure an enduring political alliance than by royal union?” Aryan answered with a soft sigh.

“Idiot. And you came to Andania willingly, and in person?” Laura snorted.

“I guess I wanted to see for myself what my betrothed was like, and if I would fall in love with her?” Aryan shrugged vaguely.

“And…” Laura prodded mercilessly.

“And you’re kinda cute I guess?” Aryan muttered, “But also extremely foul tempered, unreasonable, and reckless!” the prince blurted out even as he winced and prepared for a renewed assault.

Laura giggled, “Idiot. But I guess you are not half bad yourself. I always wanted to travel and live in a foreign faraway land!”

“You’ll be amazed at what Vaishya has to offer! Our palace is built from white marble and inlaid with precious gems sourced from the furthest reaches of the seven seas. You can buy everything in the capital, Calcutta. Even exotic baubles like the one your father gave me. And the performances, the dances…”

“Wait!” Laura screamed loudly as she leapt to her feet and darted recklessly before the shocked prince, “Repeat that this instant!” she demanded.

“About the white marble palace?” Aryan mumbled with confusion.

“The bauble! What did Father give you?” Laura questioned intently while shaking the addled prince by the shoulders.

“Oh, you mean that fancy trinket?” Aryan frowned as he reached into his pockets and retrieved an intricately carved ring, etched with countless runes. “It’s surprisingly hard for silver, and your father said that I was to hand it to you only after our wedding night.” He added bashfully.

“That isn’t silver, it’s pure dragonfire forged mithril. It’s the Calamity Ring!” Laura squealed with bubbling delight as she broke out with a radiant smile. “You must say these words immediately, ‘I Aryan Ishmael Zimran, take you, Laura Alexandra Muriel, to be soul entwined, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.’ Then put that on my ring finger.” Laura demanded as she held out her left hand to the prince.

“What? You want to get married right now? But the ceremony should be held in…” Aryan protested weakly.

“Pooh, marriage is so whatever! Just say those words and I can get us off this cursed island!” Laura exclaimed cheerfully.

“Okay…” Aryan complied reluctantly as he glanced uncertainty at the suddenly exuberant princess, ‘I Aryan Ishmael Zimran, take you, Laura Alexandra Muriel, to be soul entwined, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part,’ and he slipped the ring gently on her finger before flinching as if he had been half-expecting some horrific fate to befall him.

“Pfft. Don’t worry, I’m not about to turn you into a toad.” Laura giggled as she attached her magical ruby to a cleft that had formed in the ring. Then she stood before the prince with a triumphant smile, “I Laura Alexandra Muriel, take you, Aryan Ishmael Zimran, to be soul entwined, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.’

“What now?” Aryan questioned as he eyed the princess warily.

Laura glanced doubtfully at the ring in her hand, “I’ve never seen the ceremony performed myself, so I’m not sure…” she mused thoughtfully before continuing, “I think…” Just then, her ruby flared wildly to life with a radiance that blotted out the stars, and the ring of calamity burned with scorching fiery incandescence that seared into her very soul. And Laura fell agonizingly to her knees and screamed.

“Laura!” Aryan dashed forward to wrest the ring from her fingers, but his attempt was in vain as a massive shockwave blasted him off his feet and thrust him face first into the ground. Aryan attempted to rise but a flying boulder collided violently against his head, and he collapsed in an unconscious heap.

And Laura screamed. And screamed.