The Joining

The spider seemed to glisten for a moment, then it suddenly changed color to a bright, burnished gold. Amazed, she watched as the spider, now composed of solid gold, continued spinning. Its web was now a fine, almost translucent gold thread.

Thrilled, Fred-Hannah read on. Next was a spell that would literally cause a king's mortal enemies to bow before him. Fred-Hannah remembered that as Sir Fred, she had heard the king had gathered many sorcerers and spellcasters in a quest to develop such a spell, a quest that failed miserably.

Here it was, and as Fred-Hannah read it, she knew for certain she could cast it by herself - to her, it was child's play! Not that it will do me any good against a magical foe, she realized.

She read faster and faster, each spell more powerful and complex than the one before it - and each more quickly understood and absorbed. As the spells embedded themselves in her mind, Fred-Hannah's power grew exponentially as she read.

It took only a few minutes for her to run through Belboz's entire repertoire of spells. As she finished reading the last one, the power she'd been harboring made itself know. Fred-Hannah threw her head back with a gasp as beams of pure light shot from her eyes, mouth and ears, striking every book in the vast library Belboz had built up, turning them to ash.

Moments after it began, the light and fury ended. The young girl at the table stood and smiled. Anyone who had observed her both before and now would have noted a change to her bearing and her attitude. She was much more confident and self-assured than before.

As it happened, two great changes had taken place. First, as the light destroyed each book, it also transferred their information directly to the young sorceress. All this innate knowledge, along with the powers Belboz and Chelene had conferred on her, would have made Fred-Hannah the most powerful magic-wielder on the face of the planet.

Except that she was now beyond being merely Fred-Hannah.

A change had taken place within her as well. Until then, she had been two minds cohabiting in a single body. Now, as all this knowledge and power flowed into her, those minds truly touched each other. The natural magical talent and innocent feminine grace of Hannah united with Sir Fred's fearless warrior spirit and purity of heart and purpose. They linked, flowed together, fused - and became one.

She was now Annafrid - Sorceress Supreme!

Annafrid made a casual gesture, and immediately, the remaining artifacts - the ball, the cap, the pouch - were safely inside side a small leather pouch which shouldn't have been big enough to contain them - but did. Another gesture, and her plain peasant-girl's dress was replaced with a gown of silken gold (inspired by the spider), worn over a solid yet light set of armor. The pouch hung from one side of her belt, along with a few other magical artifacts. To balance it, a sword and crossbow hung from the other side.

Annafrid was now ready. She knew what she must do first:

1. Tame the dragon, and end the immediate threat.
2. Take the fight directly to the dragon's master - and for all her power, she knew it would be a terrible battle.
3. Call on the one ally she knew could possibly help her.

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