I was quite put out. How had the thick skulled sword slinger managed to thwart my trap? That spot at the Portal was hexed and he had walked through it unscathed, even I would have been burned through by the enchantment I had laid.

Aggravating at the least, he was the one I most needed to weaken if I was to claim my rights. Well, I would see how the young woman faired. She may be the easier to over come. I could take her life’s energy and her Talisman and be on the tail of the fool in short order.

I watched and soon she arrived. It was only natural that our paths would narrow and converge as we made our assault on the forbidden land. Her approach was far more satisfactory. As she made to touch the mighty Portal she was engulfed in the blue-black flames of unfiltered arcane power! It was a most delightful spectacle to see her writhing in agony, that ridiculous beast hopping about helplessly. I laughed for the first time since my awakening, there would more such rich comedy under my ruler ship.

I tried to reach her before she was too far gone but she recovered quickly and mastered the lock on the door to the land beyond. My way was clear and in good time I had made my way to the puzzle of the Portal. A master work indeed, but simple enough for one of a superior intellect as mine.

Within the buried land I saw her; she had gone far in a short time. My senses told me that this place was completely artificial. It was a pocket of the cosmos, sealed off and perpetuated by an unimaginable power. Such powers were at the behest of the wearer of the Crown of Command. Whether through my own hand or those commanded by me I could alter the fabric of the universe and make my domain invincible, my ruler ship perpetual. But first I must capture and slay my quarry.