A March of Storms (Spirited away to a strange world full of sorcerous warfare!)

Chapter 1: The Gift of Myths (Part 2)

"That night, when they visited their house of dreams in the painted void, which varies depending on the dreamer. For some it's a prairie, for others it's a crag. A clearing in a glowing pink forest or an island on the wine-dark sea. Regardless, no matter where they were, their nightly sanctums bordered a vast field of flowers. Under a limitless, twilight sky."

"From the fields came an elegantly-dressed woman, one who smelled of magnolia flowers and whose face was covered by an iridescent veil. The woman told them she herself was the spinner of wills, the matron of spiders, and a mistress of the painted void: Hequis Weyuka. Hequis Weyuka wanted to thank them for their kindness, saying she would grant each of them a single wish. Despite her attempts to convince the five to make their wishes, as long as they were sensible, none of them had anything to wish for at that moment. The five friends were just happy to be with one another and explore the grand world they lived in."

"As they did not make their wishes at that time, each was given instead an iridescent token, which appeared as a coin with a pair of grand crows on one side and a spider on the other. The object would always find its way back to them and allow them to make their wish. All they would have to do is keep their respective token with them as they were asleep and if they had a wish, make it with all their heart, all their soul, all their will." The woman first pointed to the left half of her chest, then her right, before pointing to where her sternum was. "However, they could not directly travel through time, bring back the long dead, or harm another mortal with their wish."

"What about asking for more wishes though Baba Vissi?" Miyu asked, interrupting once again.

Vissi smiled proudly at her. "Clever Miyu, as she did not say directly that they could not do that. However, given my dealings with daemons in the past, Weyuka likely stressed to them she would be only granting a single wish of theirs each to repay them for repairing her forgotten temple. Although, what wishes daemons are willing to grant, and contracts they are willing to enter into, depend on the Daemon themselves." She looked down at her hand, glancing at an ancient ring of hers before continuing. "When they five awoke they each told each other about their dreams and realized what had happened. They eventually agreed that they could not waste such miracles, especially from Weyuka herself, and swore to never tell anyone what happened and to only use such gifts in the direst of emergencies."

"Time passed and the five traveled and wandered the Oukhighea, but none of them made a wish nor told anyone what happened that night deep in the heavenly mountains. Even when they got hurt and panicked, even when they grew older and found love, the five friends never broke their oaths to one another. They had grown exceptionally close by experiencing both the rough and great times they went through together. They had been tempted at times, but eventually forgot about the Kosmic magic imbued into their tokens, or what had happened that night, as over a century had passed. They were now married, elder witches who eventually had settled down in their homeland. Yet the peaceful, sound village eventually encountered conflict greater than some feral mutants. Their homeland was no longer safe between the glinting mountains and misty heavens that helped deter most armies."

"A vicious army of sorcerers, some say from the east, some say from the west, was marching towards the five friends' lands. The dales and vales of the Dhonibha ranges hold many jewels, made by mortals and spirits alike, and this army desired its treasures and resources. They ultimately cared not who or what stood in their way...merely that these Horti villages were the first to stand between them and the riches not just in the Hortis range but those beyond it."

"For days, and then for months, the leaders of this army tried diplomacy, they tried trickery, they tried bribery, desperate to gain a foothold in the Hortis for all sorts of reasons. The foreign army initially did not seek war, but was known for their brutality when it came to it, and the leaders of the Horti villages refused to bend their knees. They knew as soon as they did that this army, superior in both quantity and quality to the sorcerers of their village, could merely go back on their word. One way or another. As even if they made a divine oath, they could and would find a way out of it to get what they want."