Parallel Summaries (part 9)

Fred 1 goes to the Southern Caves to slay a dragon. He kills Velus. He & Astra 1 are sent to a deadly swamp. Astra arrives alive and well, but Fred arrives with his back torn out and dead. Astra must continue on alone. 

After stumbling across a scene where she sees a teenage boy turn into a dog (none other than Velus by his appearance) the warrior princess is rather confused about the turn of events, since they contradict what she knew what had happened. The dog disappears magically to places unknown. Astra soon comes upon a woman who appears to be her weapon trainer, but that is impossible. First her teacher fell in battle 15 years ago. Second, this "corpse" doesn't show signs of those fifteen years having passed. After a bit, Anina (the weapon trainer) and Astra establish they are who they say they are. Anina initially didn't believe Astra to be who she claimed to be, since Anina's last memory is of Astra being a nine year old girl. 

Something is up. 

They set off together, and are soon dismayed to find that they are not only hundreds of miles away from Aqualaria, they are 16 years in Astra's past. Someone has changes things by teleporting Anina away from Aqualaria, disrupting the way history had unfolded as Astra remembers it, Astra is BACK in the past. Her very presence is changing things, increasingly as they get nearer to home. 

Still, they must get to Aqualaria to see what needs to be done. 

So, they soon get a dress and a staff of sorts for Astra and are on their way. 

Later, they come across a sign of a massacre, and Anina says something about the area smelling like a swamp. This causes Astra to fall to the ground in a catatonic state, since she'd watched Fred die horribly and then had forgotten about it (blocked it). 

This is a thing to explore later, for there is nothing that Anina nor Astra can do about this at the moment. 

Eventually it comes to light from another ambush survivor that the Dragon of the Southern Caverns has traveled back in time and is using it's knowledge of future events to alter things to it's advantage. The dragon has unleashed a plague of giants upon Allaria and Aqualaria, which is basically making things..... interesting. 

But Astra also has knowledge of future events and makes plans with Anina on reaching the rulers of Aqualaria and fighting knowledge with knowledge. 

But things aren't as they seem. 

Later, the warrior woman stop a weapons merchant on his way to market and try to finagle the purchase of a horse or two to make their journey more swift. It soon becomes apparent that this is going nowhere when a childish cry of joy is heard from the bushes and the NINE year old Astra comes crying out of the bushes, babbling about how her royal convoy had been on it's way to a secure sight where Allarian and Aqualarian forces could unite to better fight the giants. 

The child had watched her own mother die before her....her friends and family killed. 

Her own mother's wish had been for the youngster to run for safety, and so Astra had. 

The last scene she'd seen was that of the Dragon of the Northern Caverns swoop down and begin slaughtering the giants. 

The nine year old had been too busy and frightened by the slaughter to think that the dragon was actually helping....instead of doing something sinister. The dragon who had swooped down and attacked was a Champion sent by Rules and Agents to fight the evils unleashed by a demonic duel known as the Brazen Man and Randall Flagg.....but that's a different tale for later. The dragon had seen the girl run, but had more pressing matters at hand as he tried to help the few survivors of the ambush. 

Later, the dragon had changed into human form to try to reassure the child that he was there to help, but the nine year old proved to be more skilled at hiding.....so the dragon never was able to find the nine year old. 

Before the adults could make heads or tales of this, the demon known as the Brazen Man appeared and magically put them all (except the merchant) to sleep and teleported them all to Terra Prime for later fun and games. He had also sent a newly resurrected Fred (the one in the swamp) to Terra Prime so the revived knight could play a part in a bitter betrayal. 

The Brazen Man would have been angered to know that the mind control spells that he'd cast on the still unconscious (and recently revitalized) Fred had been blocked by Minestus after the dragon had revived Fred.....but that's a different story. 

The teleportees awaken months later, and are startled to find other analogs about (as well as a unicorn couple and a woman who just can't stop dancing). 

Later, they all get captured by Orcs.....