Duhona Looguna had seen and experienced many things in her seventy-nine years of life. A pious woman, she had traveled across the world, acting on the will of the six gods humanity worshiped.
She had spent years in the once great nation of Ascalon, calling upon the blessings Dwayna and Melandru to heal and sooth the battered yet resilient people as well as to bring back life into the burnt and decimated land. She had channeled Lyssa's beauty and charm as well as Balthazar's courage and combat prowess to unite two warring factions on the continent of Cantha. Her adherence to Kormir's teachings had ensured that the history and heroic spirit of Elona would last long after her great-grand-children's grand-children's children had passed. Her cold devotion to Grenth had been the death of thousands of those who had opposed the prosperity of humanity and its allies.
Her exploits had immortalized her name and the dozens of other heroes she had traveled with around the world with. From her humble home island of Istan to the far reaching Shiverpeak Mountains in the northern reach of Tyria, the people sang their names in stories of sacrifice, betrayal, honor, courage, friendship, and hope.
But for Duhona, the praise and glorification of herself was unnecessary. She lived for the gods, praying for their favor and acting out their will was enough.
That was why she now stood before her apprentice as he tried to hold back his sorrowful tears. "But why, master Duhona? Why do you have to leave?" he asked, nearly choking on his own words as his emotions threatened to suffocate him.
Duhona gave a motherly smile to the young boy. He was barely into his teen years and the most influential person in his life was leaving him. She was proud of his control over himself but he was still too young to completely understand when to let himself be free. This would be her final lesson to him. "Because the gods have called for me, Doro, and I must answer," she explained while kneeling down to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye. "And do not be afraid, it is alright to cry. We who serve the gods are the calm and confident eye of the storm. But we are still human and even we must let go of our restraint at times," she said soothingly.
Doro did let go of his his restraint and immediately flung himself at his master to hug her, his now freely flowing tears falling onto the white linen of her clothing. "But why you?" he sobbed. "You're basically my mother, I need you!" He was looking at her desperately now. Despite this, she continued to smile like a proud mother would while running an aged hand through his hair soothingly.
"Not anymore, Doro. I have taught you all the techniques I know and have given you all the wisdom I have to give. Now, it is time for you to move on and seek your own wisdom. My path takes me elsewhere," she said quietly. It truly did pain her to see her apprentice like this. While he was one of several, he had become like a son to her. Once he left, their paths would never cross again.
Doro continued to hold her tightly for a few more moments, his thoughts running along the same lines as hers. Eventually though, he let go and stepped back and regained his composure. He did not wipe away the trails his tears had left on his cheeks. "Where will you go?" he asked.
Duhona closed her eyes and sighed. "I do not know. The gods have called for me though and I must answer," she stated simply. During her prayers, she had been contacted by the avatar of Dwayna and simply told that the gods would have needs for her service soon and that she should handle any final business she had here, namely her apprentice. He was really the only thing attaching her to this world other than her devotion and pride. All her friends were now long gone after so many years and while the people of Kamadan were all very friendly to her and would miss her presence, most of the citizens of the city were merely acquaintances.
Doro understood this though and smiled. "I pray that wherever your journey takes you, you will always be in the presence of good company and hold the favor of the gods." It wasn't what he truly wanted to say but this final goodbye was taking its toll on him and he had found security in formality. Duhona placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and continued to give him her motherly smile.
"And may the gods always smile on you as well, my son." Her words were unfair. Tears once again threatened to spill from the corners of his eyes but were suppressed with vehemence. He nodded and by the end of the hour, had left with everything that he would need on his travels.
Now Duhona was alone, something she hadn't felt for nearly a decade. It surprised how much her heart ached now as she stared at the simple door of her home, praying for her adopted son's safety. But, just as he had done, she restrained herself and gave a cursory glance over her home. Like most homes in Kamadan, it was built at the bottom of one of the rock faces that surround the port city. Made of beige colored stones and littered with windows to allow in as much light as possible with a living room and two bedrooms, it was a rather simple place. But now that she would most likely never see it again, it seemed so exceptional.
She made her way to her room, taking a single glance into her apprentice's old room, now bare of all personal effects. Her own room was almost as sparse. A single bed, a dresser, and a single mannequin in the corner draped in a fine black robe lined with thick white fur and a large battle-scythe leaning against it. She hadn't worn the robe for many years now, it being nearly completely impractical in the intense heat of Elona. She had a fine robe of silk from the lands of Vabbi and her old elite Sunspear robes for that. But that was neither here nor there, as both had been designed to accentuate a youthful figure that she no longer had, leaving her only the simple linen clothing of Istani commoners.
She shook her head. All this reminiscing was getting to her head.
She kneeled and began praying, inviting the six gods into her home so that she may receive her task. Near instantly, the room temperature dropped and rose as the physical representations of her gods took form. The blue skinned, winged form of Dwayna was the first to materialize in all her grandness. Then came Melandru in the form of a living tree given the shape of woman. Lyssa was next, her form that of the epitome of female beauty with a dual mask upon her face, one side happy and joyful and the other filled with fury. The source of the cold made itself known as a man with the skull of a beast clad in a rotting cloak formed. The heat came from Balthazar, a tall bearded man clad in heavy armor, as he too materialized. And finally, the form of her old friend and once fellow mortal, Kormir, clad in the same white armor of a Sunspear commander she had worn as a mortal. She was honestly surprised that all six gods were present and she couldn't help but wonder how important her task would would be.
"Rise, Duhona," Dwayna commanded in her angelic tone. "Have you settled all business you have here?" she asked, though Duhona knew that she was already aware of the answer. It spoke volumes of the leader of the gods in how she interacted with mortals, not at all acting like the powerful goddess that she was to make them comfortable.
The mortal woman nodded. "Yes, gracious Dwayna. There is nothing left to tie me here," she stated calmly. "My apprentice has started on his own journey now, my children are living their own lives, and all my friends and comrades have passed on to the mists." After a moment of contemplation, she gave Kormir a humorous, though subdued, grin. "Well, besides you Kormir."
Despite the blindfold around the dark skinned goddess's eyes, she too grinned at Duhona's smile and waved her hand dismissively. "I don't really count," she said humorously.
"If we can get back to business," Grenth suggested in a voice that sounded like the grinding of bones. "There is important business to attend to." His tone left little room for argument.
"I agree, there is no time to waste," the deep baritone of Balthazar acknowledged his peer. "I have been checking on the situation closely and our window of opportunity is closing quickly." Duhona looked at the god of war, confused. What situation? She had not heard of anything going on in the world that would call the attention of the gods.
Dwayna nodded towards her fellows. "Then there is little time to waste." She turned to the aged woman in the room. "Duhona Looguna, you have dedicated your life in service of us. You have helped save this world four times over, from the fallen god Abbadon and his servants to the champion of one of the great elder dragons," she began. "You are the only one of the few that we trust and still lives that faced these adversaries. We now ask you again, holy warrior, to serve us. Do you accept?"
Duhona didn't know what her task would be if she accepted. She didn't know if she would live past it. But her faith was strong. She trusted in the gods and had served them with little question for her entire life. She would continue to do so. "I accept," she said, her head bowed low. And that was why she was so trusted. Just as she could count on the gods, they too could count on her.
Dwayna smiled. "Good, then it is time to hear your task."
Melandru spoke up next, her voice like that of the wind rustling the leaves of a forest. "Your task lays not here, mighty dervish. No, we have need of you in another world entirely, beyond the mists." Duhona looked up, though she refrained from showing her shock and slight anxiety at the thought of traveling to another world, especially in front of Balthazar and Grenth. They would not tolerate her lapse in control in their presence. "A great evil has begun spreading over the land. It veils itself behind puppets and the unfortunate, tempting them with lies of fulfilling their greatest desires. The peoples of this land know not of its existence and we admit, we also know not what form it takes, only that it exists. But your task is to uproot this darkness, to destroy it in its entirety before it can grow so powerful to travel through the mists."
"Should you fail, we are not certain in our ability to defend the links between worlds and the mists will be overwhelmed and the entirety of existence will unravel," Lyssa finished, her normally sensual tone strained.
Duhona took a moment to digest all of this before looking at each god with a confused expression. "But why would you require my assistance? Mine alone at that? I am old now and far past my prime," she said regretfully. She did not question why the gods had not dealt with the problem themselves, for she knew that there were many restrictions that they had placed on themselves that mortals were not affected by to prevent another Abaddon crisis, but she was confused why they would need a woman nearing the end of her life to once again take up arms. In a new world, no less.
Lyssa spoke once more. "As we said, we trust you and your capabilities. As for being past your prime," Lyssa began while she and Dwayna waved their hands, wrapped in magical auras, "you will find that that is no longer of issue."
Duhona looked at her hands in astonishment. Where there was once dark, wrinkled and veiny skin that had paled with age, there were now two completely unblemished appendages with youthful dark brown skin. She felt her face next and found no traces of age, just like her hands. She grabbed a lock of hair and stared intensely at it. Where there had been limp, gray hair, she now held between her fingers strands of fine, dark hair. She could even feel the weight of her now lengthy hair where it had once been short. She let go of her hair and stared at the two goddesses in astonishment.
She was young again. Truly, the gods were gracious.
"We have restored your body to its utmost potential. You will need it, as well as the wisdom you have gained over the many years in this new world," Dwayna explained. Her tone was growing somewhat urgent now. "There is little time to waste now, how much longer?" she asked Balthazar.
"She must leave soon," he said before turning to Duhona. "You have only a few minutes, prepare yourself." With that, his form burst into flames, deeming his presence no longer needed. Lyssa, Melandru, and Grenth followed suit and disintegrated into particles of energy.
Duhona quickly went about her room, pulling a large, leather shoulder-satchel from under her bed before moving to her dresser and pulling out her old robes. She turned to the two remaining goddesses. "Where will I be arriving?" she asked in a hurried yet respectful tone.
"A city near the peak of a mountain, the capital of the land called Equestria, Canterlot. I suggest you wear the robes that Norn friend gave you," Kormir motioned to the fur robe in the corner. "Though I still find it baffling how exposed the chest and arms are for something meant for cold environments."
"The Norn were always a strange folk," Dwayna agreed.
While the two goddesses silently conversed, Duhona rapidly went about packing the two robes into the satchel before stripping and adorning her furred robes. She had little time to marvel at how the heavy material weighed on her, its weight almost alien after so many years, and pulled three large tome from her dresser and placing them gently between her robes in the satchel and threw it over her shoulders. As a last touch, she quickly wrapped her long hair into a tight ponytail, with some old, enchanted gems clipped on her bangs and down the length of her hair. Finally, she picked up her scythe.
"I am ready to leave," she said with conviction. Her mind was completely clear and calm, prepared to serve the gods to the utmost of her ability. Thus was the purpose of the Dervish, to face all adversity with a calm mind and strong faith. She embodied this ideal to its fullest. It was why she was able to step forward on confident feet as a portal appeared before her at Dwayna's behest.
"Go now, Duhona Looguna," the goddess of life commanded, "root out the evil that is spreading across this new world's lands. Destroy it and share my blessings with the inhabitants so that I may sooth their beleaguered souls."
"And remember, Sunspear," Kormir addressed the mortal woman by the title she had held since she was placed under Kormir's command. "You never fight alone." And with that, Duhona stepped through the portal, ready to face whatever challenges lay before her on her new journey.
Meanwhile, a certain white furred alicorn narrowed her eyes as she spotted a great flash of light in the chaos of the siege around her. As her dual war-hammers crushed the skulls of another pair of her insect-like foes, she could not help but curse as, whatever the light was, it only seemed to cause even more chaos.
And to think that she was about to have a delicious peace of wedding cake not even two hours ago.
