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Without question, Verena’s favorite place in the entire Kingdom was Aristaeus’ Basin. Though it was closer to the Heart Kingdom, Verena did not particularly mind that. If she could, she would love nothing more than to visit that place. One could argue that it was especially dangerous within the location, as a result of it being a Grand Mana Zone, not unlike the Volcano Grand Magic Zone. However, to the Summoner it was a home away from home. She was quite at peace here.[break][break]

The last time she had come here, she had done so with Suna, Hans, and Valo as a result of the dungeon. The reality was Verena was in that same location, still very close to the entrance to what was known as “The Four Seasons”. She had felt a connection to this space more upon entering that dungeon -- upon just being near it, and that connection brought her comfort.[break][break]

Four more years. Six years had come and gone. Five of them she had done nothing but cower. Hide. She simply existed. Only now had she been working on actually doing something with her life. Only now had she made up her mind. And now it was too late. What could she accomplish in four years?[break][break]

What could she change?[break][break]

How was she ever going to get her family to acknowledge her? Why would they acknowledge her? So what if she managed to get allies? So what if she became strong? Nothing required them to listen to her, and why should they? She had already abandoned them once. Even if she had the backing of others…[break][break]

It would be simpler to just run to Satori. To the Ryuutei. To just live out her remaining days ignoring any responsibility. Just… making the most of the time she had, limited as it was. At least then there wouldn’t be any stress. No worries or concerns. Or even if there would be, she could at least take comfort that she had someone whom she could rely on.[break][break]

Suna had Hans. Suna deserved happiness. The blue-haired elf did not deserve to be burdened by Verena’s problems. She wanted her to be happy. As best as she could, at least. She had not forgotten the night that she had stopped by and watched as the closest person to her shed tears. It was too painful for her, and she did not know how to help her. She wanted to, but… what could she say? She had made things worse…[break][break]

Right now, she was as she had started. Alone. This was not the result of an accident; some sort of mistake where she had lost everyone she cared about. She still had people whom she could turn to if she needed, of course. But … the brunette did not want anyone to see her like this. Because she had come to the Basin for one reason and one reason only.[break][break]

Verena was overwhelmed. She came to this place for comfort because she had reached her limit and had been bottling everything up. Yes…[break][break]

Verena had traveled a great distance just to cry her heart out. So nobody would see her. She couldn’t stand crying. Not after she had come so far. But despite her best efforts, it felt like everything was going to end in failure. She didn’t want to give up, of course. She didn’t want to die, not before achieving anything. But with how her body acted at times, she knew that her end was coming closer and closer.[break][break]

What was she to do? Who could she turn to? Why… did Renfir want her to die so badly? Why had her own mother watched as her husband attempted to take their daughter’s life and do nothing about it? Verena’s anguish echoed through the basin as she curled up, knees up to her chest as she clutched them. Tears fell uncontrollably. She couldn’t stop.[break][break]

Verena just wanted… to fix her family. And she wouldn’t even get that chance. Not at the rate she was going. She had so much she wanted to do. So much she wanted to achieve. And she would die without achieving any of that. The world was … too cruel at times. And it was quite difficult for her to truly accept that. Why should anyone be forced to accept inequality and unfairness? If one was forced to accept that, then why should anyone live? To live was to fight, and that meant against the very forces that ruled the way of life people had.[break][break]

...and yet, there was nothing she could do to stop this. Between Sosshi, the dungeons she had been to thus far -- there was nothing. There was… no hope. And knowing how close she was to dying just by feeling her throat … it was enough to drive her insane. Why did she have to care so much? She didn’t want to leave Satori or Suna. She didn’t want to leave Hans, Valo. She didn’t want to leave anyone behind now that she had people she admired or respected.[break][break]

Why… did she have to die so soon?[break][break]

Verena did not know how long she had been crying. She did not want to know. She was ashamed of herself to begin with, being reduced to this state as it was. Without even realizing it, she had collapsed from exhaustion, wearing herself out from how much stress she had put herself under. Everything had just… gone black.
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When Verena next awoke, she found herself in a completely foreign territory. While she didn’t remember passing out, she remembered where she was at well enough. Dazed and confused, she looked up at the dense forest that surrounded her. Before, there was a river beside her, with one of the giant crystals in the distance. Mana was denser, and a bit chaotic in how it flowed but it did not feel… dangerous, for lack of a better term. Truthfully, defining how she felt about the dangers of the Basin was… complicated, at best.[break][break]

However, the forest around her right now was … different. It reminded her of her first impression of the Four Seasons dungeon. But she could tell it was different. For starters, there was no odd sense of twilight. This was more like the morning sun, a fresh start. It offered comfort. Birds chirped, and deer pranced around. Exotic flowers decorated the landscape with a variety of colors, and the trees offered a comforting shade. And the most bizarre thing of all was…[break][break]

The brunette took notice of the new item on her wrist. A bracelet with a gem of a sort in it. Verena lacked the eye for detail that came with precious gemstones, but she did know it was pretty. It was attached to a white leather cord, with a white oak casing that gave the impression of a flower ready to blossom. Truthfully, she found it absolutely beautiful. But where did this come from?[break][break]

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A disembodied voice spoke up. It was effeminate -- a woman’s voice. And yet, clearly not. In fact, Verena didn’t even know what language that was given how broken up it was. Yet, she could understand it. She wasn’t sure how, nor was she sure why. But she was positive those were the words she had heard. However, when the brunette looked around, there was nobody there. ...Of course. She was alone.[break][break]

Verena’s expression fell, and so too did she return to reality. Slowly waking up from her slumber, she glanced around, still in a daze. It was truly difficult trying to figure out what had just happened. Of all the dreams she had in recent time, that was amongst the most bizarre dreams. Letting out a loud yawn, the woman sat up and went over to the stream to wash her face. The water within the Basin was much more clean and pure than in Clover, not that their own waters were polluted by any means. Here, however, there were no impurities whatsoever.[break][break]

Verena stared at her reflection in the water. Her eyes had become all red and buffy. ...She must have cried harder than she even realized. How truthfully embarrassing. She was so upset with herself for even letting herself cry that much. But when she started, she just… couldn’t stop, as much as she wished she could have controlled herself enough to do so.[break][break]

Verena’s brown hair was a bit messy, twigs and grass had found their way into her usually expertly groomed locks, and she did her best to brush them off until she noticed something peculiar about her wrist. That… bracelet from the dream? It was on her. She could tell there was dormant magical energy inside it as well, though she didn’t quite know what it was.[break][break]

Verena recalled the only thing she heard in that dream. Two words. “Nature’s Blessing”. Verena glanced at her right hand -- the palm. A mark ‘given’ to her as a parting gift between the two twin daemons. She often wondered what sort of silly joke it was to mark her with a compass. Verena had an exceptional sense of direction that even most Magic Knights would not possess. But … part of her wondered if it was gifted to her in their final moments so “she would not lose her way”.[break][break]

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TL;DR
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Spell Spell Spell
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Natural Charm[break]
Fate's Path