[Cards] Meta Mantle (Patreon)

Sream brushed the sand from her scarlet robes, taking care not to scuff the careful golden trim. It had been decades since she'd come here, back to the H'rethi desert. It had given her a new life, leaving behind the timid girl she was and growing into the sorceress she was today. Her pilgrimage across the dunes had taught her more about herself than the books she'd read in her youth, and led her to find the magic deep inside of her. She felt it stirring inside of her, this magic, with earnest recognition. She felt at home.

She began her second trek across the desert, this time with the confidence of a seasoned traveler. Dunes slipped away beneath her, ushering her forward to the heart of the desert. Despite the heat, the robe's metallic thread was cool against her skin.

Days passed without incident. Well, bandits, a hungry purple worm, and the desert's famed nomads all tried to stop her at one point or another, but she'd hardly consider them incidents. Just a part of the scenery. Each time she'd raise her hands to release a spell, she could feel the magic stirring inside her like a great sandstorm, ripping its way from her fingertips and become woven into new magic from the robe's enchantments.

The legends always warned that this pilgrimage ends in death, and Sream couldn't have agreed more. Her old self had died in this desert, but her new life was so much grander and full than she could have ever dreamed.