Chapter 1: Reawakening

Victoria opened her eyes to an alien sky. Golden light filtered through green boughs swaying overhead, but all else was blurry. Her head pounded like someone had taken a dwarven hammer to it.

Groaning, she pushed herself up on shaky arms and pressed a hand to her forehead. The skin was smooth, devoid of callouses—this wasn't her hand. Nor was this her body, lying sprawled amid tall grass in a forest glade. Memories flickered at the edge of consciousness: flames, screams, the crack of stone against stone.

A city crumbling.

Her city.

She rose unsteadily to slim, unfamiliar feet and gazed down at herself. Pointed ears, delicate limbs—this was the form of an elf. Impossible. Yet she recalled snippets of the gods' war that destroyed her world, and their promise of rebirth in a new realm should she accept.

Victoria stretched out her long fingers, feeling a tingle of latent magic beneath ghostly-pale skin. Was this to be her new life then, washed clean of the past? Once, she'd ruled a criminal empire with an iron will. Now, adrift in a strange land and stranger shape, even her name felt foreign on her tongue.

But one thing had not changed—the will to survive, and thrive. As the pain in her head subsided and her vision cleared, Victoria took stock of her surroundings and smiled slowly. A new realm offered fresh opportunities, and she had always excelled at seizing opportunities. This time, she would build an empire of a different kind. Victoria glanced down at her hands once more, recalling the tingle of power beneath her skin. On a whim, she curled her fingers inward and conjured an image of flames licking up her palm.

Warmth bloomed where before there had been none. She gasped and almost dropped the fistful of fire dancing above her cupped hands. It didn't burn her elven flesh, merely sparked and flickered with a will all its own. Magic—she had magic flowing in her veins now.

A slow smile spread across Victoria's face as understanding dawned. Whatever had placed her in this form had given her more than a clean slate; it had gifted her with opportunity. She'd never cast a spell in her life as a human, yet commanding this elf magic felt as natural as breathing.

Turning in a slow circle, Victoria experimented raising the flames higher, shaping them into writhing ribbons that flowed from one hand to the other without scorching a leaf. Fire had always fascinated her, and now she wielded it without flame or fuel. This mysterious new power sent a thrill through her unlike any pleasures of the past.

Her memories remained fractured, but one thing was clear—this magical ability would serve her well. With it, she could rise to the top once more. And rise she would, on a tide of flame that none could hope to withstand., Victoria's flames danced out as her curiosity took hold. She turned towards the trees, sensing they hid more mysteries than merely wood and wildlife. Slipping past emerald trunks, her sharp elven eyes picked out game trails and caught the flush of birds taking flight.

This forest felt ancient, primal in a way the stone and steel cities of her past could never match. Tall ferns seemed to whisper secrets as she crept among them, testing her new stealth and agility. Beyond the boughs, peaks clawed a bruised sky, their rugged slopes swathed in firs as far as she could see.

Real mountains, not the artificial hills of manicured parks. This land had witnessed Ages come and pass, and its sheer alien wildness both unnerved and enthralled her. Yet on the western edge, where forest melted into grassy foothills, plumes of white smoke hinted at civilization. There lay her future, if she could survive the perils of this untamed wood until nightfall.

Victoria redoubled her exploration, learning fast. When hunger pangs came, her magic flushed a hare from cover to her swift blade. As the late sun slanted gold through the trees, she turned her steps towards the distant fires, walking tall with a hunter's confidence and plans blossoming in her keen elven mind. This world might become her domain, in time., , Victoria crept to the forest's edge and crouched among the brush as night fell. Through a gap in the trees, she spied on a village bustling in the valley below.

Humans and elves mingled with shorter folk she didn't know. Laughter and music drifted up from taverns as folks traded gossip in the cobbled streets. Children chased each other home as lamps were lit, casting the thatch-roofed houses in flickering gold. A tight-knit community, yet she glimpsed signs of structure to bend to her will.

The elven folk dwelled apart in treetop warrens, suggesting natural affinity for magic. A burly human guarded the town hall, implying allegiance to local lords. Merchants bearing arms rings hinted at travels along dangerous roads. And the tallest building, with silver banners flying, likely housed whoever held dominion here.

Victoria studied their rhythms, learning she who pulled the strings. With guile and subtlety, she knew she could uplift herself to their rank within. For now, she was content to wait, to watch and gather her power. Her memories might remain fractured, yet her skills had found root in this new world as surely as the old forest. Soon, she would insert herself into this society and bend it fully to her designs.,, , , , Victoria arose and descended into the village under starlight. Elders smoking pipes on benches eyed her warily, while youths gathering ale blushed at her beauty. She smiled, letting satisfaction curl her lips at the reception.

Approaching a coppersmith hard at work, Victoria leaned languid against his stall. "Greetings. I am a stranger in your lands." He went to answer, but paused at the glint in her eyes. "You will share all you know of the world beyond."

The elf sweated, yet complied. Beyond the mountains, human kingdoms vied for power. One held dominion over fertile river plains and many towns -- including their capital city, teeming with opportunity for those bold enough to seize it. Riches and influence awaited any able to worm their way into the shadows of its underbelly, dominated for generations by a ruthless crime syndicate said to have the monarch's favor.

"My thanks." Victoria left a handful of coins, more than the information was worth. Subtle threats often bore more influence than force alone. As villagers worked to spread rumors of her menace under gaze, she smiled wider. Her path lay clear, towards a criminal empire she would rein and ride to new heights. This realm would know her name, in time.,,,, ,,,,,, In the village inn that night, Victoria tossed fitfully. Flames consumed her dreams as they had consumed her city, her world; an inferno that crackled with memories not her own. She was falling, falling into an abyss as angels circled above with eyes cold as stars.

Their vast forms shifted, became gods wreathed in magic and arguing in tongues strange yet familiar. One snapped his fingers, and her city was razed from existence—but she felt each individual death as keenly as her own. Victoria sat bolt upright with a gasp, ghostly flames licking at clenched fists.

Slowly her wild magic calmed, though unease lingered. Fragments swirled within her reborn elven mind of a life once lived, and the cataclysm that ended it. Why had the gods chosen her for this second fate? What role was she meant to play in the balance of their continual quarrels? The criminals and nobility of this new world were merely pieces in a greater game, and she had an unsettling sense that her moves would tip the board.

With a grimace, Victoria lay back but did not sleep again that night, gazing through slitted lids at flickering shadows. Tomorrow, her rise would begin in earnest. And rise she must, to face whatever mysteries lay veiled within her soul.,,,,,, ,,,,,,,, As dawn light filtered through roughspun curtains, Victoria arose. Her dreams still lingered at the edges of thought, yet determination burned brighter within her breast. This new life and its gifts would not be wasted.

She would journey to the capital city and its dark underbelly dominating the streets. There, she would offer services to test her growing magical prowess, forming webs of alliance and debt through subtle machinations. Her beauty and wiles would open doors, where strength of arms once had. And in time, when connections grew deep and favors were owed, she would pull the hidden strings of that criminal empire for her own designs.

They would never see her rising until it was too late to stop. This crime lord and that merchant prince would find themselves her puppets, dancing on the ends of finely-wrought silk. The capital would bend knee, as had her old cities, and she would rule unseen from winding shadows. Victoria smiled, lit with ambition strange yet familiar as she gazed towards her new destiny shimmering on destiny's road ahead. This was only the beginning.,,,,,,,,,