King Burrukam

Regina had a somber expression on her face. “That is King Burrukam, and this was his **** on my hometown.” She turned her attention to Seqora, who was chanting feverishly. The glow from the lines intensified with each word uttered from her. I turned back to the city to see the army already storming the castle. Regina looked down at the ground, already resolving herself to what was going to happen

Within a few moments, the doors to the room flew open, and standing there was a large armored man. “High Priestess Seqora of the Atu-Frin, I have come to claim you as my bride. Do not resist!”

“You are a fool to come here,” Seqora said, blocking the distance between the man and the ring. “The ritual is nearly complete. You will be the one bowing before me!” She chanted, creating a barrier of glowing symbols.

“Never! If you shall now come willingly, you shall be brought by ****!” The man drew a knife and threw it at Seqora.

“Mama!” The young Regina dove towards Seqora, her heroic instincts taking over to protect her mother.

“Regina! No!” Seqora shouted, but it was too late. Regina had already crossed over the blue lines in an attempt to save Seqora. The blue lines hummed ominously as a Regina ran further towards her mother. The castle shook violently and the walls broke apart as a large boulder smashed through the room. Everyone was sent flying and the room was bathed in a brilliant blue light. Then, the light faded and I was back in my apartment on the couch with Regina.

"Wait, what happened?" I asked, confused.

"The ritual my mother was trying to cast failed, sort of," Regina said, still looking somber. "Originally, the ring was designed to control men and be unable to be taken off by anyone except the Ringmaster. However, due to Burrukam and my interference, two things went wrong." She held up her fingers and gestured along with her words. "First, the magic of the ring became inverted. Only working on women and could not be taken off by the Ringmaster. Second was that I became trapped inside. After tha-" I stopped her midsentence by hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry that you went through all of this, Regina," I said, holding her close.

She wrapped her arms around me and returned the hug before returning to her story. "My aging was slowed thanks to the magic's ring, but I also became a servant of the ring and the Ringmaster. After my mother passed, I tried to get the next Ringmaster to help me, and the next, but none of them were able to. They could at least talk with her occasionally in their dreams, but for the past 100 years or so, they haven't. After 100 years of not being told that someone is alive, you sort of just lose hope." I gently rested my hand on hers to show my sympathy. "But, you're able to talk with her. Maybe she's learned some secret of the ring these past hundred years?"

"I don't know," I said, but gave her a reassuring smile. "Look, she said that those strong enough with the Reality Ring were able to go to the Hall of Ringmasters."

"So, you just have to keep using it and train up!" Regina looked incredibly excited, like being told that you would be paid for what you love to do without any time constraints. "This is grea- Ah fuck."

"What?" I said, turning around and seeing Danna standing there, staring at us.