"The blood of the Old Ones flows through the wolf, nurturing a legend that had spun out to create power and a will to conquer by fire and through space. The blonde lady flows through the hills and brings life to the land, birthing endless strength and a desire to unite all under purported glory. Meet Eridanus, and you shall find what you seek." This was the prophecy that Cate got from the Oracle.
Cate was allowed to leave the Deshret after coming to an understanding with Set. Cate walked through the desert, and this time around, it was as easy as a walk in the park. She returned to the Wandering Palace and immediately went into seclusion within her rooms. Cate had willed herself into holding faith and love for Set, but this was far from something that Cate wanted.
She loathed the gods, and even ones like Set who could be moved into aiding her path towards vengeance were not to her liking. She would gladly use them and their power to reach her goals, but she would never become a worshiper, not after where her faith in the past led her. Cate stayed in seclusion for years.
It was only in 2005 that she finally managed to remove the faith she had invited into her heart. She no longer lived with each, though, pushing her into doing what would please the god of the deserts. To avoid calling down Set's wrath upon her, Cate did not discard this faith. She had Ion bring her one of the vampires that had been thrown into the dungeons.
Through a sinister spell from the time of the gods, Cate transferred the faith into the vampire's soul, sealing it there until she needed it next. The moment this faith was placed inside the vampire, the supernatural being became a devout worshiper of Set. This faith had been birthed by Cate's powerful mind and will.
The vampire that had lived for less than a century could not handle this endless faith, and he was turned into a fool. Cate had the vampire returned to the dark dungeons until she would need him next. She called this vampire Set since she did not have the desire to learn his real name. Having dealt with that issue, Cate began going through her gains from this visit to the Red Desert.
After deciphering the prophecy, Cate concluded that the third key of destiny was in Italy. The prophecy also mentioned that the key was with Eridanus. Eridanus was the ancient name for the Padus, the longest river in Italy. The only powerful supernatural beings who lived anywhere near this river were those from the Staranse Mage clan, the most powerful of the three Mage clans.
The Staranse Mage clan had lived by this river for thousands of years now. When Cate took over the identity of Catherine Staranse, she learned a lot about the Staranse Mage clan. They were a truly fearsome supernatural clan. Their magecraft was enough to even scare off weaker gods. Cate now knew that they had the third key that she was looking for, and this was truly bad luck.
Getting this key from such a powerful clan was sure to hold a great chance for death. Still, Cate was determined to collect all the keys. This was her only path towards revenge against the gods, and Cate had no desire to give it up even if the chances for death were 100%. Now that she knew where to find the key, Cate was determined to get her hands on this mystical item that would grant her power over destiny herself.
Cate looked at the mark on her right hand. The mark resembled a beast that had not been seen in the world for thousands of years. The beast had a long, downward-curved snout, resembling that of an aardvark. It also had a long tail, squared-off ears that stood perfectly erect, and its canine-like body appeared to be filled with endless power.
This beast was called the Sha Beast. It was a creation of Set. The beast was thought to be long extinct, with most people questioning if it ever existed. Supernaturals knew this beast to be a messenger of the god Set. It was a divine beast with terrible and harsh power. Wherever the beast went, it spread violence and chaos.
The beast now sat on Cate's right hand, marking her as the Herald of Set. Set had given Cate what she wanted, but there were a few conditions, one of which was that the Keys of Destiny would end up in Set's hands. The other condition had been that Cate become Set's Herald in this world. Set also wanted Cate to collect all the pieces of Osiris and offer them up as sacrifice.
Set no longer felt that these pieces were safe out in this rapidly changing world. Set was not an unreasonable god, and he understood that collecting the many pieces of Osiris would be a hectic and deadly task. He therefore offered rewards for each piece she managed to bring back to the Red Desert. For the first piece that Cate offered up, the eye, Set had given out the reward.
Set understood a little about human nature, but this little was more than enough. The rewards he offered up were increases to Cate's power. For the first piece, Set used his divine power to increase Cate's magic comprehension and the quantity of magic flowing through her blood. For magicians, power was determined by magic comprehension, which was divided into seven realms of understanding.
These realms were Novice, Apprentice, Master, Supreme, Legendary, Mythical, and Divine. Cate had recently broken through to become a Supreme Sorceress. She had only just entered this realm, but with the blessing from the god of chaos, Cate was already in the later stages of this realm of comprehension. She would soon break through to become a legendary sorceress.
This speed of comprehension of magic and its nature was only possible with all the knowledge the god pumped into Cate's mind. She had yet to fully digest all this information about magic, but Cate felt that all she needed was to settle down and meditate on this information, and she would further increase her understanding to the peak of what a supreme magician can handle.