Sadly this entry was accidentally delayed and arrived after judging had commenced. We still think it should be shared.

SUDIVA’S RETURN TO GRACE
The slumbering giant is awakened with a start. How strange, in what seems the eternity in which she has been trapped here in the bowels of Covetous, she has not in her memory been startled in such a fashion. Listening. Sensing…a presence…magic…strong…and Evil! Bracing, has the fiend returned to heap insult upon this interminable imprisonment? No, not Astaroth. She would have felt his malevolence long before he actually entered this stinking pit. This was a different evil, not closely felt as the bonds holding her to this place. This purgatory, where she has, these long, years, paid for her past malice and greed with her precious freedom.
Knowing that only the foolhardy or insane would venture this deep into this foul dungeon, Sudiva remained quiet. Gathering her still formidable magic power she reached out, sending innocuous waves of telepathic energy into the darkness. She waited, expecting the mad ramblings of some lost soul stumbled into the terror of Covetous. But no such machinations returned. Instead, a zephyr… a name rebounding softly to her mind…”Cora”
Her guard raised, Sudiva would face this intruder and either end the anguish of it’s lost soul, or send the intentioned idiot to their grave. Either way she would be alone to continue her repentance in solitude. Rising to her feet, the massive red giant swooned as she rose nearly to the roof of the dank cavern. Amazed, thoughts racing, what is this, no oppression? How was this possible, the bindings of Astaroth weakened? Not gone, but a mere hint of the former steel-like torment.
Crashing to the dungeon floor, the chamber walls shake, ancient stalactites break free and fall, some splashing into Covetous’ fetid waters. Sudiva quickly regains her footing, pivoting to the left she faces the intruder and releases a roar likely heard in the halls of Vesper. To her surprise the interloper, this “Cora”, is not cowed. She stiffens and with great force of mental power imparts a message:
“Come dragon, if you dare!”
“I mean you no harm, but be warned I am not one to be trifled with!”

This was a powerful Sorceress, but she was somehow not whole, injured?… yes injured, but still stalwart. Sudiva would be cautious.
“How have you penetrated so deep into this realm wizard?” Sudiva bellowed.
“In seeking lost knowledge known to be contained within the Codex of Wisdom I was transported here within a conflagration of the void and twisted space.”
“I shall redouble my efforts to obtain this knowledge and the POWER it will enable me to wield.”

Sudiva warned, “That which you seek is not for humans to know.”
“You will find nothing but ruin.”

“Perhaps, but this destiny is my own pursuit and I will smite any that interfere”.
Sudiva reared back her fearsome head, preparing to incinerate this seeker of forbidden lore. Suddenly a wave of memory washes over her. Flooding into her mind, the visions of how her arrogance and brash, impetuous actions allowed her to fall prey to the dark Shadowlord, Astaroth.
Cora, although weakened by the temporal explosion that resulted from her encounter with the Codex, immediately begins to chant “Vas Rel Por”, “Vas Rel Por”. Gates begin to open about the chamber. Grotesque caricatures of daemon, serpents, all manner of denizen flooding through the portals. The room filled with vial intent these tormented creatures, twisted by evil magic, tore at each other in a frenzy to destroy anything in their wake.
As the vision in her minds-eye faded, Sudiva mustered all her magic power. A force so strong, that the mana being drawn into the red beast, created a freezing chill within the chamber, momentarily stunning the monsters streaming through the gates. With a mighty roar, accompanied by spewed dragon fire, Sudiva growled “Kal Ort Por”! In an instant the dragon was gone, the summoned minions of Cora left alone with their evil mistress.
The force with which Sudiva had executed the spell momentarily clouded her mind. Shaking her huge countenance, scales grinding, the ground literally trembling under her massive weight, she sought composure. Swirling thoughts Gates!…Attackers!…Sorceress! Sudiva breathed in deeply. The dank musty air had vanished, she was assailed by a freshness not know for eons. SHE WAS FREE! No more bound to the malevolent Shadowlord of Hate. Her heart swelled with the realization that her contrition was over. Again free in the world.
As her vision cleared Sudiva sees in front of her an Ankh, surrounded in stone and blood flowing from its center. “Sigh”. In the haste of her escape she had not even formed a coherent thought of where she would teleport to. The irony of finding herself at the Sacrifice Shrine was too much for her to bear. Huge tears begin to stream from her limpid eyes. As she softly recites “cah”…”cah”, the tears form crystals of sacrifice littering the ground around the shrine.
Spreading her wings, seemed an eternity since able, Sudiva takes to the skies of Sosaria. In great soaring loops and spirals she relishes her freedom, appreciated as never before. She traverses the known lands feeling the heat rising from the deserts, the moist air over the expansive seas and the chill flying over Ice Island.
In time, her need to soar sated, Sudiva found herself drawn to an area uncomfortably close to the mountains that house Covetous. Circling a small desert area to the east she spies the glint of a Sacrificial Ankh. She descends to an Oasis. The Oasis, she finds, is home to the Shrine of Compassion. This spot quite comforting, despite the minor annoyance of the desert wildlife. To the west she discovers a cave. She decides, “I shall make this place my home.” And I shall never again threaten the peace of these lands. For those who know my tale and who would seek me out, I will grant favor of compassion unto them. This will be my unrelenting penance for the evil which I did in the days before by imprisonment.