//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Unfortunate // Story: The Crystal Vanguard // by Skarner //------------------------------// "There are those we trust, and those we fight; then there are those we trusted, to now we fight." ~Anonymous It was cold, but not freezing. The chills of the northern winds never bothered her. She stood at the outskirts of the Crystal Empire, just on the glaciers that extended between the east side of HoarFrost mountains. From there, she did admire the Crystal Empire for it's revelry. Nevertheless, she had one last deal to make. She dared to venture upon slippery ice, only to stop at a certain spot. She brought forth a large pillar of ice, revealing nothing but plain cold ice... Or so it seem to a naked eye. With sudden haste, she drive her hoof into the pillar, surprisingly with great ease. Her hoof was succumbed, but she clenched a dark piece of a horn. She pulled it out of the pillar , causing the ice to crumble. However, the debris never gave her a scratch. She kneels to gently place the sundered horn upon the uneven ice. She casts an ancient spell that allows the remnence of a living being to be fully animated once again; a spell that shows an active ghost. As the image of the horn-bearer began to build, she calmly stood with a smile upon her face. The horn then became part of a dark foggy figure of a stallion. He roared loudly at his wake, and his eyes flowed sickly vibrant green. "What is the meaning of this?!" Sombra demanded, aiming to intimidate the pony that stood before him. "I see that you're very grateful to be alive." Lissandra said casually, "Now come hither; there are plenty to do." The mud grew thicker ,as it seems, as they kept galloping/running. The day was dark, and they bore heavy wounds; nopony saw it coming. They quickly learned to never trust anything in the Shadow Isles again. The temptation to fall back to their home was great, but they couldn't return without the dragon relic. Ryze halted on a stoned path, leading to the shore from which they entered from. The water that splitted the Shadow Isles and the dragon kingdoms was hidden in thick fog. "Wheres Mordlen?" asked Sarhoth. They looked about but there was truly no Mordlen with them; he's been left behind with Hecarim and Yorick. Ryze silently cursed to the air, and this time, the guards chose not to go find their lost friend. Valor's right and left wing were too damaged to fly swiftly, so he had to dock on Quinn's back for the time being. Suddenly, a loud roar straightened their necks. After a brief moment of analyzing the roar, they didn't recognize it as anything they have heard before. And so, the guards bolted towards the source of the roar to investigate. [hn] "Queen Ashe?" a courier pony spoke as he sneaked a peek into the meeting room full of important figures; The Sheriff of Piltover, the rulers of The Crystal Empire and Equestria, the Griffon King, the Lord of Bilgewater, the Queen of Ionia, the youngest royal sister of Freljord, the Chief of Minotaurs, the Princess and Prince from Saddle Arabia, the Ruler of Zaun, and the Ursine Grand Chieftain. "I have an urgent message for you!" Ashe looked to Princess Celestia for permission to interrupt the meeting, since she was the hostess. She nodded, allowing Ashe to excuse herself. "Speak my message for me please?" "Of course Queen Ashe." The courier raised his chin, "Princess Lissandra wishes to speak with you." "Is that so?" she rhetorically asked, "Is she here at the moment!" "Yes your highness." He bowed in respect. "Thank you young courier. I am humbly sorry that I must leave so suddenly, but my sister needs me." "Tis alright dear Ashe. Thou may proceed with thine affairs, but do return with haste if possible." said Luna. With respect, she bowed to the leaders and made her way towards the door. To reunite with her second sister. She trotted her way through the Freljord civilians, bowing her head to those who greeted and praised her. She couldn't and shouldn't rush her way, for it was un-queen-like. Finally she sighted her other sister: Sejuani. Ashe called for her, "Sejuani!" "What?!" she responded harshly, "Can't you see im trying to nap here?!" "Stop being a stubborn bitch and come here!" "For fuck sakes!" she stomped her way towards her little sister who does not seem happy, "This better be important." "You bet your pork-ass it is, Liss is back." "Are you shitting me?!" she swung at the air, "She's going to level this place Ashe; like how her 'rogue Frostguards' destroyed Freljord!" Sejuani stomped, causing Ashe to slightly flinch, and to gain the quiet attention of everypony in the room. "Why are you so ignorant?!" she pressed her face closer to Sejuani's, "Why can't you see that our big sister needs help?! That she needs our love?! She has been alone for years and you shutted her out like scum! Shes our sister, and im going to help her-- so you can come if you want-- and this is the last time we'll talk about this." she stormed to the final door that lead to the exit. Why are you so oblivious?, thought Sejuani as she watched her sister stomp away from her, Why can't you see that she is not the real Lissandra? It was a dark and luminescent night under Luna's stars, nothing else bothered them while the young ponies slept. Kassadin and Fiddlesticks needed no sleep, due to their abnormality. They sat in silence for quite a long time, just focusing their mind to relax, and pay attention to their surroundings, incase something does want to disturb them. It has been a day since they met, and they predicted that they are nearing Canterlot. However, the Everfree forest had new surprises for them. "Hey Kassadin." said Fiddle, "You think the young ponies are hungry?" the group has not eaten for more than half the day, so it was logical to assume that they will be hungry once they awaken. "Very well. You may scavenge for essential foods for the young ones." "Whoa, who said I was going to get food? You go." "Your scythe is the proper tool to extract such." said Kassadin as-a-matter-of-fact, "It takes a lot of energy to summon my blades." "Stop being so lazy." "Likewise." "Fine--fine-- i'll go. Would you like some hay-fries with that too?" "Would be enjoyable." And so, Fiddle lifted himself off the ground and began to scour the forest around them. The trees were winkly--as usual--, and the dirt was soft and muddy. He allowed his crows to aid him in his scavenge. Later, they were successful with a leg-full of apples, wild blueberries, and some edible leaves. Fiddle smiled proudly at his large haul. He began making his way back, snacking on an apple while his crows assisted him in carrying the food. Then, the trees started creaking and bending, causing Fiddle to stop in his tracks; which was a mistake. He hoped to stand still until the mysterious noises subsided. Instead, a large tree lifted itself from it's roots and transformed into a strange cloud, that gave off a green and purple aura. Without a moment to react, the cloud quickly surrounded Fiddle, then transformed into a tree once more. Upon doing so, it rooted Fiddle to the ground, rendering him immobile. The crows were useless upon piercing the tree's enchanted bark armour, but Fiddle's trusty scythe could cut through anything! He swung at it, only to realize that he was not currently wielding his weapon. "*gulp* Maybe we can talk this over?" he said as a last resort. The tree then opened it's large and vibrant purple eyes, and opened it's sap-covered mouth. "Whurga shay Garglash Bloue!" it said. "Me no comprehendo." "Graaasrgh!" it stomped furiously, seeming to be frustrated. "Oh! I don't speak tree. Sorry; for whatever I did to you?" It roared, and reached back its massive arm and smacked Fiddle out of the roots, knocking him back. Fiddle felt dizzy from the impact. Once he got up, the tree slammed it's arms on the ground, causing an arcane shockwave. The impact rendered Fiddle to stagger. Once he recovered, he put on a devious smile. "Alright, you asked for it!" he sneered, "Come on! Is that all you got?" The tree did not hesitate to give in to his taunt, so he charged and he was coming in fast. Fiddle waited until it got close enough to see his pupils (or rather estimated) and thought of the darkest thoughts... then released those thoughts, hoping to inflict deep fear into the tree. Surprisingly it worked! It fell over, trying to crawl away. Feeling sorry, Fiddle tried to approach it with sincere friendliness. "Hey big guy--I didn't mean to hurt you--just wanted to protect myself." just then, Kassadin and the young ponies arrived at the scene. "What in tarnation happened here?!" demanded Little Strongheart, "Yes. I believe I will ask the similar question." said Kassadin. Fiddlesticks stifled a sheepish laugh, "I met a tree, and I think i made it cry.". Kassadin resisted the urge to facehoof. Whereas Annie moved in to comfort the abnormal tree. "Hello tree!" "Tree." it replied. "You are a tree, yes." she pointed her hoof at it, making it nervous and act spontaneously. It lashed out and nearly hit Annie. Luckily, Veigar was quick with his spells and placed a veil of dark magic, caging the tree within. It quickly calmed down, and tried to speak once more. "Tree." it pointed to itself. "Yes, tree!" Annie said in glee. The others couldn't help but watch in amusement as she chatted with a tree, "Me, Annie." she pointed to herself. "Me," he took a moment to find the next word to say, "Annie." Annie's giggle brought a spark of content to the tree, causing it too, to laugh heartily. "Well, at least it's learning to speak." commented Fiddle, "And it doesn't look so bad afterall." "I agree." said Kassadin, "But what caused it to awaken from it's roots? Namingly a certain bundle of sticks" he sneered an eye accusingly at Fiddle. "Wasn't me! I was just leisurely strolling back to you guys and it kinda' smacked me." he shrugged. Although they doubt the tree's intelligence, the tree itself was learning ever faster than anypony could imagine. "Me, namingly-- Maokai." it said, "You Annie." "Yay!" Annie jumped in glee once more, and continued to converse with Maokai. "Fiddle!" she called out, "Can maokai come with us?" she deviously used the most adorable glistening eyes that Equestria has yet to see. "Sure, why not?" he gave in. Causing Annie to once again, jump in glee. "Im impressed at it's ability to learn one's language from a mere conversation." commented Kassadin. "Your language is not so hard, strange one." said Maokai. "I like him!" Veigar interjected. He secretly wondered if he could teach him dark arcane magic. "Welcome Maokai, we're glad you shall be joining us." announced Fiddle. "Likewise." it replied. "Sister?" Ashe tried to gain the attention of an odd, but recognizable figure at the distance; most likely to be Lissandra. "Lissandra?!" she called once more. The figure looked up from her gaze upon the fountain in front of her, and made her way towards Ashe, but was blocked by the guards. "Halt!" commanded the guard-pony on the left, "At ease soldiers. She's friendly." the guards let their spears open a path to Ashe, who was trotting down the castle stairs. Lissandra also came towards her. They embraced eachother into a big hug, sighing in content. The guards couldn't help but smile at the warm scene. However, Lissandra's touch was freezing, but Ashe dared not to break off. "It's been so long! I feared you may have fallen during the troll attack in Freljord!" cried Ashe. Lissandra hushed her, "I can not be killed so easily by such primitive creatures." Lissandra spoke in a calming tone. She had a pale-blue coat, with a snow-white mane. She wore a dark blue armoured gown, with pointing shoulders, which hid her cutiemark. Ashe remembered that she had a frosty crown as her cutiemark, since she was the former ruler of Freljord before she mysteriously disappeared. Her headpiece was twice-fold more peculiar; it was shaped like a hammerhead shark, and it was made of immeltable ice, just like her armour. "I was foolish to not mobilize the Frostguards-- the pure Frostguards to aid in the defence." "What is done is done, we can not dwell on our past." "Yes but we saw the trolls coming, we could've prevented it!" "And we'll make sure that the rest of Equestria does not receive the same fate, dear sister." Lissandra smiled warmly, "Together." "Together." said Ashe in a soft voice. They once again embraced into a hug, and continued inside. Little did the young Freljord Queen realize, that Lissandra drew an insidious smirk. "Let's go! Let's go!" cried Ryze. Sarhoth was able to head in first, but they find that it was a grave mistake. She was met with a whack from a larger and ghostly dragon. Well, it wasn't actually a dragon per-say, it was the living embodiment of heavy armour for a dragon. It was a full-dressed armour, coated with a rusted purple finish. The head-piece was truly the marvel; similar to the Alicorn Amulet, it corrupts minds who aren't worthy to where it, whereas it'll keep one's mind pure and vigilant if the one wearing it is strong enough. The amour had symbols all over the rest of the plates that dates back to the Rune Wars. It was apparent because of the glowing ancient markings that was encrypted into the spoulders. The relic of an amour belonged to a legendary drake named Illitheas. At that time, he ruled over the whole dragon kingdom. He was cruel and unmerciful, but loyal and strong for his land. It was he who liberated the drake kingdom to independence, by himself. Legends has it, that he bore godlike abilities that overpowers 5 alicorns two-folds. All were fearful, all were loyal. Soon, he commissioned to forge armour for each of his 4 sons, so they will be protected by his blessing when he retires. But the armour was not to be made by simple and common materials; he requested them to made of the sturdiest earth, the most agile wind, the hottest fire, the most powerful wood, and the purest water. He apprehended those requirements easily thanks to the help of the elementals, but it does not stop there. He also required a crystal, plucked from the inner-world. The crystal is said to be similar to rather a carving tool. However, the crystal will embed the mightiest magic in its wake as it creates a scar on anything. Realizing that he cannot do this, he chose his 4 eldest sons to journey to the inner-world. For centuries, they have not returned, because they dare not come back with news of failure; failure to find the way to the inner-world. Until they discovered another legend... the legend of Gaia. Normally, dragons are never interested in pony myths, but they had no other choice. Gaia is told to be the creator of their world, and mother of all creatures; though she valued ponies the most. There were many different ways to call upon her attention: the eldest tried to learn the knowledge of the universe, the second eldest praised and worshipped Gaia, the third eldest threatened to obliterate the stars, and the last son decided to take part of the pony society. All failed, and died either honourable or disgraceful deaths, but one. The last son was wise to learn the pony way, since they were Gaia's most prized creation. Mysteriously, he disappeared, then reappeared with the materials. Once the amour was complete, he was unstoppable. The head-piece did not accept the user, thus eventually leading him to mad suicide. Forsaken, Illitheas wore the amour in honour of his 4 sons. Unfortunately, he too, was driven mad to suicide. The dragon kind swore to stow it away forever, since it cannot be trusted in the hands of anydrake; it was also indestructible. Until one fateful day, a curious relic-hunter, who escaped the chaotic dragon world, found it within the Cryptic Catacombs. He entered with 4 other friends, who were all adept warriors. It was a place where all forsaken souls fought, for they are cursed to fight for an eternity. Every full moon, the Cryptic Catacombs will become a raging battlefield of ghosts and skeletons of the dead, which will only end once all but one have fallen. He wore the amour, but was not corrupted because as he showed courage, determination, optimism, compassion, devotion, and leadership that makes a true saint. Sadly, it was he who was the last standing in the Cryptic Catacombs. With the amour, he showed the dragon kingdom that they had power to use for the good, that anything was possible. Thus leading to the unity and harmony of the dragon kingdom. "Sarhoth!" cried Krypt as he swooped to catch the falling blue dragon. Meanwhile, Quinn aimed for the gaps of the armour, hoping to get a bolt stuck in between which will hinder the amour's movement. Unfortunately, the ghastly grey fire that it resonated torched anything that came too close. Ryze blasted arcane bolts at its weak points, which was at its under-arms and belly. Although his aim was dead-accurate, it was not effective against the armour. When Sarhoth and Krypt recovered, they had to quickly dodge the incoming sweep of the diamond-sharp talons of the amour. Before Quinn and Ryze can peel the amour off their dragon friends, they were hit hard with a great swing from the armour's tail-piece. Thank Celestia it wasn't spiked, or they couldn't have lived from that. The heroic Valor swooped forward with haste and tried to pry the amour's head-piece out. It was a very reckless mistake since his attack only injured himself. Before he even had a chance to screech his pain, he was grabbed by the claw of its left arm. Luckily, Valor had massive amounts of tolerance for heat, since he had a phoenix friend, so he wasn't immediately scorched by the grey fire of the amour. However, he was being progressively crushed by the claws that held him. "Valor!" Quinn cried in horror of her most close companion coming close to an end, "I'm coming!" She leaped from a tree behind her to gain momentum and speed. With quick agility, she shot bolts at the elbow, causing it to only slightly edge away upon taking small damage. However, it was not her main intention. "Quick, Sarhoth!" she called, "Freeze it's arm!" "Will do!" she replied. With a quick flap of her wings, she closed the distance so she can get in range to use her frost breath. Since the armour was terribly hot, she doubted the frost would do much. But she couldn't let her friend down without trying. She blew a narrow stream of extremely icey wind at the amour's claw, then progressing down the arm. To her surprise, it was working. Valor sighed in relief as he was soothingly cooled by Sarhoth's ice breath, which later became teeth-chattering for him. Krypt called to the dark magic to ensnare the amour foot-pieces to the ground. The black seeping tendrils will not hold long though. Upon noticing the strain, Ryze prepared to create a runic cage, large enough for the dragon. Quinn was grateful for her friends' help, which fuelled her final leap at its fist, seeking to shatter the ice along with the claw as well. In mid-air, the frosted claw broke free and swatted her away. The runic cage was too late as the armour shrugged off the black tendrils at its feet. Sarhoth was out of breath, thus couldn't keep the stream of frost going. Roughly landed to the side, and watched in upsetting frustration the imminent death of Valor. The armour clenched the small bird in its grasp, and brought it to its maw, only to crush him between the teeth of the armour. Just before he was released, a red card flew into Valor's way, then created a pulse that knocked him out of the way, leaving the amour to chomp on air. A stream of flailing cards crashed down in front of the amour of Illitheas, revealing a familiar pony. He rose slowly, and angled his head so that his hat covered his eyes. "Hey there sweetheart." he said, "May I please have your attention?" Twisted Fate unfurled 3 cards in his hooves: one red, another blue, and the third yellow. The ghastly armour roared in anger in response. "Is this your card?" he flung his yellow card at the legs, stunning the amour in place. He then made a full turn to gain momentum to fling his red card; he aimed for just above the head-piece. The red card exploded and created a pulse that brought the head-piece to the ground. "Perhaps you were looking for this one." he flung his blue card straight into it's gaping mouth, travelling straight through the teeth, the throat, the neck, and hitting it directly at the core. Almost immediately, the grey flames burned out, and the bright aura that it gave off suddenly turned off, and the rest of the armour clumped to the ground. It laid lifeless on the muddy and black dirt. The guards cheered, then approached Twisted Fate in gratitude, while Quinn was tending to her precious Valor. "Hold up fellas!" Twisted Fate waved his hooves to shoo away the guards, "We ain't done yet." Everypony looked at him questioningly, wondering what in the world he was talking about. He approached the mess of a machine and began digging in. He pried heavy plates and scorched hinges, and soon the guards came to help in his quest to uncover the armour core. Eventually they find a bloody mare, lying unconscious. "Wake up darlin'." he patted on her cheek to check if she was real. "Go screw yourself Twisted Fate." she launched a hoof straight into his jaw, knocking out a couple of teeth. Before the guards could react, Twisted Fate gave a hearty laugh. "It's alright fellas, take the stuff, I won't be needin' it." he lifted Evelynn from the pile of metal and laid her softly on a firm tree. Ryze came behind him. "What was all that about?" the blue mage asked, "How was this mare able to control such a thing?" "It's simple really; the amour is not immune to magic, assuming its user is a dragon whom are already magic-immune. So it's simple to enchant the armour, as long as the user is not a dragon. Evelynn here used a powerful and unique spell that allows the user to feed magic into the amour so that it can move around and sorts. Unlike the common unicorn spell 'come-to-life', the user must transform into an arcane remnant--a ball of magic-- in order to satisfy the power demand." "Interesting." Ryze commented, "So am I able to perform the same spell on the armour?" "At your own will." "But rumours say that it can corrupt the user's mind!" "Then don't wear the head-piece." Later that day, Twisted Fate taught Ryze how to perform the enchantment. It was difficult and can only be used temporarily, since one's magic reserves are not infinite. The spell required massive amounts of magic, so it will not last long for Ryze. Once Evelynn woke up, Twisted Fate said his goodbyes and the guards said their's, then he blew away in a torrent of cards, along with Evelynn. Now it was time, to see if the spell can really work. Luio wiped off the beads of sweat that rolled down his forehead. His plan was going to be excellent! Or rather awesome! He has gathered the stuff that he needed. Runes: check! Lot's of crystal and rocks: check! Carving tools: check! Artificer-a guide for dummies: check! Ryze's void portal spell: check! Map of Equestria: check! "Alright," he said aloud, "You got everything you need to do this... oh geez, im talking to myself!" he slapped a hoof on his forehead realizing how dumb he looked at that moment. Although it is healthy to self-reflect and it's easier when you're talking aloud. "Okay, time to make some magic doctor Lucious!" he enthusiastically flailed his hooves in pride, that he can finally truly begin. He picked up the artificer guide for dummies, and began reading, "Chapter 1: Runes and you."