//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Of Fog and Darkness on White Tail Woods // Story: Elements of Honor // by SpitFlame //------------------------------// Morning had arrived faster than Corvo had expected. After readying himself and tidying his coat, he made his way down to the castle’s foyer. He had felt much heavier than the day before, though stronger. His weariness was replaced by energy, and his feet could carry him over mountains if he dared. There were no guards, surprisingly, and the front entrance was wide open—the heavy light stretching the black shadows behind each pillar. Corvo looked outside, seeing a stone stairway leading down into a grassy area; and a metal gate surrounded it, too. Hmm, that is where I first met them in the last few weeks. His ears perked as the sound of hoof-steps appeared to his side. He turned to see Celestia and Luna. As they both approached him, Corvo noticed Celestia bore a saddlebag round her torso, and Luna, too. “Good morning, Corvo,” said Celestia. “Is everything alright with you?” Her eyes were grey, and she lit her horn to open up her saddlebag. “Yes, I am much better,” said Corvo. “I assume I was just ill yesterday, that is all.” He chuckled before leaning in against a pillar and gazing beyond the open gate. “Yes, we can accomplish much more today. I do hope we are able to find more of these stones. Do any of you have more details relating to the tree, or where, possibly, are these stones located?” Celestia gently lifted a map from her saddlebag. She unrolled it from its scroll-form and hovered it towards Corvo. He grabbed it and inspected it, scanning his eyes over the drawn mountains and trees; and he saw dozens of red lines, each connected to one another, and several more sketched circles appeared in different places across the map. “This is significant in correlation to the locations of the stones?” said Corvo. He looked up as Celestia drew in closer. “Here,” she said, hovering a hoof over the map. “My sister and I, as well as several archaeologists and detectives, have tried to trace down any predicted areas these stones could be located at. We were actually able to find another one of these stones last night; however, it remains in the Crystal Empire for you to place.” Corvo remained silent, listening intently. “Anyway,” Celestia continued, “the second one we discovered was actually buried deep in a desert down south, which was located through inanimate magical scanning. We were able to deduce the magical traces the stones left off, and they were tracked down to different paths of Equestria.” “So we already know where to find all the stones?” said Corvo “No, that’s not it,” said Celestia. “The magical traces were cut short, but we sent several dozen guards to search underground areas.” “Are you saying that the stones are all in underground areas?” “That may be a possibility, though I very much doubt it.” Celestia then traced her hoof over the many red lines. “These were the magical traces we caught, though as you can see some lead to certain forests and even a few towns or cities.” “But there are only seven stones in all,” said Corvo matter-of-factly. “But again, you said that most, if not, all magical traces were cut short. These lines are all the ones you and the other guards were able to find?” “It’s a bit more complicated than that,” said Luna grimly. She drew in closer and dragged a hoof over the map. “Over two-hundred traces were discovered and connected, but all ended even before we could get a lead—and since we deleted most of them for how insignificant they were—these few dozens are the ones worth noting. We imagine that the stones could all be scattered around Equestria.” She then circulated her hoof round the red circles. “These are the most likely areas for the stones to be discovered.” “So you say that the five remaining stones are all scattered round Equestria?” said Corvo. “Actually, there is something I should add. What if each stone is located in a different environment? It is a possibility.” “What do you mean by that?” said Celestia, quicker than she had noticed. “Well, most of these circles I see are sketched round different areas of different looks,” said Corvo. Both Celestia and Luna took half a minute to look over the map and nodded. “Well, it is only a theory. But if you are going to ask me, I would say to make the main focus on forests and cities, as well as any other unique area.” “I see,” said Celestia slowly. “Well then, these two first stones were far apart from one another, and already several of these lined places were discovered to be rather empty.” “We still must check each and every single place in Equestria,” said Corvo. “I do believe these stones would be in, well, guarded areas.” “What makes you come to that conclusion?” said Luna. “The initial two were, while difficult to find, unguarded and in genuinely safe areas.” “Hmm, think about it: these stones would not be easy to physically recover, despite our knowing of their exact locations,” opined Corvo. “We do not know the answers as to why this is happening—and I do hope we can solve the mystery—though I do have educated guesses. We have faced incredibly threatening situations if you do not remember, such as the windigos the six ponies and I first encountered, and those wooden wolves. If these stones are thus separated, and you are right in your deductions in correspondence to these traces of magic, not only would I assume altered areas for each one, but maybe”— Corvo handed over the map to Celestia, and he wandered forth with a fist against his mouth —”Well,” he then began to mutter, “these disasters are still present. That could prove an obstacle.” “I’ll take your word on this,” said Celestia. Luna remained still, staring at Corvo and tapping a hoof to her chin. “I wouldn’t expect the stones to be easy to obtain. Of course, we will need all the help we can get.” “Then I shall be setting out,” said Corvo. “I shall be heading towards”— he looked over the map —”towards the western forest.” He placed his finger over a circled patch of green on the top of the map. Luna levitated a metal rectangular box from her saddlebag upon hearing those words. She hovered it towards the assassin, placing it in his palms. Its lateral bases were made of thick glass, the edges a black iron, and a thin metal ring on the top. “Take this,” she said. “It is a lantern: a source of light for your journey. The westward forest can be like an abyss in the night, and the air even grey in the day. If you are to head there in search of a stone, you will need this.” Corvo grabbed the metal ring of the lantern and let go with his other hand. It wasn’t heavy in the sense, it was actually incredibly light for a metal object. In the inside was a short metal cylinder, perfectly rounded and balanced amid the glass walls. Celestia lit her horn for several seconds, and a spark shot from her to the lantern. Through the glass it ignited against the cylinder, and a bright red glow appeared. “Do not worry about oil,” said Celestia. “This is a magical lantern. It shall last forever, or up until the point where I use my magic to put it out.” She then drew forth a linen bag from her own saddlebag. A white rope connected the two sides of the bag together, going round and over the opening. “Inside is a detailed map of Equestria. Use it to your advantage.” She gave the brown bag to Corvo, who then threw the rope round his neck and placed the lantern inside. “What about the six ponies?” he asked. “Twilight and her friends are getting ready to go on an adventure of their own, actually,” said Celestia. “They are in the Crystal Empire at the moment. They will only set out for tomorrow, so I’ll make sure to tell them of your hypothesis.” “Hypothesis?” said Corvo. “Verily, I am confident enough to believe it to be true. But please, say what you believe to be right.” Corvo was then off before he stopped and looked back. “Why do you have all of these things: the requirements for a journey, mostly? A second map, a lantern, and this bag. It is as if you already knew I would be heading out.” “You said it yourself yesterday: you would be toiling hard,” said Celestia. “I am here to get you prepared.” “But what about the two of you? Shall you not aid the six ponies and I in discovering these stones?” “Corvo, please!” jeered Luna. “We already have enough tasks as it is in Canterlot, and even more throughout Ponyville, Manehatten, and other parts of Equestria. We will be busy, but you must help the Elements of Harmony in order to save Equestria.” “I see,” said Corvo quietly. “Give me a moment to prepare.” He then set off back to his room, but turned once again. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, I promise to discover the ominous reasons as to why these disasters are happening, and why these stones are.” Over the next hour, Corvo decided to only bring his bag and his folding sword. He ate, for he needed all the energy he could obtain to set out on such a perilous journey, and finally he was off. But even as he was off, Celestia could only watch as he took the hidden passage from within the mountain’s back. She could only gaze at his distant shadow with saddened yet hardened eyes. She wanted to know more about Corvo, ask him what his words meant the previous day, and if she would ever trust him. * * * “No. That’s not it, girls,” said a panicked Twilight, shifting her head as a multitude of books telekinetically hovered past her vision. The six ponies were seated upon high seats of crystal, amid a large, flat crystal table. Scattered about the seemingly-glowing surface were several dozen books, notes, and papers with near-incomprehensible writings. Each map was attached to another with red strings and pins, connecting different sketched locations and sticky notes on book pages. But the lavender alicorn herself was flipping through book after book, dancing her eyes rapidly about the plethora of documents and other notes taken in the previous days. The five other ponies, too, shot their eyes through as many important-looking papers they could set their gaze on. Pinkie Pie, especially, was throwing her hooves about piles of maps and other books—a look of despair plastered on her face. “We’ve been up all night,” Twilight continued, “but we can’t seem to get past tier two of our studies: where specifically are more of these stones located!” “Maybe we should take a break, Twi,” said Rainbow Dash. She glanced over the many books and notes lain across the wide table. “I’m sure we can figure this out eventually, but a little rest would do us good.” Twilight shot Rainbow a sharp yet tired stare, but it was softened as both Rarity and Applejack nodded in approval. “Listen, sugarcube,” said Applejack, “Ah really want to save Equestria, but don’t yah think we’ve been searchin’ for clues long enough?” She then stretched her neck, her eyes barely reaching over the horizon of the pile of books. “I mean, we tired out Spike for t’day.” She then looked behind her where Spike slept on the floor with his stomach upwards. “Applejack is right,” said Rarity. “Even if we are a bit behind schedule, I’m sure Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, as well as Corvo, should be figuring things out much more quickly. All this late-night sitting is affecting my, ugh, posture.” A pain in her back snapped, causing Rarity to rub a hoof against it. “I know, I know,” said Twilight weakly. “But still, I don’t want to seem too incompetent in this situation; and mostly because Corvo has accomplished more than we have so far.” “Oh, come on!” cried Rainbow Dash, leaping upon the table. “What has he done to really be that helpful?” “Other than helping save Equestria, saving us from the windigos, and saving Canterlot?” interjected Pinkie with a raised eyebrow. As Rainbow Dash groaned, Pinkie shrugged. “I dunno what else, Dashie.” “Alright then.” Twilight sarcastically dragged her words. “We still need to find more of these stones. Why this is happening and where they came from is a mystery all on its own, but it’s one that we’ll have to worry about in the end.” She then let out a long but quiet sigh. “Well, I suppose we’re off to a good start so far. We already have two of these stones, and the princesses have probably figured out where to find a third, or even a fourth." There was a pause as she kept on pondering about her thoughts. “Fluttershy!” Twilight gazed upon Fluttershy, who cocked her head and stared with incertitude. “What do you think?” “Um…” Her eyes danced round her friends. “Oh, I don’t really know, Twilight. Maybe I’m not the best pony to ask.” All of her friends audibly huffed and slid their backs down their seats with defeated expressions. “But,” Fluttershy continued, “I think we can trust Corvo. He’s already proven his trustworthiness—at least to me he did.” “I suppose you’re right,” said Twilight, rising with a stiff posture. “Still, we know that these stones leave off magical traces, though they’re extremely hard to follow. Most of them have been cut off too early to really get anywhere.” “Ah, ‘n’ we know that the princesses are workin’ with Corvo to figure out these locations,” said Applejack. “We also know that they’re spread across Equestria, so we know that they’re not too close together,” said Rainbow Dash. “We can also be sure that the magical traces we caught were the strongest, narrowing our destinations to where the stones are,” said Rarity. “And we have plenty of other ponies helping,” said Fluttershy. “And we know when we’re done I’ll throw us all a super-duper-ultra-spectacular we-saved-Equestria party!” Pinkie clamored, jumping up and down upon her seat. However, when her friends all gave her dead stares, she chuckled nervously and said: “Oops. I mean, um… we also know that this will be a dangerous adventure, so more prep time for us!” Twilight felt the tightness in her chest loosen, a warm air encompassed the table and her friends. She looked about the myriad of papers and books spread across the crystal table, then hearkened to her friends’ words. She stiffened her upper lip and rose, a determination in her eyes. “We can do this,” she said. “We should have plenty of information to hunt down the remaining stones, and we will most likely get more help from Corvo and the princesses.” Then activating her horn, Twilight pulled all of her friend to her side of the table. They all bunched up, coming together in a group hug. “I’m glad my friends are here with me. Together, we will save Equestria.” They all shared a laugh, and then got back to work. For the next several hours, they listened intently to each other’s words, and studied harder than they had ever studied before. Right before the sun reached its last descent below the southern horizon, a white alicorn walked in, her main flowing past the front door despite the lack of wind. Celestia looked upon each of them, each of the ponies bore bags under their eyes, with many papers and notes resting on the floor. Twilight was the first to notice her mentor, and gasped as all of her friends looked in the same direction. “Princess Celestia!” said Twilight. “You’re here! We’ve been working exponentially hard today, and we have even deduced a few theories.” “Yeah,” said Pinkie, followed by a yawn. “Like when we figured out that these stones could be in different environments.” Celestia smiled weakly, then said: “I am glad you ponies are working together in this. It raises my hope even further knowing that we have the bestest of friends working to save Equestria. Still, Corvo has already figured out most of these things, and he has set out westward to try and find more of these stones.” “Seriously!” Rainbow jumped from her slouched position, despite being incredibly weary. “We worked all day just to know that Corvo did it all in… um, how long did it take him?” Celestia sighed. “About five minutes.” “Wow, he really is good,” said Fluttershy quietly. Twilight lowered her eyes, as did all of her friends, and let their faces fall flat upon the crystal table. “Please do not feel hopeless, my ponies,” said Celestia, sitting in between Rarity and Twilight. “We will all contribute to this, no matter what happens. There is an adequate amount of information I have brought for you all. This could very well help with your travels.” An awaiting silence hung in the air before Celestia continued. “Yes, these stones can very well be in different environments; but there is also the possibility that these stones are dangerously guarded. Since Corvo has headed west, I would recommend you ponies to head, say, eastward: that would lead you to—” “To Foal Mountain!” said Twilight. “Oh, um, sorry about that.” Her ears drooped low as she smiled sheepishly. Celestia let out a short hum and smiled. “I have had my guards search the Smokey Mountain and the Unicorn Range, but it was all in vain. Hopefully there can be a stone nearby, or in some mountain. Foal Mountain is the the closest by without being in the Crystal regions.” Celestia then let her eyes drop into a gaze of worry. “Please be careful. Luna and I are far too busy nowadays with maintaining our land to really lend any significant help. Our guard numbers are thin, and we have spread them too thinly throughout Equestria. Truly, you ponies and Corvo are the best shot we have at saving Equestria itself.” “Well, we have saved Equestria multiple times,” said Rarity as she too rose up. “It shall be no problem to do it again.” “Rarity’s right, princess,” said Rainbow Dash. “As long as we have each other, we’ll pull through this together.” “Darn tootin we will!” said Applejack encouragingly. “We can do this!” said Fluttershy. “Elements of Harmony, away!” cried Pinkie, jumping from her seat in a flying position, before quickly falling back down And again, they all shared another laugh and group hug. During this, Pinkie noticed Celestia watching outside their embrace. “Come on, princess,” she called out. “We should all share a best-friend hug.” Celestia smiled as her face brightened, and she hugged the ponies, and all their hearts were stubbornly determined. “Well then,” said Twilight as they all separated, “we better get going, girls. Make sure to pack light, because now, we’re going to be doing a little mountain climbing.” * * * Corvo walked across the wide hollow. He passed by several smaller depressions, each one stretched longer than the last the further he went. He was close, anyway, in front of the entrance of the White Tail Woods: a tunnel gate made of dark thickets and arched trees. Looking back he could see the dark line of a hedge through the stems of trees that were already thick about him. Looking ahead he saw only tree trunks of innumerable sizes and shapes: straight or bent, twisted, leaning, squat or slender, smooth or gnarled and branched; and all the stems were green or grey with moss and slimy, shaggy growths. Corvo had ventured all day up until this point, west of Equestria; and he only ever passed by smaller forests more thinly spread, or the occasional stream sprinting down rocky dikes. But he had come this far and he had to put those thoughts behind him. The assassin picked his way among the trees, carefully avoiding the many writhing and interlacing roots. There was no undergrowth. The ground was rising steadily, and as he went forward it seemed that the trees became taller, darker, and thicker. There was no sound, except an occasional drip of moisture falling through the still leaves. For the moment there was no whispering or movement among the branches; but he got an uncomfortable feeling that he was being watched with disapproval, deepening to dislike and even enmity. The feeling steadily grew, until he found himself looking up quickly, or glancing back over his shoulders, as if he expected a sudden blow. What an incredibly strange forest, thought Corvo. I was expecting a fairly dense forest, but nothing beyond that. He kept on moving forward. There was not as yet any sign of a path or road, and the trees seemed to constantly bar his way, almost as if they each bore a concious of their own. Reaching his hand into the bag at his side, Corvo pulled out his map. He hastily unrolled it, leaving the edges curled up and the sound of scrambling; but the sound echoed throughout the dense woods. The noise bounced back from tree to tree, until he could no longer hear it. Corvo only stared down the many dark trees with a wary expression. He sighed heavily, shrugged, and looked down to his map. The White Tail Woods section was a big chunk of green with very thin lines of brown cut in between its trees. The forest stretched westward, seemingly getting darker as it wrapped round the Smokey Mountain. Hmm, I see there are several fields beyond this section, thought Corvo. It would help if I were to head north-west from here on out. He placed the map back in his bag and continued his march forth. However, every once in a while he would be forced to turn; for overly-large roots of trees, each bulging from the ground, created aged walls of wood. Eventually, there came a point where Corvo felt like he could bear no more and let out a shout. “Is there anybody there!” he cried. But this time his voice had no echo or answer, as if stopped by an invisible curtain, though the wood seemed to become more crowded and more watchful than before. “I should not shout like that,” he whispered to himself. “It does more harm than good, I would guess.” Walking about the dark forest, Corvo began to wonder if it were possible to find a way through, and if he had been right to even come into this abominable wood. Corvo was tempted to pull out the map again, despite his last usage just several minutes ago. “It would seem that I am lost,” he said. “Hmm, I must think. There should be a path somewhere. There is no way that these woods are unexplored.” He then decided to run, quickly wandering past the trees and looking from side to side. And then Corvo saw it. In the very distance beyond the claustrophobic environment was a light: it was grey yet bright, and it dimly shone from how far Corvo was. On instinct, he ran to it. The light only grew clearer as he went forward. Suddenly he came out of the trees and found himself in a wide circular space. The roof of trees was gone; but the sky above him was made of jagged black clouds, threatening to rain at the given moment. Looking forth, Corvo saw that he was in a ring of trees, so densely packed he could have sworn they were solid walls. The field was of short pale-green grass, but it was too unnatural for the assassin. An eerie fog hung low to the floor, only ever reaching up to his ankles. The sun was visible, but it was much more dim than what he last remembered seeing. I suppose Luna was correct in saying that the very air would be grey, thought Corvo. But an ominous darkness began to encompass both him and the trees. Despite it being the end of the afternoon, the sky appeared to be far more black than what it really was. Corvo pulled out his lantern, it already glowing bright like a small star. Even as he marched forth, the fog seemed to latch onto him, and the area was deadly silent. After what seemed like an entire hour of walking, Corvo reached the end of the ring of trees. And luckily, there was a break in the wall of trees, and a dark part beyond it. He could see it running on into the wood, wide in places and open above, though every now and again the trees drew in and overshadowed it with their dark boughs; but it was mostly dark. Up this path he went, climbing gently after every few hills, until reaching a flatter area with just trees. Corvo ventured much quicker, and with a stronger heart. But after a while the air seemed to become cold and stuffy. The trees drew close again on either side, and he could no longer see far ahead. Now stronger than ever he felt again the ill will of the wood pressing on him. So silent was it that the fall of his feets’ steps, rustling on dead leaves and occasionally stumbling on hidden roots, seemed to thud in his ears. For hours upon hours Corvo went on, holding onto his lantern, the red light fighting off the darkness and fog of the leaning trees. But Corvo realised something grieving, something he only ever felt nowadays when he was back in his city: he was depressed. The trees—now seemingly black with fog amid their presence—surrounded Corvo, even more so than before. Every few minutes he would have to stop and turn either left or right, for he kept reaching impassable walls of the wood. After many more hours had passed by, the forest was completely shrouded in darkness; and Corvo, with his lantern, was a walking light amid an abyss of nightshade. Right before he fell from exhaustion, Corvo reached a steep dike, stooping low into a miniature damp and a deep-cut valley. But what was of most significance to Corvo was the dim red light emitting from down below. The dike formed a dark-green tunnel, halting in a low angle and continued forth to where the light came from. My, what is this? Corvo thought, weary yet surprised. Maybe I do not fully regret this journey after all. But then he began to think back to the fog and darkness, as well as the density of the trees and wood, and compared them to the rest of Equestria. Verily, this horrible forest must be the doings of these disastrous occurrences. And then he leaped down the steep ground, sliding low and stumbling near the end. When he looked forth again he saw a wall of shrubbery, and the red light shone brightly passed its grey leaves. Corvo wandered forth, pushing the leaves and thickets to the sides and over his shoulders. Then Corvo squinted his eyes, and he immediately took cover behind the thick bushes in his peripheral vision. Ahead was a treeless field, much like the previous one, but smaller. He leaned out of cover, gazing down upon the source of light. A short wall of fire shone like lava, its smoke curling and leaving off into the blackness above. Corvo lit his mark and teleported on top one of the many thick branches about. He went by several more, before stopping for a better view. From above it was a red ring of fire, shooting out from the ground like some form of magical effect. In the middle of the ring of fire was a little round platform of short grass; and a meter-long gap between the platform and the fire fell down into the black ground. While Corvo’s vision blurred, he finally noticed his goal: a stone lay in the very center of the round piece of earth, practically calling out to him. How the stone ever managed to get into this situation I will never know, thought Corvo. And right before he lit his mark his face became pale. A large creature slowly emerged from the shadows beyond, dragging its limbs in front of the fiery ring. As it drew closer Corvo could descry its shape. It was a large and hideous creature of tremendous size and hideous physique. It walked on four legs, and its body stretched into what looked to be a large crocodile. Its face was large and dark with thick, long fangs sticking out of its jagged mouth. Its eyes were large and looked to be of death—one outwardly creased while the other inwardly leaned in; and its pupils were ashen-grey. Thank goodness I stopped. Right before I teleported to that creature, too. The monster itself was tediously gaiting by, slouching, and shifting its head to the right. Corvo waited for the perfect moment, right when the creature turned. After a full minute, its gaze was upon the darkness and not the fire and the stone. Corvo lit his mark, bent time to freeze, and teleported forth, landing amidmost the circular platform. That was far easier than I thought it to be. He leaned down, setting his lantern to the ground and picking up the stone and inspected it. It was of the same round shape as the last one he observed—nothing of particular difference. He placed the stone in his bag and sighed a sigh of relief. But something felt ominous—too dangerous even, leaving Corvo to be unusually wary. But in the very corner of his eye he saw short little movements. He scanned the frozen flames about him, but they were not frozen, it seemed. The very ends of the flames’ tongues were slowly dancing upwardly. Its bodies were wavering, and the red light ever so flickered. “That is odd,” said Corvo. “I am sure I bended time to a still, unless…” he looked down to his mark; and while its glow was dim, its edges were even more blurred, and its colors were a little paler, if only by just so. Suddenly, Corvo felt a wave of exhaustion hit him. “I see. I have not stopped time, I only slowed it down. But if sound still happens in real time to all those outside my perspective, then—” Corvo quickly turned to look to where the creature was. It was nearly fully turned to him. He could already see one eye set upon him, and it appeared to be moving faster than normal. Corvo let out a short yet loud groan, and immediately teleported away, back behind the nearby bushes. The moment he reappeared time resumed, and the heavy weight of weariness was lifted from him, but not by much. Corvo held his breath, not daring to peek beyond his cover. The dark creature ahead gave out an ear-shattering growl; but it was so unnatural that, to Corvo, it sounded like a disjointed laugh or a tortured yell. Not being able to hold his lungs any longer, Corvo breathed out, quickly panting for oxygen as the air round him became colder. Then heavy footsteps quickly approached, each stomp shaking the ground beneath his feet. The creature itself was passively groaning like it was either in pain or anger. Corvo hastily jumped to his feet and teleported back into the thick trees. He climbed up the slope as fast as his feet and hands would allow it. He then ran as fast as he could down the forest; but as he ran his vision became darker. Oh no, he thought in despair. I have left my lantern behind me, and now I cannot make out a single tree within just a few yards ahead! Eventually Corvo came to a halt. He lit his mark and ignited a yellow flame in his eyes. Instantly the forest became vaguely visible. Shapes of withered pillars were scattered about him, and the cold fog had returned. But a wet slapping noise came from behind him. Corvo warily turned as the wet slaps drew closer and closer, and a faint cry of terror echoed from afar. The same tiring weight, while not as heavy as the last, returned to his body. His mark’s glow began to grow dimmer as his night-vision faded, resulting his gaze to return to darkness. The noises of the loud, wet slaps became even louder, and the faint cry turned into one of pure screaming. Corvo, too aghast for words, forced himself to move. Lighting his mark once more, he teleported as far as he could, before it gave out. The assassin rolled and stumbled, knocking against many roots and thickets which stuck towards him. He looked up, and to his relief, he found a very small point of light. So he picked himself up and jogged to the end of the path—for he found himself unable to run—and the light only grew brighter and brighter, until he reached the end; and Corvo found himself upon a vast field of green. Looking behind himself Corvo saw a wall of trees, and its grey fog retracting back within its crooked openings. Corvo breathed in loudly, exhaled even louder, and cried: “Let me not ever go through such dangers again!” He turned round, facing the woods, and walked backwards. “I must know what is causing these happenings, and still. Maybe Celestia and Luna still do not trust me, but this is becoming much more personal than I would have thought it to become.” He then looked down to his mark, its shape quite distorted and its every edge blurred. Corvo closed his eyes as his mind flew through the many memories he bore of Equestria. His brow creased as he tried to piece every piece together. When he looked again he said: “Now I see: I am losing my powers.”