The Void Rift Crisis

by Visiden Visidane

Elys - Ignis Cordo

I assume that you have visited that place, colt. You know of what I mean; a perfectly circular patch of land barren of any plant, the soil is dark gray, grainy, and unnaturally smooth, a few shards of black stone scattered here and there, and a group of Seekers watching your every move?

Has it been named yet? I don't think they've finished arguing over what its name is supposed to be. The Ruined Circle, the Blackened Grounds, the Death Plain, Pinnae's Folly...a waste of time if you ask me. Our race's propensity for unending bickering will bring about a true calamity at some point.

And it nearly did, to the shame of us Seekers.

With Empyrea and the other layers purged of the Agamanthion's probing spires, we could concentrate on the Agamanthion itself, which had anchored itself in Elys. The alicorns that fought to defend it were faced with the direst of situations. The layer faced total collapse, the guardians of the Agamanthion itself were far more formidable than planar shadows. A few alicorns had made it from Elys to tell us of their predicament. In return, a good portion of us went ahead to aid them while Dominus rallied the others. That was when a problem needlessly and foolishly arose.

Solitarius Via, one of our own, proposed that, since we have reduced the threat, we should study the then-active Agamanthion. The majority of the Seekers, myself among them, disagreed. The Agamanthion had gone rogue. Even if this was not its true purpose, it should be destroyed. Though the destruction of its extensions appeared to slow it down significantly, the Agamanthion was still tearing away at the structure of our plane. This was most strongly evidenced by the fact that the Fifteenth Ascendant still had to concentrate on the Throne.

Still, Solitarius took it to the Council of Elders, daring to waste time convening them to discuss and vote on the matter while the fighting continued in Elys. Without the Fifteenth to render final judgment, they could have bickered forever while our very world collapsed around them.

I can barely describe the sort of embarrassment this entailed for the Seekers, as well as the Council of Elders. I swear on the flaming crown of the First, if I ever find Solitarius in Ida, or even anywhere outside the Herd, I will strike him down. The Seekers have been damaged enough by the Void Rift Crisis, and he had chosen to open the wound further, and shower it with salt. When the crisis came to an end, I was absolutely terrified that His Majesty would remember this bout of stupidity, and punish it by decreeing the end of the Seekers. He didn't, and I would kiss his hooves until my lips are worn to nothing in gratitude if I didn't fear Her Majesty.

We were fortunate that Sanctus Dominus never did put much weight in council votes, a tradition he has maintained in his kingship as you may have noticed. All the more wise of him, I say. The Council discusses and advises. Whatever they finally vote on is but a tool for the King and Queen to use as they see fit. But whenever situations where a final judgement can't be given, they eagerly flex their "authority".

It was good to see their frustrated faces when Sanctus Dominus led all of us to Elys before they could even properly begin their deliberation. Solitarius' especially. I mourn the loss of such an enormous source of knowledge for our cause, I truly do, but we sacrificed the Agamanthion with our own reckless trust of Pinnae. It was only right that we bear responsibility, even if it means losing our only chance to ever complete our quest.

So, yes, I followed His Majesty wholeheartedly into Elys, knowing that I would be there to help destroy the Agamanthion. I have had to explain this course of action to the Seekers returning from other heavenly realms, or Vestibulum. It is not an easy task, I assure you.

But enough of the Seekers' woes.

At the very least, I was able to witness what the Agamanthion's active form was while Solitarius and the Council remained behind with their theories.

In its dormant state, the Agamanthion appeared as a massive pyramid of smooth, black gemstone, big enough to house even a thousand of us comfortably, with flying room included. Its sides were perfectly measured, down to the precision of a needle's tip. This was no construction of many small gems. This was a single piece cut to perfection. It floated lazily around the skies of Elys, like a carefree wanderer until we decided to tinker with it.

Active, the Agamanthion had doubled in size, appearing as a diamond of perfect proportions. The sky...no, it wan't just the sky. Elys itself had darkened around it, as if it were a malignant disease infesting our very world. The air carried a black tinge. The nearby clouds were dark and heavy, and the light of Elys' sun was dim around it.

We saw the great ports along its sides where its extensions had come out. On the dying plain beneath it, the bases of its spires lay like discarded toys after Sanctus Dominus had cut them.

And its dread...

Have you ever been hindered by an emotion so strongly that it felt like physical restraints? That was how I, and many others I'm sure, felt. The Agamanthion exuded dread that made it feel like we were flying through thick webbing. And it did more than just slow us down. I spent some time studying its dormant form, enough to find it a familiar sight, but in its active state, it was so utterly alien to our world, so much that it hurt just to perceive it. The mind reeled from the dread it exuded, and the weaker warriors among us actually fainted just from the approach.

Now, we can say that we triumphed over the Agamanthion. I assure you, during that first, fateful approach, I truly thought that we were flying to nowhere but our doom.

Comments

[Beware The Carpenter]

I spoke too soon

[Fallen Knight]

He didn't, and I would kiss his hooves until my lips are worn to nothing in gratitude if I didn't fear Her Majesty.

That got a good laugh out of me, congratulations.

I regret missing on all this extra world building stories when they came out. This and the others are all pretty amazing in their own right.