The Void Rift Crisis

by Visiden Visidane

Beginning - Gravitas

The Agamanthion struck Empyrea the hardest for obvious reasons. This is where the Throne, the cornerstone of our glorious Herd, resides. It is also the most populous layer of our heavenly realm. All our heavenly realm's layers may reflect its beauty and majesty, but our planar city stands as the clearest mirror to alicorn culture. If Empyrea had fallen, there would have been no hope for the rest of the Eternal Herd.

It was most fortunate, as fortunate as anything could have been during that horrific time, that I and a large portion of my command had been there.

You're smirking. Don't pretend otherwise. You may think I'm putting on airs, but I never said that I alone carried the defense of Empyrea on my shoulders. You might also know that Sanctus Dominus did not save the Herd by himself either. We all had a role, and I merely choose to be frank when I say that mine was a large one.

When the strange creatures emerged from the Agamanthion's extension, we knew straight away the enormity of the problem. They scattered into the city as easily as you might scatter a bag of fine sand. True, our streets may be well-ordered, and we had many large fortress-like structures to fall back on. But this was't the First Cycle, when alicorns thought as warriors under threat. Cycles of adding smaller, more elaborate buildings increased the size and complexity of Empyrea, allowing for thousands upon thousands of small, enclosed, individual areas. The fighting took to the streets, through homes, and other structures. There were too many places to hide in, and suddenly finding one's self swarmed by shadows at the turn of a corner diminished a good number of our brethren.

The presence of so many hiding places also revealed a far more disgusting problem. Most of Empyrea's residents nobly stood up to fight. As they should for our homes, and our brethren. My troops and I held the primary paths to Throne's Rest, where we fought shoulder to shoulder with responsible citizens. The plan was to clear the streets of planar shadows before taking the fight to the spire. However, there were miserable wretches; pathetic cowards who fortified their homes, and hid away, defending only themselves. Spineless cravens like Procul Ocularus and Medius Locus thought they could save themselves, and just wait for the matter to settle down.

This is the result of cycles of softening, fattening, and growing increasingly arrogant. The Herd was already showing weakness during the Twelfth Cycle, and it only worsened past that. We've spent too much time focusing on Art, Philosophy, and Politics, abandoning the vital subjects of combat, tactics, and survival. We have failed to foster courage and tenacity in our youth by allowing them too much idle time for their whimsies. We have elders who have never set a hoof in Ida, let alone undergo sentinel duty.

To the present, I still denounce these wretches before our King, demanding that they be exiled to the far reaches of Vestibulum, to wander that endless gray forever. The scum who refuse to defend our beloved Herd should not be allowed to live in it. But, if Dominus has anything that can be called a weakness, it's an excess of benevolence. It's likely because he has the might to fight in the place of so many that he easily forgives those who can hide behind him. If more had depended on these fools, the cowardice they demonstrated would be all the more damning. Instead, they are allowed to go on as if they had done nothing wrong. Ocularus even has a seat in the Council of Elders! What advice can he possibly offer our King that would be worth more than the breath he would take to say it?

What? Ah, the invasion.

We held on valiantly, of course, but the chance to counterattack did not materialize. The planar shadows possessed endless reinforcements. I attempted to lead a small group to attack the Agamanthion's extensions, and thus stem the unending flow of enemies. We found only enough purchase to make a few attempts to break through the shield surrounding it. The Herd may frequently associate her with Necromancy, but the Sixth's abjurations defied limits. Not even with Atrox could I dispel or break through the barriers, at least not with so little time to make my attempt. My loyal retinue fought hard for those few attempts, and it cost the untimely diminishing of Crabrones Stimulus.

Lexarius will tell you that such a move was reckless. He has that luxury, as do several of our "esteemed elders" none of whom had a plan beyond surviving, and hoping that a savior turns up. And now, they sit on their cushioned sofas, sipping tea and sampling cakes, second-guessing every move made in the heat of battle with the self-satisfied delusion that this constitutes "participating" in war.

And yes, a savior did appear, but that does not make their placidity right, nor my actions wrong. We are blessed with unimaginable fortune that such an alicorn as our King came to exist during that cycle, but to conduct ourselves to rely on such fortune is a crime.

I will confess, after the failed attempt to attack the Agamanthion's extension, I had to consider the likelihood that we were only delaying our complete destruction. The bright lights of our planar city had gone dark, and the cries of desperation were loud all around.

Do you frequent our battle plane of Ida, colt? Good. One's fighting skills should always be honed. Where would our beloved Herd be if all of us spent our time arguing semantics with Ocularus and his ilk? I tell you, back in the beginning of the Fifteenth Cycle, I could have purged half the Eternal Herd's population, and not decreased our martial might. That's how bad it had gotten. It has been a long, arduous process, but we now see great improvements in the Sixteenth. Blasphemous as it may sound, I thank the chaos of the Void Rift Crisis for that.

But do not let Ida make you complacent. It is far easier to show valor with the reassurance of surviving mistakes. The Void Rift Crisis revealed the true colors of those of us who had to survive it. Yes, I despaired that any chance of victory in the face of such odds, but I resigned myself to fight on. That is tenacity to be emulated.

Comments

[Reader Review]

I relish the opportunity to delve deeper into Gravitas' thoughts on the events of the void crisis. It certainly puts into perspective some of the actions he took during the course of Reckoning. One can't help but respect his genuine desire to protect the Eternal Herd.

[White Wolf]

I don't have any. The guy calls the death or banishment anything or anyone not military. He called for the total genocide of all mortal ponies. He nearly succeeded in wiping out the Changling race. Gravitas cares only for himself.

[Sanitizer]

9075040
He wanted to protect the Eternal Herd. The story never said if the changelings attack first. Another thing to keep in mind is the changelings were corrupted. he wants to kill the mortals because they were made by the first born. If the six companions are anything to show, they did dive for their "deep father's" power.

Gravitas' methods may have been extreme, but he is justified in wanted the mortals dead. I do however do agree on the military thing, it is unreasonable to try and remove the elders that waited for the void crisis to be over rather than help. He could at least make an effort to improve their skills.