"The Song of Circles has been kept in chorus for the Austraeoh, and now the Austraeoh has heard the Song of Circles." Merula's abdomen shook—this time dappled with a shiny red glint. Emotionless marble eyes reflected Rainbow and her pendant as the silk voice box continued vibrating: "We do not understand the confusion you appear to be proclaiming."
"That's just it..." Rainbow Dash stood beside Kepler and Ariel. Several hours had passed, and now the All Singer sat before the Heraldites atop the enormous tunnel-weaver, flanked by several large Spindlers. "It's not so much that I'm confused by what Abaddon told me. I'm just... I was only..." Rainbow sighed heavily. "Well, shoot, now I just feel friggin' selfish saying it out loud to her pedipalps."
"Just be honest with her, Rainbow," Ariel suggested.
Rainbow cleared her throat before smiling nervously. "I was expecting to learn more from her... y'know? More about... about..." She waved a hoof. "The history of Urohringr. The dirt behind Ilrifa. What's up with her codex and how it relates to me and the Elements of Harmony and... and... and..."
"The message given to you through the Song is precisely what the All-Singer predetermined," Merula said. "You partook in the venom?"
"Uhhhhhhhhh... yeah." Rainbow nodded. "And... okay... you got me there." She gestured. "I felt more... witnessed more than the two companions I brought down with me." She pointed nebulously towards the city buildings in the distance. "Neither Wildcard or Seraphimus saw the stuff that I did. So... I guess Abaddon's Song didn't mean as much to them as it did to me. Even still—"
"The Austraeoh possessed much of the Song's knowledge prior to meeting with the Ever Songstress?"
"Yeah? Kinda sorta?"
The tiny translucent hatchlings perched on Merula's forelimbs squirmed with glee. "It is to be praised," the vocal construct shook. "The Austraeoh has obviously garnered far greater knowledge and wisdom than the Song anticipated. Perhaps the Melodic Mother's strings pierced even the body of the Curve itself."
"I... dunno..." Rainbow winced slightly. "A lot of the big stuff I learned was given to me by you... er... the other you's." She cleared her throat. "Merula and Company."
"Rrainbow One." Kepler stepped forward. "If I may."
Rainbow motioned towards Merula with her fetlock.
The wyvern approached the spider company. "Dearrest allies, we arre most thankful forr the knowledgeable gifts that yourr Queen has bestowed upon us—and the Austrraeoh in parrticularr. This news of the Sharrds of Endrrax is most distrressing, but we can easily see how the imparrted forresight can be to ourr advantage."
Merula's abdomen shook. "Then the Winter Children have played their part."
"Oh, I do believe you have done much morre than that." Kepler smiled suavely through his tusks. "As loyal prrotectorrs of the grreat Lyrricist, it would seem that you have evidently garrnered much of herr wisdom and prrestige overr so many eons of exposurre to the Song. This is quite commendable."
Merula replied. "In life, we adore the Silk Mother, and dwell within the pulse of her harmonic emanations."
"Mmmm... yes, quite." Kepler adjusted his spectacles. "And assuming that you have—indeed—osmotically gained much knowledge by keeping herr in yourr carre, would it be that grreat a strretch of the imagination to suggest that you could elaborrate furrtherr on the chorrus she bestowed upon Ilrrifa's gift?"
"It would be dishonorable to proclaim any ownership over the Eternal Song."
"Ach! No ownerrship to be prroclaimed whatsoeverr!" Kepler smiled. "You dwell within the Song of Abaddon, and herr music sustains. Now that the Austrraeoh has hearrd what she has hearrd, perrhaps you would be so kind as to help illuminate the naturre of the chorrus that was sharred?" He pointed at Rainbow Dash. "It would prrove yourr loyalty to Austrraeoh... yourr loyalty to Ilrrifa..." He turned to focus his vision on Merula yet again. "...and yourr obedience to Abaddon, who—no doubt—would desirre clarrity and underrstanding above all in this... most trrying Winterr."
Ariel and Rainbow Dash exchanged glances.
Merula's fangs shifted. There was a twitch to her abdomen. A shake. Then—at last—she vibrated the construct. "But of course. If the Austraeoh has any questions to ask, it would be our part to aid her in the interpretation."
"Glorrious!" Kepler nodded, then turned to grin at Rainbow Dash. "I do think the floorr is yourrs, good frriend."
Rainbow cleared her throat. "You'd make a great lawyer, Keps." She stepped forward, closer to the spiders. "If I return to Equestria and get into trouble—like, destroying a weather factory or something—I'd choose you to represent me."
"Carreful..." The wyvern raised a claw. "I've got a rreputation to maintain."
"Destroying a weather factory?" Ariel squeaked.
Rainbow waved her off and looked ahead. "Yo Merulz."
Merula shook curiously. "Who are you addressing, Austraeoh?"
"Uh... you. That was... that was just..." Rainbow shook her head. "Never mind. Can I ask some questions about what Abaddon talked about?"
"If you believe it is prudent."
"So... as you probably know.. she spoke about the Shards of Endrax." Rainbow pointed in the vague direction of her tent. "Courtesy of Gardez's daughter, Axan, I actually possess a dragonstone that—I think—will give me the general direction in which to find these fragments."
"There is much logical sense to that assumption," Merula stated. "Gardez bestowed the stones as gifts to her hatchlings—to facilitate communication and comraderie among the Divine Brood. If Axan has perished and Endrax's Shards are the only remaining substance of draconian origin that are still enchanted on this side of the plane, then it stands to reason that Axan's dragonstone could locate those pieces."
"Yeah, and that's sexy and all..." Rainbow Dash nodded. "...but it would be good to know more about where they are located." She gulped. "So I'll know precisely what we'll be getting into."
"Then you have chosen to pursue the acquisition of these Shards?"
"Let's just say for the moment that I might." Rainbow's brow furrowed. "Abaddon made it clear to me that each of the three Factions has one. Tchern and the Changelings have got one. The Night Shard have got one. And then the Bloodwings have got one."
"That would be correct."
"Do you know where exactly they're being held?" Rainbow gestured. "The closest Shard—according to the Dragonstone—is somewhere towards Omega... towards the closer edge of the Curve. The other two seem to be located more towards the Midnight Armory. But... if I went after this closest one, where would it be exactly?"
Merula hesitated.
"You..." Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "...you and your siblings used to populate the entire plane. Even if Winter and the violent campaigns of the Trinary War have forced you all into this city, couldn't you at least remember where they were placed before? Even if it was years ago? I mean... you carry that knowledge via the strings of the Song, don't you?"
"In fact we do, Austraeoh," Merula declared. "But you must understand. Endrax's death was several equine lifetimes ago, and the dispersal of the Shards happened shortly thereafter. While the Song is permeating, there is very little guarantee that the Shards are located in the same spot they were in before Abaddon's Winter Children were forced into a retreat."
"Still..." Rainbow smiled. "Gimme something to work with. Anything. I... I'm begging you here."
"It is not the function of Ilrifa's Gift to beg," Merula said. Next, she vibrated forth: "The piece of Endrax possessed by the Night Shard is not located within a place. Rather, it is located in a vessel."
"A vessel?" Ariel remarked.
Rainbow as nodding. "One of them big glass floaty thingies, yes?"
"It is no ordinary attack construct," Merula explained. "But rather the central focus of their magical armada. Even if the treasured piece of Endrax was not heavily guarded, its location within the complex lattice of crystalline bulwarks makes it extremely difficult to procure. In addition to that, the central armada of the Ruby Song is constantly on the move—so as to throw off the tracking of both the Keepers of the Flux and the Bloodwings."
"Right..." Rainbow gulped. "...but, fact of the matter is, the Night Shard's piece of Endrax is in a big friggin' floaty thingy."
"It is... located in a constantly mobile construct, yes."
"Gotcha. So that one's gonna be the hardest to get, I bet," Rainbow thought aloud to herself.
"You sure about that?" Ariel droned.
Rainbow blinked at her, then looked at Merula again. "What about the Changelings? The Keepers of the Flux? Where would they be keeping their Shard of Endrax?"
"In the lair of the Leech Queen, Tchern."
Rainbow shuddered. "Well, of course..."
"Arre we corrrect to assume that the Queen of the Keeperrs is also constantly on the move?" Kepler asked.
"From the collective knowledge of those who preserve the song," Merula spoke. "Yes. That would most likely be the case." Her abdomen shook. "However, the territory possessed by the Keepers of the Flux isn't as expansive as that which is patrolled by the Night Shard. While the Leech Queen's drones and soldiers infiltrate all portions of the plane, they require dense nesting grounds in order to breed and resupply their army."
"Where are they situated, mostly?" Rainbow asked.
"Much closer to the Sarcophagus of Ages," Merula replied. "In a swath of subterranean chambers that stretches between the nearest edge and the location of Petra."
Rainbow Dash did a double-take. "Wait... Petra?" She blinked at Ariel and Kepler. "Uhhhhh..." She looked at Merula again. "What's Petra?"
"An urban sprawl owned by the goblins and all other imp-kind," Merula said. "For hundreds of years, it has served as the focal point for sapient trade by neutral factions non-aligned with the three armies of the Trinary War."
"And... and this kind of a place exists?!" Ariel leaned forward, jaw agape. "Right here on the Dark Side?"
"Indeed."
"You... didn't mention anything like this before," Rainbow Dash said.
Merula's abdomen shook with the voice box's vocalizations: "It had not been relevant to any discussion before now. The imps—much like the Dihmers—do not possess any might outside the limits of their central city and the mechanizations thereof. To venture outward from Petra would threaten exposure to the Keepers of the Flux, who encroach on all sides. However, the Keepers do not appear to have an interest in consuming or assimilating the imps of Petra, presumably because Tchern is too terribly encumbered with combating the Bloodwings and Night Shard. Because of this—and their distance from the other factions of the Trinary War—the denizens of Petra have been allowed to exist. However, the Bloodwings have been known to take particular pleasure in eliminating imps on the spot, especially this close to the Edge. They will spare Dihmers, but goblin kind—much like the Winter Children—are prime sport for the Lunar Hunt."
"Why... do they single out goblins while not touching Dihmers?" Rainbow asked.
Merula shook. "We do not know. The Bloodwings' violent ways have only ever vexxed us. It is because of their actions—more than any other faction—that the Winter Children have been forced to retreat to the last auditorium of the Song."
Rainbow and Ariel exchanged glances.
"Well..." Ariel smiled awkwardly. "...the Dark Side got a bit more crowded." A gulp. "And depressing."
"What of the sarrosians?" Kepler asked. "The Bloodwings? Where could they be keeping their Shard of Endrax?"
"In the tree, of course," Merula replied simply.
"Tree???" Ariel made a face.
"That's right..." Rainbow Dash exhaled. "I do remember a tree in the vision Abaddon gave me." She looked up at Merula. "The Shard—it's held deep within a thick vault of unbreakable moonrock... guarded with runes."
"That is knowledge only available to the Austraeoh."
"Yeah... but what's up with this tree?"
"It has been the home base of the Third Penumbral Invasion for countless lifetimes," Merula said. "The Bloodwings have a name for it, but their tongue is not congruent with the Songstress' melody. Nor do we know much of how the Bloodwings have chosen to defend their lofty abode, because any member of the Great Lyricist's chorus who ventures within a string's echo of the defiled grounds is instantly tortured and murdered by the Lunar Hunt. Those lands have been vacant of Song for ages, and we fear that much has changed since that we cannot convey to the Austraeoh."
Ariel sighed. "Figures..."
"One thing's been bugging me..." Rainbow Dash paced before the spiders. "Abaddon's message spoke of... of a new and merciless strategy that the Bloodwings have been using..." Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "Some sort of... bold style of warfare that's been giving them leverage against the other factions... enough to compete with Tchern's flux and the Ruby Chaos'... uh... immortal fart magic. Whatever it is that they do."
"Perrhaps with morre eloquence, Rrainbow One," Kepler insisted.
Rainbow took a deep breath and looked squarely at Merula. "What's the big deal with the Bloodwings? What is making them so strong as of late?"
"It is not so much a strategy," Merula said. "But rather a strategist... and in a single lifetime he has forced Winter into is coldest and bleakest for the Children of Abaddon and more..."
Rainbow blinked. "... ... ...just who are we talking about, exactly?"
A cold shudder ran through the silken construct and the webs beyond the platform. Violin strings scratched discordantly across the empty city, and one name echoed chillingly between the spiders and their guests:
"Lexxic."