//------------------------------//
// Chapter 24: Putting on the Mask 
// Story: The Pony Loa 
// by Leila Drake 
//------------------------------//

Jonathan walked down the corridors of the Crystal Palace, a wooden box in his arms. Another identical box floated alongside him, held in the violet magic of White Alloy.

"Thanks for helping out," he told the unicorn.

White nodded. "Of course. Anything to get my son back - and our friends. How's Twilight doing with the portal?"

"We'll see just about now. Better brace yourself. She tends to get a little high-strung when she's on a project like this." Jonathan set the box down to pull open a two-wing door.

As they entered, they could hear a pony pacing and muttering to herself.

"She's here alright," Jonathan stated. "Hey, Princess! How's it going?"

Twilight looked up. She stood between three whiteboards, a felt-tip pen in her magical grip. The boards were covered with formulas and diagrams. Behind them, Jonathan caught a glimpse of a familiar tall horseshoe-shaped mirror.

"Ugh, could be better." Twilight sighed. She turned around and Jonathan immediately noticed the bags under her eyes and the stray hairs that stuck out of her mane. Her purple wings unfolded a little. "Did you bring the cables?"

"The cables and everything else." Jonathan patted his crate and nodded at the one White Alloy floated over to them.

"Oh, thank you! I need them to stabilise the portal, you see." Twilight pointed at the mirror with her pen. "I've gone through the calculations again. It's clear that we'll need a fixed point on the other side to keep the portal from collapsing too soon. There's no point in setting it up if it closes again before our friends can even use it. I'm trying to compensate for the time differential, but -"

"Twilight," Jonathan interrupted her, crossing his arms, "when was the last time you took a break?"

"Er. I'm not sure. Three hours ago? Maybe three and a half. Oh, right, when we had lunch with Cadence and Shining Armor. But it's fine; this is very important. Spike isn't here to assist me, Sunburst is busy looking for a way to help Luna get her messages across the Great Dark Beyond more effectively and time is working against us, every second that passes here is half a minute on Azeroth -"

"Okay, I've heard enough," said Jonathan, exchanging a look with White. "You know that I know what's at stake here. And that is exactly why we are going to take a walk. Now."

"A walk? I can't take a walk, I need to finish this setup!"

"Ten minutes outside and then a drink. And a sandwich. No discussion. Healer's orders." Jonathan took the pen from her magic, ignoring her half-hearted protests, and gently shoved the alicorn out the door. He nodded at White Alloy who smiled generously.

"I'll unpack the boxes," said White.

Jonathan nodded. "Appreciate it. See you in a bit."





Darren knocked on the door to his own room, then he entered.

Vol'Shalai sat on the floor, cross-legged, and looked up. In his three-fingered hands he held small bits of wood, some feathers and a tiny leather bag. More small things were spread at his feet. Darren recognised about half of them.

"Hey, mon. Whaddaya think?" He held up the thing he was working on.

"That the totem?" Darren asked.

"Uh-huh. Still not finished. But getting there." Vol'Shalai took a piece of thread and used it to bind the small leather bag to the sticks. "Where's da likkle pony?"

"Karazhan."

"Mmh, I see, translating again. Good idea to keep working on da portal. We might need it soon."

"I hope so." Darren sat down on the bed and took off his boot.

"Aw, do ya have to?" Vol'Shalai complained.

"I need to air them out."

"My point exactly," Vol'Shalai grunted. "Oh, go ahead den, but please put'em next to da window. Human boots stink worse than a trogg butt. I'll never understand why ya put ya feet in dose tings."

Darren did as Vol'Shalai had asked, then he rummaged in the closet for a fresh towel. He stepped over to the small water basin to wash his upper body. Taking off his shirt, he thought back to his conversation with Nylene.

"Do you think Eclipse should come along with us? To save Levinia? After you locate her."

The troll put the totem down. He rubbed his itching bandage, then stopped. "Why da sudden hesitation? Ya were fine with it dis morning."

"Nylene and I... talked. She's concerned that he's too unstable for it," Darren explained.

Vol'Shalai chuckled. "What are ya talking about, my friend? Ya be his Thraze'fa'da. Wit you around he's gonna be just fine."

Darren scrunched up his wet face. "I don't speak Zandali."

Vol'Shalai gestured with the totem, looking for a translation. "His... his Om'riggor-Golar," he tried in Orcish.

Waving it off, Darren snorted. "No, I'm not."

"Sure ya are. Why deny it? He looks up to ya. And ya teach him da best moves. And when he's worried he comes to ya and to Nylene. Also when he's happy. Thraze'fa'da you are."

"Don't you dare tell him that," Darren hissed. "I'm not his father-in-arms. That's presumptious."

"Hey, hey, just making an observation. An obvious one, too." Vol'Shalai frowned. "Why is dat a problem? Ya be fine wit being a close friend to him but not fine wit calling it as it is?"

Darren turned around to look at him, the frozen towel crumpled up in his fist.

"As I said: That's not what it is," he repeated, pointing a finger at Vol'Shalai.

The troll raised both hands defensively. "If ya say so. I just tink it's nice. Especially with da bad tings that happened to you way back when."

Darren groaned. "I regret asking. Let's not talk about this, alright?"

"Alright," Vol'Shalai said, shrugging, and returned his attention to the unfinished totem.





Mark looked left and right, then he quickly slipped through the vault door. He locked it to make sure nobody would follow him, then he left the key in the lock, blocking it from the inside.

His mood improved as soon as he saw Levinia.

"Hello," he said as he approached her, pulling his hood down again.

"Ah," she said coolly. Her ethereal voice echoed through the vault and his mind. "My warden has returned. Come back with more bad news?"

"Er, no. I - I brought you this." Mark stepped closer to the containment ring and put a small glass jar on it, careful not to touch the runes. Blue currents of energy swirled around in the glass, illuminating the ground.

The spirit hesitantly raised her head. "What is it?" she asked, surprised.

"Anima, for you."

"Uh, thanks, I guess? What do I do with it?" She took the glass into her hoof and looked at the substance inside it.

"You open it and absorb it."

Levinia cast a doubtful look at Mark, then she opened the jar. She touched the anima with a hesitant hoof. The substance floated out of the jar and readily merged with her body. She immediately glowed a little brighter than before. A smile crept onto her face as she visibly relaxed.

Then, her face fell.

"I didn't just absorb somebody else's soul, did I?" she asked, suddenly horrified.

"No, that was actually your own anima," said Mark. "I tried to scratch as much of it together as I could after the analysis."

Levinia sighed, thoroughly relieved. "Thank Celestia." She looked at Mark. "So what now?"

He hesitated. "Well - do you remember anything that might be useful?"

"Define 'useful'," Levinia retorted. "What do you want to know anyway?"

"Do you remember how you died? Do you have any special abilities? How are you still on this plane of existence?"

She looked at him, pursing her lips. Her expressions were so very human! It was hard to believe Mark was talking to a freaking horse. Sitting down on her haunches like a cat, Levinia frowned. She looked at the glowing runes at her feet.

"The first one is easy," she said slowly. "I jumped after my daughter. She fell from the edge of... a cliff, you could say. I managed to save her but at the cost of my own life..."





"'Attempt number eight. This time, I will ask Princess Celestia for help to specify the coordinates on the other side. If our calculations are correct, we excluded areas such as water bodies and volcanoes or other ha-, hazardous environments. Nonetheless, there is no guarantee concerning the local wildlife or sentient inhabitants. I guess we'll have to trust the Stars to guide us on this matter. Note: Include a compass in the supplies to compare magnetic poles and leylines. We - we'll begin... in the supplies to compare magnetic...' Ugh, sorry, same line..." Eclipse tried to stifle a yawn.

Khadgar looked at him, worry etched into his face. "What did you do in the morning that you're so tired?"

"Training with Nylene and Darren," replied Eclipse with a sheepish smile. "I took a nap after that but I guess it was just... really..." he yawned again. "...exhausting."

"Here, drink some water." Khadgar summoned a glass of water with a quick gesture. He passed it on to Eclipse who accepted it thankfully and downed the entire drink in one swig. Khadgar looked at the pony, raising a brow. "Thank you for translating these passages for me. Is there anything else I can do for you besides the water?"

"I'm good, thanks," said Eclipse. "You sure you have enough research translated to go on?"

"Yes, definitely," Khadgar assured him. "There's no need for you to overdo it. If you want to, you can meditate a little over there," he pointed at a bench near a tall window, "and then it's time you ported back to Stormwind. Alright?"

"Okay."





Eclipse did as Khadgar had suggested. He sat down on the bench, facing the evening sun. He took deep breaths until he forgot where he was, just existing in the Now. In the corner of his eyes, he noticed that he was glowing a little. That was probably a side effect of the Light. He had seen it happening when Jonathan had meditated, too. He tried to let go of his doubts, to breathe them away. It worked partially. He just hoped that Levinia was alright.

Please, Light, send her a friend until we come for her, he thought. Then he tried to imagine that she was okay. It calmed him down a little.

Then Eclipse realized he was thinking about the future. He gently returned his focus to the red sun.

His eyes snapped fully open. The red sun! It was almost gone. He should return to the inn. Jumping from the bench, Eclipse blinked rapidly. He was still physically tired but his mind felt refreshed, less... shiver-y.

Eclipse walked over to Khadgar who had continued his writing and reading.

"Bye, Sir," he said. "I'm gonna port back."

Khadgar looked up and nodded. "Good night. Sleep well." He smiled a little as he said it but Eclipse could tell the wizard was thinking about his notes right now.

Eclipse took his saddlebag and withdrew his hearthstone from it. After putting the bag on his back, he took a breath and held the stone in both front hooves. He focused on the anchor, which was Darren, that bound the stone to the Gilded Rose. Blue lines formed on the ground around him. As soon as the magic circle was complete, the lines rose up and swallowed him whole.

There is a moment of disorientation when Eclipse does not know where he is. He cannot see anything properly, everything passes by too quickly, but he suspects that he is travelling among the stars for a split second. His stomach cramps up but before he feels sick -

- Eclipse materialized on the carpet next to Darren. The blue light faded and he blinked. Besides Darren, who sat on a chair grinding something to powder in a porcelain mortar, Vol'Shalai was also there. The troll sat on the floor, binding stuff together. 

Both looked up from what they were doing and smiled at him. Surprised by the sudden attention, Eclipse grinned and tucked the stone away.

"Hi," he said.

"Welcome back," said Darren. He tilted his head a little, his mouth opening as if he wanted to ask Eclipse something. Then he closed it again, raising a brow.

"Hungry?" Vol'Shalai asked. "Allison is cooking again today. So it should be better than what da poor boy made."

Eclipse laughed. "I'm hungry, yes," he admitted. "Mostly tired but hungry, too. We translated a lot today. What are you guys doing?"

"Grinding." Darren showed Eclipse the contents of the mortar.

Eclipse leaned forward. There was a greenish powder in the mortar, along with some bigger chunks of what was probably a root of some kind.

"For the paint?" Eclipse asked.

Darren nodded. He put the pestle down into the mortar and stood up. "Better wash my hands, who knows what's in that stuff."

"I do," said Vol'Shalai, "and yeah, go wash ya hands." He grinned mischievously.





As Vol'Shalai had predicted, it took them another whole day until everything was ready for the ritual. There was still the question where to perform it. The inn was out of the question. Nylene suggested the park but Darren was against it, arguing that they could not afford any interruptions.

"What about Karazhan?" asked Eclipse. "It's far away from other people, besides Khadgar, and I don't think he'll mind."

So the next time that Eclipse teleported to the wizard's tower via the Kirin Tor Hearthstone, he had a note in his saddlebag in which Vol'Shalai asked for his permission to use a room in Karazhan for the ritual.

Eclipse was actually glad he was going to practice more Light magic with Miindra that day because the weather in Stormwind was uncomfortable. Nylene and Darren had taken him along for some training in the park, intending to keep it shorter this time anyway, but after half an hour it was already so windy that they had to stop. The rain started on their way back to the inn, falling down in a steady stream of drops and soaking Eclipse's coat.

In Karazhan, though, the weather was not an issue. After translating another passage from Twilight's notes - they were halfway through by now - the wizard told Eclipse to wait for a while. Miindra had already left some time ago. 

Eclipse sat down on the bench where he had meditated the day before. He watched as Khadgar raised his hand to pluck a blue gem of arcane light from the ground. He disappeared in a flash. Eclipse was amazed. That human made magic look so easy.

Even though Khadgar had not been exacly loud, the library suddenly felt very quiet to Eclipse. As he shifted his weight, his gaze wandered across the many books. He felt tempted to pull one off the shelf just to keep himself busy but he knew better than to try and take a book in a wizard's library without their permission. It could be cursed or something like that. So he put his head on his forelegs and gazed at nothing in particular.





Vol'Shalai put the last finish on his Kaz'kah. The paint had already dried on the ceremonial mask. This was the last feather it needed to be complete. Content with the result, he tried it on. The leather strap was too long. He re-tied it, then took the Kaz'kah off again.

He almost dropped it when something hard and small hit the window in quick succession. A raven was pecking at the glass. Vol'Shalai gently put the mask on the table and quickly opened the window.

"Hey, birdie," he greeted it. Grinning, he let the raven jump inside. The bird flapped its wings and glided to the ground, at a little distance from Vol'Shalai.

"Spunky, right?" Vol'Shalai said in Orcish. "But Darren told me that ya be actually -"

The bird was gone. Instead, a human stood there. His physical age was similar to Darren's, his short hair grey. Pale blue, highly intelligent eyes looked at Vol'Shalai.

"- Khadgar," Vol'Shalai finished, smiling contently as he saw that the knight had told the truth.

"Well met," said Khadgar, nodding politely at the much taller troll. "You're Vol'Shalai, I suppose?"

"Dat's right. Ya got our message, den?"

Khadgar nodded. "Eclipse said you needed a room for the ritual. I've got a lot of them." He raised his brows. "The only question is: Are you ready?" Vol'Shalai was impressed; Khadgar's Orcish was without accent, a skill which could only happen when somebody actively spoke a language often enough.

"Just about. I think Darren and Nylene are relaxing downstairs."

"Good." Khadgar swiftly walked over to the door and opened it.

Vol'Shalai opened and closed his mouth again, then he hurried downstairs, after the wizard.

"Oh my Light," he heard a boy say.

Turning a corner, Vol'Shalai saw that three boys sat around a table, playing Hearthstone. Eclipse's new friends. They stared at Khadgar with wide eyes, their mouths slightly agape. One of them looked at the cards in his hand, then back at the real life Khadgar, as if comparing the images.

Vol'Shalai snickered. He waved at Darren who had just stood up.

A few other guests were there, too, also forgetting what they were doing and looking at the celebrity. Khadgar smiled at them politely, then he turned back to Darren and Nylene. 

They exchanged a few words. Nylene also rose from her chair and they all ascended the stairs again.

After a few seconds, the conversations in the lounge resumed.





"A 'ghost step.' That is what you've got." The sarcasm in Dianne's voice cut through Mark like a knife. "And that is supposed to help us how exactly?"

"If she can walk from one place to another in an instant," Mark replied hastily, "then that means she can travel as fast as a thought. And if that's true, then we can find a way to get information from the Shadowlands if we manage to harness that power."

"But you said that she lost that ability recently." 

"Well, she - ever since the Breaking of the Veil, she feels more corporeal -"

"She feels? Brother, you talked to the spirit, haven't you?" Dianne stepped closer to Mark, her gaze piercing into him. "Against my explicit order?"

Mark shrank down to half his size, at least that was what it felt like. "Yes," he said quietly. "I thought she might still be useful..."

"Her anima would be useful - as a resource! You wasted all this time having a little tea time with the spirit instead of collecting substantial information. Incredible." She rubbed her eyes, giving off an exasperated sigh. "What was the result of the anima analysis?"

"That - that she's not from Azeroth," Mark admitted.

"Then collect the rest of her and be done with it! By the Old Gods, it's just a horse. And find some undead that's actually gone and returned. Like that death knight from before. The one she talked to in the cemetery."

"Right. The death knight. Of course." Mark sighed. He had successfully forgotten he was supposed to do that.

"You seem to have forgotten why we're doing this. Maybe you should pay a visit to the memorial." Dianne put up her hood and walked away.

"If that horse is still here by tomorrow, I'm drawing the anima out myself," she said without looking back.

The door slammed shut behind her.

Mark groaned and left the hallway in the opposite direction, hurrying towards the vault where Levinia was. He had to warn her, encourage her to spill more information. Maybe they could still do an experiment with her powers. Anything to keep her in one piece. If he freed her, there would be no anima and Dianne would know that he did it. No one had a key to the vault except for the two of them.

Maybe he could take some of their stock and pretend that it was the pony's soul. Only they did not even have enough for that plan to work.

His time was running out. He had to make a decision.





Eclipse must have dozed off again because he woke up to the sound of Khadgar returning. But this time, he was not alone. Darren was there, along with Nylene and Vol'Shalai, and they all held stuffed bags in their arms.

"Oh, hey, guys." He yawned and stretched his forelegs.

"Come on, An'dorei, we need to set up everything." Nylene smiled at Eclipse.

"Uh-huh." Eclipse jumped from the bench. "So where do we do it?" he asked, mainly Khadgar.

"Follow me, please," said the mage.





Darren had always assumed that the tower of Karazhan must be tall. He had just not expected it to be this massive. There had to be something wrong with spatial dimensions here. The staircase that wound up and down into sheer endlessness, the labyrinth of rooms and hallways, everything suggested that magic was woven into the very foundations and every wall that made up the building. You could have housed dozens, maybe even hundreds of people in here and even thrown a party for them. Was Khadgar the kind of person to do that? Somehow it was hard for Darren to imagine him like that. Right now, there was nobody here except for them. So probably not.

Khadgar stopped in a vast hall. Arcades held up a high ceiling and the floor tiles were arranged in a black and white checker pattern. There was an air of extravagance; golden rims decorated the marble columns.

"This should do it," he said. "Lots of space. Do you need anything else?" 

"No, thank you, honoured spellcaster," said Vol'Shalai in Orcish with a slight bow.

Darren raised his eyebrows. "Who are you and what did you do to Vol'Shalai?" he muttered to the troll.

Vol'Shalai shrugged. "Can't hurt to be polite to the most powerful mage of Azeroth, seen? Besides, we gonna owe him big time." He jerked his head forward, indicating to Darren where he wanted to draw his ritual circle.

Unpacking the powders, incense and everything else, they got to work.

Darren helped Vol'Shalai to arrange candles and salt in a perfect twelve-sided polygon. The floor tiles helped with that due to their symmetrical design. Vol'Shalai drew ancient symbols on the ground, using charcoal and the paint he had made. He told Eclipse to keep out of the circle until the ritual started. He lit the candles, careful not to spill the wax.

Eclipse could not help much yet so Vol'Shalai gave him the little tauren drum to beat on.

Nylene reached into her bag, intending to get the ceremonial mask out, but the troll quickly snatched the bag from her grip. When he saw her perplexed expression, he grimaced.

"Sorry, my friend. But I just remembered ya got fel fire inside of ya. Dat could... disturb... da ritual."

"Shall I wait outside?" Nylene asked, her tone level.

Darren stepped in. "Now wait just a minute," he demanded, his voice maybe a little louder than necessary. "What are you talking about?"

Eclipse looked up. The sound of the drum stopped as he cast a confused look at Darren.

Vol'Shalai raised a placating hand. "Look, mon, I did not make da rules. Fel magic distorts da... da tings around us. Air, earth, water, fire. And we gonna need their help. We must not piss dem off, eh?"

Darren grunted, frowning deeply.

"It's fine," Nylene tried to calm him down. "I'm not offended." She raised her brows and touched Darren's shoulder. "Really. I'm actually glad that Vol'Shalai almost forgot I am part demon." She turned on the spot and walked away, in the direction of Khadgar's library.

"Yo, Eclipse! Ya still tired?" Vol'Shalai asked.

Eclipse blushed. "Yes, but I can still help," he assured him.

"Oh no, it's good if yar tired. Makes it easier to get into a trance."

"That was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Darren asked incredulously, staring at Vol'Shalai. "You were the one who suggested the training in the park."

The troll just grinned and took off his shirt. His chest was already painted with ritual patterns, white and red zig zag lines all over his blue skin. 

"We Darkspear know for a long time how to do dis," he said. "Now we gotta get ready. Darren, please put some distance between yaself and da circle. Uh-huh. A bit more. There ya go."

He stretched out his hand, inviting Eclipse to step into the circle. "Time to beat da drum, likkle pony. And don't ya stop until we finished. As soon as I put on dat mask, I am no more Vol'Shalai. I am da shaman calling for da Pony Loa. We can not stop. Undastand?" 

Eclipse, the drum between his forelegs, nodded nervously. He beat the drum, trying to keep the rhythm as steady as he could.

Vol'Shalai put the ceremonial mask on. It was made of wood and paint and feathers, depicting a stylized white skull. Even though Darren had seen Vol'Shalai make it, it was different to see him wearing it. With the paintings and illuminated by the light of the candles, the troll had suddenly changed into a mythical creature, something wild and mysterious from half-forgotten times.

An involuntary shiver ran down Darren's back. Vol'Shalai had been correct. He was the shaman now, no question. The mask was not just a mask. It was like a portal - the means to get Vol'Shalai to a different place and to turn him into something else. The troll danced to the rhythm of the drum. He sang something in a language Darren did not understand, both hoarse and melodious at once. It had to be the tongue of the Darkspear trolls, Zandali. Darren knew that they did not teach it to outsiders. The Darkspear always used Orcish to talk to other members of the Horde.

Eclipse's gaze became distant. The irises of his eyes glowed in a cold blue, the whites turned black. His wings hung limp at his sides. The shadows stirred inside the pony. Yet the colt still seemed calm, always beating the drum at a constant pace. 

A disturbing spasm shook Vol'Shalai in mid-step and Eclipse sang along with him, using the very same words at the very same time. It was as if there were no more two individuals but a singular creature that happened to be divided into two bodies.

Darren felt strange. It was hard not to get swept away by the sounds of the drum and the cacophony of songs that echoed through the dimly lit hall. He felt the need to either dance along or stand stock-still and not make a sound. He decided to do the latter and keep watching as the Shadow pony and the shaman kept singing.