“Your greeting is duly noted,” rumbled Lex. “Now, how soon can you perform the Rite of Sublimation?”
As curious as he was about the unfamiliar title the Keeper had just referred to him by, Lex knew better than to inquire about it. Even if they were both adherents of the Night Mare, that didn’t mean that the Keeper was his ally, the same way their shared desire to protect Equestria hadn’t made Celestia and Luna his allies. Like the alicorns, the Keeper doubtlessly had his own agenda, and Lex was fully aware that admitting his ignorance with regard to the specifics of the Night Mare’s religion – an area that the Keeper was doubtlessly well-versed in – would only make it easier for the Shrine’s mysterious caretaker to try and manipulate him.
The better option, therefore, was to steer the conversation away from anything doctrinal in nature. So long as the focus was kept on pragmatic issues, Lex had little doubt that he’d be able to maintain the initiative.
Of course, that would have been easier if he’d had his spokespony...
“The preparations are already underway,” rasped the Keeper. “Akna made it clear what your purpose was in coming here, and as I said, I am obligated to perform such a holy ceremony for those who are of the faith. But I must warn you, the Rite itself is lengthy, and once begun must be seen to completion; it cannot be interrupted midway through.”
Forcing away morose thoughts of Sonata, Lex made a dismissive gesture. “All the more reason to begin as quickly as possible. The sooner it’s complete, the sooner I’ll be able to depart from here.” Hopefully that would make the Keeper realize that it was in both of their interests to get this done with all possible haste.
“Of course. But I should inquire about your companions while you’re indisposed. Have-”
“They’re none of your concern.”
“All who dwell within the confines of the Shrine are my concern,” retorted the Keeper. “But if you are worried for their safety, I suspect that your little display with Ganas was more than enough to convince everyone here to leave them alone. Though if you will permit me to ask, why did you choose to kill him rather than have him perform a demonstration of penitence?”
The question made Lex hesitate, not sure if “demonstration of penitence” had a particular meaning in the context of the Night Mare’s religion. “...for what he did, the harshest possible punishment was called for.”
“I see...” murmured the Keeper. “But getting back to the topic of your companions. With how long you’ll be indisposed, would you like for one of my acolytes to lead them in an observance of the Somnolent Obeisance, or do you wish to do it yourself?”
“They don’t worship the Night Mare,” replied Lex through gritted teeth, certain that it was no coincidence that the Keeper was bringing up precepts of their goddess’s religion. “It wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“Truly?” mused the Keeper. “I would have thought that it was an opportune way to show them why the Night Mare is superior to whatever gods they follow. Do you not agree?”
“...”
The Keeper waited until it became obvious that no answer was forthcoming, then continued. “Well, then perhaps the Tenebrae Sollemne, for their own comfort while they wait for y-”
“Enough of this,” spat Lex. “I’m going back to oversee the others’ recuperation. Inform me as soon as the Rite is ready.”
He had already changed back into a shadow as he spoke, turning to depart, but the Keeper’s words reached him before he had a chance to go further than a few feet beyond the edge of the black sphere. “You don’t know what the Charismata you possess is truly capable of, do you?”
Lex knew the proper course of action now was to cut his losses and head back, ending all communication with the Keeper until the Rite of Sublimation was ready. But he still hesitated, seething at another of his limitations being so easily exposed. Bad enough that Mystaria had been able to deduce that he couldn’t recover his arcane spells after only a few days in his presence; for the Keeper to be able to uncover how little he knew about what the Night Mare had given him from nothing more than a short exchange – while giving away so little about himself in the process – was a slap in the face.
And with Solvei’s loss still fresh in his mind, to say nothing of all the other setbacks and reversals that he’d suffered since coming to Everglow – and even before that, with Dark Streak and whoever it was that had been scrying on him – Lex had no tolerance left for being made a fool of.
It was only because he found himself at a momentary loss as to the appropriate way to lash out in retaliation for the insult – divine authority wouldn’t work, and a storm of destructive magic would make it impossible to undergo the Rite of Sublimation – that Lex didn’t move, giving the Keeper a chance to continue speaking. “No, I thought not. Akna made it clear when she told me about the battle you fought before coming here.”
That the adlet had betrayed him like that only made the flames of Lex’s rage burn hotter. “She dared-”
Another soft clicking heralded laughter from the Keeper. “Calm yourself. She engaged in no treachery toward you, nor does she have sufficient knowledge of Our Dark Lady to recognize the full scope of what you have been given. But I do.”
Slowly, Lex turned in place, glaring at the darkened sphere that hid the Keeper.
“You performed no ceremonies before the battle, despite knowing that it was coming,” continued the rough voice. “You made no attempt to consecrate the battlefield. Nor did you bless the equipment you and your companions used. Instead, you relied almost entirely on your own powers, using the Charismata only to lend strength to Akna and your winter wolf.”
It was all Lex could do to hold back a blistering retort, intent on making it clear that while the Night Mare might have been his goddess, he placed no stock whatsoever in the trite customs that the Keeper was indicting him for overlooking. But even in his anger, Lex couldn’t bring himself to speak the words out loud, recognizing the implication that they weren’t just customs. After all, if the “Charismata” that the Keeper kept referring to was what he’d taken to calling divine authority, then the Keeper was suggesting that the actions he’d outlined would have had some sort of real, tangible effect.
...and, Lex realized, that wasn’t implausible to consider.
Quite the contrary, the Night Mare had a long history of letting him figure out the full scope of the powers she’d granted him on his own. That divine authority could be used to empower the creatures subjected to it, rather than simply immobilizing them, was only the most recent revelation in that regard. His tulpa was another; when she’d granted that portion of his mind semi-independence, he’d had no idea that it could do anything other than torment him. Now he knew better, having inadvertently used it to aid him in battle on more than one occasion.
And it had been Fruit Crunch and his friends who’d informed Lex of their revelation about how – with the Night Mare’s connection to Equestria still being so tenuous – he needed to personally induct other ponies into her religion in order for them to start receiving spells in exchange for worshiping the goddess. In hindsight that was clearly a function of his having a portion of her godly essence within him, the same essence he called upon whenever he used divine authority.
If that power could command unnatural creatures, and create a link between the Night Mare and ponies who worshiped her, was it really so difficult to believe that it could be used in other ways as well?
“Most ponies serve the gods out of a sense of devotion, pursuing a calling that can only be fulfilled by dedicating themselves to a higher power,” intoned the Keeper, and Lex was surprised to find that the killing rage that had come over him only moments before was already receding. “But there are some for whom their service is demanded, the gods seeing potential too great to be allowed to lie fallow. Most such ponies, once they perceive the touch of the divine, flock to one learned in the mysteries of the gods so as to better understand what is expected of them.”
A derisive laugh escaped from Lex then, and despite having managed to rein in his emotions, he couldn’t resist the urge to pounce on the Keeper’s mistake. “No one demands anything of me, not even the Night Mare. I earned this power by bargaining with her directly, after using my magic to bring her into my presence. And now that I’ve fulfilled my end of the deal, I use it as I see fit.”
“Nevertheless, you still received her favor with no deeper knowledge of what that conveys,” replied the Keeper easily. “And so now you wield her power with all the precision of a blunt instrument, rather than the finesse of a skillfully-placed arrow. That is why the Night Mare has brought you here now; so that before you try to gain more power, you can gain a greater understanding of the power you have already been given: the Charismata, which enables the one blessed with it to reshape aspects of the world around them through force of will alone.”
To anypony else, that might have been a tempting offer. The knowledge that there were further ways to make use of the power the Night Mare had given him could very well make the difference between victory and defeat the next time he faced Grisela and her siblings. And as much as it hurt to admit, it might have been enough to save Solvei if he’d known about it before. But had only one reaction to what the Keeper was telling him:
He had just gone too far.
Although the surge of wrath that coursed through Lex only moments ago had fled as quickly as it had come, he could feel a new rush of enmity coursing through him now. This was exactly what he’d expected the Keeper to do: use his greater knowledge of the Night Mare’s religion to try and establish a hold over him. And that wasn’t something that Lex could forgive.
No one manipulated him. Not the Night Mare. Not the alicorns. Not Sonata or Aria. No one.
Nor could he allow anyone making the attempt to go unrebuked.
Attacking the Keeper wasn’t feasible. Even if his cooperation wasn’t required to perform the Rite, and even if the Night Mare hadn’t forbidden her faithful from killing each other in this place, Lex had little doubt that any serious assault would likely see a horde of monsters brought to bear. While he had no doubt that he could turn many – perhaps even most – of them to his side via divine authority, he had no idea how many he could control at once. All the more so if he was right about the surrounding statues being calcified monsters that the Keeper could unpetrify. If that happened, then there would likely be deaths among his companions, and that wasn’t acceptable.
But Lex didn’t need to attack the Keeper to put him in his place.
Instead, he moved back inside the black globe, returning to corporeal form as he began concentrating.
“I have studied the sacred scriptures, memorized the holy texts, and contemplated the hallowed revelations, all so that I can revere the Dark Tyrant more,” intoned the Keeper. “Let me show you how to wield her influence, and your power-”
“The only thing you’ll show me, Keeper,” hissed Lex as he called upon his dark magic again, this time pouring his body’s natural magic into it, “is what you really look like.”
The searing pain that coursed through him then was as familiar as it was expected, and Lex felt himself sway on his hooves. Between the exertion he’d gone through in that last fight, and the backlash from Solvei’s death, he knew he was in no condition to be doing this. But Lex never considered stopping as he forced more power into his vision, intent on seeing through whatever supernatural darkness the Keeper had surrounded himself with.
And it seemed to be working, as a faint outline was starting to become visible...
But not of a pony.
Instead, the form that came into focus a moment later was that of an equine skull floating in the air.