As he walked down the tunnel, an eerie glow alighting at his feet, the clopping of his hooves made a sound, which echoed throughout area he was walking in, giving the tunnel a creepy setting. Age old runes lit up at his feet, making it seem as though Axton was walking on a path of light.
After about ten minutes of walking within the deep tunnel, he came upon a door, quite like the one that appeared in his dream. However, unlike the door in his dream, which emanated a crystal white light, this door let off a lush forest green light; it calmed Axton and made him more composed before he stepped up to the door. Like before, in his dream, a voice came from the door. Unlike the voice of the mage though, this was a calming voice, a motherly voice; the huntress.
“Hello, young one. If you can answer my question, you may proceed. Tell me, what would happen if an item were to disappear?”
Axton thought for a few minutes about the question before answering confidently “If something were to disappear, it would disappear into nothingness, or thus happen to have not existed at all.”
The huntress’s voice laughed softly, before replying to him “Well, young one, you have a keen mind, of that I am sure! Please proceed to the next test of your wit.” With this, the green door opened, revealing a tunnel which walls were covered in emeralds. Resisting the urge to take one, Axton proceeded down the green crystal lit corridor.
Before long, the colour of green faded, and the emeralds became sparser to see. He had come to the door of the berserker god, a red light emitting from the door which stood before him. Unlike the huntress’s door, which was made of polished wood and calmed the being of those who approached it, the berserker’s door was very different. It was made of rough basalt, and the face of a shouting, angry man adorned it. The red light that the door gave off emitted a hostile emotion; rage. The voice that answered his step sounded like grating granite, and was gruff.
“Hello, small one.” Giving a small bark of a laugh which made Axton shiver “Answer me this; what is the power of rage?” Although the giant was not present in his physical form, Axton could feel eye boring into him.
Axton already knew the answer to this and thus answered the berserker instantaneously “Rage has no real power” He mused for a bit before deciding to cheek the god a little “Or taste for that matter.”
Axton stood there, a small smirk on his face. The god answered with a booming laugh before replying “Ha! I like your style, kid. With a mind like that, you will make a fine adult! Just don’t let your ego get too big, as there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Anyway, feel free to enter.” The door grinded open, with the sound of a rumbling earthquake.
Axton entered through the door to find a hoard of rubies and other red crystals adorned the walls. Once more he steeled himself not to take any; greed got one nowhere.
As he continued to walk, Axton could feel the rage that had previously hung in the air like poisonous smog, fade. After a little while the stony corridor ended, and there was a small circular pad in front of a wall. Upon a small altar lay a tiny little knife.
Axton understood what he had to do. Grabbing the small knife with his magic, he shed a little amount of his blood upon the small centre of the pad, before casting a minor healing spell which sewed up his wound.
By now, the red light was completely gone, and once Axton had shed a little of his blood, bright white words started appearing on the walls. They read;
‘Welcome, Apparatus Cor, Machine Heart. It has been long since a guardian of the Cog-Link has came here with blood as pure as yours... Enter...”
With this, a bright white light enveloped Axton and teleported him to a central chamber, which he recognized as the one from his dreams. It was exactly the same. The runes adorned the walls, and machinery and cogs came out from the walls to meet him as he walked through the corridor which was connected to the chamber. Like in his dreams, the machines rumbled to life around him as he walked by; unlike the dream, they spoke to him in an old, repeating song:
One day, the machine heart shall rise,
With him, and his love, shall save the land,
To the doors, of the gods, we be openly prised,
And above, the dark gods, he shall stand.
He shall save this land from darkness and hate,
He will stand and ride on the open wind,
The powers of evil will dissipate,
And to his true power, he shall Ascend.
As the words were sung quietly to him, the runes on the walls pulsated, as if they had a life of their own; spirits of life that hummed with age old power.
Slowly and warily, he walked along the bronze metal corridor, the runes and the song giving him strength, until he came to a great door which was made of a shining gold material, which literally pulsated with power; it was what was most likely giving the runes their life, along with the old song. The door was that of a double door, and on each one was a large crystal which held a swirling mist of ancient knowledge.
Standing on a rectangle of polished stone before the door, ‘reminds me of a giant doormat’ Axton thought, proceeding to knock gently on the door.
Once more, the great voice of the Machine Mage God answered him “Hello, machine heart. You have no need to fear us. We already know you, but alas, you do not know us. Enter, and we will answer your questions.”
The great door swung open, revealing the three gods. The huntress was leaning against the wall, and upon seeing Axton, gave him a small nod and a soft smile, before returning to the reverie of her thoughts. The giant berserker god looked down at him before grinning wildly and knocking his newly acquired war hammer against a giant metal shield. Honestly, that guy sent shivers down Axton’s spine.
The last to greet him was the machine mage. He looked down with a fatherly smile upon Axton, making him feel safe, as if he was with his own father.
The silence lasted a few minutes before the machine mage gestured for Axton to sit upon a large bench, which Axton could literally lie on; it was that big. He simply chose to sit on his flank, his tail set out behind him. The three gods sat on a bench nearby, looking at him.
“I think introductions are in order, young Axton. Of course, we know about you, and no doubt you've seen us in your dreams, but you know not our names. Our Huntress is Alyna. No doubt you've seen she seems motherly, and she is rightly so. After all she is the forest mother, and thus keeps in contact with the creatures of the forest and of the night which have allied with us. These creatures consist of Timber Wolves, manticores, Ursas, Wereponies and Werewolves, Spriggans and other forest spirits and night spirits. She also keeps in touch with Luna herself, who is very fond of our Huntress.” He smiled at this; The Huntress had been around since Luna’s birth and had given her consul when she needed it, thus gaining her trust.
The Mage continued “Next, is my other rather... enthusiastic, comrade. He is known to many as the God of Righteous Anger. His name is Hephaestus, aptly named after the great blacksmith due to his natural skill at being a blacksmith. He made the very benches we sit on, and the great doors that guard this chamber. As well as this, he governs the creatures of war, and keeps them in check. These beings consist of the Minotaur, Griffins, Oxen, Buffalo and Dragon, along with other spirits of rage, anger and grief. Many races like, the Buffalo, sometimes pray to him before stampeding or going on a conquest. Depending on what the conquest or action of war was, Hephaestus gets to say whether it can go ahead or not. He is the embodiment of war itself, in a way.” The Mage god explained this and frowned a little; he did not approve of conflict.
“The last god is me. I am the being of Justice, Peace and Law, also magic. My name is Abraham, although you may call me Abe. I govern the creatures of Magicka and Immortality. These consist of the Pony race; they each have their own kind of magic, even if some cannot perform it. The other races consist of Inferi, Alicorns, Elder Draconian races, which are a cross between a human and a dragon and the other spirits of Justice and Good. Like the other Gods, we answer to our allies, like Zeus and the other Greek gods of Good and Neutrality. You, Axton, are a Demigod of good. Your Demigod name is Cogniitus. You represent the heart of our machine core, and possess a great magic hidden within you, which no doubt you have seen with thine own eyes. When the time comes to sacrifice yourself for the good of this universe, only your intentions shall decide on whether or not you shall survive. For now we bestow upon you our blessing, and some gifts.”
The Huntress, Alyna, walked forward and knelt down to be on Axton’s Level. She gave him a smile, reminding him of his mother. Her voice was warm and reminded Axton of the whispering of tree branches “Hello, Axton. My gift is the Hunter’s Robe. It is a set of magically enchanted robe that comes complete with hood. It shall keep you hidden and silent, should you wish to wear it. To make it work, all you have to do is pull up the hood. Once you have done this, the robes make you nigh on invisible, and thine hoof steps shall be silent. I bless you with the gift of the forest.” With this, she walked back to her seat on the other side of the room, taking a seat while a small bird appeared and perched on her shoulder. Axton was clothed in the robes, with his hood down to make him visible.
Next up was the berserker god, Hephaestus. His footsteps clanked heavily on the floor, his war armor shifting noisily as he walked. He knelt nearby Axton and opened his hand revealing a set of pony type gauntlets, exactly his size. Hephaestus quickly explained “These, are the gauntlets of The Minotaurian Badlands. They bestow the wielder immeasurable strength and speed. May they bring you many a glorious battle!” He grinned madly and clunked in his armor back to his overly sized bench before sitting down, producing a whetstone and beginning the task of sharpening the broadsword which had previously hung from his back.
Last but not least, Abraham walked up to him; he didn't make a sound while he walked, he only had small amounts of light coming of his being while he knelt down, smiled proudly and placed a caring hand upon the side of Axton’s head. “You are one the many descendants of the Cogniitus bloodline, and I am proud to call you my descendant. With this I give you the circlet of Cogniitus. You will find it has many uses; use them well, my child.” Axton could swear he saw a small crystalline tear roll down that masked metal face. With the final gift given, the three gods joined in the middle of the chamber, standing in a line by the giant diamond that floated upon the pedestal in the center of the chamber. It gave off a bright light and showed Axton in his gifts. The gauntlets glowed slightly, giving a steel sheen to Axton’s coat, quite like the gauntlets themselves which gleamed in the light. The robes covered Axton’s body, fitting snugly upon him. The robes were of a grey thundercloud colour, with bronze-gold trim upon them. They made Axton look like some kind of guardian, which in a way, he was. Finally there was the circlet upon his head. It was made of shining silver, with jets embedded within it. Overall, Axton stood dressed from head to hoof in the gifts that had been given to him by the gods; he looked like a true demigod now.
“Now, Cogniitus. Go forth and bring good and happiness to this land. Walk through the Light Crystal, and you shall be teleported to your friends. Your gear will be unequipped and teleported to your saddlebag.” Abraham gave Axton a small gesture to let him enter the crystal.
As he walked into the crystal, which let him meld into it easily, he was bathed in a bright white light before being teleported. Before he left he heard Abraham’s words “Stay true to the Machine, Axton, and nothing will go wrong.”