Archmage! They want me to be the Archmage! Neither Emerald nor I could believe it. All those years of tutelage and study, to finally have my talents recognized. It is beyond my comprehension and yet the letter is as real as the words I inscribe here. I’m practically shaking! The commencement isn’t until next week but I cannot sleep. Just needed a quill and some ink to help me relax.
I must put these words to paper. After finishing the ceremony, I was sworn and shown to my new office. It's one of the highest towers in Canterlot. I saw my moment and I took it. Beneath the orange glow of the setting sun, on a balcony far above the city, I proposed to my green star. She said yes.
That was several hours ago now. She has long since returned home. I find myself unable to leave this place. A strange feeling of uncertainty and doubt. Am I capable of being the Archmage? Rather silly to be having these thoughts now though I can’t seem to shake the feeling that if I leave this room, my life as I know it now will be over. So much has changed the last week that I feel almost unrecognizable. All the more reason to write it down, right? Something to remember the old times. Maybe someday I’ll put down the feather and retire this journal. One day I’ll bring my child up here to the tower, look out over the sunset, and read a few entries from my old journal. I wonder what kind of world that will be.
It has been a few months since I last wrote, I figured it was time to pick back up on the journal. I received a strange letter today from my father of all ponies. It was in regards to an inheritance of a mansion up north in the wilderness, up by Haystack Mountain. I was completely unaware we had such things in the family, though Father was quite the peculiar soul in his final days. Hard to believe it’s been five years already…
There was a key included in the letter, along with the deed. The key has an odd energy to it. Dark almost. I’ll be investigating the mansion later this month. Who knows what this little adventure could uncover?
This will serve as a log of my first journey to the mansion. It sits high up on the side of Haystack mountain. From where I stand along the path I can see the forest stretching for miles in every direction. The isolation is very strange, and has an eerie effect on one as they climb the slope towards the peak. The mansion itself is far larger than I could have ever imagined. To call it a mansion is an insult. It almost looks like the castle in Canterlot, though on a much smaller scale. From its base one can not help but feel completely insignificant in its long shadow. It appears to have been carved from the very rock of the mountain itself. Cold weathered stone and rotten wooden shutters dot the surface of its exterior, and it appears that several sections have collapsed. One of the two towers that rise above have collapsed entirely into itself, and sits as a rather depressing and ugly husk amongst the rest of the architecture. Even in daylight, I am terrified to go any closer. The magic surrounding this place is… suffocating. It is unlike anything I have ever felt before. I cannot describe the feeling that emanates from this place. Only the terrible, existential dread that chills me to the very core. And yet as I continue to write, my curiosity only grows stronger. It is only a matter of time before my foolishness outweighs my crippling fear. Perhaps I will return with some company.
I will be returning to the manor today. I found a few locals who agreed to travel with me to the manor, and also collected a little bit of history about the building. Apparently it was built hundreds of years ago for a prior Archmage! Who it was, they could not tell me. Lost to time apparently. Will have to do some more digging when I get back to Canterlot.
Company did little to comfort the fear from the day before. I could see it in their eyes too. I practically had to drag them towards the door, but we eventually made it. After an hour or so we finally managed to get inside. The key fit perfectly, and the lock still worked as though it were brand new. Took a while before we managed to break inside. The interior was also somewhat intact, surprisingly. We explored the entry hall and some of the rooms to the sides. They were mostly empty, though there was a massive library with what seemed to be thousands of books! Just lying there, and in impeccable condition! It could take years to properly read and catalogue these tomes.
An Archmage definitely lived here. There are dozens of books on advanced magical theory, some that haven’t been seen in print for decades! And that is just what I’ve picked off of the shelves! To think all of this knowledge has just been sitting here gathering dust! I collected a few books to bring back with me, but there is still so much left to discover! I don’t know how my father got his hooves on the deed to this place, but I will be taking full advantage of his generosity.
I also came across a strange artifact in one of the rooms. It must have been an office at some point. A small blue orb the size of my hoof. It has strange inscriptions on it. I’m going to take it back home for further study.
This trip was quite the successful one. Maybe someday I’ll return and have the place restored. For now though, I miss my bed, and I miss Emerald.