//------------------------------//
// Beginning - Ignis Cordo 
// Story: The Void Rift Crisis 
// by Visiden Visidane 
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I could tell you of my meager exploits, colt, but there is little to benefit you in that regard. I fought to protect the Midnight Grove, I did my part, and followed where His Majesty led. I have no glorious exploit to brag of, because there was nothing glorious about the Void Rift Crisis for any of us Seekers. A horrible mistake was made, and the Herd was paying for it. I fought to defend our world, but, in the back of my mind, I was already imagining the terrible backlash against the Seekers once the fighting finished. The same could be said for many of my brethren. And we were right to be concerned. Our High Seekers got away easy, even if it did cost them their diminishing. They didn't have to explain themselves to the thousands of angry, bereaved alicorns left behind by the Agamanthion's rampage. By the time Sagax Lumen is restored, she'll either find the Seekers gone for good, or having moved on from the crisis. Either way, she won't have to work so hard to deal with the consequences of her reckless gambit with Turbo Pinnae.

Let me explain the planar shadows as best I can instead. Let it be known once more that we Seekers quest for knowledge, not to eradicate our entire world.

Sadly, we have no remnants of the planar shadows to study. When the Agamanthion was destroyed, they all faded into nothing. What the Seekers have are mere theories from our experiences with the Sixth's magic, and the scattered fragments of the Agamanthion's extensions. That is little enough to go on, and Gravitas has called for destroying those very few fragments. That fool will erase all traces of the Sixth Cycle if he can, not realizing that we will only harm the Herd by forgetting the danger it faced. Fortunately, His Majesty has not listened to those ridiculous motions.

Through studying the arrays on the Agamanthion's extensions, we've come to the conclusion that the planar shadows were created through Necromancy; specifically Un-life.

Confused? Not surprising. Don't hang your head in shame. Necromancy is not a good talking point in the Herd. It is unfortunate that we dance around the subject, as if not discussing it would erase it from existence. The Herd paid dearly for its lack of experience with Necromancy during the crisis, but we still haven't learned a thing.

Un-life is one of the core concepts of Necromancy. Perhaps, you've heard of the others. Life Tap is the conversion of vitality to magical energy, Grudge is the harnessing of negative feelings into curses, and the creation of horrors. Un-life is the negation of life force. Life animates, sustains, and grows, Un-life slays, devours, and discorporates. 

The planar shadows, we theorize, were globs of Un-life. They had no sentience of any sort, and were merely projections of the Agamanthion. To what end, likely to protect the artifact as it performed its task by snuffing out the lives of everything in the vicinity. That would explain why their numbers did not falter. "Kill" a projection, and the Agamanthion simply creates a new one.

The power needed to project so many is a feat worthy of even our Throne. What we could guess was that these extensions drew power from the Eternal Herd itself, a version of life tap at a massive scale. I know, it is a horrifying thought, that an artifact could leech the very essence of our world to destroy it. Though it may seem like cursing at him, I wish Ater Lingua had not been diminished during the crisis. He is the Seekers' best mind on Necromancy. Even an apprentice of his would do. 

Later on, many alicorns would report that these shadows began taking the forms of various recognizable entities; shadowy wolvenaar, thorciasids, alicorns, q'tzal, and even a false centimanus, all appeared throughout the Void Rift Crisis. We alicorns pride ourselves in our magical prowess, and it is that natural ability that shaped these globs into all these fantastic creatures. Planar shadows may not have been capable of being swayed from their primitive purpose, but they were influenced by the growing fears of our brethren. Fear of diminishing, and fear of our world being destroyed bridged into other fears of those who were in close contact with the planar shadows. These thoughts were ripped from those who fell victim to the black swarms, and the devouring shadow adapted a particular shape.

The planar shadows are no masters of shape-shifting, however. They took on the form, thus acquiring the reach and limbs, but they did not gain any innate abilities, which was a great blessing for those who had to deal with them.

Me? No, colt, I am not a necromancer of any skill worth mentioning. I've tried to master it, as every Sixth Cycle alicorn has tried, but I simply do not have any affinity for it. Scholarly interest can only take one so far in spellcasting. Out of the Herd, the talent for it is exceedingly, and frustratingly rare. 

If you wish to speak to a necromancer of talent, you will have to speak to Prince Oceanus. I believe he is the only noteworthy necromancer present for this cycle. Do not expect results should you try. He is tight-lipped, cold, and constantly busy with the tasks he has involved himself in. Count yourself fortunate if you can even get a word to him before that gang of mares that stalks him starts harassing you. 

The prince himself has little interest in sharing his knowledge. All the more pity; his commentary on the gathered scraps of the Sixth Ascendant's necromantic notes is utter brilliance. The Seekers have tried several times to recruit him as an adviser, but he has made it clear that his brush with the Sixth's work was a passing interest. Perhaps, that is for the best given our short history on non-Sixth Cycle recruits.

I can only wish you luck if you're going.