The Void Rift Crisis

by Visiden Visidane


Bytos - Lexarius

Bytos may not know the violence that Ida does, but I maintain that it is one of our harshest layers; a land more jagged than any other from its looming, cloud-crowned peaks to valleys so deep that their bottoms never see sunlight. Have you taken the time to explore Bytos, young one? I do not mean the usual places like the Crystal Falls, and the Peak of Sunlight. I know it's tempting to remain cooped up here in Empyrea, but there is also a certain joy in flying to our highest mountain-tops ,and letting the icy winds ruffle one's feathers until your wings find their limit.

Ah, forgive me if I suddenly sound sentimental. You asked me of my part in the crisis, that put me back to what it was like defending Bytos.

It's easy now to put off exploring the layers of our Eternal Herd, but mountains were ruined during that time; places you will never get to see. Their remains slid down and buried several valleys.

Of course, those of us blessed with the power of earth have been able to heal the land as best they can, but the character of those places will no longer be the same. They are lost to us for good. We remain fortunate, however, for the layer itself still exists.

Only Bytos has all the necessary metals and minerals necessary to craft our proud Herd-forged steel. Offer a weapon made of anything less to even a young, barely experienced alicorn warrior, and you will get an insulted rejection. It's not surprising that our greatest smiths and foundries can be found here as well, from the Lightning Forge to the Crucible of Cold Fire. Should Bytos be lost, we will lose our means to obtain our best arms and armor, severely weakening our might. So, the Throne may not be there, but we had just cause to fight as hard as those elsewhere during the crisis.

The fighting primarily took place in the sky. We maneuvered around the spire, looking for a way to strike back Unfortunately, the Agamanthion had opened its gate at the center of Mount Frosthorn, stabbing its way out of the inner cavern complex to poke at Bytos' sky. An assault by ground would require a treacherous climb up a steep slope, followed by navigating Frosthorn's inner passages. Teleporting in would risk us emerging in the middle of an ambush inside the tunnels. And so, the battle for Bytos was a battle to control the sky.

In addition, no strong leader emerged when the fighting began. I stepped forward, and implored our brethren to hold firm, and to move as one. On this rare thing, I must concede a point to Gravitas. Several did know me enough, but I was no familiar presence in Ida. My prowess lacked the ability to inspire. I know that, in Empyrea, Gravitas swiftly took command once the crisis began, and it was a unified defense of the Throne that His Majesty rescued. In Bytos, it was several scattered groups trying to mount an offensive against an unknown foe.

It was heartbreaking to see a great many of our brethren overwhelmed by planar shadows. They would fall incredible heights in a spiral of feathers, only to fade into nothingness before coming even close to hitting the ground. And now, we are facing a potential future problem with so many Fifteenth Cycle alicorns untimely diminished. In the future, there could be a period when we will lack veterans that should have been from the Fifteenth Cycle.

But that is for the far future.

Ultimately, our disparate forces were rescued by the timely arrival of Sanctus Dominus and those who had successfully defended the Midnight Grove and Empyrea.

You must be tired of description of His Majesty's well-documented prowess. It is that familiarity that allows him to so easily call others to his side. Let me speak of the one who, instead, did as much as he, but in silence.

So few among us have ever seen Her Majesty, Divina Gratia, fight for a variety of reasons. She has appeared in Ida even less than I have. During the Void Rift Crisis, few even bothered looking for her. There is also her power of dark, which naturally conceals her actions, and subtly eradicates her enemies.

Yes, I had been searching for her during the Void Rift Crisis. I was worried, for one thing, and I hoped to understand more of the situation through her sight.

Gratia...hrm...pardon.

Her Majesty's power of dark is a very rare blessing within the Herd. Magnus' records show that less than ten such alicorns are born with it in a cycle, and none with such potency as Her Majesty's. If you could catch a glimpse of her fighting, it is nearly a bewitching sight to behold. She fights with haunting grace, well-befitting her namesake, always dancing in one's periphery. Conlis Corde boasts that Obscurus Alis can instantly reach anything that casts a deep enough shadow. In the presence of Sanctus Dominus' sun, that is nearly everything.

The spire in Bytos was eventually destroyed, obviously. Her Majesty's power of dark also empowered His Majesty's blades when it was time for him to deliver the blow against the spires of the Agamanthion. We all remember the Flash in the Grove, and the finishing blows to those spires, but we should not fail to acknowledge the dark that made the power of sunlight shine even brighter.

I do not know how many she destroyed, or how many alicorns were saved by her timely strikes. Her Majesty never speaks of the Void Rift Crisis, or even her accomplishments in general.

Do I...? Why, yes. I don't see how that ties with your query into the Void Rift Crisis, but yes, I did know Her Majesty for quite a while before the crisis began. She was the one who introduced me to His Majesty. Yes, I do suppose it was that familiarity that let me witness her fighting when others didn't. The few times I was in Ida was to accompany her ventures after all. Her father, Juste Canite, was a well-known presence in Ida, and I believed that she would attract undue attention from those who expected her to have both his prowess and his fighting mindset.

Ah, but I am straying from the topic now. Let me just end on the matter by saying we are all blessed so much by her presence, so much so Sanctus Dominus.