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// The Charge - Animus Arcem 
// Story: The Void Rift Crisis 
// by Visiden Visidane 
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It was an honor to take part in that direct charge towards the Agamanthion. I tell you, if I was untimely diminished before the end of it, I would have accepted my fate with no regrets. 

While the rest of our warriors engaged the thousands of minions the Agamanthion threw out in its defense, His Majesty led a small group to infiltrate the Agamanthion itself. The rest of the Herd understood that it was to find a weakness past the Agamanthion's hard exterior, and destroy it from within.

Certainly this was true, but it was also true that His Majesty, despite all the odds, still nursed the hope that he would find Turbo Pinnae inside. It seemed a foolish hope at the time. Even Her Majesty, her sight obscured by the Agamanthion, warned him of expecting too much. I do not know where he finds that relentless optimism. From the start of the Void Rift Crisis to the end of it, I never saw him even consider that we were lost. We all marvel at Her Majesty's sight, but I would like to, just once, see what he sees.

As for the group, I have always accompanied His Majesty in every fight he has ever joined, so it was only natural that I joined him for that assault. There are some of our brethren who, in the comfort of their lounges, argue that I should not have been given such an honor. True, I am not among the very elite of the Herd's warriors. I hold my own as best I can, no more, no less. I do not claim to fully understand His Majesty's reasoning, but, without sounding too proud, I can say that my familiar presence, watching out as best I can, helps ease his mind. As such, so long as he wishes it, I shall always fight alongside our King.

Her Majesty accompanied him as well, as she had from the start of the crisis and as she does to this very moment. His Majesty had been courting her long before the crisis, indeed as soon as Juste Canite introduced them, but I believe that it was the trial of the Void Rift Crisis that fully confirmed their bond. They were inseparable throughout the crisis, and we all see how much more they have become after it.

There was also Lexarius. As I had always accompanied His Majesty in Ida, so Lexarius did the same for Her Majesty. To a lesser extent, of course, given both their aversion to the battle plane. That is not to say that he is no friend to His Majesty. Lexarius offered a valuable perspective to His Majesty, a task he maintains to this moment. Whenever the battles of Ida grew tiresome, His Majesty frequently conversed with Lexarius. It should also be noted that Lexarius is a skilled fighter. Certainly better than several of the Elders he is so fond of debating.

General Gravitas completed the group. While I certainly admire his fighting prowess, and I do not doubt his resolve to protect the Herd, General Gravitas did his utmost to make it difficult  to work with him. Did you know that he had the utter gall to question Her Majesty's presence in the group?  He claimed that her power of dark might make her susceptible to the Agamanthion's influence,  this was despite the Agamanthion never doing such a thing. 

If you're seeking the ultimate proof of our King's benevolence, you need only to consider the fact that General Gravitas reached the end of the Void Rift Crisis undiminished.

Thanks to the many valiant warriors of the Herd, we were able to reach one of the openings into the Agamanthion. That brief flight alone was, in itself, a trial.  It hurt to stay the course while I watched our comrades fight to their last for this opportunity. In the feast hall of Ida,  I still look at the empty seats where many of them used to frequent. The cycles will be long before I get to speak to them again. So I hold on to the stories of this battle so I may tell them of it upon their restoration.

Now,  I had visited the Agamanthion only a couple of times when it was dormant. Back then, it was a veritable maze of darkened halls. The black stone seemed to dampen sound and find light, even magical ones. To walk its halls was to risk being ensnared by its confusing turns, and its shroud of near-silence.

Active, the halls of the Agamanthion pulsed with power. What seemed like plain stone was actually etched with script that the Seekers barely understood. They glowed and faded in a rhythm, as if keeping time with the Agamanthion"s heart.

His Majesty and General Gravitas had no patience for navigating the Agamanthion. His Majesty's twin swords and mighty Atrox carved and pounded a straight path to our target. 

And that is how we discovered an aspect of the Agamanthion that Pinnae and the Seekers failed to notice. Dark crimson oozed from those broken stone walls. Yes, the Agamanthion did indeed bleed. Or, perhaps, that is just me being sentimental. I do not know what the red substance that seeped out of those walls were. It pulsed with ruby light and ran as thick as any blood. That none of the Seekers noticed it disturbs me as well. I doubt that they would be so unobservant. Perhaps, it only came to be after the Agamanthion activated.

And this is as far as my part in the charge finishes. I caught but a glimpse of the core of the Agamanthion before its internal defenses brought its minions against us. While our King and Queen pressed on with Lexarius, I remained with General Gravitas to keep the path clear. 

I am grateful that I was needed to hold off the Agamanthion's defenses. That mere glance at the very core of the Agamanthion left me terribly frightened. I also know that a hard choice was made during the final encounter with it. It is a blessing for me not to bear the burden of witnessing what transpired there.