Love's Lost Decade

by Priceless911

Bk10/Ch2 The City of Sand

Book 10 / Chapter 2
The City of Sand
(Year 5, Month 9, Day 21)

The Winds howled and the sand blasted against the two travelers as Zeil and Chief Basarum trotted through the desert through the heavy sand storm. As they pressed on, Zeil with his cloak’s hood up and a cloth mask covering his muzzle called through the storm, “Chief? How Far are we from the site?”
Chief Basarum turned back with the same amount of protection covering his face as he spoke, “It should be close, maybe over the next dune! We need to press on, less we get covered in this storm!”
after that was said, Chief Basarum continued trotting up the dun they were currently on as Zeil followed with what little visibility he had in the painful storm. As Chief Basarum totted over the dune and momentarily out of Zeil’s sight, Zeil kept up but as soon as he too reached the top of the dune he looked down to see that Chief Basarum was gone. Confused Zeil looked around as he called, “Chief? Chief!”
As Zeil looked around he saw nothing until a dark figure could be made out in the storm trotting closer to him. At first Zeil thought this was Chief Basarum but as Zeil watched the Mare approach, he could feel an aura of intense darkness as the cloaked figure trotted close enough to see clearly.

The figure was a slightly shorter zebra then Zeil in his zebra form. The mare wore a dark cloak and mask similar to Zeil, while what was seen of her face was only her eyes, one orange and the other white with a deep scar visible over the creature’s eyelid showing clearly that this eye was injured by some sort of animal. Seeing this made Zeil feel uneasy until he was called to by Chief Basarum as Zeil felt a hoof on his shoulder, “Zeil? What’s wrong?”
Confused Zeil looked to Basarum, who was now standing next to him, then looked back to see that the figure has vanished without a trace as he spoke, “N-nothing… I think the desert is playing tricks with me.”
Chief Basarum nodded, “The sand can play many tricks, but if we keep moving we should reach the city soon.”
With that Chief Basarum turned away and started leading the way as Zeil ignored the vision he just had and started following. As they trotted through the stinging sands, they soon saw another figure moving towards them as the approaching being spoke, “You there! Do you need any help?”
As they approached the pony who was wearing thick layers to protect himself from the sands, Chief Basarum spoke, “We are on our way to the southern dig site to the city of Duet. Is it just ahead?”
The pony nodded, “You’re in luck its nearby, follow me.”

With the winds continuing, Zeil and Basarum followed the heavily padded pony as they soon came to a large tent as the three entered through the main entrance. Though it couldn’t be seen through the thick sandstorm outside, the inside of the shelter was much larger then originally suspected as Zeil realized that the entrance to the large tent they entered was only one room with covered pathways leading to more tents which made up even more rooms to the large facility. As Zeil lowered his cloak and mask, Chief Basarum did the same as the pony guide began removing all his padded clothing as he spoke, “There, now that we are out of the storm, what brings you two to Duet? You two don’t look like the interns we are expecting.”
Chief Basarum spoke, “We aren’t, I am Basarum, Chief of the Northern tribe of Zebrica. I and my student here seek to speak with Somnambula, is she here?”
After removing all his padded clothing the now recognizable pony scientist put on a pair of glasses as he nodded, “Oh yes, she is in the lab currently looking over a slab we recovered from our most recent dig. I will show you the way.”

With that Zeil and Basarum were lead through the connected tents until they reached a tent in the far back of the complex as they saw a large group of archeologist and scientist gathered around a table looking at artifacts. In the center of this herd stood one that seemed out of place. Whiles most of the ponies in the room wore lab coats and explorer coats, this mare wore clothing that was much less constricted, in fact her silky cloth like clothing could only be described as ancient when compared to anything the archeologist around her were wearing. The mare had a peach colored coat, a green mane, and raven eyes, as she spoke and pointed to the stone slab on the table, “These glyphs here aren’t instructions at all. They are a pretense. They tell of a location for the tomb but the location is an obvious lie. Possibly to lure away grave robbers seeking to steal the pharaoh’s treasure. But perhaps there is a clue to the real tomb’s location. Let me read it further.” Silently the mare read the entirety of the ancient stone tablet until she finally sighed with disappointment, “Unfortunate… this slab isn’t a record of Pharaoh Calypso’s life, it’s of her father Pharaoh Uktah. That said, it only talks about him and his tomb’s location. There isn’t any mention of her other than she was his daughter. There is no helpful information here.”

At that moment the room of eager and curious scholars sighed with disappointment as they started to disperse from the mare’s side. Feeling this was the time to approach Chief Basarum and Zeil approached the mare as Basarum spoke, “Miss Somnambula? Do you remember me?”
The mare looked to Basarum as she smiled, “Yes I remember, Chief Basarum of the Northern tribe. It’s good to see you again, and...”
As she looked to Zeil, her expression changed drastically as Zeil could sense a strange conflict of emotions from her. In her, he could feel worry, curiosity, distrust, and uncertainty as Zeil decided to try and easer her emotions by speaking politely, “My name is Zeil, it’s nice to meet you Miss Somnambula I hope we haven’t come at a bad time.”
Somnambula shook her head as she replied, “um no its not. I apologies if I seem a little unsure. My name is Somnambula I was once a resident of this kingdom before it fell. And though I fear I may not show it, it is an honor to meet the future mage of Zebrica.”
Still trying to ease her mind Zeil replied, “The honor is mine.”

Feeling the awkwardness of the moment, Chief Basarum spoke, “Somnambula, Zeil here has completed his previous lessons and now needs to see the ruins for his next. Though it is part of the lesson, I'm willing to bet that what he sees when he looks upon the ruins may answer some unknown questions for you.”
The curious mare replied, “Really? How so?”
Basarum replied, “The mage is meant to see events either past or future where balance was shifting too fare to one side. If Zeil meditated in the ruins, I'm sure he will see what transpired her all those centuries ago.”
The mare was confused, “Is… that even possible?”
Zeil replied, “Apparently so, I’ve seen the past before and managed to stop the imbalance there so maybe I can see it again.”
Somnambula was curious as she thought to herself, “Perhaps, you can solve the mystery of Calypso’s tomb then.”
Both Zeil and Basarum were confused as Chief Basarum spoke, “Calypso?”

Somnambula nodded as she approached the slab and looked at the hieroglyphics painted on it, “Yes, Pharaoh Calypso was the last Pharaoh of this kingdom before it fell to Mage Phalla. It is said that after the mage turned the city’s residents into stone, she left the city to the elements where a traveler did the curtesy of burying the residents in a tomb along with the mage’s secret.”
Zeil was confused, “Secret? What secret?”
Somnambula shook her head, nopony knows, all that is stated in the ancient writings is that is one were to discover this secret, then all of this terrible fate will be understood.”
Zeil thought to himself as he replied, “Mage Phalla… So she was the one who turned the city to stone?”
Chief Basarum nodded, “yes, But this is the first I'm hearing about any secret, perhaps there is more that the last few mages kept quiet about.” He looked at Somnambula, “You say a passerby buried the city’s victims, who was it?”
Somnambula replied, “According to records, it was either survivors of the catastrophe or some residents who weren’t present when the city fell. Either way, if you can help us find her tomb, then we can piece together what truly happened here, and why.”

Zeil nodded as he replied, “Then where should we begin?”
Somnambula smiled before replying, “We can start in our recently discovered chamber, follow me.”
With that said, the mare trotted out a nearby opening in the tent and exited the entirety of the complex. As the three made their way back into the sand storm, Zeil put his hood up as he called through the winds, “is it me, or is the storm letting up a little?”
Somnambula Shielded her face as she replied, “Sand storms are dangerous, but they only last as long as the winds, the nearby ruins block most of the wind so it’s going to feel lighter the closer we get.”
Before Zeil could reply, a massive shadow could be seen through the sandstorm as the towering structures revealed themselves to be pylons from a massive temple gate. As the three were led closer to the gate, Zeil seemed to have another brief vision, this time of ancient soldiers lining each side of the road that entered the large gate. However like before, the vision only lasted for a few seconds before they disappeared leaving only the view of the massive ancient temple in their path.

Feeling like this was only an effect from the storm, Zeil ignored the visions as he continued following as Somnambula led both Zeil and Chief Basarum into the massive ruins. After entering the stone structure, Zeil put down his hood and looked through the large corridor as he spoke, “This, is amazing… How old are these ruins?”
Smiling, Somnambula placed her hoof against some of the glyphs carved into the wall as she replied, “I remember playing in this exact corridor when I was just a filly. Even then, they were thousands of years old, that was a little over a millennium ago.”
Zeil gave the mare a surprised look as she continued, “If I had known that I wouldn’t have seen this city populated again… then I would have watched it closer to burn it into my memory.”
Before Zeil could reply, Chief Basarum spoke, “Nostalgia can be many things, but more often than not, it can be the greatest pain in the world. We all hope so hard to see what was once, that we often refuse to look to what will be.”

Zeil Looked at Chief Basarum, “That was strangely wise for you?”
Chief Basarum smiled, “My wife said that once.”
Somnambula nodded, “I would expect no less from the lady oracle.” She turned to a path, “This way. The floor in this corridor collapsed to reveal a hidden room beneath it.”
As they trotted through the corridor, Zeil looked at all the ruins around him as he spoke, “I was wondering? You say that the mage turned the entire city to stone… did they say how? I know of a few petrification spells, but nothing powerful enough to effect and entire city.”
Chief Basarum nodded as he replied, “Well… I was wanting to save this for a future lesson, but now is as good a time as any. Mage Phalla didn’t use a spell, she used her element.”
Zeil was confused, “element?”
Chief Basarum explained, “Every mage has one spell that they can use simply at will. An element that can be created without the need of magic potions, incantations, or spell castings of any kind. They merely think it, and it comes into being.”
Zeil was surprised, “Really? Is that even possible?”
Chief Basarum nodded, “it is, for example, Mage Magi could harden the coat on his skin increasing its strength making into a powerful armor or a heavy weapon should he use his forearms to fight.”
Zeil thought to himself, “So… every mage has an ability? What would mine be?”
Chief Basarum replied, “Well, think carefully. You’ve said the mage who chose you used magic, so what spell did he use more than any? It would be something he could use quickly and fluidly as if it were second nature to him.”
Zeil thought carefully to himself, “well… I would say he used the water blade often, but he used that as easily as any skilled enchanter… Wait… there was one spell he used that was very strange. He could make vines grow out of his shadow.”

As the group continued through the corridor, they came to an area where Somnambula had to pick up a torch from a stand and continue using it to light their way. As they continued, Chief Basarum replied to Zeil’s statement, “out of his shadow?”
Zeil nodded, “Yes, it was very strange, but with what only seemed like sheer thought, he was able to grow vines. Some he could wrap around objects loosely or he could make it grow dense and strong to use as a spear. He could grow them thicker like when he broke the chains that were on me, or make them thin like when he covered that earth pony we were fighting. He could even grow them from a far distance like when he sealed the chapel doors shut. It was unnerving in a way. Knowing he held such power and at the time I still didn’t know who he truly was.”
Chief Basarum thought to himself, “That is a strange ability to have. It’s unquestionably new. Occasionally some mages would get the same ability from previous mages but it often happens that the ability gained is unrecorded or hidden so that others don’t know his power or weakness should he have one.”

Zeil was intrigued, really? What kind of abilities did they get?”
Chief Basarum thought to himself, “Well it ranged everywhere from controlling wind, to rapid healing spells. But… the worst one was fear.”
“Fear?”
Chief Basarum nodded, “Yes… the ninth mage had the ability to manipulate fear in those around him… it was to a point where he literally drove his enemies to suicide he even had a group of thieves go insane, driving them to kill each other… before themselves.”
Though she didn’t make it known that she was paying attention to their conversation, Somnambula listened closely to the two speaking as they continued through the corridor as Zeil replied, “Wow… I knew darkness can't always be used for bad, but I didn’t know that it could escalate to something as dangerous as that.”

As the leader finally arrived at a large hole in the corridor floor, she didn’t address it right away, instead, the interested mare silently eavesdrop on the two’s discussion as Chief Basarum replied, the Mage of Zebrica is and will always be a great power in this land. It’s up to you to decide how that power is used. Most do as they state and maintain balance in the world by using dark magic for good… but occasionally there are a select few who misuse their power… and as a result. Well… we are walking through an example as we speak.”
At first Somnambula wanted to continue listening to the two talk about that subject, but felt it would bring attention since they weren’t walking anymore so she spoke up, “We are here.”
As Zeil and Chief Basarum looked to the floor Chief Basarum spoke, “Oh? This is new, this room wasn’t her last time.”
Somnambula shook her head, “it’s been a while since you were here last chief. This chamber was recently discovered when the ceiling caved in earlier this week. Though it wasn’t what we were hoping to find, it’s still may hold the key to finding the final resting place of Duet.”
With that the three started climbing down a ladder into the deep but wide chamber as they used torches to look through the room. As they looked around, Zeil couldn’t help but recognize the room’s obvious use as he trotted to a large shelf that held countless scrolls, “It’s a Library…”
Somnambula nodded, “It was… most of these scrolls are so old that the ink has faded away, what could be salvages was simple fiction stories as well as documentation that predate Pharaoh Calypso. There isn’t anything here of her life, or the day she and the rest of the Kingdom was turned to stone. But there is something strange, look over here.”
That said, Somnambula held the torch towards a corner of the library as the light revealed a shelf that had been burned along with all the scrolls that were with it.

As Zeil looked to the scorched shelf and floor around it, he suddenly started to hear voices as the female voice spoke with pain, “Y-you don’t understand! This pain is too much! I-I beg of you, show me mercy! End this… end it all!”
Feeling drained by the unexpected voices, Zeil placed his hoof on his head as Chief Basarum looked to his and spoke, “What is it? Are you having a vision?”
Zeil nodded, “Yes… but… it’s broken… and distorted.”
Chief Basarum nodded, “That’s because they are coming to you without focus. I’d suggest you begin your meditation now while the memories are present. If you see them while in meditation perhaps they will become much clearer.”
Zeil nodded, “Sure… I guess I can do that… but what about you two?”
Chief Basarum looked to Somnambula as he replied, “I will return to the tent, no need in me traversing these ruins, it is not I who should be seeking the secrets of this city… but the mage.”
Zeil looked to Somnambula as she nodded as she looked to Zeil, “If you do discover any information revealing where Pharaoh Calypso is buried, then please let me know.”
Zeil nodded as he replied, “Sure, I'll see if the visions tell me about It.” he sat down in the middle of the room, “Okay… let’s see what lies within.”

As Zeil sat and began meditation, Chief Basarum and Somnambula Climbed back up the ladder and into the corridor. After reaching the upper level, Somnambula looked back down at Zeil as Chief Basarum asked, “May I ask, what do you hope to find in the tomb of the city’s residents?”
Somnambula replied, “If Mage Phalla used a spell to turn the residents into stone, then I hope that if I find their tomb I can turn them back somehow, I’ve seen some amazing remedies that have helped petrification and other seemingly hopeless spells. So if there is a remedy, then I know we can find it, and bring back the glory that was once the kingdom of the sand sea.”
Chief Basarum smiled, “well who better to do that the mare of hope herself. If anypony can, it’s you. Just as if anyone can find that tomb, it’s Zeil.”
Somnambula didn’t reply, instead she looked to Zeil with a distrusting expression as Chief Basarum saw this and replied, “You… you don’t trust him do you?”

She shook her head, “how can I? You said so yourself, not all mages use their power for good. And he… he is too hard to read… to… unpredictable. I know more than any what can happen if darkness takes over anypony, good or bad. And if that is what the mage is… then he can't be trusted.”
Chief Basarum nodded as he replied, “That is true… Zeil is the first in many things… the first changeling mage, the first changeling I know who abandon his swarm, and much more… not to mention the fact that he is an outsider alone make him untrustworthy in my book.”
She asked, “Then… why trust him? Why are you going through so much to train him? Why bring him here? To me?”
Chief Basarum smiled as he turned away and replied, “I'm not sure… maybe… because… I have hope. Hope that he can help you… in more ways than one.”
Although she wanted to smile at the irony in his words, Somnambula couldn’t as she looked towards Zeil one last time before sighing, “As the mare of hope, I guess I should do the same.”

Down in the pit, the faint light of the torches barley lite the room as Zeil sat in his meditative position. Soon the silence faded as Zeil opened his eyes to find himself standing atop a high sand dune that overlooked the edge of a large and prosperous desert city. Curious Zeil looked into the city until he saw what looked to be two ancient soldiers trotting strait for him with spears in hoof. As they started to approach, one looked to him as he spoke, “You there, HALT!”
At first Zeil assumed the guards were talking to him, however at that moment, a cloaked zebra stepped onto the top of the dune right next to him as the cloaked mare paused, but said nothing. As Zeil looked at the mare, he immediately felt a dark aura emit from the unknown mare as Zeil took a step back leaving the guard to speak, “We got a report of a suspicious stranger approaching the city. State your business.”

With the hood of her cloak covering her face, the mare replied, “I came from beyond the Zebrican tribes, to see Pharaoh Uktah. So I request you show me to him at once.”
The two guards looked at one another before looking back as one of them spoke, “Show us your face…”
With little concern, the mare lowered her hood to reveal her face to the soldiers. As soon as he saw it Zeil immediately knew who this zebra was, like the vision before, the mare stood slightly shorter than his usual zebra form with a short mane and a thick scar crossing vertically down her right eye which was white from the same inflicted wound. Her other eye was orange but was barely noticeable as the scare seemed to overshadow almost all her facial features.

As soon as the guards saw her face the second guard reacted, “What? Its… it’s the Mage of Zebrica… You’re Mage Phalla.”
The mare gave him an unamused look as she replied, “I am… and I still request to see your pharaoh.”
The first guard tried to think of how to respond as he replied, “Well… um… are you here to see him about his aliment?”
The Mage shook her head, as she replied, “I am here to see him over a matter that is none of your concern. Though I was unaware he was suffering from any ailment.”
The second guard replied, “Well… he was… but… I'm afraid the Pharaoh passed early this morning.”
The mage nodded, “I see… then I'm assuming he passed the crown to his daughter Calypso then?”
The first guard nodded, “Yes… he has. Pharaoh Calypso took the throne shortly after.”
Phalla nodded, “Then show her to me… what I have to say concerns the Pharaoh of this kingdom.”
Knowing his place in this conversation he nodded, “Of course… right this way.”

As Zeil saw the scene take place he decided to follow to see what would happen next, however as he took his first step the setting around him quickly changed as he found himself standing in a very unique throne room. As Zeil looked to his changed setting he was amazed by the room’s design. Like all throne rooms, there was a long empty lane leading from the room’s entrance to the throne at the head of the room. Along the sides of the room were no walls, but large thick columns that held up a sandstone roof, and balconies outside those pillars which overlooked the city on both sides meaning that this room was a few stories higher than the rest of the ancient city. Along with the amazing room was a line of ancient guards standing aside each column with the young mare Pharaoh sitting on a large throne of pillows and marble at the far back of the room. The pharaoh didn’t seem different from what you would expect a pharaoh of ancient times to be. The unicorn mare was a pale tan with a black well-kept mane that was cut short to stop just above her shoulders. On her head was a golden crown decorated with gold beads that draped down to shine amongst the dark blackness of the mare’s mane. On her face were dark markings along the edges of her eyes which resembled what was usually seen on old hieroglyphic drawings of ponies of this time. While her face seemed troubled with a recent event which could easily be assumed was her father’s death. As the mare sat with her uneasy expression, the two guards and mage entered the chamber as one of the guards spoke, “Your Majesty, We have a visitor from afar come to show her condolences for your father. May I introduce, Mage Phalla of Zebrica?”

As soon as that was said, the pharaoh’s expression became curious as she stood from her throne and spoke, “The Mage of Zebrica?... in my palace… this is truly an honor, and to see you come to offer condolences for my father… even more so.”
The mage stepped forward and lowered her hood as she spoke, “With all due respect to both you and the late pharaoh… I have come to offer no such thing. I come here because of what you have learned.”
The mare was intrigued, “you speak of my father’s gift?”
The mage nodded with a serious tone, “I do…”
Pharaoh Calypso smiled as she nodded, “I see… then that only proves its value.” She turned away, “Come, let us speak elsewhere… beyond wondering ears.”
As that was said, Pharaoh Calypso and Mage Phalla left the throne room as they trotted out the opened sided area as the large opening led to a balcony that overlooked the ancient city. As the Pharaoh neared the railing she looked into the city as she spoke, “I have always heard stores that the Mage of Zebrica can see events unseen in person… so I must ask… what do you know of my father’s gift?”

Mage Phalla trotted to the railing as she replied, “I know enough that what you’ve learned can be dangerous enough to induce my attention. But to ensure my understanding… I will ask that you share the whole story. Tell me… what was your father’s last action.”
Pharaoh Calypso replied, “On the morn of this very day, my father who had been suffering from his ailment, called me to his bedside. He claimed that his time was near and that he needed to share with me, the knowledge of the pharaohs of the past. With a simple spell, he place his hoof against my head and transferred memories directly into my mind. It was unlike anything I could ever know. In an instant I was filled with memories of crucial decisions by pharaohs known and long lost to time. And not just my father, my grandfather, and his, and his… generations of knowledge was fed into my mind as if I were living their lives in a mere instant. Then… shortly after I attained all this knowledge… my father closed his eyes… and passed from this world.”
The mage wasn’t entirely convinced as she replied with a judgmental tone, “That’s not all he shared… was it?”
Calypso smiled, “No… it’s not. He also shared with me the very spell he used to feed me this knowledge… and with it… a way to enhance the spell further. A way to use that spell on a scale to encapsulate many more. Thanks to him… I know how to use this spell, and I can use it to merge the knowledge of not just myself, but all of Duet.”

Phalla nodded as she continued, “And you intend on using this spell?... to merge the minds of thousands?”
Calypso nodded, “of course I do… think about it. I can share the knowledge of my entire kingdom all in the blink of an eye. Young foals would gain all the knowledge to succeed in life with no need of schools or teachings. Our scholars would share knowledge with one another and further advance our civilization tenfold in a manner of days rather than decades. Our elderly would be able to pass on experience of the past to further ensure the future of our generation. My soldiers will share experience and battle tactics, making them the most skilled in the entire world leading to a safe and prosperous kingdom. Even those with no homes or possessions will gain the knowledge to pull themselves from the gutters and make use of skills that they learn from others. Picture it… True prosperity. I will be the pharaoh who gives it to them all.”
Mage Phalla replied with a distained tone, “You speak of entangling the minds of hundreds, no thousands… yet you know not the fragility of the mind. Do you think you and your subjects can handle a strain such as that?”

The pharaoh smiled with confidence, “My father shared knowledge of hundreds of kings before him, it should be no different when the knowledge of my kingdom is shared amongst one another.”
The Mage’s tone showed anger, “It’s not the same… your father did his best only to share knowledge if the pharaohs… he left out many of their memories. If he had shown more, your mind would have cr-“
Calypso turned to Phalla and interrupted, “Silence… Pharaoh speaks!”
Phalla stopped talking as the Pharaoh continued, “You come to my kingdom and I welcome you simply by the title you hold. Yet you insult my intelligence and question a decision that hasn’t even been announced to my subjects yet. If you have come to bare warning then it has been herd. However… I will not be swayed in my decision to better my kingdom by the likes of an outsider who isn’t even recognized by her own tribe. Is it not custom to banish a mage once their training is complete? What would an exile like you know about bettering a kingdom?”

The Mage hesitated for a second before replying, “I speak with no disrespect, but I do speak with a warning… if you proceed with this decision then you risk your entire kingdom. I will do nothing to stop you from continuing with this spell but if it goes out of control, then I will be forced to do whatever is nessisary to contain it. Even… at an unspeakable cost.”
Pharaoh Calypso became irritated as she turned completely to the mage and spoke, “If that is a threat, then I'll do you the mercy of ignoring it for now. However, since you do not share my opinion on the matter, then I will ask that you leave my home and my kingdom at once.” She looked to the throne room as she called, “GAURDS!!!”
At that moment four guards rushed onto the balcony as Calypso spoke, “See Mage Phalla out of the palace and provide her with the supplies she needs to traverse the desert. Sadly she will be taking her leave of this kingdom. Important Mage business elsewhere I assume.”

As the guards approached mage Phalla to escort her out the mage took one last look at Pharaoh Calypso as she sighed, “I cannot convince you… fine. But if you proceed your kingdom’s fate is assured. Heed this warning, for it will be your last.”
The pharaoh thought she figured it out as she smiled, “Oh… I see it now… The Mage of Zebrica holds in her mind, powerful spells that if misused they can be a danger to others… fine… I will heed your warning, but I will only focus this spell on the city of Duet… for now.” She turned away, “Now leave me.”
Knowing it was no use, Mage Phalla sighed in hopelessness as she replied before turning away, “Very well… Pharaoh Calypso…”
With that the mage started trotting away from the disgruntled queen, however she only took five steps before stopping in place as she sighed and spoke, “And so… my warning was ignored… and that’s what lead to my later actions.”
Confused Zeil watched as all around him started to slowly fade away, all except for the mage in front of him as the mare turned and looked directly at him before continuing, “Her ignorance led her and her kingdom to ruin. And… I'm afraid I had no choice in my actions.”

Zeil could only give her a strange look as he replied, “Wait… are you talking to me?”
The mage nodded as she replied, “I am… as you know… My name is Mage Phalla, third mage of Zebrica and the first to bring ruin to a kingdom. And you… are Mage Zeil, First changeling mage and one of few to awaken before being chosen.”
Zeil nodded, “I am, but… I thought this was all a vision.”
She nodded, “it is.”
Zeil replied, “But… you’re talking to me now. Is this a vision too?”
She shook her head, “What you saw was a memory I left on these grounds in hope of informing the future mage’s of the decisions we must make, which on occasion seem quite cruel.”
Zeil felt confused, “so… this, all of this was your memory?”
She smiled, “It was. But this was a long time ago. And since it fell so abruptly, I had to see it through to the end.”

Zeil felt a hint of depression in her emotions as he replied, “See it through? What do you mean?”
She shook her head as she turned away, “You will see in time… but no more for today. Tomorrow, come back and meditate in the throne room this time… there you will see the end. You will see how she reacts, what curse she brings onto herself and her subjects, and… what I had to do to put an end to it.”
That said Mage Phalla started trotting away from Zeil as he called to her, “Wait one second… I must ask. There is a mare back in the ruins that wished to know more about this city and what happened to it. More or less, she wants to learn what happened afterwards. There is recorded history that some survivors buried the statues of the residents in a tomb somewhere. Will this story tell us the location?”
Mage Phalla thought to herself before replying, “Survivors… I suppose that’s true.” She turned to him as she continued, “If that is what you hope to learn… then I will tell you once you know the truth… but be warned, what you find may be less then what you expect.”

Comments

[harts fire]

dang this is a chapter.
and talk about a warning of a story this sure is it.

this story just keeps growing and in all the good ways.

[tsaukpaetra]

So it was a mercy. Bringing them back in their current state... Yeah that's not going to happen.