Chapter 15: The Minotaur Realm
"You know we've been traveling for a while now..." Spike piped up, addressing the group. Some ignored him, but the prince rolled his eyes.
"You think I'm not leading you to my home or something?" he asked.
"No, I know for a fact this is the Minotaur Realm. I do read, you know."
The prince grunted in response.
Spike continued, "I just felt like pointing it out. By the way, what's got you so flustered? You're a prince, so..."
"Do you think that's good?” the minotaur spat. “I don't exactly know how it works in Canterlot. I mean, I have studied on it, but... it's very..."
"Demanding?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I was just going to say 'boring and annoying'. I've accepted my role as prince to my people, but it just gets so boring!"
"Can you explain?" the frost dragon asked.
The minotaur sighed. "Imagine having every need, every want, everything taken care of, every single day."
"Awesome..." Scootaloo muttered, but the three filly crusaders kept their distance.
"Every waking minute, you have to make some stupid decision for your citizens."
"Not awesome..." Scootaloo said, slightly louder this time.
"No, not awesome indeed,” the minotaur agreed. “I never got to travel much of anywhere except Canterlot a few times, so I left."
The two dragons and even the fillies could tell that leaving could not have been that simple. "Um, your dad is the king right?" Spike asked.
The prince answered slowly, as if explaining to a foal. "Yeah, Spike, he's the king."
"And did you tell him you were leaving?" Apple Bloom asked in place of Spike.
"...Not really." He admitted this with just a slight sense of pride.
"Good, good, I would hate for this to be difficult." Sarcasm dripped from Spike's comment so thickly that even the fillies could pick it up.
"It should be fine... well, for all of you it should be."
Spike raised an eyebrow at this last line, as it had come out much faster and quieter than the others. "You're a prince, and are coming in with two baby dragons, a changeling, a griffon, a diamond dog and three fillies, with two of them related to the Elements of Harmony. And you think it should be fine?"
The prince considered his words for no longer than a few seconds before shrugging. "I'm sure Shadow Mirror can just disguise himself. As for the others," he paused and looked over their group before shrugging once more, "they should be welcome in the kingdom as long as they behave. The fillies here, kind of sounds like it's more of a 'you problem' than anything else."
Spike narrowed his eyes while he did his best to keep up the brisk pace they were setting. "No, they will be a 'your problem' once they set hoof in that kingdom of yours."
"They are just three fillies, how bad can they..."
Anything the prince wanted to say was interrupted by his momentary shock. Standing off to the side was Shyfrost, who seemed to be too busy hammering the griffon with questions to even notice the fillies' explosion of mayhem. Apple Bloom was bothering Rover by attempting to earn her cutie mark in gem finding of all things, she was, however, riding on his back and causing considerable damage to his eardrums. Sweetie Belle, having forgotten about dreaming over the prince, was bugging Shadow Mirror by asking him to change into as many ponies as possible that were famous enough for the changeling to know. And last but not least, Scootaloo was busy doing as many tricks as she could on her scooter while keeping up. She had already earned several small cuts on her body.
The minotaur swallowed. "Point taken, dragon... point taken."
"Yeah... I'm just saying to be prepared for that to be unleashed on your kingdom." Spike finished while taking on a slightly less serious tone. Spike kept glancing back at his dragon friend and sighing. The griffon seemed to have taken his every interest.
"I'm more worried about what dad is going to say when he sees me. It has been about a month since I 'disappeared'."
"Are you big in your kingdom? Twilight never mentioned you that much."
The prince shrugged. "I guess, but I'm not wearing any of the royal garments so we should be fine, although our odd group will probably get one or two stares."
"I'm guessing more than a few..." Spike took one last glance at the other dragon and sighed. He had decided to stay close to the prince and take on the role of the unofficial leader, in his lead at least he was their leader. He kept having to watch over the fillies, so it only seemed natural despite his young age. He knew he wasn't fooling anyone, but having some title in his head kept him sane on their journey.
Rover had tried over and over again to explain to the filly how his pack had worked, but she seemed far more interested in only learning a specific task. Apple Bloom's need to earn her cutie mark was the only real drive to speak with the diamond dog, other than being slightly curious about his kind. Rover understood completely, but that did not stop him from getting annoyed.
Shadow Mirror was having trouble keeping up with his own filly, who would not stop asking him questions on his race and his kind. For the most part, he had decided to keep to himself and simply make up stuff, and she seemed to be buying it. His emotional energy, however, was running dry the more she had asked him to change. Still, he did love a good audience, and Sweetie Belle was at least being polite.
Scootaloo decided on attempting one last trick with her scooter. She flew through the air and landed right on her face, knocking herself out cold. Shadow Mirror examined her and agreed that she would be fine. The two other filly crusaders agreed to carry her body in a wagon, and suddenly the trip seemed a lot shorter.
"So why Stratosburg, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, trudging slowly aside the unicorn mare.
"It seemed like a logical town for Spike and Shyfrost to visit, not to mention the kind of town where... less than legal actions take place."
"Hmm?"
"Well, I've been thinking about the elements. If somepony or someone is trying to sabotage the Elements of Harmony, then places like Stratosburg would be the logical places to search. Not to badmouth the town, but-"
"No, I get it, Twilight. I just hope Shyfrost and Spike are alright..."
"And mah sister," Applejack added in. Her brother also trudged alongside her, but he was wisely keeping ever silent after their private chat.
"Mine too..." Rarity added.
"Right, sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright, Fluttershy, dear, we know you didn't mean anything by it. I still can't believe that Sweetie Belle would just run off! When I get my hooves on her..."
Applejack chose to keep her anger focused on her brother; who had, oddly enough, gone ignored by Rarity.
"Twilight?"
"Yes, Fluttershy?"
"...Why would Shyfrost and Spike still be out there if the migration is over? It doesn't really make any sense..."
"I don't- I... What are you saying?"
"I don't know at all, but it doesn't make much sense unless they found some other dragons?" Fluttershy's voice raised at the end, making it sound like a question.
"Maybe. We'll find them, alright?"
"I suppose you're right. I just wish we could have taken a chariot..." Fluttershy's voice continued to sigh over and over the more they walked on their second journey.
"I know, me too; but we wouldn't get any sign of a magical disturbance from the air and we might just run into our dragons and fillies by using well traveled paths. That makes sense, right?" Twilight said, her voice indicating that she felt slightly unsure of herself.
"Yes," Fluttershy nodded and smiled a bit, "it does, Twilight. You feeling... scatterbrained?" she added with a giggle of her own.
"Maybe a bit, just a lot on my mind."
The cream colored mare nodded, feeling at that moment that she could sympathize. Just then, Rarity joined their conversation.
"So, Twilight?"
"Yes?"
"Just what sort of town is this? My parents travel a lot but I don't think they have been anywhere near... well, around this area."
"It's a trading town, but also not a pony-run town."
"Oh? Is it a griffon town?"
"Actually, the mayor is a minotaur; but the town is home to pretty much any race. It's just not exclusively run by ponies."
"I see. Would you call it... dangerous?" Rarity asked, her voice going lower on the last word. Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Somewhat, but it's nothing like the griffon cities if that's what you mean."
"G-good, good."
"Are you worried about Sweetie Belle?"
"Of course I am!" She stomped down a hoof on the ground in anger causing them all to flinch and stop, whereupon the mare gave a bashful smile. "I'm sorry, it's just that Sweetie Belle and I, we are more than sisters and not quite in the way you might think. Mother and Father are always traveling and have almost always left her in my care..."
Twilight pondered her words for a while before she actually understood their meaning. "I understand, Rarity. Spike is more than a brother to me... and I think Applejack might feel that way too."
"Hmm?" Applejack took a moment to break the glare at her brother before summing up their conversation in her head. "Oh yes, Apple Bloom is like that to me and I'm sure-"
"Yes, Shyfrost is like a son to me, even though it's only been a few weeks."
The mares all sat there in a quiet gathering, the weight of their mission just now bearing down on their backs. It wasn't just about fixing the Elements of Harmony; it was getting their children back.
"Not to interrupt, but we really should get going..." Big Mac spoke up after finally finding the courage. The mares broke from their gazes to nod and decided on no more interruptions until they reached the town.
"Wow..."
The group had not even made it into the Minotaur Kingdom and Shyfrost could not help but gawk at the massive bridge that lay before them. Or, it would have been laid down, had it not been split in two with each side raise high up to stop the flow of traffic. The construction of the bridge was massive, with the tops of each bridge side looming far over the forest behind them. A guard stood on each side waiting inside a small building connected to the bridge. Why the bridge was raised was beyond even the prince, so he instructed them to wait while he talked to the guard.
"What seems to be the problem here?" Valor asked.
The guard looked over the prince and then looked back at his group. "Entrance into the city is closed off until the threat on the kingdom has been neutralized."
"What threat?!" The prince's words echoed back to the group.
"We don't, uh, really know exactly, but a threat was anonymously sent to the King so-"
"Alright, look. I'm his son, the prince, so can you just let us in?"
"Ha! The prince has been missing for... Prince?!"
The prince had anticipated this response and was ready. Digging into his bag, he uncovered his silver crown and set it on his head. His appearance was far different without the crown and thus the guard was stunned. Valor sighed.
"Why is it that everyone can't tell it's me without the stupid crown?" he asked.
The guard muttered something very quietly, obviously too scared to say a thing.
"Right... Can you just-" A loud ear scattering sound was heard as the bridge drummed to life. With a loud thud the bridge completed and clicked into place. The group slowly made their way across the bridge and they found themselves on the other side of the valley. Another noise was heard and the bridge we opened to close off non flying visitors.
"Must be some threat," Garret observed while turning around to re start their journey.
"Hmm...." The prince had nothing to say to this, and instead choose to remain silent with his thoughts.
A large pathway led around an upturned large amount of land that they could not easily climb. The path eventually cut through the land, which in turn led to another pathway with signs pointing to the capitol of the kingdom. Twenty minutes in, their journey ended at a city, not unlike Canterlot in atmosphere but far different in design. Tall, dark-colored walls lined the castle, surrounding it with a formidable barrier. The castle itself was almost inverted in design when it came to Canterlot's Castle, with the colors being a much darker shade. It did not look inviting, but luckily the city and its people did.
Minotaurs of all ages lined the streets, but aside from the fillies there was not a pony, dragon, griffon or diamond dog in site. Which means that changelings would obviously not be there either. Shops, similar in structure and variety to the ones found in Ponyville, surrounded them when they entered the city. They were all enjoying some of the sights until the gasps and stares began. Shyfrost turned to Shadow Mirror but he was not the cause; it was the prince.
"Uh...." One of the fillies tried to address the prince on what to do when an entire district practically bowed down to him. Obviously, they were more used to ponies flinching when they appeared, not bowing.
"Let's just get inside the palace, quickly!" Steel knew all too well what happened after the bowing and it was not a return to business as usual. There would be chants, then praise and then nothing but demands for their prince. He could not have that.
Thankfully, the guards in front of the castle gates simply saluted the prince and allowed his guests in without hassle. As they ran in, Spike briefly wondered if all castles had the front hallway always lead directly to the throne room. They reached the throne room too quickly for him to think too hard about it. Guards and castle attendants were going crazy with news of the prince's return. Apparently none of them thought to bring the king or the queen of the kingdom, because they found the thrones empty.
"Isn't there supposed to be a king or something?" Scootaloo asked while circling the throne unhindered as the dozens of workers in the castle just ignored a pegasus filly walking up to the thrones.
"Yes, there is." All heads turned to the new voice in the room. Standing in the edge of another hallway that lead to the chamber was another minotaur, only this one was slightly taller than the prince. He wore a golden crown on his head, but otherwise was not dressed anymore than the prince was.
"Hey, Father..." All eyes turned to the prince and then back to the apparent king.
"...Son, are these guests of yours?" the king asked, his voice dripping with venom.
"Yeah..." His pulse quickened and he began to sweat. Shyfrost took note of this and decided that speaking up in a polite manner might be in everyone's best interest.
"Hello, King," he flinched when immediately the king began to glare down at him and only him but he continued, "My name is Shyfrost, and we need your help."
"We? I-" He looked up and the prince gave a polite smile and then the fillies joined him with wide pleading eyes and soon everyone was wordlessly begging for help. It was only a matter of time before he succumbed. "Fine, but we will talk later." His tone only addressed to the prince while he nodded.
"We were wondering what you knew about these artifacts." Spike began to collect each one to show off to the king. He examined them for a moment and then addressed Spike.
"And who are you?"
"Oh, I'm Spike, the assistant to Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic, and Princess Celestia's student."
This got his attention. "And where is she?"
"...Not here?" Spike offered hesitantly.
"Alright, and why do you need help with these artifacts? I believe this is the coin I gave to my son."
"Well, you see-"
"It's like this your majesty," Shadow Mirror interrupted and continued to speak, "every time someone with one of these artifacts comes into contact they randomly go off and give us messages in our heads. It's crazy sounding, I know, but even the fillies here heard something."
"Is that so?" the king asked the fillies in a dismissive voice. They nodded and smiled but he simply scoffed. "I believe I can't d-"
"Oh ,just tell them what they want to hear, dear!" A new, more feminine voice said from another hallway. All heads quickly turned to her. She also wore a crown, but smaller, and silver like the prince's. "I know that you know something and you've been keeping secrets ever since the threat!" Her voice wailed over the others' and, to their shock, the king gave a bashful innocent smile.
"What do you mean, dear?" he asked innocently.
"You know exactly what I mean, dear. And it's that secretive attitude that led to our son running off like that!"
"Actually, Mother, I don't-" But Valor froze when she turned around and gave him a death glare. "Yep, that's what it was, alright! Nothing else but that."
If the queen ain't happy, ain't no one happy.
"Now spill it!" the queen demanded.
"Honey, I can't in front of non nobi-"
"Oh, they're obviously his friends and have something to do with all of this... I think, so spill it!"
The king attempted to regain as much of his dignity as possible. "...Very well. Yes, I know some things on these artifacts." The fillies and two dragons perked up with the older members of the group grinning slightly. "But not that much," he amended.
"Well, what do you know, Father?"
The king smiled after calming down some and took a good long look at his son. "These artifacts were once connected to the leaders of-"
"We already knew that part," Scootaloo interrupted rudely.
"As I was saying," the king said, completely ignoring the filly, "the artifacts were connected to other leaders, for reasons I can only speculate. I believe it is because of a leader's emotional connection to their subjects."
Spike widened in eyes in surprise. "You don't mean-"
"Yes, the divine connection that royalty shares with their subjects is not limited to just the royal sisters," the king exclaimed almost proudly. From his experiences in Canterlot, Spike understood; but the fillies and Shyfrost did not.
"I don't get it..." Sweetie said.
"Ah don't either..." Apple Bloom muttered.
Scootaloo said nothing, but got the feeling that everyone knew that she literally had no clue as well. The queen stepped forward and addressed the three fillies, but she got the feeling she was also addressing everyone else.
"You see, dearies, it is widely believed, though sometimes dismissed as mere legend, that every leader of every nation has a..." she paused and tried to come up with the right phrase, "connection with their and our subjects. Sometimes we've felt our subjects connect with us on several levels during stressful situations. We don't exactly know how it works, though..."
The three fillies looked at each other and then sighed all in union. "We don't get it."
Shyfrost did, or at least he felt he did. "You're saying that... say... ponies would follow what Luna and Celestia do just because they are in charge and not because they have to? Isn't that kind of like..."
"Mind control?" Spike offered.
"Ridiculous," the king scoffed. "All she means is that our subjects have a strong emotional connection with us and they tend to follow our lead; whether or not they are good or bad is up to them and them alone. We do not force our subjects to think one way and neither does any other leader, well, as far as my knowledge goes."
"Then what's the deal with the artifacts?" Shyfrost asked in a demanding tone, turning more to the Queen.
"We do not know why they are giving you messages or magically reacting to one another. That is beyond our knowledge, and I'm afraid we do have bigger things to worry about..."
"Like our talk!" the king finished for his wife while glaring at the prince.
"But Father, we-"
"This is not negotiable! Your guests can wait here, now come along to my quarters." The prince sighed and got a friendly nod from the dragons and others. In a moment the two had left the confines of the throne room.
There were very few things in Equestria that could scare Prince Valor. Even fewer things could put him into a nervous state of shock that would wear off but still linger in the back of his mind.
"You-" The king paused and did his best to collect his anger to deposit it for a later time, "-what possessed you to just leave? Anything could have happened to you! And now the kingdom is in danger-"
"Funny, I don't sense that our kingdom is in danger,” the prince replied in nothing short of sarcasm.
The king stepped froward and gave his son an angry look, but managed to repress his rage. "...Come with me," he said calmly, before turning around without even waiting for a response. Eventually, the king heard his son close behind as they crossed over from room to room. They found themselves inside the castle's vault. Or, more accurately, what used to be the vault.
"What happened here?" The prince gawked at the destroyed pieces from the vault. Traditional armor pieces used in olden times that were collected over the centuries now lay destroyed. Pieces of artwork that were considered the most valuable were ripped to shreds. The vault that once housed priceless pieces and artifacts now only housed trash and debris.
The king sighed. "An attack, a silent one. When we woke in the morning after visiting the vault just the previous day, we found it like this. And a note..." The prince looked on and indeed found a note pinned to the wall, he assumed they kept it there for evidence purposes.
Your kingdom will fall.
Love, D
"Uh..." The prince was at a loss for words.
"The note was pinned just over there, but we moved it. No one wanted to get close to... whatever it left." The king pointed to the far end of the room. Cautiously the prince stepped forward and among the wreckage was something glowing and, to his astonishment, perpetually changing.
Inside a wooden box with various decorations plastered on the side from love symbols to minotaur skulls was an item. This item continued to morph and change from a beach ball to a miniature cannon, which then tilted up and fired right at the prince. Before it could land the hit it morphed again into a minotaur skull and stayed that way.
"What is this?"
"...We don't know, but it's why the threat is being taken so seriously!" the king replied in anger, and the prince nodded.
"Father, I don't know what this is, but shutting out kingdom away from others is not going to help!"
The king scoffed. "And running away from your kingdom won't help either!"
"Yeah, well... maybe you're right," the prince replied, ending the conversation then and there.
The king tried to respond several times but he was too shocked to say anything. Had he heard right? Had his son actually agreed with him?
"What did you just say?" the king questioned in an impossibly quiet voice.
The prince rolled his eyes. "I said you're right. Running away solves nothing, but neither does running from other kingdoms."
"Yes, well... I'm glad you agree with me," the king said, smirking at his son.
"And I'm glad too..." The prince gave a mischievous smile.
"Yes, well- Wait. What?"
"Our plan. I'll take my group and travel to these other kingdoms to ask for help from this threat... it was your idea!"
The king failed to come up with a response to this.
And maybe find out more about these blasted artifacts while I'm at it... The prince's thoughts were interrupted by a loud scoff from the king.
"And you honestly believe that by begging for-"
"'Asking', Father."
"Yes...” the king said in a tone that clearly indicated that he was only agreeing to move the conversation forward, “by asking for help from these kingdoms we can actually ward off whatever that is?!" The king pointed to the magically shifting item in the box that had just changed into some mechanical singing bird.
The prince nodded. "I do. You want me to be a prince and someday a king to our people, right?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then don't you think its time we start listening to some of my ideas for once?" The prince crossed his arms in a calm manner and waited.
"Yes, perhaps you're right." The king smiled but it was short lived when the singing bird morphed again into an umbrella, once again accompanied by a noise which sounded with each shifting.
"Good, let me just go get my... group." The king nodded and left his son be.
Several minutes later, Valor found himself in front of the group, who were being uncharacteristically quiet.
"How'd it go?" Scootaloo asked, breaking the silence.
"...Fine. It went fine," the prince muttered.
"That's it?" Scootaloo brought her hoof to her face. Clearly her patience had run out a while ago.
"Yep!" The prince then frowned and turned to the two dragons, who were waiting in silence. "But we have a bigger problem then just these... artifacts."
"What now?" Shyfrost practically demanded.
"Well..." He sighed and explained to all of them exactly what happened.
"'Kay, now what?" Rover questioned. He understood the prince's words, but was at a loss on how to help his new 'pack'.
"I don't think whatever this threat is would only target the minotaur realm..." Shadow Mirror piped up.
Spike frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked fearfully.
"Sorry, it's just that this kingdom isn't exactly known for its growing prosperity... I think we should visit some other lands and see if anything is wrong there. Waiting here isn't going to fix anything, and we still don't know anything about these artifacts."
"So we need to see if the other castles and places are safe?" Sweetie Belle questioned, her voice not squeaking for once.
Spike and Shyfrost looked at each other and then nodded, and the prince nodded as well. "Seems like the right choice," the prince murmured.
For a while nothing was said, as each creature was contented to allow an awkward silence to wash over them. Well, almost each creature. The fillies were not.
"So, where to next?" Apple Bloom asked excitedly. Most of the others groaned, as they felt too tired to move on for that day. "What'd ah say?"
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So I just updated! Did it fix the issue for you
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Eh hehe... no.
It showed two updates when you added the new chapter, and back to one when I marked it. That's ok though. Time to get started on the new chapter.
Crap, there going to have to go to the Griffin Kingdom, aren't they?
Equestria is different though. It think it's clear that any animal, even bears, are basically sentient there. I think it's the whole reason why Fluttershy takes care of them, because they have no animal instincts of their own so are treated kind of like children.. 2495464
... Maybe ... 2495276
His original name was supposed to be Slyfrost :P it was because his first act was swiping some apples lol... 2495671
Chapters 5 - 10 do not have edits, sorry... I figured it was better to just focus on future chapters for fixes. I will go back to those and fix em and add a bit more later on, but for now I just focus on new chapters. 2495813
Tattered: Torn, old, and in generally poor condition; in tatters: "an old woman in tattered clothes" ... I suppose Battered might be better, considering it involves injury in the definition rather than just something as an example that involves clothes... I have never gotten a comment like this before and well I'll be honest with you: I'm not the best at action scenes. I guess lunge might have been a better word instead of swung... Still I am glad when people call me on something and I actually did make a mistake
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Howdy, how rude of me? Or she I just have said, how rude of me? I mean she was kind of rude... 2496844
Gee, i wonder who would possibly want to throw an entire nation into CHAOS...
....obviously its Derpy
You should know by now that I'm not obvious for a reason... at least in this case.. OR AM I?! Also it would be my greatest work if I could write Derpy in as a villain and still keep it serious and a mystery... 2498689
2498718 putting 'serious' and 'Derpy' in the same sentence...
>>>WINDOWS HAS ENCOUNTERED AN ERROR<<<
YOU NEVER KNOW
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That's only chapter 2, maybe you should read ahead? And they are griping because they assume he has a dragon family of some kind of... since he barely talks. Also, this is an Alternative Universe story so they are allowed to act some what out of character. If you are still not convinced then please keep reading, but if you find more OOC moments then let me know? All though I did carefully craft this story dude. 2500772
They become!- Wait a minute! YOU ALMOST MADE ME SPOIL THE FUTURE CHAPTERS PAST TWO! HOW DARE YOU!
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Fun fact, I am now getting that 'favorite story has an unread chapter' glitch from Princess Celestia: The Changeling Queen.
So yea.
Thank you!
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Sweet
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awesome !!!!! :DD and i ve more fics urs to read !!
ooh poor spike xD he was jealous ? when shyfrost was talking only with the Griffon ?
poor guy ...
but .. Shyfrost is really his brother right? ;A;
I have yet to say
on the brother bit. 2584570
I have a strong feeling it's Discord...
Aside from an object with a faulty, non-mobile Improbability drive installed into it, the only known threat is the ever-dwindling arcane powers of the Elements of Harmony. I just hope that things will be resolved before all of the ponies slowly begin to devolve into mindless ravaging animals akin to the Ponies of Earth, with no vibrant colours, wings, horns, or sapience. Basically what I feel to be the Equestrian-Equivalent to a Human Zombie Apocalypse in their point-of-view.
I'm calling it now, It was Discord: and the shape-shifting item thing is an "Element of Chaos", which is why the Elements of Harmony have been acting weird. Also, the Artifacts are going to be the "Elements of Balance" or something.