The Legend of the God-Hunter

by BobThePlaneswalker

Kilia

Celestia had spent two weeks trapped on the cot as she executed her healing regiment. It would have been absolutely unbearable had Willie not succeeded in retrieving her a small scrying glass. The Appleloosan mountains were still within range of Canterlot and she had been able to tune into the castle's security viewports to observe the state of things. It both kept her entertained, and allowed her to stay informed.

She had been pleasantly surprised to find that life was carrying on as best as life in Equestria could without her. There had been noticeable fallout, but no more than was normal during her disappearances.

Even more pleasing had been the fact that Rei had decided to make her office his base of operations. That made keeping tabs on him trivial. There were four viewports cleverly hidden throughout the room. They gave her vantage on every possible nook and cranny, save for the little mouse hole behind the book case. They were such a nice little family, they deserved their privacy.

Her discovery had become bittersweet, however, when she started obsessing over just why he had decided to post out there. She hadn't been sure if he had actually failed to consider that she would have ample means of observing her own office or if he was simply taunting her. Her question had been answered the day he spent an entire lunch facing one of her viewports as he tediously consumed a vanilla cake he had decorated with the words 'You're more granny than Gaea'.

Thus, the question had become, exactly why did he want her to see what he was doing? Was he intending to lure her into a false sense of security in the hopes that she would let her vigilance wane? That, wasn't going to happen.

Eventually she had concluded that regardless of his reasoning, her best course of action would still be astute observation so brewing over it was a waste of brainpower. It had seemed that his plans were currently in a stage of harmlessness and Twilight had put 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' to good use so she had been comfortable biding her time.

What had concerned her more was the fact that she hadn't seen any sign of Moon or Luna in any part of the castle. She had attempted to locate them with some small spells that carried a low risk of detection. Unfortunately none of them had bore any fruit and she wasn't willing to risk detection with any of the more powerful ones.

It was absolutely imperative that she remain off of Moon's radar. During their last meeting, a certain contempt for Luna had spilled into her soul. If Moon caught wind of that, she would have no problem breaking any spirit Luna had left. Not to mention that, despite the good progress Celestia was making, she was still far from healthy. It would be an extremely uphill battle if she was forced to engage Moon.

Instead, she had decided to make the trip to Ifringale. Luna was her top priority but as long as she didn't know where she was there was little that could be directly done for her. It would be much more productive to face Ifringale and overcome the fears that were currently spattering Luna with undeserved feelings of contempt. If she could do that, she would be in a much better spot against Moon when she finally did turn up.

Also, Ifringale's Academy had one of, if not the most, well equipped archive to have ever existed on the surface of Gaea. It certainly couldn't hurt to brush up on her combat spells.

She walked about Willie's home and triple checked it for anything with potential practicality. She had turned an old brown blanket into a cloak. While beautiful white fur was magnificent for life in the upper class, it was painfully ill-fitted for any tasks that required stealth. Thus, the cloak would be invaluable during her travels. She tossed it around herself, tied it off, and took one last look around the home.

The door swung open and Willie leaned his head in. “Annie's here yer majersty.”

“Perfect timing,” Celestia replied. She hurled the sack onto her back and latched the strap across her chest. She made for the door, squinting as she stepped into the bright sunlight. She shut one of her eyes and retreated her vision from the glare.

“Oh my!” said a low voice. “Well aren't you just the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!” Celestia's eyes focused on a large violet dragon standing before her.

Willie hopped into view beside it. “Yer majersty, I present to you Miss Annie, also a drenizan of the mountains!”

Celestia realized her jaw was hanging open. She snapped it shut and mentally berated herself. “I apologize Annie, I... When William told me about you I had pictured you as a bit more... goat-like.”

Annie laughed and waved a claw. “Oh no don't you worry yourself any sweetie.” She batted Willie's hat off with her tail and gave him a noogie. “Willie has a knack for leaving out important details.”

Celestia smiled. “Yes that would certainly seem to be the case.” She watched as the disgruntled Willie pried himself from Annie's grasp. She returned her attention to Annie and extended a hoof. “I wanted to make sure that I had a chance to formally thank the two of you for everything that you've done for me. I don't have anything to give at the moment, but if I am able to retake my throne I promise that you will both be handsomely rewarded.”

“Oh well isn't that wonderful William!” Annie exclaimed as she shook Celestia's hoof. “Really though, you don't need to get us anything. You just keep yourself healthy.”

Celestia nodded. “I'll try. Oh, and that Carrot and Noodle soup was absolutely wonderful! If this thing blows over I would love to get the recipe.”

Annie giggled and shook her head. “Oh no, no, no honey; I can't give that out. That is my only secret.”

Celestia frowned. “Oh, how unfortunate. Luna would have loved that.” She gave the dragon a mischievous grin. “On an unrelated note, did you know that the Equestrian Geographical Society has mapped out more than forty-five unclaimed gemstone caverns in Northern Equestria alone?”

Annie's lower jaw sagged. “You don't say?”

Celestia nodded. “I do have access to those maps...”

Annie wiped a dribble of drool from her mouth and smiled. “Well why don't you just stop on by then when this whole thing blows over.”

Celestia beamed.“Wonderful!” She turned to Willie. “I will always remember this. Thank you.” She hugged him within her wings.

He fidgeted in her grasp and blushed. “Aw-uh 't-'tain't nothin yer majersty.”

“It was something to me.” She let him go and watched him drunkenly tumble back to his spot. “If either off you ever need anything from me, just ask.”

They nodded. Annie handed her a satchel of food. “Are you sure you don't want us to come with you? We know this area pretty well.”

Celestia shook her head. “No, I appreciate the offer but the place I'm heading is not meant for mortal eyes.” She latched the rations to herself and checked for any hanging ends on her cloak. Once she was confident she threw up the hood and smiled to them. “I must be on my way. There's a lot that needs done and I'm not sure how long I have to do it so, the faster the better. Thank you both. May fortune smile on you.”

“And you as well,” Annie replied.

“Be safe yer majersty!” Willie said. “If sir Willie is needed, ya know where ta find him!”

She gave them a final thank you and set off following one of the maps Willie had made for her. Of all the things he seemed to be incoherent with, map making was apparently not one of them. The maps were finely detailed with a compass rose and references to an abundance of easily recognizable landmarks. Even the distances had been measured out to scale.

He had been kind enough to make her a set of five, one of the mountains that covered five notable entrances to the mines, and four for the first four levels of the mines.

She followed the first map into the mines and began her descent. Progress was quick. She did run across a troll or two but they're rather easy to give the slip to once you have the hang of it. She was able to descend to the fourth level without much trouble. It was there that she relied on her magic to map out the earth around her. Using a sonar spell she was able to find her way down another three levels.

She needed to find a point where the rock was thin enough that she could pass through safely. She used a depth tracing spell to test different areas for a shallow spot but after a thorough search she hadn't found any spots that she was confident about, only a couple she could label as passable. She considered returning to a higher part of the mine to look for further levels down but the mines were massive. Trying to find another way could take a lot of time and there were no guarantees that there were any better areas out there.

She returned to the shallowest spot that she had found and stared down at it. There was a time that she would have had no question about making a dive like that but she had since traded a good portion of her magical talents for political prowess.

She decided to think on it over lunch. She constructed a signal booster that would allow her to observe Canterlot as she descended into the underworld. She ensured that it was functioning by tuning into, and reveling over Rei's most recent spurt of agony as she munched on an apple. From the looks of it he had been attempting to put on a lecture. His ineptness at lecturing had apparently forced him to relinquish the stand to Twilight Sparkle and he was now moping in the corner making hilariously pathetic attempts at helpful interjections.

While the scene did lighten her spirits it also reminded her that there were two very dangerous creatures working tirelessly to further their schemes. She decided to chance passing through the spot she had located rather than wasting time fumbling around the mines. She packed up her things and studied the spot for its exact center. Once she found it, she took a moment to enter the proper mindset.

First she constructed her energy form, focusing on the major organs and systems that would keep her alive. Once they were all together she attached herself to it and transferred her conscious. Finally, she turned her physical body into a mass of energy and dived into the stone ground. Her body glided through like a small bird through the air.

Her ethereal form was simplistic as to allow her to spend less energy maintaining it. The drawback to that was that her mental capacity was significantly reduced. She couldn't feel anything. She only knew that she needed to get to the other side without expending too much energy. When she had been moving for what seemed like an eternity she started to lose confidence. She considered turning around but with all that she had traveled, she wasn't sure that she would have the energy to make it back.

She gave into her fear and sprinted forward, burning excess energy as she did. It took its toll and she could feel the point of no return looming upon her.

Just as it came, she felt the density of the world around her lighten. She blasted the area clear and reformed her body.

She could feel again, but the air she had cleared around her came hurdling back at her like a raging bull. The force of the blow briefly left her senseless and she plummeted through the air. Once she reclaimed minimal control of her wings she thrust them outwards and flapped furiously to get herself into a controlled dive.

She fired a few sonar waves to find the ground. She got her bearings and pulled herself upwards until she could feel ground effect pushing on her wings. She slowed to a nonfatal speed and lightly scraped her hooves across the ground to get a feel for its distance.

Once she felt confident enough she stuck her legs in front of her and made a sliding landing. To her relief she slowed to a halt before colliding with anything solid.

She let her head fall against the stone floor and gasped for air. She thanked fate for her life. It would be a good idea to keep in mind just how much her skills had decayed over the years. Fortune would only save her so many times after all.

She felt a rush of hot air along her back. Her nose picked up a stench that reeked of rot. She leapt to her feet and spun around.

She illuminated her horn and found herself staring into a massive shadow that was gazing upon her with three startled sets of eyes.

She let out a hearty laugh. “Cerby, I'm so glad it's you!” The three heads gave her wide smiles. The center head extended his massive tongue and enveloped her forebody. “Ack!” She shivered as the saliva ran down her. “Pugsley what have I told you about that!?” She batted him across the nose with her hoof. “You're liable to swallow me whole! Then I'd have to blast a hole in your belly to get out.”

He pulled back from her and pouted as the other two heads cackled.

“No, doesn't sound like much fun does it?” She gave him a playful glare. “All the food would fall out of your belly. You'd always be hungry!”

His lower lip quivered.

She giggled. “Oh I'm only kidding.” She flew up and rubbed a hoof along the bridge of his snout. “I guess that really wouldn't be much of a change for you anyway, would it?”

He gave her a dopey smile and shook his head.

“Well I don't have any expendable food right now.”

This time, Bob and Major joined him in the pout.

“How about a belly rub?”

Their smiles returned and they dropped onto their back. She floated down, rubbed her hoof along their belly, and watched their reactions to see if she could find that particular spot that they loved so much. They flailed their limbs and howled with glee. Pugsley snapped his head to the side, revealing a large stone doorway.

Celestia froze. The dogs looked at her expectantly. When she didn't budge, they followed her gaze to the old stone archway; their ears dropped to the backs of their necks. They slid out from under her and sulked off into the corner.

She could feel the memories beginning to boil in the back of her head. She glanced at Cerberus. “Where's the key guys?” They moaned and shook their heads. “Yes. I need the key. Get me the key.” They hunkered down and gave her a pitiful whimper. She switched to her stern voice. “Cerbeeerrruuuus.”

They gave one last whimper and moped out into the open ground. They moved to a spot along the wall and began a half-hearted dig. She stood at the top of the hole and snagged the key when it was flung from the ground. “Thank you guys.” She dug into her rations and pulled out three of Annie's scones. “Here, these will probably just go straight to my hips anyway.” She tossed them to Cerberus and watched as they scarfed them down. She sighed. Would it have killed them to enjoy those?

She moved to the doors, slid the key in, and turned it until she heard a heavy clack. The sound sent Cerberus whimpering back into their corner. She stuffed the key into her pack and backed away from the doorway. She enveloped the doors in her aura and tugged at them. With a moan they lumbered open to reveal a wide temple surrounding a gaping hole nearly a mile across. She made her way out onto a long walkway that extended over the hole. When she reached the end, she gazed down. The hole bore so far into Gaea that its end could not be seen from the top.

She had rarely ventured into Tartarus, but when she had, it was always with him. His voice was so powerful and yet so soft when it needed to be. His eyes could sooth the worst of broken hearts and petrify the most determined of enemies. When he wrapped her in his embrace the world was only him, and it was wonderful. So long her world had revolved around him and yet here she stood, thinking of him for the first time in centuries.

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Kilia, still just a filly, fumbled around in the dark as she attempted to scale a stone ridge deep within the bowels of Tartarus. Standing far above her, keeping watch as she climbed with his beautiful blue eyes, stood Iokin, the Keeper of Harmony. He had a neatly trimmed beard that matched his golden mane and a sleek, sinewy build. When the Immortals addressed Iokin, they addressed him as father. Out of all of them though, Kilia was the only one that could truly call him father, and she did so with great pride.

She stretched to where she thought the next foothold would be but it was just out of reach for her tiny form. Her foot scraped along its side and she tumbled down to the ridge's bottom. She landed with an “Oomph” and grumbled. “Fatherrrr, this place stinks. Why do we have to be here?”

“Because my daughter,” he whispered, “This place contains a great deal of thy history. Now, shall I carry thee up?”

“No, I can do it,” she griped. She rolled onto her feet and looked up to the top. The lighting was so dim. All she could make out was the edge. Everything else melted together into a mass of black. Something rumbled off in the distance and her father turned away from the ridge. The right side of her lip curled up and she gave her horn a weak illumination. She giggled with glee as the mild lighting revealed her path. She pounced from step to step with ease and finally crawled onto the top. “See!”

“Kilia!” her father hissed. He pounced on her and pulled her hood over her head. “Stop that this instant!”

“Okay okay!” She powered down her horn.

Her hood ascended from her head to reveal her father's worried eyes. He pointed his ears up and scanned across their surroundings. He gave a sigh and returned his attention to her. “Darkness sight spells only my daughter. I do not want to thee to get hurt down here.”

“It's too dark. I can barely ev-”

The ground gave a shudder. Her father's eyes doubled in size and he turned to the edge of the cliff ahead. After a moment of staring, the ground gave a second unmistakable shudder and a thunderous slam reverberated from over the cliff. He thrust Kilia onto his back and dashed towards the ridge. She glanced back to the cliff to see a monstrous hoof rising above them. Her father vaulted from the ridge and made for a crack in its wall as another of the giant's hoofsteps thundered behind them.

He slid through the crack into a small cavern and faced the entrance. He levitated her around, grasped her tightly against his chest, and put a hoof over her mouth. She could feel the rapid beats of his heart on her back as his eyes latched onto the opening. The giant's hoof passed over the ridge and carried it into view. The front of its silhouette looked similar to that of a bull, the back, that of a tiger. It sniffed around and hoofed at the rocks. It turned towards their hiding place and let out a roar that caused Kilia to shudder.

“COWARDS!” It roared as it moved closer to their hiding spot.

Her father nuzzled the back of her neck. His hoof gently nudged her head away from the entrance until all she could see was the dim illumination of his horn along the wall. She felt the beast's warm breath wash into the cavern. Her father's chest froze.

It grew closer and with each breath, a wave of mist hit them. She heard the scraping of its hoof against the entrance. It sniffed at the cavern, let out a frustrated growl, and thundered off. Once its hoofsteps had faded, her father released her head and exhaled.

She broke into tears and buried her face in his chest. “I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!”

He rubbed her back. “'Tis okay Angel. No battle came of it.” He put his hoof under her chin and raised her eyes to meet his own. “How about next time though, we listen to Father when he sayeth no magic without asking?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

He gave a playful smile. “I bet thou wouldst never have thought of something like that when I said 'history'.”

She shook her head. “What was that thing?”

He set her down. “That, my most wonderful daughter, was one of the titans.” He walked out to the thin entrance, took a seat, and watched as the shadowy form of the beast faded into the darkness.

She galloped after him and tucked herself between his forelegs. “What are the titans?”

“They're the direct descendents of Mother Gaea. They're our ancestors.”

She glanced up at him. “We're related to that thing?”

He nodded. “We're not related to all of them in the same way that thou and I are related, but we do share a certain connection with all of them.”

“How did it get down here?”

“Well thou seest my daughter, the titans ruled our world before us. They took on the responsibilities of keeping nature in harmony but they did so at a terrible price. They paraded around Mother Gaea, consuming and terrorizing her mortal children as they pleased. As we, the second generation of Mother Gaea's children, grew older we banded together to overthrow the titans. After we defeated them we imprisoned them here in Tartarus so that the mortals could live free of their treachery.”

The titan's roar resounded in her head. “Father.”

“Yes Angel?”

“Are we evil like them?”

He laughed. “Evil is not a trait to be passed down from parent to child my daughter. Evil is... Evil is an affliction of the heart. It is the sickness of one who has let things like greed, lust, and jealously consume his soul.” He looked down to her and sighed as her concerned eyes bore into him. “Do not worry my daughter. Thou wilt not be evil so long as thou wishest not to be evil.”

“How can thou knowest that father?”

He stared at her. “I know it because Director Narissa is a titan.”

“What?”

He nodded. “When the battle with the titans began, Director Narissa fought along side of them, not us. Like them, she wished not to surrender her control over the world. It was not until we captured her and I was able to clear her heart of its affliction that she joined our side to fight against the others. Without Director Narissa, I would have been slain during the war and the titans would have won. That is how I know that evil is a choice, not a fate. I have seen another cast off her darkness and walk the path of redemption.”

Kilia beamed. “Thou art so great that thou makest others great.” She hugged his leg. “Thou art perfect Father.”

“Father has his vices Angel.”

She tilted her head. “What dost thou mean?”

He brushed a hoof through her mane. “Nothing. That is a conversation for another time.”

“Oh... Okay.” She looked back out into Tartarus. “Can the rest of them be saved? Like Director Narissa?”

He shook his head. “Not by me —” he hoisted her into the air “— but nothing is impossible for the most magnificent little goddess of all time!” He pinned her to the ground and tormented her with an onslaught of tickles. She snickered and snorted as she tried to press him away. After a few moments of failure she decided to switch up her strategy. She wrapped her legs around him and squeezed herself against his neck to protect her belly. He rose to his feet garbed in a little filly. “Hmm...” He prodded around for her belly but she refused to let him squeeze through her defenses. “Well played!”

She giggled. “Father.”

“Yes Angel?”

“I love thee.”

He rested his cheek on her side. “I love thee too Kilia.”

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Celestia gazed into Tartarus, still basking in the memories of her father. She tugged herself away from their pull and left the temple. She gave Pugsley, Bob, and Major each a farewell pat and headed out.

She emerged into the vast underworld. The landscape was barren and rocky with only a few miniature mountains to break the monotony. It was illuminated by a ghastly glow that crept through the gray haze which sat upon the horizon.

She flew into the sky and searched for the river Phlegethon. Despite being massive, the underworld was fairly easy to navigate if one knew what she was doing. A system of five rivers ran across it. Each river would guide one to various parts of the underworld. A couple of them could be difficult to differentiate from one another, only offering subtle clues to their identity, but Phlegethon was not one of them. It was fairly easy to differentiate from the others seeing as it was a river of fire.

She picked up Phlegethon's glow in the distance and flew to it. She followed it south until it crossed with a vast river of water that she knew to be the river Styx. She followed Styx until its outlet to the marsh of Styx.

The marsh Styx was said to be a particularly important landmark in the path of life. Her father had told her that Styx marked the starting point for the last journey a soul needed to make before crossing into the afterlife. It was large enough that high as she was, she couldn't make out the other side. A heavy fog blanketed the water and caused the marsh to look as though it were a frozen tundra. It had been a very long time since she had ventured this far into the underworld. She had only ever chanced trips to the entrance of Tartarus to check up on Cerby.

With little more than a growl, her stomach persuaded her to stop for a meal. She landed on a cliff side and set up her camp. She took a moment to set up a signal booster and confirm that all was well in Canterlot. Once she was confident that they would make it through the night she moved to the edge of the cliff and munched on an oat and honey sandwich.

She studied the fog. It was still, silent, and should probably have been mind numbingly boring. It wasn't though. In fact, to her, it was magnificent. There was something more to that lake; she could feel it. It wasn't as though she was just looking into a blanket of fog; it was something else. It was kind of like fear. It wasn't exactly fear though. The urge to run was present, but there was a much more prevalent feeling of curiosity. A deep desire to see into the mist and understand what it was that was in there.

A chill ran from her gut to her head forcing a surge of tears from her eyes. She squeezed them shut and turned away from the marsh. She convulsed as a second wave rushed out. She took in a deep breath, regained her composure, and wiped away the tears.

She stuffed her supplies into her pack as her mind processed what had just happened. She had heard of strange sensations coming to those who observed the river, but never any tales of creatures breaking down. At most it gave them enough of a scare to send them running.

She finished packing and re-equipped herself for travel. Whatever the reason for her breakdown, she did not have time to introspect. She needed to complete her task, for Luna. She gave one last glance to the marsh and took off. She followed its edge to the other end of the river Styx. She followed Styx until she could see green fields off to her left. She flew towards the fields and soon the river Lethe came into view. She followed Lethe westward until a stone wall rose from its left side. She came upon a large protrusion which extended from the wall over the river marking the entrance to the caverns.

She descended, cautious not to get too close to the water. Lethe was the river of oblivion and if legends were true, its water would completely demolish her memories upon consumption. She formed a bubble shield around her head, condensed some oxygen into a magical tank, cast a water proofing spell on her supplies, and dropped into the river.

The water flowed lazily around her body. She made long strokes, allowing herself to drift for a bit after each one. She bounced sonar waves off of the river bottom until she found the hole she was seeking. She followed it deep into the river wall before she emerged from the water into a large tunnel system.

She stepped out and squeezed the water from her mane and tail. She pulled her equipment sack off and produced the scrying glass from its interior. She floated it before her, meticulously adjusting its frequency to hit her booster at the marsh. It took a precise frequency and a specific position within the cavern to get through.

The night had fallen over Canterlot. As far as she could tell, it was as silent and motionless as one would expect from the night. Rei was nowhere to be found but that wasn't surprising. It was in his routine to disappear during the night.

A faint tapping reached her ears. She pulled her focus from the glass and perked them up. All she could see was a damp, empty cavern. She flicked her ears back and forth. Every angle was silent.

She sent an indistinguishable sliver of energy into her horn and used it to create invisible extensions of her ears. She dropped her physical ears against her neck and returned to evaluating Canterlot Castle. After she made it through the left wing another collection of taps funneled down the enchantment. She feigned contentment and laid the glass into the equipment sack. She strapped the pack onto her back and cantered into the cavern, careful to keep her hearing sharp.

As she feared the tapping followed her, keeping pace with her hoofsteps. She weaved through the tunnels, intent on gauging just how closely she was being followed. The tapping waned only in short spurts, increasing speed when she made too many sharp turns. After she rounded a corner she recognized one of the stalagmites that protruded from the ground in the distance. She was getting close.

She broke into a full gallop, leaping over obstacles in an attempt to put distance between herself and her pursuers. Despite her efforts, the tapping grew louder. She veered a corner into a long passageway and turned her head towards her pursuers. “Stop!” she commanded. “If you continue, I will fire. Stop if you value your life!” She made it halfway through the passageway and still the tapping continued. “This is your last warning!”

Still, it continued. She gathered energy at the tip of her horn. When she reached the end of the passage she spun around and fired a stun beam towards the end. There was a scrapping just before it collided with the wall at the other side. She stood still and listened. All she could hear was the clicking of disintegrated stones hitting the floor. She rotated her ears back and forth, carefully scanning for any noise. Once the larger pieces of the wall had settled, the cavern grew silent.

Her stomach tightened. It certainly didn't sound like she had hit anything. She listened for a while longer but the silence didn't break. She gave up and turned to the end of the passage.

The tapping came again. She spun around and attempted to pinpoint it. It wasn't coming from one direction. There were more taps, and they were coming from all around her. She went ethereal and dived through the wall. She emerged above a wide opening in the cavern.

She had made it. She threw her wings open and soared towards the primitive platform that stood at the opening's center. She could hear the taps weaving through the walls. She landed at a run and dashed to the a large stalagmite at one of the platform's corners. She pulled at part of the stone with her aura, freeing it to reveal a keypad with runes carved into its buttons. She punched in the code as she remembered it.

Nothing.

The tapping grew louder. The emergency code. What was the emergency code?! She bopped her skull off of console. Come on Kilia, where are you?! A foul stench reached her nostrils. She could see a cloud of purple smoke escaping from the walls. She cast a shield around her head and glared to the keypad. Please Kilia, I'm begging you; come back to me!

“Dost thou recognize it?” her father's voice echoed in her head.

“'Tis the rune words for the enchantment that causes a surface to reflect only pink light,” Kilia replied.

“Very good my daughter!”

“Why father? Why that of all things?”

“Because my daughter, that is the first enchantment that thou ever learned. Thou cast it on my mane as a birthday present.”

“Oh, father, I'm so sor-”

“I couldn't have been more proud.”

Celestia looked to the pad. Kael, Okk, Ro, Lu, Rin, Cel, Pox. After she had bashed each key a screech erupted from the platform. A pillar of light extended from its center towards the roof. She spun around and leapt into it. Her body tingled as the world around her blurred out of view. The crudely shaped stone platform was replaced by a beautifully decorated marble one that had gold trim at its edges. When she emerged from the pillar she dashed to the platform's console and slammed the shutdown key. The pillar shrunk to a thin beam and flickered away. She gave a chuckle and slumped against the console.

With the pillar gone, it was pitch black. The realization of where she was rushed through her. Instantly her joy evaporated. She shivered, shut her eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and rose to her feet. This was it, the cursed place that had haunted her for centuries. The place she had once called home.

Ifringale, the city of the immortals.