"Ego choeradas vocant , previa apocalypsi. Timeant me et imperio. Vires alius vox mea." these are the words of the Necronomicon.
The Necronomicon is an ancient, and very dark, artefact that has been passed down as an heirloom to the youngest member of the Geldri family for generations. The Geldri family has done their best to keep the book out of the claws of Valgar, the king of the Necromancers.
Morvis Geldri is the current caretaker of the Necronomicon and has dedicated his life to protecting it. Locking it away in the North Pines Library he has taken every precaution to ensure the book's safety. Of course, he's never met Sapphire Moon.
The young vampire fledgling, otherwise known as Sapphire Moon, can persuade a beggar out of his last bit and can kill a pony with one flick of her horn. When she visits the small town of Dacrao, she somehow manages to steal the Necronomicon without realizing it's true power, therefore breaking the magical seal preventing any necromancer and Valgar respectivly from detecting the book's awesome power.
Sapphire, after finding out the artefact's power, must travel with Morvis to the Shrine of Years Since Past to renew the magical seal, once again rendering the Necronomicon powerless. But will it be as easy as they think? Not likely. Valgar has already sent his minions to collect the Necronomicon and they will stop at nothing to get their rotting hooves and claws on it. ------------------- Note: This story takes place a few hundred years before Celestia and Luna.
This is my first story. Ever. I would appreciate the feedback. If there are any errors, any at all, or if something doesn't make sense, feel free to tell me. Criticism is welcome, but please, no hating.
Hoofsteps echoed about the walls of the North Pines Library as Sapphire Moon paced around the main hall. As she paced, she held a large, dusty tome in her magic, quietly reading to herself.
She was so focused on reading she hadn't noticed Deathwish levitate around the corner of a bookshelf and bump into her. "Oof!" She grunted as her book fell to the floor and she fell on her rump.
"Oh! So sorry, Sapphire. Are you alright?" Deathwish asked as he offered his handle to the felled mare.
"Yeah," Sapphire moaned as she grasped the scythe's handle with her hoof and hoisted herself up. "Yeah I'm fine." She grasped the book in her magic once more.
After an awkward second, Deathwish asked, "So, whatcha readin'?" Sapphire stared at him.
"'A guide to living in Dacrao'," Sapphire replied, placing the book on a random shelf. Deathwish cocked his whole body to the side (the weapon equivalent of cocking one's head).
"Why?" He queried, "We're not staying here for longer than a week."
"I know. But I was just curious." Sapphire moved to the front of the bookshelf where she levitated out a thick leatherbound book with the title 'Potions and Poisons'.
"Well are you actually gonna do what you came here to do, Sapphire?" Deathwish asked as They headed to the front of the library. Sapphire nodded.
"You go do whatever. I'm gonna go read up." With that, Sapphire strode over to the center table, sat down on a cushion, and began reading. Deathwish on the other hoof, wanted to see the town. When they had arrived in town, their only stop had been the library, and Deathwish hadn't gotten to see much of the small town. He levitated to the double doors.
"Eh, little help here, please?" He asked to nopony in particular. He had forgotten completely that he was unable to open doors. A nearby librarian, one still confused about Deathwish's seemingly impossible existence, heard his plea and pushed the doors open for him with her hooves. "Thank you," He bowed slightly before levitating through the open doors into the streets of Dacrao.
The sun was just going down as Deathwish ventured to the town park. A fresh autum breeze wafted through the park. Deathwish sighed. He couldn't feel anything aside from the mental link he and Sapphire shared. Speaking of which, he knew she wouldn't deliberatly get herself into trouble, but he had the oddest feeling that she had just stolen something very, very important. He shook off the feeling, dismissing it as mere worry. He resumed his trek around town and was back at the library before the first stars came into sight.
**
"Excuse me, Miss," Sapphire awoke to somepony prodding her in the side with a hoof. She blearily opened her eyes to see whom the annoyance was coming from. A young earth pony mare stood over her, an irritated expression upon her face. "You fell asleep and you're drooling all over that book." Sapphire sat up and stretched. She looked down at the now drool soaked book.
"So I did..." She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but she must have gotten bored with reading. "Sorry 'bout that." She levitated the book to eye level with the librarian. Her dark blue aura grew darker as she cast a seperation spell on the pages. She fished a cloth out of her satchel and wrapped it around the wad of saliva. She glanced at the librarian who took the book and placed it on the cart she had in tow. She looked unimpressed, but no longer did she look irritated.
"Um... Thanks. I guess," The librarian said.
Sapphire rubbed her eyes and asked, "So, how long was I out?"
The librarian raised a brow, "About three hours. The library's closed now. Just thought I'd let you know." The response she got was Sapphire slamming her head against the table. Bad mistake, she thought. She rubbed her horn as it throbbed from the impact. The librarian giggled.
"Damn. Is the inn still open at least?" She groaned when the librarian shook her head.
"The Sleeping Cat closes 'round the time we do. But there's a campsite for rent just on the outskirts of town. You can stay there for the night." With that, the librarian placed her forehooves on the cart and pushed off.
Sapphire looked around for a moment and her dark blue eyes finally rested upon Deathwish. The scythe was leant agianst the edge of the table. He lay asleep, making a sound similar to a sword against a grindstone (the weapon equivalent to snoring, according to Deathwish). She sighed and grasped her sleeping weapon in her magic... And began to violently shake him. "Wake up," Sapphire said. Deathwish's draconic, crystaline eye appeared within the crimson blood gem in the center of his head.
"By the gods you don't have to shake me!" Deathwish exclaimed as Sapphire let him to levitate on his own.
"Come on, let's go," Sapphire grumbled as she slipped her saddlebags over her shoulders. She yawned deeply, putting a hoof over her muzzle. They exited the building and made down the cobblestone path to the campsite the librarian had mentioned. As they rounded a bend in the street, they thought they heard what sounded like screaming. They merely dismissed it and resumed their venture.
**
Night had fallen and Dacrao's residents were returning home from either their jobs or the tavern and even both, for those who worked at the Sleeping Cat. Everypony was heading home, except for two middle-age griffons. Morvis Geldri, dark brown feathers and cream fur, was walking with his wife, Melena Geldri, dusky grey feathers and ice-white fur. Melena had her head leant against her husband's shoulder as they strolled at a leisurely pace through the park.
They were just about to sit on one of the many provided benches when they heard the hurried sound of somepony running somewhere in the gloom. A minute later, a young, dark blue earth pony mare with a yellow mane and tail and blue eyes and a scroll shaped cutie mark came running up to them, gasping for air as she skidded to a stop in front of them. The two griffons looked worriedly at each other.
"Ink Pot," Morvis placed a claw on his daughter's shoulder," What happened? Are you alright?" Ink Pot said nothing, but looked up at her father with pinpricks for pupils.
"Ink, dear, you can tell us anything. Please, what happened?" Melena tried and failed to sooth her panicking daughter. She gave Morvis another worried look.
Another minute passed and finally, with a gulp, Ink Pot said, "Dad, you know that room that's always locked?"
Suprised, Morvis asked, "You mean the one at the very back of the library? The one I set with extremely complex, maze-like locks?" When Ink Pot nodded, Candle Wax feared the worst, "Yeah, what about it?"
With another gulp Ink Pot said, "Well I was doing my routine organizing of the library, when I came across a rather large chunk of metal in the isle I was going through. I looked up to see the door that you keep so well protected was, well... In pieces... And the Necronomicon; It's gone..."
Sapphire awoke the next morning to the sun shining straight in her eyes. The unicorn's eyes fluttered open and she used a hoof to block the sun. Much like a bat's eyes, vampire eyes are extremely sensitive to sunlight. A single ray renders a vampire virtually blind. This is why her kind prefers to travel by night. But being raised by mortals has it's perks.
Sapphire's horn shone a dark blue as she wrapped her magic around one of the spare blankets on the floor, unfolded it and draped it over the open window. It didn't help much, but it was far better than before.
With a yawn, Sapphire sat up in bed and stretched. She felt her bones pop and she let out a small sigh. She grabbed the blanket she lay under and tossed it to the side. Immediately a strong chill blew in through the blanket-covered window. She reveled in the cold breeze. Sapphire absolutely loved winter. She got up out of bed and was immediately hit with another crisp breeze. Her fur stood on end and she shivered slightly.
"Mornin' Sapphire," The metallic voice of Deathwish greeted the drowsy mare. Sapphire grumbled in response.
"I'm hungry," She stated bluntly. She strode over to her saddlebags where they hang on a rack nailed to the wall. She levitated them onto the small table just beneath the rack and unlatched the brass buckles. Her hoof reached in and produced a small square of cloth. She unwrapped the cloth to reveal a small apple tart. She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a bottle of apple cider. She popped the cork off the bottle and took a quick swig. It was physically impossible for a vampire to get drunk, but that never stopped Sapphire from enjoying the taste of fresh squeezed cider.
As she chewed on the tart, Deathwish felt this to be a good enough time for him to ask, "So, are we gonna speak with the contact today? Or are you gonna wait another day?"
A moment passed and Sapphire swallowed her tart and replied, "Nah. I spoke with him last night. The contract has been made-" She shuffled around in her satchel and produced a small note tied around with a leather band and read aloud "-'You are to kill Noble Molten Gold of House Gold at midnight. No later. Payment of six thousand bits has been made. Failure is not an option.'" She tucked away the letter and pulled out another apple tart.
"Could've taken me," Deathwish pouted.
"Eh, didn't feel like waking you." Sapphire drained her cider and tossed the empty bottle on the floor. Her eyes fell upon where the bottle hit her saddlebag. They settled on her left saddlebag.
Deathwish followed her gaze and asked, "What's that?"
Sapphire undid the buckle to her bag and used her teeth to pull out a large leather bound book. The book was untitled. "This? I have no idea. I found it in the library while you were out exploring the town or whatever." She opened the book, then promptly slammed it shut. "Whoa..."
"You felt that too?" Deathwish asked from across the room. As soon as Sapphire had opened that book, a tidal wave of dark magic erupted from the yellowing pages, sending the scythe slamming against the back wall.
"Y-yeah..." Sapphire slowly replaced the book in her saddlebag.
"Where did you say you found that book again?" Deathwish asked, edging closer to Sapphire.
"The North Pines Library..." She replied slowly. Sapphire could hear Deathwish muttering to himself.
Moments later, "We need to return that book. Wherever it came From." He shot a glare at the book.
"What are you saying, Deathwish?" Sapphire demanded, slightly taken aback. "You're joking right?" She placed a protective hoof over the saddlebag that contained the odd tome.
"I'm afraid I'm not joking, Sapphire. That book must be returned! It's a danger to us both! Do you know how much dark magic is radiating just off the cover?"
"Enough to take out the King's entire guard," Sapphire snarled, "Exactly why I took it! Who knows what would have happened if it got into the wrong hooves!"
"Well whoever owned it before sure did a damn good job of keeping it safe!"
Sapphire wanted to retort, but he was right. So with a sigh, she said, "I understand that, Deathwish. But you don't understand that the amount of dark magic this book is radiating could easily be detected by any kind of necromancer or any kind of dark wizard for that matter. Whoever owned it before didn't take that into account. It was only a matter of time before a dark wizard of some kind to come along, find this tome, and pretty much take over the world."
Deathwish nodded his body in understanding, said, "What you say is understandable, Sapphire. But the previous owner would have most likely put some kind of barrier around it to avoid detection."
"That's the thing, though. I easily detected it. If they did put an enchantment on it, it must be wearing off." Sapphire retrieved the book from her saddlebag and placed it on the table. "I just don't want some psycho necromancer finding this book and attempt to conquer Equus."
"Nopony wants that," Deathwish replied with a nod. "Uhh... Sapphire?"
"What's with the look, Deathwish?" Sapphire asked, concerned. She turned her whole body round to see what her scythe was staring at. Before she could say anything else, her jaw dropped. The book had an aura about it that was a mixture of crimson and jet black that held it in mid-air. The tome itself had turned an intimidating crimson and a strange symbol that appeared to be an upside down star emblazoned the cover. The amount of dark magic radiating from the book increased two-fold and Sapphire braced herself to stop from being slammed into the back wall. The book creaked on its spine as it opened itself, revealing it's yellowing and decaying pages. Sapphire couldn't hold herself any longer. As soon as the book had opened itself, a torrent of dark magic erupted from the pages and Sapphire was thrown against the back wall like a rag doll.
Sapphire, groaning, rubbed her head but didn't have time to flinch as another wave of dark magic surged into her, pressing her further into the thin wooden wall of the cabin. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, that's when the book spoke:
"Ego choerdas vocant. Quis ausus est expergisci a somno cosopiri sumpintero?" It demanded. Large bouts of dark magic were still erupting from the book's pages, making it virtually impossible for Sapphire to breathe let alone speak.
"Loquere catulis! Quist est expergisci a somno?!" The Necronomicon was completely ignorant to the fact that it was crushing it's victims.
"Can't... Breathe..." Sapphire managed to choke out. The Necronomicon realized what the mare was saying, and closed itself, dramatically decreasing it's dark magic output. Sapphire fell to the floor, gasping for breath, holding a hoof to her chest and practically crying.
"Quid ergo faciom, qui e somno expergisci audet?" The tome asked again.
After a moment of silence, Sapphire finally managed to catch her breath and choked out, "L-listen. I-I don't k-know what you're saying. I don't u-understand that language," Sapphire replied, venom dripping from her words. She stood up on trembling legs, but fell to the floor once again.
If the Necronomicon had teeth, they would have been ground to dust by the frustration it was feeling. But it kept calm, as much as it wanted to murder everything in sight and bring the corpses back as his zombie minions, it didn't. Add to the fact that it couldn't actually do that itself.
"I am the Necronomicon," it said. "You do not understand my language because your intelligence does not allow you." Sapphire cursed under her breath and glared at the book.
"What makes you so sure about that?" Sapphire snarled at the book.
"I am the Necronomicon, the most powerful book on all of Equus. That is how," The Necronomicon replied simply.
"So? That doesn't make you any more smarter than a beggar." Sapphire could feel the rage boiling inside her. Just looking at this book made her sick to her stomach.
The Necronomicon made a sound similar to that of one clicking their tongue as it thought. "Maybe not, but I am powerful enough to tell you that you are not intelligent enough to understand my language."
Sapphire shot a look at the tome and asked "How old are you, exactly?"
The Necronomicon was taken a little aback by the question, yet replied simply, "Ten-thousand two-hundred and sixty-three."
At this, Sapphire's eyes widened and the only reply she could come up with was, "Uh..." Then there was silence.
"You do know that that language hasn't been used for over five-thousand years, right? It's a dead language. It's a miracle if you can find a scribe who understands it.
"Be that as it may, I still deem thee stupid." This got Sapphire's attention, but before she could say anything, the ominous aura enveloping the book suddenly vanished and the sound of somepony yelling could be heard.
"Silence and dispel," Said a gruff voice from somewhere outside. Sapphire's head darted in the direction of the voice. Moments later the door creaked open and in the door frame stood a rather tall griffon. The griffon glared down at the book, then at Sapphire.
"Uh... Who are you?" Sapphire queried, staring at the intruder. The griffon bounded over to Sapphire and stared her straight in the face, brows furrowed and face twisted in rage.
"My name is Morvis Geldri, and I'm here to discuss your theft." His voice passed through his beak like steel and Sapphire could not help but shiver.
**
[12:36 PM, The night before]
"Gone?! What do you mean it's gone?!" Morvis Geldri bellowed, not at Ink Pot, not at anything in particular. His daughter cowered under the shear volume of her father's voice.
Wiping tears from her face, Ink Pot said, "I-I'm so s-sorry, f-father- I have no idea where the book went!"
"We have to find it!" Morvis declared, "We have to find it befo-" His ranting was put to a stop when Melena put a claw to his beak.
"Instead of shouting, why not search for the book using it's magical signature? Like that one time you were parading through town with skeletons as steeds and you dropped the book in the sewers?" Melena giggled as she recollected that night. It was the most humiliating thing she had ever seen him do.
Morvis blushed a deep crimson and replied hurriedly, "I-in my defence, you got me drunk with that crystal berry wine you bought when we took a vacation to the Crystal Empire." As embarrassed as he was about the ordeal, he couldn't stop himself from laughing at his past self. "But nevertheless I see your point." With that Morvis' head tilted upward, twisting his body around as he searched the night sky for the signature. After a moment, his eyes locked on something in the distance. What he saw was a thick beam of black light shooting up into the night sky. It may have been black but it was seen by Morvis' eagle eyes. He began to head in the direction of the beam but was stopped by his wife grabbing his shoulder.
"I know you're anxious to get your book back," she started, gazing at Morvis with serenity as she continued, "but you're exhausted. You need to get some rest. You think if she knew what she had just stolen, do you think she would still be where she is?" Morvis rubbed his chin with a claw.
"You raise another good point, dear. I suppose you're right. In the morning we will retrieve the Necronomicon from the thief. Even if it means I have to kill her." Morvis looked to his wife, who gave him a cold stare. "What?"
Melena sighed. "You are not going to just kill her. You are going to negotiate. If she doesn't cooperate, then we will notify the guard and they will retrieve the book."
Morvis thought on the proposal for a moment before saying, "I don't know. I'm bringing my rapier just in case things go wrong." Even with his wife's assurance, Morvis could not help but feel his hatred for the thief fester deep within him.
Melena gave her husband a reassuring look. "I'm sure the moment she lays eyes on your build, she'll run away in fear."Morvis couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Come on, let's go home and get some rest." She continued with finality. To that both her husband and daughter nodded agreement. They walked toward their little home just on the far right side of their library.
They walked up the steps. Morvis was the last inside, holding the door open like a true gentlestallion would. As he prepared to make his way into his home, he noticed out the corner of his eye, a strange shadow. He veered around but was met by nothing save for the empty streets. With a shrug, Morvis turned back around and entered his home, closing the door and barring it.
**
-Somewhere deep within the Frozen North-
A malevolent forced stirred from its slumber. The earth around the base of the Alicorn Mountain shook as the darkness regained consciousness. In a cave located just at the peak of Alicorn Mountain, the zombified remains of an ancient minotaur lay bound to the wall in steel chain links covered in centuries of rust and decay. The crimson blood gem that rested just in the center of the minotaur's chest shimmered dimly. He could feel the dark magic slowly growing within him. The Necronomicon has been awakened, and so has he.
A soft chuckle escaped the the open throat of Lord Valgar.