The light is darkening, the night is coming.
This was absolutely not where he wanted to be. Actually, there were plenty of places on Etheria he didn't want to be, far more than places he wanted to be. The way he was looking at his life, he was almost never where he really wanted to be. The Fright Zone, The Crimson Wastes, Castle Crypto…. In the latter, even Entrapta did not want to live and preferred to go to the Beast Island. He shuddered, that was also where they could go, considering how determined Lonnie was to get Hordak. Though, of course, she cared much more about Catra. This has been going on since they were kids. They hated each other then. It was difficult. Everyone admired Adora, wanted to be her friends. Well, they adored her. She…was nice to everyone, hardly even teasing him. But anyway, Catra, her beloved friend, always came first… Now she is simply her beloved. How strange it all is...
„Kyle, could you hurry up!" Lonnie yelled at him. They were in the northern reaches, one of the most inhospitable and desolate areas of Etheria. It was said to be a haunted land full of ghosts and shades. Shadow Weaver always told them there were no ghosts, but it was Shadow Weaer who sent her shadows to spy her enemies and rivals... Shesupposedly even stalked Adora that way... Catra once brought an artifact from here with Entrapta and Scorpia. Soon after, of course, she sent Entrapta to the Isle of Beasts, and then everything fell apart.
„Comrade Kyle, you could at least focus on the mission instead of dreaming." His friend stood in front of him, glaring at him. She was beautiful even when she was angry with him. With Rogelio they always knew that. The reptile was now unloading crates full of equipment. They had two big little two-man off-road vehicles that had been made back when Catra had wanted to excavate here and look for ancient treasures… Hadn't she and Entrapta dug up some monsters too?
They were on the shore on a rocky beach, with the tundra dotted with blue-violet vegetation all around it, it was quite nice here if you think about it.
„You know, Lonnie, maybe it'll be nice here." he said, trying to properly tie the packages to the trunk of the vehicle, although he was not very successful at it.
„We're not on a trip. It's not going to be nice here. We have an important job to do!" she growled at him.
He smiled friendly.
„That doesn't mean it can't be fun. I got marshmallows, sausages, banjo." He said pointing to the packages.
„Banjo?" she asked incredulously, as if hearing the word for the first time.
„Well, when we build a fire, we'll cook sausages and marshmallows, and I'll play the banjo. This highlander, you know, the one-eyed one, taught me how to play and said I was pretty good."
The woman's eyelid twitched for a moment.
„Kyle, we're not baking any marshmallows on any bonfire. One, it's damn cold here at night, two, we're in enemy territory, and three, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE A FIRE SINCE THERE'S NO TREES WITHIN 1,000 KILOMETERS." She waved her hand, pointing to the endless plain stretching all around. He said with delight.
„So there are no enemies. And we can bake on these portable stoves."
She underestimated his enthusiasm, for she shrieked, then turned sharply to Octavia, who stood proudly in the bow of the gunboat.
"Could your sailors, by their grace, tighten up and help Rogelio more."
The octopi-woman only after a moment turned very slowly towards her.
„Comrade Admiral Oktawia reports that, for fear of maintaining the morale of the crew on appropriate level, she cannot force her to be more intensively involved in unloading. „The one-eyed woman informed in a cool tone. She was Scorpia's age, but unlike the scorpion princess, she didn't like hugging her friends... Actually, she didn't like anyone, including Lonnie. It had been since Catra had taken her eye. I guess it was just her dislike of Catra that made her work for the Comrade General. They didn't have many ships because most of them either sanked by Mermista or destroyed Horde Prme. Only a handful survived, and only a few were held by the People's Rebellion. They came here by subterranean rivers, and then by the swampy river Mudribbon. It was a terrible place full of mosquitoes and strange predatory reptiles… "Not that I have anything against reptiles," he smiled as he looked at Rogelio's muscular frame. "Oh, and there are no damned ones here..." He heard a shrill buzz and felt a prick on his cheek. He hit himself, but it was too late. He saw blood on his fingers.
„Lonnie, have you ever wondered if Shadow Weaver was bitten by mosquitoes?" he asked, finally strapping the package to the vwhicle. Lonnie and Scarlet, who was standing next to her, gave him looks as if wondering if he was crazy.
"Kyle, I'm not thinking about our crazy… our fucking lead officer at all, and certainly not about whether or not the bugs liked her." And besides, do you remember what I told you? There were cockroaches and spiders and earwigs in the Fright Zone, but no damn bees or mosquitoes.
He thought.
"I remember when Catra put earwigs in your bed. You woke up the whole ward with your screams... It must have been after you told Adora that the earwigs enter the ears at night and puncture the eardrums. She couldn't sleep for two nights because of it. Me too... I guess I won't be able to sleep tonight either. And then Shadow Weaver said it was a stupid idea, and that where she came from, there are slimes that can come in through our noses at night and take over us... – We all couldn't sleep then. After two days, even you and Catra weren't growling at each other and you even fell asleep with your head on her shoulder.
Lonnie flinched when he mentioned pinches. She clearly didn't like the memory.
„Shadow Weaver said a lot of stuff and not much of it was real. Now everyone knows about it." She nodded, looking to the side thoughtfully.
„Sometimes it is true, but not in this case." Dr. Moors said, the cylinder resting among the other packages on the vehicle. He was extremely tied, though from what he said it was rather doubtful that anything would happen to him, even if he fell out of a speeding vehicle. He was in outer space...
„What do you mean?" Comrade General asked anxiously.
The Doctor extended one of the metal tentacles and rubbed his lid with a grotesquely human gesture.
„I heard that these types of creatures have been living in space for eons and have been encountered by Mi-Go many times, standing in the way of their great and far-reaching plans. Well, our lord's right hand didn't lie as much as you might think, although as far as I know it didn't realize how terrifyingly beautiful our universe is.
Lonnie looked at the brain in the top hat silently before commenting.
"It's not knowledge that will make me sleep better."
„But every knowledge makes our lives richer and fuller. We just have to learn to enjoy it as the most wonderful delicacy."
"I'm sorry to butt in, Comrade General, but there is wisdom in the doctor's words." Scarlett interjected. These types of creatures can become useful to us if we learn to control them."
Lonie was silent, her lips pressed together. She looked down. She seemed depressed since that meeting on Dead Mountain. Something was bothering her, but they didn't know what. She continued to sleep with them, but in all other respects she had distanced herself from them.
„Do you really see me like that? As a general capable of doing anything in the name of victory?" she asked quietly, though he wasn't entirely sure who.
„That's what leadership is all about. Making decisions no one else could." Scarlet said
The former cadet giggled with an absolutely joyless laugh.
"Glimmer already did it once… Is it better then?" she asked herself, and looked at them in surprise, as if she had only just noticed that they were still here.
„When you're packed, let's go. Kyle with Rogelio and me with Scarlet...and the doctor.
Normally, he wouldn't have cared which one he was riding with because he loved them both equally, but now he felt that Lonnie needed the closeness of one of them more than ever before...
She did not return from Mystacor as soon as she wished. The events that took place there deserved meticulous research in order to explain, although she wasn't sure if she wanted to know truth. "I was fighting the non-dead. A being that has risen from the dead…" she thought as she walked through Brightmoon's bright and clean corridors. If anyone had told her that a corpse had risen and drank the blood of living beings, she would have burst out laughing in their face. An autopsy performed by a medic from the Fright Zone revealed that the entity she "killed" had been dead for some time, though it's hard to say since when… Only Aize was not shocked. Frightened yes, but not shocked…They also said that this statue represented Netis, the lady of magic and mystery. She snarled because she had had enough of this Eridani nonsense, and she didn't like that it could take root on Etheri, her planet. She walked along wagging her tail slightly, full of anxiety, wanting to talk to Glimmer and ask her for help. Melog walked beside her, emanating anxiety and nervousness.
„It's you!" she heard a voice coming from the side corridor. The sound of it sounded eerily familiar to her. She turned around and saw a tall woman. Pointed ears indicated that she was a Seihe, but she had gray skin and dark blue hair. She was dressed in dark blue robes and wore a veil over her face. She looked so familiar that she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
„Yes?" she asked in such an uncertain voice that she hadn't heard from herself in over five years, almost six." How can I help you? - "No, it can't be"
„You're the Light Spinner ward?" the woman asked, and she felt a warm tingle of relief run through her body. "No, it's not her. Shadow Weaver is as dead as she was." She smiled at her interlocutor without hiding her claws.
"You mean Shadow Weaver, no one has called her in diffrent way in thirty years. And no one doubted that this name perfectly reflected her nature. But you're right, I'm Grand Marshal Catra and she raised me, if conditoning can be called upbringing." she replied in a firm voice. She wasn't afraid of this woman... She Shadow Weaver wasn't afraid either, not anymore... but if she came back as non-dead...
„My sister always liked old fairy tales."
„Are you her sister? She had a sister? she gasped with difficulty. The idea of having a sibling was almost unknown to the cadets, but in the case of Hordak's right hand… She was a mystical figure to them, divine as they would say on Eridani. She could kill almost anyone in the Fright Zone, though she sometimes had to resort to trickery, and it was up to her good will to torture someone as a matter of discipline. Having a sister, family… anyone close to her? It wasn't on her mind.
„She didn't mention us? It's so typical of her. She betrayed her family by going to Mystacor instead of serving her clan." said the woman. Hearing her words made her blink in disbelief.
„Excuse me? You accuse her of living in Mystacor? Of all the evil, horrible, or just simply mean she had done, it bothers you that she moved to a sorcerer's college... A woman who was fond of child abuse..." She spoke with growing agitation, but the strange one cut her off.
„And exalted dramas ... what she instiled in you. As I heard about her second ward, she also likes to show off senselessly."
Now, hearing the woman's words, perhaps for the first time in many years, she was speechless. "Does she know what she's talking about? Did she sleep the last thirty years under a rock? Seihe were long-lived, but not so detached from reality…" she thought looking at her interlocutor. After a minute, she decided she hated it. It was a record, even Horde Prime took longer.
"Tell me who you are and what you want from me, instead of wasting my time talking about things you have no idea about…" she snapped, and Melog radiated the red of their anger. The strange woman looked at her with piercing green eyes. For a moment, a stupid question flashed through her mind, whether Shadow Weaver ... Light Spinner looked at her interlocutors that way too.
„I am Midnight Mask, Black Blade of the Royal Yago Clan. I have come here to negotiate the resumption of trade relations... after the appropriate compensation has been paid." said Midnight Mask in the hard, stern tone she had grown accustomed to throughout her childhood. She smiled the way she hadn't since the end of the war, menacingly and contemptuously.
"Queen Glimmer will talk to you when she sees fit, and she has more important things to do. Her own wedding, Victory Day celebrations, negotiations to form a galactic alliance, or even deciding what to eat for tea, so please get out of my way and mind your own business. She took a step forward, waiting for Midnight Mask to move away. The woman narrowed her eyes to very narrow slits.
„There will be consequences for your impertinence!" She huffed, but only chuckled in response.
"Are you threatening me, Great Marshal of Etheria, someone who wasn't afraid of your sister, of whom you're a pathetic imitation, or even Horde Prime? Or maybe you are threatening Queen Glimmer? Techmaster Bow? She-Ra herself? Or maybe the whole alliance at once, because why split up? Do you really understand how idiotic you sound?"
Midnight Mask snorted contemptuously and turned away, then walked her way. She frowned as she watched him leave. "I'll have to have someone follow her... Or she'll cause trouble. Good thing Adora isn't here. Her relationship with Shadow Weaver was more complicated... and it would be harder for her to turn the bitch off... or would it be better if the three of them talked about her cute little sister?" she thought, and headed for the Queen's office.
The door was guarded by Brother Blade, the only clone in the Brightmoon Guard, at least for now. He was accepted mainly because of the symbolic meaning of the act, one of the former invaders was now defending their queen, but it must be admitted that he performed his duties admirably. Surpassing the skills of Brightmoon's former guardians may not have been much of a feat, but Brother Blade was vigilant, disciplined, and valiant. And also quite likable. He had long, shoulder-length hair, and his eyes were a deep green.
"I would like to kindly inform Grand Marshal Catra that Queen Etheria Glimmer is asleep, and judging by the volume of her snoring, quite well." he said as soon as he saw her
Indeed, she heard loud snoring coming from inside. In recent months, Glimmer had begun to resemble Adora in her penchant for throwing herself into work. In fact, it should be starting to worry her, but after the wedding, all four of them will go on what is called a honeymoon. Quite a nice custom of lying in bed together and doing nothing. Most importantly, it had absolutely nothing to do with honey, which she hated.
„Sorry, but I need to take her time. But then I'll tell her to go to sleep." she said with a friendly smile. Blade's brother opened the door for her, and she entered the office. Once she had it, she realized she missed Wrong Hordak. "I wonder where he is now? Let nothing happen to him because of Entrapta's strange and sily idea, she thought, worrying for a moment about the fate of her extraordinary friend.
Glimmer was sleeping, leaning on the table, her head lyinh on her arms. Her wings fell over her shoulders. She grew them after the war and at first they were a curiosity that annoyed her more than they pleased her, but the sight of Glimmer trying to fly on tiny wings and getting nervous when she failed was extremely amusing. But now they had grown, and while they were still nowhere near the size of her mother's, they already allowed her to glide. They were also admired in Eridani, where having wings was the domain of their leaders. Papers were scattered around, as well as a small sandwich. She smiled mischievously. Stealing food from others while they slept was one of her favorite pastimes. She approached the queen slowly and carefully reached over to the sofa and took a bite, then grimaced in disgust. "Apple jelly, herring and pate? Did that occur to her?" she thought, but ate the rest. After all, it was stupid to leave traces of the crime ... It was probably some family treat, a recipe passed down from generations. She crept up to Glimmer and leaned in slowly.
"Hey Sparkle, you fell asleep at the alliance council meeting..." she said softly into the queen's ear. Glimmer jumped sharply and called out.
„I don't sleep! I heard everything." She looked around with blank and frightened eyes. But then she realized where she was and looked at her reproachfully.
„Come on?! You look so funny and cute when you wake up and you don't know where you are or what you've been doing, but you pretend otherwise."
„Very funny." she said, frowning. Melog jumped on the table and started rubbing against her as an apology.
„Sorry, sorry." She laughed, but then became serious. Look, we need to talk about something."
„Did something happen? Something about Auntie Casta?" Glimmer asked cautiously, she knew that their relationship with Castaspella was not the warmest, although both tried to improve it
„Not exactly ... I went so that they would copy one book ... and everything got a bit complicated ..." she sighed and began to tell her about everything. About her coming to Mystacor, meeting Aize, going through that damn book, going through the scribbles with the scribes, finding the corpse, and finally fighting the non-dead monster… Glimmer listened to her story carefully, occasionally making a quiet comment like "It's weird… ohhh… Incredible!" but after the description of the fight with this creature, she blinked her eyes a few times and asked uncertainly...
„Are you sure he was non-dead? Maybe it just seemed like it?"
she sighed. She was ready for these kinds of questions. In the old days, she would have snapped at anyone who didn't believe her, but now she answered her friend in a calm voice.
"I'm sure, he didn't die until I pierced his chest. Besides, he had been there for ages, alone and locked up. Castaspella and that weird Nightgale can tell you I'm telling the truth." she said firmly. Though the Head Sorceress of Mystacor had been in a trance while they fought the creature, that didn't change much. Glimmer groaned and collapsed on the table.
„I believe you, but understand ... The dead do not walk and do not bite the living, it's like a definition."
„It will have to change the definition ..." she said more gently, and the queen rubbed her forehead
„Still, then ... Why do I have the impression that problems multiply? I thought life would be easier after all this, but I feel like it's getting harder."
She smiled at the queen because she felt exactly the same.
„Maybe it's just us, Sparkle, because the last few years weren't so bad. Only now we have more activities and this wedding… Anything else happened?"
„An emissary from the Isles of Sorrow wanders the corridors, and she took to heart making my life ... full of sorrow. She keep asking when we will make amends for the past insults we have inflicted on them, though I am not sure what amends and what insults it might be."
She winced.
„We already met in the corridor and had a ... chat. You know that's Shadow Weaver's sister?"
Glimmer's astonished look showed that she had no idea.
„Her sister... She had a family?"
She nodded.
„I couldn't believe it either. It seemed so ridiculously absurd..."
Glimmer thought for a moment.
„You know, everyone ... almost everyone had a family. And almost everyone was once a child. Even she wasn't always… what she had become." There was a note of regret in the queen's voice.
She looked at her friend. Of all the inhabitants of Etheria, only Glimmer knew the better, nobler side of the Shadow Weaver. She taught her sorcery and gave her much of what she knew. That's what made her such a good queen. Even after learning that a dark sorceress had sent her father to Beast Island, she couldn't hate her. I guess only Castaspella had slightly warmer feelings for her. Finally, Glimmer spoke up.
„And what she said. this sister." – Glimmer asked
"She said her name was Midnight Mask and claimed to be some kind of Black Blade. And then she started threatening me with repercussions for my impertinence."
The queen ground in her mouth a bunch of extremely nasty, but also picturesque swear words. She could never get over how a princess and queen could use such language. "Where did she learn it? What did Angela tell her when she heard those words?" Hordak hated swearing as much as alcohol, and had him banished from the Fright Zone. Shadow Weaver punished them severely for "foul tongue," and even now she had a hard time coming up with a harsher word than "Damn."
„Consequences! She threatened you in my palace!? cried the queen at last.
„Yeah, I guess it's family custom. I explained to her who she was threatening and told her she was just a poor imitation of her sister. She left offended, but I'll have the guards keep an eye on her. It may not be Shadow Weaver, but someone calling themselves a black blade must be dangerous." She sighed and added „I have one request to you, Sparkle"
Glimmer raised an eyebrow curiously.
„You could teleport Castaspella and Bow's dads to Mikah. They want to discuss with him the matter of this book and what happened in the underground of Mystacor. They don't want another Shadow Weaver to be born. :Or come back from the dead: she added in mind.
Glimmer nodded but then said.
„Netosa asked you and Entrapta to visit her. He has something important to show you. I'd take you right away, but my teleport still doesn't work on the island. Hordak must be happy about it, but it makes communication very difficult.
She sighed heavily.
„I'll pick up Entrapta first. I really wanted to visit her, and Netosa better not meet Hordak. Our animosity isn't that long and deep... If things get out of hand, I'm not sure I can separate them... And to tell you the truth, I don't know if I want to."
Night Gale liked Scarlet's body, but at the same time she felt as if she had been tied up with metal wire. All the time she had the feeling that the wire would break and return to its natural form. After taking the form of her dead friend for a long time, she felt the pain, slight at first, but slowly increasing until it finally was becoming unbearable. Fortunately, Castle Crypto was a real labyrinth that few people wandered, and she knew nooks and crannies that no one ever looked into. No one was looking for her. Even the real Scarlet wasn't very popular amongthe cadets, and her disposition don't won her friends. She was lonely, but she always had been, or at least she had always had time to return to her hated but comfortable true self.
But Lonnie wanted, as always, to be on this trip in person, and of course she wanted her to go with them too. She considered getting out of Night Gale's duties in Mystacor, but that would be suspicious, and besides, the cult would definitely want to keep an eye on the Comrade General doings, especially during this trip for Mi-Go. She could only hope the whole thing didn't take too long or she might have a problem. She absolutely couldn't allow anyone to know the truth about the dark forces permeating Etherian society, but she couldn't afford to lose Lonnie either, because it would mean the loss of years of hard work. From what she had heard from the cult leader, the Voice from Shadow, that to Etheria was coming someone who, by the will of Creeping Chaos, would lead the cult to a bright future, someone very important to her…
It was cold here in the North Reach, though they were at its southern end, relatively friendly, but also inhabited, if fortunately sparsely. Their vehicles were gravity powered, the same way as the Horde used in their tanks, though slightly more efficient due to Entrapta's improvements, and unlike many other vehicles in Hordak's army, they where quite comfortable. It was also the result of the ingenuity of the purple-haired princess. She wrapped her arms around Lonnie's waist, as did Kyle with, but he had trouble getting around the mighty lizard torso. Lonnie had a strong, lithe body and was quite attractive. She considered taking advantage of the fact that her relationship with her boyfriends had cooled, but that could be risky for a number of reasons. First of all, it could weaken the People's Rebellion, and it was needed by Creeping Chaos as a pawn on the board that was Etheria.
Eventually they came to a small lake that froze over at dusk. They decided to stay here, eat, settle their needs and discuss further plans. Some azure Etherian bird splashed in its waters. It was quiet and peaceful, Kyle seemed quite content despite the cold. Imp slept snuggled up in Rogelio's back carrier, which he only left here... well, when he had to. Lonie unfolded the map and turned on the old navigation datapad.
„According to old Grizzol maps, as well as satellite maps downloaded from the Prime's installation, we are on the right track. It's some hour's drive from here. Parts of that relay Catra had installed would be perfect for our plans, it's a weird the original was never used. „Lonnie said with a much better mood.
„It wouldn't be of much use. No matter how much Hordak amplified the signal, it still wouldn't penetrate into another realm of existence." Night Gale said. They looked at her questioningly.
„Etheria was hidden in another plane called Despondos. It was an artificially constructed place, a little universe, created by the First Ones to hide their weapons."
„Grizzol who will be happy that he was freezing his ass here for no reason. Well, this time it will worked." Lonnie grunted
"Prime was able to subspatially transmit information in his empire, it may not have covered a large area, at least compared to his fantasies ... We have one, but the Mi-Gos use much more standard technology in this area, even if using the biological equivalents of our devices . Of course, they also often use magic and technomagic." Dr. Moors was saying, gesticulating with his tentacles
"Can't they use magic to talk to their own now?" Kyle interjected, and Lonnie raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"As far as I know, the Overseer has no magic skils, at least not powerful enough." replied the brain in the cylinder.
"If they had someone powerful enough in that aspect, they would have made contact with their peple many years ago…" Scarlet added.
„But a moment ago you said that once ... when we were in another dimension and then such contact was impossible."
She refrained from showing irritation. "Is this how you felt listening to the ignorant? Like Father, for example?" She smiled the gentle, inscrutable smile she reserved for Scarlet and began to explain.
"Other planes can be contacted, from Despondos but not the first material plane we're in now, though it still wasn't easy. I guess that's a loophole the First Ones overlooked, because they couldn't use magic well, not like us. It is said that in Umbracore, a lost school of magic, other realms, such as the Abyss and Abadon, were often reached to summon terrible beasts to do their bidding. Let's not forget about our former lead officer, of course. The being she summoned was said to be even more powerful than She-Ra..". she said and almost swore, realizing she might have said too much.
Lonnie scowled at her as if Scarlet had told her she was about to cut off her leg.
„I'll sleep much better knowing this. You can be pleased with yourself!"
They arrived as was said, an hour later. The land was covered with dwarf trees, which covered many small and unusually symmetrical hills. Kyle looked around, really got the bonfire idea into his head.
„This is the land of barrows." she said over the communicator.
„Bar… what?" Kyle asked.
„These are tombs. Apparently, in the old days, the local inhabitants buried their rulers here. We travel around the cemetery."
The dream of a bonfire went out like a match flame in the rain.
Unfortunately, the building erected here by the Horde has been completely destroyed. Lonnie began to show off her newfound swearing skills, but something else caught her interest. On the highest mound stood an obelisk of black metal, covered with blue inscriptions in Aklo. At the top was an effigy of the head of a red-eyed monster with monstrous fangs. Kyle stood next to her.
„This head is even similar to Hordak, but such inscriptions remind me on this stele in the mountains, or is it also something related to this Atakaka?" He asked. She didn't even have the strength to get angry, she was so fascinated by what she saw.
"Atlah-Naha…no, that's something else entirely. Lonnie calmed down a bit and stood next to her. "This one is dedicated to Ithaqua, the walker of the wastes, the silent wind, the great cannibal. „she said with undisguised delight. Lonnie growled furiously.
"It's wonderful that you found some fucked-up horror to be fascinated by, but tell me what the fuck I care."
She smiled triumphantly.
„Ithaqua is one of the Great Old Ones, a very powerful being... It's the second such monument on our planet. Does this mean that there are more of them dedicated to other Great Old Ones? It's... puzzling and a little disturbing... at least for those who don't have an open mind..." seeing as Comrade General narrowed his eyes at her, she went straight to the point. "Somewhere nearby was the city of the Elder Things, a powerful and ancient race that had roamed the universe for a billion years.
„Are these relatives of Mi-Go? Kyle asked, paling visibly.
„Not exactly... Their technology was more focused on using purely biological beings, though they were extremely skilled physicists, although they used machines on a much smaller scale even than our allies, let alone the First Ones. Sometimes they fought with Mi-Go, sometimes they cooperated... They were ruined by the rebellion of their slave race called the Shogoths..."
„Slaves?" Kyle asked hesitantly, and Rogelio joined in with a grunt.
„Conscious beings that are the exclusive property of other intelligent beings. A bit like servants of our old friend Horde Prime, although usually with a buy and sell option." she explained with a gentle smile. Her companions looked at her with horror at the memory of a practice not practiced on Etheri aalmost since the departure of the First Ones. But Lonnie thought about something.
„They fought with Mi-Go... You think there might still be something in their city. she asked, and Scarlet nodded.
„The technology of the Ancient Races could have lasted for millions of years. – „Just like the traps and guards they left behind" she added mentally.
Lonnie looked at the ruins of the outpost that Grizzol had built. The commander probably built the outpost in this place, because the obelisk located next to it was visible from afar and was an excellent landmark.
"Okay, now that we're here, let's look for these ruins, otherwise this whole journey will be just one big waste of time..."
„You are right, Comrade General. The light is darkening, night is coming. It would be unwise to be in such a place after dark." said Night Gale thoughtfully. The two men nodded in support, and Lonnie agreed, obviously not wanting to waste any more time. However, the sorcereress sensed the dark force churning under their feet. The destruction of the Heart of Etheri and the release of magic had unexpected results. As the light of the mystical moons waned, something awakened in the dark corners of Etheria.
He smiled as he saw the flickering flames of the fire that had just been lit. He could have used magic, but all those years on Beast Island he had tried to not waste his power and he hadn't changed that habit. He looked around the old mountain hut where he had stayed when he left Brightmoon. It had been happening to him lately, and more often, and he had considered moving here permanently. Nothing kept him in the palace. His daughter was a strong and independent woman who did not need her old father to interfere in her affairs. Especially now that he's starting his own family. She was also a queen, and better than Etheria could have hoped for. She made mistakes, like any ruler, but she was able to learn from her failures. If she needs his help or company, she can always visit him. Although much could not help her. At most, show how to catch the tastiest worms. When Adora found him, the war had just ended. He helped lead the Rebelion until… He was a man of war, and who needs one in peacetime?
But there were other things as well. He was… Dead, dead for thirteen years… For thirteen years, everyone in Brightmoon mourned him, he was to them a symbol of the invader's wickedness. He felt… like he had let everyone down. That he had failed everyone with his life. Especially since they had not long ago lost the queen who had ruled them for centuries... and in return they received an old man who had lost his life.
Angie... That was another reason he didn't want to be in the castle... His love for his wife and daughter had sustained him through all those years of torment on Beast Island. And then it turned out that she had left, had sacrificed herself to save them all. Now, every nook and cranny of the palace reminded him of her, the happy years they had spent together... The few moments of peace they had spent... remained only a painful memory that only hurt him. He couldn't stand this feeling of loss, so he spent more and more time here. He felt much more at home in this midwife's hut in the wilderness than in the chambers of the palace. He was used to enduring hardship, though of course this place was no match for the Beast Island in the hardships it exposed those who lived here.
He sensed a burst of magic. He could recognize the vibrations caused by Glimmer's teleportations, and even determine if she had arrived alone or with friends. This time she had brought at least two people with her, so either Glimmer's friends wanted to visit him or something very important had happened. Given that Adora was now on Icarus, it was probably the latter. He sighed, picked up his sorcerer's staff, then stood up. He felt pain in his old bones and stepped outside. In front of the cabin he saw his sister and also Bow's dads. Everyone looked around the forest around them. Castaspela a little apprehensively, Lance and George curiously. Well, his sister and wild nature weren't a very good combination, but Bow's fathers, for all their eccentricity, lived in a library nestled in the middle of a Whispering Wood. They had to be able to cope with a variety of conditions.
„Oh, welcome to my modest ... a bit rough doorstep. I can make mulled wine with cinnamon, I also have stew and cheese, if you wantk we can make fondue." he said, although he rather expected that it wouldn't end with a dinner with friends. The eyes of all three lit up at his proposal, but Castaspella shook her head first and, smiling sadly, said.
„I'd love to, but maybe later. We have important matters to discuss."
Hearing it in her voice, he understood that the matter was extremely serious. He invited everyone inside and began preparing the mulled wine as he listened to Castaspelia's account. His sister told him about Catra's arrival with the Thousand Thousand Masks, finding the corpse, how she had gone into a trance. About the vision of an alternative reality, although she got a little confused here. Finally, she told about the Great Marshal's fight with the non-dead monster. He listened to all this with full seriousness, with absolute concentration. Then he poured everyone a mug of mulled wine with cinnamon.
„The light is darkening, night is coming. We need to warm up." he said, breaking the silence.
„She liked it." Castaspella suddenly blurted out. – „Fruit wine from Plumeria."
„Angela? I mean Queen Angela? Lance said surprised. He and his husband, they never met his wife.
„No... Shadow Weaver. Glimmer always made sure she had a bottle in her chamber. Apparently… the day we won, she drank the last we had. Sorry, I don't know why I'm talking about this." She looked embarrassed at her brother. She thought she had hurt him by mentioning the dark sorcerer. He had no problem with that, he and Catra had talked about that woman, but his sister was unaware of it, hardly knowing who he had become.
"Catra told me that at the end of her career in the Fright Zone, Shadow Weaver often got drunk on the nasty moonshine they made there…" he said and smiled sadly. "At least she drank something nobler in Brightmoon." They were silent for a moment, listening to the sound of flickering flames.
-„Our world is changing. The destruction of the Heart of Etheri unleashed the magic that is now free. Former powers hidden in the farthest corners of our planet have awakened. We have forgotten them in the dark years of war." he said with grim solemnity. "We have to act now to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control again. Lance and George, go to Frosta, the Kngdom of Snow. If the reports sent to Glimmer were true, the earthquakes caused by the planet's imbalance uncovered an ancient city... You have a copy of „Horison's Etheri Description", check it's not the same city... Castaspella, be on your guard. Mystacor has always been a hotbed of dark mysteries. There, the Shadow Weaver gained her dark powers, who knows what terrible secrets may be hiding in your college. Some worship terrible and ancient dark beings willing to offer power... at a terrible cost..."
„What will you do? his sister asked him.
„I will continue to explore the Valley of Shattered Armor... I chose this hut because it is nearby. Some people say that there are suspicious things going on here, I've seen a few myself. The ruins of Umbracor are also nearby. After the Wedding, I'll ask Adora to visit it together. And we'll take Scorpia too, her family had a secret here, she has a right to know it. Family secrets are often the darkest
The light was darkening Night was coming. She gave all the orders of the guards, because she was going to disappear for a few days. She had one more thing to do before she left. She and Melog went to her and Adora's common room. As she opened the door, she smelled her lover, her fiancée… her neary-wife. She felt a stab of unspeakable longing. The Melog glowed yellow-green. It was a mess, well Adora was always the tidier one, and then she headed over to the cupboard where they kept their keepsakes. She looked at the shelf where the two oldest ones were. One was the the blanket wrapped around the child found by Hordak, and the other was the cardboard box in which she had been found. Shadow Weaver kept the blanket in her workshop and studied it for years, but she slept in a cardboard box for the first months of her life because she couldn't sleep anywhere else, but then their „caretaker" decided to throw him out, so she and Adora hid it. They've moved him here and there over the years to keep him safe. When she caught a cold after traveling to the North Reach, she confided his existence to Scorpi, when she delirious during the fever. Somehow, he survived the entire war and occupation, and when the Scorpion princess found him, she decided to give him to her friend. She was happy with this gift, because she was irrationally attached to this stupid box ... She smiled, when she touched the corner of the cardboard with the back of her hand, she felt the memories flowing to her. Adora didn't want to give her blanket to Entrapta to examine it, she didn't want to know the secret of her origin, because the truth could break her again ... She didn't push her because she always loved her for who she was, where she was from did not matter. In her case... She told herself it didn't matter to, that maybe she wasn't born on Etheria either... That she was a stranger here too... But damn it did. None of the officials in the Fright Zone cared. No one was interested in where this cat girl came from... In fact, if it wasn't for Adora, no one would have been interested in her, she would have been sitting in this cardboard box for who knows how long, maybe no one would ever find her... Shadow Weaver would probably be spitting in her chin now, if she found out what secret the ward she disliked was hiding. But her contempt was so poignantly deep that it never even crossed her mind that she might be hiding something more than a crying, frightened child. "But she had time to see how wrong she was, though she couldn't admit it until the very end," she smiled with grim satisfaction. She will now take the packaging to Entrapta for examination. Maybe he'll find anything. And then something touched her. She took the cardboard in her hands and looked at it. She hadn't done that in years, since the last time she hid him. It was a carton of applesauce, which is probably why she always dreamed about this delicacy as a child... Because it reminded her of the place where she had been found. Only now did she see that there was an image of a smiling apple on one of the walls... No one in the Horde would bother to decorate the packaging, and certainly not with such cute drawings. The writing was in a common language, widely used in the galaxy, though many planets had their own, but she didn't recognize the font, though she'd read thousands of pages of documents when she was Hordak's right-hand man... She was too fancy by Fright Zone standards. And then she saw the writing. "Sweet Fruit tm" and below "Made 100% from Kesler apple trees" and below "Feel the taste of nature's gifts."
She started laughing, tears streaming down her cheeks. The proof was always in front of her eyes.