They say History is one of the greatest, but also one of the most fickle teachers we have. That the records of past deeds, true or not, define who we are in the present, and what we shall be in the future. In fact some of these tales have the power to hold sway over thousands of minds, years after they were originally conceived. Some stories are lies, some are truths, most are somewhere in-between, but a truly great tale can always inspire others to reach heights they never thought to reach before, or submit them into following a path of another's choosing.
I shall tell you of such a tale. It is a tale quite familiar to me, for I have spent nearly a life time. piecing it together and chronicling it here, within this book. For years I have pondered its passages, studying every line, committing each word to memory. Perhaps now, in the telling of it, I shall at last find the answers I seek.
Our tale takes place in the sweeping emerald plains and high blue mountains of the Kingdom of Vael on the continent of Equestria. The land itself is bountiful and inspiring, vast areas of fertile farmland mixed with scattered forests and guarded by near impassable blue mountains, known locally as the Unicorn Range.
For centuries this land was home to our people, the Ceffyl, or to outsiders like the Griffi and Minotars, the 'horse people', (also called 'Ponies' by the Canii, or Diamond Dogs as they call themselves, due to the fact they often try to capture us as slaves and use us as a heavy work force in their diamond mines - I'm glad to say they often fail due to their general incompetence). Ever since the three kingdoms of the Teron Republic, the Hudau Kingdom and Cumlui Empire banded together to form this kingdom of Vael, we lived peaceful lives, free, proud, and strong in bond to family and friends.
Until the day a creature known as, 'The King of Shadows', came to Vael. A creature like none we've ever encountered, this monster came down on Vael like a deadly disease, his armies of Canii and Minotars sweeping down from the mountains like the shadows he claimed to rule over, burning entire villages to the ground, razing our strongest forts, and his agents dividing us against ourselves.
The war lasted 3 years, and the scattered peoples of Vael suffered terrible losses. Defeat seemed inevitable.
But in our darkest hour, two siblings, a brother and sister, came forth from the wilds, bearing artifacts empowered by the holy light, and demanded a meeting between all the remaining leaders of the Vael peoples. Though at first skeptical, the desperate leaders of the now divided kingdom were eventually convinced of the siblings worth when they exposed one of the King's spies on the council with the power of their artifacts. They proved themselves yet again two days later when they faced down one of the King's top generals, along with two legions of the King's armies with barely a legion of Cumuli and Teron soldiers.
Now proven and tested, the siblings persuaded the council to put aside their differences, and unite once more against the King of Shadows. Driven by a new hope and sense of purpose, the horse people rallied behind their new heroes. The combined might of the kingdom and the siblings proved more than a match for the King's Generals, who had counted on the division, and wariness of the Vael people.
Victory after victory came for the armies of Vael, until at last they pushed their foes back, towards the very capital of the King of Shadow's Empire, the Citadel of Yar'ak Rhul. It was there, on what would be known thereafter as the Plains of Sorrow, that the two armies met for the last time, the deciding blow waiting to be struck.
As luck would have it, the forces of Vael moved first. With the light of the siblings ahead of them, now named Solaris and Luna in honour of the light they wielded, the armies of Vael quickly took the walls, storming through the Citadel tearing down every slave pit, every torture chamber, freeing everyone who had suffered under the kings heel from their chains before descending on the tower of the King of Shadows himself.
But evil is not so easily destroyed, or fooled, as this entire siege was revealed to be a trap. The elite of the Kings army, had yet to reveal itself up to this point, but now the armies of Vael would see why he was called, the 'King of Shadows'. Before their disbelieving and terrified eyes, the bodies of the dead, both ally and enemy began to rise, and the shadows came alive, wrapped themselves around the aforementioned corpses, and transformed them into black armoured creatures of corruption and decay, and proceeded to attack their former comrades with a unworldly vigor, hunger for blood burning in their now cold, blue eyes.
Then, the King revealed himself.
A faceless monster armoured in smooth black plate, wielding a massive poll-axe, his face hidden behind a tight fitting helmet, only his eyes, the same burning blue as his undead servants, gave any indication there was a face underneath that mask, he came down on the two siblings with a single minded resolve.
As the remnants of the Vael army fought against this fresh wave of undead, the three combatants fought across the battlefield, Solaris and his mighty Longsword, Light-bearer, parrying every blow of the massive poll-axe, but never quick enough to make a counter attack before the King brought down his fel weapon down on him again, and again.
Luna attempted to aid but was engaged by a swarm of undead knights, forcing her on the defensive as she attempted to break through the pressing multitude to aid her brother.
Meanwhile Solaris and the King continued to duel each other, the King forcing Solaris away from the field and into his fortress, closer and closer towards his inner sanctum, were Solaris' powers began to weaken as the Light was slowly overpowered by the darkness.
Luna managed at last to break through her assailants and raced towards the Tower, determined to aid her brother.
And that was the last anyone saw of Luna that day. What happened in that tower, no-one can say, for none but Solaris witnessed it, but all anyone knows is that when the battle seemed to be at its lowest point, when all had lost all hope in victory or survival, Yar'ak Rhul was engulfed in a blinding light, almost as bright as the Sun itself, and the tower, along with all the undead, vanished, without a trace.
The only one to emerge from that Citadel of darkness was the Sun Knight Solaris, battered and bloodied, clutching the artifacts that Luna had carried, with a worn face full of sorrow and loss. Luna's body was never found, nor any remains of the King of Shadows or his Empire. But since that day, the moon carried with it a permanent scar, a black shape of a fair maidens face, resting peacefully on its white surface.
To this day, Solaris has refused to speak of the events that transpired in that Citadel to anyone, even his closest kin, and no one will probably ever know. But Solaris did not go unrewarded for his efforts. By decree of the council of Vael Solaris was elected King of Caer Vael, and would guide its people for as long as he lived. It took some time, but Solaris would grow into a Mighty and Benevolent King, gracing us with long years of happiness, prosperity and peace.
But that dear reader is not the end of our tale. It is, but the beginning.......
Our tale begins over a thousand years later in the gardens of Caer Vael, the capital city of the Kingdom of Vael. It is a great white Marble Citadel that sits almost precariously upon the side of Mount Sol, the highest mountain in all Vael, renamed in the honour of King Solaris by the victorious people in honour of their new king, despite reportedly his many protests. The Citadel stood proud and strong, a white jewel among the moss and grass covered cliffs and pathways leading up to the mountain's summit, its golden banners caught high in the warm breeze of the early afternoon, the sigil of a bright sun emblazoned on a bright blue background hung from the mighty gates, its many buildings grand, imposing, beautiful and varied, for Caer Vael was the center of culture and art for the Kingdom and beyond. To anyone wanting to make a home for themselves, Caer Vael was one of the best places to choose, if you were at least moderately wealthy.
It is in this city we meet the heroine of our tale, Ms Twilight Luisant, Court Magus and star pupil to King Solaris himself. No dear readers your eyes do not deceive you. Despite all expectations, the King (perhaps thanks to the artifacts he used against the King of Shadows, or perhaps some other means) had lived past anyone's expectations. Over a thousand years had passed and he looked just the same as he was when he ascended the throne. Needless to say this caused some heated discussions in the council chambers as to what could be causing the King to live so long, and whether it was a good thing one man should rule over them for so long. But those arguments had been proven wrong time and again by Solaris' continued effective leadership, and now, among his other Royal duties, he now trained another in a long line of students, some of which went on to become great Magii themselves, others great commanders, government officals, one even became a renowned baker in Caer Vael's market distinct, his particular favorite dish being a rounded pastry with a hole through the middle that he chose to call, a dough-hole (Personally this scribe thinks the name could use some work).
Twilight pretty much expected the same, to learn the secrets of magic, history, science and politics, then be free to choose her own path and profession once she reached her 21st Birthday, only 3 years from now. Little was she aware, that her life would take a turn she never expected, and less still of the part she was to play in the events that are about to unfold.
So as we begin our tale proper we find Twilight sheltered underneath a lone Willow tree reading one of the many tomes she often engulfed herself in in her free time. Twilight adored books, both real and fictional, and the events they depicted. To her they were her comfort in times of doubt, the helping hand that steered her to greatness, and often the characters depicted in their pages seemed more real and relate-able to her than many real people, well at the very least more interesting. Now that doesn't mean to say she wasn't sociable, on the contrary, she was often engaged in conversation with Nobles, Commoners, Magii and of course her mentor Solaris, however apart from Solaris, and her personal assistant Spyk (we shall meet him later in this chapter) she did not feel the need to befriend any of them. Often more important matters required her time as not just the student of Solaris, but as the head of the student body and head Prefect at the Magii Academy, organizing goodness knows how many events, study sessions, as well as any personal projects she was doing at the time.
As it happened that is what exactly she was doing now. One day during one of her study sessions she came across a tome that bore the mark of Solaris, a symbol of a golden Phoenix with its wings spread wide, with the sun shining prominently behind it. When she inquired about it to the head librarian, she only said that it had been delivered to the Library only two days ago by a someone who wished to remain anonymous, and furthermore had reserved it specifically for her. The stranger had left instructions that the book should be placed in the history wing, Twilight's favorite section, and to reserve it specifically for her.
Also the book was written by one of her idols, Starswirl the Wise, first Arch-Magus of the Academy, and loyal companion to Solaris during the War against the Shadow Empire. But what intrigued her the most was one chapter in particular marked by a single strip of linen cloth, a passage detailing references to something called;
*
Intrigued by this mystery, Twilight took the book to investigate further, and now we come back to where we began, with Twilight sitting under the Willow, reading the book that, little did she know, would change her life forever. As she continued to read, she came across the accounts of the War against the Shadow Empire, the rise of Solaris and his Sister Luna, the bearers of these 'Elements of Harmony', which had surprisingly little information on them. All it said was that they carried within them the powers of the Holy Light, a power that was once wielded by the Dythwyn, one of the main Pantheon of Gods thought to be responsible for the creation of Equestria and all its inhabitants, along with the Grey Gwynl and the Dark Twlych, respectively wielding the powers of Twilight and Darkness to fight the Evil of the Nilhul, the Void. As such, the Holy Light held great significance for the People of Vael, for was it not the children of the Sun and Moon that led them to victory over the Shadows? The ones who saved them from falling into the pit of oblivion?
But then thought Twilight, why isn't there anything about these 'elements'. Where are the details? Flicking through the pages at great speed, Twilight searched in increasing frustration to the answer to this mystery, but found none to her dismay. But something kept nagging her, she had a feeling she'd read about this somewhere before, and the thought wouldn't leave her alone.
Determined to find out more she decided to loan the book out, along with everything else she had come to pick up, and take it to the royal archives. Hopefully i'll find something on them in the archives. Now readers I know what you might be thinking, "Why is she continuing to pursue this? It has nothing to do with her studies, why is she wasting time on something that might be just a dead goose?" And logically you'd be right. But if there's one thing that often overrides common sense, its simple curiosity, and our Twilight has plenty of it, especially when there's something she doesn't understand or, as in this case, there was little information to be found. She just couldn't let something like this go easily, especially if turned out to be a long lost artifact of some forgotten Empire, or maybe something related to the history of Vael in some way. Whatever it was, she knew what she would do now.
Packing up her things she started to head over to the archives, located just a few clicks across from where she had been sitting. Absorbed in her thoughts, she was given quite a shock when she bumped into three other students, all three of them young women (the colour of their robes (Black lined with Silver) identified them as 5th Year Students, just one year away from graduation), whom she recognized as fellow prefects.
"There you are Twilight" one of the prefects, a 16 year old girl named Leana, said in relief, "we've been looking f'r thou everywhere. Artemis is holding a special get together in the west courtyard during break, doth thou want to come?"*
And here it is again thought Twilight, why does everyone keep trying to drag me to these social gatherings? And always at such awkward times!
"Err, I'm sorry girls, but I hast an important assignment to catch up on." Briskly walking past them before they could reply Twilight continued towards the archives, her mind once again focused on her task.
Looking on the three girls sighed in disappointment.
"Dost she ev'r think about aught else but study?" asked the second girl.
"i'm all f'r academic achievement" said the third, "but she seems to place more value on that then making any real friends."
Resigning themselves to go alone they went on towards the gathering, whilst Twilight continued to walk quickly to the archives, the memory of the Elements continuing to egg her on, oblivious to almost everything else. That anonymous stranger had wanted the book to be found, and it was clear that whatever s/he intended, there was something important s/he wanted Twilight to know, and she will know it.
Finally reaching the archives she hastily threw open the doors, and heard a loud cry, then soft grunt of pain coming from inside.
"Oh my" said Twilight suddenly panicking, "I'm so sorry I....Spyk?" Looking upon the figure on the floor Twilight recognized as her adopted brother, Spyk, who unlike the rest of the school wasn't a Ceffyl, but a young bipedal Dragon half the height of Twilight, and right now was rubbing his now flattened snout in mild annoyance.
"Well, that makes twice I've had the door slam in my face this week. I wonder if my snout can get any smaller?"
"I. . I'm sorry spike, I didn't. . . wait, what are you doing here? I thought you were down at Artemis' party?"
"I was just heading there, but I had to come here first. Master Houdeni sent me down here to return some illusion scrolls he'd borrow'd from the archives. i was just on mine way out when thou made your 'grand entrance'.
"But I can guess something else has propped up" he said getting to his feet, "probably something you need my help with?"
"Err, well I was going to try and find it myself," replied Twilight, "but now you're here, would it be too much trouble......?"
"Tarus NO! You realize I'm on a break? What, am I your servant?! Am I your personal Butler and Butt Monkey?"
"SPYK!" said Twilight, shocked and surprised at Spyk's sudden outburst, "I only asked....." but then she stopped abruptly as Spyk broke down in a fit of silent giggles,
"Ah'm just pulling your leg Twilight, of course I'll help. What are you looking for?"
Twilight sighed in relief, "Well I need to find anything referencing the 'Elements of Harmony'. I think perhaps a trip to the myths and legends section first".
In a flash Spyk and Twilight headed of to the aforementioned section, and it took barely a few seconds before Spyk came back to her with a small stack of scrolls in his arms.
"Well here's a few that reference these 'Elements', we can start with these."
"Thanks Sypk, what would I do without you?"
"Perhaps lose your sanity to overwork years ago?" Spyk chuckled.
Rolling her eyes in mild amusement at the very idea(!) Twilight took the first scroll from the pile which had now been put down on nearby desk and began reading. The first one briefly mentioned the Elements, again as powerful artifacts, though surprisingly nothing on where they came from or what they were.
Then she set to work going through the scrolls one by one, records of Vael's history, legends and myths, several scrolls dealing with the various religions of the people of Vael and outlying regions, but none bringing up any additional detail on the Elements.
After what felt like an hour had passed Twilight was on the verge of giving up then and there, just to pass this off as another pointless waste of time (like she hadn't had enough of that recently). But in all fairness she decided she should give the last scroll a look before she jumped to any rushed conclusions.
Picking up the last scroll Twilight at last came upon a passage that gave her pause. At the top of the scroll there was an illustration of a black spot, nothing else, just a big black spot in the middle of the page.
To a casual reader this would hold little interest, but to Twilight, something unexplained drew her attention to it, like some invisible hand holding her head, preventing her from moving. This circle was plain, very large to be sure, but plain, just a big black circle, and yet looking at it, Twilight felt strange, like some hidden instinct inside of her was warning her of hidden danger, that there was more to this simple black spot then it seemed.
Tearing her eyes away from the black spot Twilight looked over the words further down the scroll, which stated;
Six Elements for the Lord of Light,
three Kingdoms for the people of Emerald Dale.
Two siblings of unwavering courage and might,
against the Shadow King, all are doomed to fail.
No conquest nor Empire does he seek,
for those are the playthings of mortal hands.
To heal is his goal, to make strong the weak,
to free from the tyranny of Chaos all realms and lands.
But with freedom must come order,
with order must come obedience.
Against foes and rebels there will be no quarter,
from his path there will be no deviance.
The Stars will be his boon,
The creatures of darkness and light his pawns.
His second coming will herald the rise of the eternal empire,
Look for him my brothers, when the thousandth solstice dawns.
This short poem dear reader is all that remains of the Umbra, a book that was said to be written by the legendary King of Shadows, a brutal conqueror who appeared 120 years after the founding of the Kingdom of Vael and very nearly conquered it within the space of 3 years. The book itself has been lost to history, believed to have been destroyed along with the King of Shadows upon his defeat, leaving only one page behind as the final legacy of his reign. It is unknown whether the King himself wrote this poem, or if it was recorded by one of his followers, but Umbra was said to have been revered by all who followed him, held in the same reverence as the Book of Light for the people of Vael. It was further believed by his more devout and fanatical followers that the King of Shadows was no mere mortal, but the Avatar of one of the Ancients* sent down to convert all races to the "One True Faith", and bring equality and freedom to all, through any means necessary. This belief is thought to be one of the contributing factors to the King of Shadows rise to power, and one of the defining motivators for his servants and allies during his Campaign to conquer Vael.
This poem furthermore ties into an old legend regarding the King of Shadows that was rumoured to be told among his remaining followers after the collapse of his Empire and his death at the hands of King Solaris, which prophesies his return from death on the thousandth year of his defeat on the Summer Solstice.
Tearing herself away from the scroll Twilight got up, quickly put the scrolls back on the shelves and rushed out of the archives with Spyk tailing close behind her.
"Twilight, what have you found?"
"Just hold on Spyk, I need to find the 'Equis Vael Chronicles'".
"What? Why do you need that?"
"No time for questions Spyk, I just need to find it."
Though understandably confused, Spyk had learned long ago that as much as she could get hung up over even the tiniest of details, Twilight had proven multiple times in the past that her concerns were, at the very least, very well founded. So, swallowing his countless questions he swiftly followed Twilight back to the student dormitories in the Western Tower.
Upon reaching her room Twilight quickly found the book she was looking for, then barely 15 seconds later she found the passage she was looking for. The renowned Equis Vael Chronicles, one of the most unbiased and well read history books in Vael. The passage she found (Ch 13 v.3) described a legend of a lost civilization known as the Eternal Empire, a nation founded by a now lost race known as the Eluven, a tall fair race who worshiped a pantheon of Gods known as the Cel'elvan, or the Celestials, a group of beings who took charge over certain aspects of nature. However two names in particular caught Twilight's attention, Nadir and Arbalein: Lune Es Solari Leifinders, Wardens of the Moon and Stars.
"A lost Empire?" asked Spyk reading the passage over her shoulder, "certainly an interesting story Twilight, but what has this to do with the 'Elements?'"
"I'm not sure, probably nothing. But the Empire is more than just a story Spike. Don't you remember how Solaris came to power? What he had to go through to obtain the Throne?"
"Sure I do. Just because I find history classes as action packed as a snail race doesn't mean I don't pick up something important now and then."
"I don't doubt it Spyk" replied Twilight, "But I'm sure you could pick up so much more if you at least tried to pay more attention."
"Easy for you Twilight. You can listen to anyone's voice and still be interested, me? Professor Titus has a voice that can make even tales of Wars, Adventures and Political power struggles as boring as watching paint dry! Kind of hard to get into something with a teacher that dull."
"Still that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. You have a brilliant mind Spyk, don't let it go to waste."
"Lords breath Twilight, are you my adoptive Sister, or my Mother? Anyway, wen't we looking into a lost Empire?"
"I'm looking for how it connects to this poem." Bringing out the book she pointed out the poem to Spyk and gave him the book. After he read it his dark scaled face seemed to grow subtly paler, as though he was going to be sick.
"I...don't know why, but that poem creeps me out" slowly setting the book down on a nearby table, his claws subtly quivering with fear, Spyk backed as far way from it as he could. "You think the King of Shadows and the Empire might be related?"
"I know that when he invaded he brought a massive army, or so History tells us, and he was eventually cornered in the North and defeated by Solaris, his entire empire vanishing along with him. The poem predicts his return and if this next passage says what I think it does, we might all be in grave danger."
She continued to read the passage stated, 'Whether the Empire was indeed home to a long lost people remained uncertain, very few records from that time survived, what is known told that the Empire was fractured by infighting, torn apart by its own power hungry legions, and was claimed by the King of Shadows, who then unleashed its power upon Vael'. What caused this fracture? The book didn't say "but something perhaps worth looking into later" thought Twilight, but one thing caught Twilight's attention, 'Though according to Legend the Empire wasn't destroyed, but banished by way of a terrible spell to lands unknown, and would return when the 4 stars of Arbalein would meet the moon of Nadir, breaking the curse on the Empire and returning it and its people to the mortal realm'.
It didn't take long for Twilight to put two and two together, and the conclusion she came to terrified her greatly. "Spyk. The King must know immediately."
