Without Question

Without Question

Chapter Nineteen – Frozen Horizons

“Wake up, we’re here.”

The two young sages drearily opened their eyes and blinked repeatedly.  With their focus regained, they saw Sagemaster Macabre standing at the door of the train car.

“Well?  Come now, this is our stop.”

The train slowly screeched to a halt as the two young sages stretched a bit before joining their Sagemaster at the door.  The conductor walked alongside the train, opening each train car’s door to let the passengers out.  As the door in front of the sages opened, they carefully stepped down onto the bright, white snow.

“Sagemaster, it’s c-colder here than it w-was at the c-capital!” one of the young sages stuttered as the frost stung her black skin.

“Aye, the temperature is lowering rapidly.  Rub this on yourselves,” Macabre responded, holding out a jug to the two sages.

The Sagemaster’s assistants looked at each other quizzically before obliging him.  As they tilted the jug, a thick, translucent orange liquid oozed out onto their hooves.  The sages rubbed it onto their skin; the Sagemaster did this as well after the younger sages were done.  The young assistants’ eyes widened as their bodies heated rapidly.  It felt as though they were wrapped in a cozy, invisible wool blanket.

“There’s only enough to last the three of us for a week, so don’t waste it,” Macabre stated.

The two sages nodded and followed the Sagemaster as he walked through the fort.  The snow at the train station had been white and fluffy, crunching with each step that the sages took. The snow within the fort was far less pure.  It had been mixed with the dark, wet mud underneath the snow due to the constant traffic of marching soldiers.  None of the fort’s occupants paid the sages any mind.  Macabre had sent word ahead that he and his assistants would be arriving soon.  Small preparations were made at his request.

After a few minutes of walking, the sages had left the fort and were nearing the landmark after which the area was named.  As always, Opaque Ridge’s massive black wall stood tall, cutting through the landscape.  A few feet from the wall sat some supplies:  A tent, a few crates of food and minerals, and a variety of alchemical equipment.  The sages quickly got to work setting up their camp.  After a half hour or so, they were ready for whatever it was that Sagemaster Macabre had in mind.

“Where do we begin, sir?” the young male sage asked.

“Hold on for just a moment, Gloom,” Macabre calmly replied as he stared at the jet black wall.

The young female assistant approached the wall and lightly tapped it with a hoof.  It made noise similar to chalk striking chalk, yet it was far sturdier and dense.

“Obscure,” Macabre said.

The female sage turned and approached the Sagemaster.

“Sir?”

“I need you and Gloom to bring a few things over here.  Some hammers, acids, minerals…”

One week later…

After the last meeting, Silus had finalized everything.  Thousands of crates of food, as well as warm apparel, were loaded onto a supply train.  Another train had been filled to the brim with Changeling soldiers (the Colossi rode in huge, reinforced cars near the back).  Nearly the entire population of the capital stood cheering at the train station to see their troops off.  Silus himself stood between the crowd and the train as he checked a few last details on a clipboard.  Grimsoul approached the human and stood at attention.

“Ready for departure, Lord Silus?”

“It would appear that we are, Grimsoul.”

“Interesting how this is the first time the populace has come to cheer for us before we even taste battle, let alone leave the train station.”

Silus chuckled at his friend’s comment.

“This will be the last time they see us for many months, brother.  Can you blame them?”

“I suppose not.  It does give me that much more pride, heh.”

The human smiled as Grimsoul boarded the train.  Then Silus noticed the utter silence that had swept over the crowd.  He looked around before noticing the gap that had formed; they were letting someone through.

The Queen.

Silus immediately fell to his right knee and placed his right fist over his heart as he bowed his head.  Queen Chrysalis slowly approached before halting a foot away from him.  She chuckled a bit before speaking.

“You may rise, Lord Silus.”

The human obliged his Queen and stood at attention.  However, no amount of discipline could stop him from losing himself, as always, in her beauteous glowing eyes.  He could not help but crack a small smile.

“It has come to my attention that this campaign will be a long one.  A very long one…” she stated, drifting off as the last word left her lips.  She blinked and regained her focus.

“That being said, I would like to wish you the best of luck as you restore the glory of the Empire.  We all have the utmost confidence in you.”

Silus nodded in understanding, grateful to hear such a thing.

“But…considering how long you will be away…I would like to give you a gift.”

Silus’ brows furrowed in curiosity; the crowd whispered quietly among themselves with interest.

The Queen looked down at the side of Silus’ hip and lightly placed a hoof on the grip of his sword.  Silus was beyond confused as she slowly drew it from its scabbard.  Chrysalis held to blade close to her face, examining every inch of the weapon.  Finally, her eyes rested on the hole at the bottom of the hilt where Molten’s bandana once billowed from.  A small grin spread across her face as she let the blade rest against her long, blue mane.  Closing her eyes, she quickly flicked the blade across the dark blue curtain.  A thin, foot-long lock of her hair fell to the ground.

The crowd gasped and Silus’ eyes widened with surprise.  The Queen reached down and picked up the lock.  She held it close to the hole in the hilt, moving her hooves around.  Concluding her work, she held the sword out towards Silus.  She had looped the lock through the hole so that her hair hung from the hilt and swayed gently in the cold breeze.

“Let this be a reminder…” Chrysalis whispered as she leaned forward and slid the blade back into its scabbard.  She looked back up at Silus, whose eyes were still gazing into his Queen’s.  She bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment, as though hesitating.  Suddenly, she lurched forward, planting a kiss on Silus’ lips.  He nearly fell backwards with shock, but he quickly recovered and returned the kiss.

Chrysalis broke the kiss and pulled back to look into the human’s pale blue eyes again.  His face had flushed red, though he remained as statuesque as possible.  All around the pair, the Changeling citizens’ mouths gaped.  Prior to this moment, only the aristocracy (a small fraction of the total population) had seen the pair’s affection for each other.  They dared not make a sound.

“I’ll…um…I’ll miss you, too…Chrysalis,” Silus smiled warmly at his Queen.

Chrysalis’ eyes began to water at hearing his words, but she fought to appear strong in front of her subjects.

“I expect frequent reports and new information from the frontline,” the Queen tried to state without cracking her voice.

The human’s smile widened a bit more.

“Would letters be acceptable as well?”

The Queen’s eyes were on the verge of flooding as she nodded rapidly so as to avoid further speech.

“Very well, then.  I shall be off…” Silus declared loudly enough for the surrounding crowd to hear.

He bowed towards Chrysalis and approached a train car with its door still open.  He stepped inside but stood at the edge of the opening.  He raised his fist to the sky as the train’s engine kicked in and the gears began cranking.

“For the Queen, and for the Empire!” he shouted triumphantly as the train lurched forward and began chugging slowly.

Seconds later, the supply train alongside the troops’ train began moving as well.  The innumerable crowd let forth a cascade of cheers as they threw streamers and confetti into the air.  Chrysalis wiped away a tear that defied her resistance as she waved farewell to the troops and their commander.  It was going to be a long winter at the capital…

“Okay…have we tried Formula #29?”

“No sir, but if the first twenty-eight formulas failed, then forgive me for being pessimistic that this won’t work either.”

Gloom approached the wall of jet black rock with a vial in hoof.  Inside of the corked bottle was a foamy purple liquid.  He delicately removed the cork and tipped the vial forward, letting some of the purple liquid run down the wall.  Nothing happened.  The liquid simply pooled at the bottom of the wall before soaking into the ground.

For the past week, the trio of sages had done nearly everything in their power to break off a piece of the wall for sampling and testing.  None of their methods had any effect whatsoever.

“No effect, sir.  Nothing,” Gloom mumbled to Sagemaster Macabre, who scribbled some notes onto a paper.

“Hmm…it’s hard enough to chip off a sample.  Who knows how we’ll even begin to test the sample itself…” the old sage muttered to himself.

“That’s all of the acidic formulas, Sagemaster.  It must be resistant to liquid solutions.  Might I suggest something a bit more…crude?” Obscure inquired.

“We already tried striking and beating on it with a hammer like savages, Obscure!  That will do nothing,” Gloom snapped.

“What would you suggest, Obscure?” Macabre asked, ignoring Gloom’s irritation.

“Do we have that new mineral from the lab?  The brown and blue-speckled one?”

“Yes, we have a few chunks of that in the crates.  But I doubt beating the wall with those will do anything significant,” the Sagemaster replied.

Obscure dug one of the rocks out of a crate in the tent.  It was the same mineral as the one they had recently tested in the lab.  They had no official name for it yet, but some of the younger sages dubbed it “Staticstone,” due to its apparent electrical properties when struck by magic.

Obscure approached the black wall and looked at the rock in her hoof.  Squinting her eyes as she focused, a beam of pale blue magical energy shot from her horn and struck the Staticstone.  It sparked a bit and strands of electricity floated around the stone.  While it was still charged, Obscure slammed the rock as hard as she could into the wall.

As soon as the Staticstone made contact, Obscure noticed a small, dark poof of smoke float away from the impact point.  She also noticed that some tiny, black grains had fallen to the ground.  She smiled at her discovery.  The wall had sustained damage.  Obviously there was nowhere near enough of the broken black mineral to be collected, but now there was progress.

“The charged impact from the Staticstone causes minor damage to the black mineral!” the young female Changeling shouted to her fellow sages.

Gloom’s mouth fell open and Macabre merely grinned at his assistant’s excitement.

“Excellent progress, my dear Obscure!  But now we must compound on your discovery.  What would you suggest could be done to quantify the effects of the new method?” he inquired as he scratched his chin.

Obscure pulled back her hood and stared at the chunk of Staticstone still in her hoof.  After a few moments of thought, she had an idea.

“Well, sir, Staticstone has properties that will likely enable it to be crafted.  That being said, we could forge it into pickaxes or something.  Then all that remains is charging the pickaxes with each strike!”

“Ahh…but will it be enough?  Is our magic strong enough to make a significant impact on the mineral?” Macabre pressed.

The young female sage was unsure of how to answer.  Gloom grinned as a thought came to his mind.

“What if…we used pony magic?” the devious young male sage asked.

Both Macabre and Obscure stared at Gloom questionably.  It was a valid theory, sure, but the ethics of it were rather debatable.  Then again, the scientific discoveries made might make the ethical sacrifice worth it…

“I suppose we…could give a shot…” Macabre slowly responded.

“B-But that wouldn’t be right!  Surely you can’t be serious, Sagemaster?” Obscure stuttered in disbelief.

“I am willing to do what is necessary for the good of the Empire.  Sacrifices will…need to be made…” the Sagemaster replied reluctantly.

Obscure shook her head but knew her opinion would have no effect.

“Shall I write a request to the capital, Sagemaster?” Gloom asked as he acquired a quill and paper.

“Yes, Gloom.  Request three unicorn prisoners,” Macabre stated.

“Got it.  Anything else?”

Macabre squinted at the ground as the gears of his mind cranked.

“Yes, actually…request a Colossus…”

“S-sir?”

“Do it.  Oh, and some more of that heating mixture…we’re all out…”