25th of March, 996 post somnum lunam.

One week has now passed, since I received aunt Celestia's answer to my request for additional workforce. It was with great relief that I was standing with the rest of the estate at the Hamlet's center, witnessing them reaching my family's estate. This extended delay had troubled me greatly, has my dearest aunt had been more then happy to comply with my demand, even assuring me that our precarious situation would be solved as soon as possible. After the six day, my pessimistic mind had started to envision the most dreadful scenarios and reasons for this dreadful delay. Some were downright absurd.

It seem that the lingering fear ever so present in the back of my mind, may have already been proven not as irrational as I once thought. No matter, my vow to stand strong where and when my father had fallen shall not be broken. No everlasting or otherworldly whispering shall change this fact. Besides, there was no reason to doubt our solar monarch, and the results of my trust in her were now once again proving it to be rightfully earned. It appear that the additional time needed for their arrival was needed because my dearest aunt Celestia took the time to blow me expectations.

Here, before the eyes of everypony present, passed a formidable convoy of joyful yet serious workers, experience and hard work carved in their body. With them came a great abondance of supplies, machinery and every tools needed to achieve our goal. While the captain of the guard was escorting the leading heads of this workforce towards me and the Caretaker of our family Estate, everypony present gave a warm welcome to the workers, showing them how excited they were to see them at work. Dearest aunt, you shall soon receive my praise through mail.

The presentations between me and the lead workers were quick and formal. While I never met any of them in person, all of those stallions soon to be in charge of every construction sites in my estate, their reputation back in the capital were clear. They were the best of the best. As for the other way around, they obviously knew me and my own reputation quite well, so I did not bother with a long monologue about myself. There was work to be done and enough time was already wasted.

Me and those gentlecolts reach my office soon enough make ourselves confortable to discuss important matters. First, we discuss and plan all major objectives and establish a priority order to be as efficient as possible. Then they proceed to give me an expectation of the time needed to accomplish everything. The result is approximately three years of well organized effort to reach all principal goals, which is a delay I am content with. However, while those endeavors will take care of most infrastructural problems it will still leave us with a major setback.

Planning the betterment of our family estate with a very long term vision, means making projects while caring about their aftermath. Consequently, I do not wish to see all this workforce going back to the capital, leaving us again with a lack of professional workers in all architectural and engineerings fields. So, I brought my concern over this fact to those leading workers with hopes that some of their employees would establish here more permanently. Words could not describe my relief, when they told me that a non negligible amount of their more experienced workers had volunteered for this project, with this very objective in mind.

It appear that the terrible state of my family lands were more common knowledge that I originally thought. Because of this, when ponies learned of my ambitions to restore their lost glory, they knew because of my reputation that it was a golden opportunity to start their own bisness in our estate. With everything settled and my worries about keeping workforce put to rest, I dismissed them with the last task of sending me the workers in question when there was time. I would make sure that they keep their ambition of staying here intact.

Not long after there departure, the captain of the guard joins me to report about our griffin outlaws dilemma. While most of the Hamlet residents view this alliance in a negative light, (neither do I) it is unfortunately our only option for the time being, as dearest aunt Celestia cannot spare us any military forces at the moment. Luckily for us, it seems that those pests are far more interested in money that any kind of moral codes or principles. So, they have accepted to become mercenaries for the estate as long as they are paid enough. While legally reprehensible, it will have to do for now.

With all plans set in motion, I would spending the rest of the day in my office drowning in seemingly endless stacks of paper work. Curse father for lousing our family treasurer in his decadence and folly ! I can only wish that finding and bringing him back will not become a quest of its own. It seems that I am in a desperate need of a good distraction or else I will end up like father. Classical high class activities for nobles are already forgotten, as I have already long be bored of those meaningless and conventional distractions.

The familial library came to mind, history and grand magic discoveries had always fascinated me and my interest in them has yet to fade. However, I fear it will not be enough to distract me this time. Then I remembered another interest of mine, one that I keep secret because of its nature being shunned upon, occult knowledge. When this memory came back to me, something incomprehensible happen, an event that I still cannot fully understand. The otherworldly, everlasting whispers in the back of my mind became... soothing.

In an instant, my mind was now sully focused on the secrets lying behind the bookshelves in the back of my office. Like a mere puppet guided by its strings I abandoned all my current work and made my way inside the secret study behind. Once inside I mechanically used my magic to lit up the candles inside and sat down to study those ancient scrolls and documents. Fueled with an interest and thirst for knowledge the like I never felt since back my old university years, I was completely immerge in those old papers, reading and studying all they had to offer.

Three hours passed as I printed in my mind words and masterfully drawn symbols and sketches on every last documents and scrolls present. They were speaking of a giant gateless gate buried deep below the manor, a door separating us from a world and creature beyond our understanding. They call it the heart of the world, progenitor of life, mother and father, the alpha and the omega, origin of all things. They say that any living being who would stand in front, could heart the relentless beating of Equis heart. Was it calling to our family ? As it chosen us ?

Suddenly and without warning, the whispers in the back of my mind vanished. With their disappearance came back most of my lucidity, and blink a few times before understanding my current situation. I was confused and started panicking once I realized all the time I had lost, but then I remembered that I still had time to finish my work. Besides, I had now found some thing healthy to keep my mind distracted. If they were there, aunt Celestia and my sister would be happy about it. Diner will give me the occasion to reflect a bit.

Anyway, now that I think about it... do we posses in our newly acquired workforce all the materials and tools necessary with enough workers to complete a major excavation operation ?

Author's Note

There we go ladies and gentleman, things are starting to get spicy now !