For the first time in months, Tempest dreamed. She dreamed of a world of washed-out colors, littered with empty towers and crumbling bridges that led to nowhere, beckoning her onwards nonetheless. Sometimes she caught movement in the corner of her eye, or got the sense she was being watched, but she was never sure. But always, something pushed her forward. Tempest awoke confused and rather on edge. She soon forgot about this though, when she realized she was still on an adventure. An adventure to follow a road of flattened, dead trees. Not the most worthy quest, but one worth the effort regardless.

The path had gone on for longer than either of the pegasi thought, always pointing towards the northwest. They had followed it for a full night, and seen nothing of note. It never turned away, it never deviated in course.

“This is too straight to be naturally formed.” Snowy had commented one evening.

“So what could have done this? A controlled storm?” suggested Tempest.

“Maybe... But who would control it? And for what reason?”

They were both good questions, and Tempest couldn't answer either of them. Now here they were, dozens if not hundreds of miles from the nearest trace of living civilization. The days were still warm, but noticeably less so; and nights were genuinely bone-chilling. Had they gotten that far north already? It didn't seem possible...

“How much longer are we going to go, Tempest?” asked Snowy sleepily as she stretched her forelegs.

“This trail can't lead on forever.” she stated. “We can make it to the end.”

“But how much longer? We really aren't prepared to deal with snow or ice...” Snowy said, pointedly drawing her cloak closer around her. “And it's so cold already...”

“Well, if we hit the ice, then we'll lose the trail, because trees don't grow well in ice, not in my experience.” Tempest smiled to herself. “We'll be fine, Snowy.”

“I hope so.” commented she, frowning.

The journey continued, deeper into the abandoned homeland of mankind.

By the end of the night's flight, Tempest noted that the trees lining the path of destruction were changing. They were all evergreens, that was normal, but these ones had a peculiar pattern about them. Not one bit of moss or lichen grew on them under a certain level...

“Why are they like that?” Snowy wondered. Fortunately, Tempest knew the answer to this question.

“That's the snow-line. In the winter, the snow reaches that high, so nothing can grow there for very long before being smothered.” explained she.

“That's six feet up.”

“This is the Far North.”

“Still... Hard to believe anyone chose to live her, with such a harsh winter.”

The two sheltered from the bitter cold underneath the tent-like canopy of a red-cedar. Snowy buried herself in her cloak, wrapped up so tightly only her nose poked out. Tempest just kept her own cloak between the ground and herself; the forest floor would leach more heat from her than the air ever would. Again, that night, she dreamed. This time, she was standing in the same woods she slept in, and something called her, into grey mist. What was calling her, she did not know. There was no sound, no smell, no sight nor taste; just an urge to move. There was a light ahead, and movement in the fog...

It was still day when Tempest opened her eyes. She stifled a startled squeak when she saw the mist. That is too weird. Did some unconscious part of her know that the mist had moved in while they slept? Tempest shuffled closer to the other pegasus, looking through the branches warily. There was no movement or light out there. Hours passed by, but the fog stayed. Tempest woke Snowy and get them on the move again, not wanting to lose the path to the dark.

“The dead trees... There's less of them.” Snowy noted.

“Huh.” Tempest looked over a log, and saw bare ground. Most of the fallen trunks had been bleached clean and pushed into the earth, where there were any trunks at all. “This must be an older part.”

“If it's older, why are they still pointing northwest?” asked Snowy. “Shouldn't the oldest part of this trail be at the beginning instead of closer towards the end?”

“You'd think so...”

Sunset must have been nearing, as it was getting darker. The fog was blown away, and for a brief while, they had light. It wouldn't be an issue, though, as soon they spotted something ahead.

“Look!” exclaimed Snowy, pointing ahead.

“What is that?” Tempest questioned, squinting through the dying sunlight. It seemed to be a small, snow-covered hill... in a circle of fallen trees. She flew into the air for a better view. The little hill was surrounded by a huge circuit of dead trees, a mile across, mowed down in such a manner that each tree pointed to the next. It was as if something had ran around and around, knocking them over as it went. But what was most interesting of all, were the three other paths of fallen trees feeding into the circle, just like the one they followed.

“Whoa...” Snowy breathed in awe, when she joined her above the scene.

“Let's check out the hill.” commanded Tempest, diving forwards. The little hill was not coated in snow at all, but covered in... white roses? They were so thick that she could barely see the ground under them. Only at the very top was there a clear area. “What are these doing here?” she asked to herself. Snowy ignored the question and asked one of her own.

“Do you feel the warmth?” she asked. There was indeed a warmth in the air here. And a sense of serene calm, different from the uneasy quiet the Far North had given them so far.

“Come to think of it... yeah.” At the peak of the hill was a small obelisk, no more than ten feet tall. As they approached it, Tempest noted how worn down its appearance was. The corners of the obelisk's sides were chipped and smoothed, so that it was almost more round then square in circumference. A single word was carved into the obelisk, on the eastern side: Versa. It was in Equestrian letters.

“Versa?” Asked Snowy again, tilting her head.

“Sounds like a name.” commented Tempest, rearing up to take a closer look at the word, just as the sun slipped below the western horizon, and night began. “Do you know why an Equestrian named Versa would be on an obelisk in the middle of the Far North, mounted on a hill full of flowers surrounded by miles of dead trees? Is it some kind of monument to victory?”

“It's a grave.” Snowy stated after a moment of contemplation. “I- I think I remember reading that the ancient alicorns used obelisks to mark the places where their heroes fell. There's some throughout Sarathûl; it's no surprise there's one up here.”

“So some alicorn named Versa died here.” reasoned Tempest, returning all four hooves to the ground. “I wonder who she was.”

“I do too...” Snowy looked at the surrounding flowers. “White roses must have meant something to this alicorn. And whomever buried her here, they were powerful. This hill is the only thing alive within a mile. That's no small feat of magic, guarding against whatever happened to those trees.”

The two looked at the obelisk in silence, as night's darkness set in; and the howl of wind was heard in the distance.

“You know, when we get to Ar-Athazîon, we could try and find information on this Versa.” suggested Tempest. “The Emperor is bound to have a library of some size.” Snowy nodded.

“I should hope so, otherwise he wouldn't be much of an Emperor.” she agreed, before she looked up at the sky. Clouds had suddenly swept in, obscuring the sky. “Looks like we have a storm in the making.” The wind had picked up far off, but Tempest couldn't feel it yet. “I think we should wait it out here, it might just be a squall.”

“Fair enough.” Tempest conceded. They had made it to the end of their side-quest, after all. The world got darker and darker, and the scream of the wind grew stronger and stronger. There was no thunder or lightning, however. “Why don't we feel the wind?”

“Maybe it's the magic here.” replied Snowy, frowning in worry as everything beyond the hill was devoured by black clouds, very close to the ground. Hold on, those are touching the ground!

“This is too eerie.” muttered Tempest to herself, flicking her tail and twitching her ears. “Those clouds look like they're a matter of yards away!” she nearly had to yell at Snowy to be heard over the wind's howl.

The closer she looked, the more apparent it became that the dark clouds were spinning around them. They came right up to the hill, roaring and roiling, with an almost oily sheen to them, moving faster and faster. And yet, the air remained stiller than ever. Snowy took shelter within her cloak, peaking out in fright. Tempest found herself laying down, almost clutching the ground, as an unpleasant wave of shivers went down her spine. This was no natural phenomenon. Fear crept into her heart, and the black clouds kept whirling-

As quickly as it had begun, it was over. The mass of cloud peeled off its circuit and down one of the paths of flattened trees, screaming away out of sight like a long snake of fury.

“Madness...” Tempest whispered. “Madness!”

Snowy said nothing.

By silent agreement, the two decided to leave this magic place immediately, in case the strange storm decided to return. For the rest of the night, they flew in an east by southeast direction, edging away from the path they followed, and taking a straighter course to the ocean. As usual, they spent the day sleeping, and once again, Tempest dreamed. Once again, she was urged to keep moving, away from the strange hill and its monument, and towards somewhere else. She could almost hear something, a whisper tickling at her ears, too faint to be understood. The setting was the forest again, mist and all; but this time the mist was dark. She was very thankful that it was a clear evening when she woke up.

The journey continued; another night, another sleep, another dream. Late on the third night, or perhaps early in the third morning out from the hill and the eerie storm, Tempest spotted ruins, the first she had seen since the day they arrived. It looked like the collapsing shell of an ancient tower, somehow holding out against nature all this time. It's one brave tower... Maybe she'd be that brave, one day. Maybe. In fact, why not right now?

“Let's check it out, Snowy.” said Tempest, pointing at the tower.

“Hmm...” Snowy looked unsure, but the first shades of grey were appearing in the east; dawn was not far off. “Alright...” she conceded. They descended, landing outside the ruin. This structure seemed to have be taller once, given the amount of rubble surrounding it. And it, like Kakâdras, was far more angled in shape than Tempest would have expected. I thought human architecture used to be more round. Angles were supposed to be a recent thing... Quite a strange occurrence. “What do you think this place was?” asked Snowy. “It's too big to be another grave marker.”

“Maybe it was a king's house. Er, a palace, I guess...” wondered Tempest. “Or a castle.”

“The design is all wrong if it's an ancient castle. I don't think humans even used stones for fortifications until they moved south.” replied Snowy. “Maybe it's an ancient alicorn building.”

“Why would it be up here, though?” Tempest continued to think, but the answers evaded her. The two walked around the structure's remains, but found nothing of note. While Snowy looked at the stone blocks, Tempest took a look inside. There wasn't much within either, just an unsafe staircase skirting the walls, which reminded her of the wooden one at the top of Kakâdras. This one was made of stone. She was about to leave when...

Blackwind? Is that you?

“Huh?” Tempest glanced around the tower's interior, but there was nothing there.

It's been some time, hasn't it?

That wasn't her own voice in her head! That was someone else's!

You and I have much to discuss... spoke the foreign voice, soft and smooth. The pegasus wheeled about, trying to locate the source of the intruder. Down here... beckoned the voice. Something caught Tempest's gaze, something that she hadn't spotted before. A stone latch on the floor.

“Snowy, I found something!” she yelled. Quickly, Snowy's head appeared in the empty doorway.

“What?”

“Look, there's a latch on the floor. I think it might be some kind of hidden entrance.” Tempest pushed the fallen shards of masonry out of the way, revealing the stone floor. There was a barely visible outline of a door.

“Good eye, Tempest.” Snowy commented.

“It was pointed out to me.” The other pegasus gave her a confused look. “I'm serious, Snowy. A voice came into my head. It said to go down to whatever is beyond his door.”

“And you're actually going to do that?” asked Snowy incredulously.

“It called me by name, and said 'it's been some time.' I don't know about you, but I want to find out why whoever this is thinks we've met before!” declared Tempest, locking herself into decisiveness before she had time to second-guess. “Now get the lantern, we're going down.” While Snowy fetched the light, Tempest pulled upon the stone hatch. It was heavy, but not impossible to lift, thankfully. Beyond the opening were stairs, descending into darkness.

“Are you sure about this?” Snowy asked nervously, when she returned.

“Of course!” Tempest stated firmly. Her friend could only sigh in defeat, before she lit the lantern. The descent began. It turned out that the stairs slowly curved downwards, in a fairly typical spiral manner. But what made it different was just how tall it was. The passage was only a few feet wide, but upwards of twelve feet high. As for the stairs themselves, there was easily a foot and a half between each step, which made the going quite awkward. “Who built this? Dragons?” wondered Tempest aloud.

After at least several minutes of making their way down the stairs, the two arrived at a door. It was arched to match the shape of the passage, but it showed no signs of handles. “How do we open it?” asked she.

“Hmm...” Snowy drew closer, and gave the doors a light push with a hoof. Predictably, they didn't budge. “You try.” Tempest jumped up and flew at the door, hitting it solidly with both hooves. There was a clang of metal, but nothing happened.

“Come on, we didn't come down here for nothing!” growled Tempest. “Open!” She unlatched the sword on her one vambrace, pointing it forwards, and struck the doors.

“I don't think-” Snowy's statement was cut short as she gasped, nearly dropping her lantern. Something clicked, muffled and distant, before the doors silently and slowly swung outwards, revealing an even deeper darkness within.

“Well...” Tempest swallowed her sudden sense of unease. “Nothing else to it, then.” She darted into the blackness, followed quickly by her companion. Snowy's lantern didn't illuminate much, but Tempest could smell how fresh the air was. That's not right... Shouldn't this place be stale?

“S-sure is dark...” noted Snowy, far more on edge than Tempest. As if alerted by her speaking, a new source of light appeared, though slowly. The light remained relatively dim, almost like the room was in perpetual twilight. It was revealed the two were standing in a large, circular chamber. The walls were curved and bare, except for an arch on the far side of them... That arch was just as tall as the doors they had entered through. The entire chamber must have been thirty feet in diameter, and height. The floor was completely absent of dust, or anything at all. It was spotless. What was strangest of all though was the sensation Tempest was getting: it was a timeless feeling; as if the long march of the millennia was no longer valid here.

Welcome to my home, the voice spoke. Please, come forth.

Ahead of them, the doors of the other arch swung open silently, a black abyss beyond. A cold abyss. The dim light of the room stopped at the threshold, as did the light of Snowy's lantern.

Tempest eyed the darkness. She folded her sword back, walked forward, and put a hoof into it. Immediately she was greeted with a sensation like running it through a stream of cold water.

“This is... odd.” Given the absolute darkness beyond, Tempest decided to find out if there was anything solid; she lowered her hoof down until she felt the floor on the other side. “I think we can go through without falling into anything. Just keep your wings ready.”

“Go through it?” asked Snowy, eyes wide. “You- you c-can't be serious! Some voice brings you down here, and- and- you just want to walk into some chasm it puts in front of you?”

I thought you traveled with braver companions, Blackwind. I have no memory of this timid creature.

“I was invited down here for a reason, Snowy.” stated Tempest, steeling herself against the cold maw facing her. “Whatever is in there knows who I am, it thinks we've met before. Like I said, I want to find out why. Now come on, if we were in danger, it would have struck by now.”

“I-if you say so...” Snowy sighed in defeat and apprehension. She looked just as worried as she had been at Kakâdras when the wraith revealed his ruse. They crossed the threshold at the same time, like passing through a freezing waterfall. They were both still dry, though, and both firmly standing on the ground; a pitted, rocky surface. No fall into an abyss followed.

“Good thing you have that lantern, Snowy.” The blue-grey pegasus commented. The light of the lantern barely made it five feet before being swallowed by the dark. Immediately, a sense of nervousness began to creep into her. She understood why Snowy hadn't even wanted to get near this.

“Y-yeah...” Replied Snowy, who didn't even try to disguise her fear. They both looked back at the arch. The room was still there, of course, but it was almost as if it were muted... But unlike the room, the arch on this side stood free, there was no wall for it to be embedded in.

“Snowy, stay right here. I'm going to see that's on the other side of the arch.” Tempest commanded, curiosity overcoming her unease. The idea of being left alone in the sea of darkness was obviously not appealing to the beige mare.

“But, but- what if-”

“Nothing will happen to you, I promise. It'll only be a few seconds.” reassured Tempest.

“Go on then...” sighed Snowy, facing the arch and sitting down. Cautiously, Tempest left the circle of light. As she got further away, it dimmed rapidly. But I can still see her, and that was good. Slowly, Tempest rounded the large free-standing arch, and looked through the opposite side...

She was met with total blackness. The floor continued on through the other end of the arch, she could feel that, but there was no Snowy, no light, no room, nothing. A flat plane of shadow. Her heart began to beat faster, and a cold fear settled in her gut. What in the name of God... she asked silently. Tempest looked around the arch, and there was the dim light of Snowy's lantern, sitting right where it was supposed to be. When she looked through the other side, there was absolutely nothing. It was so unsettling she found it horrifying; and it was so horrifying she flew back to the light of Snowy in only a moment.

“What d-did you see?” She asked.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Literally, nothing. There- there was nothing through the other side. No doors, no light, you weren't even there.” Said Tempest, looking back at the arch. She had never been more unnerved in her whole life, and she didn't even understand why. “It- It was the same place, but you weren't there!” Repeated Tempest.

“Lord of Heaven...” Snowy said quietly, pressing close against her, wide eyes glancing around. “That- that sh-shouldn't be-”

At last, we meet again, came the whisper from the shadow. It was much clearer in here, smooth and rich, maybe like some fine wine. Tempest didn't know that taste, though.

“Is that the voice?” Snowy asked quietly.

“Yeah, that's it.” nodded Tempest. “Who are you?”

You know who I am, Blackwind.

“Uh, no. Not really.” Tempest replied to the shadow beyond.

No? I sent you my agent, to slaughter Prysm Swiftrain and the nobles who supported her.

“What?” Tempest asked, tilting her head. “Slaughter... Prsym Swiftrain?” The usurper Prysm had died under mysterious circumstances, which prompted her mother to rebel for the throne...

Your mother? Now it was the voice's turn to ask. You are not Maelstrom Blackwind?

“No, I'm her only child.” stated she. “What do you mean by slaughter?”

Maelstrom is deceased then... And she did not tell you how she made her bid for dominion over Highcrest? She came to me, and asked for my help in her quest to further her lust for power, the voice explained. In return for my aid, I set her upon another quest, one which would further my ambitions. I released one of my agents on her enemies, she performed two tasks for me. She swore it, on her blood. I delivered. She did not.

“I don't like your tone.” Tempest said, narrowing her eyes at the darkness.

I don't like oathbreakers. The cold in the voice made Tempest shiver.

“And what oath would that be?” she probed.

My agent butchered Swiftrain and her council. Maelstrom Blackwind was to release me from this place.

“T-Tempest,” Snowy whispered to her, trembling. “should we really be d-dealing with something that's been imprisoned? Who knows what it really is-”

You have little choice in this dealing, Equestrian. Maelstrom Blackwind swore on her blood that she would fulfill her debt. If she is truly dead, than that debt has fallen to you, Tempest Blackwind. You will fulfill it. The smoothness was no longer so smooth, a sharp, metallic edge underlaid the words.

“And what if I don't?”

There would be consequences.

“Yeah, sure. Find someone else to help you, I'm not playing your game.” She stood a little straighter, ready to-

BLACKWIND! The voice boomed through the darkness, shaking Tempest to her core. Snowy let out a tiny gasp of terror. YOUR MOTHER'S INCOMPETENCE DID ENOUGH DAMAGE AS IT WAS. I WILL NOT SUFFER THE SAME FROM YOU. All pretense of nicety was dropped, it sounded as if cold fury had been personified and aimed at her. Tempest realized she was crouching; or more accurately, cowering. Snowy had managed to somehow make herself even smaller, ears pointing straight down. IF YOU DO AS I ORDER, AS IS THE ARRANGEMENT, THEN YOU WILL WALK AWAY WITH YOUR LIFE. IF YOU TRIFLE WITH ME FURTHER, THEN I WILL TOSS YOU TO THE HORRORS BEYOND THE VEIL OF CREATION.

...Do you understand?

“Y-yes.” stammered Tempest quietly, blinking back the beginnings of tears. Her heart hammered in her chest, she felt icy claws dragging her down. Whatever brief notion she had entertained of getting out of this, it was gone. An invisible hand was clamped around her throat, she was going to do exactly as it told her.

I am not your enemy, Tempest Blackwind. Not unless you make me one. All I want is for your half of our deal to be done. Nothing more, nothing less. The voice had returned to its former smoothness. Your companion need not fear me at all, she owes me nothing.

“Alright. Alright.” Tempest said in a shaky voice, nodding. “Tell me what you want, I'll do it, I swear it.”

Maelstrom did that for you, twenty years ago.

Thanks mother, Tempest thought grimly.

You will follow this light, the voice ordered, as a purple, glowing line began to draw itself over the ground. Tempest followed it timidly, with Snowy silently falling in next to her, glancing about in open fear. They walked into the blackness for some few minutes, until a second light began to emerge. It too had a purple glow about it, and it emanated from an ebbing and flowing sphere. It just seemed to hover in one place, patterns of light swirling about within it. My agent gave you a crystal, did he not?

“Your agent? Sidâl gave me-”

“You're the benefactor.” Snowy said suddenly, cutting of Tempest. She looked at the sphere, her face somewhere between awe and terror. “You're the one Sidâl said was helping us.”

A benefactor? Perhaps so. Sidâl gave you a crystal, Blackwind; touch the crystal to the sphere. Tempest did precisely as the Benefactor ordered her too.

“What will this do?” asked Tempest, before taking the crystal up with her mouth.

Break the seal on this place, allowing you to carry a fraction of myself out of here. Tempest didn't like the implications of that, but it was either this or death for her, and probably Snowy as well. She touched the crystal to the sphere of light-