Jormun was growing well, like cancer in its last stadium. The construction work went accordingly to plan and his army grew in numbers. Yes, Punisher Vyndrak was a satisfied warlock indeed.

And it was a beautiful place in his opinion, worthy of a man of his status. The ground on which he stood was black, dead and at some places destroyed, where the glowing orange demonic energy of his scythe was oozing out of fissures in the earth. The magic even leaked from the ground over the contaminated groundwater into the nearby lake, what caused the Everfree Lake to be poisoned, dead fishes on the surface were the proof of that.

Many workers and slaves, physical strong demons known as Azakhim and captured humans, were building his outpost without a break. It was surrounded and fortified with tall walls of thick planks made of wood and enhanced through molten steel. Of course it helped them immensely that most demons didn't need sleep or rest as fast as mortal races. Some didn't need any at all.

And for the weak, well, volunteers who were dying to become sacrifices were always welcome.

Azakhim were ridiculously broadly built Lesser Demons, with short athletic legs, but a upper body that would let every human look scrawny, with arms like logs. Their proportions gave them a very misshapen appearance and a height of maybe 1.50 meter. Otherwise they had smooth dark gray skin, marked by visibly thick red veins, a very small nose, glowing red eyes, no ears, just small little pulsating white orbs of flesh instead and a small, bold head. They wore some kind of leather shorts for the smallest level of modesty, made of the hide of unfortunate animals they found in Tartarus.

These demons were nomads and traveled in groups through the realm, intelligent enough to live in the most basic of societies and could follow orders. In other words a hard working, tireless source of manpower. Every good warlock worth his profession could call one.

The Adepts of Khom summoned them for the last two months in secret until the Day of Awakening came, so the Dark Council called the from their master predicted day when everything changed.

Wooden lookout towers were positioned at the corners of the base and two taller ones within Jormun, made for observing the lake's surroundings behind the Nether Gate.

As watchers served Dark Eyes. They were void black for the most part, with vivid dark yellow colored sclera, floating, out of darkness made eyeballs, with an affinity for seeing better during the night. These demons were quite tall for eyes, at least one meter, and resistant so that they couldn't be destroyed from anything else than magic. They were positioned at the top of the towers and moved like headlights in prisons, illuminating their line of sight with from the sclera created yellow light.

And only one big entrance, where the road led formerly into Camp Everfree, could be used to access Jormun.

No enemy should be able to approach him without being seen.

The assembly hall of the former camp, as the only still standing building after his little display of power before he unleashed the unholy magic of his faithful scythe Soulcutter upon this once peaceful place, was rebuilt into the base of operation of the Adept's outpost. Giant maps on big tables were inscribed with up-to-date informations about the actual situation in the region in and around the Everfree Forest, communication crystals made of Demon's Desire and different documents were distributed around the room on smaller tables. Other adepts ran around and did their jobs.

Yes, it was good to know when something worked without complications. It made him nearly forget that Ponyville was warned and freed from his influence, as well as the Soul Prisons destroyed. It was humiliating how his superiors had reprimanded him harshly about the loss of the two crystals and that the humans of Ponyville now knew about the warlocks' presence in the Everfree Forest.

Only thinking about it made his blood boil!

The mind control spell was designed by him like a curse to let the population of Ponyville know that they were under his control in the moment it was lifted from their mind. It would have brought him great joy to see their faces, then he could have witnessed the priceless reactions of despair and terror.

His plan backfired... and the Dark Council was very displeased with him.

All that because of a mere troll shaman and children! Something happened, but what? Perhaps these high school students learned magic of their own or the shaman in question was extraordinarily skilled. Or maybe they had help, because otherwise he couldn't explain himself the death of the Terrorbeast and the inflicted wounds upon the body. They were clearly of magical nature, he could feel it, he could taste it. No, there were no other possibilities in his opinion.

He would show them what it meant to anger Punisher Vyndrak and to make him look like a fool in front of his colleagues and superiors! Beast Tamer Makara once joked about it in one of their conversations that he should have sent two Terrorbeasts instead of one. Maybe then he would have managed to kill them.

Such insolence!

But sadly she was beyond his reach. Yes, she played an obedient servant and always called him by his title in public, but he was sure that the Dark Elf was mocking him.

Beast Tamer counted to the stronger types of soldiers in their ranks because of their connection to the feral side of the demons of Tartarus and magical abilities. Besides that, she was a Dark Elf, a being of the night, as their name suggested. They could live in mountains, caves, tunnels or under the night sky itself, they didn't need sunlight to live like many other races and could see perfectly in the dark.

Makara was awake during the day, but it wasn't mandatory. Her job was for the time being to hunt for sacrifices in form of refugees or other humans she found around Jormun. And well, they weren't really known for living and wandering in the dark of the night in life-threatening forests.

Vyndrak looked at the map, analyzing the newest additions of information he received. He noted them tinily upon small pieces of paper and pinned them besides the inherent name of places nearest to Jormun. Well, as much as their scouts could report at least. He came up with an own system of writing down the level of difficulty they would have to expect and what level of importance it had for the Adepts of Khom, after his own judgement.

"Ponyville"

Difficulty: Medium to high. Fortified by walls, one entrance at the western highway. Apparent inception of some sort of militia, many patrols. Eventually supported by sighted Wonderbolts (and mages?). Troll shaman (strong? Potentially responsible for death of Terrorbeast!)

Level of Importance: Top Priority! Population has, most likely, knowledge about Outpost Jormun and the frontier forces' presence. Nearest source of souls for summoning rituals. Inhabitants and witnesses have to be captured or killed.

"Everfree forest (east): Ruins of Castle Odyss"

Difficulty: Unknown in limits of castle itself. Scouts reported about strange noises and mysterious lights from afar. No more informations available because of a very close cave system that is inhabited by timberwolves in the west and manticores in the east.

Level of Importance: Medium (eventual treasures/artifacts?). Not to be approached until Ponyville was dealt with. Too many magical predators.

"Everfree Forest (south): Bogg"

Difficulty: Medium in the first part. Occasional sightings of basilisks, timberwolves and cockatrices. High in bogg's center and deeper. Hunting ground of hydras and sightings of Nagas.

Level of Importance: Low. No hints on objectives worth of interest. Predators (especially hydras) have to be avoided. Level of Naga threat unknown.

"Everfree Forest (west to southwest)/Ghastly Gorge"

Difficulty: Unknown. Something hunted and killed nearly all sent scouts. Survivors reported about some sort of 'abominations' of darkness (potentially of demonic origin).

Level of Importance: Very high. Mystery has to be solved what or who is responsible. Have to be careful.

"Everfree Forest (north)"

Difficulty: Very Low. Den of Diamond Dogs.

Level of Importance: Extremely low. Could be used as slaves after Ponyville was conquered, otherwise worthless muts. Only targets of interest are eventually their ressources.

"White Tail Woods"

Difficulty: Medium. Giant spiders, hostile Traents (normally peaceful beings, something angered them. But what?) and dryads.

Level of Importance: Low for now. Seems to be a big forest like the Everfree. Has to be searched through before final judgement can be made.

"Appleloosa"

Difficulty: Unknown. Town could not be reached. Strong sandstorm blocked further advances. Most likely of unnatural origin, storm never disappeared until now.

Level of Importance: None until further notice.

"Cloudsdale"

Difficulty: High. Strongly fortified. Sightings of sharp-shooters on buildings, military equipment like barbwire and vehicles with heavy machine guns are used. Most likely new HQ of Wonderbolts (former air force of US military), furthermore new militia, if uniform descriptions anything to go by.

Level of Importance: Medium if Cloudsdale works alone. Another source of souls and slaves. But further actions have to be planned first. Number of enemy forces and eventual existence of mages unknown. High in case Wonderbolts aid Ponyville against us.

"Dodge City"

Difficulty: Unknown. City was clearly attacked. Severed heads of town's mayor and leading officer (if found insignia can be trusted) of local police were found on spears. Can not be entered, many undead (necromancer?).

Level of Importance: Medium. Threat of the undead has to be observed. Dodge City at border to Badlands (separates, as Macintosh Hills and San Palomino Desert, the USA and Oriom from each other).

"Canterlot City"

Difficulty: None. Completely annihilated from the map by unknown forces. State of found corpses, buildings and streets lead to conclusion that city was invaded by an strong army (strangely whereabouts unknown). Clear evidence for the usage of fire magic.

Level of Importance: Probably crucial for continued mission in the USA. Situation has to be looked in deeper in case of the aggressor's nature. Potentially great threat.

Vyndrak sighed happily. The world had truly gone to Tartarus, it was beautiful.

But then the punisher remembered. There were two reports in the past which were interesting, still, he wasn't sure what to make of the first. Not even after this thing was dealt with.

His scouts had found a mysterious cave very close to Jormun and reported that they felt huge pain when they were trying to enter it, as if something didn't allow them to go further. He visited the cave himself and found traces of an, to him, completely unfamiliar form of magic. Magic Vyndrak never felt before, a form of energy that seemed to repel darkness itself somehow. Was it based on the element of light? The warlock wasn't sure. But he felt it when he found the source of this unknown power, pain.

The source was a crystalline tree stump of magical, but unknown, origin... and it was growing. How was that possible? But luckily for him this stump, whatever it was, seemed only to be an offspring of some sort, young and not remotely as potent as its origin.

This strange ‘light magic’ annoyed Vyndrak to no end. The pain never disappeared as long as he stood besides this thing. So he summoned his trusty weapon and rammed it into the tree. The results were... not what he expected. The punisher was sure that his scythe would corrupt and kill it, but instead the stump only lost its shine and turned, well, he could only describe it as ‘inactive’. Soulcutter solely eliminated the light and turned it to a normal tree stump made of crystal, but when the pain disappeared and he wanted to finish the job, by hitting it a second time, his scythe couldn't cut it at all. Like the tree somehow learned what damage his weapon could cause and created a defense mechanism.

But that was impossible, right?

It confused him greatly and why were there seven holes on the top of the stump? It looked like something once belonged into the slots. Vyndrak became, much to his shame, but he would never admit it openly, anxious and decided to turn the ground around the tree into dead black earth like he did in the former camp. He left the cave, let the entrance collapse and made sure it was impossible to reach this thing. The warlock hoped that this disgusting light magic was gone for good.

Vyndrak collected some of the energy from the stump before he attacked it the first time and sent the sample to the laboratories of Grand Master Ferill in the headquarter of the Adepts of Khom. Just in case it existed somewhere else.

Indeed, their own little capital. It was also called the ‘Citadel of Demons’ and the seat of power of the Dark Council. Rumors even claimed, what he could never confirm himself, that the council would have a secret shrine somewhere to prepare for Lord Khom's arrival on Terra.

Soul Citadel Madoun.

Sadly, the punisher rarely got to see its beauty, nor could he regale in the death screams of the sacrificed souls. But what could a man do? His occupation as a punisher was time consuming and sent him from place to place. It was... it was... like a dream came true. Vyndrak simply loved his job!

The second report stated that two other scouts found a big apple farm between Canterlot and Ponyville, but couldn't make out any more details from the distance, because they had to retreat. They were attacked by this Emerald Elf he once met and were lucky to escape from what they said. The question was now: 'Would she interfere in the upcoming battle?' He would certainly appreciate the opportunity to rip her soul out personally, that was for sure.

But now he knew where she waqs hiding. Yes, after Ponyville was conquered he should pay this farm a visit himself.

He heard steps and turned around. Filthy Rich entered the hall. Well, time for business.

"Ah, partner! What wonderful circumstances do I owe the pleasure of seeing your ugly face? Did you mess up again? Something bad happened? Or did Makara send you to annoy me?" the warlock asked sincerely interested in an innocent tone.

It confused and worried the founder of Barnyard Bargains, or the Rich Company, how it was called nowadays. It brought the wanted effect and the salesman was already nervous. Filthy Rich made it just too easy.

"W-what? No! Mr. Vyn-" The warlock cleared his throat, loudly, "Excuse me. Lord Vyndrak, I didn't come to you to bring bad news. I just finished an inspection of the current numbers and wanted to inform you about the present state of your forces."

It was utterly adorable how his partner always emphasized it that they were his forces. He guessed such bootlicking was Filthy's chosen way of trying to climb up the hierarchy for now. The newest addition to their ranks started it after he had to explain that a group of teenagers managed to escape him. For shame!

Although it seemed the lessons finally bore fruits. At first it was amusing that Filthy Rich always called him ‘Mr. Vyndrak’. But after hearing this form of addressing his name time and time again it became boring and annoying.

What was he, his psychologist? Had this guy a stick up his ass? So he ordered the man to call him ‘lord’ at one point, as did all his subordinates.

"Speak, Acolyte Rich," Vyndrak ordered harshly.

The half-demon abandoned his blue business suit for the traditional midnight blue cloak of an acolyte and a black cloth belt around the waist. Otherwise he still had the same hairstyle, but his skin looked a few shades darker and his dark red slitted eyes made it obvious that he had once contact with Demon fire at one point in his life.

Filthy began to sweat, "I-I double checked the numbers and we have at the moment 230 soldiers and 685 demons at our disposal, the army should be complete by tomorrow. More troops weren't granted for the attack on Ponyville, or so Lady Makara told me. I was informed that these forces, and I quote: 'Should be more than enough to conquer one single human town of that size. Potential presence of hostile mages or not'. If we desire more soldiers we need to summon demons from the plane of Tartarus ourselves, I fear."

He gave his superior a list.

The punisher's eye twitched in silent anger when he took the piece of paper with disdain at hearing this elf's name, "That's it? I see. Well, we should start making last preparations then. Tell the adepts who power the summoning circles to double their workload, we need more demons before our mission starts tomorrow evening, they have my permission to use more souls this time as a sacrifice. And tell Beast Tamer Makara that we will need some of her 'toys' to summon something big! I will check on our available troops myself."

Filthy Rich bowed respectfully, "As you wish, Milord." He left in a hurry.

Vyndrak strolled calmly through Jormun, glancing at the newly built wooden houses and sturdily made forges. The blacksmiths were working meticulously, creating guns, bows, swords, axes, spears, warhammers, armors for the demons and magical scepters powered with demonic runes for the warlocks.

A shame that the written knowledge about the most powerful and destructive weapons of mankind disappeared from the world. All the potential suffering he could have caused with them. But beggars couldn't be choosers.

He went a little further into Jormun, aiming for the training grounds, then he saw them. His troops.

230 humanoid soldiers, 90 were acolytes, 40 adepts, recognizable because of the black cloaks, and 100 enforcers.

They were wearing black and dark gray plate armor and a mask similar to his own with big round holes where the eyes should be, just without an opening for the mouth. But instead of looking like a human in agony and ice blue in color their mask was thin, made of iron and had no features which resembled any being, only a smooth surface. They fought with weapons instead of magic. Not everybody was fit to wield its power. Their armor gave them a cold and unforgiving aura, good.

"Now to the demons..." Vyndrak said to himself and looked at the list.

From the 685 demons were at least 400 Frost Hounds, 280... oh? Lesser demons of the Dasher species, interesting.

These were humanoid beings with enough muscles to look quite athletic, easily two meter tall, with vivid acid green eyes, dark crimson red skin and ghost blue ‘hair’ in form of a tame flame on the head. Two one meter long ibex-like black horns gave them an even more threatening appearance and the teeth were sharp, ready to devour flesh. Some of them wore already for the demons crafted armor with a few runes inscribed into them to grant their troops immunity against projectiles, exceptions wore solely cloth trousers.

For some reason the blacksmiths could only cast one enchantment upon a piece of armor at a time. They tried two at once, but the enchantments cancelled each other out somehow, and range weapons were the most expected choice by the humans anyway.

Lastly, five Terrorbeasts, what pleased him immensely and took some of his earlier annoyance that they didn't receive even a full legion to attack a city of 60.000 citizens.

“OK, most likely less now, depending on how many ran away in fear or ended up dead already," Vyndrak thought in dark humor.

They should be more than strong enough to destroy Ponyville's resistance.

The Frost Hounds and Dashers counted as Lesser Demons, while Terrorbeasts were High Demons. Lord Demons and Ancient Demons were much more difficult to control or so he heard, a challenge he was ready to accept. Besides the fact that they would most likely be quiet angry if he tried to order them around.

Still, who knew what Vyndrak was able to pull over from Tartarus with enough sacrifices? They should have caught more than enough souls by now.

"Let me get this straight... Vyndrak wants my sources of amusement and information for his summoning of a stronger demon for the upcoming invasion? Or was I mishearing you, acolyte?" Makara inquired with a raised eyebrow. Her voice cold and calculating.

"Y-yes, madam!" Filthy Rich wasn't sure what her calm tone meant for him. He was just the messenger!

She grinned with a hint of madness, "I guess Vyndrak thinks, just because he was declared the commander of this outpost, that he can order me around. He does good to remember his rank. Follow me."

Filthy Rich did so without hesitation.

The acolyte was confused and voiced his concerns after a few steps, "I don't think I understand Milady."

For a short moment the dark beauty was silent, judging what cause of action had to be taken, before she continued, "Is that so? I would have thought he explained to you the ranking system of our order. What did he tell you about it anyway? Or about my mission here for that matter?"

Filthy wasn't sure where this was going, but the truth would be the best option right now in his opinion, "That I would be an acolyte, the lowest rank of warlocks in our order and that he was above me as my superior. And that you were ordered to catch humans for future projects, as well as under his command for the duration of your task here in Jormun."

Makara chuckled amusedly, "My, aren't you a polite one? But I fear he failed to mention quite a bit, let me enlighten you. On the lowest level of hierarchy, without including demons of course, are 'acolytes' and 'enforcers'.”

"My rank in our rows..." Filthy said thoughtfully.

She nodded briefly, "Indeed. Then we have ‘adepts’ and ‘executioners’ as the ones above acolytes and enforcers. Next there are the ranks of 'summoner', 'punisher' and 'ignited crusader', followed by 'witcher' and 'defender'. These are the weak to mediocre troops."

So Punisher Vyndrak wasn't as high in the ranks of the Adepts of Khom as he wanted him to believe? Interesting, "I understand, Milady. But what should I tell him? I don't want to annoy you, but Lord Vyndrak awaits a report regarding the summoning and if he can count on the souls of your prisoners."

Her smile vanished and a frown graced her features when she thought about this little bug who dared to challenge her patience, "Don't worry your little head over Vyndrak. I can depart with a few who lost their value for me, because I received already all the information they could possibly give me.”

He was very relieved to hear that, "Thank you Milady. I'm sure Lord Vyndrak will appreciate your offerings." A sudden thought came to Filthy's mind. "Pardon my confusion, but you just graciously informed me that witchers and summoners exist, too. Why are adepts used for evoking the demons instead of the higher ranked and stronger members of the order?"

Makara looked approvingly at him, "We have a thinker here it seems. I begin to understand what this fool sees in you. And to answer your question, witchers are indeed magic users and much stronger than adepts, but they have no talent in summoning. They focus all their talent in battle, but it's more in close combat with a sword or spells from the distance. Meanwhile summoners are very talented in this particular field, as their title may suggest."

"And why-"

The Dark Elf already knew what he wanted to know, "Aren't we using much stronger troops to summon much stronger demons into this domain? Simple. There are two reasons why the lower ranked adepts are being used right now. One, our stronger forces are... occupied you might say. We have a lot of demons under our command, but not all are serving willingly as Lesser Demons and High Demons. Yes, they are stronger than adepts and can logically summon even higher ranked demons. But during some tests they summoned sometimes Lord Demons and Ancient Demons, very prideful beings, especially the later, who were quite... rebellious. More than a fair share of them didn't take kindly to the fact that we tried to control them. They vary in their level of strength and will, for that reason it differs how many forces we have to use to summon and control them. Then we have ritualists, another higher rank, who are charged with the task to trap these demons in ban spells or special cages, so that they don't attack us. There are some who are following, but only on the order of the Dark Council or the stronger members in our rows. Their pride wouldn't allow it to be controlled by beings much weaker than them. The second reason is that they are needed at places where opposing forces are much stronger than here."

"Dark Council Milady? And excuse my forwardness, but what exactly does your rank entail? Your skill in handling demons is astonishing and I'm curious. Is this set of skills somehow connected to your occupation?" Filthy Rich stroked his chin.

She chuckled at his eagerness and ignored the flattery. Normally most of the newbies were always so... frightened and didn't have the backbone to ask the most basic of questions. In fact, newly introduced acolytes and enforcers could be more a thorn in her side than a helpful addition because of their cowardice, "In order to understand our command structure you will have to listen well. Pay attention. A step higher in our hierarchy above witcher and defender are the already mentioned 'ritualists', 'beast tamers' like me and 'black knights'. We beast tamers can create a deeper connection to the more... feral side of demons, their primal instincts, what grants us the possibility to establish ourselves in their mind as their 'alpha' or 'leader'. Lesser demons and Higher Demons fall under this influence much easier than any higher ranked one. For obvious reasons. Do you understand what I want to tell you, acolyte?"

The former businessman affirmed her question, "Yes. Please continue."

She glanced shortly in the direction of their destination before facing the Filthy Rich once more, "Now I come to the strongest of our forces, they can be seen as the elite. The highest ranks of our order are called 'champion', 'blood walker' and 'nemesis'. They are just below our 'highest superiors', as you could call them. The members of the Dark Council. The most faithful servants of our lord and master, Damnation Seeker Khom. A group made of six individuals with great power."

"Incredible. I didn't know that our order was organized to such a degree. I only got ideas and impressions from the scale of the order when I entered the Nether Gate to deliver messages from Lord Vyndrak to our troops in Gram'Bhen, more specifically the research facilities of one 'Grand Master Ferill', whoever that is. Yesterday Lord Vyndrak sent me through the Nether Gate with a strange sample of some peculiar energy he found somewhere, but he didn't tell me any details." Then he noticed the strange look he received and backed away, "Did I say something wrong, Milady?"

Makara responded with a neutral expression upon her face, "I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry that Vyndrak never told you anything about this man, if you can even call him that. Grand Master Ferill is a member of the Dark Council and leading researcher of all scientific projects for the Adepts of Khom, magical or not."

Filthy Rich gaped at the elf.

Her voice turned gravely, "Be glad you never met him in person. I did once when I had to deliver a report not long ago. I could literally feel his madness and the aura of power surrounding him."

He wasn't sure what to make out of this information, "I-I see. But what meaning has the title 'Grand Master'? You didn't mention it when you explained our ranking system to me, Milady."

"You are right, I didn't. Some titles are only given under special circumstances. We don't have any military structure in the typical sense, like calling leaders of our forces 'admiral', 'general', 'captain', ‘corporal’ or anything alike. No, leading positions are assigned after the rank someone possesses, skill, intelligence and leadership qualities. Do you understand now why I was angry when you told me what this insect demanded? Punisher Vyndrak owns the highest rank of you all, which isn't difficult when you are merely surrounded by acolytes, enforcers and adepts to begin with. That is the reason he was made 'commander' of this new little outpost. He can't order me around as this fool desires because of my rank as a beast tamer, only all forces assigned to Jormun below or equal his rank."

It made sense. Vyndrak already said to him that he would tell Filthy Rich only what he deemed mandatory for now.

She looked positively mad, "This liar was only honest with you when he said that I had the task to capture prisoners. But even that is beyond his influence, I was only sent to assist and to capture easy prey. Everything concerning my methods, how I hunt, who I take, what I decide to do with the rest after I sent the needed amount of souls through the Nether Gate. I'm allowed to complete the me given orders as I see fit. Vyndrak has no say in these matters. Of course I hope you will keep quiet about everything. I don't need it that he plagues me any further with his complains and empty threats." She scoffed, "This imbecile couldn't make them reality anyway, not even in his dreams."

The acolyte bowed his head shortly in a thankful gesture, "I think that was everything. Thank you very much for informing me about the inner workings of our order, Milady."

Makara dismissed his gratitude with a waving hand, "Don't mention it, after what Vyndrak tried I'm more than ready to put him in his place."

And to do things without his knowledge, like informing Filthy Rich about topics he didn't mention until now and to make it clear how insignificant he was in the greater scheme of things.

The beast tamer led the businessman behind the training grounds to a big crudely made shack. The enforcers in front of the building saluted them and opened the door.

The interior of the building reminded the family father of the Early Middle Ages. Very small windows to grant the prisoners the smallest amounts of fresh air, the only light sources were candles. Most noticeable were the big number of big metal cages, with poor unfortunate souls in them.

Some of them looked utterly hopeless, others broken, some nervous, especially the younger humans were crying. A few still had some fight left in them and attempted to glare holes into the duo. Filthy was more than relieved that there were no children under the prisoners.

Would such a fate befall his own daughter? Was it already reality? Was he too late to save her? He didn't know.

In the back of the shack were two wooden doors, leading to some unknown rooms, but the disgusting smell that hit him when they walked through the left door, next to the one which was the source of this stench, told him everything he didn't want to know.

The Dark Elf glanced at him in amusement, "What did you expect to find, acolyte? This forest doesn't have functioning plumping, gas or electricity, so improvised solutions had to be taken instead. I hope you will excuse this, but since the Great Change happened, commodes or any modern plumbing systems are rare to come by these days. It is not like we could simply call someone to build a connection to the nearest sewer for us. And hey, at least they don't succumb to the smell of their own natural products. It doesn't bring me anything when my little toys are already broken, ill or dead before I could rip their secrets out of them."

"I-I had my suspicions, but the truth doesn't comfort my nose as well as I hoped. I prepared myself in my mind for what was to come and the results are not what I desired." Filthy Rich tried his best not to vomit from the stench.

Makara stopped shortly behind the door, much to his dismay. The stench was still there, cursed be his better senses, "Now, I have questions of my own and I hope you will satisfy my curiosity."

Forgotten was his discomfort and Filthy stood at attention, "I will answer to the best of my abilities."

She made it simple, "What is your drive? What are your goals?"

"M-my goals, Mylady?" He tried not to gag from the still lingering foul odor. How could she remain so calm?

Makara smiled thinly, as if secretly enjoying his discomfort, "Of course. There have to be reasons why you seek power and recognition in our ranks. The corruption of the Demon fire doesn't go deep enough to drive you to insanity. Nor does it enslave you to some unknown goal. It only brings your darker desires to the surface, to make the receiver of the Demon fire more... accepting of his situation. And it does make dealing with people like you easier, too, who became a part of the Adepts of Khom as the result of, well, more special circumstances." Or the fact that he had lost his humanity for a good part, though there was nothing to gain from telling him such an unimportant detail.

She was told by Vyndrak how Filthy Rich became one of them, what happened at Camp Everfree.

And the Flame didn't promote these released desires to a person's core ambitions for the rest of his life, either. No, the receiver of the Demon fire was very much free in his will. In fact, until now it always added up to only two outcomes when a mortal was blessed by it. You perished, because your body couldn't handle the your given power and your will to live wasn't strong enough. Or you survived and were a half demon from this point on, what spoke volumes about Filthy's reasons to go forward.

"And what is if a converted person refuses to work for our order?" the businessman asked out of curiosity, but he could already imagine the answer.

The elf gave the acolyte a patient look with a hint of madness behind it, "Of course if you are converted by us you have to follow, or you are seen as a potential threat in the future and will be executed on the spot. I'm curious though. Is it pure survival instinct? Aspiration after power? Or is there more?" she demanded to know.

Should he try to lie to the beast tamer? No, it wasn't worth it. But maybe she was satisfied without knowing all the details, just most of them? Vyndrak knew from the beginning about Diamond Tiara and Spoiled Rich, but never mentioned them again after he agreed to help the punisher. However, he didn't know how Makara would react, it could very well end with his demise, after all.

No! That could never happen!

He was the only chance of survival for his family. Moreover, Filthy Rich heard rumors about the agonized screams of her ‘sources of information’ when they weren't cooperative enough.

This woman was an eager collector of secrets.

Filthy Rich sighed in defeat, "There are reasons, yes. Only the ones with power can truly strive, build the future of the many and shape their own. Before Earth changed, political influence, economical standing and personal wealth played the biggest roles. But now? All the riches of this world won't save you if the next creature or magic using person comes by and simply kills you like a worthless fly. You need true might, magic, at your disposal to achieve something. So yes, survival is a strong motivation of mine, but even more important for me is... my family.”

"Continue," Makara ordered calmly, leaning against the wall behind her.

He looked at the ground in equal parts of shame and determination, "I have a daughter and a wife, they left the country to spend the summer break abroad." The recruit shook his head to clear his mind, "I have no idea if they are still alive, but I want to search for them, for certainty over their fate. If possible, of course. So, as you can see Milady, I can't die right now, nor do I have the luxury of nurturing second thoughts any longer."

The Beast Tamer hid her mirth, "Most humans I met always complained about my lack of empathy and how cold-hearted I would be. Glad to see that I am not the only one missing a conscience."

Filthy nearly snorted, of course he had felt worry and uncertainty for quite some time after his transformation and witnessing the violent deaths of the co-directors, but the family father was sure now, he had no regrets. He would do what needed to be done to ensure their safety, but for that, Filthy needed power. And if it meant sacrificing souls of others? A price worth paying. There was no morality in such actions, obviously, but Filthy didn't care for the lives of strangers, as long as his daughter and wife would stay alive. "When I do what is expected from me, the chance to find and protect them continues to exist. Morals and virtues are necessary sacrifices for this highest of goals. My greatest ambition. And if it means to serve our order without fail? Then it shall be done," the acolyte finished his explanation faithfully.

Makara had to hold back a laugh at his action, "How noble. A loving father who wants to rescue his family, even ready to take the lives of the innocent. I guess you gave me enough answers for now." She crossed her arms and stared knowingly at the businessman, "I presume Vyndrak already knew about your family and used this knowledge to force your hand? Let me guess, he threatened to harm them in case you wouldn't have agreed to help him?"

The man nodded silently.

She didn't like to admit it, but Vyndrak was very good in informing himself about his objectives and targets. She only heard that he had the task to create the order's first outpost in the USA, without attracting attention until it was time to reveal their existence. But to make sure that nobody would disturb them they needed cover, local help, or both. In the moment the Dark Elf saw Filthy Rich she had her suspicions about what the warlock did.

The still kneeling acolyte just confirmed it. To use one of the most famous salesmen on the world was a very good plan, but Makara would rather die than complimenting Vyndrak openly.

Well, brilliance for a short time at least.

Then he blew it when the warlock manipulated the mind control spell so that the citizens of Ponyville would remember that they were under his influence. This sadist only caused trouble with his wishes to create fear and terror. All that because he didn't expect that someone would actually find the Soul Prisons, as well as overcoming the selected guards. Or that a handful of children, with the help of this rumored troll shaman, could escape a Terrorbeast. What an arrogant and overconfident fool.

Makara could never be sure how much information he shared truthfully with her and what he kept to himself. Sadly she couldn't torture it out of him. The beast tamer wouldn't put it past him that torture was his secret fetish anyway. And orders were orders, she had to play nice as long as she was in Jormun under his ‘command’ and occupied with her mission.

"Rise," Makara said neutrally and continued her way without another word.

"W-where are we going, Milady?" The acolyte wasn't sure if it was the best idea to follow this woman, but he had little choice.

They walked through a very narrow hallway, it led to an enforced wooden door.

A malicious smile formed itself on her face, "To a very special room where I keep some of my personal prisoners when I ask them questions. There I will show you something worth your while, but tell me first, will Vyndrak force you to attack this human city?"

The tall man shook his head, "Ponyville? No, Lord Vyndrak said to me that I should stay here, because I lack the training of the other acolytes. Why do you wish to know that, Milady?"

She looked coldly at him, "Because you won't be able to save your family when you are dead." He gulped heavily at the nonchalant tone, "And I have the hunch that Vyndrak takes more on than he can chew. Stay here in Jormun and await the results of the upcoming battle. I don't plan to run into unnecessary trouble, just because this fool's pride is hurt."

"What do you mean, Milady? Didn't Lord Vyndrak ask you for your assistance?" The acolyte was confused. He knew that she could refuse, but thought that the beast tamer would still support the commander of Jormun during the invasion.

Makara rolled her eyes, "He did, but I declined, because I don't want anything to do with his personal vendetta. He wants to hunt down that troll shaman, the ones responsible for the destruction of the Soul Prisons and these high school students. Vyndrak blames them all for his failure." She chuckled mockingly, "I even heard that our superiors were more than displeased with how he tried to handle the situation. An open attack was never planned because of our weak presence in this country at this moment, but our hand is forced, now that the humans know he controlled them. I only would have helped him if it would have been my next task, but my sole purpose in this area was to collect souls." The Dark Elf glanced warningly at him, "You should heed my advice and abandon Vyndrak, he will destroy himself and you wouldn't want to be caught in the crossfire when that happens."

Filthy Rich felt conflicted. The punisher was never an approachable man and a sadist through and through. A salesman's nightmare to be precise. On the other side of the coin, loyalty was always one of his proudest virtues. No matter how hard his life was, he always remained loyal to his employers and later to his employees. So It felt wrong for him to even think about open betrayal, "I will consider it. But what will you do in the meantime Milady? Will you return to Gram'Bhen? Or hunt for more sacrifices?"

The dark beauty put her hand on the doors to deactivate the protection spells she placed upon it to gain entrance, "We are here. The answer to your question is behind this door. Always remember Acolyte Rich: 'Knowledge is power'. A single secret can contain a truth to destroy relationships, the potential to ruin kingdoms, the force to erase countries from the map or the impact to change the fate of this very world."

A cryptic silence reigned over the duo. Her statement confused Filthy Rich to such a degree that he nearly missed it when she moved to enter the elf's private torture chamber... the interior was much cleaner than the tall man had expected.

There were big cages, tables and chairs to ‘talk’ with the victims, but there was no blood on the walls, nor on the floor. Many questionable tools were prepared and ready to be used, completely bare of blood, too. Of course that didn't mean that the room wasn't occupied in the moment.

"Surprised? I'm sorry to disappoint you in case you were expecting a with gore filled room, but I value a clean work ethic. These three humans here represent my newest project," Makara saw the glint of sympathy in the salesman's eyes, "How precious. Do you know them?"

The question was only of rhetorical nature, but Filthy Rich's focus was elsewhere, specifically the victims in front of him.

Three people were staring at the duo in great fear and confusion, clearly a family if their body language could be trusted. A young man, maybe a teenager, was strapped to a metal chair, his body full of bruises, cuts and barely conscious. The left earlobe was missing, a clean and precise cut. Two middle-aged adults, a man and a woman, were imprisoned in a nearby cage. Their clothes were dirty and ragged, the mother-figure looked like she cried a lot in the last time, she trembled terribly. The father had a clear will of survival in his eyes, not necessarily for himself, but his beloved.

And why had his hair the form of a light pink cream topping?

The imprisoned father spoke with a clear undertone of desperation, but fury was the normally soft spoken father's current emotional state, "W-what do you want to know now?! He can't tell you anymore! Let our son go! I will take Zephyr's place instead!"

"P-please honey, d-don't anger her," Mrs. Shy begged her husband, tearfully.

"Why are they here?" Filthy whispered quietly, but the Dark Elf heard him.

"Those three, or should I say, that brave and foolishly heroic boy here told me secrets of great interest. It is always adorable how courageous they are, at first. You see, I need my sources of information well and alive. A crippling torture could scar their mind so much that their brains might shut off and only shambles remain. And that just wouldn't do. Most humans luckily surrender in the moment I tell them in small details what I will do to them, should they refuse to cooperate," Makara explained patiently.

"And I guess this young man's wounds tell another story?" The salesman inquired plainly, trying to ignore the crawling feeling of sympathy.

He couldn't deny that his new demonic side had its advantages. You could keep your emotions much better at bay and nobody was the wiser.

"What gave it away? The missing earlobe? But joking aside, you are right. He was quite stubborn for someone his age, I have to admit. Normally my toys cower in front of me, but he tried to resist to protect his bigger sister. You could say I'm dying to meet her in person, if what he said is true." She gently patted the teenager's cheek, making him flinch, even in his forced slumber, "Wake up my dear. We have a guest and it is rude to sleep when someone is talking to you."

Mr. and Mrs. Shy frowned strongly.

"No Rainbow, not now... the Breeze needs his zeeze..." Zephyr Breeze mumbled under his breath.

Makara didn't say another word and simply took a with very sharp fingertips mounted bronze colored glove from the little salver besides Fluttershy's older brother and put it onto her hand. Suddenly she sliced with her pointer over his right thigh like it was butter and blood soaked his already torn jeans.

Screams of pain followed in an instant.

"So that's how Lady Makara caused these fine cuts," Filthy thought in morbid curiosity. He wasn't sure if it was concerning or not that he felt less and less repulsed by such scenes.

"AHHHH! What have I done to you?! I can't tell you anything else, I swear!" the slightly crying young man shouted in fear.

Zephyr tried his best to keep everything he knew a secret regarding his sister and her friends. Of course Rainbow Dash counted on him that he would keep quiet, but even the strongest man wouldn't be able to withstand the cruelty of this insane woman in front of him.

"Oh, I believe you, I just wanted your undivided attention," she replied happily.

After all the pain he suffered he knew better than to question her, the younger sibling had only one word on his lips, "W-why?"

"To show our newest acolyte that knowledge is a weapon and how you may use it to your advantage. Be grateful that it is just me, I know a certain warlock who would take great pleasure in torturing you and your family in great length." Her tone was threatening, "Now, let us talk about your sister again."

"Fluttershy and her friends will stop you!" Zephyr answered hotly. He cursed himself after he noticed what he said.

"Zephyr Breeze!" Mrs. Shy exclaimed in panic and looked imploringly at the elf, "P-please forgive him Lady Makara! He just said something without thinking in the heat of the moment. My son is very protective of our daughter. Please, have mercy!"

Filthy Rich recognized this name, "Fluttershy?" he asked, dumbfounded.

Now it was the Dark Elf who was surprised, "You know this girl?"

"Yes, well, not directly Milady. You see, she was one of seven teenagers who helped Gloriosa Daisy and her brother, the former camp directors, to save Camp Everfree for the time being with the idea of a fundraiser to buy them more time. She... introduced me to them during the festivities to shove it into my face that I was outsmarted by high school students. Not that it helped them much in the end," Filthy Rich expounded apathetically.

Makara knew what he meant, rumors about the unfortunate victims who ended up as the sources of energy for the Soul Prisons circulated in Jormun. About what Vyndrak did to the former owners of this patch of previously green land before she arrived here. He loved to play with his victims.

"Interesting..." The dark beauty glanced thoughtfully at the three family members, "And I think I know where these girls might be. I received a report about a close encounter between two scouts and an Emerald Elf. There were a lot of humans on the fields and they swore that most of them were of young age. Perhaps they are hiding there, but the fact remains that we have nobody to spare to confront them in the moment."

"Lady Makara, do you really believe that these children will pose a threat? I'm sure you can restrict them on your own, or send me with a few demons to handle the situation," the salesman argued with a winning smile.

He was eager to prove himself to the beast tamer, his last meeting with teenagers ended unsatisfactorily.

The Dark Elf scoffed, "Don't be foolish. Overconfidence is the first step to your own downfall and I plan to continue living. Maybe I can attack them with the help of my pets, but the possibility that I will run into trouble is much too big, and so would you. The scouts saw walls made of earth around the area before they had to flee and last time I checked such constructions don't grow out of nowhere. No, I'm certain a mage is responsible for this. Maybe it was this shaman Vyndrak wants. I have to play it clever to reach my goal, and I know exactly how I may achieve that."

The Shys looked nervously at each other, the woman's gaze in their direction boded ill for them, "But let us talk about the topic I came for." Her eyes were on Zephyr again, "Your sister and her friends are able to wield magic I never heard of before. It sounds to me like emotions and an invisible bond of magic connect them somehow on a higher level, what gives them the ability to use that ridiculous sounding 'Rainbow Powers'. But I learned a long time ago that even the most questionable rumor can have an element of truth and I would like to verify everything for myself. That is where you all come in."

"I-I won't help you hurting my sister! You hear me?!" the younger sibling swore defyingly.

Makara raised an eyebrow in amusement, "How cute. But I think-" she cut his other thigh, slowly. Zephyr did his best to keep his tears at bay, but failed miserably in the end, "we both know how this will all end."

"Zephyr!" his parents shouted in panic.

"What is your plan, Milady?" Filthy Rich inquired carefully.

"As I said, knowledge is power. We know that these girls have unknown magic at their disposal, we just don't know where they got it from. Second, we know that our dear guests here are the family of one member of their group, we can use that to our advantage. If I'm right they are only aware of our presence in the Everfree Forest, but nothing else, not about our order's structure, nor our abilities and possibilities. If they expect it the least we will spring the trap. And every good trap needs bait." She winked at her youngest prisoner.

Zephyr Breeze gulped heavily.

"As you wish, Lady Makara," Filthy acknowledged loyally and bowed respectfully.

"Well, that was a bust," Rainbow Dash commented in boredom.

"What do you mean?" Shining Armor asked.

After Fire Streak gave them a short tour around Ponyville to show them the more important localities of the city, and places they should avoid at all costs, he brought them to their location for the night. A more expensive, but cozy inn with the strange name: ‘The Prancing Pony’, of all things.

Celestia, Luna, Igneous Rock, Cheerilee, Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash received three rooms per two persons. Cheerilee and Rainbow Dash got one, the siblings and the only two men of the group.

Later they parted ways to look around and to search for useful information concerning the citizens' opinion about magic to get a clearer picture where most would stand in the case they had to reveal themselves. Now it was late in the evening and all six met in the lower level of the inn, they were sitting at a big ebony colored wooden table in a more separated area to talk privately.

"I mean that more people reacted aggressively than positively when I asked them! I mean I can completely understand that they are fed up after everything that happened, but come on! We actually saved people with magic, but nearly nobody outside of the circle of former CHS students is willing to see magic as something good," the chromatic girl complained, tossing her arms in the air.

"Sadly there is nothing we can do about it, Ms. Dash. Many lost everything dear to them because of magic-related events and Prismia and Justice aren't helping with their agenda. Typical populists, always abusing the fear and worries of the people to their advantage without a shame," Luna replied fumingly.

"I wonder if Mr. Lightning Streak found anything interesting concerning this woman," Cheerilee mused in interest.

"I hope thou are right Ms. Cheerilee. Ms. Prismia seems to hide secrets of importance," Igneous Rock agreed stoically.

"Well, when Lightning finds something he will tell us immediately and the mayor and Spitfire will order her arrest. No problem," Rainbow said without a doubt.

The lunar knight looked at her sibling, "Sister, you didn't say anything until now. What is wrong? Did your charm lose its effect in your older days and nobody listened to you?" Luna asked teasingly.

Celestia blushed at the other woman's words, but her eyes softened. How everything had changed. Before Camp Everfree she would never have accepted it that her sister teased her like that in front of their colleagues, students or their parents. And Luna would never have done that in public in the first place, because they had to demand respect for their positions as principals. But now... things were fundamentally different and a good laugh was always appreciated in these uncertain times.

"I don't know how things went on your end, but I found out that Ponyville has a few citizens who are still undecided if they are for or against magic, some even spoke positively about it and what advantages its use could have for the community. I met even three of our former students. Ms. Photo Finish and her two friends, Violet Blurr and Pixel Pizzaz, you know about who I am talking about, right?"

Luna snorted, "How could I forget those three of all people? They made every single picture of every important event at CHS since they came to the school at a younger age."

The Solar Magic user nodded with a small grin, "Yes, they did. Photo Finish sent the mayor a request that they want to open Ponyville's first big photo shop."

Cheerilee smiled fondly, "It is good to hear that some of our former students survived Canterlot and still want to pursue their dreams in life, despite what happened in the past." Her expression turned sour, "And still so many young lives lost. I met Baton Switch, the former leader of CHS' marching band. She told me that the fire elementals attacked the school during one of their rehearsals. Luckily she could escape, but she has no idea what happened to the rest."

"I think I had the hardest job. I wanted to convince my fellow Crystal Prepers, as an well-known and respected alumni, that magic could be a good thing, but I received only unsure faces, half-hearted words of encouragement and two clear rejections," Shining Armor added his own experiences in a dry tone.

"Rejections?" Rainbow asked this time, leaning forward.

Twilight's older brother groaned in mental exhaustion, "Yes, Jet Set and Suri Polomare. The thing with Jet Set is that he and Upper Crust, another student of CPA, were together and really loved each other. He had to watch how Upper Crust burned to death during the attack and he could do nothing to help her. Jet is livid and blames magic for everything. That is the reason why he supports Justice. And Suri... is more personal."

Everybody at the table had an expression of sympathy or sadness in response. Then interest.

"What do you mean with 'more'? What could be more personal than losing your girlfriend?" the sky blue teenager stated after a few seconds.

Shining Armor gave his sister's friend a questioning look, "I mean for our group itself. Didn't Rarity tell you about the last big fashion contest she participated in?"

Rainbow Dash leaned back in her chair with crossed arms and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling, "Contest... contest... I think? Maybe? Sorry, I don't really try to remember every of Rarity's boring fru-fru episodes. Why? What happened there?"

The former police officer rubbed his nose at the girl's poor memory, "I can't believe it either, but I think it's jealousy. Suri and Rarity participated both in the National Fashion Junior Contest in Manehatten and she said her assistant, some Coco Pommel, betrayed her and helped Rarity with her designs instead, so that your friend won the contest."

Recognition and anger appeared in Rainbow's face, "Now I know what you mean! I think it happened shortly after the Fall Formal." She chuckled humorlessly, "And as if Rarity would need help to beat this wannabe-fashionista! She tried to steal Rarity's ideas and acted like they were hers! Coco refused to continue working for this girl any longer and told the judges everything about it. Suri was banned from participating for the next three years at any other fashion contest as a consequence and Rarity was declared the winner."

Shining shook his head in disappointment, "Yeah, I wouldn't put it past her to try something like that to win. Her other point was that she is convinced of Justice's stance, about magic being responsible for everything bad that happened, or more-" he nodded his head in the direction of the former staff and student of CHS, "you."

"What? Is she serious?" Luna queried in annoyance.

Silence ruled the table when Celestia pointed subtly at the approaching waiter. He brought them new drinks, asked them for food and left after they declined politely to continue their conversation in peace and quiet.

The former alumni sighed, resting his elbow on the table, and his head on the hand in extension, "Yeah, I know. She was there during the Friendship Games and saw how Twily, well, kind of lost it. And after she saw that Rarity could use magic, too? Suri blamed CHS ever since for what happened during the games. But I think she is not only angry about the contest, but that Rarity can already use magic and she doesn't. It makes her jealous. After rumors about sightings of mages in and around the country came up Suri told me that she always secretly dreamed about becoming a magician herself."

"Seriously? So she tells other people that magic is evil just to spite us? Or more specific, Rarity?" Cheerilee said in disbelief.

"Eeyup," Shining imitated his new friend Big Mac.

"There you are!" They turned around and saw how Spitfire and Lightning Streak approached their table.

"Captain Spitfire! Senior Airman Lightning Streak! What circumstances do we owe the pleasure of meeting you here?" Celestia questioned warmly and a kind smile.

The Wonderbolts waved shortly to return the greeting.

"Good evening Princi-Ms. Celestia. I wanted to know what your first impressions are from Ponyville after your little group had the whole day to learn about the town and its citizens. And to inform you that I sent Soarin and Fleetfoot to Cloudsdale to tell Colonel Wind Rider about our newest state of information. With a little luck I hope the colonel will dispatch more troops. I still don't like sending the soldiers under me into their potential end, but Cloudsdale will be next if the Adepts of Khom succeed here," Spitfire explained analytically.

"Sweet! These devil worshipers will get a trashing they'll never forget!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed enthusiastically, already excited to see the Wonderbolts in action.

Lightning chuckled, "Calm down. We have to wait for what our superior says, the captain can't simply order our forces around without his approval," he replied in amusement.

Pinkie's father stroke his beard in thoughts, "Mr. Streak, did thou discover any information of interest concerning Ms. Prismia?"

The Wonderbolt blushed in great embarrassment and cowered a little under his captain's judging glare, "Hehe. I'm not proud to admit that, but I fear I fell asleep after I saw for what felt like the hundredth time this day how she did nothing else than the most mundane and boring things you could imagine. You wouldn't believe how long she was in that one clothes shop, or how slowly she drank her cup of tea at the cafe. That must have been a record. The last thing I can remember is that I was following her for a while when we were in the park, I woke up there not even an hour ago."

Spitfire snorted in distaste, "We will talk about your lack of discipline later, Lightning." She eyed her former principals, "Captain Iron Will found him snoring behind a few trees and brought him to me. But I think we can safely say that the leader of Justice isn't up to something bad, at least not yet."

"What is when she somehow knew that Lightning was following her and did all these boring things on purpose? Or why won't you spy on her for a little longer? It's not that late," Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously.

The young captain rolled her eyes, "You heard Mayor Mare, Dash. Ms. Prismia has still her constitution given rights and they won't be taken away on the basis of mere assumptions. Believe me, I don't like her at all, but we can't spy on everybody who doesn't act like we desire."

"And it's impossible that she knew I was there. I was always very careful and only followed her in such ways that I never left footprints, nor did I make loud noises," Lightning Streak added faithfully.

The chromatic teenager sighed in defeat. Somehow that felt much too easy and her gut was warning her from this woman since the first moment they met. For once in her life Rainbow hoped that her gut was wrong.

Gram'Bhen, the crosspoint between Outpost Jormun and their newest destination, the Lost Archives, was as busy as he remembered from his short visit the last time. Filthy Rich had little time to go on a sightseeing trip and so he didn't know much about this place, maybe his mistress was in the mood to answer some of his questions, "Milady, excuse my curiosity, but that is the second time I visit this place and I wonder though, where are we exactly? It is clear to me that we are no longer in the USA, but I can't remember that there was a country whose inhabitants are... dwarves? Perhaps? And what does 'Gram'Bhen' even mean?"

In fact It looked like a small city, and it was hot. He wondered who owned this place before the Adepts of Khom took over, the inhabitants were all dwarves, not much smaller than the average human, but a little sturdier built, all muscles. At least the males, the female dwarves looked a little pudgy, but he was sure that only a fool would underestimate them.

They went after their own businesses like it was completely normal that the warlocks were here. A filled marketplace, an easy-going atmosphere, it felt somehow wrong to him that, after everything he witnessed from his order, such a place existed under their control.

The Dark Elf, who wore now a black veil to protect her sensitive eyes from the sun, continued walking and answered in a casual tone like it was common knowledge these days, "We are in Oriom, as you already mentioned, the land of dwarves. Formerly known as Neighico. The local government lost all control after the Great Change happened and the country split up in by so called 'thanes' controlled areas. We seized the opportunity to take over this city and established our rule. Concerning the name, well, the dwarves renamed all their places to fit their new language, Irom."

He would have guessed that the citizens were all enslaved, just waiting to be sacrificed.

Makara chuckled at the stunned expression of the acolyte, "I know it is hard to believe. Still, we don't live from air and souls alone, but food and water as every other mortal, if you are not a true demon that is. We do have functioning economy systems, otherwise we wouldn't last long. And sacrificing the very people who can provide you with food and shelter is counterproductive, don't you think?"

"And the dwarves just accepted it that our order came here? Is there no war? No civil unrest?" The salesman wasn't sure what to think of such peaceful environment.

They stopped shortly, because children were playing 'tag' in front of them.

"Oh please, the five ‘Big Families’ are in a petty conflict with each other right now and completely lost interest in the outer regions of their country. All with the goal to crown their own thane the Paragon, their version of a king, of all dwarves and ruler of Oriom. When we first planned to establish our presence here a warlord ruled this city without mercy and his goons took everything as they desired. A small force of ignited crusaders was everything we needed to destroy him. Ever since, the dwarves are working for us on their own volition. We don't sacrifice their souls and they work for us in gratitude for liberating them. Life can be very easy," the beast tamer explained smugly.

They wandered a little through Gram'Bhen and Filthy Rich was impressed from what he saw, now that he had actually the time to admire the unique architecture of a new culture. All buildings looked like they were built into the ground or were a part of it, smooth surfaces, perfectly sturdy looking constructions, made of stone.

"Astonishing, isn't it?" Makara asked suddenly.

"W-what?" was all he could manage to say after his thoughts were interrupted.

"The dwarves seem to have the ability to form the earth after their will, geomancy at its finest. Look," she pointed to their right.

Filthy Rich's eyes widened at the sight in front of him. Four dwarves stood inertly around a giant rock with closed eyes, only the hands and fingers moved. They were glowing in a white outline through forces unknown to the family father. Cut for cut, invisible to the naked eye, but looking as treated by the finest blades, took the once proud rock the desired form.

"Come, we have no time to waste. My master awaits us and I'm sure Vyndrak will be wondering where we are soon," the Dark Elf urged and walked away.

That brought the man back to their task at hand and he followed anew, "Lady Makara, it is an honor that you give me the chance to come with you. But where and what are these ‘Lost Archives’?"

"They are at the outskirts of Gram'Bhen, beyond the local laboratories. A place of collected knowledge, imagine it like a library. There is someone I have to meet and I think you should meet him as well," she said mysteriously.

The archives were clearly a product of dwarf architecture, Filthy Rich was sure of it. Already the frontage was a picture of finest marmor work, the building three stories tall and occupying an area of at least 100m². But 'library' wasn't what he had in mind when seeing this building, it was more a fortress.

Thick white walls were reaching deep into the underground, if the other buildings were anything to go by, with a lot of long, oval shaped black tinted windows, small, strangely shaped pillars upon the top and an entrance, guarded by soldiers he never saw before. Alone their appearance made him more than nervous.

They wore demon skull-like helmets, with thorns around the top like a crown, obsidian black plate armor with glowing ice blue runes upon the chest and a cloak which seemed like made of the deepest darkness. Their eyes were glowing in an unholy shade of crimson. They had two, at least one meter long, jagged scythes on their backs in crossed position.

"W-who are they?" the acolyte asked fearfully.

Makara gave him a mocking smile of sympathy, "Are you scared, acolyte? These are Black Knights, if you remember, one of our stronger forces." She saluted the guards, "Good afternoon, gentlemen. We are here to see the master."

One of the knights spoke in an echoing voice, giving the salesman a shiver down his spine, "Ah, Lady Makara, our Lord informed us about your arrival and your..." he gave Filthy a silent stare, what didn't help the man's nerves, "guest. You may enter."

After they entered the with tilework covered floor, which showed a picture of different demons every now and then, the intimidated family father found his voice again, "Milady, who is this master you want to see? I'm truly honored that you think I'm worthy of meeting a high ranked member of our order, but I can't say that I'm not nervous about the upcoming encounter."

"Don't think too much about your fears and focus instead on the opportunity of your lifetime," Makara admonished harshly. It annoyed her when a person cowered too much.

"Opportunity?" he inquired in confusion.

She nearly rolled her eyes at the man's lack of vision in the moment, instead she chose to enlighten him, "Indeed. Did you know that every member of the Adepts of Khom can choose one of the six council members as a master they want to follow? You can guess now what kind of 'high ranking member' we are going to meet."

Those were everything else than good news. Filthy Rich always prided himself that he was conducting business with even the most influential people on Earth, but the prospect of meeting someone of the Dark Council, especially after what he was told about this Grand Master Ferill, wasn't something he looked forward to.

To both sides were many rooms filled with bookshelves, containing big amounts of knowledge, he glanced at the larger written titles and had to admit that he couldn't read many of them. Another thought entered his mind when he saw all the paintings and statues surrounding them, "How can this building exist already? I thought the new races didn't exist any longer than maybe three months?"

The beast tamer wanted to tell him to be quiet, all his questions were tiring, but she decided to humor him again. Normally it was her who asked the questions, not the other way around. They were almost there anyway, "You saw what only four dwarves did to that boulder on the market place. Now imagine what a whole city of grateful dwarves could achieve. They made the archives on our request in two months time. Much more effective than humans ever could have been with their machines in my opinion."

Two soldiers, who looked more like demons than mortals, were standing at a big entrance, arms crossed. Over two meter tall, a mountain-like stature, sharp teeth and unforgiving amber colored blazing eyes greeted them. They had a pale gray skin, long flowing black hair, sharply pointed ears, wore a uniform made of ice blue bandages around the hands and arms, and tight, iron colored leather armor around the rest of their bodies, little blood red skulls made up the belt and two big black demonic wings rested upon their backs.

"Nemeses..." the elf mumbled in, what Filthy heard for the very first time since he met her, fear.

"W-what?!" He whispered frantically, "The elite-"

"Quiet!" she demanded forcefully, "Just ignore them. They know that the master awaits us."

The duo stopped as they reached their destination and Makara was all business with the nervous looking acolyte at her side. Maybe to convince the two silently watching guards, "We are here. Beyond this door is my master, one of the highest servants of Lord Khom. Remember to be respectful, don't ask him any questions without his permission and be silent, if not spoken to directly. Understood?"

"O-of course, Lady Makara," Filthy promised fearfully. He didn't even need to act his part, the unnerving stares of the nemeses did a very good job on their own.

The two vampire-like demons chuckled sadistically before they entered.

The interior of the room was not so palatial, or dark, as he thought it would be, a lot of green candles illuminated the spacious chamber with their mysterious green flames. Books and a giant, out of magic made, flying globe filled most of the room, like a projection. At a big table, upon a kingly looking wooden chair, sat a man whose presence alone demanded respect, but at the same time an aura of calmness surrounded him.

Filthy Rich couldn't describe it, but it felt like Lady Makara's master was old, very old, and only looked like a young human. He was a very tall and well-built man, maybe taller than the nemeses at the door. Voluminous dark grayish sideburns and hair, light brownish gray skin and grayish red bat-like wings upon his back were visible. The most prominent features were however his luminous vivid apple green eyes. They contained wisdom, knowledge and an unspoken promise. On his back was a long staff, made of a to the salesman unknown ore, the color was a moderate gold and at the tip sat a gleaming ruby. All he wore was a white toga with black tunic beneath it.

A soothing, aged, with a demonic echo accentuated voice left the council member's vocal cords, "Ah, Beast Tamer Makara, I wondered when you would appear. And I see you have brought our esteemed guest. Please, take a seat." He gestured to the two smaller chairs in front of him, "We have much to discuss."

The dark beauty kneeled reverently in front of her master, "Of course, Lord Scorpan." Filthy Rich immediately did the same.

"I heard a lot of positive things about you, young man. Makara's reports concerning our newest campaign in the USA are promising, as well as interesting. I dare say, world-changing, when we ignore the punisher's stupidity of informing Ponyville about our presence," Scorpan started the conversation.

"T-thank you for your gracious words, Milord. I am a mere acolyte in our order and not worthy of such praise," the salesman stated less confident than he liked.

"Don't be so modest Mr. Rich, you were one of the most successful business leaders of the old age. That is not an easy feat to accomplish." He glanced at the silent elf, "Beast Tamer, your reports stated that an unknown form of magic could be found near Jormun, please explain it in greater details."

She nodded respectfully, never standing up, "Yes, two of our scouts found a strange cavern. They couldn't enter it, like a powerful force was holding them at bay. I investigated the cave myself later on and found out that a crystalline tree stump was the origin of this particular energy. It felt like it tried to punish me for something. Maybe it doesn't accept Demon Magic in its surroundings."

"Truly interesting, I would have liked to see this mysterious offspring for myself, but sadly you informed me that Commander Vyndrak attacked it at a later point and destroyed the cave's entrance in progress," the member of the Dark Council said in disappointment.

Makara growled angrily, "This short-sighted fool always acts on his instincts. But the reason I wanted to meet you personally, Milord, is that our newest acolyte here met a group of seven human girls who are capable of magic which doesn't seem to originate from around here, maybe not even this world. And I could confirm that their source of power seems to be of questionable origin at best."

If Lord Scorpan was surprised, he didn't show it, "Oh? Please enlighten me, Beast tamer."

"I managed to capture a family between the ruins of Canterlot City and Cloudsdale. The parents didn't have any useful information, but the son told me a lot of stories about his big sister, after I convinced him. A girl named Fluttershy, she is one of the already mentioned seven teenagers. It seems they defeated a demon, real living sirens in human form and a by magic corrupted girl who nearly destroyed the world all on their own. Every time they won with the help of a, and I know that sounds ridiculous, magic these girls call: 'The Magic of Friendship'. A giant rainbow colored beam of energy they can summon if the situation deems it necessary," the elf explained, cringing.

"I see," Scorpan looked expectantly at Filthy Rich, "You met these girls in person, Acolyte Rich. Do you have something important to add?"

Filthy thought about his words carefully, he didn't want to waste his lord's time, "Yes, Lord Scorpan. First I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me and ignored what I saw, but now I have to admit that it was most-likely real." He sighed, "Before Lord Vyndrak approached me and took over I wanted to buy the land to build my own Spa Resort in Camp Everfree's place for paying customers who appreciated the tranquility of nature. But then I was told that a group of Canterlot High School students, who chose Camp Everfree as their summer camp to that time, came up with an idea to stop me for the time-being. Under the leadership of said teenagers. A fundraiser took place there and I was, just to spite me, invited to the festivities, where I saw all seven. They call themselves 'The Rainbooms' and transformed during a concert they gave."

Scorpan nodded in understanding, "Please go on."

"I still don't know if that was real or not, but animal ears, I think horse or pony ears, appeared out of nowhere on their heads. They all developed strange hair extensions, which looked like ponytails, and three of them even grew wings. But not some normal wings for humans their size, but very small wings, like a medium-sized bird. The blue one of them could even fly around without a problem, but it shouldn't have been possible with wings of that size. That is everything I know about them, Milord," Filthy ended his tale truthfully.

Scorpan stood up and showed the duo how impressive his whole body language could be, walking behind his chair with crossed arms behind his back to think about what their next steps, "As you may know, acolyte, every of the Dark Council's members wears a title fitting his role in the Adepts of Khom. I am known as Scorpan, Keeper of Knowledge. My task is it to preserve the knowledge and history of old so that we may learn from it and to discover new knowledge, especially in relation to magic. And this special form of... 'friendship' using magic is nothing I encountered before in our world. Granted, the day of the Dawn of Magic happened only recently, new discoveries on a daily basis are to be expected. Nevertheless, this particular information is promising." He looked at Makara, "You may stand up now, beast tamer." She did as instructed, "Tell me, do you have a plan how we may find out more about this mysterious power?"

The Dark Elf bowed shortly, a gleeful smile graced her features, "Yes, Lord Scorpan. I thought about using the mentioned family as bait to catch their daughter. I'm sure she will respond accordingly with the right temptation."

"Good. You may go now and wait for our guest outside. There are things I wish to discuss with Mr. Rich, in private," the giant of a man ordered, looking out of the window.

"Master." She bowed a second time, this time deeper, and left the room.

After a for Filthy Rich much too long pregnant silence, Scorpan asked softly out of nowhere, "Do you think we do the right thing to serve this world, acolyte?"

"M-Milord?" The businessman didn't know what to say.

The member of the Dark Council turned around, a new emotion showed itself in his eyes, regret, "Nothing. A old man's wishful thinking. But please tell me, do you think it is right to summon Lord Khom into this world?"

The bluntness of the question, from a council member no less, shocked Filthy Rich, "I-I don't think I'm qualified enough to judge the order's actions, Milord. If I may ask, why?"

Scorpan sighed fatefully, "Because I wanted to hear a fresh opinion of a young mind, because I fear that we may need the demons and Lord Khom to fight what is to come, but I'm not entirely sure if our goals justify the means. Do you know something about an ancient Greek order called: 'The Scions of the Elementals'?

The half-demon shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. Who were they?"

The powerful warlock chuckled darkly, "Not 'were', Acolyte Rich, are. If a human is asked which elements he would count to the elements of nature, then the answer is always the same. Fire, water, air, earth. But the reality is much more complex, there is fire, water, air, earth... and thunder. Every element has elementals related to it, entities of nature itself. There are elementals which are neutral to us, some are friendly, but there are enough who only feel hostility. And I don't speak about the humans themselves, but mortals in general. The scions are the loyal servants of the Elemental Lords and my family was the order’s archenemy since the very beginning. We always opposed their masters."

"I don't think I understand. What is their goal?" the acolyte asked in wonder.

Scorpan shook his head in resignation, "To be honest? Sadly this part of information was lost to the sands of time, but we do know that we have to stop them. No matter the costs. Knowledge is power, Mr. Rich. Damnation Seeker Khom appeared in the council members' minds in the form of a warning a few months ago. A warning that a being who was once banished into the core of our world would escape and herald the start of a new era. An era of magic. And that the elementals would follow this entity."

Filthy turned a few shades paler, "So that is the reason why our final goal is it to summon Lord Khom? W-well, my only problem is, eventually, please don't misunderstand me-"

Scorpan nodded calmly in understanding, "Damnation Seeker is a title the demons give their highest lords in a militaristic way, but whose damnation do they seek? This is an answer nobody knows except the Royal Demons themselves. How would you plan to fight the Elemental Lords? A mere mortal alone could never challenge them. No, Lord Khom is our only hope of stopping the elementals. Sacrifices are a sad reality, but something that needs to be done. Sometimes it needs monsters to fight other monsters." He took his seat again.

"I think I understand what you mean, Milord." The acolyte gulped nervously, remembering Makara's words, but he needed to know, "Lord Scorpan, Lady Makara told me a lot about our order's structure, but I have one last question concerning it."

The member of the Dark Council could only smile at Filthy Rich's expression, "Don't worry. I can only speak for myself, but everybody who works under me receives a fair treatment. I demand dedication, discipline and loyalty, but I won't smite you where you stand for a simple question."

The newest member of the Adepts of Khom bowed gratefully, "Thank you Milord. My question is related to the Dark Council. I know that you are known as Scorpan, the Keeper of Knowledge. Lady Makara told me about Lord Ferill, the Grand Master, who is responsible for all scientific projects. But who are the other four council members? If you want to answer, of course."

Scorpan’s smile disappeared, but before Filthy Rich feared he signed his death sentence, the man answered in a neutral tone, "There are four more members in the council. The first one is Grogar, the Lord Necromancer. He thinks that the dead should fight where the living meet their mortal boundaries, so he searches for methods to use the soul as a weapon. His field is similar to Ferill, but where he is interested in literally everything, Grogar is only looking for the, as he calls it, 'secret of life and death'. Then there is Anazynthia Dawnseeker, the... what is wrong, Acolyte Rich?"

The man in question shook his head to overcome his immense surprise, "Forgive me, Lord Scorpan. It is just that I once met an Emerald Elf with the name 'Luviel Dawnseeker' and I didn't expect to hear that one of the council's members shares the same name. Especially after Ms. Dawnseeker made it very clear that she hated the Adepts of Khom with a passion."

"They are twins, but their story is not mine to tell. I advice you to let it rest. She is very sensitive when it comes to her sister. But to further answer your question, she is called Anazynthia, Queen of Beasts. Her skill in manipulating and controlling demons is unmatched. The fifth member is Hurricane, Gladiator of Tartarus, leader of our military. You see, the Royal Demons made it a project of entertainment for their kind to let the forsaken souls of mankind fight each other to the death. Whoever wins 500 battles in a row and defeats an Ancient Demon afterwards, the third strongest kind of demon in Tartarus, will receive a wish for free. Of course such a feat should be impossible for any human, but Hurricane succeeded where everybody else failed and afterwards he wished that he could serve Lord Khom."

Filthy Rich forgot his politeness after the finished explanation of the latest council member and jumped out of his position, "The Commander Hurricane?! He was the most famous and strongest general during the times of the Roman Empire! I-I-" His eyes widened in realization, he bowed lowly in embarrassment, "I'm so incredibly sorry for exploding like that, Milord.”

Scorpan made a gesture with his hand to diffuse the situation, "No harm was done, Acolyte Rich. It is completely understandable that you are shocked by such a revelation. Now let us finish our meeting. The last member of the Dark Council is Tirek, the Great Executioner. He is Lord Khom's second hand in command on Terra concerning our greatest enemies. He is my older brother and you should stay away from him. He has a problem with... acknowledging the members of our order below the mediocre ranks of the Black Knights and sees them as beneath him."

"Thank you very much for answering my question, Lord Scorpan. Lady Makara said that I can choose whom of the council I want to serve and I decided. I want to serve you, Milord." He kneeled respectfully.

The warlock's face turned very serious, he snapped his fingers and the magical globe took the shape of a mirror, "What are you ready to sacrifice to serve us and to save what is dear to you? Answer me, Acolyte."

Filthy Rich looked up and gasped in sheer shock. On the mirror's surface appeared the picture of a middle-aged woman, who was running away from something, a young girl at her hand.

The founder of Rich Company would recognize those two everywhere, "Diamond Tiara!" he thought in great worry, turned his face and looked deeply into his new master's eyes with so much conviction like never before in his entire life, "Everything."

Author's Notes:

Greetings my avid readers!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Sorry that it needed so much time, but I was never satisfied with how I described the Adepts of Khom. Hopefully you liked it.

Thank you very much for reading and stay tuned!