At length, the Empress blinked and sighed, and the odd spell was broken. Katia shuddered and suppressed an urge to vigorously groom her fur with her tongue.

"It's not your fault, Katia; for a time you called something to mind that I had forgot... But to answer your question, the stars do not directly speak to us, though they may be read by those who have the knowledge and ability.

"And the stars show me the end of my appointed path."

Katia blinked. "The end? But... aren't you the chosen of Akatosh, or something? Everyone talks about you as though you're the only reason the sun comes up every day..."

"It is true that the Dragonblood flows within me, and thus many of my subjects worship me, and some go so far as to think me essential, and eternal. But I am fated to die as any other, and this is my day..." She saw the panic rising in Katia's face, and quickly added, "But your stars are not mine."

"What..." Katia didn't want to ask, as she knew the answer would be horrible, but the words tumbled out of her regardless. "...what do the stars say about me?"

"Katia...of your ultimate fate, I know not. The thread of your destiny fades into a mist that my sight cannot pierce. But your presence here is a sign that you were meant to be the sun's companion, and in you I see a hint of Akatosh's bright glory on the horizon." Celestia spoke gently enough, but her eyes were grimly earnest. "With your aid, the coming darkness may be banished. Will you help?"

"You... you really mean me. Uh, Celestia, I've got a really bad track record with this sort of thing. It's like, every time, and I do mean every actual literal time, that I try to help someone, I make things worse somehow. It's not that I'm scared, though I am, but I just learned how to make a fire spell two weeks ago and I've still got a lot of baggage and... are you really really sure you want my help? Really? You are. Yeesh. Sure, I'll help you however I can, I guess..."

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed. "With this promise of your aid, my heart must be satisfied."

"Okay... uhm, so what do you want me to do? You said I should help to banish the darkness... what does that mean?"

"Such things belong to your future. Today, you will follow me a while longer, then our paths will part again for good."

"I... Oh." Fear stabbed Katia again. "Celestia... I don't want to lose you."

"Nor do most of my subjects. But my death is a necessary end, and I have lived well. You are young, Katia, and you may not yet understand, but to know the hour of your doom may be a blessing." Celestia glanced away. "I believe that the Blades are ready to proceed. Let us go"

Katia walked after her, musing, then approached Haurus, who was standing ready at the room's exit.

"Uhm, Haurus? I think I'm ready to carry that torch, for a while."

Haurus grinned, then pulled a torch from his saddlebag using his mouth. He struck the head of it rapidly against the floor stones until it surged into flame, then offered it to Katia.

As she prepared to take the flaming brand in her teeth, she paused. This wasn't how a proper unicorn pony should carry a torch. It definitely wasn't how Katia Fricking Maragan should do it.

Surprised at her own confidence, she reached out with her mind, formed a cushion out of the air around her, and wrapped it around the torch handle. It dipped suddenly and plunged as Haurus released it. She caught it as the handle bounced off the floor, and lifted it with a great effort of will until it hovered in the air before her. It trembled and wavered, but it was aloft, and alight.

It was the heaviest object she'd ever borne this way, and she gave herself a mental scritch behind the ears in congratulations. It wasn't full telekinesis—it didn't drain any of her magicka, for one thing—but it made her feel more worthy to try to think of herself as a real mage, and not a loser.

"Haurus..." Her voice wavered. "Will the Empress be okay? She's not being that optimistic..."

Haurus sighed. "It's our duty to get her to safety, though I admit that things are not going according to plan." He gave Katia an appraising stare. "Look, just stick close to us, let us do our jobs, and be careful where you launch those blasted fireballs, and you'll be all right." Katia nodded, and thought she saw a brief hint of amusement in his eye.

Katia took heart as she followed the Blades and the Empress through the door into the next chamber. She was ready. She could handle this. Let the darkness come!

The catacombs wound on in a chaotic but strangely linear labyrinth of ancient gray stone, unbanistered landings, staircases and shattered columns, with dark side passages that led nowhere and locked doors that had no key.

To Katia, it felt like they were being led right into something. Should she warn the Blades? No, they were professionals and surely knew what they were doing. But was the Empress Celestia really fated to die? If so, the stars might be forcing them all to follow the thread of her destiny.

Katia was jolted out of her train of thought by Glenbay shouting an alert. This time, she was determined to be of actual help. As the assassins leapt from the shadows, she prepared a flare and targeted one who had not yet closed to engage the Blades. The fiery ball struck home, sending flickering flames over her magically-bound armor. She changed course and ran to engage Katia, bearing a wicked multi-bladed mace.

Katia shot another flare, and another, but the foe kept coming. Without thinking, Katia started to run... backwards. Keeping her face towards the foe, she kept clear of the viciously swinging weapon, and struck again and again with swift bursts of fire. The assassin was faltering, and Katia was doing well, until her tail ran up against a wall. She squealed and dodged to the side, seeking to keep her distance from the mace, and her butt found an open stairway. She fell back, casting another flare as the mace split the air over her head, and her foe shrieked fire as she inhaled the flames that engulfed her face. The magical mace and armor vanished, and the smoldering scarlet-clad figure struck the floor.

Katia got to her feet. She'd done it. She had actually helped to protect the Empress! She whistled happily as she looted the corpse and extracted a blue potion of sorcery, which glowed softly with potential magicka. She quaffed it on the spot and felt giddy as the charge flowed throughout her.

She looked across the room to see the Empress, who stood regally alone as if already distant from this world, and Blades, who had quickly dispatched their opponents and were now scouting the room for more danger. She wanted to run up to them and tell them about her success, but she held herself back—it was too much like bragging.

She gave herself a quiet round of applause, anyway, and permitted herself to feel a little hope.