Relentlessly, the citizens of New Celest had sought a way to undo the
touch of Nil from the Holy Supernal Raziela, but little hope could be
found in this dark time. It was Elohora, Lady of the Light, who called
the faithful Celestines to her and said there might yet be a way. The
power of a being borne of the Light of Celestia, and yet imbued with the
essence of an Elder God, might have a strange and unusual confluence of
power which could break the dark curse. There was only one such creature
- Aestra, the golden pegasus who followed the fallen god Hajamin. Thus
charged with Elohora's holy mandate, Father Talkan La'Saet gathered the
holy priests and took to the skies upon his golden wings in search of
Aestra, buffeting the air in majestic sweeps.

The air, thus stirred, soared out from the City of Light across the
Inner Sea, through the marshes of the Balach Swamp, and across the foul
waters of the Sea of Despair. It drifted down into the twisted and
polluted spires of Magnagora. Sniffing at the salty air, it was surely a
foul omen, thought Ayman n'Kylbar, the architect of the city. Casting
such thoughts aside, he placed the finishing touches his latest great
work - the Temple of Morgfyre, a towering structure of black marble and
dizzying corridors. Within, the warrior-priests of Morgfyre gathered in
solemn moot. Morgfyre, devourer of Hajamin, had long sought the heart of
Aestra - imbued with her master's divine essence - to no avail. Grimly,
the Ouroborian Priests sharpened blades and scythes, readying for war.

Both Celestians and Magnagorans descended upon the place where the
fallen god's touch was strongest, a floating island held aloft over the
Inner Sea by divine might. Penetrating its traps and illusions, they
found a curious priest who claimed to seek Aestra as well by wishing to
reforge the shattered Shield of Brilliance to summon her. He was a
priest of the fallen god, the old man said, and wished to soothe
Aestra's grief at the loss of her master. Both parties, sensing an
advantage, took to helping the old man with the dangers of the floating
ruins.

Battle erupted between the competitors. Kryl raised his hands and
torrential waters poured from the skies as sharp as needles, while
Narsrim and Talkan flung the arcane cards of the Tarot to slow the
passage of time, and Malicia La'Saet's blades swiftly sheared through
those her Ascendant aura did not cow. The Magnagorans, battered and
broken, fled the field - but not before Shikha d'Murani, in a cunning
ploy, stole the pieces of the Shield with a fiendish laugh.

In the end of a hard-fought battle, the Celestians won back the pieces
and reforged the Shield of Brilliance, and indeed radiant Aestra was
summoned from her grief and sorrow. What happened next took all by
surprise, for a small group of Magnagorans leaped from the shadows and,
to the horror of those assembled, slew Aestra and escaped with her
golden heart in the confusion and chaos that followed. Heralded by cries
of outrage and dismay, the heart was fed to Morgfyre, the Legion.

The Elder God appeared in the skies above Celestia, glutted upon
celestial power, and glowered down at Raziela, most innocent of the Holy
Supernals. By the Elder God's power did her dark curse blossom, and a
horrifying creature of shadow clawed its way from the mark, which faded
away. The creature and the god disappeared from Celestia, and it was
upon the scorched plains of Nil that they descended. The creature took
the form of a black, onyx pillar, thrumming with dark power, and the
Elder God poured His blessings upon cunning Magnagora.

The curse of Raziela thus abated, though only at great cost and loss,
none know what may yet come of the ominous black pillar that stabs
towards the sky upon tainted Nil. And perhaps equally strange, some
whisper that the anguished cries of Aestra may still be heard upon the
Floating Isle, and a strange old priest seeks a way through its traps
and dangers.

Penned by My hand on the 3rd of Juliary, in the year 204 CE.