XII: An Audience in Shadowhaunt

But play enough and lo,

See the Game's cracks and loopholes!

Become aware of its hidden agendas,

Never to return to blissful witlessness.

Diaspro didn't expect the underlands of Magix to be particularly populated. Especially where she was now.

Since Lord Darkar had been overthrown ten years ago Shadowhaunt was supposed to be abandoned and in disrepair. Popular belief was only desperate scum hid or refuelled in the accursed place before moving on to more liveable places where the law couldn't reach them.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The blonde fairy had never been one for sightseeing but her breath was taken away upon seeing the fortress spiralling down from the surface. It presided high above a metropolis that spread across deep canyons and mesas. Only faint lights glowing out of the pore-like windows indicated most buildings had been created through hollowing out the Underland's cavernous walls and floors. If not for the lights emanating from out of the structures, Diaspro could imagine how Shadowhaunt appeared unliveable to the undiscerning eye.

There were also more graceful structures, decoratively carved and wrought of obsidian marble rising organically out of jagged earthy stone. Diaspro could tell these were recently rebuilt; just like the cobblestone main roads and the spiny Victorian lanterns lining the streets. But these buildings were more common in the area closest to the fortress and not everything was picturesque. Visual eyesores like rickety wooden palisades and pathways, shanties created from derelict ships, ramshackle bazaars and rundown spaceports were scattered all over the place.

It was clear more work had to be done to restore the area and Diaspro spied some places sectioned off for reconstruction as she walked from where she parked her ship. The place was teeming with refugees, ne'er-do-wells and crafty individuals of all kinds and races. So far Diaspro couldn't see any indication Shadowhaunt had a Rending affected population, but that didn't mean it was safe by any stretch of the imagination. There was an undeniable air of illicitness about the place. The blonde fairy wouldn't be surprised to learn if most criminal bosses had made their headquarters here.

Diaspro pulled her cloak in tighter as she walked about a small marketplace. She searched for the valet she was supposed to meet.

The so-called Gran she met in the slums of Domino was in fact an informant. Diaspro nearly walked out when the old woman revealed she was an undercover liaison of Seth. Gran insisted she was working for a woman who had collaborated with the Valtor, seeming to suggest it was only through her mistress' connections they located Diaspro. Due to several disagreements the two parties had gone their separate ways. However the mistress was still interested meeting the disgraced noble.

Diaspro was naturally hesitant. But Gran pitched the meeting as a contract job. And the conversation reminded the fairy she was running out of funds. Diaspro preferred buying what she needed rather than steal or rummage for edible shit in bins or abandoned buildings. She wasn't good at scavenging anyway.

What finally convinced Diaspro to cooperate was receiving straightforward directions. Seth in contrast employed an underhanded and irritating way of luring the blonde to his location. She was to meet a valet at a specified location in Shadowhaunt who would then take her to meet this mysterious woman. Gran assured her that she would keep an eye on Mirta once Diaspro left Domino.

"YOU BITCH!"

Before Diaspro realised that the insult was addressed to her something grabbed her by the ankles. Reflexively she kicked away the thing responsible. A scrawny man covered in tattered clothing fell before her at the entrance of an alleyway leading to the market.

He rolled around pathetically to face her. What aristocrat left in Diaspro nearly caused her to throw up when she looked at the man's face. His face was spattered with filth, his hair and beard matted with rubbish and his mouth drooled with slobber, not to mention he stank terribly. He spat and angrily stuttered sentences in way that was almost incomprehensible.

"You! Y-you're with her! I can s-smell…smell her power about you!"

The blonde fairy was more confused than disgusted. "I…don't know what–"

"I know…I…she helped you t-that stupid cocksucker!" the beggar stuttered angrily. "T-thanks to that b-bloody girl I've not even a morsel of h-human dignity left! N-no one cares this is m-my castle! S-Shadowhaunt is mine!"

"…You're joking right?" Diaspro looked the man up and down.

"L-laugh all you want but I'll…I…I'll get you all one day! I'll…I'll find a way to get m-my powers back and y-you'll b-b-beg for mercy! You and that…b-blasted redhead!"

Diaspro decided at that point to back away. As she did so, she smacked into another person. She came face-to-face with a bulky ochre-skinned ogre. There was something similar about this ogre's figure to the one she had met in Magix. But while he appeared well-kept he was more simply dressed than the previous one. They looked dumbly at each other for a moment before the creature broke into a sheepish grin.

"You must be Miss Diaspro!" the ogre greeted. "I saw you once, back when I was the groundskeeper for Alfea. Even without all that makeup on, you are pretty recognizable. Your scent anyway."

"You…did?" Diaspro couldn't remember ever seeing this ogre at Alfea. And she had only been to the prestigious college once. It was to confront Sky after he and his friends saved her from abduction, only for him to break their engagement to be with Bloom.

The blonde fairy shook her head. She hadn't thought about the Eraklyonese prince for years. It wasn't the time to remember old wounds. She tried of thinking something else to say but all she could think of commenting was: "You look rather similar to an ogre who directed me to Seth–"

"That was probably my cousin working for the Valtor. The name's Knut. Nice to meet you."

Diaspro's fingers prickled with distrust as the ogre extended a hand but she shook it anyway. A friendly ogre valet. Shadowhaunt had become home to some strange people indeed.

"We should start heading up to the fortress proper. The mistress has provided a transport for us to get there–"

"Before we go anywhere I have a question. You wouldn't happen to know that miser would you?" Diaspro pointed back at the man struggling to stand up. "He's been claiming that Shadowhaunt is his. He also thinks he knows me. Or does every beggar around here claim that? Should I be worried if he's a…spy?"

"Oh him?" Knut scratched his backside, observing the unfortunate for a moment. "Oh that's right. It's the squatter mistress threw out of the fortress when she moved in. Funny though, I think the mistress said his real name's Argulus*, who'd know better as Lord Darkar."

"What?!" the blonde exclaimed. "Wasn't he more evil and terrifying and armoured and skeletal than…that? At least he looked intimidating in history books I read."

"Yeah, it's weird that the mistress thinks Princess Bloom was the one who did that to him. She said Bloom exacted her revenge on Argulus by breaking him until that was all that remained."

It took Diaspro a moment to digest that statement. She looked back at the wretch hobbling, falling and crawling his way down the alleyway. "That's absurd! Bloom never came across to me as being obsessed with vengeance to the point she'd…ruin someone like that."

"It doesn't make much sense to me either." Knut shrugged. "Bloom always seemed like a nice girl when she was studying at Alfea. But the mistress is never wrong about these things."

"Well then," Diaspro turned to the ogre. "I think it's high time I met this mistress of yours."

…

Perhaps thanks to his time working in Alfea, Knut had developed a certain level of charisma uncommon for his race. Ogres had always been considered dumb barbarians, more akin to animals than a respectable sentient race. Diaspro herself for a long time had believed in the stereotypes, but she was a little glad to be wrong while she listened to Knut in the transport.

The ogre explained that the name Shadowhaunt referred to the fortress while the region surrounding it was called Darkar's Mourn. Knut said once Shadowhaunt had belonged to a noble family who had little contact with the surface world. The family's name had been lost, but at the height of their power they had controlled virtually all the Magix Underlands. Those who dwelt beneath the surface prospered under this family's reign but that all changed with the coming of Argulus.

Contrary to what most people believed Argulus was not the Prince of Darkness, though he probably fancied himself as such. He was an ambitious sorcerer who unlocked the secrets of immortality through his exploration of the Magix Underlands. From what some Underland nobles had told Knut's mistress, he had been invited to Shadowhaunt's court by those interested in his research. Unfortunately through devilish trickery, Argulus murdered the ruling family and their key supporters, claiming Shadowhaunt for himself. Argulus then erased his past as well as that of the ancient noble family, so well Knut claimed that all his mistress could uncover about the man was his first name. In any case Argulus began to call himself Lord Darkar shortly after he seized Shadowhaunt, taking the name of an ancient Underland hero to gain legitimacy in the eyes of its people. But once Argulus obtained the troops and resources he needed for his nefarious purposes, he ceased to care about what the Underlanders thought of him.

Argulus wasn't ever interested in maintaining a kingdom. During his disastrous reign the Underlands fell into utter chaos. His lack of care for the Underlanders caused most of them to flee en masse. Most refugees had never been above ground for extended periods of time and this caused significant strain on the Magix government. Worse still many Underlanders turned to banditry in order to survive which entrenched their negative stereotypes. But a few joined Argulus, mostly rich families wanting their cut of glory and those powerful Underlander families opposed to Argulus' rule lost their strongholds. A great number formed the crime syndicates that had been terrorising Magix and most of the Magical Dimension for the last few decades. Fortunately since his mistress moved in, Knut said that many Underlanders were abandoning their surface operations and returning below ground, which must have been some relief to everyone else.

Diaspro remarked that she wasn't aware that the Magix Underlands were actually a kingdom or of Argulus' true identity. Knut quoted his mistress, who believed the catastrophe occurred because the former rulers were incredibly reclusive and made no attempts to maintain ties with the surface world, let alone any other nation. As for Argulus it seemed that he wasn't serving himself entirely. But for whom Argulus worked for, the true purpose of seizing Shadowhaunt and then reviving the Ancestral Witches to wage war on Domino remained unclear. Knut's mistress was convinced obtaining the Dragon Flame was far from their key objective.

And what Bloom could have known about Argulus in order for her to hideously punish him was anyone's guess.

From the minute she had set foot in Shadowhaunt, Diaspro didn't experience any flux of negative energy that could send a fairy insane. She did feel that something powerful and sentient had once inhabited the fortress or been part of it. Whatever it was had been removed. It left behind a great emptiness about the place which surprisingly added to Shadowhaunt's grandeur.

The blonde fairy followed Knut through the fortress' soaring gothic hallways. Even here there were still areas that were being repaired and cleaned of debris. It wasn't too long before the pair reached the entrance to the throne room. The blonde fairy stared at the intimidating tall obsidian doors, decoratively carved with scenes of epic slaughter. The ogre bowed slightly to Diaspro, indicating that this was as far as he was supposed to go.

"Please be respectful of my mistress, but there's no need to address her with honorifics or anything. Anyway, I have other things to do so I'd best leave you."

"I see. I suppose I should thank you for bringing me here." Diaspro returned. The act of thanking people still felt very strange to her.

"Aha," Knut sported another sheepish grin. "My mistress has her opinions about you but you seem alright, even for a former traitor. Take care fairy."

"Yeah. Great." Diaspro muttered under her breath as the tall doors slid back.

Diaspro had only taken a few steps into the throne room and hadn't even taken in the scene when her eyes fell upon the woman seated on the throne, a woman she instantly recognized.

As a child, the blonde fairy had spent some time being raised as a ward in the Solarian court when Eraklyon embroiled in war, trying to absorb Isis into its empire. Diaspro's parents, Isis' rulers, had already agreed to become part of Eraklyon but some were disgruntled with the notion, leading to civil war. Eventually the matter would be resolved when instead of being reduced to a mere territory Isis became a vassal kingdom instead. Diaspro would be a young teenager by the time she returned to homeland, and only to be greeted with the news that she was to marry Crown Prince Sky to strengthen relations between Eraklyon and Isis. She didn't have many objections at the time, her mind mostly focused on furthering her status in society.

Not wishing to offend their ally Eraklyon in any manner, Radius kept Diaspro in the care of Solaria's minor nobility. Thus she had never socialised with Crown Princess Stella, a fact that long ago Diaspro harboured as an insult. She remembered all the names of the families and their children. But none of them stayed around her longer than they had to. Out of all of them there was only one girl who kept her company. Or rather, the minor noble was the only one with the patience needed to keep up with the obnoxious child Diaspro.

And that minor noble was the one seated before her on Shadowhaunt's throne, being attended to by a trio of maids.

"N-Nova? Of the minor noble Solarian house of Rosencrantz?" the blonde fairy said. She was still disbelieving this was the alleged mistress she had heard so much about.

"Diaspro de Montevallo. Reviled traitor, banished forevermore from Isis and Eraklyon, even if your criminal record has been wiped clean," the orange-haired woman returned nonchalantly. "Are we done with stating who we are?"

Nova's tone quickly shook Diaspro out of her surprised state. The fairy walked towards the throne. "Well, you never struck me as being overly ambitions, mistress. And this is the last place I'd expect to find a luxury loving Solarian."

"You're joking right?" Nova sniffed as a maid put the finishing touches on her nails. "Besides, we seem to be in the same boat now. I've been labelled a traitor like you so I suppose I can't judge you too badly."

"Really? I know you loved breaking the rules, eavesdropping on things you weren't supposed to hear. You really challenged the status quo that badly?"

"Oh I did more than that. My mother was obliged to disown me because of what I learned. But she and the whole clan plan to defect and join me here anyway. Before she does that though, she's helping Queen Regent Luna with some private investigation. Hasn't told me much about it though."

Diaspro crossed her arms. "Is that right? I still can't believe that you've gone from loyal Solarian patriots to self-serving outlaws."

"I guess you never paid attention to the fact our family has always been cleaning up after the Gwyn dynasty. It was only a matter of time before we got sick of it. And Shadowhaunt is ripe with opportunity. But unlike our predecessors whose isolation got taken advantage of by Argulus, I'll maintain ties with the surface."

"So that's your plan to raise your family to glory? It doesn't change the fact you're still making yourselves the rulers of all the miscreants of Magix."

"If I have to be Solaria's number one public enemy, I'd like to be at the top of the criminal food-chain with some respectability left intact. Unlike you who's some…glorified vagabond." Nova made a distasteful face, noting Diaspro's expression. "Stop it. We might have known each other since we were children but I don't have to care about your feelings. We're not kids with ladies-in-waiting watching us, ready to box our ears if we do something naughty."

"That still didn't stop you from being a pain in my ass."

"Oh boo hoo, are you going to get the phone and dob me in to your mommy? Oh wait."

"I forgot how much you used to annoy me." Diaspro sneered.

"You never realised how horrible you were to others. And really I only ever hung out with you because even a selfish idiot like you is more interesting than all those boring obedient peers of ours. But maybe that's changed since your downfall." Nova looked Diaspro up and down. "Honestly, I still think you're too thick-headed for even abject poverty and public humiliation to affect your attitude. Even if someone like Bloom–"

"Laugh at me all you want," the blonde fairy broke in. "But you didn't summon me here to chat about us or your future plans. Your informant told me you had a job for me."

"Onto business? My, you're dull as always. At least I can appreciate that I can tell you what you are without you going into a hissy fit." Nova paused for a moment but rolled her eyes as Diaspro didn't respond. "Very well." The orange-haired fairy waved a dismissive hand to the maids attending her. She waited until they had left the throne room before she spoke to Diaspro once more. "Have you heard of the Whisperian Lodge?"

"…Yes."

"Care to elaborate? Come on, I told you what I've been up to. It's not like I'm Seth Baltor, who's trying to convince everybody that he's turned a new leaf."

"Don't mention that asshole in my presence again." Diaspro clenched her fists before relenting to reveal what she knew. "Bloom said they're a group of witches determined to resist the agendas of the Light Council. They wanted to free Whisperia, stop it from being a Magix vassal kingdom. Bloom admitted she was working with them and I think she was going to introduce me to the Lodge but the…time never came." the blonde fairy frowned. "Have I missed mentioning anything?"

"Freeing Whisperia wasn't their only objective. And you forgot to mention how the Lodge is wracked with ambitious personalities clashing against each other. Though, they don't have time to fight with each other anymore. "

"Are you trying to tell me I'm wrong?" Diaspro snapped. "This isn't a pop quiz or anything!"

Nova rolled her eyes again. "Good to see disgrace hasn't prevented you from being as irritable as ever."

"If you want to waste time criticizing me I have better things to do!"

"Why do you always act like people are trying to undermine you? Besides…" Nova drummed her fingers against the throne's armrests. "Can't you see how fascinating it is that you ended up being so devoted to the woman who stole your prince?"

"D-devoted?" Diaspro gaged as she repeated the word. "What…the hell–"

"Please don't deny it! Anyone who motivated you to look past yourself is already a miracle-worker. The Diaspro I knew was a spoilt cretin who ranted endlessly about being destined to marry a crown prince and everyone had to respect her because of it."

"S-save it!"

"Have I hit a raw nerve, Diaspro? You're positively reddening right now. I'd almost feel sorry for you if you hadn't been a big bitch to me in the past."

Bloom had become a very difficult person to talk about for Diaspro in the years that she had been gone. The formerly proud fairy didn't want to admit it even to herself but she had developed unrequited feelings. Diaspro especially didn't want to confirm the existence of such feelings in front of someone like Nova. Even if she had been her only real playmate, Nova had always enjoyed observing Diaspro's insecurities. She always liked to see if she could make Diaspro upset enough to the point she could be called out on her obnoxious behaviour. But the Diaspro always reacted before Nova got such an opportunity, albeit in a pathetic bully-like fashion.

Diaspro still wasn't going to give Nova the opportunity years later.

"Well saying I'm sorry for ruining your childhood won't change a thing. I know we were never really friends, circumstances just threw us together. And I can't stop you from having a low opinion of me." Diaspro said agitatedly after a moment of stewing in silence. "If you think you're going to get the satisfaction of watching me wallow in self-pity, you should have looked for me begging for work on the streets years ago!"

Nova raised her eyebrows. She almost looked impressed. "Well…" she coughed. "You want to start conversing like adults now?"

Diaspro crossed her arms. "Explain why the Lodge is so important and why I should give a damn about helping you or them. This is what your contract is about, isn't it?"

Nova smirked. "The Lodge should know Bloom's plans since they worked together. In fact from what I gathered they might know what caused the Rending to happen, even were researching a way to cure it or prevent it from happening. I suppose Bloom didn't have to reveal that to you while she was alive."

"No. And I suppose the Light Council hates secret witch societies so much even if they had a potential cure they'd rather persecute them. When did they start hunting them down?"

"The Lodge's woes started in 2012, the year that Bloom was said to have…died. During that year someone sold them out. I don't know who was responsible for it or if someone betrayed them. But I have obtained information from a reliable source that the Vergil Coalition offered to give them control of Whisperia if they assisted with their research, namely by donating test subjects. But the Lodge turned the Vergil Coalition down, so maybe they had a hand in it."

"If people like you and Seth know who the terrorists really are, then the Light Council has to be aware of the Vergil Coalition as well. Wouldn't it be easier for everyone if their identity was made public knowledge?"

Nova glared at the blonde exasperatedly. "Yeah, let's tell everyone an elite Earthling group known for researching methods to destroy magic is responsible for the terrorists' attacks! I mean, most people already believe the end of the universe is upon us, what's the harm in making them more terrified of everything?!"

"You don't need to be so sarcastic about it." Diaspro muttered before asking her next question. "Is hunting down the Lodge members public knowledge?"

"Not…really. In official statements the Light Council has declared Lodge members are only being apprehended for questioning. But let's not gloss up the reality. They've essentially sanctioned a witch-hunt. And they're not just capturing and torturing Lodge members, but also their families and associates. Punishment first questions later seems to be their approach." Nova got up from the throne and walked towards a tall window and Diaspro followed her.

"How is this operation being managed?" Diaspro asked as the two took in the view of the metropolis far below them.

"The task of tracking and prosecuting the Lodge's members, both current and former, is being overseen by Merik. He's an exceptionally fanatical paladin who has only been able to gain prominence because of the current crisis. Merik has been a problem for his Order for many years due to his extremist views. I believe the Light Council hasn't made him the head of this operation to keep him out of their way. They're also probably allowing this to happen because they don't take the Whisperian Lodge's work and what they stand for seriously at all." Nova looked at Diaspro hard, her teasing tone becoming far more serious. "I'd advise you to steer clear of Merik, if you can. He's probably going to be in the area. I'd heard Bloom managed to restore your magical powers after they were taken as punishment for helping Fredrick Baltor. But even though you're a fairy, I'd also advise you not to use any magic of–"

"If this is an extremely covert rescue mission I don't need magic and I know how to suppress it." Diaspro broke in. "I just need time to find someone to repair the tools I need."

"Hmm, I can get someone to help with that. I'm also finally starting to see why Ediltrude Midcopse claimed you'd be useful."

"I'm taking that's a member of the Lodge? The one I'm supposed to rescue?"

"No. She was a member of the Lodge. Do you know her?"

"No but–"

"She was a teacher in Cloud Tower and a close confidant of the headmistress, Professor Griffin." Nova interjected before Diaspro could finish her sentence.

"And why I should care about an old hag's opinions on my abilities? Especially one who I've never met."

"Have some respect. She's dead." Nova replied nonchalantly. "Merik's lackeys hunted her down like an animal. Then they tortured and maimed the poor woman terribly. By the time we broke her out, all she did was plead for Bloom to be found. You can also imagine my surprise when Ediltrude said that we should also find you as well. She expired shortly after that."

"So that's how you found out about me? Bloom told the Lodge about me and didn't even...wait, why were you even looking for this witch to begin with?"

"Her sister was offering a significant bounty for Ediltrude, even went to Magix's criminal underworld to find anyone willing to look for her. Ediltrude resigned without explanation and didn't leave the school on amicable terms. But it seems her sister wanted to reconcile. Perhaps Ediltrude planned for things to happen that way. She was never publically listed as being wanted like many other Lodge members have."

"That must have hard delivering the news to her sister then, even for you."

"Zarathustra doesn't know her sister is dead. I guess I felt kind of bad when she still paid me a small sum even when I claimed my findings were inconclusive."

"How kind of you." Diaspro remarked dryly.

"Only idiots get bystanders involved in wars like these. Besides, Ediltrude went to all this trouble to hide her involvement with the Whisperian Lodge from her loved ones. It was the least I could do."

"Okay enough of that." Diaspro shook her head. "Who exactly am I going to be rescuing?"

"A Crown Princess. Until now, the Lodge member's position and aristocratic standing has protected her. But given the current state Callisto is in, Varanda can't stay where she is much longer."

Diaspro tried to stifle her surprised expression upon hearing the name. "So she really went through with being a witch after all, despite being accepted into Alfea?"

"I don't know how, but her mother has become aware of her daughter's affiliations and contacted me without Varanda's knowledge." Nova ignored the blonde fairy's question. "She wants Varanda out of Callisto before Merik's fanatics have a chance to get their hands on her."

"How did Queen Cerys know how to contact you?"

"I've been helping a lot of important people disappear and elude the law, also part of why I've become a wanted woman. In any case, I had been stressing about the resources I'd need to spend to get Varanda out, but now you're here. I'm still not sure how much of a professional you've really become, you weren't anything impressive back when you still had your titles. But it goes without saying that you're the less risk free option I have at this point."

"Sure…"

"You'll be given the coordinates to meet one of our agents on the ground who will give you more details. Get Varanda out of Callisto and bring her to Shadowhaunt. Her mother is paying me handsomely in order to get her out of her homeland safely and this is probably the safest place she could be right now. You'll get a cut of course."

"Of course." Diaspro echoed a little skeptically.

*Argulus: In the 4Kids dub of Season 2, Faragonda claims that Lord Darkar was once a man of this name who ventured into Shadowhaunt and was transformed by the dark power that lingered there. This isn't correct in the official continuity of the Winx Club.