Chapter 437: Legacy of Holo’s Shade Part 2
Holo looked behind her to the city that sprawled below and the Ebon Tower that stood tall at the very heart of Hollow Shade. “It’s time you learn the truth of this place, the terrible legacy the Ebon Lords and I left behind.”
“What legacy…?” Elzri asked quietly, the slight tremble in his voice betrayed his anxiety.
Holo glanced at him, Loh, and Ismene, respectively. “I suppose to understand what was left behind we must start at the beginning… A little over three centuries ago, the god of the deep earth learned of a very old secret; that many centuries prior the family of an Ebon Lord had discovered an ancient artifact from the Age of Titans… Selyndra’s Key.”
“I’ve never heard of such a key,” Elzri said.
“Neither have I,” Ismene added.
Loh furrowed her brow but said nothing.
“I don’t expect any of you to have,” Holo said. “The key was discovered almost a millennia ago. Why Caligo wanted the artifact, or the limits of its abilities, I do not know. Yet Caligo was willing to do anything to obtain Selyndra’s Key.”
Holo leaned her back on the wall’s parapet. “Unfortunately for Caligo, he had no idea which family possessed the key. You see, the Ebon Lords had been waging war against each other for countless years, killing one another, taking their lands and wealth in the process. The treasures an Ebon Lord possessed could have been owned by a dozen Lords or Ladies before them. To make matters worse, Selyndra’s Key had gone largely unnoticed. Even if one of the Ebon Lords happened upon the artifact they wouldn’t know what it was, they’d probably just mistake it for another glittering stone and toss it into one of their treasure vaults.”
“So how did the ebon god find the key?” Ismene asked.